Chapter 17
“Stop!” I held my hand up, attempting to ward off the people heading our way.
My command didn’t seem to work on the girl and my mouth dropped in shock. I could “feel” the girl, but it was like she had a mental shield against me. Immediately I knew she was strong. Yet, she felt… wrong. I wondered if Horatio had a hand in her strength.
The people behind the girl continued to advance on us menacingly.
Each person had a weapon in their hand, including guns.
The weapons filled me with fear, but their vacant expressions raised the hysteria within.
I knew I could raise another shield, but I could feel my gift waning.
The night was catching up with me, and I was floundering for a solution.
Troy’s voice screamed in my mind. “Lincoln, Jaxson, Drake, Remy, Jace!”
I attempted to put another shield around us, but I could already tell it wasn’t strong or wouldn’t last long. I needed to know what I was working against. “What’s hive mind?”
“The girl in the middle is controlling the movements of the civilians behind her,” Neville explained. “They’re completely under her spell. Think of her as a puppet master of sorts.”
“So, she’s like me?” I incredulously inquired as the first bullet ricocheted off the shield.
I watched in horror and satisfaction as it bounced away. I watched as it embedded into the wall approximately ten feet away from us. I didn’t want any of the civilians to get injured, especially if they weren’t here with their own free will.
“Kind of busy” Jaxson responded breathlessly.
Remy, Jaxson, and Lincoln’s voices responded seconds afterward nearly simultaneously.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is Blake okay!”
“Are you still in your location?”
Troy responded back to them, but my attention was drawn to Neville’s response. The people beyond my shield began to attack my force field with earnest.
“Yes and no. Those people she controls are an extension of her. See how she is mimicking their movements in order to control them. She’s essentially sharing consciousness with them.
People with hive minds must be careful because if one of her puppets get injured or worse killed, it will damage her from the inside.
Whereas your gift allows you to have your own awareness while controlling there’s.
Anything negative or positive occurring to the people you’re controlling can never effect you in any way. ”
“So, Trey can set some of them on fire and—” Bentley began to say before Miranda cut him off.
“We’re not harming innocent civilians!”
I can see the other’s warring with the idea, but in the end Miranda was right. We didn’t need or want any collateral damage. Unfortunately, I think we all realized if it came down to our lives or theirs, we may have to make an unthinkable solution.
“On our way!” Jace voice resounded in my head.
My forcefield began to shimmer in and out. I could feel it weakening. I felt true panic engulf me when the first bullet penetrated the barrier. Thank God, Troy was quick and was able to incinerate the bullet the moment it hit.
The controlled people let out a sound akin to a war cry and rushed down the alley toward us.
The others tried to scramble to figure out a way to rescue us while we waited for back up to come.
I heard Bentley let out a strangled cry and my fear rose when I saw that one of the men had struck out at him with a large blade.
He held up his arm and instead of our protective suit catching the brunt of the attack the blade sunk into the palm of his hand.
“Guys!” I desperately called out to them.
“Almost there!” Remy promised.
I attempted to ward off a smaller female with an shocking amount of piercings and tattoos as she launched herself at me with alarming speed.
I relied on my instincts and blocked the arm, wielding a wicked looking switch blade.
I nearly whooped in victory when I realized I had hit her hard enough that it dislodged the weapon for her hands.
The blade clattered to the ground before skittering across the concrete and under the dumpster feet away from us.
The sound she emitted brought chills across my skin.
She sounded demonic and I soon learned that it hadn’t deterred her for long.
With another ear-piercing shriek, she continued her assault on me.
I realized quickly that I had more skill than she did, but my belly was making it hard for me to react in a timely manner.
She launched herself at me and I lost my footing.
I stumbled back and my back connected with the corner of the dumpster.
A jagged edge caught the small of my back, and I attempted to pull away.
I felt a tear in my suit moments before I felt the air caress my skin.
I barely had time to react before the wild banshee was attempting to flail wildly at me.
I attempted to evade her, but I had nowhere to escape to.
I screamed out as I felt the serrated metal of the trash receptacle pierce my skin.
As I attempted to right myself, I felt it tear into small of my back.
My mind spun and I felt the earth tilt under me.
I frantically looked around hoping someone could assist me.
I saw the others weren’t faring any better and I whimpered when I saw Sierra huddled against a wall, protectively covering her belly as a man poised above her his leg reared back as if he would kick her.
I felt my body begin to vibrate even as the woman grasped me by my hair and attempted to pull me up.
I felt my body begin to heat up and a startled cry left her lips.
She was looking at her hands in horror, and it appeared as if they were burnt.
I didn’t have time to digest what had happened.
Instead, my arms lifted of their own volition and my eyes widened when I realized my skin was emanating a purple glow.
At first, I thought the hive minder had taken control of my actions, but she seemed just as stunned.
Her jaw dropped and she seemed to have momentarily forgotten to keep ahold of her pawns because they all seemed to freeze in mid-action.
The clouds seemed to gather above us, covering the once clear night.
Odd, I hadn’t recalled any predictions for unfavorable weather conditions.
Lightning cracked and struck inches away from the cargo van in front of us.
The wind picked up, and I could feel it pull at my hair, the ends of my ponytail whipping across my face.
I vaguely registered that it should hurt but it seemed all my nerve endings were numb.
I was so disassociated I didn’t even feel the wound on my back, despite feeling the warm blood trickling down my back.
I obscurely perceived my friends and men calling out my name in concern but was unable to respond back to them as the wind surrounding me became funnels.
My arms moved again of their own accord, and I watched with detached feeling as the men and women attacking us was swept up.
I watched in morbid fascination as they tumbled and spun like they were caught in a dryer.
The heavens above opened up, and rain began to pour down around us but I did nothing to shield myself from it.
In fact, I seemed immune to even feeling the deluge.
Noah and Troy attempted to rush toward me but the purple aura surrounding me seemed to shoot out from me and held them at bay.
I knew instinctively that it wasn’t menacing, more like protective toward them.
I could hear the panic shouts of the gifted attacking us as they attempted to run from the cargo van, they had been hiding in.
They didn’t get too far as the rain hardened and became hail.
Even from the distance I could see that they were the size of softballs, and our enemies fell one by one from their attack.
Still, the people that had been under the spell of the hive minder rotated in the tornado-like tunnel.
“Blake!” Lincoln called out in concertation.
In a detached fashion I turned my head to see that my men had arrived with additional backup, yet I felt nothing still. The aura surrounding me glowed off their faces in a fascinating manner and if I had my wits about me, I would probably be admiring the pretty hue it cast.
Jaxson gaped. “Is she glowing purple?”
My men exchanged glances, silently communicating with each other. They were so preoccupied by me that they didn’t seem to sense it, but I did. Danger. I didn’t know how or why but I could sense the evil leaking from the shadows, and I knew I had to protect my men.
Again, without conscious thoughts my head whip to the right.
My eyes narrowed as I realized someone or someone’s were lurking in the shadows between a building boxing us in and the van.
I realized that three men stalked toward them.
The back of my mind registered that they were the enemy, but I was unable to warn my men.
Instead, my left hand rose, and I launched my hands palm out toward them.
Deafening lightning cracked in quick succession.
One. Two. Three bolts of lightning struck them in the blink of an eye.
They crumbled to the ground and as their bodies twitched on the ground.
I looked around and sensed no more danger.
Then suddenly, it felt like I was struck in the chest with great force.
I seemed to return to my body with zero warning.
It was as if my consciousness knew we were no longer in danger and the gift receded with alarming speed.
The shock of it all hit me like a brick wall and I felt my body sway.
I reached out to grasp anything I could, and my nerveless fingers closed around the dumpster.
Unfortunately, I seemed unable to grasp it firmly and I felt the earth tilt alarmingly beneath my feet.