Revenge of the ULTRAs (The Last Hero Book 4) (10 page)

I
didn’t know
what to do when I saw Cassie lying there in the rubble.

I didn’t know what to think, how to act.

All I knew was that I had to get to her, and I had to make sure she was okay.

“Cassie!”

I ran over to her as fast as I could. My legs were still painful after snapping in two. Sure, I’d managed to heal them, but try breaking your legs and healing them then telling me it wasn’t painful.

I landed by her side, coughing back some of the smoke. Ember was somewhere behind me, but I didn’t really have any sense of him right now. All that mattered was Cassie, as selfish as it sounded. All that mattered was that she was okay.

“Cassie.”

I put my arms around her and felt the warmth of her body seep through. Her eyes were closed. She was battered and bruised, just like the rest of us. But she looked like she’d taken the brunt of more of the explosion than any of us.

I squeezed her limp body tighter and pulled her closer. I felt my tears trickling down. “Please, sis. Not now. Not after everything. Please.”

I knew Cassie had healing abilities, like me. She was powerful. She didn’t
believe
she was as powerful as me, but I knew if she really believed in herself that she could be.

But she’d been hit by the explosion before she’d had a chance to activate any of her shields or begin the healing process. Sure, it was possible to fight off wounds when you were unconscious. But Cassie looked in a deep state of unconsciousness right now.

Plus, she didn’t have the confidence. She didn’t have the belief.

She needed both right now, even in unconsciousness.

“We need to go, Kyle.”

I heard Ember’s voice and I didn’t want to accept that we were giving up. “I can’t let her go.”

“Then bring her with us. But we need to get away from here right now. We’re not safe here. We’re lucky to even still be here in the first place.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat and looked down at Cassie. She was out cold. Totally out cold. I couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.

“Please,” I said, holding her hand tighter. “Just… just, please. If you can hear me, come back. Don’t give up. Please. You’re strong. I told you how strong you were. You just have to hear me, sis. You have to believe me.”

I closed my eyes and I saw images of the pair of us when we were younger. I saw us playing together. I saw the happy times we’d had, the times we’d shared.

Then I saw the jokes and the laughter we’d had since. I saw Cassie’s smile. I saw the love between her and Dad when they were reunited. I saw myself introducing the sister I thought I’d lost so long ago to friends I never thought she’d meet.

I saw everything and I felt a warmth emitting from my body.

A warmth transmitting towards Cassie.

A warmth—

A cough.

I opened my tearful eyes.

Cassie was coughing.

“Cassie!”

I extinguished the smoke around us so the air was cleaner. Then I held my sister even tighter.

“What—”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’re okay now. I’ve got you.”

“My chest. It’s…”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to worry. None of us do. Not anymore.”

“Kyle, I think there’s someone coming.”

Cassie looked up at me with tearful eyes and smiled. “Thank you.”

I stroked her hair out of her face. “I didn’t do anything. You did it. You healed yourself.”

“I—”

“Kyle,” Ember repeated. “Seriously.”

“You did it, Cassie. You’re so much stronger than you think. You just have to keep on believing it.”

“Kyle!”

I barely acknowledged Ember’s voice. I wasn’t sure whether to believe him at first. But then I saw the movement in the corners of my eyes, and I heard whoever was coming getting closer.

I felt the anger burning up inside. I felt my rage coming to the surface.

Cassie was alive, but Adam’s followers had hurt her.

Adam’s followers had tried to take everything away from me, again.

They’d taken my respect away, sure. They’d taken my standing with the public away.

But they weren’t going to take my family away from me.

I stood up, activated my powers, and felt ice stretch right across my hands.

I spun around and got ready to fire.

“Whoah. Hold it. Hold it.”

I narrowed my eyes and lowered my hands. “Stone?”

Stone grunted. Beside him, Vortex emerged. And behind them, a few other members of the Resistance. “Sorry for the nasty surprise. At least you three made it. Quite an ugly explosion ripped through this place, not gonna lie.”

I nodded. “Guessing we’re not in the good books of the South American people now?”

“We’ve never been in the good books. But yeah. We’re in the worst book, that’s for sure. The Chamber of Secrets.”

“What?” Vortex asked. “The Chamber of Secrets was my favorite.”

“Never had you down as a Potter guy, Stone,” I said.

He grimaced and blushed.

I knew I had him cornered.

We stood together, the group of us, and we looked back at the burning building. We looked at the debris. We looked at the rubble. But most of all, as much as we didn’t want to, we looked at the fallen people who were still inside the compound.

We went back in there. Pulled the survivors out. They cursed at us. Screamed at us. They did everything they could to get away from us.

The village in the distance wasn’t much better, either. When we arrived, they booed us, even when we helped people out who were wounded or injured.

It felt like there was nothing we could do to win back our reputation. Not anymore.

We’d broken it. There was no fixing it.

This was who we were now.

After two hours of cleaning up, we hovered together above the woods. We looked down on the empty space where the trees of the Amazon had once stood so proudly, for so many years. We looked at the gutted remains of the fallen compound. We looked at the smoldering village, and the approaching helicopters, no doubt media, who were heading over here to tar the name of the Resistance even more, and turn more people from us and to Adam.

“What now?” Ember asked.

I took a deep breath.

I didn’t have the answer. Not this time.

All I knew was that we were the enemy now. The people were angry.

And we were going to have to fight if we wanted to survive.

D
amon had
no idea how long he was going away for.

Only that he had to go away. And he had to get away fast.

He walked down Prospect Heights. Prospect Park was just up ahead. The evening rain lashed down on him, completely soaking him. The traffic flew by him. When he’d set off walking, he’d had no idea where exactly he was heading. But now he seemed to be heading in the direction of Coney Island. He had some family who lived in Coney Island. Maybe he’d stay with them for a while.

He wiped the rain from his eyes and kept on walking, rucksack draped over his back. Sure, he could’ve got the subway, and he probably would have to get a cab eventually, but right now he wanted nothing more than to keep on walking. He felt like walking was the only thing that could clear his mind right now.

And he needed to clear his mind because his entire world was falling apart.

He felt a lump right above his chest when he thought about Kyle. His best friend of so many years. They’d grown up together. They’d been by each other’s sides time and time again. Damon had been there for Kyle when times were rough. And as tough as Kyle thought Damon was, Kyle had kept him happy a lot of the time, too.

But now Kyle was gone.

He cleared his throat and lowered his head as he walked past some shady looking figures standing outside a 7-Eleven. Damon felt their eyes on him as he walked past. He hoped his size would be enough to deter them, even if he couldn’t fight for shit.

He kept on walking, the group ignoring him. He looked up and saw the road stretching onwards. He knew he was still a couple hour walk from Coney Island. He knew some of these areas could be risky, too. There were active gangs around here, and he was a damned big guy to target. Besides, the last thing he wanted to do was spend a night homeless.

He hadn’t told anyone he was leaving. He didn’t want them to worry. And sure, if he went to stay with his Coney Island relatives, word would get back to his parents eventually. Yeah. A real flaw in his plan.

But as long as he kept a low profile and kept on going… maybe. Just maybe.

He didn’t like the idea that he was turning his back on his best friend. He didn’t like looking at it that way. After all, he knew Kyle had good intentions.

That said, it felt like those intentions were unraveling. It felt like Kyle’s responsibilities were becoming too great for him to manage. It felt like the whole world was building up like a weight on Kyle’s shoulders, and he just couldn’t keep on carrying it anymore.

And Damon had tried to stay by Kyle’s side. So too had Avi, and Ellicia.

But as much as they hated to admit it, Kyle had changed.

And he hadn’t changed for the better.

He looked back down the sidewalk, right along the highway. He needed to find a taxi now. He waited a few minutes, then moved when he saw some more creepy looking dudes heading his way. He hid down an alley at the side of the road, waited for them to disappear before stepping back out.

Then he saw a cab.

He stuck out a thumb and ran towards it.

Then he slipped in the rain.

He fell face-flat on the sidewalk. He felt his face start to burn, and he tasted blood. When he lifted his head, the cab was pulling away.

And behind him, he heard laughing voices getting closer.

He looked back.

The group he’d passed before were heading his way. They were looking right at him. They were laughing.

Damon’s heart pounded. He struggled back to his feet, readjusting his rucksack. He started to run away from them when he saw another group up ahead. The one who’d passed him just before.

They were walking toward him now.

And they didn’t look happy.

Damon stood there feeling totally defenseless. How damned cruel it was that he didn’t have the ability to fight off these bullies. Instead, Kyle had those abilities. But Kyle wasn’t using them for good anymore. He was being chaotic with them. Reckless.

Damon looked over his shoulder, his knees shaking, and he prepared for whatever was coming for him.

Then a car screeched its tires right beside him.

A window rolled down. He couldn’t see the guy in front properly, but they stuck a thumb out of the window. “Get in. Now.”

Damon didn’t hesitate.

He jumped in the back of the car and slammed the door shut.

The car accelerated to life, and the group of would-be attackers was left behind.

Damon almost gave them the Vs but figured now wasn’t the best time.

He leaned back against the headrest. “Thank you. Seriously.”

He still couldn’t see the guy in the front of the car. “Those guys were gonna beat you up. Can’t be doing with bullies.”

“Right,” Damon said. He waited a few seconds, watched as the cars passed by on the other side of the road. “Just Coney Island, please. Mermaid Avenue, by West 22nd.”

“You’re a brave man walking these streets alone at this time.”

Damon shrugged. He hadn’t been called “brave” all that often. “I guess I needed to clear my head.”

“Hmm,” the guy said. And Damon suddenly realized he probably shouldn’t be letting this guy in on his problems. And also that he shouldn’t have jumped into the back of his car in the first place. But hey. He was being chased. This guy had offered him a ride. It seemed like the only option he had at the time.

They drove for about fifteen minutes. Every time Damon spoke, the driver either grunted, or replied with a really short answer. He didn’t seem to be one for small talk.

After twenty minutes driving and no sign of the coast, Damon started to worry.

“Umm, this is Bellaire, right?”

“Right.”

“Coney Island? That’s where I… Hey, man, I think I’ll get out and…”

He saw the man’s eyes in the rearview mirror then. Piercing. Green. But from what he could make out of his face, he was younger than he’d thought. “We’re not going to Coney Island, Damon.”

Damon felt his stomach turn. He reached for the back door with his clammy hand, but the car was moving too fast for him to even think about jumping out. “How… how do you know my name?”

The guy turned away from the driver’s seat and the steering wheel. He looked right into Damon’s eyes.

It took Damon a few seconds to realize exactly who it was.

But when he did, he felt totally cold inside.

“I’m Adam,” he said. “And I think you can help bring your best friend back down to earth.”

T
hree days
in the middle of Greenland and I was hating it already.

Apparently, it was the middle of the day, but the sky didn’t really tell that story. The clouds were thick and black, and the rain was constant. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. Every now and then, I’d take visits to shops around the world for food, but it wasn’t exactly a luxury way of life. Once again, not for the first time in its existence, The Resistance was on the run. Only this time it was on the run from the very people it’d sworn to protect.

I looked ahead at the vast expanse of wilderness. Greenland was a nice country, geographically stunning, but it wasn’t exactly paradise. Damon would be in his element here, though. He was into his rocks and things like that. I missed Damon, and I wished he was here. I wished Avi was here. I wished Dad and Ellicia were here.

Life was different. I’d grown so distant from them without even realizing. It hurt.

I heard footsteps on the creaky floorboards of the cabin we were staying outside. It was some kind of old fishing cabin, apparently, but I couldn’t see any lakes nearby, unless it’d frozen over completely.

When I turned around, I saw Cassie looking at me.

I sighed, then looked back out the window. “Come to gloat?”

“Kyle,” Cassie said, tutting. She put a hand on my arm. “You’ve gotta snap out of this. It’s not doing you or anyone good.”

“I’m starting to see it now. Starting to see what I’ve done.”

“What you’ve done?”

“The recklessness. Or whatever you want to call it. I just… I thought I was doing the right thing. But I wasn’t. Now I see that. And now we’re all in here hiding because the people have just decided enough’s enough.”

Cassie stood by my side. We were both silent. I could tell she was deep in thought. I didn’t want to ask her what she was thinking about because I didn’t want to risk it being another reminder of all the bad crap I’d done, etcetera etcetera etcetera.

“We have to fight back against him,” I said. I wasn’t sure where the words came from. They just kind of blurted out of nowhere.

Cassie looked at me now. She was frowning. “What?”

“Adam. We need to take the fight back to him.”

She had such a look of pity on her face. She tilted her head, then shook it.

“What?” I said.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“No, it matters. Tell me.”

“I just think you’re living a pipe dream if you think we can defeat Adam when he’s got the whole world behind him.”

A bitter taste filled my mouth. There was such defeat in Cassie’s voice. I looked away and took some deep breaths of the biting cold air outside. I didn’t want to accept Cassie was right. But she had a point.

“Our own people have turned on us,” she said. “They’ve decided they don’t like our methods.”

“My methods.”

“
Our
methods,” Cassie said. She squeezed my arm a little tighter. “And when the people speak, it’s hard to turn against their wishes. You can only force so much respect. Look at Saint. And look where it got him. If we fight back, we
are
Saint. We are just ULTRAs upset that the power’s been taken away from us when really, we have no right to be.”

I shook my head. In truth, I had mixed emotions about what Cassie was saying. She had a point. But there was something about Adam that worried me. I couldn’t believe he was acting entirely in humanity’s best interests. There had to be something in it for him.

“So this is what I suggest,” Cassie said. “We go back in the main room with the rest of our team, and we work out a way we’re gonna lay low and re-integrate with the world.”

“Re-integrate with the world?”

Cassie couldn’t look me in the eye. “I… I don’t like saying this. But I can’t see any other way. I’m sorry.”

She let go of my arm and walked back to the main room, where Ember, Stone, and Vortex were waiting.

“Maybe we don’t have to force their respect,” I said.

Cassie stopped. She turned around. “Huh?”

“Humanity. Maybe we don’t have to force their respect. Maybe… maybe we fight our way back by proving we’re the right ones to watch over this world. By proving we’re more trustworthy than Adam.”

Cassie smiled. She started to open her lips.

Then a massive bang crashed against the roof of the cabin.