Ordinaries: Shifters Book II (Shifters series 2) (17 page)

Chapter 31

The Second Wave

–TANNER–

The first ship veers away from the base and careens toward the mountains to the north. The second one hits the warehouse and tips up on its side. The ground shakes with the force of the impact, and we struggle to stay on our feet. Cooper and I stare up at it. It creaks and moans as it now stands angled high in the air, impossibly on its end. It must be a thousand feet tall. I really don’t know how big it is, but it seems like a thousand from where I’m standing.

Pieces begin to fall off and slam to the ground. At first, they’re small, but bigger ones follow. The ground rumbles with each impact.

“Coop! It’s coming down!” I yell at her.

She nods, and I know she can make it away in time. I’m just about to shift when I hear someone screaming, “Tanner!”

I turn to see Alice and several other people that have escaped before the impact, dodging falling debris. A man running beside her is crushed instantly. Alice screams and changes direction toward the falling ship.

She doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s panicked.

The ship groans and begins to tilt. The metal screams, and the ground shakes.

I look back at Cooper. She’s watching the panicked escapees. Her head darts back and forth between safety and certain death. Our eyes meet, and I know what she’s thinking: “There’ll be no more death today.”

Before sanity grips me safely in its arms, I shift and find myself running through the frozen scene. The only thing moving, besides me, is Cooper. We dodge and dart through the debris, some of which is suspended in midair, until we reach the group. I’m about to grab Alice when I notice Elli lying on the ground, about half a second from being squashed. I leave Alice and pull Elli from the ground. I sprint in the opposite direction of the ship’s trajectory and lay her gently on the ground.

I run back to the scene and grab Alice, setting her on the ground next to Elli. Cooper is doing the same thing, gathering others, moving them to safety. I go back half a dozen more times, each time moving more slowly than the last. My lungs are burning. The ship is leaning. My knees feel like jelly, but I keep going.

There are still people there, in danger, so I continue to go back. I know I can’t hold my shift much longer. I know I probably won’t make it back, but I go in. I hold onto a woman. I remember her; she’s the one that Ryland brought back from the raid on the Enforcer unit. She’s the frail woman who shook like a leaf. I try to pick her up, but I can’t. I collapse, and she falls with me.

The world catches up with me. The sound is horrible. The ship’s falling. It’s falling on us. A large piece lands directly beside me. The ground trembles, and I know the next will hit me and the woman screaming in my arms. I try to shield her, but I know it’s useless. We will be crushed.

I try to shift. Nothing slows. I try again. She’s still shrieking. I look up and see something falling. I’m so weak I know I can’t move. I let the woman go. Maybe she has enough energy to get away. I watch it grow as it descends. I look at her, and our eyes lock. We will die together, this poor Ordinary woman and I.

I think of Ryland holding my hand when we were little. I think of Alice and the day she told me she wished I were her brother. I think of Chucky and Frederick and how easy our lives were and how I actually
miss
going to school. I think of Peanut and how I always wanted to be her favorite and how my wish was fulfilled when she breathed her last breath. Then, I think of the day I met Devon, my one true love.

Kai’s face appears in front of me, and I feel a jerk. Suddenly, I’m lying in the clearing with Alice standing next to me. She’s screaming. I stumble to my feet and start to run toward the tumbling ship. Kai stands in my way and shakes his head.

“There are still people there!” I yell and push at him. “They’ll be killed!”

He doesn’t budge and says flatly, “They’re already dead.”

The ship collapses away from us. As it slams to the ground, we’re all thrown off our feet. A dust cloud roars toward us, and I bury my head.

The wind subsides, and I struggle to my feet. There are hundreds of people all around us trying to stand. There are at least a thousand people running from the base. Out in front of us, I see our ships scattered around the tent city. But that’s not what I focus on.

Just clearing the tree line, I can see large enemy ships hovering. They aren’t sleek like before. These are intricately patterned, like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Ryland runs to me and says, “Can you take them out? Like the other ones?”

I’m barely standing. I know I can’t shift. I stare at them and try to gain access. They come closer after clearing the trees. I see into them, but there’s too much.

“These are different,” I tell Ryland.

“Different, how?” Kai asks.

“It’s one,” I start to say. “But it’s more like thousands.”

Ryland turns and shouts, “To the base! To the ships! Take cover!”

People start to run in all directions, and I stare into the enemy’s mind. I can see what it’s thinking.

The huge ships begin to break apart. I’m not doing it. That’s how the ship was designed. Like a perfect formation of migrating birds, parts of the ship break away and swirl into the sky.

“It’s not one ship,” I say. “It’s like a hive. A thousand ships working together!”

“If it’s a hive,” Ryland says, “there must be a queen. Find her, Tanner!”

Ryland and Kai shift, and I’m left standing next to Cooper as thousands of ships swarm toward us like a dark cloud of killer bees.

–RYLAND–

I charge forward, out past the tents and base. We need to meet them before they reach us. If they are able to make it past the tent lines, our base will be lost. We will have no home, and we will lose this world.

Ships are landing only a few hundred feet from the outermost trenches we have built around our base. Shifter troops are pouring from them in neat black uniforms. They move toward us in step, maintaining a tight formation. They remind me of robots, so very different from the enraged zombies we fought only this morning.

As I slip into a shift, I realize I haven’t slept or rested in more than thirty-six hours. My body is running on pure adrenaline and rage. I want to hurt and maim and murder the people responsible for the massacre earlier today.

A part of me knows these troops are not responsible. These troops are low-level infantry, simply doing a job that they’ve been assigned. They aren’t the ones who poisoned thousands of Ordinaries.

But the rest of me doesn’t care.

As I reach the first Shifter marching almost imperceptibly forward, a battle rages overhead. Their pilots, like Marcus, were chosen for their ability to pull tech into their shift. Ships are raining fire down on frozen Ordinaries at our base, unable to move before they are killed.

I slam into him with everything I have, knocking him to the ground. My blade slices through his flesh easily, tearing him open. Soldiers around him are shifting, racing to attack me. I slam the blade of my knife upward into the soft skin between the Shifter’s ribs.

He makes a gurgling sound which I ignore as I rip my knife free in order to defend against another Shifter in line. His rounded blade reminds me slightly of a katana, or whatever the knife version is called, and I marvel at its beauty as it nicks my right arm.

I am able to block the blow from otherwise harming me, but the pain of the cut still stings. I feel more awake and alive than ever as I unleash an uncoordinated judo kick, knocking him to the ground before stomping on his throat.

I’m not sure he’s dead, but he’s no longer an immediate threat. I turn my attention to the next target.

Bodies are piling up around me as I fight my way through the crowd. Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of a bomb hitting our base or I see Kai disemboweling an enemy with his jagged blade. Mostly, I see the eyes and souls of those I am forced to slaughter.

The next target approaches me with a sickly smile on his face. His blond hair is caked with dried blood, and his sharp eyes mock me. I feint to the left before attempting to block, but I am unsuccessful at recovering my defensive stance.

I scream as the knife tears into the tender flesh of my stomach, just missing my vital organs. My eyes flash liquid silver as I throw my head back, blond hair arcing behind me like a macabre halo. My mouth opens in a silent howl.

I look into his wolf-like golden eyes and see only hatred. He hates me, hates us all. He doesn’t know us. If we had grown up on this world, if there were no prophecies or seers, he could’ve been our teacher, our brother, our friend; instead,
he hates us
.

I force my stiff fingers to grip the hilt protruding from me and rip the knife away from my body, thrusting it up into his throat. I hear a sickening crunch as the knife impales his trachea, imbedding itself deep. He falls down, eyes now empty of hatred, empty of life.

I hold my left hand to my stomach to stanch the bleeding, but the thick red syrup flows through relentlessly. My eyes scan the battlefield for Kai, for Tanner, for anyone. I spot Corey, and he sees the blood covering my stomach, flowing down my legs.

He runs toward me, and then, he is gone. But I feel a hand guiding me to the ground, a voice telling me to lie down. Corey’s leaning over me, sheltering me from the chaos.

“Ryland,” he says calmly. I try to find his lavender eyes, but everything is hazy and unclear. I know if I can only find them everything will be alright. “Ryland, you need to move your hands.”

I can’t feel my hands. All I can feel is heat tearing through my body, pain enveloping me. It doesn’t feel as though I’ve been stabbed. I’m burning. My blood is lava flowing through me, searing me from the inside out.

Corey’s yanking at something. When he finally pulls it away from me, he mutters profanities. “Okay, Ryland,” he says, regaining his composure. “There’s poison in your bloodstream. I’m going to draw it out.”

Through the clouds of billowing dust, I see Corey raising his hands over me. They begin to glow a sickly green; then, I am gone . . .

I’m sitting in a church that I’ve never been to before. The stained glass windows do not seem beautiful; they seem ominous and dominating and oppressive.

The black dress I’m wearing seems too small to be comfortable, and its rough fabric makes me itch. My mother and father sit next to me, sobbing. Bryce is crying too, silent tears streaming down his stoic face.

Tanner is there, holding my hand. He doesn’t cry. He stares blankly ahead, as though he is not present. I follow his eyes.

In front of me is a coffin. Its pink surface shines even in the dim church light. I notice, though, that it’s too small.

I stand up and walk toward it. The knots in my stomach tighten, and it’s difficult to continue, but I need to know. I need to see.

When I reach the front, Peanut’s serene face stares up at me. But this is no longer Peanut. Her face is cloudy and covered with makeup. Her eyes are closed. Her hair is neatly brushed perfectly into place.

I feel the knots in my stomach rip away, sucked into the black hole that resides where my heart once lived. I feel myself tremble, and I am falling. When my knees hit the cold stone floor, I am jarred awake.

Chapter 32

The Sick Video Game and an Explosion of Blond Curls

–TANNER–

Ryland charges forward into the oncoming assault. She’s truly a warrior. She shifts, and I lose track of her. Kai yells out orders to get the Ordinaries inside—not that they listen, and the Shifter Young surge ahead. I focus on the ships that are quickly approaching.

Some of the ships land, and the front line of Shifter troops emerge and charge. Others head toward our encampment, firing on the Young and the makeshift city we have formed. The Young fighters blink in and out of view, mostly escaping the explosions. Marcus has trained them well. They take positions, but futilely fire upon the well-protected smaller ships. If I don’t do something to stop them, I know the Young will tire and weaken.

I do my best to ignore the blasts around me and concentrate on the enemy tech. The group of enemy ships had broken into a thousand pieces, but they are still controlled by a central hub. I shift from among the ships, searching for the master control—the queen, as Ryland called it.

I feel a tug, and Cooper appears in front of me as an explosion erupts from the rise I was standing on. I realize if Cooper hadn’t moved me, I would be dead. “Thanks,” I tell her. She smiles and vanishes.

I keep scanning the ships and thinking how impossible this is. I’m never going to find the central control. I can tell they’re receiving commands, but not where they’re coming from.

I do my best to ignore the screaming and explosions.

Each ship has a receiver with synchronized patterns. Some have no life support systems. They’re drones. Others have life support and release control from the hub. They’re manned.

The drones are firing while the manned ships drop behind the line of fire. Of course they do. No one would land where their allies would be firing. That would be suicide. Our troops are actually better off in hand-to-hand combat. At least they have a chance there!

I see Marcus dive into a hole created by an earlier blast. He must have a radio. I work up enough energy to shift. Everything stops, and I run toward him. Some of the Young have also shifted, and I see them running toward the base. I know that’s the worst place to go. That’s where the enemy will focus their attention, away from their own troops.

I try to yell, to tell them to turn and run toward the front line, but my voice can’t travel that fast. I stop and motion for them to turn before shifting again. Some of them seem to get the hint and change direction while others ignore me and continue to the worst possible location.

I reach Marcus and break my shift. The sound of the battle comes at once to my ears. “Marcus,” I yell. He turns to me, and I shout with everything in me, “Tell everyone to get to the front lines!”

He yells, “I told them to fall back to the base! To take cover!”

“No!” I yell. “These are drones!”

He looks puzzled.

“They won’t fire on themselves at the front!” I yell, pointing toward the combat area.

I survey the scene. There are no explosions where the enemy is on the ground. His eyes widen as he sees the drones bear down on the camp.

He nods and yells into the radio, “All forces! To the clearing! Engage the enemy on the front. Everybody, to the front.”

I see the Young begin to vanish, so I know his message was heard. The Young may not be safe running directly toward the enemy Shifters, but hand-to-hand combat was what they were trained for, not being bombed while hiding on a base.

I focus on the ships. The only things left in the sky are the ships with no life support. The drones continue to fire.

Okay, Tanner. Think! Where are the commands coming from? The drones are the only things in the air. The troops have landed and most of them have abandoned their ships for combat. There are still a couple that haven’t evacuated. They must be the cowards. They have dropped way behind the front.

Wait!
They dropped behind the front! I’m such an idiot!

That’s where a general would be—commanding the army from a safe distance!

“The queen!” I berate myself.

As fire rains down from the sky, the queen relaxes in comfort and silently controls the attack.

I focus on one of the drone’s receivers, and through the signal, I locate the path to its source. One lone Shifter mans the controls like some sort of video game. He directs his forces, and hundreds of ships focus their attacks. I take the control and pull the control stick around. I can see the display panel. I spin it until I see one of the ships parked behind the front line.

I aim the system and tell it to pull the trigger.

“What are you doing, you idiot?”
screams through the com system. Lena!

“I can’t stop it!” the commander yells. “Something has taken over!”

“No—!” Lena shouts over some sort of com system; then she is gone.

Hundreds of drone ships lose power and careen wildly out of control, slamming into the ground. It feels like the entire planet shakes to its core.

“What’s happening?” another commander yells, as I focus the sights on another ship and begin to fire.

Another group of drones drops to the ground.

“And now, it’s time for you,” I say and focus the controls on the only remaining central control ship.

The rest of the remaining drones swing around, and I hear the commander scream, followed by an explosion as his radio goes silent. All of the remaining drones fall far behind the enemy line, and I hear a succession of distant explosions as the sky empties of threats.

The surviving ground forces try to retreat from the battle. Some make it to their ships and take off, but most don’t. They are overtaken by the younger, more agile Shifter Young.

The Young shout and cheer as the last of the enemy retreats or is killed.

“Well done, Tanner,” Marcus says, as he grabs my shoulder.

Cooper runs up and hugs me. “That was amazing!”

I smile, but I know that Lena was nowhere near this battle. A true queen stays behind, ensuring her safety above all.

Someone yells at me, and my skin pricks. It isn’t a celebration. It isn’t to tell me I did well. It’s
pure fear
.

“Tanner!” the voice screams again.

“Ryland!” Kai yells.

I turn to see Kai running toward Corey. What I see makes me want to scream, to cry, to fall to my knees. I want to kill someone.

It’s Ryland!

Corey is running with her in his arms. Her head, arms, and legs are completely limp, lifeless. Worse than that, she is covered in blood. More blood than she could possibly hold in her entire body.

Kai grabs her from Corey and runs toward the base. Corey keeps up with him as they disappear into the building.

Cooper reaches for my hand and says, “She’ll be okay, Tanner. Corey’s got her. He’ll take care of her, I promise.”

I can’t even acknowledge Cooper.

I’m frozen.

–RYLAND–

My eyes snap open, and I find myself in a med tent. There are people all around me, some are screaming, crying, bleeding, dying. I bolt upright, and the pain in my stomach makes me retch.

I place a hand there, and my memories come flooding back. We were fighting the Shifters. I was stabbed.

Where are Tanner and Kai?

Corey sees me awake and sprints over. “Oh, thank God,” he breathes. “I wasn’t sure if you’d wake up.”

“What happened?” I demand, my voice containing the newfound authority that I’ve claimed as one of the Resistance’s top commanding officers. “Where’s my brother? Kai? The battle—”

“Everyone is fine,” Corey soothes.

For the first time, I note that he’s clean. He isn’t in fatigues. He isn’t covered in dirt or ash or blood. His tousled blond hair is carefully arranged.

“How long have I been unconscious?”

Corey shifts uncomfortably. “About three days.”

“Three days? We were supposed to leave for Colony—”

Corey raises a hand to silence me. Despite his age, twelve years, he is a commanding presence. His abilities to heal the sick and injured are valued beyond all others in the new Resistance. His voice carries weight.

“The battle was won, but casualties were high. The mission has been postponed. The Conclave’s meeting to discuss new tactics,” he says, as though I am a petulant, impatient child.

“I need to attend these meetings,” I snap, trying to rise from the tangle of sheets.

“Ryland, the poison in your system was new, genetically engineered to harm Shifters. You need time to rest. We need time to study its effects, learn whether you have been compromised.”

Rising to my feet, I shove him out of my way. “I trust that your skills have spared me from any lasting effects. I need to get back to The Council.”

“Ryland, stop!” He shouts, and the whole room goes quiet.

I turn back to him, eyes flashing. “We’re at war, Corey. I don’t have time to rest or heal.”

“Then you are going to get yourself killed,” he says matter-of-factly.

“I wouldn’t be the first casualty,” I say, pushing out of the tent.

The camp is in chaos. Shifters and Keepers are running through the red dirt, creating plumes of dust that billow through the air, coating everything in a red haze. People are running, packing, arguing, laughing.

I head toward the center of the camp, toward the largest tent. With our base almost completely demolished by Tanner’s crashing of the Shifter ship, I know this is where they will be. When the two sentries outside see me coming, they straighten up. “Ryland, I’m glad to see you’re okay,” the younger says.

It’s Greg. I beam at him. “How’s Cooper?”

He grins back. “You’ll see,” he nods toward the interior of the tent.

“Thank you, Greg,” I say, and he opens the door for me.

I enter the tent to hear shouting. Alice is screaming that we need more weapons. Kai is telling Kyle he needs to get his Keepers in line. Sol
é
is crying about some poor baby. Tanner’s trying to get everyone to focus their attention on the crude map on the table below them.

“God, you can’t get anything done without me,” I say with a grin.

The noise stops as everyone realizes I have returned from my coma or whatever it was. Marcus smiles broadly. “Ryland, skipping conclave meetings is not the wisest choice at this point in our war.”

“Maybe if they weren’t so boring . . .” I trail off and shrug. “So, why exactly are we still here?”

“Partially,” Kai grumbles in annoyance, “we were waiting for you, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Ah, you think I’m beautiful?” I tease.

He tenses for a moment before returning his intense gaze to the maps on the tables. I frown at that before turning to everyone else, trying not to wonder how everything got so complicated.

“There are too many injured,” Marcus says more seriously. “We need to take stock and reassess who will be assigned where.”

My heart leaps. Clay! Clay needs to come with us. I begin to say his name when Tanner shakes his head almost imperceptibly.

I know they are separating me and Clay, and my heart sinks with disappointment. I don’t understand why Marcus would leave behind our best pilot. I don’t know why he thinks I’ll let that happen.

I know part of me doesn’t want the answer to this question, but I have to ask. “Who did we lose?”

“Travis.” I recognize his name as one of the Young from another elite force team. “He was hit by the same poison as you. Unfortunately, no one was there to see it in time.” Marcus sighs before continuing, “We also lost Miles.”

As much of a pain as Miles has been, I know how important he is to the rebel cause on Six. I know his loss is devastating. It will be even harder to maintain our hold here without him.

For the first time, I notice a wild-haired blond girl, a virtual explosion of curls, bouncing around behind Kai. “And this is?” I ask, suddenly confused. I don’t remember ever having seen her before.

Marcus turns to see her and smiles. “This is Kae; she’s Kai’s new partner.”

“What?” I explode.