After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) (6 page)

The crack of gunfire erupted in the air, drowning out the noise of the flames. The escapees made no sound as the bullets cut them down in their tracks. Their bodies fell into the desert sand and raised a small could of dust. The ATC agent couldn’t hit them all. He shouted again to his comrades. The remaining EOS prisoners looked longingly into the distance as the men ran into the desert.

The buildings were almost fully engulfed by the time the ATC trucks along with a small fire truck appeared at the edge of the worksite. The ATC guard and agent shouted at the new arrivals about the escaping prisoners. The ATC guards hoisted their guns and in a line of fire, mowed down every prisoner standing near the fences. The remaining EOS prisoners, including Dream Paivi and Peter, moved toward the front of the burning buildings, attempting to separate themselves from the escapees.

The fire crew began to spray hoses from their tanker truck onto the fire, but the fire continued to rage as the guards with guns jogged around to where Dream Paivi stood. At the front of the group was a man Paivi remembered all too well, though she had never learned his name. He didn’t need one. She pictured the image of him beating her dad clearly. His gravelly voice echoed in her head. With a smile, he shoved a new magazine into the base of his gun and began firing into the crowd.

Paivi screamed as she watched the dream version of herself fail to react.

"Do something," Paivi screamed at her dream self.

One of the bullets pierced Dream Paivi's heart, her eyes widening with shock. She touched her shirt where blood poured out in a flood, drenching her ragged shirt. Dream Paivi dropped with a thud to the ground, as did all the other EOS prisoners around her.

When the gunfire ended, a heap of humans tangled together in their final agony lay on the ground in front of Paivi.

"Glad we stopped that. These EOS pricks aren't escaping my camp," the man with the gravelly voice shouted at the other guards. "Now go get in the jeeps and round up the rest. They won't make it far in the desert, not without wheels."

*

Paivi awoke in the dark room, her breathing ragged. Her mouth was as dry as the desert that surrounded her. She leaned up against the head of the bed, doing her best not to disturb the others.

Her hand was on her heart, every beat ringing in her ears.

She was still alive.

For now.

Chapter 7

The pale light of dawn crept over the horizon. Paivi shuffled forward in the line to receive her morning bread and water. Her stomach was twisted by the same unseen force that put grenades in her heart. With a deep breath meant to quiet the explosive thudding in her chest, she took another step forward, hands out. The ATC guard dropped the bread and water into them and Paivi stepped to the side.

"You look horrible," Molly whispered as they made their way through the crowd toward their barrack.

"I feel horrible." She took a bite of bread and chewed. She could have been eating rocks. She tasted nothing. Her body urged her to take in food for strength even though her soul was sick with the prospect of what would happen later.

According to what her parents had told her over a year ago when she had first discovered her powers, she had no chance. There was no way to interfere with fate. If it chose to take her, that was that. She was going to do her best to avoid the burning of the showers. But she was sure death would come for her, if not then, sometime.

Maybe she was not meant to survive this.

Maybe she was meant to be the martyr.

Die for the cause.

She wished Torsten were here. He could ease her fears simply because he could do what she could not. Save her from death.

"You're scaring me a little, Paivi," Molly whispered.

Peter arrived, squeezing between two EOS prisoners who blocked the path between the barracks.

Are you ready?
He pushed the words into her mind. She could see them, floating in her mind's eye, suspended in air.

There's been a change of plan
, she pushed back.
Please, I don't know exactly what's going to happen. But you have to trust me.
She tried pushing the same thoughts into Molly's mind at the same time.

She was relieved when the messages came back from both.

I trust you.

A few of the guards blew their whistles and the crowds around them finished up their meager meals and drifted toward the courtyard.

Paivi took one last look at the roll of bread in her hands. She ripped it in half and gave a piece each to Peter and Molly. They looked back at her, their eyes reading concern, but they said nothing and swallowed down the extra bread.

Paivi chugged her bottle of water and threw the empty bottle on the ground.

She took one last look at her new friends and turned toward the courtyard.

She wondered if there was still time to find her mom, she hadn't seen her in days, hadn't even been able to get close. Paivi picked up the pace, hurrying toward her mom's barrack. She pushed past prisoners, some giving her dirty looks and whispering.

She caught a glimpse of her mom in the distance, just about to enter the courtyard. Her mom was too far to hear her if she shouted.

Mom!
She pushed toward her mom, across the distance. She hoped it worked this far away.

Her mom stopped dead in her tracks and spun on her heel, facing her across the crowd. Paivi hurried towards her, not bothering to excuse herself as she plowed through the thick crowd of people as they arrived in the courtyard for their morning attendance.

They stopped in front of each other. Paivi was afraid to touch her mom, for fear of the ATC guards noticing. She didn't want to give them any cause to pay attention to her.

She stared deep into her mom's eyes, pushing every bit of love across the small distance between them, and also her uncertainty and nervousness. She wished she had the time to tell her everything.

A tear slipped from her mom's eye, washing a clean line down her filthy face.

Paivi wanted to grab on to her, to hold her and have her mom tell her everything was going to be okay. But nothing was okay anymore. And mothers and fathers had no way of protecting their children from the evil that surrounded them. Even with her mom standing before her and a few friends around like Molly and Peter, Paivi was alone.

No one could protect her. But she would do her best to protect them if it killed her.

More whistles sounded around her and the group carried them in a wave toward the courtyard. There was no more waiting. She couldn't put off the future any longer.

Paivi's body moved as if it weighed a thousand pounds. Her feet struggled with each step to move her to her spot in the reddish-brown dirt courtyard. The world moved in slow motion. Whistles sounded, hearts pounded.

Paivi took her place and rooted her feet to the ground. Her head rose, eyes taking in the souls around her. Thousands of beating hearts. Thousands of families. Mothers. Fathers. Brothers. Sisters. Friends. Lovers.

But to President Stevens they were nothing. Their bodies would be thrown into pits and covered with dirt and sand, left to rot under the desert sun. Thousands of hopes and dreams, buried in a grave in the desert, hidden from the world.

But she would not go quietly into the night and neither would they.

The ATC guards made the rounds. They muttered as they checked numbers against those on their tablets. While they shuffled through the rows, the PA system squealed to life, the feedback echoing through the courtyard. Paivi winced at the sound, but was too focused at pushing the energy through her body to every edge. Her skin vibrated with it, and she only hoped she wasn't glowing gold like the sun.

"EOS prisoners, barracks one through five are to report to the new showers at the edge of camp at the conclusion of the workday. You will be testing out the new shower facilities. We hope to have these up and running to help contain the bacteria and lice that have invaded the camp. Meet there directly after work hours. You will receive your dinner after the showers." The ATC agent's gravelly voice rang out from the speakers.

Rage surged through Paivi.  

His lies echoed through the courtyard.

There would be no dinner for barracks one through five. There would be no future for them.

Paivi directed her rage through her feet and into the ground.

The earth rumbled. EOS prisoners around her grabbed each other, startled. The ATC agents held their arms out, trying to steady themselves. One near Paivi dropped his tablet and scrambled to retrieve it from the ground.

Paivi sent another wave of energy into the ground, this time with more force. The ATC agents around the perimeter of the courtyard scrambled toward the giant gate that led out into the desert. They held their guns at the ready and trained them on the rows of EOS prisoners.

The earth rocked around them. The guard towers swayed dangerously above them. The frightened ATC guards posted high above tried to hold their positions as the bases of the towers shattered under the violent shaking. There were screams from the crowd, from the EOS prisoners and ATC guards alike, as the towers crumbled with a roar. The ATC guards were thrown from the towers and tumbled to the ground. For a moment the entire courtyard disappeared in a cloud of dust.

It gave Paivi an idea. She pushed a few words out into the heads around her. She wasn't sure how many people she could reach, but she hoped at least some of them. She could use their energy. Her body was beginning to shake and she didn't want to lose the momentum. This was their chance.

She watched as the people around her grabbed hands, heeding the words she sent through the air. She grabbed the arm of the girl next to her.

"Put your hand on my shoulder!" Paivi shouted at the dumbstruck man next to her.

He obeyed.

The EOS prisoners hadn't dared move in the chaos. Through the dust, Paivi could hear the confused shouts of the ATC agents.

Paivi felt the heat of the energy racing through her. It was different than her own. She could sense the essences of the souls around her vibrating under her skin. Through the cloud of dust, the rays of golden light that poured out of her skin nearly blinded her. Good thing she had the haze around her to shield it.

She sucked in a deep breath of dust and dirt, and coughed loudly, but forced herself to focus the energy above her head, raising it up to the heavens like a column of molten sunshine. She did her best to visualize the edge of the lines of EOS prisoners. She hoped none had moved outside of the image in her mind, but she had no choice. The energy must be released.

The energy sucked in around them, pushing the EOS prisoners tight around Paivi before exploding outward from the crowd.

Screams were muffled by the dust and dirt, but made it to Paivi's ears all the same. Nearby, she could hear the deafening sound of buildings disintegrating. Wood cracked and snapped like brittle bones. Windows shattered and bits of glass flew into the air.

And then, there was silence.

Chapter 8

The large group huddled around her. Some of the EOS prisoners sobbed softly, others shook. Paivi could feel the vibrations in her connection to them. Some stood in stunned silence, taking in the destruction around them. The cloud slowly settled over the camp. A layer of dirt dusted their skin.