Derailed - 10. The Risk we all take

Seth stood there looking directly into my eyes. I was unable to make out his expression; it looked to be a mixture of joy, confusion and fear. I felt my heart as a large lump in my throat, pounding as Seth stood there not speaking. His eyes changed and now looked as if they were searching mine for something. But I felt myself unable to meet his gaze for fear of what I would see, so I looked down at my feet for a few seconds before finally looking back at his face... but still avoiding his eyes. Finally he went to speak, but before he could he was cut off by Corbin, who was slowly making his way up the staircase.

“Seth, were you able to get everyone hidden?” Corbin was having trouble even just speaking at this moment. His wounds were still trying to close themselves up, but his power was all but drained and would take a while to finish healing him.

“They're all safe,” he said, still looking at me. “They're all in the bell tower with Adrian; it was the safest place I could think to take them.”

“Good, as long as they're safe.” We looked over to see Corbin being helped up the stairs by Father O'Sully. “I know you're tired, but I need you to tell Adrian to start loading them in the truck now... I can guarantee more will be coming and soon. I'm still not sure why they left like they did. That’s not normal. They’re planning something and I’d rather not wait too long to figure it out or see what it is,” he said, sitting down, leaning against the railing of the balcony. “Once they’re loaded we'll leave. Then we need move as fast as possible out of the city.”

"What about Tim?” Seth asked, looking concerned. But Corbin just closed his eyes and looked downward at his feet.

“There is nothing we can do for him now; not like this anyway. Now go tell Adrian to get the truck ready we'll be there as soon as they're all on. Also tell him that he should be prepared to be taking lots of heat. They ain’tgonna just let us walk out of the city.”

Seth bit down on his lower lip and then gave one last glance at my face. I saw his pale blue eyes for the first time since my revelation; they looked like they were pleading with my own. But there was no time to speak now; we were still far from home and far from safe.

With one loud pop, Seth was gone again, leaving us there, still on our guard, adrenalin still pumping like acid though our veins, expecting any minute for more gunmen to rush in and open fire. But moment after moment came and they didn't come. The bulk of Corbin's wounds had finally healed and he was now able to stand once again. Mark had reloaded his guns and I kept a few small stones still in the air. As we all watched the holes that had once been the entry way of the church. I don't think I had ever been more on edge in my life. But a minute passed and still nothing. And with each passing second, tensions grew higher and higher.

A moment later and another loud pop was heard, causing us all to jump out of our skin. Seth had reappeared to join us. “Adrian said he’s loading now and we should be heading out.”

Corbin began to walk, to leave, when he turned to Father O'Sully who was examining a small fragment of the door. He rolled it around in his hand for a few moments and I saw a few tears well up in his eyes as the realization that his church was gone hit home. “Given the current situation, I think it would be best if you came with us. I don't think there will be much left for you here. Not after what’s happened today.

“I appreciate the offer, but I am a man of the cloth, now and forever. It would be unjust to abandon my church now. No, I will stay here and offer sanctuary and guidance to all who seek it, for as long as I'm able to. Now please, you must hurry surely more will be coming soon.” He stood up and pocketed the piece of the wood and a sense of gratitude swelled inside of me. He had given everything to help us and even now he wished to continue to do so.

That was our first mistake. As we walked a few feet from him our ears began ringing with a loud high pitched squeal, like someone blowing a whistle right in our ears as loud as possible. The sound alone was enough to bring us to our knees. It was a second later that the noise was broken by the sound of a laugh, and then a yell, like someone wrenching in pain. We all turned to see Father O'Sully standing there, stone faced, the light quickly leaving his eyes as his life was drained from him by the knife tip pointing out of his chest, blood seeped out from the wound and slowly ran down his chest until it covered the golden cross he wore around his neck. And with one final glance, he dropped first to his knees and then face down, still and lifeless.

He was gone; in the blink of an eye his life was taken and now a thin bald man in a long black leather trench coat stood where he once had, a twisted sneer on his face. He lifted his hand to show us its back. Tattooed on it was the number 010 and underneath it in black ink the letters VCU were printed which spelled out the same thing to all of us: Traitor.

For the first time in my life I saw true fear come across Corbin's face and under his breath just loud enough for us to hear him, we heard him utter the word “Run”.

Before another word was spoken, the man disappeared in a blur so fast he was almost invisible. The quick moving blur lunged right at Mark and for a split second it seemed Mark would be taken from us as well, but inches from its target, the blur collided off course by Corbin throwing his shoulder into it. The assassin reappeared rolling on the ground a few feet from where we were standing. In a flash he sprung back onto his feet and was ready to launch another attack.

“I SAID RUN!” Corbin screamed back at us. As he prepared to intercept another attack, Mark walked up and stood beside him with his guns drawn pointing at the bald man.

“I don't think we can run from him, he’s a speeder; we wouldn't get very far,” Mark said, not letting his eyes leave their target.

With a blink of the eye he was once again gone in a blur as he rushed right at us. We all jumped in different directions. I felt the wind in his wake as he grazed past me. I landed a few feet from where we had been standing, and as fast as I landed, I stood up and fell right back to my knees. A pain the likes of which I had never experienced hit me like a bullet to the brain; a searing burning sensation took over.

I let out a scream as I fell to my knees and my hand flew to the source of the pain at my stomach, just above my hip. I slowly peeled back my hands to see the damage. A warm stream of blood was sent running through my fingers, down my hand and onto the wooden floor.

It had been so quick that it took me a second to fully register what had happened. The sight of my own blood spilling made me sick and I began to feel light headed. It was then that I heard the whistling sound from behind me and I saw the shadow of the assassin standing over me. I had no time to think or move; in a split second I would be dead. I closed my eyes and waiting for him to bring the knife down and end me, but a split second later my ears were greeted with a loud BANG! Mark got off a shot at the last second, saving me, but missing his target, as once again the assassin was gone in a blur.

There was a loud popping sound as Seth appeared by me. He dragged my arm up around his neck and shoulder and closed his eyes to focus, but he never got the chance to move, as the bald man reappeared over us, his knife in hand, ready to bring it down on the boy I loved. I held out my hand to try and push him, but I was in too much pain to focus instead I switched my attention to his blade and right as he was about to make contact, the knife flew from his hands to the other side of the church.

It was just the distraction we needed. His attention diverted for a split second and he found himself taking the impact of a tackle from Corbin as he speared him to the ground. But before he could land a clean shot to his face, the man was gone from underneath him and Corbin's fist only met the wooded floor.

Seth closed his eyes and focused once again, this time with success as we reappeared near Mark, who was trying to give as much cover as he could to Corbin. He turned his attention to me as he handed his guns to Seth

“JUST PULL THE TRIGGERS AND TRY NOT TO HIT CORBIN!!!” he yelled as he knelt over me he pulled my hand back to assess the damage.

“Thank God! I think he missed any vital organs,” he said, as he ripped off a piece of the lab coat he was wearing. He tore it right at the base until he had a long piece and began to wrap it around me over my wound to form a makeshift bandage. When he was done he grabbed a syringe from his pocket and stabbed it into my thigh.

“This will help stop the bleeding.” He stood back up and grabbed his guns from Seth, who had been firing randomly hoping to hit something. I pulled myself up along the wall to see the fight. The assassin, now without his knife, had resorted to his fists and was moving around Corbin in a blur taking jab after jab, but to no avail. He might as well have been hitting a brick wall. Corbin took swing after swing, but was unable to make contact.

He soon realized that it was no use to try to fight Corbin and turned his focus to Mark, and in another blink had appeared in front of him and with a quick sucker punch to the gut, dropped Mark to his knees as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. In a blur he had Mark’s guns in hand.

I felt the cold steal of Mark's gun pressed against my forehead and in a raspy cackling voice he spoke.

“Anyone move and I paint the walls with his brain.” Corbin froze in his spot and my heart sank and hit my feet. And sweat began to pour down my face as he spoke again. “On second thought, I do have a job to do,” he said with a twisted sneer on his face. “It's nothing personal, just my job.” My eyes widened as I realized what he meant. His finger began to pull back. But before the trigger reached its mark, his smile dropped and he let out a gasp. He looked down to see a knife tip protruding from his torso, much in the same manner Father O'Sully's wound had been. I looked over to see Seth standing there, his hand outstretched, with the blade from his gauntlet poking through the man’s back. The assassin had been assassinated.

The blade retracted and the balding man stagger backward some, holding his chest as he gasped for air. He made a slight gurgling sound as blood began to run from his mouth. “You!” he said in a low seething voice in between breaths. “DAMN YOU!” he yelled out, and pointed the gun up at Seth's head. But as he lifted it, a low rumbling sound began to shake the small fragments and rubble on the ground. Whatever was making the noise was drawling closer and fast. And just as the gun was fully raised, the very church itself was shaken and the truck Adrian was driving smashed through the one remaining part of the church that was still left standing. And as he smashed though, he made a direct hit, running down the already-dying man.

Adrian opened the door with a frantic look on his face “WE GOT TO MOVE NOW, THERE COMING!!!” Corbin and Mark dashed for the cab, Mark grabbing his guns along the way. Seth ran to my side and no sooner had he grabbed a hold of me than we were sitting in the truck.

The wheels began turning and we were moving. I looked and saw all the refuges huddled up to the back of the truck. Mothers were clutching their children trying to protect them as best they could, As we pulled out of the church ruins, I looked out and saw at least five squad cars, sirens blaring, approaching fast. This was not going to be an easy ride home by any means.

“EVERYONE KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN!” Corbin screamed, as Adrian floored it. Buildings were rushing past us at blinding speed. As more squad cars pulled onto the street and joined the chase the closer ones open fire, sending bullets flying and creating small holes in the ceiling of the truck. Instantly a wall of semi visible energy surrounded us, distorting my view. But as more bullets were sent in our direction, falling short of their target, they were met by the same shield that had protected the refuges earlier. The bullets had been stopped, but we were still far from safe.

Mark stepped up to edge of the truck and began firing as rapidly as possible, but to no avail; the shield worked both ways. Finally he looked at me with frustration at the situation. The shield wouldn't last long enough, and as long as they were following us, we were leading them straight back to our home. We needed to lose them and fast.

I was still in pain from my wound, but I knew what I had to do. Once again I stretched out my hands and began to focus. I could feel my power waking up as I focused on the wheels of the squad cars. They were spinning so fast it was almost impossible to get a mental lock on them, like trying to see details of something that was moving insanely fast. But finally, after struggling for a few moments, I got it! I could feel the wheels almost as if they were in my very hands; all I needed to do was stop them from spinning... and stop them I did.

I closed my fist tight and instinctively the wheels responded as if someone had just slammed on the brakes. But the speed and the velocity of the cars were too great and the lead car went flipping end over end, bouncing down the street, as bits of glass and metal were sent flying.

The cars that were right behind it were caught up in the mess as they slammed into the bouncing mess of metal and finally, the car had had it. Another car slammed into the mess and ignited the pile. A second later the ground was lit up in a blaze and a wheel from one of the cars was sent flying over of the truck. Adrian had to swerve to avoid hitting it.

Out of the fire and dust, four more squad cars appeared, still refusing to lose us. And to make matters worse, we now could hear the whipping sound of helicopter blades overhead. But it was the helicopter that gave me the inspiration for our escape plan.

“Seth I need you to take me onto the roof of the truck. I have a way for us to escape." I could see Corbin absolutely bewildered by my request

“Are you insane? It's suicide out there!” But the statement only brought a slight grin to my face.

“That’s why I need you to go with me, Corbin. I need a good meat shield.” Finally understanding how I planned on doing anything out there, he agreed and looked at Seth.

“Do it; take us up.” Without being asked twice, Seth grabbed both our wrists and the shield was lowered long enough for Seth to do what he needed to do. Within a second we were on top of the speeding truck. The wind was so intense that it almost blew us right off the truck. Any carelessness and we would be hitting the pavement hard.

It didn't take long before more gunshots were fired, aimed up at us. Now exposed, Corbin stepped right into the role I needed him to play. He got as close as he could to the edge of the truck, without being blown off, and spread his arms out to make himself as big as possible. This blocked any decent shot the soldiers were gonna get. He was the perfect shield for what I need to do.

I looked directly up above the truck and saw the helicopter hovering over us, its shadow blocking out the sun. I stuck my hand up and began to focus on everything I could think of. I was at once aging for the second time. I was going to have to give into my emotions; it was the only possible way I’d have enough power to do what I need to do.

“Seth, stay here in case I lose it again and need your help,” I said, almost in shame and almost pleading. He didn't say anything, but instead only nodded and couched down at my side as I let the memory and emotion take over once again.

My mind flashed images of my mom, and the day she was taken. I remembered that night well; it was raining and I was lying on the ground. I was hurt, but I couldn't really remember from what, so many parts of that night were still blank. I just remember my mom screaming and me lying there, unable to move, and the fact that I was unable to do anything brought back the anger ounce again and with it the true potential of my powers awakened with it.

I swore to myself I would never feel that helplessness again... of having to watch someone I love taken. And now I would prove it. I opened my eyes and my vision was red! I reached out my hand with tears of rage flowing from my eyes. I need to aim it soon or I would blow all of us off the truck.

The smell of salt filled my nose as we came up to a bridge over the ocean. We were almost out of the main part of the city, and that meant we didn't have much time before we would be too close to lose them. There was no time left to build up anymore. I had to act and act now. I looked back up the saw the helicopter still hovering over us and with one scream I clenched my fist and took a mental hold on it. It began to waver a little bit, but was still up there. With all I had left in me, I thought of only one word... down! And with that one word, the chopper was sent spinning wildly out of control downward, but I still had to keep ahold of it; I had to direct its fall. I looked over and saw the blood from Corbin's body run off the truck and fly into the windshield of the squad cars, which only seemed to annoy them further. And I think part of him was enjoying it; he liked annoying them in any way possible.

With my hold still on the sporadically spinning helicopter, I began to focus on a fresh spot of blood on the front squad car. Corbin's blood had provided a perfect focal point and a perfect target for the helicopter projectile. I locked on the blood-target on the car and began to pull in that direction. More images began to flash in my head now, of things that hadn't even happened; images of all my friends dead or dying. And with it, more rage filled my system, but I had to keep going so as the rage filled my heart, I put it into the task at hand. But I could feel it now, the familiar feeling of my power slipping from my grasp. It wouldn't be long before I had no control, and with the anger I fed to my power, it in turn fed more images back to me.

And finally with a scream, I thrust my hand downward at the car, and with it the helicopter came as well. The shock wave almost threw us off the truck. As Corbin, who got the worst of it, was sent to the front of the truck, one side of his face looked as though it had been completely burned black. He was unconscious, but still breathing.

The blast had caused Adrian to swerve some more and almost lose it and drive off the bridge, but he soon regained control. The same could not be said for me. I was crouched down with my own personal hell being shown to me. Energy was radiating from me and I could feel it building. If it didn't stop, I would blow up and lose it. But then I felt it... a hand on my shoulder and within a second we were back inside.

“Cameron you need to calm down please you did it you saved us now please, relax.” I could hear Seth pleading, but it had no effect. My attention couldn't be broken, not this time, and then with the most gentle of touches, I felt his hand lift my face so my eyes could meet his. Tears were on his face, but he had a look of pure serenity on him. Without speaking another word he closed his eyes and pressed his lips firmly to mine and everything in my world melted; my emotions left and I was left in a numbing state of bliss. A warmth filled my body and for once I knew what it was to be truly happy. For all the hell my life had been, this one moment was worth it.

We parted lips and I looked at him with tears of joy running down both our faces.

If only I had seen it I could have stopped it, one left, there was one left and it broke free from the carnage. The shield had been broken during the blast. A single shot was fired, and in one second my world was destroyed. The smile was gone and would never return. One shot, one bullet, one hit, one life taken; his life. The life of the one I loved.

His smile faded and I was frozen. His body fell from my arms and out of the truck. It was like the world had been paused, muted and drained of all color at the same time. I felt nothing, just an emptiness. Then a bomb was dropped in the pit of my soul... and I was going to share it with everyone!

I let out a blood-curdling scream of agony; a scream I had heard only hours before in Jeremiah’s head; a scream that almost sent me over the edge. It was my own scream. I felt everything around us lift. The ground beneath us was twisting and turning. I was going to kill everyone and everything right here and I didn't care. I no longer wanted to live, not after this. I had vowed I would never see someone taken from me again, and I had failed. The bridge we were on began bouncing and twisting from the earthquake I was causing and I saw the squad car carrying his murderer fly into the ocean.

“CAMERON! GOD! PLEASE STOP OR YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US ALL!” I looked back to see Mark holding onto the side of the truck as we were bounced around. But I didn't care if it tore the earth beneath us open. I let out another scream. As the walls of the truck began to rip open, all I could see were flashes of him in my head, from the time we met when we were kids to all the times we spent taking, to the night before when he promised me, swore to me, he would come home safe, and I couldn't take it.

I felt an arm around me and tears running onto my own. Mark had pulled himself to me. I heard his voice filled with such pain that I couldn't imagine it coming from him.

“I'm so sorry, Cameron, forgive me.” I felt a sharp pain in the side if my neck as he pushed the plunger down on the syringe. My limbs became heavy, I could no longer hold myself up and I dropped. My vision began to blur and my head became fuzzy. My mind calmed and began to drift. The last thing I remember was a conversation Corbin and I had right after Mom had been taken.

I was still little and I had been crying and I asked him why it happened to her. And I remember him holding me and telling me.

“We’re all here doing what we believe is right, fighting for what we believe. It’s just the risk we all take.” I remembered this and then nothing... black... I was falling through a black nothingness.

I felt nothing and I wanted it to stay that way.

END OF PART ONE