Fourteen

  I Destroy More Government Property

  The giant choppers descended on me with the sound of a thousand swarms of angry bees.

  Rope ladders dropped down, men in heavy military gear scrambling to take up positions around the quarry. Tense, I watched them surround me, pistols and rifles drawn and cocked. Shielding my eyes from the blinding light, I looked up as one airbus loomed over my head. I was shocked when I recognized the man leaning just inside its open bay doors.

  The man CIA Director Wayland had tasked with hunting me down.

  Special Agent Marcus Avari.

  Our eyes met and I set my jaw, holding his gaze as the chopper landed on the outer ring of the tiered crater. The incessant whirling and whining of the near dozen rotors gradually came to a stop. In the silence that followed, the air of wary hostility was so palpable the feathers along the length of my spine stood on end, quivering. Avari stood on the ledge above, regarding me with no emotions visible on his face, but I swore I saw something perplexing in his eyes. The next instant, whatever it was had vanished as he moved one arm from behind his back and lifted the newly revealed megaphone to his lips.

  “Attention foreign citizen. An order has been issued for your immediate arrest for trespassing on American soil and the damage of government property. I must ask you to remain where you are. Get down on your knees, and place your hands behind your head. Any attempts to escape or resist will be met with lethal force. You have sixty seconds to comply,” he announced.

  I couldn’t stop my face from forming an amused smirk as I called back. “I guess it’s a good thing I learned English a few days ago, otherwise I wouldn’t have understood a thing you just said! What would you have done then? Just blasted me to smithereens anyway?”

  Agent Avari blinked and stiffened a bit, eyes widening a fraction of an inch. For a few seconds, the only sound was the faint creaking of Kevlar as the surrounding men shifted uneasily. When I lightly jumped down to the ground, the gravel crunching under my feet seemed three times too loud.

  “I’m gonna stand here until you give me an answer,” I cheekily tipped my head and crossed my arms.

  Avari snapped out of his sudden trance, lifting his megaphone again. “Lethal force is only employed as a last resort. We have no intention of harming you as long as you cooperate.”

  “And if I don’t?” I pressed.

  “If you insist on making the situation difficult, you leave us no choice,” he glared. “However, I do intend on bringing you in peacefully, with or without your consent.”

  As he lowered his hand, he brought his other to his ear, and though he was several hundred feet away, I still heard his muttered command.

  “Capture unit … Fire at will.”

  I whirled around as I heard a loud *THWOUMP!*, turning in time to see a large canister hurtling towards me. The metal casing burst apart and unfurled a large nylon net. Adrenalin fueled instinct surged through my body and I ran for the boulder I’d been sitting on. Drawing one arm back like a spring-loaded cannon, I curled my fist tight, then let it loose. My clenched fingers hit the giant rock with a god-awful cracking sound, but of stone not of bone. The mass of mineral shot off the ground and plowed into the net a split second before it would’ve hit me, both hurtling away and slamming into the other side of the quarry with an explosion of rubble and dust. I slowly straightened and glanced up at Agent Avari as I blew the powdered slag off my knuckles.

  “If you think it’s going to be that easy to catch me, you’re going to be very disappointed,” I shook my head with a sneer.

  Though I couldn’t determine where the first shot came from, someone’s itchy trigger finger set off a chain reaction. Avari’s startled shout was completely lost in the ensuing hail of bullets. I opened my eyes, staring down at the ground, my body having moved so fast I hadn’t even registered it. Every projectile was now being flattened against the circular shield surrounding me, hovering inches from my outstretched arms. A second later, the euphoria-inducing adrenalin rush of power hit me, the massive surge greater than anything I’d experienced yet. I looked up at Agent Avari and grinned.

  In a singular heartbeat, I launched backwards off the ground and swiveled in midair. My first target – the net launcher – its steel barrel crunching in my hands like a Pringles can. Then I turned my attention to the so-called capture unit. As I landed the last punch, I spun, grabbing the barrel of a rifle and wrenching it out of the hands of the brave soul who’d thought he could get one over on me. I snapped the weapon over my knee with a mustard seeds worth of effort, appreciating the brief look of shock in the soldiers’ eyes before karate chopping him in the neck. Another small burst of gunfire bit the dirt at my heels and I whipped around, charging towards the remainder of my assailants and their airbuses.

  With a shield in front of me, I barreled through the mass of men without skipping a beat. I broke clear and spread my wings, leaping up with a solid downstroke, landing hard on the back of the first giant helicopter. However, I underestimated the amount of force I’d massed under my feet, and the machine’s metal shell practically turned to tinfoil. There was a great groaning, crunching sound as its middle compacted into the ground and its ends went skyward.

  Yikes! I grimaced as I held out my arms to avoid getting flattened.

  I shoved myself up and back out of the tight spot just in time to end up in another as a particularly large man came out of nowhere and sucker punched me in the stomach. A startled wheeze left me as every cubic inch of air was forcefully evacuated from my lungs. The next second I’d recovered from my surprise and gave my attacker one of his own as I locked my arms around his head and heaved him like a throwing axe. After that, it just became a blur of dodging, punching, kicking, flapping, bullet deflecting and helicopter smashing. The chaos became so overwhelming in fact that for what felt like a split second, I forgot what I was doing.

  Then it was like someone just gently tapped me on the shoulder.

  My ears hummed like I’d heard a voice say my name, but I didn’t remember hearing anyone speak.

  Eyes wide, I froze, feeling a trickle of sweat running down my forehead as my breath came in raspy gasps. I found myself surrounded by more destruction than I remembered. That and the fact that I was holding the fifth and final airbus over my head. Very slowly, I tipped my head back. My hands were sunk against the cold metal belly of the ten-thousand-pound machine, indents around my fingertips and the heels of my palms. I felt hardly anything. It was like I was just lifting a small suitcase packed with nothing but a change of clothes and a toothbrush. Sweat rolled down my temple, not from any exertion or strain, but instead from the heat of the burning gasoline around me.

  Looking back, I saw a trail of carnage, one airbus turned into a twisted hunk of scrap, the other two exploded and still on fire. The soldiers left standing were running away from me. Some were writhing on the ground screaming amongst others who I first assumed then desperately hoped were only unconscious. My eyes widened as I realized there were small puddles and drops of dark red liquid all over the ground.

  Suddenly feeling a bit nauseous, I began carefully lowering myself enough to put the chopper safely down and backed out from under it. Closer, more agonizing grunts caught my attention, and I glanced to my left. A young man sat rocking back and forth, stomping the dirt with one leg while clutching the knee of his other, his face contorted in agony. Through a blood-soaked rip in his pantleg, I could very clearly make out a jutting spur of broken bone. A sight that made my stomach turn into a bucking bronco with the sole urge to kick out any contents it had left. Then a huge surge of guilt and shame quelled my queasiness.

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  How could I have done something so awful?! I didn’t want to hurt anyone that badly. I have to make things right. I shook myself and stepped towards the man.

  The second he caught sight of me walking towards him, he let out a different scream and tried to push himself away.

  “G-get…GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME! STOP! GET BACK!” he shouted.

  I winced and paused. Previously I had enjoyed the expressions of shock and awe in the men’s faces when I overtook them with ease, but the way this man was looking at me now … his eyes were filled with fear and pain. And it was all my fault. Eyes welling with tears, I sank to my knees a few feet away, wings flattening in the dust.

  “I … I-I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to do this to you,” I choked. “Please, don’t … don’t be scared of me. I need to make this right. I won’t hurt you again. I promise.”

  The soldier froze, staring at me, still shaking from the adrenalin combating his injuries, but his expression softened just the slightest. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, hissing and screaming through clenched teeth as he clutched at his leg again. I scooched on my knees through the rubble until I was within reaching range. Gently grabbing the ankle of his boot in one hand, I held my other over the man’s leg. Energy filled my hand again and I directed it down with determination, putting all my will into healing what I’d broken. The golden light glowed more fervently, saturating the soldier’s skin. His eyes shot open with a gasp as he watched the nebulous aurelian strands pull his bone back down into place. I could tell by his face that he wasn’t feeling any pain, and my hearts swelled in relief. I traced my finger over the tear in his skin, leaving behind a bright line that faded into a faint scar before I pulled any remaining energy out like a suture thread.

  “Huh … uh …… th-ank … thank you,” he stammered faintly.

  I nodded and smiled, intending to set off and right the other wrongs I’d unknowingly caused, but then a chill raced down my spine. I heard footsteps … walking footsteps … coming up behind me. Jumping up, I turned to see a dark figure, half crouched, keeping to the shadows on the side of the airbus. A pistol was in his hands, the barrel pointed down but one finger beside the trigger. Special Agent Avari had never looked more like a panther than he did in that moment as we locked eyes – predator to prey, hunter to hunted.

  I took a slow step back.

  He took a slow step forwards.

  I turned invisible so fast I scared myself.

  Some subconscious part of my fight-or-flight instinct must have triggered it, because in all the emotions and chaos I’d completely forgotten I had that ability. I almost laughed at the complete look of utter confusion on Agent Avari’s face as he stood upright, blinking and squinting at the spot where, to him, I’d just been standing. Composing myself, I tiptoed back a few feet to spread my wings and took off. For a few seconds I hovered over the quarry and the warzone now surrounding it, extending telepathic feelers towards the bodies that still lay unmoving on the ground. I breathed a great sigh of relief when I detected life signs in every single one. The man I’d healed was now standing and testing out his leg.

  At least I was able to do something good. I frowned, looking down at my shimmering, translucent hands. I need to get a handle on my powers somehow. I can’t lose control like that ever again.

  Easier said than done, because now I knew every time I used my energy, Agent Avari would know exactly where I was. Me and my friends.

  I gasped and almost dropped out of the sky. Aye-yah, pahla! Brynn and Brooke and the guys must be worried sick! How long have I been gone?!

  I flapped around and flew off in the direction I’d come from, roughly remembering the landmarks that marked my path. Soon the smoke plume of burning airbuses was just a sooty smudge in the dark sky behind me. Something in my gut said it was the very early hours of the morning now, everything still pitch black and silent, almost deafeningly so. Thankfully I had the rush of wind in my ears and the faint rustling whoosh of my wings to provide a bit of relief. My wings, however, began to ache something awful after a few minutes and then I realized my whole body felt like a giant bruise. There was a weird, painful spasm in my right thigh too.

  Limping through the air, it seemed like it took ages before I finally saw the little clearing on the bluff that I’d had so much fun on just hours ago. My ankle twinged when I hit the ground, but I pushed on and ran into the forest, tripping and stumbling over roots and rocks in the darkness. The sight of the little moss-covered cabin made me want to cry with happiness and I pounded up the porch steps, almost crashing through the screen door and nearly pulling the front one off its hinges. I collapsed onto the floor with a groan, the pain in my leg getting even worse, propping myself up on one arm as a light clicked on in the living room.

  “Genesis!” Matt leapt up from the couch and ran over to me. “Oh, my God, where were you? What happened? And why do you smell like someone poured jet fuel on a campfire?”

  “Erg … long story short, I went and tested out Lucas’s theory,” I winced as he helped me sit up.

  I heard more footsteps and looked up to see Brooke, Brynn, Lucas, and Conor come running out from the back bedrooms. They gasped at the sight of me, so I was sure I was in just as bad a shape as I felt. Brooke looked about ready to burst into tears as she clapped a hand to her mouth.

  “Geni, your leg! You’re … you’re bleeding!” she exclaimed.

  I looked down at the aforementioned part of my body and stared in confusion. There was a round hole in my jeans the size of a nickel, the fabric around it soaked with a long smear of … gold. The liquid oozing from the now incessantly throbbing wound in my upper thigh was the color of honey, glassy and yellowish, sparkling like it was full of powdered pyrite but had the opalescent rainbow sheen of oil. I pressed my hand against the injury and sucked in a sharp breath, the golden fluid gushing hot between my fingers. It was most definitely my blood, but why was it gold?

  “We were so worried when you didn’t come back! Where were you? How did this happen?” Brynn questioned as she snatched a roll of paper towels from the kitchen.

  I held up my hand, studying the glittering substance on my skin, mumbling almost to myself. “I must’ve gotten shot when I … when I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t even feel it until now.”

  As Brynn and the others helped clean my wound, I explained most of what had happened at the quarry. When they were done, I looked back down at the puncture in my thigh. Now that it was clean, I could see how my muscle had been pulverized, making my insides curl up in knots. What was even worse was I could feel something inside the hole in my leg. Something hard and smooth buried in my flesh, just out of sight. The nausea I’d experienced at seeing the soldier’s broken leg came back plus interest and I felt the color drain from my face as I wobbled a bit.

  “Whoa, hang in there, Geni. You’re gonna be alright,” Conor steadied me with a hand on my shoulder.

  “There’s no exit wound, so the bullet must still be in there. Lucas, go get the needle-nose pliers from the bench out back,” Matt instructed, also telling Brynn and Brooke to retrieve rubbing alcohol, scissors, and boil some water.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Matt?” Brynn asked as she handed him the scissors.

  “Trust me, I’ve seen this done in every classic action movie there is. Don’t worry, Geni, we'll have you patched up in no time,” he reassured as he cut a wider section out of my pants.

  “Okay, just … please … hurry,” I whimpered, becoming woozier by the second.

  Lucas came back with the pliers which Brooke helped sterilize in the boiling water. She then handed Matt a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and he poured a little over the wound. I clenched my teeth and muffled a cry, squeezing Conor’s offered hand so hard his fingertips turned purple and his eyes watered. As I mouthed an apology, Matt took the pliers and delicately poked them into the bullet hole. I tried desperately not to pass out or completely bite my tongue off as I heard and felt metal touch metal.

  “I got it, I got it, hang on,” Matt murmured as he adjusted his grip on the pliers.

  Then he pulled out a copper shell no bigger than a pencil sharpener, and it was over. I let out all the air I’d been holding in, my nausea immediately lifting. A warm, tingly feeling bloomed around the wound, and I watched the puncture knit itself back together in a matter of seconds, leaving nothing but a slightly pale and perfectly round spot. The blood I’d lost also dried up in an instant, becoming a dark bronze dust that crumbled off my skin and clothes.

  “Huh … I guess my body just does that,” I blinked blankly.

  Brooke dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Genesis. Me and Brynn were so worried. The guys went back to the picnic spot and called for you for like an hour after it got dark.”

  I hugged her arms, leaning my head against hers. “I’m sorry I made you guys worry so much. I knew going out there was stupid, but I thought I could handle it. Guess I was wrong.”

  “We’re just glad we could be here to help when you came back. If I were you, I’d be a mess!” Brynn shook her head with a laugh.

  As she, Brooke, and Conor helped me up, I realized Matt was still sitting, studying the bullet he’d removed.

  “What’s wrong, Matt?” I asked.

  He scowled, prying at the edges of the slug with his fingernails. “There’s something off about this bullet. It doesn’t feel right.”

  “You think there’s something inside it?” Brooke questioned.

  “Maybe,” Matt tugged at it again with no effect.

  “Here, let me give it a try,” I held out my hand and he tossed it over.

  Finding the seam he’d been fiddling with, I pinched the bullet in my fingertips and pulled. The crack widened and my friends gasped, leaning in more. With a metallic popping sound, the projectile split open, revealing its contents.

  “No way! It’s got a microchip in it!” Lucas exclaimed.

  There was indeed a small green square of circuitry surrounded by a soldered framework of metal bits and some plastic components. My blood ran cold when I looked closer. Inside one of those tiny boxes, a little red dot was flashing. Energy surged down my arms and my hands glowed white hot, the bullet melting right out from between my fingers. Matt scurried back as the liquid metal dripped onto the floor by his feet.

  “Geni, what are you doing?! I thought you said those CIA guys can track you when you use your powers?” he yelped.

  “It doesn’t matter now.”

  I stared out the still open front door at the sky growing lighter by the second.

  “That bullet was a beacon. By now, they already know where we are.”