Page 31 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

They had made it halfway back to their entry point when a shrill alarm sounded throughout the facility. Red emergency lights flashed, bathing the corridors in an eerie, pulsating glow.

"They discovered the breach," Yamanu said. "We need to move faster."

"This way," Max urged, leading them down a side corridor. "I see a sign for an exit."

The sound of running footsteps and shouted commands echoed from ahead just as their group detoured into the side corridor.

Anton ran ahead while Dima joined Yamanu to bring up the rear.

Yasmin clutched the little girl tighter while the other children moved closer together, their faces pale with fear.

"It's going to be okay," Kyra assured them in a whisper. "Just stay close to me."

They turned another corner and found themselves facing three armed guards. There was no time for stealth, no opportunity for careful planning. The guards shouted in alarm, raising their weapons.

Kyra reacted on pure instinct. She pushed Yasmin and the children back around the corner, providing them cover with her body, then spun back to face the threat. Anton had already dispatched two of the guards, but the third managed to shoot, hitting the hybrid in the back, where a Kevlar vest protected him.

Kyra's weapon came up smoothly, but Max beat her to it, firing at the third guard.

The guy went down, and Anton straightened, patting his front and back as if surprised that he was unharmed.

"Let's go!" Kyra urged the family, shepherding them past the fallen guards. "We're almost there."

They increased their pace, the children running to keep up. Yasmin stumbled once, weighted down by the child in her arms, and Kyra instinctively reached out to steady her. Their eyes met briefly, and something passed between them—not recognition, exactly, but a connection that transcended their current circumstances.

The exit was just ahead, a service door that would lead them back to the compound's southern perimeter, where they had entered.

Freedom was tantalizingly close.

Then Kyra's pendant suddenly flared with heat so intense she nearly gasped aloud. Without conscious thought, she spun around, her weapon already tracking toward a new threat she hadn't yet seen.

A soldier had appeared from a side passage, his weapon aimed directly at Yasmin's back. In the split second before he fired, Kyra lunged forward, knocking her sister aside with one hand while firing with the other. Her bullet caught the guy in the shoulder, spinning him around but not dropping him.

The oldest boy reacted with surprising speed, pulling his younger siblings down to the floor just as Max turned and emptied three rounds into the soldier's chest. When the guy staggered but didn't go down, Kyra realized that he was either an immortal or was wearing a Kevlar vest, but her guttold her that he was a Doomer and not an ordinary soldier.

Ordinary bullets could slow him down, but they wouldn't kill him.

Yamanu stepped forward, lifted his gun, and fired at the Doomer's head. "Regenerate from that, asshole."

Kyra felt bile rising in her throat, and she could only imagine how traumatic it was for the children.

"Move!" Max shouted. "Now!"

They didn't need to be told twice. Yasmin gathered her little girl closer and ran for the exit, her other children following close behind. Kyra remained between them and the fallen Doomer, her weapon trained on him just in case he regenerated from the deadly wound.

"Go," Yamanu told her. "He's not going to be able to fix that."

Kyra nodded once and followed her family through the exit. Outside, the compound was in chaos. The distraction at the main gate had escalated into a full-blown firefight, with Jade and her warriors engaging a large contingent of forces. The sound of gunfire and explosions filled the air, along with shouts and curses.

Dima and Anton leaped over the wall to check that it was safe before signaling for the rest of them to follow. Max helped Yasmin over the wall, and Dima helped her on the other side. The youngest girl was hoisted up next.

The oldest boy turned back, his eyes finding Kyra's. "What about my father?" he asked.

The question hit Kyra like a punch to the stomach. In all the rush, she hadn't had time to prepare for this inevitable question.

"I'm sorry," she said, the words inadequate but necessary. "He didn't make it."

The boy's face crumpled for an instant before hardening into a mask of control beyond his years. He gave a single, sharp nod, then turned to help his siblings over the wall.

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