Pausing mid-flight, Ada struggled to think. Rushing to Genevieve in a panic would be stupid. And the people in the camp. If Genevieve and Raymond manage to escape, what about others? Ada shivered when her mind flashed to the crazy weapons the insurgents wielded.
"This is bad. This is really bad." Resuming her flight at top speed, Ada made it back to the camp.
"Haruto!"
"What?" Haruto answered without turning. He was still sitting on the truck's roof with his back turned in her direction.
Flying around him, Ada grabbed his shoulders. "Insurgents!"
Haruto frowned and observed her with a weary stare. "Huh?"
"Insurgents are minutes away," Ada pointed in the direction she saw them. "You have to believe me." She buried her fingers in her hair and glanced around. Genevieve and Raymond were still talking; the entire camp... oh no. "They have guns. What should I do? I should warn—"
Haruto stood. "Show me."
"But—"
"Show me," Haruto repeated with a firm voice. Unlike Ada, he appeared calm. In place of his previous sulking mood was a kind of focus Ada had never seen him display.
Ada led Haruto to the spot, reducing her speed to accommodate his slower flight. To Ada's dismay, she realised the insurgents were much closer now.
"It's too late," Ada moaned. "They are—"
"It's not too late," Haruto cut in. "There is something I can do."
"There is?"
Instead of answering, Haruto winked out of sight and appeared in the nearest security outpost. Ada rushed after him. Two soldiers were snoozing on a bench with a small radio playing local music in the background. Appearing between both men, Haruto touched their temples and shut his eyes.
Understanding dawned. Haruto was tampering with their mind—an action he was harshly punished for in the past. Wasn't this dangerous? How would the Rifters react if they found out he had deliberately altered the thinking of a human? Did the rule even apply to Rifters?
Both men woke up. One yawned as he retrieved his rifle. "I'd go take a piss," he said to the second soldier. "Start your patrol; I'll join you."
Heart squeezing, Ada reached for Haruto. "You..."
"Don't worry about me." Turning away, Haruto waved in a shooing motion. "Go warn Genevieve. Make sure they're as far away from the camp as possible. I'll go to the other guards and lead them to the insurgents."
Nodding once, Ada hurried to do as Haruto instructed.
***
"Can't believe Chima compared me to a butterfly," Genevieve said with an annoyed huff. Come tomorrow morning, she'd give him an earful.
"Don't frown." Ray swiped at the wrinkle between her brows with his thumb. "You're no butterfly. Recall how you bent me to your will, even had me sign a contract. I blinked once and found myself in the middle of an IDP camp. I don't think a butterfly is capable of that."
"If I'm not a butterfly then what am I?" Genevieve frowned again. "Some other cute bug?"
Ray laughed into her neck. "Let's throw the butterfly euphemism out the window, yeah?"
Genevieve was about to reply when she sighted Ada over Raymond's shoulder. The funny thing was that she could see her perfectly in the dark; she gave off a faint white glow. The panicky look in her eyes gave Genevieve a pause.
"You must leave," Ada said in a rush, drawing nearer. "Get up and leave now."
"Huh?" Genevieve blinked at Ada in confusion.
"What did you say?" Ray asked as he planted a kiss on Genevieve's neck.
"I-it's nothing," Genevieve replied distractedly. What's the problem? She mouthed at Ada.
"Bad guys. Insurgents with guns. You need to leave." Ada's eyes were wide with fright. It didn't seem like the cupid was joking.
Genevieve's heart hammered in her chest as cold sweat broke across her brow. Insurgents? Placing a shaky hand on Ray's shoulder, she gently pushed him back and sat up. "We should leave."
"Why?" Ray sat up as well, expression puzzled. "Is—"
There was the unmistakable sound of a distant gunshot.
"Is that what I think it is?" Ray sat straighter.
At the sound of rapid retaliatory shots, Ray pushed Genevieve down. "Stay low."
Panic and raw terror spiked through Genevieve. "Oh, God. What's happening?"
Ada. Where was Ada? One glance around and she noticed the cupid was nowhere in sight.
"Don't you think we should leave?" Genevieve asked with a trembling voice.
"We don't know what's out there yet. Give me a moment to think," Ray said. His hand still rested on her back.
"But the sound of the gunshots didn't sound all that close. Let's leave."
"Have you—" Ray's phone vibrated with an incoming call. Why did it sound so terrifyingly loud all of a sudden?
Ray brought the device to his ear and listened for a moment. "At the truck next to the trees with hanging light bulbs." He paused and listened. "Sure."
After ending the call, Ray took Genevieve's hand in his. "Let's stay put," he said in a low voice.
"But—"
"Our security detail will be here any moment." Ray squeezed her hand. His attention was fixed ahead, and Genevieve looked too. More rapid gunfire. People were beginning to panic. The chaotic sounds of raised voices, crying children and rushing footfalls were increasing. Though the wave of chaos was still at the other end of the camp, Genevieve was certain it would soon reach them.
Perhaps she deserved this. Everyone had warned her. Even Ada said coming here was a bad idea. Now look. "Why did I insist on visiting this place? Gosh, I'm so stupid."
"You're not stupid." Ray squeezed her hand again. "I checked the statistics before I came with you on these trips. This isn't a usual occurrence... at least recently." When another burst of gunshots came, Ray checked the time on his phone screen. 10:03 PM. "Dammit. Where the hell are those guys?"
As if in answer, the four guards showed up. When Genevieve had seen them at the airport, they had seemed normal with plain shirts, jeans and baseball hats. Now they had on black combat gear and held wicked-looking rifles Genevieve couldn't look at twice.
After Ray helped her down the truck, one of the men passed them bulletproof vests. When they wore it, the leader nodded to the left. "This way."
Flanked on all sides by the four guards, they had made it past a few tents when Genevieve suddenly remembered Chima.
Turning, Genevieve took a step in the direction of his tent. "Chima—"
"Please, keep moving, ma'am. Our vehicle is just ahead."
"But Chima is—"
The sound of rapid gunshots ripped through the air. Too close. The sound was too close. Ray pulled Genevieve down and hugged her to his side. "Stay still."
Shivers of great terror racked Genevieve's body. She didn't even notice when tears started falling.
I'm going to die. Oh, God. I don't want to die.
"They are coming from ahead as well," the leader said in a low solemn voice. "If we head for the vehicle, we'll be surrounded."
***
Ada shot to the sky to get a bird's eye view of the camp. When she saw the insurgents coming from the other side, she hadn't suspected they would have more men. Now they were advancing fast to where Ray and Genevieve were.
Haruto appeared next to Ada. "The soldiers are taking care of the..." his voice trailed off. "There are more of them," he whispered in dismay.
Ada glared down at the camp, flinching whenever a gun went off. "Can you stop them?" She asked without looking at Haruto.
"I have never used my abilities to the extent I did today. But I can still try." Haruto sounded uncertain. And his voice...
Ada glanced at him and sighed. The dark circles around his eyes were already a sign that he had pushed himself too hard. "Don't worry. I'll take it from here."
It was suddenly clear what she must do. From her spot above, she spotted ten of them, gleeful in their acts of violence as they advanced even closer to where Genevieve was. They had left the main camp and were heading toward a grove of trees
"What do you plan to do?" Haruto asked in a tentative voice. "I do not like the look in your eyes."
Instead of answering, Ada pulled her backpack over her shoulder and rummaged through its contents. When she found the vail holding a dark pink content, she broke it and drank it in one gulp.
"What are you doing?" Panic was in Haruto's voice now. He must have recognised what she drank. On a normal day, her body was incorporeal, but sometimes they needed to interact with physical objects while remaining invisible during their assignment.
"Ada, if it's what I think you are about to attempt, don't." Haruto grabbed her arm. "It's against the rules to hurt humans."
Ada wasn't listening. Five of the insurgents were approaching the spot, Genevieve, Ray and the security details were. They must have heard something and followed their instincts. If she delayed more, something terrible could happen to Ray or Genevieve.
Snatching her arm away from Haruto's grip, Ada's wings burst through her back even wider and larger than they were before. Releasing a long exhale, she dived.
Ada landed just in time. Spreading her wings, she shielded all six of them from the eyes of the approaching enemy.
But there was a problem. The security details were not aware Ada had made them invisible to the enemy. They raised their rifles, ready to shoot.
Haruto flashed in their midst, and in six quick movements, he touched them—grazing temple after temple until none of them moved.
With her wings still spread, Ada fell to her knees. "Thank you, Haruto. Thank you so much."
Haruto staggered to her side and knelt as well. He appeared even worse than he did before. His cheeks were sunken and his eyes appeared hollow.
"See?" Haruto said with a small shaky smile. "You didn't have to hurt them. You didn't..."
"I swear I heard something," one of the insurgents said. His gun was still aimed ahead. "You think some ran into the bush?"
"He's going to shoot," Ada whispered.
"You don't know that. Don't do anything stupid based on an assumption." Haruto's voice grew desperate. "You'll be dropped if you hurt them."
But Ada was certain of it. She was sure the insurgent would shoot. And even though he couldn't see the six people in front of him, the muzzle of his weapon was aimed straight at Genevieve.
"I have to stop him." Determined, Ada stood. If she did nothing, something horrible would happen. She had never been more certain of a thing in all her existence.
"Ada, please," Haruto begged. He was still on his knees and was beginning to pant. He would be unable to use his powers to change the minds of these trigger-happy men. Only one option remained.
When Ada made her decision, it came with a sense of peace and acceptance. The insurgent's finger twitched against the trigger. "I'm sorry, Haruto."
Shooting forward at full speed, Ada whipped around. Unsure of how hard her wings had become, she struck all five men. There was the sound of breaking bones, the blast of a gunshot, and the heavy thud of five bodies hitting the earth.
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While writing this chapter, I kept telling myself: "Tone down on the action. This is supposed to be a rom-com/urban-fantasy. Do not overdo it." Lol.
I hope this chapter wasn't too much.
Anyhoo, gimme your votes and comments.