She hoped.
The ’Gast let out a string of clicks, and several shells stopped what they were doing and shambled toward where she and Brighton stood.
Simone knew that if they stayed put, eventually one of the shells would bump into them by sheer chance.
Time to move.
She tugged on Brighton’s hand, pulling him forward, closer to the ’Gasts. By the time the shells made it to where she and Brighton had been standing, they were ten feet closer to the hammer. And to the Fractogasts.
She waited until the ’Gasts were convinced that all was well and went back to work before she rose up to whisper to Brighton. She was close enough that her lips grazed his skin as she spoke. “Boom in ten.”
He mouthed the question. Boom?
She put a single finger to her mouth, nodding.
Tension radiated from his body. Whether he was nervous because of the impending boom, or if it had more to do with him fighting his urge to save those poor souls, she couldn’t be sure. And she wasn’t about to speak more than absolutely necessary to find out.
The pair of small detonators in her purse were easy to reach, even one-handed. She flipped open the safety cover on the leftmost one and pushed the button.
A second later, a deep, rumbling boom shook the ground beneath her boots.
Brighton’s arm came around her, his grip strong enough to drive the air from her lungs. He spun her body, putting his own between her and the blast.
Immediately, shells began hurrying toward the noise on the northern side of the building. Both ’Gasts abandoned their post, shoving their human puppets aside as they funneled out of the room.
Within seconds the space was empty.
“What was that?” asked Brighton.
“Safety net. We’ll only have a few seconds before they figure out it was just a distraction.”
“You get the hammer. I’ll get the people.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but it was too late. He’d already let go and was at the side of the young man, unbuckling the metal bands holding him in place.
Simone released the effort it took to remain invisible so Brighton would be able to find her. She sprinted for the platform and grabbed the handle of the red-hot hammer.
He lifted the kid down and held him on his feet while he regained his balance. He tried to talk, but no sound came out.
“Just hang on,” said Brighton. “We’ll be out of here in a second.”
Brighton thrust the kid at Simone, forcing her to set the hammer down by her foot so she could hold the kid up without burning him.
He clung to her, and the desperation in his grip was one she remembered all too well.
Brighton stopped in the process of freeing the older woman. “She’s gone,” he said.
“Not for long. They’ll start her heart and lungs back up again as soon as they see she’s dead.”
The Fractogasts would reanimate her body, just like they had all the rest.
“Can you stand?” she asked the kid.
He nodded and braced his feet apart.
“Did you know that woman?” she asked.
He shook his head.
Good. She didn’t want the kid to have any more scars than he already would.
She pulled out a knife and went to the woman’s side. With one well-aimed thrust, the blade slid in between her ribs, severing a major artery near her heart.
The ’Gasts might have been able to keep bodies moving, but they couldn’t repair that kind of damage. The old woman would never be used again.
“Time to go,” said Brighton, grabbing the hammer from the floor.
She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to cloak all three of them, but she was sure as hell going to try.
She took the kid’s hand just as another giant Fractogast lumbered out from a connecting hallway.
Reflexes honed from years of self-preservation had her hiding her presence instantly. The kid shimmered out of sight right along with her.
Brighton, however, was still visible.
The ’Gast saw him. Its beady eyes flared in recognition and it headed straight for him.
4
Marcus stepped in front of Simone and the boy as they vanished from sight. “Run,” he whispered. “I’ll hold them off.”
He briefly considered giving her the hammer, but it would have been visible, giving away her location. Assuming she was even still within arm’s reach.
Marcus hoped like hell she wasn’t.
As the Fractogast closed the distance, he pulled his ax from the loop on his belt, slid the hammer in its place, and rolled his wide shoulders. In an instant, all of the training his father had forced on him came roaring back.
A fluid strength filled his limbs, leaving no room for fear. He fixed his grip on the haft and swung like his life depended on it. Which was fitting.
The creature’s long arms gave it an unfair advantage. Marcus misjudged the ’Gast’s reach and took a heavy blow to the side of his head for the mistake. He was so stunned by the hit, he didn’t realize that he’d been airborne until he landed. Hard.
His shoulder rammed into the device that had just drained that old lady. The whole ring rocked on its cables, detaching luminous filaments in a shower of sparks.
His body crumpled to the ground, unable to move. His ears rang, and he wasn’t even sure which way was up.
Pain finally caught up with the trauma he’d just endured, and the left side of his body began to throb as if it were still being pounded.
Marcus took the pain as proof he was still alive, and pushed himself up, using his ax as a cane.
The ’Gast was almost within reach again. Another slug like the last one, and Marcus wasn’t sure he’d be able to get back up.
A quick glance around the room showed nowhere to hide. The darkened corners and the space behind a giant shipping container would only cage him and serve as a surface the ’Gast could bounce him off.
Running was an option, but for all he knew, he’d head right into another Fractogast and have two to deal with. Or a pile of shells. Those weren’t the kind of odds he’d survive.
So he did the only thing he could think to do. He backed up onto the raised platform to where the newly finished ring stood.
Energy emanated from the thing, blasting him with a wave of mental heat as he approached. The machine was powerful. Now that he was close, he could sense that not only had it been completed; it had also been activated.
This was the thing he’d felt before—the machine that would bring more Fractogasts to kill innocents. And it was revving up fast, getting ready to do its job.
A device this intricate and powerful had to be precious to the Fractogasts. He was counting on it.
Blood dripped along his temple. The steps leading up to the device seemed almost impossibly steep. He managed to climb them only by using the ax to steady himself.
He didn’t dare turn his back on the ’Gast. Inching backward took time, but as he got closer to the machine, the creature began to hesitate.
Rapid clicks poured from the thing’s mouth, so fast it almost sounded like the beating of insect wings. Marcus had no clue what it was saying, but the closer he got to the machine, the faster the clicks came. The steady stream of sound got louder, and the ’Gast came to a halt, holding up its elongated hands.
Marcus froze in place, trying to figure out his next move. Dizziness and pain made thinking almost impossible. As it was, they were at an awkward stalemate, and every second he held it was one more that Simone and the kid had a chance to get away. He didn’t want to do anything to mess that up. At least they could warn someone of what was about to happen.
Seconds ticked by. Two more Fractogasts entered the room. He couldn’t tell if they were the same two Simone had drawn away with her safety net or not. For all he knew, there were dozens of the things lurking in this building.