Embers & Ice (Rouge) Read online

  “Is she okay?” asked Hunter.

  “There’s no time to tell,” said Ryo. “Look!”

  Men in White appeared outside the glass in the surrounding corridor. Benji flashed to the door and twisted the lock before they could burst through, trying with all his might to shove furniture in front of the door. It only took him a moment before there were piles of desks blocking the entrance.

  He flew back to them. “That won’t hold them for long. Let’s go!”

  “You won’t get far,” Jet sneered, his face smeared with blood. He looked drained and unhealthy. “Dr. Wolfe will find-”

  Marcus bent down and threw his fist under his brother’s jaw so hard that Jet flipped backwards and lay spread-eagled on the floor. “Go fuck yourself, Jet.” He turned back to the group, who stared at him incredulously. “What the hell are we waiting for, let’s GO!”

  Before they took another step, Imogen collapsed.

  “What happened?” cried Ryo.

  The Men in White pounded on the door.

  “Her bracelet, look, it’s flashing!” Hunter waved at Imogen’s wrist. Indeed, her deactivated silver bracelet was glowing red. Mosi instantly grabbed her hand and ripped apart the metal bracelet.

  “They must be stunning us,” said Marcus.

  “But they’re deactivated!”

  “Doesn’t mean they can’t still be controlled,” he snapped at Chantal. “Quick, get your bracelets off!”

  Scrambling to find something to tear open her bracelet, Hunter’s heart thumped like the beat of a drum. It was a time game; any second now her bracelet could zap and she would be knocked out and likely slow the group down, meaning they’d all be caught.

  But fortunately, Mosi worked quick. Everyone’s bracelets lay on the floor in a matter of seconds. All except for his own.

  “Mosi hurry!”

  “I can’t,” he growled. “It’s attached to my heart. If I rip it out, I could pull apart my own chest.”

  “Let me,” said Marcus. The two of them stared each other down. Mosi’s tight jaw made it obvious that he didn’t trust Marcus’s technical abilities with something as fragile as his life support, but there was no time: any second, the Men in White could burst through the door or his restraint might knock him out as well.

  “Trust me,” said Marcus almost gently. “I can do this.”

  Mosi nodded. He ripped open his jumpsuit, baring the flashing red device implanted into his skin and grit his teeth hard.

  “Then do it,” he said.

  Everyone held their breaths as Marcus lay a hand on Mosi’s chest and closed his eyes.

  The room was deadly silent. Hunter tried to breathe and steady the pumping of her blood. She almost wanted to reach over and grab hold of Will’s hand, if he didn’t have his arms full with Fearne. She moved her gaze back to Marcus, then at Mosi, listening to the hissing of the electricity being forced into his heart-rate monitor.

  Mosi jerked suddenly. Chantal squealed and jumped back. Then Marcus stepped away and they stared at Mosi’s chest and the little device that was black and emitting smoke. It was still attached, but no longer did it control the steady beating of his heart.

  Zac whistled in awe. “Holy shit Marcus. You are so lucky you didn’t kill him.”

  Marcus was about to snap at Zac when the lights went out, replaced by a red glow and an alarm that was all too familiar to them all. It was the alarm that sounded after Alfie had been detained and Jet took his powers back.

  “Oh no,” said Chantal and she covered her mouth. “The mist!”

  Hunter started to panic. They had no time to run back; the Men in White were seconds away from breaking through the door and attacking with their tasers.

  “Guys here!” called Benji from the left. Through the glow, Hunter spotted him across the room standing by a bank of shelves. He was tearing out boxes and throwing things at them. One of the objects hit Hunter in the chest and she fumbled with it. It was a rubber gas mask.

  “Put them on!” she shouted at the group. The moment her face was covered, she heard the sounds of the mist spraying down upon them. They managed to guard themselves before any of them were knocked out by the gas. Then, it was time to run.

  Hunter looked back for only a split second and felt her heart tear open at the sight of Sammy’s dead body on the ground. It looked like a scene from a horror movie as the red light flashed over his broken body. She wished to God she could carry him out, to take him to see the sun again. To return him to his mother that he missed so much.

  A heavy darkness fell upon her. She didn’t even hear the blast as the Men in White exploded into the lab and sprinted towards them. It took all her strength not to collapse on the ground beside Sammy’s body and she had to cling to Marcus as he dragged her away from the lab, shouting at her to move.

  As she left, Hunter prayed for the small boy, that he would fly away to a better place.

  She prayed for an angel to carry him, and then she ran.

  FORTY-EIGHT

  They were so close, Hunter could almost smell the fresh air and feel the hot sun burning her skin. The exit door was ahead, and Marcus reached it first, slamming against the handle.

  “Locked. And there’s no security panel.” He searched the door and slapped it with his palms. “Dammit!”

  Mosi passed Imogen to Will – who now had his arms free when Fearne jolted awake as they ran – and pushed through the group. Hunter felt the ground rumble with each of his footsteps. Everyone fell back.

  As Mosi threw his fist against the door, Hunter felt the bite of a taser as it fired past her arm. She whirled, her heart leapt into her chest and then a fight began.

  The dimness of the hallway splashed with red light made it difficult to see, and the gas masks weren’t much help. Benji zoomed between the guards, knocking them over with his speed. An explosion shook the walls around them. Hunter glanced back and saw that Mosi had caused the entire door to crumble in. But it wasn’t enough; behind the rock-solid cement, a steel emergency door blocked their path. It must have activated when the alarms switched on. They couldn’t get through.

  “Watch out!” screamed Chantal.

  An electric blue bullet zipped past her head and barely missed Will’s shoulder.

  “Marcus!” yelled Ryo. “Duck!”

  A guard grabbed her collar. Using moves she’d learnt in her training, Hunter dropped under a right-hook and twisted the guards arm behind him, taking the taser and shooting him in the back. A blow to the head sent Hunter down and she screamed in pain when someone crushed her fingers. The corridor was so packed with children and guards fighting that there was no room to move. In the red haze, everything seemed blurry.

  What are we going to do, the way out is blocked!

  Chantal let out a cry that made her stomach flip. Hunter rolled away from a falling guard and bumped against the wall. Ryo took a hit to the stomach just beside her, so Hunter grabbed the ankle of her attacker and forced heat into her hands. His ankle caught fire and it burned like a twig up his leg.

  They weren’t prepared for such a fight. Even though their powers far outweighed the Men in White, it would be useless if there wasn’t another way out. Hunter forced herself to her feet and threw a fireball at a guard charging towards her. He screamed and ducked out of the way.

  “Mosi!” Hunter shouted.

  Mosi’s large form was dancing back and forth in swift movements between two Men in White. He thumped one on the head so hard that Hunter was sure his spine had split in two. The other he threw against the wall.

  Hunter felt a hand snatch her hair and she fell back against the guard that held her. His grip was so tight, he would surely rip her head off if he pulled for much longer. But after only a second, he seized up and passed out at her feet. Chantal stood behind her with a taser.

  “What’s the plan?”

  “The only way out is up, otherwise we have to find our way to the sewers,” said Mosi.

  “Then we have no choice,�
� said Hunter.

  Benji zipped past her and skidded to a halt, nearly tripping over an unconscious guard. “I’ve been everywhere,” he said. “Mosi’s right: the only way out is through the sewer, but it’s blocked by some sort of coded door.”

  “I’ll be able to unlock it if we hurry,” said Marcus. His nose was gushing blood.

  “Then we’d better-”

  Hunter was cut off when an ear-piercing alarm blared throughout the institution.

  Over the alarm, there came a voice.

  “WARNING. ALL SYSTEMS DISARMED. PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. WARNING. ALL SYSTEMS DISARMED. PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.”

  The monotone woman’s voice repeated her message, just as she’d done when Jack had tried to escape. Hunter wondered for a moment if it was a sign that she should try to run down to the Death Caves and rescue her friend. But was it worth the risk?

  “Are we going to explode?!” shouted Zac over the noise. “What do we do?”

  “Follow me.”

  Mosi charged past her. Hunter quickly did a head count, thanking God they were all conscious and alive. Imogen must have woken up during the fight. She was breathing without the gas mask, which meant the mist had vanished. Mosi led them past the surgery rooms and back to the elevator.

  “We’re going upstairs?” called Chantal. “What if there’s more guards?”

  “Then we have to fight them, don’t we?” snapped Marcus.

  As Mosi slammed his hand against the elevator door, a chill went up Hunter’s spine the moment the alarm stopped and silence fell. There came a crackle of static over the intercom, and then another voice spoke up.

  “Children.”

  They all froze, even though the elevator door had opened.

  “I know what you’re planning to do,” said Dr. Wolfe. “Your efforts are wasted: I have every exit secured, and more guards waiting on level 1.”

  “He’s bluffing,” said Zac.

  “Shh!”

  “Save yourselves the punishment and stop this fight. You dare not even dream what I have in store for you if you continue to resist restraint.”

  Imogen whimpered and clung to Chantal’s arm. Hunter looked around at the group, their fears accelerating with each word the doctor spoke. It’s what he wants. To put fear in their minds. It’s working.

  “Let’s go, get in the elevator!” Hunter shouted.

  They were hesitant.

  “We’ve made it this far, now come on!”

  Mosi moved first and the others hurriedly followed. Will stood close to Hunter in the small box as it shot up, and Hunter’s blood pumped in her ears.

  After the door was sealed shut for only a second, the elevator went pitch black and came to a grinding halt. Several of them screamed. Hunter pushed the fire to the edge of her skin, letting her veins glow bright like the sun and give them some light. Their faces were pale and terrified. She removed her mask and breathed in the clean, confined air. The rest of them followed.

  “Marcus, can you power it up again?”

  Sweat dripped from his brow as he nodded and pressed his palm against the power box. The elevator rocked back and forth.

  “He’s doing everything he can to stop us,” said Hunter. She looked at each of their faces and realized that she had become their leader. She had to be braver than all of them. And at that point, as the fire surged through her skin and emerged from the dark pit it had been hiding in all those months, she felt truly brave. Brave enough to lead them to freedom. “You’ve all lived so long in this place that the idea of escaping seems impossible. But we’re already halfway there. He knows that we have our powers, and that scares him. He can’t stop us. The most he can do is throw obstacles in our way. We have to keep going, or our fears will weigh us down.”

  Light burst to life inside the elevator. Marcus breathed hard through his teeth and suddenly the electricity switched on and they shot up so fast, Hunter’s stomach dropped.

  Zac and Ryo cheered.

  Hunter wondered what Dr. Wolfe would try next. She had no time to prepare herself for what might lie on the other side of the door, for they slid open seconds later and the corridor lay empty before them.

  “Go!”

  They sprinted to the staircase, Mosi in the lead. He burst into the common room with such force that the door was knocked off its hinges. Inside the room were three Men in White waiting, their tasers raised. They opened fire. One hit Mosi, but his skin could not be penetrated. Again, Imogen raised her hands and protected their group with a giant forcefield. Mosi stalked forward and swung his fists, no mercy given. They were at the door in seconds.

  “How do you know there’s a way out here?” asked Zac as they entered the boy’s bathroom.

  Mosi looked around, suddenly confused. “I don’t.”

  “I do,” said Will. He ran his hand down the crack on the left hand side and slid the secret door – their secret door – aside. The others gazed at him in surprise. “Follow me.”

  Hunter gave him a smile and entered first. It felt so good to summon the flames and light their way. For the first time, she saw exactly what the staircase looked like; a muddy, cemented corridor with stains of green and gray running down the walls. They followed her light in silence until they reached the door that led to the guard’s quarters.

  “What is this place?” asked Zac after Will had closed the door behind them. The corridor was tall with old lamps dangling from the ceiling, the walls made of decayed brick and the doors labeled with scratched-out names. The one above the room that she and Will used to sit in read ‘Alistair Barnes’.

  “We need to go right at the end of this corridor,” said Mosi. “Then there should be a stairwell and an emergency exit.”

  Hunter nodded as they walked. Her heart was pounding in her chest. All she had to do was tell the others to meet her outside, then go left and find Jack. But could she get him out? Had he woken up yet? And what about Alfie? There were no roars coming from the Death Caves, which meant that Dr. Wolfe must have sedated him. Could she get him out too?

  Will slid the latch on the door aside, and they moved into the next corridor. Hunter stopped and glanced left at the dimly lit passage, clenching her fists. She couldn’t move her feet.

  “Hunter,” said Will by her side. “Let’s go.”

  She looked up into his shadowed face. At once, her choice seemed easy. Find Alfie, find the prisoners, find Jack. Free them all.

  But it was not that simple, and a part of Hunter knew that. She knew it was stupid and reckless and completely against the fire’s guiding voice that urged her to run with the group and not back to the dark caves of death.

  And yet something was pulling her. A force so powerful, it seemed to be a power of its own.

  The power of a hero.

  “I can’t,” she said to him. “I have to get them out. I have to try.”

  Will’s eyes filled with ferocity. “No. Hunter, don’t.”

  “What are you doing?” called Mosi.

  “There’s people down there,” she said to the group. “Why should we get to escape and leave them in this place?”

  “Uh,” said Marcus, “because they’re crazy? You said so yourself Hunter! We can’t risk it!”

  “They’re still people.” Hunter started backing up the corridor. “I want you all to run.”

  “Hunter-”

  “Listen,” she snapped at Ryo. “If I get caught, so be it. At least you’ll all be out. You’ve been here too long, it wouldn’t be fair. You guys go ahead without me.” She slipped from her pocket the address Dr. Rosenthal had given her for a house somewhere outside of Seattle. She didn’t know how far it was from ICE, but it was a safe house and she’d memorized it already. She handed the paper to Marcus. “Go to this address and stay together. I’ll meet you there.”

  “What happened to sticking together?!” called Chantal. “You can’t just leave!”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She turned to run.

  “Hu
nter, wait-”

  Will came jogging up to her. As the others hurried down into the darkness towards the sewers, Hunter’s spirit soared. He stayed with her.

  Will took her hand. A connection buzzed between them. For a split second, Hunter felt a flame burst to life inside her, a flame she hadn’t felt in a long time. It was ecstasy and excitement and bravery all at once. It was pure warmth.

  “You’re not doing this alone,” he said. “Come on.”

  FORTY-NINE

  There were footsteps behind them, and Hunter and Will made it to the end of the corridor before they were attacked by three Men in White.

  The darkness made it hard to fight, but Hunter threw her fire anyway. She wasn’t afraid to hit Will – his power let him heal. Bright fire blinded her attackers and while they dodged the balls of flaming heat, Hunter shot forward and took them out.

  “Where did they come from?” asked Will as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Dr. Wolfe probably sent them after us.” She yanked on the hatch of the door marked ‘Cell Block’. “Hopefully there aren’t many left after Alfie got loose. Maybe they’re-”

  Her words froze in her throat as the door swung inward and they faced the Cell Block corridor – or what was left of it.

  Alfie had destroyed the place. Clouds of dust still floated in the air. There was rubble strewn across the walkway. Cells were blow apart, the walls crumbled in and the doors lying open. Beams of light from the broken ceiling were scattered right to the end. The bulbs were flickering on and off and buzzing with detached electricity. An eerie silence wrapped its claws around Hunter’s heart and for a moment she wished they’d never come back. But a part of her knew this was the right thing to do. They had to rescue Alfie. And she had to at least try to find Jack.

  Will glanced down at her in the dim light and nodded, his jaw clenched. “After you,” he said.

  With her eyes wide open, Hunter started to creep down the Cell Block. Each step was louder than a scream in her ears. She was shaking from head to foot, praying that Alfie was in his cell – alive, at the very least – and it helped motivate her.