Page 68 of Captured Immune

Instead of answering me, she screams and tackles me to the floor. I wrap my arms around her as we fall onto my back, and she lands on my chest. Pain erupts up my spine as a glint of green flies through the air where I was just standing.

“Another!” Arella shouts.

I spot it coming at us and close my fist. The needle pauses in midair, then darts back toward the woman who shot at me—with my own damn gun. She tries to avoid it, but I swerve the needle to follow her. The needle lands in her collarbone. She groans as she plucks it off and flicks it to the floor.

Arella pushes herself off me. We get back onto our feet just as the woman with both my guns in her hands points them at me and fires. I close my fists again, forcing the needles to stop and drop to the ground. Then I wave my hand at the guns and they soar out of the woman’s grasp, then twist to face her.

Ssspt!She falls onto her side.

Heavy footsteps thunder around the corner. A group of agents appears with their hands armed with element balls. Flames, lightning, rocks, and spiky ice fly through the air. I wiggle my fingers at both guns.

Ssspt! Ssspt! Ssspt!The element balls tumble to the floor in midair.

A female agent stares at her empty hands. “It’s perrizo! Avoid the shots!”

Yelling, the agents charge at us. There’s too many of them. I can’t shoot fast enough. Arella and I retreat backward as we dodge fireballs. The flames land around us, then smoke out on the floor.

Ssspt! Ssspt!Two men in the front tumble to the floor, tripping the others. I keep my focus on my floating guns and continue pulling the triggers. One by one, the agents fall down, except one guy who ducks and aims a fireball at my guns. It hits one gun, which explodes with a deafeningBOOM!

Pieces of metal firework through the air. I throw my hands up just in time. Barely a finger from my cheeks, the shrapnel stops. As I drop my hands, the pieces tumble to the floor. Arella gapes at me, wide-eyed.

I pull her behind me as I spot a perrizo dose on the floor. It’s still green. As I wave my hand at it, it flies into the air and straight into the neck of the guy who blew up my gun. He grunts as he plucks it out. I aim my remaining gun at him.

Ssspt!He face-plants against the floor.

A middle-age woman appears from around the corner and points at me. I let out a wail as my skin burns with searing heat. The woman keeps her fingers aimed at me as I fall to my knees.

“No!” Arella slaps her palms against my face, holding them there.

Within seconds, the pain stops.Thank fuck.

Brehh! Brehh! Brehh!The siren seems to have gotten louder. I push back onto my feet and take Arella’s hand in mine.

A flash of green whizzes toward me. I sidestep it just in time. Skin Burning Lady has my last gun in her hands. She pulls the trigger again. I clench my fist. The needle stops in the air, turns, then flies right back at her. She dodges it and shoots at me again. Twice. I halt both needles in the air and spin them around.

Ssspt! Ssspt!They hit her at the same time. She plummets, landing over the guy at her feet. I point a finger at my gun. It flies out of her grasp, toward the ceiling, and hovers there.

I scan the walls and spot several perrizo shots sticking out, still green. I point at them, then they zip down the hall at the five agents sprinting at us. Four of the doses hit, making the two biggest guys collapse to the floor. The other three agents open their hands. I wave a hand, making the last of my floating perrizo shots rocket toward them. Their shock consumes me when their element balls disappear in their grasps. With deep frowns, they charge at us.

I point a hand at my gun hovering near the ceiling. The weapon clicks, but nothing shoots out.Fuck.The gun drops to the floor as I drag Arella behind me, then arm my hands with fireballs. I launch them into the air. The first one hits the female agent right in the head. She wails at the top of her lungs as the smell of burnt hair stings my nose.

The two men behind her dodge my other fireballs, so I throw more. And I keep throwing them until both men are on fire. I’m about to tell Arella we’ll run past them when a woman appears from around the corner and gasps. She raises her arms into the air. A giant water ball bubbles over the three agents’ heads. Then another and another. More keep coming until the agents are drenched and their clothes aren’t flaming anymore. Wet and angrier than before, they put their fists up and sprint toward me.

“Arella, get back!”

She races down the hall behind me as one of the drenched men smashes his fist against my face. Miserable pain explodes through my cheek. The man aims his fist again. This time, I duck and hurl a punch right back. I make contact with his nose with a loudcrunch!

“Fuck!” He clutches his face as he collapses to the floor.

Someone jerks me back by the collar of my jacket. A large fist slams right into my temple. My vision goes blurry as the man slugs me in the gut. I bend over, clutching myself as I cough.

“Grab the girl!” the man shouts.

The woman with pieces of hair sticking out of her almost-bald head darts toward Arella. Screaming, Arella runs back the way we came. I throw a fireball at the woman, but it misses and hits the wall, then smokes out.

The man’s fist thumps against the side of my head again. Two more men rush out from down the hall and join him. I block a punch. They land a kick. I throw a fireball at one. He ducks it. From down the hall, another woman appears and aims a lightning ball at me. It lands on my chest, and my body convulses.

The men punch me again.

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