Ordinaries: Shifters Book II (Shifters series 2) (15 page)

Chapter 27

More Wizards than Hogwarts

–TANNER–

I look up to see my sister screaming. It sounds like she’s underwater. I realize I am lying down. Kai’s yelling something, and I see Alice. Alice? I must be hallucinating. Alice wasn’t with us.

“Alice?” I ask. “How did you . . . ?”

Alice turns her head and shouts something I can’t make out, then everything goes dark for a second . . .

I open my eyes, and I’m surrounded by people. I think they’re carrying me, but I can’t seem to keep my eyes open long enough . . .

I blink, and I’m in a completely white room. Corey is here with some people who are all wearing masks. I try to talk, but nothing comes out. Something covers my mouth, and I close my eyes again . . .

I hear some scuffling near my head. When I open my eyes, I see Elly’s face only inches away.

She turns her head and yells, “He’s awake again!”

“Your wife was really worried,” Alli says from the opposite side.

Sol
é
and Kyle rush into the room. Sol
é
smiles and says, “Welcome back, sleepyhead.”

“Yeah,” Kyle says. “You missed the whole thing.”

They tell me Marcus called them when we were ambushed. They scrambled the rebel ships and sent all of them to the front of the supply facility. Our little scuffle at the back entrance had left the front nearly unprotected.

Apparently the small force of Shifter guards—which doesn’t sound right to me since the place was
full
of Shifters—was overwhelmed and fled the scene when they became outnumbered. The supply facility is now under control of the Ordinaries. Which is good since Ordinaries now control the supply, transportation, and monitoring systems.

“So, where are we?” I ask Kyle.

“We’ve set up The Conclave and command center in the supply facility. It’s actually a great strategic location. Great job picking it,” Kyle says.

“What?” I ask.

“Ry says it was your idea to take it,” Sol
é
tells me. “You’re so smart.”

What? I didn’t exactly plan to take the whole place. I thought we could get in, get what we need, and get out. “What Conclave?” I ask.

“The Rebel Conclave,” Kyle says like I should already know. “Duh! You’re on it! I picked the name, myself.”

I’m part of a Conclave? I must have missed a lot more than I thought while I was out recovering from my injuries.

Cooper and Greg walk in holding hands.

“There you are, you lazy genius,” Greg says, as he pretends to punch me in the stomach.

I tense up, and my gut aches; I feel as though I’ve done a thousand crunches. I grimace, and Greg laughs. Cooper hits Greg in the shoulder and tells him to knock it off. Greg pretends to hit her back, but she doesn’t even blink.

“Wait! I don’t get it,” I say, still wondering how the Ordinaries took the facility so easily. Since I was sleeping, maybe I missed something. “When we broke into the place, it was swarming with Shifter guards.”

Cooper looks at me like I’m crazy. “There were guards, but it’s not like it was swarming. Like twenty, or something.”

“Maybe thirty,” Greg says, looking at Cooper for confirmation. She nods and reaches for his hand. Their fingers intertwine, and she leans against him.

“They must have a Projector,” Sol
é
says. “A powerful one.”

“This was no movie,” I tell them.

“It’s not like that,” Cooper says. “It’s kind of hard to explain. It’s an Apt.”

“Like yours?” Greg asks, smiling at Cooper.

“You have an Apt?” I ask Cooper. If she had one, I thought it would have something to do with fighting, because she’s like a Jet Li or something.

“Yeah,” she says. “I’m not very good, but sometimes I can make people do things, or think something.” She shakes her head. “Like I said, it’s hard to explain.”

Greg smiles and says, “How do you think she got someone as hot as me to go out with the likes of her?”

“Shut up!” she says, pushing him. “If anybody needed help getting a girlfriend, it was you.” She looks at me and asks, “Remember that first day in the circle?” She can tell I don’t remember so she adds, “When you volunteered to go first?”

“Yeah,” I tell her, remembering the circle at Marcus and Alena’s house where they were training Shifters and Ordinaries. For some reason, I raised my hand to go first. “I’m not sure why I did that.”

She looks down at the ground and says, “Um, that was me. I kind of made you do that. I wanted to meet you so—”

“You made me volunteer?” I ask. That actually makes sense. I’ve never been a fighter. “So, they only made us
think
there were a lot of them? So we would think we were outnumbered?” I think about it and ask, “Why didn’t you guys see what I saw then?”

Sol
é
answers, “Because they have to be near you, be able to see you.”

Cooper nods.

“Where’s my sister?” I ask.

“I think she just got back,” Kyle says. “You can see her later. We’ve got something better to show you.”

I get up slowly, holding my stomach. They take me through several rooms until we walk into a large space full of busy people, machinery, and . . . I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Viktor and Christopher are directing almost a hundred people in the warehouse. They are building replicas of The Wizard. Of Mona!

A lot of them!

Christopher notices me and slowly saunters in my direction. He smiles as he pretends to punch my gut. I double over, holding my stomach. Seriously, why do people keep doing that? They don’t hit me, but it still hurts.

–RYLAND–

After the bizarre fight in the supply center, Kai and I have been sent on more missions than I can count. We’ve been raiding, stealing, and attacking bases all over the planet. We have hardly had a second to rest.

Everything is building toward what we now know is coming. The Shifters want to crush us here and now, but they are defeated and outnumbered on Six. The rebels are running the planet so we’ve been able to make alliances with various rebel groups all around the planet.

That hasn’t been easy. For the most part, these groups haven’t exactly been excited about dealing with Shifters, even if we are on their side. Mostly Alice, Marcus, and Miles have been making these alliances. I stayed well away from anything that required diplomacy.

While we prepare to launch our next attack on Nine, we will leave the rebels and a few key Young and Tyros to defend our home base. The Shifters don’t really want us controlling any planet, especially Six since it houses their main fuel supply, so they are sending one large task force here to destroy us now while we are all in one place.

While Marcus and his team prepare our new fleet for Nine, Kai and I have covert meetings with allies who have already established trust with us. They help us steal and transfer weapons, attack secret Shifter bases, and do just about everything else you can imagine that requires secret super spy ninja skills.

Just this morning, we attacked a Shifter outpost buried in the underground ruin of a mine—apparently it collapsed and killed several people a few years ago so they stopped using it for mining after that. I killed three Shifters. Kai killed seven. During the fight, I thought I saw flashes of her, the older me, fighting Kai in the cave. When I asked him about it, he walked away.

He thinks I’m insane. Maybe he’s right. I could have like PTSD or something.

Despite my absolute exhaustion and this being my first real chance to sleep in days, I race to the warehouse to see Tanner. I’ve been so worried about my brother that Kai has asked to change partners three times. Unfortunately, no such luck for him. Marcus has refused to spare anyone else and says we are the best team he has; he wouldn’t separate us for the world. The worlds? Maybe. Just Six? Definitely not.

He has several other Shifter teams, as well as a few Keeper teams, but we are the ones sent on the most important—and usually most dangerous—missions.

I think the real reason that Kai wants a new partner is because he hates Clay. Clay always pilots our missions, and Kai’s constantly bickering with him. Yesterday, the two got into a shoving match while I was loading up food supplies to take to a nearby rebel camp.

When I stopped them, both refused to talk to me or tell me what was going on. All Clay said was Kai was a bitter “dark dude” and I should stay away from him.

I still don’t understand why he doesn’t like Clay. He
is
odd, and he’s a little pushy sometimes, but he makes up for it with his brilliant and constant optimism. He has such a passion for life and is filled with genuine kindness. He’s exactly the type of friend you need in a war. Kai could definitely stand to be a little more optimistic.

So when I burst into the room with Clay holding my hand, Tanner looks like he’s just come back from a vacation in the Caribbean. He looks great, not at all like someone who nearly died twice in the last few weeks.

“This is amazing!” Tanner says, in awe of all the new ships being built in the warehouse.

“All the pilots have been so jealous I get to fly Ryland around in The Wizard,” Clay says with a sloppy grin. “Now, they all get one of their own.”

Clay looks at me warmly. “They’ll still be jealous because I get the only Ryland, but . . .” Clay shrugs.

I feel myself blushing at his compliment. He’s always so sweet. His warm hand tightens around mine.

“Feeling better?” I ask.

Tanner shrugs as he beams at the ships. “So, what’s the plan now?”

“We’re waiting for Shifter reinforcements to land before we move onto Nine,” Marcus says decisively.

“I’ve already told you I’m not so sure we should abandon Six. They can hardly hold their own if we leave,” Christopher mumbles.

“We aren’t
abandoning
them,” Marcus growls.

“You could leave more troops behind to help defend what’s become the rebel home base,” Miles grumbles.

“We need our troops to help take Nine. They have more Enforcers and an overall higher population of Shifters than Six.” Marcus’s voice is tense, angry.

“How many are we leaving behind?” Tanner asks.

“We’re leaving Cooper and Greg,” I say quietly, cringing at the response I know is coming.

“What?” Tanner explodes. “We can’t leave them!”

“We need leaders here, Young and Tyros, to hold our alliances in place,” Marcus says firmly.

“There has to be so-someone else!” Tanner sputters.

“They won’t stay here indefinitely,” I say. “The plan is to leave them while we take Nine. Hopefully after that they can rejoin us.”

“We still need a pilot,” Miles snaps. “Two kids aren’t enough!”

“I understand your concern,” Marcus says tightly.

“No! It isn’t a concern; it’s a
demand
. We deserve to have a pilot here to defend us from attacks, if necessary.”

Tanner stares between Marcus and Miles, clearly wondering where this new animosity is coming from.

“Take Clay,” Kai calls from behind me. “He’s the best we’ve got, after all. Isn’t he, Ryland?”

His voice is full of sickly sweetness that feels like poison. Clay’s hand tightens around mine, and I worry they will do just that.

“You can’t keep Clay,” I say.

Marcus eyes me for a moment before saying, “Yes, you can.”

Chapter 28

You Know That Guy Who Used to Be a Rapper,
and Now Stars in All of the Action Movies?
Yeah, I Think I May Actually Be Him in a Movie Right Now!

–TANNER–

Ryland is
not
happy with Marcus. She’s not really used to people telling her “no.” Kai has a smirk on his face as he sits back in a chair. I’m not sure what that’s about.

“Come now,” Marcus says to the group. “Alena and Mrs. Langley should have dinner ready. We should eat before The Council meets. Let’s get Tanner up to speed.”

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the whole war conclave thing.

My sister glares at Marcus, who turns and walks off with the rest of the group. She gives Kai a look and turns to Clay saying, “Get in line before it gets too long, and save me a spot.”

“You got it, babe,” Clay says. He gives her a quick kiss and runs off to join the group.

“What the heck was that, Kai?” Ryland spits.

“What? They need a good pilot,” Kai says, shrugging his shoulders.

“He’s right, Ry,” I tell her.

Ryland glares at me, her jaw so tight I think she may actually crush some of her teeth. “Stay
out
of this, Tanner. This is between me and him,” she says, jutting her chin toward Kai.

Seriously, what’s up with these two?

“What’s your problem?” Ryland spits at Kai.

“
My
problem?” Kai asks, as he stands up. “You! You’re my problem!”

“Me?” Ryland shouts. “I’ve been doing everything here. I’m not the one volunteering for every suicide mission!”

Suicide missions?

“Look, Ry,” Kai says, stepping toward her. “Ever since you started hanging out with that guy—”

“His name is Clay,” Ryland interrupts.

“I
know
his name,” Kai says, narrowing his eyes. “How could I forget? You must say it every ten seconds.”

“Can’t you just be happy for me?” Ryland yells.

Kai steps back and huffs, “Happy for you? I don’t like what he’s done to you! I don’t like
you
when you’re around him.” His jaw tightens as he tells her, “He’s made you lose your focus on why we’re really here.”

“I haven’t lost my focus,” Ryland says, with a single tear running down her left cheek. “I’m still fighting. More than you! He makes me happy, despite all of this,” she says, looking around at the now deserted army base. “Besides,
he
loves me.”

Kai looks at her and sets his jaw. “He’s not the only one that loves you, Ry, the only one that needs you. Did you think of that?” he snaps quietly at her and walks off.

Ryland freezes and stares at him walking away. Tears are now flowing down her face.

“Are you okay?” I ask my sister. Obviously, it’s a stupid question. She’s not okay.

“I’m fine,” she snaps as she wipes the tears from her face roughly with the sleeve of her shirt. “Why should I care what he thinks?”

She cares.

“Come on. Clay’s waiting for you,” I tell her encouragingly.

She smiles and says, “You must be starving.”

“I am,” I tell her, realizing I don’t remember the last time I ate. I have seriously been missing a lot of meals lately. “Where’s the cafeteria?” I ask her.

She smiles, and I follow her. “It’s called the mess hall,” she says as she leads me toward a large area.

We walk in and see a gathering over to the side, away from the food. “What’s going on?” I ask. Ryland shakes her head.

Alice stands up and yells, “Ryland! It’s Sol
é
!”

“Something’s wrong,” Ryland says, and she takes off, pushing her way through the crowd.

I get there just after her, breaking through the last of the group. Kai is trying to hold Sol
é
still as her body convulses, and Kyle is gently stroking her face, trying to tell her that it will be okay. Sol
é’
s eyes are wide and distant.

Kyle looks at us and says, “She’s having a vision.”

I ask, “What is it?”

Kyle looks helplessly and shakes his head. “She hasn’t said anything yet, but she looks scared.”

“Let go of her,” I tell them. Kai and Kyle look at me and don’t respond. “Let
go
of her!” I yell. “If she shifts and you’re still holding her . . .”

At that, they both release her. Sol
é
looks like she’s watching a horror movie or something. Her eyes dart back and forth. I’m not sure if she’s seeing something from the past or the future. Whatever it is, she’s terrified.

She shifts and is on her feet. The onlookers quickly step back. She shifts again, spins around, and does it again. She shifts directly in front of Ryland and stares at her. Sol
é
opens her mouth and says, “They’re here. Run.”

The entire room stares in silence.

Sol
é
opens her mouth wide and emits a blood-curdling scream like I’ve never heard. “RUN!”

The J’s skid through the entrance of the mess hall and shout, “We’ve got incoming!”

Marcus shouts, “To your stations!”

People scramble in every direction.

Ryland grabs me and says, “Stay with me!”

She darts between others, and I struggle to keep up. She takes me to a room full of weapons. There are hundreds of people grabbing guns, knives, swords, rocket launchers, anything they can get their hands on. She grabs two of those blue light hand weapons and gives one to me. I shove it in my pocket, and she tells me to put these lemon-sized things in my pockets. Then she forces a large weapon in my hands and loads herself with an array of other deadly looking objects.

“Come on,” she says and heads down a hall.

We go outside and run toward The Wizard. Other ships are already lifting off. Kai is there loading troops and weapons. He reaches his hand out to Ryland, but she ignores it and climbs in on her own. I take Kai’s hand as the ship is already lifting off the ground. Clay’s shouting into the radio getting coordinates. I make it to my seat, and my sister buckles me in. Kai climbs into the seat directly across from us and straps in.

He looks at my sister. She looks at the floor.

Kai yells at Clay, “Which way?”

“They’re landing to the south, about ten clicks,” Clay yells back. “Two ships, but they’re big.”

“How’d they get past the scanners?” Ryland yells.

“Don’t know!” Clay yells back. “Doesn’t matter now! They’re here! We have to protect the base!”

–RYLAND–

We were supposed to be ready for this attack. We’ve been preparing for weeks, gathering supplies, training new recruits, building up support from our allies. This was not supposed to be a surprise.

We were supposed to have our troops massed, our ships built. We were supposed to have everyone ready to meet the enemy.

Somehow, though, it doesn’t surprise me. The Shifters have better tech than we’ve been equipped with on this outlying colony. They wouldn’t want to wait to announce themselves.

The Shifters are not the Redcoats fighting war in an honorable way. They are ruthless dictators, more prone to murder and genocide than actual battle strategy.

People are scrambling to our new, completely untested smaller battle ships. Others are jumping down into the trenches and tents surrounding our base. Some are climbing into tank-like vehicles that hover just inches off the ground, loaded down with heavy ammunition and weapons.

Tanner follows me, and I realize I should’ve told him to stay with Marcus and The Conclave instead of telling him to follow me. Tanner would be more useful on the ground, utilizing technology and his abilities. Meanwhile he is following me, charging out past our first defensive lines, preparing to launch attacks on the enemy before they even approach our headquarters.

There are very few others flying alongside our ship. This is a task that few have been assigned. I glance at Kai, sitting across from me, but I try to ignore his presence.

“Tanner,” I say, realizing I’ve brought him to danger, “You need to be back at the base.”

Tanner looks at me, eyes wide then he shakes his head. “You’re launching a surprise attack. That’s where I need to be.”

I shake my head. Tanner isn’t trained for hand-to-hand combat and flight the way that we have been. We are the special forces of our army. Tanner is more like a general or something. He doesn’t belong here on the front lines.

I want to scream, “Go back!” but I realize that it’s too late.

Tanner grunts loudly in annoyance, but he’s determined to be a part of this mission. I grind my teeth in frustration. It’s practically suicide, and he doesn’t even know what to do.

After we land, it’s about two miles of rough terrain before we see the ships looming in the distance. Clay was right. They’re
huge
.

They look like the strange city ships that attacked us in DC, and I wonder briefly if they might be able to hold a million Shifter troops. Do they have that many?

Yet our group of twelve Shifter forces that have run ahead of the others to scout, including Tanner, drive onward as though we are about to single-handedly destroy these ships and divert their attempted attack.

As we reach the edge of the tree line that we’ve been using as cover, we all immediately slow and wait, to see what will emerge from these ships. I’m expecting troops, hundreds of thousands of troops.

I am not expecting what happens next.

Nothing
.

The ships sit there in complete silence. We all eye each other, unsure of what to do now. One of the Shifter boys in our group, at seventeen, the largest at 6’2” and 230 pounds, calls Marcus on a small radio-like device he has attached to his left sleeve.

Slowly, we feel a rumble in the ground below us. Our youngest member, Cooper, nearly falls down with the force of it.

The west side of the nearest ship begins to disintegrate before our eyes, very similar to the way The Wizard shifts its shape. Still no troops emerge from the ship. No armies swarm the hill toward us.

Why are they giving us so much time?

I don’t understand their plan. None of this makes sense. A surprise attack is only effective if it’s actually a surprise.

Then, the answer emerges from the ship, and my stomach drops. I feel nothing in my gut but an empty, hollow vacuum tearing me apart from the inside out. I’m a black hole of fear.

What emerges from the ship are not troops.

What emerges from the ship are
zombies
.