Tegan, invisible thanks to Aari, was nauseous with dread and adrenalin. The beast’s nose twitched an inch from her shoulder. She could see each hair on its muzzle, every wrinkle in its protruding brow, and could almost taste the putrid, hot breath. Its lips retracted slightly and its tongue slid snake-like between its fangs.
Please go away,
Tegan begged.
I’ve had my fill of close encounters with these things. Go away!
Aari yelled out to get the Marauder’s attention. The beast purposely ignored him and continued sniffing around. Tegan attempted to stealthily maneuver away from the hellish creature. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead; she tilted her head back to keep them from falling on the Marauder.
The beast growled and whipped around to face Aari. Aari yelped and climbed onto the conveyor belt that ran through the sphere and into the next room. It looked like a tight fit to Tegan but her friend managed to squeeze through just as the Marauder pulled itself into the sphere. When Aari lost line of sight with Tegan, she became visible again. In a single breath, she activated an explosive cube using the shortest time setting available and tossed it in after the Marauder.
The beast couldn’t fit through the smaller opening for the conveyor belt and snapped its head around just as Tegan slammed the hatch shut. Tegan heard the beast battering against the metal door and shuddered when it bellowed. Not wanting to stick around for the fireworks, she left the room only to run into Aari as he exited a smaller passageway between the conference room and the REAPR Fortifier chamber.
“We need to get away from here,” Tegan said, taking him by the arm. “That thing’s gonna—”
The explosion in the metal sphere rocked the entire lab. The friends stumbled and were thrown against the floor. They slowly picked themselves up and tried to shake off the intense ringing in their ears.
“Tegan,” Aari gasped, the cuts in his back making it hard for him to think. “The guard . . . We need to get past him.”
“Yeah,” she said, helping him up. “I need you to cover me. Can you do that?”
“I . . . I think. But I need you to be in my LOS or else he’ll see you.”
“That’s fine. I want you to walk toward him as if you’re surrendering. I’ll be right in front of you.”
“Smart,” he said, teeth gnashed. “Let’s do it.”
It took Aari a few tries before he could bend all the light around Tegan. They walked around the corner toward the guard, who was hurrying down the long hallway toward them with his pistol drawn.
Aari held his arms up. “I’m coming out! Please, just don’t . . . don’t shoot. I’m hurt.”
The guard kept his gun level with Aari’s chest and stopped walking. “Where’s the girl? And what the hell exploded?”
Aari did not answer. As soon as Tegan was behind the guard, Aari dropped the cover. Tegan grabbed a portable fire extinguisher from the wall and raised it high above her head before bringing it down on the man’s dome. The guard turned around woozily to see what had hit him. Tegan swung at him again, catching him on the side of the head. He collapsed, falling over backward.
“You’re a menace, Tegan,” Aari called. “Get that elevator open!”
Tegan picked up the guard by his feet. “As much as I don’t want to say it, we can’t leave this guy down here.”
“Bring him up with us, then.”
“But we can’t leave the other two imbeciles that Marshall took out, either.”
“Argh! Okay, we’ll take them all—just hurry up—the bombs are gonna go off in a few minutes!” Forcing his pain aside, Aari dragged one of the guards out of the vault where he and Tegan had been held.
Tegan retrieved the last man and lugged him to the elevator. “Wait a sec!”
“What now?”
She cupped one hand over another, leaving some space between them, and closed her eyes. The dragonfly she used for reconnaissance buzzed into the elevator, flew through her hands and landed on her palm. She returned to herself and closed her fingers gently around the little creature. “I don’t want it getting caught in the explosion. Not after all it did for us.”
Aari pressed the up button and they ascended. “We’ll have to help Marshall,” he said. “They better not have hurt him badly. Who knows how many guards are holding him down.”
The doors slid open and they pulled the men out of the elevator, through another pair of metal doors, and out through the open loading door of the small shipping bay. They dropped their human cargo when they beheld the scene laid out in front of them. Six men in uniform lay on the ground; the teens couldn’t tell whether they were dead or alive.
Marshall was several dozen yards away, grappling with a black-garbed man. The Sentry’s back was to the friends, denying them a proper view, but the guard dropped to the ground and remained there. Tegan and Aari could hardly process the astonishing scene; one man victorious against seven armed adversaries.
“Marshall!” Tegan shouted. She opened her hand and the dragonfly winged away. “It’s done! The place is rigged, but Aari’s hurt!”
The Sentry turned around and located the source of the voice. He started to respond when he froze, eyes wide. “Move!” he barked. “It’s coming for you!”
The teens, bewildered, turned to see what Marshall was yelling about. A scream tore from Tegan’s throat. Another Marauder was bolting toward them, closing the gap by ten feet with each stride. By the time the message to flee reached their minds, it was too late—the Marauder made a last bound at them.
Marshall somersaulted over the friends’ heads and landed in front of them. Striking out with his foot, he caught the Marauder squarely in the muzzle. He pushed Aari and Tegan out of the way and made to kick the beast again but missed. Turning, he ran toward the submersion test pool that lay to the left. The Marauder, enraged, careened after Marshall. The Sentry dove into the pool, disturbing the stillness of the surface. The Marauder splashed in right after him and both man and beast disappeared underwater.
Aari and Tegan ran over and dropped to their knees by the pool, screaming out to the Sentry. “
Marshall!
”
Their cries were met with dead silence.
J
ag sprinted along the street away from Kody and Mariah, shooting glances over his shoulder. The nanomite swarm was less than twenty yards behind him; its menacing red glow and terrifying bird of prey silhouette made it seem as if he was being chased by a creature straight from the depths of the underworld. The unnerving notion made him increase his speed.
House after house passed by in a blur, all of them devoid of lights. An open plot of land appeared some distance away and he made a break for it. With the speed that he’d built up, he leapt headfirst and flew the remaining distance into the tall, dry grass, sliding into a prone position as he landed. Spitting out bits of soil, he turned to steal a quick look at the nanomites. They spread out into their intimidating sixty-foot span and dove for him as one.
Well that didn’t work,
Jag thought, taking off toward an office building across a narrow street to his right. Bright light emanated from behind the structure and music filled his ears as he got nearer.
The fair! It’s right behind the building!
He evaluated the two-story office block as he ran, searching for a way up.
Agh, there’s no time to climb—I’ll have to jump for it. C’mon, punk! No hesitation!
The nanomites’ glow reflected in the office windows, appearing as though the swarm was rushing straight toward him. Rejecting the disturbing illusion, he bent his knees and launched off the asphalt, soaring higher than the building. He landed on the flat roof, rolling to break his fall. Shaking slightly from the exertion, he scrambled upright. When he saw the nanomite swarm rising up to meet him, he balked.
Crap.
Vaulting over two air conditioning units and an electrical access box, Jag recalled how the Ransom swarm had broken off its pursuit as it approached a streetlight. He hoped that the bright lights from the fair would be a deterrent but the nanomites stuck on his trail. He looked over the edge at an empty, fenced parking lot that lay twenty-five feet below him. Past the fence, an unlit street ran between the lot and the fairgrounds. Taking a few steps back, he dashed toward the edge, leaping far enough to clear the fence and landing on the street in a cat-like crouch.
The nanomites plunged after him and just narrowly missed engulfing the teenager as he reeled out of the way.
I can’t shake them off
, Jag thought, blood pumping in his ears.
Looks like the fair option is out—don’t want to put the townsfolk in harm’s way. Oh, man, what am I gonna do?
He changed course, going left along the street rather than crossing to the fairgrounds. At an intersecting road ahead, a large semi-truck was chugging along with its windows down. Instead of trying to go around, Jag boosted his speed and leapt over the hood of the truck. The driver, shocked by the sudden phantom blur that had sailed by his windshield, hit the horn in confusion but kept moving. Jag swiveled around to check if the nanomites had stopped.
They hadn’t.
Hot in pursuit, the swarm broke formation and swirled past the truck. Some swelled like waves over the vehicle, others rolled under, and still more flew through the open windows. Blinded by the invading swarm, the driver screamed and lost control of the truck. The massive vehicle swerved toward a corner of the fairground parking lot where a mobile crane held aloft a dazzling illuminated sign that read “Welcome to the Vernon County Fair!”
Jag gasped as the truck hit the crane full on and was brought to a nasty halt. The billboard on the crane broke loose from its sling and plummeted to the ground, breaking into pieces and sending sparks flying everywhere.
The terrified driver dropped out of the truck and crawled away, still screaming, but didn’t seem badly hurt. Jag’s relief didn’t last long; the nanomites were closing in on him. He leaned forward, preparing to run, but then saw that the crane, recoiling from the impact of the truck, was beginning to swing—over the fence and directly toward the colorful Ferris wheel loaded with people.
The tip of the crane struck the edge of the large wheel. Fairgoers, mostly children, began to scream as the ride started to tilt off its axis.
Jag took off toward the fair, arcing away from the nanomites. “
No!
” He bounded over the fence and was nothing but a blur as he dashed through the shocked crowd. The wheel leaned in his direction, wobbling precariously toward the ground. Jag took a few more steps then sprang over the shouting mass of people. As he flew toward the wheel, he saw young, sobbing children on the verge of slipping from their seats as they held onto the safety rails for dear life.
Using his momentum combined with a burst of his activated strength, he forced the wheel back upright. The cries didn’t cease but parents were able to secure their children back into the protection of the cars. He maintained his speed as he tumbled off onto the other side of the wheel, moving too rapidly for the crowd to form a picture of what had just transpired.
As he made a break for the fence, the nanomites—still in their colossal bird of prey formation—intercepted him, cutting off his escape route. He skidded, wheeled around and charged into the heart of the crowded fair. The nanomites swirled through the spokes of the Ferris wheel like translucent red flames, flying right by the faces of the startled fairgoers. The swarm ignored them and remained locked onto Jag. Jag picked up speed, maneuvering through the crowd until he was once more nothing but a blur. The nanomites followed by weaving through the throng of people. The fairgoers took notice; confusion turning to panic as fingers pointed at the other-worldly entity streaking through their midst.
Jag, stealing a split second to turn back and check on the swarm, accidentally knocked into a performing unicyclist. The unicyclist yowled as he rolled in reverse and crashed into a clown, who in turn barreled backward into a juggler juggling fire torches; the torches fell to the ground in a cascade of flames and were quickly stomped out by the juggler. Jag continued running but yelled “Sorry!” to the performers, who couldn’t see where the apology had come from.
This place is way too crowded
, Jag thought.
If I keep up this speed I could end up seriously hurting people.
Halfway across the fairground, Jag came to a row of game and food stalls. He bounded up onto the plywood roof of the first stall and gap-jumped the rest of them, not once losing his footing even at his speed. The nanomites clung stubbornly to their pursuit but he was able to stay a few yards ahead of them. He reached the last stall and propelled off, landing on a porta-potty by the fence at the other end of the fair. He nearly slid off but swiftly crouched to regain his balance. A woman inside the porta-potty screamed as the moveable toilet rocked back before settling down again. Jag shouted another apology and jumped over the fence and onto the road.
The sixty-foot wide swarm was upon him. He bobbed and weaved but could already feel a few of the nanomites biting the back of his neck. As he slapped them away, a truck roared up the road toward him. The driver’s window was rolled down and a voice yelled at him to get in.
Kody!
Jag burst away from the nanomites toward the vehicle, slid over the truck’s hood and landed on the other side. He pulled the door open and jumped in. Kody did a skidding U-turn and raced back down the road.
“You’re crazy, Jag!” Mariah scolded, hugging him from the back seat.
Jag put a hand on one of her arms. “I had to do it! I didn’t want to bring them to you and—”
Kody screamed, cutting him off. “They got in! Some of ’em got in! They’re on me!”
Jag unbuckled Kody’s seatbelt. “Switch!”
“Are you nuts?”
“I think we’ve established that I am! Switch, Kody!”
“Alright—ow! They won’t stop biting!
Ow!
”
Jag slid a foot over and put it on the accelerator just as Kody moved his leg. He took the steering wheel from his friend and got into the driver’s seat as Kody wriggled into the backseat of the truck, still trying to remove the nanomites.