Indestructible (Indestructible Trilogy Book 1) (10 page)

“That’s what their missions usually are,” says Tyler. “They use a radio to reach out to local towns—don’t ask, Murray’s in charge of that—and send out teams when the fiends get close. They also check out energy blasts, see if there are any survivors. But they wouldn’t need such a big group for something like that.”

“Exactly.” I frown. “But Elle didn’t tell me. She said her dad wouldn’t let her. Pretty much everything I asked got the same answer.”

“That’s odd. I’d say ask her dad, but Murray’s not known for divulging secrets either.”

“It’s strange,” I say. “I mean, he’s the leader. What if he’d died out there?”

“He can take care of himself,” says Tyler, “but you’re right. The guy’s been here longer than any of us.”

“Were you born here?”

“Nah. I’m from Edinburgh originally. We moved around a lot. The guys in red came recruiting around the time the energy blasts started taking out the big cities.

“Really?” I say, surprised. “I thought everyone grew up here.”

“No, not at all. I’d say most of us novices came in around two, three years ago at most. The others had been here a little longer, but I guess people would have talked if they’d seen groups of strangely-dressed warriors going around randomly testing people to see if they had the gene.”

He breaks off. “Ah, crap. Shouldn’t’ve said that.”

I’d assumed as much from what Murray had said—or not said.

“So it’s genetic, then? Definitely?”

“Honestly, I’ve no idea. I kind of listened in on a conversation I shouldn’t have. Murray and some of the junior doctors were talking genetics and it sounded like they were discussing whether it’s random or inherited, being like us.” He shrugs. “I mean, I think I’d have noticed if my parents were crazy-strong, but then again, they died when I was five.”

“I’m sorry,” I say automatically.

He shrugs again. “I don’t really remember them that well. Probably for the best. My whole town got wiped out in an energy blast, along with everyone else I ever knew.”

“Same with mine,” I say. My chest tightens as images of the second energy blast flash through my mind. What would Randy and the others think of me now, practically living in luxury? Fighting for fun?

The dormitory door opens and Elle walks in. “Hey, Phoenix,” she says.

I blink, having forgotten the nickname.

“Phoenix?” says Tyler, nonplussed.

“Apparently, it’s my nickname,” I say.

“I think it sounds neat,” says Elle. “Anyway. Want to come to the lookout?”

“Told you so,” says Tyler. “Yes, we do.”

“For what?” I ask, confused by the smirk now on his face. “The view?”

“You should probably wear a coat,” says Tyler, getting up and crossing to the laundry cupboard. “You have one yet?”

I start, distracted. “The red ones? No…”

“There’ll be a spare.” Tyler’s already rummaging through clothes. “Reckon this might be a bit too long…”

I hesitate a second, but for all the secretive looks between them, Tyler and Elle just look like they’re sharing something amusing, not sinister. I try to relax and take the coat from him, wrapping myself in it. It sweeps down to my feet, crimson and majestic. I feel half like a kid playing dress-up, half like I’m part of some strange, secret group.

“Nice,” says Elle. “It suits you.”

It’s certainly warm and snug, but as I’m smaller than average, the long sleeves would be a hindrance during a fight.

“Shall we go?” says Tyler.

Elle leads the way as we skirt around the crater. I look down into the pit, and see someone down there, standing on a rock in the middle of the pool of lava.

I stop dead, staring. I can feel the heat curling off the lava’s surface even from here. Who the hell would even consider going that close?

“Who’s down there?”

I squint. My heart jolts. It’s Cas. He stands on the rock, eyes on the swirling lava.

“Attention-seeker,” says Tyler, dismissively.

“What the hell is he doing?”

“God knows.” Tyler shrugs. “I know we can survive crazy temperatures, but I don’t fancy swimming in lava. Too many rocks.”

I turn to Elle and find that she’s already disappeared into a tunnel. With one last glance behind me, I follow her, Tyler on my heels.

A chill breeze sweeps into the tunnel from outside, raising my coat’s hood. I have to hold it a couple of inches off the ground to stop it from dragging, but I’m glad for the warmth. The tunnel’s tight and claustrophobic, but I can smell the fresh, cool air from outside.

“I’ve missed this,” says Tyler. “I swear it’s been weeks since I’ve been outside.”

“Really?” I look at him, surprised.

“I’m not qualified for missions yet,” he says.

“How do we qualify?” I ask. “I mean, is it an age thing?”

“No, we have to pass tests. The whole routine’s been thrown off because half our group disappeared for the past week. Normally there’d be endurance-training, but there aren’t enough free supervisors at the moment. I miss wall-punching.”

“Wall-punching? Is that…?”

“You know we’re freakishly strong,” says Tyler. “Nothing like pummelling a rock wall to work off some frustration.” He grins at Elle.

It sounds bizarre… but then again, I survived almost being thrown through a brick wall when the fiends attacked me. Maybe I could punch through stone. I’ve never tried.

“You had to tell her, didn’t you?” Elle shakes her head. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Huh?”

“I love it when a newbie takes their first punch,” says Tyler. “I think Poppy’s facial expression was the best, she looked like she’d found a cache of gold hidden in the wall.” He grins. “It’s like a rite of passage. Don’t let us down, Leah.”

So this is their plan? I think of sports team inductions at school, camaraderie. Friendship.

We come to an opening and the light from the setting sun is almost blinding. After two days under artificial light, the
wrongness
of the burning red sky is even more striking. Below, the valley spreads out, dressed in heather and bisected by a river.

“Pretty, huh?” says Elle. “I love it out here.”

“Yeah, sure.” Tyler’s teeth are chattering. “Now, let’s watch Leah punch a wall.”

“You were serious about that?”

“Hell, yeah. Come on, entertain us.”

They’re both looking at me. The idea’s so ridiculous, I feel a grin break out on my face.

“Go on, then,” I say. “Whereabouts is a safe place? I don’t want to bring the whole mountain crashing down.”

“Ooh, get you,” says Tyler. “Not even us Pyros can do that. We do have a limit, believe it or not.”

“Here,” says Elle, who looks just as eager as Tyler. “Up here.” Lithely, she begins to climb. There are indentations in the rock wall which act as steps, and I start scrambling upwards behind her. Elle pulls herself over a ledge, and soon my hands find the path and, almost effortlessly, pull me up alongside her.

We’re at a higher point on the path. I look up and see grey clouds swirling. If the sky was dark, they’d be invisible, but they stand out like bruises.

Elle grins at me, pointing at a bare stretch of rock wall. “There will do. Hit it.”

“You look positively evil,” I tell her, earning a grin.

She steps back to give me space.

“If the walls fall down, it’s on you two,” I say, balling my hand into a fist. The rock wall looks as solid as it gets. I hesitate and turn a suspicious glance on both of them. “Are you having me on?” I ask. “If I break my hand, I won’t be any good to your cause.”

“Nope, not a joke,” says Tyler. “Get it over with, I’m freezing here.”

I pull in a breath and draw back my fist. Before I lose my nerve, I imagine I’m hitting a punching bag and swing my fist forward…

Crack.

The rock splinters beneath my hand, fragments crumbling around the fist-sized hole in the wall. I let my arm fall to my side, stunned.

“Epic!” says Tyler, laughing. “Your face!”

“Thanks,” I say, but find myself smiling anyway. In that moment, stupid as it might seem, I feel like I can do anything. I can punch through freaking
rock.
I could take one of those monsters.

I punch the wall again. No pain, only exhilaration. I laugh at the absurd pleasure it gives me. Like feeling in control of something in this crazy world.

A sound hits my ears, echoing up from the valley. The high-pitched screech raises the hairs on my arms and sends my heart slamming into my ears.

Tyler’s eyes widen, and Elle clutches my arm, horror etched on her face.

“How—they
never
come this close.”

But the noise is unmistakeable. The sound of nightmares. I look wildly around and spot them, two hunched shapes moving across the valley.

Another follows. Then another. A line of human-like shapes, creeping between the stunted trees below. Though we’re too high to see any of their features, the image of the monstrosities is clear in my mind.

I imagine running downhill to meet them, testing my new combat skills. Taking the monsters head-on. Indestructible.

Don’t be stupid.
I might be able to punch a hole in a rock wall, but those creatures almost killed me twice. It would be downright suicidal to engage them now.

“Shit,” says Tyler. “We’ve gotta get down from here.”

“We have to tell my dad,” says Elle, her face chalk-white.

But first, we have to lower ourselves over the verge. I offer to go first but regret it almost immediately. Now my hands are shaking, it becomes much harder to grip the ledge, and above me, Elle’s even worse. As I take another step down, her foot slips and her hands fumble the ledge. She lets out a scream.

“Calm down!” says Tyler, who’s still standing on the path above. “You’re okay. Just go slow.”

“My hands are slipping,” she says, faintly. Her grip loosens again, and her left hand fumbles and lets go.

Panic sends my pulse racing. I speed up my pace, in case I need to catch her. If I fall, I wouldn’t suffer nearly as much damage—hell, it probably wouldn’t even hurt. But Elle isn’t like me.

Her legs are shaking too much to step into the footholds. Gritting my teeth, I let go and drop the last two feet. I slam into the ground, but it doesn’t hurt. Holding my arms out, I call to her, “I’ll catch you! Let go!”

She’s already slipping. I hear another screech behind me, but I can’t turn around. Elle falls into my outstretched arms, and buries her head in my shoulder, sobbing.

“Hey… you’re fine.”

Tyler doesn’t look too pleased about climbing down either, but like me, he lowers himself a few feet and jumps. The impact jolts the path, and I set Elle down beside me, twisting around to see where the fiends have got to.

They’re closer, moving far faster than any other animal can. Seven or more shapes move in a line towards us. I think of the wall of fire in front of the mountain—how did they get past that?

“Come on!” says Tyler.

We slip back into the chamber and, by silent agreement, sprint back into the main cave. My mind whirls, and I can’t stop looking over my shoulder, even though I know the fiends won’t have come close yet.

Finally, we emerge into the crater. Red-robed Pyros stare at us as we run past. Elle takes charge, aiming right for her dad’s office.

“Dad!” she shouts.

Murray’s head appears in the doorway. His hair’s standing on end and he wears a pair of thick-framed glasses.

“Elle! Don’t run in the corridor. It’s dangerous.”

“There are fiends out there!”

“What?” He blinks at her, lifting his steamed-up glasses.

“It’s true,” I say. “There are fiends down in the valley coming this way.”

“Impossible. The shield’s up, no one can get in.”

“We saw them from the back walkway,” says Tyler.

Murray’s shaking his head in disbelief. “Elle, I’ve told you not to go up there.”

“I know, but I wanted to—”

“What’s going on?” Cas appears behind Murray, an irritable expression on his face. “What are you lot babbling about?”

“Fiends,” I say. “Down in the valley. They’re coming this way.”

Cas narrows his eyes at me. “A likely story.”

“I don’t lie,” I say, riled. “I’ll show you if you don’t believe me.”

“Cas!” says Murray. “We should at least send a team to check this out. You can round up a few people, can’t you?”

“What a waste of time,” he mutters, but at a warning glance from Murray—or possibly because I’m still glaring at him—he walks off.

“I’ll go,” I find myself saying.

“But you don’t have a weapon,” says Elle.

“They might be the same fiends that came after me before.”

It’s flimsy logic, but she drops it. I don’t admit, not even to myself, that part of me
wants
to get into a fight with a fiend. Make them suffer like they did to me. Now I know how to hit them where it hurts.