Consuming Fire

Chapter 41

"I never thought I'd say this, but it's freaking good to see you!" shouted Marcus from the tree line.

The Agents raised their guns and cocked their hammers. Zac gazed at Mikayla in annoyance.

"Mikayla!" he moaned. "You ruined my act!"

"SHOOT THEM!" screamed Mikayla.

The remaining Agents were slow from the fight, and the new warriors instantly made them nervous. Before they could fire, one of the new women stepped forward, ripped apart her clothes and transformed into a majestic snow leopard, sprinting in a white blur at the closest Agent. At the same time, the short man leapt into the sky and took flight, reaching for a double-headed mutant. She shrieked when he scooped her into the air and dropped her in the lake. The others broke into combat mode. Knives flew, the Agents went down and all of a sudden, Hunter was confident that they were going to survive the fight.

Then she felt a sharp, electric pain in her arm and looked down at her shoulder. A bullet had pierced her skin, opening up a large gash in her arm. She was so distracted by the pain that she didn't hear the roar of an engine until the lake was blinded by light from above. A huge jet like nothing Hunter had ever seen before hovered over them like an alien spaceship trying to abduct them. The few Agents left looked up and started backing away in fear. They shouted 'retreat!' at the mutants. They pulled Mikayla back, but she wouldn't let go of Jet's body. She shrieked and wrenched herself from their arms. They made a desperate decision to leave her and ran back to the shelter of the dark trees, still firing their bullets.

One of the newcomers spotted Ryo sitting on the ground beside the tree where Benji's body lay. Benji was covered in blood.

"Ryo!" the Asian boy shouted.

Ryo whirled, her face a mess of tears. "Mi-kyung!"

They embraced, and Hunter was stuck in a moment of wonder, not sure what to feel. She didn't want to look at the bodies surrounding them.

Mosi and Benji's bodies in particular.

"Hunter!"

She tore her eyes from the massacre of Agents, mutants and her family to see that a ladder had been lowered from the aircraft. Zac was waving at her, urging her to follow them. She didn't know if she trusted where they were going, but it had to be safer than the cabin. She had no choice, not when the Agents were still shooting at her from the tree line.

Hunter ran to Zac. "We can't just leave their bodies here!"

The others were already scrambling up the ladder.

"We don't have time, they could come back with more!"

Hunter was about to follow when she saw Mikayla lying over Jet's body and an idea struck her. She looked up the ladder at the faces staring down at her.

"Ryo!"

The young girl pushed through the crowd. "Yeah?"

"Grab Mikayla!" she yelled.

The jet began to lift off the ground, and Hunter saw out of the corner of her eye that Ryo had appeared on the ground and disappeared a second later. She jumped and grabbed hold of the ladder, looking down at the cabin and the lake where the fire was dying out, thankful the house didn't burn down. At least it would still be there for them when the fight was over.

When she climbed into the jet, the first thing she saw was Joshua's face.

"We can't leave it behind!"

"Leave what behind?"

"Ravenadium!"

Hunter stared at the faces strapping in. The jet was climbing higher into the air. She knew that if Ravenadium was found by any of the Agents, it would be the end of the world.

"Ryo, can you teleport me into Dr. Rosenthal's office?"

She looked exhausted and weakly leant against her brother. "I can try."

"You can do it." She gripped the girl's hand, both of them covered in blood. The jet engine rumbled. "I trust you."

Ryo nodded and then Hunter felt herself teleport through space again. It was a rough landing in the office and she growled when she landed on her sprained wrist and pain shuddered through her body. But she had no time to stop. She reached under the desk for Joshua's briefcase. But as she lifted it from the ground, the clasps came loose and the contents of the briefcase spilled across the floor. She swore furiously, reaching for the first stone she could. It brightened in her hand, rejuvenating her.

"Hunter, we-"

The glass of the window shattered and bullets peppered the room. Hunter and Ryo screamed. Ryo took her free hand and before she could grab anything else they may need, they were in darkness. Hunter gasped, opened her eyes and was back in the jet.

"Take her away, Amelia!" someone yelled. Ryo has passed out and her brother was carrying her away. Hunter was rushed by a handsome man with curly hair into a seat between Will and Joshua and buckled in, the rock still clasped in her hand. She was so numb and exhausted that she couldn't follow the actions of those around her. In less than a few seconds, the jet was at full speed and they were soaring into the night, away from the cabin.

"Did you get it?" Joshua asked.

Hunter held out her hand and smiled at him. "Got it."

Expecting Joshua's eyes to light up, her stomach dropped at his look of utter defeat.

"Hunter, where's the other stone?"

"What do you mean?"

Joshua looked mortified. "There were two."