Pressure
Nobody dared to breathe for several minutes. The Centuria were still stationed all around the room, but it looked as if Damien Hunter had finished. One of the Gridders gasped, another began to retch, two of them rushed over to the Head Gridder’s body. It was futile, she was dead. Hunter didn’t take prisoners.
Linwood began to breathe again. All he could manage were shallow, sharp bursts. His heart was pounding furiously in his chest, he was wet with sweat and his face red and burning.
He’d just been made Head Gridder. Did Hunter know? Was he just tormenting him prior to execution? There was no way Linwood could extricate himself from the situation and save his own life. He was ready to give himself up for dead.
The Centuria moved swiftly to remove the bodies. They were hauled onto barrows and wheeled out of the room. Cleaning staff moved in to remove the splatters of brain and blood from desks, screens and floors.
Except for the muted conversations in the room and the two empty workstations, it was as if the two dead Gridders had never been there. Linwood knew he would have to take control quickly, he could see that his colleagues were looking to him for leadership. He wanted to walk out of the building and never have to return, but The City was a place from which there was no escape. Life might have been easier on Silk Road, but its residents were no less trapped.
Linwood thought about his brother, Jacob. There was a big age gap between them – Linwood had only been twelve when his brother disappeared. Jacob had been a great gamer, it was his enthusiasm that had inspired Linwood to play.
Nobody had known what happened to Jacob at the time, only in retrospect. He’d taken part in the Gridder Games. Linwood had been there to watch his victory. Jacob had been amazing, he’d been so proud of his brother. Yet he’d changed so much after winning the games, starting from the day afterwards.
Jacob became moody and secretive. He finished his job in City Management Services and moved to a new department at Fortrillium. He would never discuss his work, and sometimes he’d disappear for days at a time. Often they wouldn’t see him for weeks. If anybody asked him questions, he’d become moody and defensive. The brother that Linwood knew had changed the day after he won the Gridder Games.
Linwood knew exactly why, of course. After his brother’s disappearance, he’d followed in Jacob’s footsteps, taking part in the Gridder Games and, after several years of trying, eventually winning the contest.
He’d been approached by Damien Hunter, signed the appropriate contracts and then learned very quickly why his brother had become so secretive and defensive. His mother and father had watched it happen all over again, first their eldest son, then the only son that they had left.
Linwood had worked hard to win the Gridder Games because he was desperate to find out what had become of his brother. They’d never known what had happened to him when he disappeared, there was no body. That wasn’t unusual in The City, people often disappeared without a trace. But they were usually in the public eye, people who’d been foolish enough to challenge the President or Damien Hunter. Jacob was invisible, why would anybody need to dispose of him?
It had been difficult growing up not knowing what had happened to Jacob. There was no official explanation, no evidence trail. He’d just gone missing. There were no messages either, Jacob had left the house one day and never returned.
Linwood had hoped to find some answers by winning the Gridder Games. He’d certainly discovered why Jacob was so secretive and bad-tempered all the time. That went with the job. But he’d moved no closer to the truth about his disappearance, and there he was, trapped in a role from which there was no escape. The Gridder Games were simply a way for Damien Hunter to find new killers.
Linwood had struggled with his conscience just as Jacob must have done. His family were at risk if he didn’t comply with Hunter’s requirements, and the deaths in The Grid would continue whether it was he who was creating the scenarios or somebody else. He had to sit tight, make his kills, then walk out of there still breathing. With his mum and dad still alive what choice was there?
If at any time he’d considered that Damien Hunter might be making idle threats, he’d now seen the truth. Hunter was deadly serious. If you crossed him, you died. The two Gridders who’d lost their lives didn’t even get the chance of a Justice Trial. What he’d just seen was summary execution.
Hunter had placed Linwood in charge. As he stood there considering what to do next, he wondered if Jacob had just disappeared. Perhaps nobody had killed him, maybe he’d just run away and hidden. It was what Linwood wanted to do. If he could have just disappeared at that moment, if he’d thought it was an option, he would have done it.
Linwood was torn. What could he do? He desperately wanted to keep Hannah alive. He was sure she was in The Grid, but how could he carry out Hunter’s demands and still protect his friend? If he didn’t make the trial look good, Hunter would place a gun to his head. He’d used some of his best gameplay already, he’d need to come up with some new ideas. His team of Gridders looked as if they all wanted to run away, and he wasn’t sure how much use they’d be. They were all in shock from what had just happened, there was no hiding behind pixelated images on console screens anymore.
He would have to make the gameplay good and rely on Hannah to survive. He’d give them weapons and supplies, he’d place clues where he could, but she would have to do her best to stay alive. Linwood needed more time to think, he couldn’t see a way out of the situation which didn’t involve death.
He decided to seek some help from his brother Jacob. He’d been an amazing gamer, and Linwood had looked on in awe as he’d watched his brother rise to victory in the Gridder Games seven years previously. He was going to deploy a few techniques that Jacob had used to win his own contest.
Firstly, Linwood intended to bring back Schälen. He’d not seen that technique deployed in a long time, but it always played well with the watching crowds. Schälen was a great villain, but he was beatable. Lucy had fought him off, Chris had killed him. Hannah would be able to do the same if it came to that. He would clone three Schälens, recreate rendered versions of the madman – that would generate some immediate tension in The Grid.
Then, for the third and final Mode he’d use a brilliant idea his brother had come up with. He’d beaten all of his opponents in the Gridder Games using this technique, and it would give Hannah a fighting chance too. Rather than depending on strength and fighting skills, the final challenge would be psychological. He’d seen that Hannah was strong, but she’d have to fight her worst demons to survive. He was sure she could do it.
Linwood walked over to the Head Gridder’s console at the end of the room and indicated the remaining Gridders should gather round for a briefing. He was going to play as a different Gridder now, in honour of his own brother’s amazing talent. It was his brother’s fate that had led him to that place, it would be his brother’s skills that would now keep him – and his friend, Hannah – alive.
Instead of continuing the trial playing as 97TRaider, Linwood would now attempt to step back into the mind of his brother Jacob. He would have to live, breathe and act just like his brother’s Gridder ID. Linwood would have to become his brother Jacob, known in the gaming community as Reevil96.
Tech
Wiz was impressed. They’d given him everything he’d asked for and more. If only he’d had access to this equipment when he’d been in Harry’s apartment.
To his side he had the live stream of the Justice Trial on a console screen. He’d been shocked to see Schälen back in The Grid again, but it was being played for maximum drama. The Schälen clones hadn’t yet located the two parties of Justice Seekers.
Wiz knew it was now a race to get ahead. Two teams of rebels had been sent out to attach aerials to three new tower blocks. Wiz had advised them to forget the aerial on Harry’s block and to reroute the signal from the sewers to avoid detection. They were quite some distance from where Harry had been based, but there were three tall towers available to them.
Reports were coming back that The Climbs were alive with Centuria. The news of the rebel attacks had been suppressed on the screens, but word had got out among the residents of The Climbs. Nobody remembered ever seeing a battle where the Centuria hadn’t come off best. There was a new buzz in The Climbs, and it wasn’t just about the latest trial.
Wiz set up the tech he’d managed to salvage and cabled it up to the new equipment he’d been given. There were no issues with power supplies, no solar packs to nurse and no looking over his shoulder to make sure he was safe. He would be able to work fast and effectively, there were even tech people on hand to help him where normally he’d have called on Mitchell’s skills.
Wiz was angry with Mitchell, but he had no desire to see him harmed. They all did things in The City which they’d have preferred not to have done. He’d been about to kill Dillon. He was going to blow out the brains of his best friend’s brother. As an act of mercy! How screwed up was that? How could Wiz ever explain that to Jena, Joe or Dillon? Yet, in the moment, it would have been the kindest thing to do for Dillon, to spare him the agony and torture of being hunted like a beast by the Centuria.
In that moment, Wiz forgave Mitchell. Whatever he’d done, he was only human. None of them were perfect, they all had to make deals with their consciences every day. Mitchell was no better or worse than anybody else. He wasn’t evil, he wasn’t trying to get them killed. Whatever had happened to him, he was probably just trying to do the right thing. Of course, Wiz was annoyed and felt betrayed, but he resolved not to judge Mitchell. He’d got them this far, and if it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t have the masts set up on the tower blocks, Lucy would have been caught in The Climbs after Segregation, he never would have been able to find the message from Joe’s dad.
Mitchell had made a bad mistake betraying the whereabouts of his friends, and now he was paying the price, stuck in The Grid, wounded, bloody and beaten. He was just trying to survive like the rest of them. If Wiz ever saw him again, he would forgive his friend. And he sure as hell was going to do his best to get him out of there, along with Hannah, Jena and all the rest of the Justice Seekers.
There was no point in dwelling on the things that had passed already, it was time to seize the future.
Exit
Teanna was relieved to get to the relative safety of her apartment within the presidential complex. She needed to catch her breath, events were moving fast. Alliances were being tested, she would soon have to make her final choice. Would she throw in her lot with President Delman or take a chance on Hunter? She knew that Hunter would make a formidable ally. He was ruthless and without mercy, he also had the motivation, but would he be able to reunite her with her father?
If she carried out the President’s instructions and made a move on Hunter’s family in the Umbilica, she’d have to declare her hand. She wasn’t yet ready to make her choice. Delman might betray her at the last minute when they crossed through The Grid. There was no longer any reason to keep her alive once he’d safely returned to Centrum. Hunter did not hold Delman’s power, he had no ability to get through The Grid. Still, if she needed a killer on that side of The Grid, he was her man. She’d seen the look in his eyes as he’d tortured Mitchell. She’d wanted to step forward and spare the boy from the ordeal, and in the end she prevented Hunter from slitting his throat. He was poised to do it, but Teanna had suggested that he should be thrown in The Grid as a traitor. Hunter had hesitated a moment. He’d actually been disappointed not to be able to cut Mitchell’s throat, but he could see how placing Mitchell in The Grid would be a direct challenge to the President. He wasn’t going to let a throat cutting get in the way of a spiteful strategy. Teanna had saved Mitchell’s life, or, at least, prolonged it. He’d seen what she’d done before he passed out. He knew she’d stepped forward and manipulated Hunter.
Teanna drew out her WristCom and transferred the images to her console. Finally she would get to know the truth about Catharsis. It took a moment for the pictures to transfer. She’d taken them on the highest resolution, she wanted to be able to read them clearly.
It didn’t take Teanna long to understand what the President had been hiding from her for so long. That’s why they were leaving in such a hurry, Catharsis was about to begin.
She’d been shocked to read about the process of destruction that was coming. The time had to be approaching if Delman was leaving. But what was he up to? What was his plan? Her father was caught up in it all too, it’s why he’d taken her in the first place. Had her father known about Catharsis and hidden the secret from her? Wherever Delman was heading, it would be safe from Catharsis, that much she knew.
Teanna’s father was a CryoBiologist, they didn’t even have those in this city, it was an unknown technology. The Umbilica was the only evidence that kind of knowledge had ever existed, but it was primitive and basic compared to her father’s work. Her father had something Delman needed – it’s why he was crossing back to see him. And Teanna was part of the deal, it wouldn’t go ahead without her, she was her father’s security. The men had made some sinister bargain many years ago, and it was almost time for them to collect.
Teanna couldn’t make up her mind which way to jump. If she betrayed Delman, she would be putting her father at risk. What did he have riding on his arrangement with Delman? He’d warned her not to trust him, those were his parting words to her. Was that a hidden message, did he want her to stop Delman?
Then there was Hunter, crazy Damien Hunter. She was certain he was unstable, but he was also dangerous and powerful. He commanded the Centuria. If anybody could stop Delman it was Hunter. And he certainly wanted Delman dead. With his family caught in the Umbilica, Delman had Hunter exactly where he wanted him. Hunter had to toe the line. However much he wanted to kill the President, he would not put his family’s lives at risk.
Yet the President had asked Teanna to give him direct control over their fate, he was going to put a knife to the throats of Hunter’s family much as Hunter had done to Mitchell earlier that day. He’d asked Teanna to begin the process of termination. It would not be instant, she would selectively begin to shut down their bodies, leaving them in a state of half-life. They would be teetering on the edge of death, but not quite dead. The President wanted them that way so he could kill them at the click of a button. It would be instant. It would give Hunter no thinking time, nothing to gamble with. If he didn’t comply with the President, he would lose his family. Delman would paralyse him with the threat if it came to that. Delman might have seemed to be the saner option, but they were living in a world surrounded by madness.
Teanna thought through her options. She needed to create some insurance of her own. She had no bargaining power with President Delman, she’d never had any power. If she wanted to see her father again, she had to be fully compliant. She had to make sure she had some kind of hold over the President just in case it was needed.
Teanna made her way to the Umbilica and partially followed through on Delman’s commands. She began the process of termination, but she would not make it quite as perilous as the President had requested. She needed to buy Hunter some time. If Delman put him under pressure, if the President really killed his family, there was no telling what he’d do. Teanna thought Damien Hunter was a man best left with options. So she altered some of the settings in the Umbilica, but she had every intention of keeping Hunter’s family alive.
Only Teanna and the President had control access to the Umbilica, and Delman was the one with final authority. But before Teanna left the area, she made a minor change in case it came in useful later. Hunter would do anything to keep his family alive, Teanna had seen that already. So she made sure he could access the Umbilica. Just as the President had done in error earlier the same evening, Talya left her account partially open. It was encrypted at password level, but the DNA recognition was left open. If she needed to, she could convey her access information to Hunter and he would be able to reverse the termination process. It might just buy her some time if things turned ugly with the President.
Unleashed
Mitchell was feeling wretched, but he was more capable than he’d led the others to believe. He was ashamed, humiliated and contrite. Not only had he betrayed his friends, he’d been a fool to fall for the President’s flattery. Joe, Wiz, Hannah and Lucy had been good to him, they’d welcomed him into their circle of friendship. His response was to look down his nose at Joe and Wiz and to desert them in favour of the highest bidder as soon as the going got tough.
He wasn’t ready to talk with the others yet, he needed some time to straighten things in his own mind. How could he recover from this? Hannah was an arm’s length away from him, she was the one whose attention he’d been trying to attract all along. Look where it had ended up. They were both in The Grid and their plans to take on Fortrillium had come to nothing.
Mitchell blamed himself for everything. If he’d just helped Wiz a bit they could have sorted out the tech, saved Joe and Lucy, and had a good stab at taking down Damien Hunter. If he’d kept his mouth shut and just fed Delman lies and mistruths, he might have kept his friends safe. Would Delman have fallen for it? He wasn’t sure how much choice he’d really had in the matter.
Teanna Schaelles had been the biggest surprise for him. She was in league with Damien Hunter. The President didn’t even know. If he could get that news out into the open it would create massive problems. However, Hunter had tied up all the loose ends. Mitchell was stuck in The Grid and there was no way any of that information would get out into the open. He’d missed his chance, he had misjudged events and got it completely wrong.
In the van, Hunter had been like an animal. Mitchell had told him everything before Damien even touched him with any of the deadly torture instruments in his bag. But Hunter had tortured him anyway. He’d sliced off pieces of skin, stuck scalpels underneath fingernails and impaled him with small skewers which kept him alive but created excruciating pain. Much of the pain had been psychological. It was the threat and the waiting which made it so bad, it had almost been a relief when he’d got on with it. Teanna had saved him in the end. He’d thought it was over, but she’d stepped in and saved his life. Had she really been offering Damien a better way to deal with Mitchell, or had she hesitated when she’d seen what was being done to him? He’d probably never know, but he was grateful to her all the same.
He was in great pain. Hunter hadn’t incapacitated him, just found many ways to hurt him. The dressings had helped, but every part of his body hurt. Hunter had been thorough and expert in his work.
Mitchell kept his eyes closed and stayed still. He’d let them think he was still partially conscious, it saved him having to engage though he listened intently to the conversations of the others.
He heard how Hannah had successfully infiltrated Fortrillium and managed to help Joe and Lucy survive. It was even possible that they’d escaped. Clay was the leader, he’d done some amazing things. Mitchell was pleased to have somebody strong like that within the group of Justice Seekers.
He’d been surprised to hear Jena talking. She was transformed since he’d last seen her in The Climbs. Harry’s death and Joe’s arrest had shaken her out of the trance she’d been in. Mitchell was in awe of her as she described her gun battle on the staircase with the Centuria. He wondered if he would be able to show the same resolve if he was placed in a similar situation. He doubted it. He felt so scared all the time, he thought he lacked the courage to make a stand.
They all had incredible stories to tell. Max Penner sounded as if he’d had a terrible time. Talya had told them she had a source of information on Silk Road, but Mitchell never thought she would have used torture. Yet Max had already forgiven her, it had shaken him out of his own inaction and forced him to stand up and be counted. Mitchell yearned to have the same mettle as the others, but he was a spineless, treacherous little rat. He despised himself, how could he justify his place among such an impressive group of people?
There was some unease about the presence of a Centuria. They had all spent a lifetime living in fear of Fortrillium’s military force. The consensus was that Julia was the same as everybody else, they were just people trying to survive in an impossible environment. Nobody got left out in The Grid, they were all Justice Seekers, they fought together.
Mitchell wondered how he could move on from where he was. Did the others even know what he’d done? Wiz certainly did, but at least he’d managed to send Wiz a warning. He’d done something honourable at last, but it was probably too little, too late. He lay there, churning over all the terrible things he’d done, and wondering how he could ever retrieve the situation.
The answer came sooner than he could have anticipated. Clay and Julia were still out on their scouting trip while the remaining Justice Seekers had created a temporary base behind the concrete block which had served so well as cover under sniper fire. The attack came without warning, nobody had been expecting it.
From nowhere, three men wearing black overalls appeared at either end of the enclosed area that had provided shelter for the group. Black overalls meant a serial killer. Three serial killers, all dressed in the overalls of Justice Seekers. Were they part of The Grid trial? The men were exactly the same. There was confusion as the pieces were put together.
‘Schälen!’ shouted Chris, who’d recognized the deadly clones immediately.
‘Hell, you’re supposed to be dead!’ came Ross’s voice as he turned to grab his weapon.
‘Who’s Schälen?’ asked Max.
‘Haven’t you heard of me?’ came Schälen’s reply. ‘Well, no worries, you can get to know us a little better right now.’
Schälen had the advantage of surprise. Ross was still in a bad way and not capable of doing much fighting. Chris’s reaction had been to panic, he couldn’t understand how he’d killed the animal and yet he’d come back. There were three of him. How was that possible?
Jena, Max and Hannah had not yet encountered the monster, though Hannah knew what it was straight away. She recognized him well enough from the pixel view she’d been able to access while working at Fortrillium. The black overalls confirmed it.
‘They’ve cloned him. This isn’t the real Schälen, he’s been created by the Gridders. He’s real to us though, and he’s probably even more dangerous. Be careful, there may be more of them!’
There were only two weapons available to the group, a broken spear and a scythe. The Schälen clones were heavily armed. Each carried a long knife with a deadly serrated edge, a long spear and, in a holster slung over his back, a scimitar.
The clones were approaching the group with knife and spear ready. One neared Mitchell. He leapt up and joined the main cluster who were standing in a defensive line in front of Ross.
‘Mitchell?’ Hannah said, surprised at his sudden recovery. She immediately understood what had been going on. He’d been playing wounded all that time. It had taken a threat to shake him out of it. She was disappointed, shocked, but there was no time to talk. She understood what the Gridders were doing, this was an entertaining interlude before the final Mode. The clones were strong and intent, their sole mission was to take lives.
They began to move in on the group. Hannah grabbed the spear, Max took the scythe. There seemed little they could do. They couldn’t attack, each clone was armed with a spear that would pierce them before they got anywhere near.
Jena had seen an opportunity. She picked up a fragment of shattered concrete, throwing it directly at the clone who was closest to her. It hit his head, sending him staggering back.
‘Well, at least they can be hurt like the real Schälen,’ said Ross, attempting to stand up so he could join the fight. The others followed Jena’s lead, picking up fragments of concrete from the floor. The clones had been forced into action by Jena’s move. One ran directly at Max, his blade grazing his side as he violently thrust his spear. Max gave a cry but managed to use the scythe he’d been holding to knock the spear onto the ground. Mitchell retreated behind Ross. He held a piece of concrete in his hand but dared not throw it. He watched as the others bravely fought.
Only Jena, Max and Hannah were offering any real resistance. Chris was doing his best to throw pieces of rubble but seemed unsure what to do. He was overwhelmed by the situation, completely daunted by sight of three clones of the man he thought he’d killed.
The clones seemed to have been implanted with the real Schälen’s memories because they were intent on getting to Chris. Max passed his scythe to Hannah and picked up Schälen’s dropped spear while Jena fought with her broken weapon. Ross did his best to throw stones, but he was slow and sore.
The clone fighting Max had drawn his scimitar. He was looking Max directly in the eyes. Max thrust the spear every time the clone got closer. He continued to approach, cautiously and tentatively.
Jena did the same with her clone. He approached and she tried to fend him off. Hannah was embroiled in full combat. The clone was swiping at her with the serrated knife, grazing her cheek twice, she felt each tear of skin as it did so.
Without warning the clones, in unison, changed direction and ran at Chris. He threw the stone he’d been clutching and screamed. They were coming for revenge. It took Max, Jena and Hannah by surprise. One second they’d been engaged in direct combat, the next their opponent turned and rushed at a new target, one that was unarmed and exposed.
One of the clones raised his scimitar and brought it down on Chris’s arm. He’d just picked up another stone, ready to throw. The weapon cut right through Chris’s limb. It dropped to the ground, still holding the small fragment of concrete. He let out an agonized cry and fell to his knees, clutching the bloody stump where his arm had once been.
Jena jumped onto the clone’s back, thrusting her spear end into the neck of the abomination. It threw her off onto the ground, she struck her head and was dazed by the violence of her fall. Another of the clones drew back his spear and thrust it into Chris’s stomach. The third threw down his own spear, drew his scimitar from its sheath and drew back his arm. Max could see what he was intending to do, and he thrust his own spear into the back of the clone. The clone stopped momentarily then continued with its deadly objective. The sharp blade flew through the air, removing Chris’s head effortlessly before he’d even had a chance to see it was coming. His body fell to the ground.
Two of the clones were wounded, but one was still unharmed. Jena could have sworn afterwards that time stood still for a moment after Chris’s execution, but it couldn’t possibly have been so. All of the Justice Seekers looked at Chris’s corpse. Hannah called his name in disbelief. Max froze for an instant.
The mortally wounded clone dropped his bloodied scimitar and drew his knife. Holding it by its tip, he aimed it at Mitchell. Ross saw it was coming and pushed Mitchell out of the way. Before the clone had dropped to the floor, dead, it took one more life. The knife that had been aimed at Mitchell sank deep into Ross’s eye, lodging in his brain. He died immediately, clutching Mitchell’s arm.
Mitchell observed the precise point at which things changed for him, in spite of the pace of events. It was then and there, at the moment of Ross’s death. He’d been terrified, shielding himself from the fighting, and cowering in the corner. When he saw what Ross had done for him, the fear left him. He became enraged. He realized this was exactly what had happened to Jena and Max. Every person had their limit. They would inhabit fear until it was forcibly ejected from its sphere. Mitchell had avoided engagement until the last possible moment. But when he had to look death directly in the eyes, he stepped forward. He chose to live.
Mitchell lowered Ross to the ground, as Max, Hannah and Jena attempted to repel the remaining two clones. Mitchell calmly extracted the knife from Ross’s eye socket. He heard the squelch of brain tissue as the blade exited its victim. He’d never held a weapon before in his life, but he gripped the handle with the surety of a hunter who knew he was about to make a kill. Summoning all the anger he could muster, Mitchell ran at the wounded clone, pushing between Max and Jena, and plunged the knife straight into the beast’s heart.
This Schälen dropped to the ground. Mitchell looked towards Hannah. The final clone had her cornered, raising his scimitar ready to smash it through the middle of her skull. Letting go of the knife, Mitchell turned to run at the clone. He saw that it was about to begin its final, deadly swipe. He was not going to let Hannah die. He’d secretly adored her from afar, but he’d been unworthy of her attention. He had betrayed her and let her down. He’d been despicable, but it ended there. He knew he’d never win Hannah’s heart, but that no longer mattered to him.
As he ran towards her, he grabbed Max’s scythe by the blade. Its sharp edge cut through his hand, but he’d experienced terrible agonies from Damien Hunter’s torture and he knew the pain could be survived. He held his gaze on the scimitar all the time, watching as it began to make its journey to the centre of Hannah’s skull. He leapt as high as he could, flipping the scythe in his hand and plunging it with every bit of strength he could muster into the wrist of the clone.
It cut right through. The hand dropped to the ground, and the scimitar fell at Hannah’s side, missing its target. Mitchell delivered one more blow of his weapon, this time driving it into the head of the clone. The final assailant dropped to the ground. All was silent, except for the adrenalin-fuelled breathing of the survivors.
There were two dead, Ross and Chris, and all of the clones had been stopped. Hannah had been crouched on the ground waiting for death to come. Max and Jena had been astounded by Mitchell’s speed, it had taken them by surprise. They’d survived, but there were terrible casualties. They’d lost two Justice Seekers, everywhere there was blood.
The clones began to pixelate, then disappeared, leaving no trace of weapons or blood. A holographic image of Damien Hunter appeared before them. They knew what it was. Surely not? They needed rest, they weren’t ready.
As Damien Hunter began to speak, the three Justice Seekers could only stand there and listen to his words. It was the beginning of the third and final Mode. There was to be no break and no rest. It was the early hours of the morning, yet they were going straight into battle again. There was to be no delay. For some, it would be the final battle.