Planet Omega

Chapter 6

The shaking knocks everyone in that hallway to the ground, and it becomes a game of who can reach for their guns the quickest.

Fuck the gun, this is my opportunity to preserve bullets and go closer range. I lunge at the first guard and lock him in achokehold before grabbing my throwing dagger and plunging it into his neck. The second guard goes down harder, and it takes a couple of stabs to realize he's a pawn, but once I get his head, he too stops moving.

My body feels like it's starting to collapse in on itself, and it gets harder and harder to breathe. I can't tell if I'm bleeding or if I broke something, and the adrenaline isn't giving me enough time.

Don't pass out. Don't pass out.

"Cal, no!" Emma shrieks, and another guard rounding the corner drops after I hear a gunshot from behind me. "We have to go!"

I can see the ladder, it's just a few steps away, and I'm doing all I can to focus on it. I can climb it, I know I can. And the special rifle is around my body so I don't even have to hold it anymore. It's Emma who grabs me by the arm and leads me, then pushes me up first.

More gunfire sounds, and I hear Emma cry out in pain. I've already disappeared from view of the hallway and I push that hatch door up, but Emma had my back this time. I've never been more glad in my life to have forced her to wear a helmet, as heavy as she complained it was. I ignore the warning signs all going off in my body at once as I help Emma up out of the hatch, and then I stand over it looking down.

My hand shakes over the opening from the roof. There had been too many. Too many guards to fight at once. Their response time was too quick.

A cloud of smoke a couple of blocks away distracts me for only a second, before I feel the fury start to fill me up again. I wish I could have personally killed more of them than I got to tonight. Bullets are too good for them. I wish I could have ripped out their throats with my bare hands.

Despite my unsteadiness, the tremor I can't seem to stop in my arm, I grit my teeth and growl in anger. Then, I push in a strong gust of wind using my magic that's supposed to clear that hallway momentarily. I pick up the rifle and wait for the first guard to make it to the bottom of the ladder before pulling the trigger.

"Emma, now!" I shout at her in the heartbeat reaction amount of time it takes for that bullet to make contact. It's now or never. If I can't do this, then we all go up in flames. This is our only chance.

And I see her coming towards me out of the corner of my eye. She's supposed to have used the rope for a quick escape while I finished up. Why is she coming my way? I don't have time to react or respond because I feel it in my blood when the bullet detonates inside that bulletproof vest, and I widen the palm of my hand towards it.

The explosion is almost an instant reaction, and I get slammed out of the way just before fire pours out up the hatch. I'm only allowed to recover for a couple of seconds and then Emma and I make a run for the rope. She's down first and I go after her, but another explosion rocks the walls and cuts our contact with the rope.

We slam onto the pavement from a few feet still off the ground and start running. There's no other option. As the time bombs go off one at a time, we know that's the only escape we get before the entire block explodes.

Everything hurts, and I don't think my legs could go anymore, but the thought of knowing tonight had been a success is what keeps me going. Just a little farther, a little more before we could safety take cover from falling debris and shrapnel.

And...

BOOM!

The energy from the blast forces Emma and me forward and despite our distance, I can still feel the heat on my back. This time, my reaction is quick when I see a break in the street and pull Emma into the alley, allowing the building to shield us.