The silence was strange. I’d been surrounded by people, constantly, for weeks. Silence reminded me of home, of tiptoeing around in the morning so I wouldn’t wake Dad. It reminded me of sitting on the porch that last night in Dallas, watching Laurence lug the painting across the yard.
It felt different, though. I’d felt so helpless, so trapped in that silence at home. It hadn’t occurred to me until now how rarely I’d felt helpless since joining the teams.
I stood, wiping the tears off my cheeks. I had to get out. Julian was coming back, and he mostly likely planned to feed me to a scrab. And the team would be here soon. I wasn’t going to just curl into a ball and cry while they fought off thirty scrabs.
I kicked the door, but it was far sturdier than the one in my bedroom. I wasn’t going to be able to just a kick a hole through it. I stood back, considering for a minute.
The ax strapped to my calf tickled my skin.
Right. I had weapons this time. I said a silent thank you to Edan.
I grabbed the ax, unfolded it and locked the handle. I swung it at the door.
It lodged in the wood, and I had to pull hard to free it. I swung again. And again, and again.
I heard a yell from outside.
I swung faster.
I finally made a hole big enough to stick my hand through, and I fumbled around, searching for the lock. I twisted it free. The door swung open.
I launched out of the stall, tripping on the door frame and almost face-planting in the dirt. I found my balance, ax still gripped in my hand. It was the only good weapon I had at the moment.
I burst through the door of the stables. The field in front of me was empty, the shipping container next to the barn now closed. The sun was completely gone. There were lights on either end of the barns and at the back of the house, but they cast only a faint glow over the area.
I broke into a run.
A scream sounded from the front of the house. My feet pounded the grass harder.
I raced past the barn, to the house, and skidded to a stop. Two police cars were on the street behind the truck, doors ajar. The bodies of four officers littered the front lawn. Two scrabs stood nearby rigidly. Another was next to one of the bodies, breathing heavily and snarling.
Julian stood on the porch, tablet in hand. He was completely still, staring at the scene in front of him.
“What did you do?” Webb yelled. He burst out of the house, staring at the dead officers. “Did you order them to attack the cops?”
“They had guns!” Julian’s voice was shrill, panicked. “They were yelling at me, and—”
“They had scrab Tasers, you moron!” Webb shouted. “The police here don’t carry guns!”
Julian’s face was oddly blank, and he hadn’t noticed me standing to his left. “They saw the scrabs.” His voice was calm as he pointed to where ten scrabs stood in front of one of the trucks. “So I think the words you’re looking for right now are thank you.”
Webb reeled back a little. “Damn, kid.”
“Stop calling me that,” Julian snapped.
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, a gasp escaping my mouth. I whirled around to find Madison.
She tugged me to the side of the house before Julian saw us. I squeezed her hand, nearly weak with relief.
“Where’s the rest of the team?” I asked.
“They’re here. We didn’t think it was a good idea to just roll up to the front door. Are you OK? What happened? Did they lose control of the scrabs?”
I shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes. I wasn’t even sure why I was crying. I felt overwhelmed. “Julian did that. He sent the scrabs after those officers.”
“Christ,” Madison muttered. She lifted her phone to her ear. “Yeah, Grayson? I’ve got her. You’re clear.”
“What’s he doing?” I asked.
“Explosives. He’s blowing up those transports. He wanted to make sure you weren’t nearby first.”
“They’re releasing some scrabs at north and south checkpoints, wherever that is.”
Madison’s fingers flew over her screen as she typed. “OK. I’m letting everyone know. UK team thirteen went for the other truck, and we’ve got another American team close behind, but that’s all we could get on short notice.” She read something on her screen and cursed. “They’ve got scrabs on either end of the street. Those must be the checkpoints. American team four is getting slammed.”
Movement caught my eye. Laila was jogging toward us, machete in one hand, a weapons pack in the other. She tossed it to me. “Come on. Grayson’s handling the explosives. He wants us to get out of here and go help the team down the street.”
I grabbed a machete and my sword baton out of the weapons pack, and then strapped it to my back as we ran.
“Hey!” The hoarse, angry scream belonged to Julian. I dared a glance over my shoulder. I stopped.
Julian was running away from the house, furious gaze on something across the field. Edan. He was backing out of the big barn, his phone in front of him like he was taking a video. He shoved the phone into his pocket and took off, machete swinging in one hand. Gage and Dorsey were behind him, slower but right on his heels.
I skidded to a halt. My heart thumped in my ears.
Julian stopped and jabbed at the tablet. He pointed across the field, directing the scrabs.
They galloped straight for Edan, Gage, and Dorsey.
“Julian, no!” I sprinted toward them. Madison’s and Laila’s footsteps were right behind me.
All three boys drew their weapons as the scrabs lunged at them. Archer and Zoe darted out from behind the barn.
I swung my machete as soon as I was close enough to hit flesh. The scrab turned on me, teeth bared. I slashed my blade across its throat.
Archer leapt for a scrab with his weapon, but it skidded away. It headed straight for Julian. He punched at his tablet. Nothing happened.
“You said these stupid scrabs or SACs or whatever were trained!” He reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun. He held it straight in front of him, waiting until the scrab was close enough for a good shot. The bang echoed across the field. The scrab collapsed, twitching.
“Julian!” Webb dashed out the back door of the house. “Julian, no, put that—”
Julian shot the scrab again, drowning out the rest of Webb’s words. It stopped twitching.
“Stop!” Webb yelled. “Gunfire confuses them, we haven’t figured out—”
Two of the scrabs who’d been headed for us cut left, making a beeline for Webb, and he abruptly stopped talking. He pulled a Taser from his belt and aimed it at the scrab. It convulsed as it went down.
Edan yanked his machete out of a scrab as it fell to the ground. His chest heaved up and down, blood streaking his arms.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
The noise came from the large container next to the big barn.
You can’t just throw them in there, Webb had said.
The container tipped over. A claw ripped apart the metal door.
Scrabs poured out. Webb still had his Taser, and he stuck a couple scrabs with it. They went down twitching.
“Julian! A little help here?” he yelled.
Julian had his back to Webb. He was staring at me.
Two scrabs slammed into Webb at once. He screamed as he disappeared beneath them.
Julian began slamming his finger repeatedly into the tablet. Most of the scrabs stiffened. A couple kept running and disappeared into the trees behind Julian. From somewhere nearby, Priya screamed. Dorsey and Laila immediately took off in the direction of the sound.
Grayson sprinted away from the truck parked in the grass, sidestepping Webb’s body.
The container on the truck exploded. Grayson covered his head with his arms as flaming pieces of it went everywhere.
He hurled something at the scrabs standing rigid near the trees. It sailed through the air and landed on the ground, bouncing once.
It exploded.
Both Edan and I jumped. Scrab parts went flying. Julian hit the ground, covering his head with his hands.
Grayson cut right, jumping in to help Dorsey fight a scrab that was on fire. Laila and Priya were standing over three dead ones nearby.
I heard yelling, and I turned to see a few guys running toward the road. MDG guys, probably. I squinted, searching for Julian.
He appeared from behind the house, his stride quick and even. His eyes caught on something, and fury flashed in them. It was Noah, adjusting his uniform camera so it was aimed straight at Julian.
Julian took off toward the barn. He wrenched the door open.
“Julian, no!” I yelled.
He ignored me, disappearing inside the barn. Dorsey and Gage were right behind him.
They both shot out of the barn as quickly as they’d gone in. A scrab burst out of the door behind them. More poured out after it, teeth bared, silent except for the thud of their paws on the ground.
“Hey!” Noah sprinted toward the scrabs, frantically waving his arms. Patrick and the rest of the team followed close behind him. “Over here!” Several of the scrabs veered in their direction.
Dorsey reeled around to fight the closest scrab. He tripped on something I couldn’t see, his machete flying out of his hand. The scrab lunged.
Gage shot in front of Dorsey, swinging his spiked knuckles at the scrab. They lodged in its throat.
The scrab opened its mouth in a silent scream. It drove all ten of its claws into Gage’s chest.
Dorsey yelled something. I clapped a hand over my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut. When I opened them a moment later, I saw Gage crumpled on the ground and Dorsey a few steps away, desperately fighting off another scrab. Every member of the team was engaged in all-out battle.
I ran forward, catching a glimpse of Julian out of the corner of my eye. He was in front of the barn with his tablet. Grayson was inching closer to him, taking down scrab after scrab, but Julian kept releasing a new one every few seconds.
A second scrab was headed straight for Zoe, and I cut it off, using my machete to whack it across the face. I sliced my blade across its neck and it fell to the ground.
I turned to find Zoe letting out a relieved sigh as her scrab went down. She gave me a half-smile as she wiped a hand across her brow. I gasped as I caught movement behind her.
“Zoe, look—”
The scrab behind her took her off her feet as it sank its teeth into her neck. I dove forward, sticking my machete into its side, but it was too late. Zoe’s eyes were blank as she hit the ground.
A strangled cry caught in my throat. I whirled around, desperately searching for the rest of the team. Most of them were still fighting, but I didn’t see Noah or Madison.
A blur of movement caught my eye. It was Edan, shooting across the field. He sidestepped a scrab and slammed into Julian, knocking him into the barn door. Julian ducked away, throwing a punch so hard it knocked Edan off his feet. He hit the dirt.
Julian stepped into the barn for only a second. A scrab roared out; this one’s vocal cords still worked perfectly well. It grabbed ahold of Edan’s leg and yanked him into the barn. Edan clawed desperately as he disappeared.
I was running before I realized it. My feet pounded the earth, my breath coming in gasps.
Grayson leapt out of the darkness and tackled Julian. They fell to the dirt, a mess of limbs. Julian snarled something I couldn’t understand.
A scrab blocked my path, and I barely got my machete up in time. My hands were shaking, but I hit my target. The scrab fell, giving me a view to the barn.
Julian slammed his foot into Grayson’s stomach. Grayson doubled over with a wheeze. Julian took off.
I ran, skidding to a stop in front of the barn door. I braced my hands on either side of the door, suddenly too scared to go inside.
Edan limped out of the darkness, and I almost collapsed with relief. I grabbed his arms, searching his body for injuries. His face was twisted in pain, the leg of his jeans torn open and bloody.
“Always the legs,” he said with a wince.
He took both my hands and flipped them over.
“DAMMIT, EDAN!”
I glanced over my shoulder. Julian was patting his pockets, searching for something.
I looked back down at my hands, where Edan had just placed the tablet.
“You know how to use this thing?” Edan asked.
I meant to smile, but a sob escaped my lips. “Yes.”
I took a step away from him, letting my free hand grasp his as we started to part. “Stay here, OK? You can barely walk.” The image of a scrab dragging him screaming into the barn was still playing on repeat in my head. I was painfully aware of the fact that I still had no idea where Madison and Noah were. I didn’t want to lose another friend tonight.
He nodded, his fingers gripping mine a little tighter.
As I turned, I caught Julian’s gaze. He was staring at our hands, his expression twisted into the most monstrous expression I’d ever seen. Our eyes met.
Danger.
Danger.
Danger.
I pressed the red button as I walked to him. There were only two scrabs left on the field, and they both went rigid as I shocked them. Patrick leapt forward, killing the one closest to him.
I took in a tiny breath as I drew closer to Julian. There were at least ten scrabs just around the corner of the barn, waiting at attention. He’d obviously been holding those for the next wave.
“Give me that before you hurt yourself,” he snapped. He held out his hand.
I realized too late that his other hand was reaching into his waistband. He lifted the gun and pointed it over my shoulder.
I dove for him, but it was too late. Two quick shots rang out, Julian’s arm jerking as he fired. I tackled him. He grunted as we toppled to the ground.
I heard the familiar pounding of heavy running footsteps. The gunshot had sent the remaining ten scrabs in every direction.
“No!” Edan yelled from behind me. “No, no, no. Grayson?”
Julian shoved me off of him, flying into a sitting position. He aimed the gun straight at Edan and didn’t hesitate. He squeezed the trigger.
It clicked. He squeezed again. Another click. He was out of bullets, or it was jammed. He let out a yell of frustration.
Edan, kneeling over Grayson with his hands pressed to his bloody chest, gave Julian a truly horrified look.
Julian’s eyes were wild as he turned to me. He lunged for the tablet.
I shot up and broke into a run. Half the scrabs were headed for the team, one alarmingly close to Laila. I pressed the red button just before it reached her. Every scrab I could see came to a halt, mouth open in a silent scream.
Julian was gaining on me, and I ran faster, speeding into the darkness beside the barn. A hand seized the back of my shirt, yanking it so violently that I was airborne for a moment before I hit the ground, hard. My weapons pack flew off and skittered across the ground.
I rolled over, cradling the tablet to my chest. I stumbled as I tried to get up. He reached for me again, and I smacked his hand away as I shot to my feet.
He swung. I saw it coming a half second before his fist landed on my cheek.
It knocked me on my ass, stars dancing in my vision.
“Oh god,” Julian’s voice was a strangled sob. “I didn’t mean to do that. Oh my god, I didn’t mean to do that, Clara. You know I didn’t mean to do that, right?”
I looked up at him, baffled. He had both hands in his hair, eyes wild, cheeks wet with tears.
Why was he crying?
I should get up. I knew this, and yet my legs wouldn’t move. My cheek stung. It felt like something had come loose in my brain.
“Why did you do this?” Julian was screaming and crying at the same time. It was truly a sight, watching a man who had just killed several people feel sorry for himself. “Why did you make me do this?”
In the distance, someone screamed.
I still had the tablet.
My brain clicked back into place. I jumped to my feet, repeatedly pressing the red button. I had no idea if it did anything. I ran back toward the field.
“Why are you running away from me?” Julian screamed. He was following me. “All I ever did was try to help you. I was going to give you everything, and you spit it back in my face! Do you want to get yourself killed, Clara? Because that’s what’s going to happen! You’re going to fucking die!”
He grabbed me around the waist so suddenly that I gasped. He yanked me against him.
I rammed my elbow into his side. He cursed. His grip on me loosened.
I pulled free of him and spun around. He had his fists raised again.
But I saw it coming this time. I ducked and let his arm sail over my head. I smashed my fist into his chin. He hit the ground.
I gasped for breath. “Still alive, asshole.”