The Wolf Among Us (Completed)

Chapter 4 - Lightning

Clouds swirled above the community with lightning pulsing inside them like strobes in the pitch-black sky. Every few seconds, a procession of electricity jabbed their fingers at the earth, forcing Magnus to run faster against the wind. By the time he made it to the wall, his clothes were soaked through, and his lungs were on fire, but he sprinted up the stone staircase to find Zemora.

Heading straight for tower two, he found her elbow deep with her crew as they pushed on a lever that wouldn't budge. Frustration rolled from her shoulders like steam, and when she spotted him, her greeting was anything but warm as deep creases formed across her russet forehead.

"What in God's name are you doing on my wall without a suit!"

"What's going on with the tower?" he shouted over the thunder.

"You need to put on a suit!"

He shook his head. "First things first, tell me what's wrong."

"No. Before we discuss anything, you need to put on a suit."

"Zemo-"

"I don't think so!" She held up her hand. "I command these men, and when you step onto my wall, you better be in a suit. Am I understood?"

With hands on his hips, still catching his breath, he nodded. "Ok. Happy?"

"Not until I see you in a suit." She smiled and opened the hatch on the stone floor. "Go on."

He jogged down into the lower level of the wall, taking two steps at a time while gripping the railing. It was an iceberg compared to what a person could see up top. Inside the wall were floor to ceiling glass columns that connected to each tower. Some already held lightning like flittering butterflies trapped in a jar—creating smaller branches of electricity within the cylinder.

The atmosphere was thick with the sound of chambers opening and closing as men from up top, forced lightning down through the glass, sealing it inside. Those working within the wall, had their own system of levers and dials to push the lighting further down into a collection chamber below ground. Samson was leaning against the masonry wall while giving commands through the radio, and the sight instantly aggravated Magnus. Not wanting to argue with him, he grabbed a spare suit from a hook on the wall, but his brother glanced up.

"Mag?" His brows crinkled. "What the hell are you doing down here?"

"I should ask you the same." He grunted while stripping down to his underwear. "You should be doing rounds, not just checking in with the towers via radio. You actually need to see what's going on."

"Excuse me?"

"What's going on with tower two?" He slid into the heavy rubbery suit. "Do you even know?"

Samson slammed his notebook onto the small desk near the radio and exhaled slowly. "For your information, yes, I know. I'm good at my job. In fact, I'm damn good, so I don't need you to come down here to supervise my work."

"I'm not. I'm here to help." He zipped himself up.

"Help?" Samson's brows lifted. "If you want to help, go back to the Weather Room. Zemora and I have the wall covered. So thanks, but no thanks."

"We need to get that chamber working," Magnus replied, his words muffled as he slipped the rubber mask over his head. "There's a lot of activity on this side of the wall, so-"

"You think I don't know that!" Samson cut him off.

"I'm not trying to argue Sammy, but I did this job for fifteen years, which is why-"