Meteorite Strike (24 page)

OH, SARAH…

She looked up to see that the twister was now fully formed, massive and swirling with unreleased energy. Octavio trembled with the effort of keeping it under control. It was now that Bright pushed him roughly aside and took charge of the vortex. Exhausted, Octavio started to crawl away on the ground.

STAY WHERE YOU ARE, OCTAVIO. DON'T YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR BROTHER AND HIS FRIENDS BEATEN? WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH THEM, THEY'LL NEVER CROSS US AGAIN…

With a sweep of his hands, Major Bright sent the twister darting to the right. It collided with one of the shops and tore through the walls and roof. Bricks and glass flew through the air and were sucked into the tornado, feeding it. Major Bright drove it onwards and it ploughed through one building after another. It was then that Sarah saw Robert struggling along from roof to roof as he tried to escape the path of the destruction.

No!
Sarah screamed. With a laugh, Major Bright pushed the tornado faster towards her brother.

Sarah ran forward, but Bright was too fast. Controlling the tornado with one hand, he shot out his other in her direction. His telekinetic force threw her against the smouldering wreck of the tank. She smacked hard against the metal and rolled over. Through watering eyes, she strained to see where the maelstrom was headed.

On the rooftops, Robert struggled to get as far away as possible from the raging twister. There was only one building separating him from it now. Finally, he found a way to jump onto a lower level and then leaped down into the street as the whirlwind ploughed through the shop behind him. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she saw him slide for cover beside an overturned car.

Octavio, help us!

On the ground, Octavio looked up at the sound of his brother's voice. Nestor was standing in the middle of the road, anger etched on his face.

Nestor, I didn't mean for you to get hurt,
Octavio replied, struggling to his knees.
But he's too powerful.

He's too powerful for one of us…

Nestor raised his hands, locking his eyes on the twister. Sarah watched as it slowly began to change course. It moved away from the shops and started coming back into the street. Concentrating on the whirlwind, Nestor forced it back in Bright's direction, his face contorted from the effort of fighting the Major's power.

Pulling herself up, Sarah ran forward. She placed her hands on Nestor's shoulders and concentrated her thoughts on him. She sensed the massive effort that he was making to keep control of the twister.

Nestor, don't give up,
Sarah said as she felt him beginning to waver.

He's too strong, Sarah,
Nestor replied.
I'm not going to be able to stop him on my own…

She focused her thoughts on his mind and the struggle against Bright's power. Her own strength flooded into Nestor's mind and body, supporting him in his effort to wrest away control of the twister. Major Bright doubled his own effort – twisting his face into a mass of rage as he threw everything he had into driving the storm to crush them. The raging tornado spun ever faster between them as they poured in their energy. Sarah felt herself and Nestor beginning to weaken. At any moment Major Bright would break their defence and they would be engulfed.

A hand clamped down on Nestor's shoulder, adding a sudden surge of energy to their own, reviving them. Sarah looked round to see Octavio at his brother's side.

Don't stop now!
Octavio's voice cried out in their heads.
We're stronger than him.

What took you so long, brother…?

With those last words, Nestor pushed the twister with all his might towards Major Bright.

It swallowed him whole.

The whirlwind raged even stronger than before, expanding and turning blacker. Bright was caught in the centre of the vortex, massive forces distorting every fibre of his body. His clothes were in tatters and his skin ripped open in parts. For a moment Sarah thought they would see him torn limb from limb right there. There was an explosive sound, like the sonic boom of a jet aircraft as Nestor directed all of their power forward in one final effort.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Bright's inhuman cry of rage tore through their brains as the twister spun even more furiously, ripping through one of the remaining buildings and carrying on out into the desert under its own unstoppable power…

Nestor gave a cry of triumph:

Get lost!!!

Then, the twister was gone. The main street fell eerily silent.

Nestor slumped, exhausted, on the ground. Sarah and Octavio rolled him onto his back and kneeled over him. They stared at the spot where the twister had stood just a few seconds before. All that was left behind was a single item, torn from Major Bright's uniform: his name badge, bent and misshapen almost beyond recognition, lying in the dirt.

“Where did he go?” Octavio asked softly.

“He got carried away,” Sarah replied.

A faint cry for help rang out nearby.

“Louise!” Sarah ran to the edge of the crevice. Louise and Wei huddled together on the crumbling ledge. Octavio appeared at her side and looked down.

“We have to help them!” Sarah exclaimed. The ledge looked on the verge of collapse.

Octavio nodded and stretched his hand over the edge. It was too far to reach, but that wasn't his intention.

You have to levitate,
he called down to the girl.
I'll help you!

Louise eyed him with suspicion.

“It's okay!” Sarah called back. “He's with us.”

Louise nodded and wrapped her arms around Wei. Without warning the ledge gave way completely – but Louise and Wei didn't fall. Sarah looked round at Octavio and saw his face scrunched with concentration as he lifted Louise and Wei from the crevice with the force of his mind.

“That's it, Louise!” she called down. “Help him!”

Louise nodded with her eyes shut as they began to ascend from the pit. Seconds later they were close enough to reach. Octavio let out a breath and opened his eyes.

“Get them!”

They lunged forward. Sarah grabbed Louise and Octavio caught Wei. With effort, they pulled them out of the crevice and onto the road. For a moment, the four of them lay in a heap, trying to get their breath. Sarah lay on her back and looked at the dust parting overhead. She closed her eyes and gave a sigh of relief.

“I must say, that was spectacular,” a voice said from the edge of the road. “I never thought you'd get the better of Major Bright.”

Sarah turned to see Colonel Moss standing by the side of the ruined tank.

Locked in his arms was the struggling figure of Robert.

Colonel Moss had a gun pressed to his head.

35

The first thing Sarah noticed was that the weapon in Moss's hand was the type that fired bullets, not sleep darts. The threat to her brother was very real. The colonel saw the understanding in her eyes and smiled.

“I'm sure you realize that I'm not afraid to use this,” he said to her as she and Octavio raised their hands. “If you try to get inside my head, I'm going to kill your brother right here in the street. And then I'll shoot you too. Let's keep this simple.”

He turned his attention to Octavio.

“You're grounded. No more Xbox for a month.”

Sarah suddenly felt more afraid than she had done during the entire attack on the town. She saw in Colonel Moss's eyes and sensed in his thoughts that he'd gone crazy. Before, he had wanted them alive to make more of the serum, but now he was even more dangerous: with Major Bright defeated, he would do anything to stop them from escaping the town and telling the world what they knew. He would take them alive if he could, but if not….

Who knows
, Sarah thought to herself.
Amidst all this chaos, he might even get away with it.

“All of you, on your knees!” Colonel Moss shouted, looking round at the buildings that had not been destroyed by the tornado. “Hands on your heads, or I'll start shooting.”

I can stop him
, Louise thought, meeting Sarah's eyes.

No!
Sarah ordered.
It's too risky.

Moss sensed the secret conversation passing between them.

“That's right, Sarah,” he said as he moved closer to her, dragging Robert with him. “Tell them not to do anything stupid.”

Do as he says, Sarah told the others and was relieved when they all obeyed. Only Nestor remained motionless, still unconscious on the ground following the fight against Bright.

Moss fumbled for the intercom on his shoulder.

“This is Colonel Moss,” he hissed urgently. “I have the targets contained. Get back in here.”

Sarah met Robert's eyes and she could see the fear in them.

I'm sorry, Sarah,
he thought.
I tried to get away, but he was too fast.

It's okay,
she replied.
We're not going anywhere with him.

Robert nodded.
I think I can help…

Don't do anything silly…

There's something I've been practising. Haven't got it to work properly yet, but maybe now I've got no choice… Just get ready to run…

Robert closed his eyes, concentrating. Colonel Moss looked down at the boy, as if sensing something was up.

“Wait, what are you doing?” he demanded.

And then Robert disappeared.

Moss stumbled backwards, shocked to find his arms suddenly empty. Sarah gasped and looked around, desperately searching for her brother.

“Robert!” she cried out loud.

Over here, Sarah!

Sarah spun round as he blinked back into existence a few metres away from Moss. The colonel raised the gun reflexively, firing a round with an ear-splitting roar. But Robert had already disappeared again, this time reappearing beside a stunned-looking Louise.

Run!
Sarah screamed to the others and they scattered. Octavio headed for the semi-conscious Nestor, dragging him towards one of the remaining buildings. Robert grabbed Louise and Wei, while Sarah sprinted for cover behind the shattered tank.

A bullet whizzed past her head and she realized that Moss had fired again. She stumbled and hit the ground, tumbling over. She waved the others on into the shops as she struggled to her feet, making to follow them.

“Hold it!” Moss barked, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to see him levelling the gun at her head.

“I don't think any of you are strong enough to stop a bullet, do you?” he said quietly. “Yet.”

Sarah backed away slowly in the direction of the florist's. Colonel Moss followed, matching her pace.

“Was all this worth it?” Sarah asked, gesturing around the wreckage of the town and the unconscious Special Forces soldiers. “You just saw your second-in-command destroyed. Your Superhuman project is over. And all you have left is a gun in your hand.”

Moss shrugged.

“There's a price to pay in any battle,” he replied. “Major Bright was a pioneer. One day everyone's going to want to have powers like you and your friends. Everyone you meet from now on is going to want to know your secret, just like me. I can protect you all, Octavio knows that. Or, at least, he did.”

“Protect us?” Sarah repeated with a laugh. “By keeping us in cells for the rest of our lives? Farming our blood to make serum?”

“Well, there has to be give and take,” Colonel Moss said. He shifted his grip on the pistol as he got closer. “I give you protection and you give me power.”

Sarah stopped walking, sensing that he was actually about to fire the weapon.

“You have to stop this,” Sarah ordered him, her voice full of authority.
PUT THE GUN DOWN.

Moss blinked and shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts. A smile spread across his lips and he raised the gun again.

“Nice try, Sarah,” he spat, “but I've spent enough time with Octavio to not be easily controlled.”

Sarah continued backing away, her heart sinking a little. Then she sensed something unusual happening in the florist's where they'd left the truck. Moss continued his advance.

“I'm not going anywhere with you, Colonel Moss,” she said finally. “I don't like being told what to do. You'll just have to shoot me.
If you can
.”

Moss grinned. “I've done worse in my time, believe me. Normally, I wouldn't destroy such a precious commodity, but since we picked you up, you've been nothing but trouble. Too much trouble.”

Sarah could feel the colonel's finger tense on the trigger…

“Hopefully the others will be more cooperative,” he spat.

Moss was going to do it…

Sarah sensed something else…

She threw herself to the right…

The metal screen covering the front of the florist's shop exploded as the HIDRA truck flew out at high speed. Moss cried out, spinning round and managing to fire off three shots before the back of the vehicle hit him full on, sending him tumbling back across the street. He landed in a crumpled heap, the gun flying from his grasp.

Sarah looked round at the truck as it ground to a halt. The cab door opened and Robert jumped out. She ran over, throwing her arms around him and crying with relief.

“How did you manage to drive that thing?” she asked as the others appeared from the wreck of the florist's and gathered round.

“Louise gave me a push,” he said with a grin. Sarah looked round to see the younger girl standing by the side of the road.

“Is he dead?” Louise asked, looking over at the fallen body of Moss. Octavio left his brother and went over to check the colonel's pulse.

“No, he's alive,” he said. “What shall we do with him?”

Sarah thought it over. She looked at the twisted remains of the tank and a grin spread across her face.