Page 43 of Eclipse Bound
He needed to stop them.
Reaching out with his energy field, Eclipse sensed the cave system around him. The rock walls, the flowing water, the subtle vibrations of the Earth itself. An idea formed. Dangerous, possibly devastating, but necessary.
The Milano team was spreading out, sweeping the chamber methodically. Eclipse released a small pulse of energy, just enough to trigger their scanners in his current position. As they converged on him, he reached deep into the rock beneath the stream.
On Zorveya, those from the Twilight Belt rarely used their abilities for destruction. But all energy could be manipulated, even the potential energy stored in Earth's geological formations.
Eclipse sent a focused surge of twilight energy into a fault line running through the cave floor. The rock groaned in protest. Small pebbles skittered down from the ceiling.
"What was that?" One of the operatives looked up nervously.
"Seismic activity," another replied. "These caves are unstable."
"Maintain pursuit," the leader ordered, having recovered enough to rejoin the hunt. "Target Twilight is attempting to escape."
Eclipse sent another pulse, stronger this time, directly into the fault. A crack appeared in the chamber floor, spreading rapidly toward the tunnel Rowan and Solar had taken.
No. He redirected his energy, guiding the fracture away from their escape route and toward the tunnel he'd come through. The ceiling began to crumble in that direction.
"Cave in! Fall back!" The leader shouted, but it was too late.
Eclipse released a final, concentrated burst of twilight energy into the fault line. The effect was immediate and catastrophic. The chamber floor split open with a thunderous crack. Water from the stream poured into the newly formed fissure, creating a whirlpool effect. The ceiling collapsed in sections, blocking the tunnel to the outside.
The Milano operatives scrambled for safety, but the cave-in was too rapid. Two were caught by falling rocks. The others retreated toward the entrance, shouting into their communication devices for backup.
Eclipse felt the strain of such focused energy manipulation. His twilight form flickered, struggling to maintain cohesion. The geological disruption had cost him more than he'd anticipated.
Yet he couldn't stop now. The cave-in would only delay Milano briefly. He needed to ensure Rowan and Solar had enough time to reach the surface and escape.
Moving through the partially collapsed chamber, Eclipse followed the tunnel Rowan and Solar had taken. His form was weaker now, less substantial, but he pushed forward, determined to verify their safety before considering his own.
A blue pulse of energy struck the wall beside him, one of the Milano operatives had made it through the collapse. Eclipse spun to face the threat, his twilight essence gathering what strength remained.
"Target Twilight is damaged but still mobile," the operative reported into his communicator. "Requesting additional containment teams at junction B."
Eclipse surged forward, engulfing the operative before he could fire again. The man struggled in the twilight field, his weapon discharging wildly. One of the pulses struck Eclipse directly, sending waves of disruption through his already weakened form.
Pain, unlike anything Eclipse had experienced before, tore through his essence. His twilight field began to fragment, losing cohesion. The operative fell to his knees, gasping for air as Eclipse's grip on him weakened.
Eclipse retreated into the tunnel, his form flickering dangerously. Behind him, more Milano personnel poured through the partially collapsed chamber, their scanners beeping as they detected his fading signature.
He needed to reach Rowan. Needed to know she was safe.
The tunnel branched ahead, and Eclipse hesitated. Which way had they gone? His weakened state compromised his ability to sense energy signatures. He chose the path that seemed to lead upward, hoping it would take him to the surface.
As he moved, his twilight essence left fragments behind, small wisps of energy that dissipated into the air. He was losing cohesion rapidly. The weapons had damaged him more severely than he'd realized.
The sound of pursuit grew behind him. Eclipse pushed forward, his consciousness beginning to fragment along with his form. Memories flashed through his mind—the endless negotiations on Zorveya, the crash landing on Earth, and Rowan. Always Rowan, with her remarkable adaptability and the harmony of her energy signature with his own.
The tunnel widened into another chamber, this one with shafts of sunlight streaming from cracks in the ceiling. Eclipse sensed the surface was near. If he could just reach it, perhaps he could find Rowan.
His twilight form surged upward toward the light, but a coordinated barrage of energy pulses struck him from behind. Milano operatives had caught up, their weapons firing in unison.
Eclipse's consciousness shattered into fragments as his twilight essence dispersed throughout the chamber. The last thing he registered was a peculiar containment device being activated beneath him, a swirling vortex of energy that began to draw in the scattered particles of his form.
His final coherent thought was of Rowan. Had she escaped? Was she safe? She was all that mattered.
Then darkness claimed him, and the twilight faded to nothingness.
