After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) (7 page)

Paivi let go of the hands around her and pushed carefully through the crowd. Her skin still carried a light golden glow. The buildings nearest the courtyard lay in a state of disarray. Heaps of wood and metal were scattered all around the perimeter. Bloodied bodies of ATC agents lay half-buried in rubble and on top of piles of debris.

She stumbled over something and looked down. A shredded hand stuck out from under the shattered wooden planks that had made up the guards' quarters. She couldn't tell if the hand belonged to a friend or foe. A shiver slithered down her spine. She had done that. Her energy, her power. Master Gendun and Master Song had warned her to take control, but to be careful.

Was she the savior or the devil? She supposed it depended on who was writing her story. She picked her way over the debris, spying a megaphone underneath a metal pole. She pulled it free and pressed the button on the back.

"Hello?" It rang to life in her hands, her voice echoing across the courtyard.

The crowd before her turned to look at her, the wavering willow atop the hill.

Paivi pulled her bandana off, freeing her short layer of hair.

"Um, hello, I'm Paivi," she said before lowering the megaphone. Her eyes swept over the crowd as a few familiar figures moved toward her. Molly. Her mom. Peter. Eyes around the courtyard turned to Paivi.

She raised the megaphone again. "I've come here for one thing," she paused and gazed at the smoking remains of the nearest buildings. As far as she could see, no ATC agents lurked in the distance. She couldn't hear their thoughts, but she was also overwhelmed by the confusion that hummed in the air in the crowd before her. "I came here to save you."

Peter reached her side first and she met his gaze. He nodded, encouraging her to continue.

The crowd stared at her, at them, eyes wide with disbelief. From the haze that was settled from the disturbed dust around them, the courtyard had taken on dreamlike quality.

"But we're not completely free yet, not quite."

Paivi’s mom and Molly reached her side. Molly squeezed her arm.

"It won't be long before they come. We were all supposed to be dead soon. The showers, the ones they built at the edge of camp, the ones we built with our own hands," she gestured at Peter, "were meant to kill us. They were going to gas us in there, starting tonight. I couldn't let that happen."

A collective gasp went up from the audience.

A loud crack rang through the air that Paivi couldn't place. She swung her head to the right, just in time to see Molly fly in front of her. Screams rang out all around them as Paivi stood, jaw hanging in disbelief as Molly's body crumpled in slow motion to the pile of debris in front of her.

Paivi felt hands on her, dragging her backward as she suddenly found her breath.

Peter rolled Molly over, her face frozen in a silent scream. The left side of her shirt was nothing more than a gaping bloody wound. With each pump of her heart, fresh blood erupted, pouring her very soul out onto her shirt and the heap of destruction below her. Molly gasped for air and Paivi dove to her side, grabbing her hand. Peter cradled her in his lap.

"Save them," Molly whispered, blood spattering from her mouth.  "Save..."

A fresh river of blood poured from her lips and over her chin.

Paivi's heart pounded in her chest, threatening to burst. That bullet was meant for her. She was certain if they fished it out of Molly's still heart that it would have Paivi's name engraved on it by Death himself. Anger coursed through her, stoking the fires within. New energy, deadly energy, rippled across her skin.

Shouts and screams came from the edge of the debris pile she stood on and her eyes followed. A group of EOS prisoners pulled a thrashing body from the pile. Two men had him by the arms, and even in his weakened state, he was still too much for the emaciated EOS prisoners.

His muscles still rippled beneath his torn and bloodied khaki shirt as he fought to gain his balance. A deep gash ran along the center of his skull and blood oozed out on either side.

"I almost had you, you evil freak," he mumbled. He nodded at the small handgun that the EOS prisoner to his left had wrestled away from him. "If only your friend hadn't jumped in front of you. You're going to die, you scum! You're all going to die! If not today, then tomorrow. But they'll be coming."

His gravelly voice invaded her ears like an earthquake. He had ruined too many lives. This would be the last time he tried to ruin hers.

Paivi's hands shook, no longer able to hold her anger in. She flung her palm toward him and the energy ripped him from the EOS prisoners' arms, pulling him straight up in the air. He rose higher and higher until they could barely see him. She waved her hand and he flew sideways, outside of the camp's walls.

And then she dropped her arm.

The ATC agent with the gravelly voice was not much more than a dot in the sky as he plummeted back to earth.

The gravity of the situation hit Paivi square in the chest. She had just willingly killed a man. It wasn't like other times where people were injured or killed as a side effect of the energy. But what was murder anymore? She tried to steel her nerves. What else could she do? It was kill or be killed. The gravelly-voiced ATC agent wanted her dead. He wanted them all dead.

It was him or the EOS prisoners.

She chose them.

Chapter 9

The crowd stared at her in awe. Paivi couldn't tell if they were happy or terrified of her.

"Peter?" She turned back to the front of the group, to where Molly's body lay on the ground, her lifeless eyes staring at the cloudless sky. "We've got to get them organized as quickly as possible. We need to head south as soon as we're ready. We're dead if we stay more than a few hours."

"I'll put out the word for them to round up any working vehicles and any food supplies." He grabbed the megaphone. "Do you think they can really make the trip?" He gestured out at the rag-tag crowd. They resembled a collection of scarecrows more than they did an imposing army with deadly powers.

Paivi wondered if any of them even knew how to use their powers. Or were they really just a battery source for her.

"We've gotta figure out if anyone has any powers. I need a few powerful people, including you, to come with me. We've got something to do before we can leave." She pointed to the mountain.

Peter's eyes widened. "Are you sure we can make it back out?"

"I promise you we'll get out." She rubbed her forehead. "There is something in there I have to get before we leave."

She glanced at Molly again and kneeled down beside her. Her friend had sacrificed everything for her. She gently pushed her eyelids closed and folded her hands across her chest, but not before covering the hole in Molly's heart with her kerchief. "I want to bury her outside of the gates. She should be a free woman in death." She wiped away an angry tear. There was no time to cry now. She would cry someday, for all of them that had perished or suffered. But now it was time to survive.

Peter's voice rang out above her as he ordered those still standing to prepare for departure and called for anyone with any controllable powers. People scattered throughout the camp. Any visible bodies of ATC agents were dragged from the rubble and hauled to the showers. That would be their final resting place.

Paivi watched as large numbers of the EOS prisoners pushed to the front of the group, informing Peter of powers they had that might be able to assist the escape.

"I need people who have power like me." Paivi told Peter. "Can you ask for anyone that can move stuff? That's how I started out."

Peter made the request over the megaphone and dispersed the rest of the group. Twenty people pushed through the crowd and made their way to where Paivi stood.

"You can all move things with your minds? On command?" she asked.

Heads bobbed up and down in agreement.

"Each of you, pick something up right now and move it," Paivi ordered. She wondered how on earth the others were able to train people in Mexico. She had no idea what else to ask them to do.

Eyes closed in concentration and all around them, bits of debris rose into the air. Some floated lightly and some shot up, hanging in the air as if waiting further instruction.

"All right, if your stuff shot up there quick, come over here." She waved them forward. "Thanks everyone else, but I only need a small group with me, and the strongest ones will be the best. Stay near us as we move out of the camp though, I'll work with you to get stronger."

Six people, four women and two men, lined up in front of Paivi. The women varied in age from twenty to fifty, if Paivi had to guess. The men were older than her, but not as old as some of the women.

A tall guy standing behind them raised his hand. His tanned face was still youthful and being in the camp hadn't quite extinguished the spark in his eyes.

"Hey, I may not be able to move stuff for you, but I can do this." The line parted to let him step forward. He held his hands out in front of him and flames danced across his fingers, appearing out of thin air.

The group around him gasped.

"And that's not all." He flicked his hands and the flames shot forward, past Peter and onto a small pile of wooden debris. He waved his hand and it roared higher, consuming every inch of the wood.

"Hey man, someone might see that smoke in the distance." One of the men standing near him shook his shoulder. "We've got to put that out!"

"No problem." He clapped his hands together and the fire immediately went out as if it had been deprived of oxygen. Only the charred bits of wood remained.

"That is awesome." Paivi was stunned to meet someone that could make his own fire. She could take fire and use it as a weapon, but she couldn't create it out of nothing. Not yet, anyway. She wondered if it was something he could teach her. Either way, he was invaluable and together they could protect a lot of people. Or destroy everything in their path.

The corner of her mouth raised in what could be considered the closest thing to a smile she had used in awhile.

"You're in." She held out her hand to shake his. "I'm Paivi."

"Xavier. Nice to meet you."

His hand was warm to the touch.

Peter and a few others located a working truck and shouted for them to head toward the gate. Paivi followed the group and picked her way over the debris. They crossed to the front gate, which hung perilously on its hinges.

Paivi stood in front of them and rubbed her hands together. She had come to the camp of her own free will but no one else there had. She was finished watching humans harm each other over their differences.

With a flick of her hands and a deafening crack, the metal hinges that clung to the gate shattered and both sides exploded out. They landed with a thud on the hard earth. A small cloud of dust rose and floated in front of Paivi as the others loaded into the back of the truck. She clambered behind the others and ran her hand through her short hair and shook some of the dust free.

The mountain rose before them in the morning heat. The air wavered in front of it, as if it were nothing more than a mirage in the distance.

But Paivi knew better.

It was no mirage. It was a place of torture and death.

She only hoped her dad would still be alive when they arrived.

Peter pulled the truck up to the base of the mountain, near the entrance.

"No guards," Paivi remarked as they climbed out of the back of the pickup truck.