Page 77 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse
It seemed an eternity before the effects of the violent onslaught passed. I came to, blinking and lying on my back on the floor. I tried to sit, but my arms and legs trembled. Instead, I rolled onto my stomach and slowly got on all fours. I glanced around and spotted my gun. With trembling fingers, I picked it up, drew it toward my chest, and sat back on my heels, panting. It was still dark all around me, but my eyes had somehow adjusted. I was still in the warehouse.
After a long moment of centering my mind, I felt stronger and rose to my feet. A dark figure startled me as I turned. Quickly, I realized it was Damien. He was standing as still as a statue, his eyes fixed on a faraway point. His face was twisted in pain and a tear was sliding down his cheek. I approached cautiously and waved a hand in front of his face.
“Damien.”
No reaction.
“Damien, wake up!” I shook him, wrapping a hand tightly around his upper arm.
I thought of sinking my claws into him and shocking him, but I wasn’t sure if that would be a good idea. What if I overdid it? What if I killed him?
I stepped away from him and turned to look for the others. Across the large space, I made out two dark shapes standing as still as a Damien. One of them was Jake. I could tell despite the darkness. I would recognize his silhouette anywhere. The two next to him were Ulfen and Khal. They seem to be okay, though probably lost in the agony of their own thoughts.
I searched for Travis, Olivia, and Marcus next. I spotted them at the back of the building, three dark shapes clustered together, unmoving. I pondered what to do.
Undoubtedly, Mekare was doing this, but where was she? Did she know I’d broken out of her torturous stupor? The pain I’d felt had been similar to what she’d put me through while interrogating me about the cure, except this time, there had been a voice, and it had slipped into my mind, same as the fearmonger demon’s voice.
A loud clunk startled me back into the moment. The sound had come from outside where Eric and the others were still fighting the hybrids. I shook myself. We had to get out of here before the monsters turned their attack toward the warehouse again. Clearly, this had been a trap. There was no rhabo here. No witch.
I turned to go to Jake. He was strong. He would be able to stand a sensory jolt from me. He would help me figure out how to wake the others up. I rushed toward him, but a groan from Damien made me stop and whirl around. He was on his knees, clasping his head. As I hesitated, he fell flat on his face and started convulsing.
“Damien!” I turned and dashed toward him.
I knelt at his side and pressed his shoulders down, trying to keep him still, but his body continued writhing even as I did my best to hold him down.
“Damien!” I shook him. “Wake up!”
He continued convulsing. Foam bubbled out of his mouth. I had to wake him up before his brain turned into a fried nugget. I let my claws spring out. They broke through his cloak, jacket, and shirt and sank into him. I tried to release my tracker energy into him, but it didn’t work. I was about to try again when his convulsions stopped, and he went as stiff as a board. I pulled back, withdrawing my claws and wiping bloody fingertips on my jeans.
The mage wheezed, every breath a struggle, but he seemed to be free from whatever had held him.
I pressed a hand to his cheek. “C’mon, you have to—”
A shot rang out, echoing through the empty warehouse. My head snapped toward the sound, in the direction of Travis and his kids. Grunts and the rustling of a scuffle followed. I squinted in the dark and saw they weren’t standing frozen anymore. Instead, they seemed to be fighting each other.
What the hell?!
After a last glance at Damien, I sprinted toward the three struggling figures. When I got closer, I could see Travis had a gun in his hand, and Marcus and Olivia were fighting him back, holding his arm up and trying to disarm him.
Another shot exploded. I shrank back as the bullet whizzed a few feet away from my head.
“Dammit!” I cursed. “What are you doing? Stop it!”
It was as if I wasn’t even there.
They continued fighting, Travis slowly bending the gun in Marcus’s direction.
God, he’s trying to kill him!
I acted without thinking. Like a linebacker, I rushed Travis and slammed my shoulder into his side, wrapped my arms around his waist, and took him down with me. The gun went off again. My ears rang with the shot. We fell to the floor, Travis crashing with ahumphas the air was forced from his body.
I bounced off of him and fell to the side, jamming my shoulder. I groaned as I scrambled to a sitting position. Travis sat up like a Jack-in-the-Box, pointing his gun at Marcus. In the blink of an eye, he took aim and pulled the trigger.
The gun discharged.
Before I even realized what I was doing, I was on my feet, fleeting toward Marcus and knocking him down. We hit the floor with bone-breaking force.Marcus bared his teeth in pain and blinked at me, confused, strands of his blond, long hair framing his face.
“What... what’s going on?” he asked, shaking his head.
