Trace

Twenty-Five

"Alright, people, listen up!" Phoenix said, calling the chattering bunch of nervous bodies stuffed into the cabin to order. Trace moved her sluggish eyes over to her, stifling a yawn. She'd been up all night again, watching the army on the horizon move closer and closer. When Glint had come to relieve her, she hadn't slept a wink. All she could think of was that this is all my fault.

"We've got the UA on the horizon and they're heading our way and we've got to do something now." She said, tapping her finger down on the crude map Wiki had drawn. A cross marked in charcoal smudged under her fingertips. "We can't execute our master plan yet, but we sure as heck can fight. Now, I know what you're all thinking- they're gonna slaughter us, we're gonna die, this is murder." Her eyes moved across the crowd like an eagle skimming the top of a lake. "Well, let me be the first to say we are not. We're stronger than they are. Even if we have less numbers, we're mutants. They're not. We have powers they would never even dream possible. And we need every one of you."

Her words weighed heavily on Trace's tired mind and at that moment, she could think of nothing worse than going out there and fighting against the UA. But if I don't, she thought, I'll have let down Glint and M and Demon and everyone else who are counting on my help to win this thing.

But, again, all she could think about was how the army that was marching to their doorstep was her fault.

***

She was nervous, then. Jay frowned from his position at the back of the room, causing Daniel to look over his shoulder at him.

'What?' He asked, his voice sounding incredibly loud in Jay's head.

'She's nervous.'

'So she should be.' Daniel turned back around, his arms folding neatly in a tight cross. 'She is going to die.'

'Trace doesn't know that.' Jay shot back.

'Don't tell me you've actually started to feel for the girl, Jay.' Daniel growled.

'Why would I? She's just a piece in this game we're playing.'

Daniel snorted, hidden under the chatter of the mutants in the room. Jay was as far away as possible from the nearest one, a boy with silver hair and blue eyes. 'A piece who's about to be destroyed'.

'As it should be.' Jay confirmed, a slight nod of his head indicating the conversation was done.

Two moments of silence, blissful, peaceful silence, before Cunningham barked, 'It's time.'

With a grunted 'Okay', he walked forwards, Daniel close on his heels. Phoenix turned her attention to him and instantly he felt his insides melt and turn to jelly. Swallowing thickly, he rewet his lips.

"We're going to go swap with Demon."

She nodded, waving them on, turning her attention back to the map, speaking to Wiki and Glint about some sort of plan. 'It'll never work.' Daniel said, walking outside with a click in his heels and a swing in his arms. There was that pang of jealousy in his chest again. Jay forced it down into the very depths of his body.
It's almost time, he thought.
'Now' Daniel slipped into a lopsided tent, Jay ducking in after him, his fingers playing with the gun hidden by his shirt.
A shout, muffled by the canvas, came from outside, followed by the scuffing of boots. Jay shared a nod with Daniel before both slipping out of the tent. The dark skin of Demon's arm disappeared around the wall of a cabin just as the tent's front wall of canvas flapped shut.
Now they had to work quickly. If Cunningham's calculations were correct- and they always were-they were to stay hidden for fifteen minutes exactly. That would be long enough for this war to be in full swing and long enough for them to be able to reemerge and cause some real havoc.

They hiked up to the watch point, reaching the jutted platform of rock just as the first sounds of battle could be heard from the camp below them. Jay could almost smell the first shower of coppery blood, could almost see the bullets as they found their victims. A longing tugged at his gut, telling him he should be down there fighting the Rebels. He took a deep breath, steadying his shaking hand on his gun.

And forced himself to sit still and wait the fifteen torturous minutes out.

***

Demon's screams, followed by a volley of bullets, sent everyone into a frenzy. Trace found herself pushed to the ground as people clawed, shoved and shrieked in an attempt to escape the onslaught of projectiles being shot at them. People jumped out of windows, slammed open doors and burst through the walls, pummeling Trace with broken wood and some flecks of red that she guessed was blood. She curled herself into a ball in the corner closest to the door, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Her eyes darted around as she watched the cabin empty and bullets pepper the wall opposite her.

She stifled a scream, pressing her mouth against her knees. The exhaustion was now adrenaline, flowing through her veins. A bullet buried itself into the floor beside her. Another scream was muffled by the knees.

I can't do this, she thought, heart thundering in her ears. I can't fight.

But those thoughts were quickly pushed down when something crashed through the roof of the cabin, showering Trace with wood, plasterboard and littering her body with cuts. She glanced up only to find herself face to face with a missile. It hadn't exploded yet but a small, red dot blinked lazily on its side.

Now Trace screamed.

She scrambled to her feet but froze when the missile beeped. A mechanical voice said, "T-minus one minute." The red light blinked faster.

Trace's mind was racing faster than ever before. She tested her legs, pressing them gently down in a step but again, the voice said "T-minus fifty seconds." Her eyes zipped throughout the room. Why hadn't she gotten out before? They found the window closest to her, but it was ten steps away and, by that time, she'd probably be dead.

The voice informed her that she had thirty seconds left.

Could she make it? If she ran, maybe. But the blast would still hit her and probably kill her.

Twenty seconds.

Just as she was about to run for it, a boy with grey hair and blue eyes materialised beside her. "You look like you need some help." He said cheerfully, grabbing her hand just as the voice stated that they had less than ten seconds to get out of there.

"What are you-" her voice stopped short as they disappeared, reappearing outside on the plateau where the weapons were kept. She tried to work moisture back into her mouth but it seemed frozen. Her whole body seemed frozen.

She was still frozen when the mushroom of smoke from the missile explosion fwomped into the air, sending splinters of wood in all direction. Trace felt one snag on her cheek.

Crazed thoughts ran through her head as a collective gasp of horror racked through the crowd and the teleporting boy released her hand.

This is it. This is the beginning of the war. This is all my fault.