The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Forty-Eight: Doom Town, Part Two

The chamber lasted a few seconds before caving in.

Judging by the brief glimpse Adam caught of Willow's face, that wasn't supposed to happen. But as ceiling panels began to fall, she froze all the water in the chamber and lifted it into the air, bending and shaping it as she did.

The next thing Adam knew, Eric was grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the others. Sam had his head tipped back, his eyes closed, his face twisted in concentration. The chamber lights flickered a few times before dying. The world went dark.

Metal clattered to the floor around them. Adam tried yelling Eric's name, but he couldn't hear the sound of his own voice. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

The seemingly endless chaos finally ended, and silence took its place. The first rays of light broke through the black. As Adam's senses returned, he struggled to process what had become of the building.

He and the others were standing in the center of a deep crater. Piles of rubble surrounded them. Delta Labs may have survived the first accident with some structure intact, but there was nothing recognizable left now.

Sam collapsed.

"Sam!" Veronica exclaimed. Summer was still leaning on her for support, preventing her from rushing to Sam's side.

Raveena knelt next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I think he'll be okay, but I doubt he's getting up any time soon."

Adam scanned the crater for movement. For any signs of life at all. Gray clouds had overtaken the sky overhead, and smoke drifted up from the crater to fill the air beneath them. The sun, turned a bright red by the haze, crawled toward the horizon. Wind whipped past the top of the crater.

He turned toward where he'd last seen Willow and the Director. It took him a moment to spot the top of the ice dome. It was deeply cracked, but intact enough for anything underneath to be untouched by rubble. Adam started toward the dome, ignoring the concerned shouts from Eric and the others behind him.

The dome shattered abruptly, spraying ice in every direction. The Director climbed out of the hole. Willow followed. As she rose to her feet, light glinted off the pyramid fragment in her hand. Adam ran now, thinking of nothing but getting the fragment from her.

Willow looked his way, stone-faced. A disk of ice took shape beneath her and the Directors' feet and lifted them into the air.

"Adam!" Eric gasped for air as he caught up.

"We have to stop her," Adam responded, still running toward the edge of the crater. The walls were steep, but not so steep they couldn't climb out. The only issue was time. Adam reached the nearest wall, and Eric stopped by his side.

Eric threw a glance over his shoulder. "No one else is going to be able to help us. They're all out."

Adam turned around. Sam still lay on the ground, apparently unconscious, and Summer sat by him with her head between her knees. Raveena and Veronica both crouched next to the two, but as Adam and Eric looked their way, Veronica rose to her feet.

"I can get you up!" she yelled. "Brace yourselves."

A feeling of weightlessness overcame Adam. He drifted off the ground, moving slowly at first, then faster toward the crater rim. At the top, he reached out and grabbed at the ground. His hands found hold, and he pulled himself forward.

Gravity returned, dropping Adam a foot to the earth. Eric hit the ground next to him. They were back on their feet in seconds, running after Willow and the Director who were, in turn, running toward the waiting choppers. More helicopters were approaching on the horizon, though these ones looked different than Scorpion's. SCI's backup.

Ash waited in front of one of the choppers, standing with his arms folded. "What took you so long?" he called to the Director and Willow. His eyes flickered to Adam and Eric as he spoke.

"Get inside!" the Director ordered in response. "We need to go now."

"We're not going to catch up," Adam realized.

Eric slowed and lifted his hands. "We have to cut them off."

Adam focused on the ground between Willow and the Director, and the choppers. "At least it's dry. Should be pretty easy."

"Assuming we don't get rained on," Eric muttered. His gaze darted up to the darkening sky. "Of all the days—"

"Now's not the time!" Adam said. "Ready?"

Eric nodded.

Two fires roared to life in the sparse grass and spread, racing toward each other to form a wall that cut off Willow and the Director. Willow whirled around, eyes wide.

Before she or the Director could run, Adam narrowed his eyes and willed the fire to spread faster. The flames obeyed, trapping Willow and the Director in a large circle.

"Are you insane?" Ash shouted from the other side. "You don't have the practice to control a fire like this!"

That was enough to freak out Eric. "Adam," he said, panic rising in his voice. "I don't think we can—"

"No time!" Adam yelled back. "We have to get the fragment." He charged into the circle of fire.

He burst out of the flames on the other side and lunged at Willow, his outstretched hand reaching for the fragment. She sidestepped, he missed. Before he could try again, something cold wrapped around his legs. He glanced down as the ice crept up to his knees.

"Adam, I swear, one day you're going to understand." Willow took a step back toward the wall of fire behind her, clutching the fragment. "I'm going to change the world with this."

Anger flared in Adam's chest. The ice trapping him melted away. He only managed to take two steps toward Willow before more appeared to lock his legs up again.

"I can keep doing this," Willow said. But her breaths were ragged, and it was clear from her expression that she was low on strength. Then again, so was Adam.

Adam glanced at the Director, who'd leaned forward to peer through the flames.

"Ash!" the Director shouted. "Any second now would be great!"

"Eric! Can you hear me?" Adam called. Come on, Eric. You can do this.

The Director's head turned his way. "You really think he stands a chance against Ash?"

"Fire versus water in a desert?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I think his odds are pretty good."

"Just wait for the rain."

"We'll see what gets here first." Adam melted himself free again—it took a few moments longer this time—and took another step toward Willow.

She backed up further, throwing nervous glances at the fire creeping closer behind her. "Adam," she warned.

The fear in her voice made Adam pause. After a moment, he forced himself to take another step. He extended his hand. "Give me the fragment, Willow."

She moved it back, bringing it closer to the flames. "No!"

Eric's hand reached through the fire and grabbed the fragment.