Black Equation - The Gifted Ones

Number Thirty-Three

Earthquake.

“Fuck,” he muttered as the ceiling cracked and the floor underneath him gave way to fine lines. He jumped away from the electrical wires and outlets and tucked his laptop under his arms. “Outside, now!”

“But Faye – “

“Fuck.”

The two of them ran and hoped that the building wouldn’t collapse until they were out. With fingers crossed, they made it to the main office and found Rael, Faye and Krad under a table. The ground was still shaking.

“Out, out, out!” Arashi was shouting. “The foundation of this building is bad!”

He seized the injured blonde and carried him on his back. They managed to leave just in time. There was a delay because Faye insisted that they help herd the Light out as well. But Faye was just being Faye. She even tended to some of the casualties.

Rael was exhausted. With the last of his strength, he painstakingly managed to close the hole in Krad’s chest. About the massive blood loss, there was nothing more he could do.

It’s all up to Krad’s own health whether he would fully recover or not.

“Go to sleep,” Ivan told him. “I’ll watch over you.”

He wouldn't protest to that.

“Thanks.” He drifted to sleep at once.

Arashi’s hands kept twitching as he warily scanned the area. They were in the open field near the edge of the island. The Light hadn’t recognized them yet, but they were surrounded.

Their position? Extremely dangerous.

“Arashi. Do we have more bandages – “ Faye was saying, but he abruptly cut her off.

“We can’t stay here any longer.”

“What?”

“With the magnitude of the earthquake, I have no qualms that we will have a tsunami in less than half an hour. A wave at least fifteen meters tall,” he spoke, his voice trembling as he watched the sea retreat from the shores. “With the barriers broken, it will completely wipe the whole island out.”

Faye’s eyes widened considerably.

“The Command has two submarines left, but we have to hurry – “

“No,” she said firmly, already aware of his suggestion. “We are not leaving these men alone.”

Ivan and Arashi looked at her like she totally lost it.

She continued in a louder voice, so that everybody could hear her. “Their leader is missing, and there’s no more reason to fight. We must all work together and survive.”

When no one spoke or contested, she started firing orders.

“Ivan, contact dad and tell him what happened. Announce to the whole island that the war has ended and that a tsunami is headed this way.”

“Arashi get a number of men here and scavenge whatever supplies and food you can find.”

“You,” she pointed to another man, “count the heads of the survivors and divide them via their expertise and Gifts. We need to be efficient. Make smaller teams and make sure there is a tracker in each of them.”

“And you, help me with the injured,” she told a woman holding a roll of gauze. She studied everyone’s faces. “If there are any strategists here, please come forward!”

“Who are you to boss us around?” the man lying by her feet snarled at her.

She rolled her eyes at him as she pressed a hand over his broken arm.

“I’m leading you, not bossing around. Now, get on to your tasks! I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be fish food, thank you very much.”

When everyone started moving, Arashi discreetly pulled her away.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” he asked, his lips a thin line of disapproval. “These are our enemies.”

“They are people too, Arashi,” she replied. She was breathing hard, like suddenly, air was deflating from her lungs.

“Two submarines will not fit everyone, and if we travel in such a large group, we won’t reach there in time.”

She kept her face blank.

“We will make this work,” she said, adamant.

“Be reasonable. Be realistic. You can’t save everyone. It’s impossible.”

“But – “

A third voice joined their hushed conversation.

“It’s not impossible.”

Their heads turned, and they saw Falcon, Richard and Atom running towards them. It was Atom who spoke.

“What are you doing here?” she exclaimed. “Shouldn’t you be – “

“These are my men, and I am responsible for their lives,” Falcon answered, and that earned him a grin from her. He looked around, and saw smiles from the faces of the members who heard him. It was a refreshing feeling.

Richard pushed Atom to her. “Isn’t this better?”

“Yup,” she smiled back. Definitely better. “So, what’s the plan?”

“This island is one giant warship,” Richard explained, sharing a glance with his father. “We simply have to make it move.”

Arashi cut him off. “We used up the energy reserves for that, all eight hundred thousand megawatts. The island will not move. It’s impossible.”

Falcon raised a condescending brow.

“What are we? Decoration? That’s why you have two electricity users here, niño. Extra batteries.”

Wow. It brings me good vibes. =) Sorry if things seemed rushed. Is the pace okay? Did you find any problems? I’ll get back to this once I’m done with the entire story.

Thoughts? Comments?

P.S. I’ll be posting the details for the BE Fan Fiction Contest! Are you excited? I am! The EPILOGUE will be posted some time next week. Daily uploads did a number to my head. I just need to let my brain rest for a while.