Rage and Ruin | 2

7 | 5

F I N N

Surveying the battlefield inside the upper story of the fortress, I screamed into Jaxon's earpiece, "Riley, Delphinium, where are you guys?"

There was no response. No one underground had responded to my calls for the past twenty minutes. Jaxon was the only one who I could still get through to now.

      They were supposed to be here a while ago. I was meant to meet them at the top of the stairwell, keeping away any Imperium soldiers that might have broken through the lines of our army, and escort them out. Until they got here, the army would be forced to continue fighting.

And fighting, they were. The entire hall was darker now due to the closed door and it shook with the screams of a thousand furious soldiers. The place was so massive that it could easily accommodate both armies. Sounds of gunshots and guttural yelling was deafening, along with the blaring alarms.

So far, there was no visible winning side. For now, it was all blood, screaming and death. I could barely tell the armies from each other at this point. But what I did know was that the Imperium army was building as more and more soldiers from downstairs were ordered to come up here to fight. They knew we were keeping them stuck in here and therefore, were trying to push us out. If they had as many men in this fortress as Riley had estimated, we would surely lose when all of them joined the battle. That was why I was in such an anxious state while waiting for them to finally show.

After glancing at the ground under the soldiers feet and seeing a horrible number of crushed bodies and severed limbs, I averted my eyes back down the passage.

There, as if my prayers had been answered, were two figures making their way into the light. Riley and Kane. Two soldiers threatened to break away from the group and come toward us, but I shot out a column of flame to keep them at bay.

My two teammates made it through the doorway to the hall. I glanced behind them but no one was there. Stepping close so that they could hear me over the commotion, I asked, "Where are the others?" And I was afraid to hear the answer.

"I don't know," Riley said in a grim tone. "We waited for them at the base of the staircase as long as we could, but none of them came."

"Delphinium went to fight a wave of Imperium soldiers who saw us come from the engine room," Kane told me. "She said that she would make it out, but..." He trailed off and I was glad he didn't finish that sentence. Delphinium had to make it out. We all did.

"There's been no word from Jake or the Czech man he went with. The only indication they even got their job done was through the fact I could access the keypads."

"I see that." My attention turned to Kane. "So you were able to plant the bombs?"

He nodded. "They're ready to be detonated."

"Good. Now..." I glanced back down the dark passageway they'd come from, "We just need the others here to get back out."

We waited in that corner for a few minutes, sheltered away from the chaos. The tension was rising with each passing minute Jake and Delphinium didn't arrive.

Finally, Riley took the earpiece out of her ear and yelled into it, "Jake, Delphinium, where are you?" No response.

     "The signal likely won't make it down there," Kane informed her. "Imperium's cut off all radio waves, so-"

      She ignored him to yell into the earpiece again. "If you two are off having a moment somewhere, I will kill you before Orion can."

      Jake and Delphinium? My face contorted. "You...really think they are?"