The Pack (28 page)

Shamira climbed up and out of the makeshift tunnel to get into the underground cell. She moved quickly and climbed out on her knees so she wouldn't alert the guards. Kids gathered around her and spoke softly, immediately understanding the danger if they spoke too loudly to alert the guards. The others quickly came up behind her, and Shamira took a moment to look around the holding cell.

The smell in the cell reminded her of burning metal and was so overpowering that she coughed. The cell was carved out of the
rock within the volcano and had silver crystals within the rock. She assessed the room to see if there were any other possible ways out besides the cell door. Then she pushed her sight beyond the barriers of the room to see the structure beyond the cell.

One of the kids put their hand up to their mouth to motion for her to be silent. She nodded and smiled in thanks. The others stayed low also so their height wouldn't give them away while they, too, searched the room. In the dim light of the cell, she frantically looked for David but couldn't find him. Then she looked around for Mina, Valens' sister and didn't see her either. She motioned for the kids to come to her and gave a signal to her team to investigate the area further.

Shamira looked into the cluster of unkempt kids. “Do you know where they took a boy named David? He has brown hair. Or a girl named Mina? Anyone?”

All of the kids were dirty, and various kids had bruises, scratches, and cuts over the exposed areas on their frail bodies. She simmered with anger at the thought of what David and these kids had endured.

“Are you here to save us?” a girl that looked to be about seven years old asked meekly.

“Yes, we are. Do you trust us?” she asked the girl.

“I trust you. We have hoped for so long. The guard took the boy David this morning, and the girl named Mina is a small one. She's still in the mines. My name is Taren, and I'm happy you are here,” the
little girl said, and tears fell from her eyes.

Shamira motioned for her team to come closer. They all complied—even Manny, who now had a goofy grin on his face in hopes of a show of appreciation.

“Manny, you did great. Now, it seems like the only way out of here is through that cell door. I looked past the door, and the place is swarming with guards. There are only two other cell areas, but there is no one in them. We're going to have to fight our way out. The exit on the next level is going to be even harder to secure, but we can do it. Hedi, I need you to find an opening during our assault on the guards and take the kids out to Dion. Valens, your sister is in the mines, and the guards took my brother,” she said and looked at them for their response.

Mitch whispered, “I found my sister here and Anthony's brother! We trust Hedi enough to know they're safe with her. We're in on the assault and saving your brother and Valens' sister.”

Anthony nodded in agreement. Shamira noticed the sheer happiness on Mitch's face when he hugged the blond haired girl close to his side. The looked up at him with adoration and love.

“I appreciate your sacrifice for us, guys,” she said.

Valens squatted in the middle of the kids. “Okay, do any of you know how to get the guards' attention so we can get them to open the door?”

“Um, they will come in if we fight. They don't like us to hurt each other. They say we are more useful alive while we're small
enough to do the mining,” Taren added.

Shamira asked, “Well, if that is so, how did you get those bruises and cuts?”

Taren whispered, “It's what happens when we do the mining. We pick the dream until our hands bleed. They wrap them so we can mine again. If we don't meet our quotas, we get hit, but only on the face, because we need the rest of our bodies for mining. If we do well, we get to eat.” Taren confirmed how cruel Monev was to its captives.

“Can you all start a pretend fight for us when I give you the signal? We need to get them to open the door,” Shamira asked and gently rubbed the girl's arm as she put her thumb up on her other hand.

Taren hugged Shamira. “Anything. I'll do anything you ask.”

Shamira returned Taren's hug and motioned for the others to take attack positions. She went over to the door and crouched down on the opposite side of the door jam. Valens was beside her, and the others flanked the wall and corners of the room. She gave the signal to Taren, and the kids started to argue and roll around the floor. They yelled and cheered on the fighters.

Shamira peered through the wall and saw that the noise attracted the interest of several of the guards, just as Taren had said it would. One largely built guard punched a shorter one on the arm and gave him the signal as if it were the shorter guard's turn to check on the captives. Shamira gave the signal to the others to let them know a guard was on the way. A rush of anticipation came. She felt
every hair on her neck stand up to signal her state of awareness.

The guard unlocked the cell door and hesitated before he peered in. The kids that fought on the floor increased their efforts to imitate a true brawl. The cheers from the kids got louder in order to get the guard's attention. Shamira prepared herself for her assault and smiled at finally being able to make someone pay for how Monev hurt these kids.

Short and well built, the guard walked into the room, unsuspecting of the danger. Shamira took the opportunity to land a front-kick to the guard's cheek. It landed with such power that his head hit the metal door, which dazed him in preparation for her next assault. She immediately bent her knee to knock him forward with the kick of her heel. The force of the kick knocked him out cold as his head slammed against the stone floor of the cell. She took a quick look behind her and confirmed that Hedi held the kids at bay while she led her team into the hallway to finish the attack on the remaining guards that stood between them and the exit out of the complex.

Guards flanked them on both sides, too many to count. Her team started to fire, and the guards fell, but not without a fight. They returned the firepower, and Shamira worked hard to stay clear of it. Then, seeing an opportunity to clear out the barrier of guards, she unleashed her power, and her body charged with electricity at her release of adrenaline.

Her vision held a red hue as she felt a hot river of power flood
her system. She ran forward and attacked the largest guard in front of her, not giving him time to fire his weapon. Her fist connected to his nose, and it broke instantly as he was thrown back into several guards that stood behind him, causing them to fall. Her suit deflected the firepower and without thought, she kicked, hit, and broke the bones of numerous guards that were focusing their fights solely on her.

The onslaught of the Mons defenses thundered toward her as she grabbed the closet victim that challenged her and rammed his head into her knee, causing him to fall in a convulsing heap on the floor beside her. With each punch, kick, and challenger, her strength grew, and her body heated to the point where she felt on fire.

The barrier ahead of them was blocked by the guards that remained, and she smiled at them knowing this was their end. The beast within her was callous and cold, and its only directive was its mission to defend and protect. Burning with heat and ready for attack, she ran into a sea of adversaries. The firepower initiated by the guards bounced off her suit during her assault.

During her angered haze, she heard Valens yell out. Anthony confirmed to Mitch that a stray bullet had hit him. Without thought or question, Shamira increased her onslaught and grabbed the large guard in front of her that had fired the shot that hit Valens. Fire pulsed in her veins, and she punched him over and over again, and threw him to the floor as she charged on the remaining guards. With each punch and kick, the victims fell and convulsed like their bodies
were on fire with electricity.

She looked around and saw a scattering of felled and twitching bodies and realized there was no one left to attack. Looking behind her, she saw her team and the others staring at her in shock. Her eyes landed on Valens as she realized he'd taken off his form-fitting protective hood and blood trickled through his fingers at the wound caused by the attack.

“I'm okay, Shamira. It's just a scratch,” Valens yelled out to her.

At Valens' nod, she kicked in the door riddled with holes from the battle.

“Is it me, or did she just let go of a can of whip-shod on them?” Manny asked and then laughed. He instantly crouched when Anthony slapped the back of his head.

“Shut up before I do that to you, squirt. Hey, Valens, do I have that power filled shock juice in my suit like she does in hers?” Anthony added as Mitch snickered. Then they followed Kurt and Valens out of the cell.

“What she just did was all her. The suit I gave her can't carry that much power or send electrical shocks through its victims. Besides, she damaged the suit when she burned a hole in it at the landmines. Whatever power it had in it's long gone,” Valens said while he watched the felled guard at his feet twitch with convulsions from her blow.

“I guess she is a bad ass,” Mitch said before he spat on the
rocky floor. His gaze fell upon her with respect.

Valens turned his head when his earlink beeped. “We've got confirmation from Rob that the mines and surveillance systems are shut down,” Valens confirmed.

“New set of guards are coming fast. Prepare to fire. Now!” Shamira yelled while she crouched down and prepared for another faceoff.

Shots fired past, and she went for her closest target. Now able to control the burning power, she kicked the guard in the face, and he
hit the floor, knocked out cold.

“We'll clear the path! Hedi, get them kids outta here! Dion is ready and waiting,” yelled Valens.

“Got ya! Still waiting for Warrior Girl badass to clear the way. Manny, you stay there until I give the signal, then make them run like hellhounds are behind them until they get out,” Hedi yelled back while she fired. Manny and the kids hid behind the doorway and waited for Hedi to give the signal.

In her haze of movement, Shamira smiled when she heard her friend's praise until a huge guard demanded her attention as he charged at her. His momentum slid her back several feet and slammed her into a nearby wall. Her head hit the jagged and rocky surface and caused her to daze out for a moment. He seized his opportunity and tried to stab her in the gut as his fellow guards shot fire around them. Her suit protected her from the assault as she shook her head to clear the haze. Her team countered the ambush of guards quickly, and Mitch threw a mini-bomb at the guards that charged forward.

Shamira's large opponent's fist pounded her face from left to right as he held her up by the neck. Fighting to regain her focus, the burning fire of power built from the adrenaline rush incited by his attack. She licked the blood off her lips and steadied her face from his attack. She grabbed the hand he punched at her and broke it at the wrist with a painful sounding
snap
. With her free hand, she punched him out cold. He fell loudly, and she landed effortlessly on the floor.
Pausing, she smiled at the remaining guards and ran forward into attack, focusing on making a clear pathway for the kids she had promised to free.

Hedi, seeing the way clear, directed the kids around the fallen guards and out of the entrance to the Mons. Dion's crew was waiting with the large trucks that acted as a safe haven and getaway. Children of all sizes, dirty from the debris of battle and slavery, ran, stumbled, and fell on their way to freedom.

“Don't look back! Just run and don't look back! Go straight in the trucks! Now!” Hedi yelled, and the kids eagerly obeyed.

“Is that all of them? Where are Shamira and the others?” Dion demanded as he confirmed his team got the kids into the trucks and drove off safely.

“They're still in there. There are still some kids working in the mines. They won't leave until they save them all,” Hedi said.

“I hope their time doesn't run out. There are booby traps that will still set off the incineration mechanism – and with it reactivate the landmines,” he said gravely.

“Oh, they'll get out. Shamira and Valens will see to it,” Hedi affirmed while she shot at guards who tried to escape the compound.

“Let's head to the mines,” Shamira commanded.

“One of the kids told me your brother was taken to the tombs. We need to go there before he burns or worse,” Manny called out.

“The tombs? Why there?” Shamira asked while she looked at the fallen guards around her. She made her way to the elevator that led to the next level where the dream labs were.

“They were ordered to send him there. The kid said that's where they take kids who are unable to work or are problems. He
said the guard was told to take him there by Renu himself. The boy mentioned he heard the guard bragging about it to another guard,” Manny said solemnly.

“Where are the Tombs? Tell me! Did he tell you where they are?” she demanded. Her heart broke at the thought that she may be too late to save her brother.

“He said they're in the back of the dream lab. The workers in the lab are made to hear the victims scream while they burn to remind them of their fate if they make any mistakes,” Manny replied.

“Damn, that's messed up. That insane bastard would think up something cruel like that,” Anthony added as he pounded on the elevator button in frustration.

“Hey, Rob's warning us there are guards waiting for us when the doors open,” Mitch said.

“Good! It's our turn for some hand-to-hand. Shamira, we'll take care of the guards. When you see the chance, you can go straight to the labs to save your brother,” Valens said.

“Yummy! I can't wait to kick ass. Like now,” Anthony said.

The elevator jerked to a stop, and Shamira hung back, now with the knowledge that her power didn't control her, but she controlled it. She also knew that even with her earlier loss of control, she had not yet reached the full potential of her strength.