Aegis: Catalyst Grove (27 page)

“I’ve got them.
 
They are due east in-between two large pines, with a small patch of shrubbery at the base.
 
There is at least one kid behind it.”

“Roger that, Branson,” said Cavaness.
 
“They will not separate.
 
They would be too vulnerable on their own.
 
If there is one behind the shrubs, they are all there.
 
Hold position until I give the green light.
 
Let’s see what their next move is.”

“10-4,” said Branson, followed by the others.
 
“Waiting for your signal.”

Damien looked at the others.
 
“I want you guys to stay here while I go fill these up.”

As he got up, Graham grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down.
 

“Wait.
 
What if they are out there already?”

“The longer we wait, the longer we give them to find us.
 
Plus, even if they see me, they can’t see you.
 
Someone has to be the bait.
 
This was my plan, so I if anyone should be bait, it is me.”
 

Graham let go of his arm.
 
Damien was right.
 
They needed to act fast.
 
Time was of the essence.
 
Damien stood up.
 

“Don’t worry Graham.
 
I’ve got this.”

Damien pushed the branches of the bush aside to move through them.
 
Still in a crouched position, he ran out into the clearing towards the pond with a plastic bottle in each hand.
 
His heavy breaths were an indicator that his heart was about to beat out of his chest.
 
He winced in reaction to the jolt of each footstep, sending a pounding throb through his spine upwards through his head.
 
His whole body became numb as he ran further out into the open.
 
He forced himself to look straight ahead instead of all around him as he opened and closed his fingers trying to get some feeling back in his hands.
 
Damien was so focused on his nerves in fact, that he almost didn’t notice the edge of the water as he approached.
 

Meanwhile, Graham and Kel took Ailey over to the large cluster of boulders.
 
Graham dug his fingers into the ground behind a few rocks and rolled them to the side.
 
Kel took Ailey by the hand and led her into a small groove between two huge slabs of rock.
 

“I don’t care what you hear out there.
 
Do not
come out, ok?
 
You have to stay hidden.
 
We will come back for you once this whole thing is over,” said Kel.

Ailey nodded her head up and down as she stepped over some rocks and wedged herself into the gap.
 
Graham took hold of one of the bigger rocks and rolled it back into place, so that it would not look like anything had been disturbed.
 
There was a big enough gap in which Ailey could retreat if necessary, but small enough that a full sized adult would have a hard time reaching her.

Digging his heels into the ground, Damien came to an abrupt stop at the water’s edge.
 
His body waved back and forth a few times until he was able to catch his balance.
 
After steadying himself, he knelt down in the cold grass to fill up the first bottle.
 

Cavaness watched Damien closely.
 
He looked over and gave his command.
 
“Branson, move in.”

C
HAPTER
N
INETEEN

Face Your Fears

Pushing the branches aside, Branson emerged from the woods.
 
He did not make any further attempts to be stealthy.
 
He just walked with a steady pace, his arms swinging slightly from his broad shoulders.
 

Damien was filling the second bottle now, unaware of the approaching threat.
 
The fog was beginning to settle into the clearing, hovering over the ground like a thin, misty blanket.
 
The evening rays of the sun filled the fog, giving the air a sinister glow.
 
The sun would be settling down behind the horizon soon.
 
The warming hands of the sun would soon let loose the chill of the night.
 
Small puffs of smoke came out of Branson’s mouth as he walked towards Damien.
 
He was about fifteen paces away before he broke the silence.

In a deep but smooth voice he said, “You guys have really kept us busy with all this running around.”

Adrenaline surged through Damien’s chest as he whipped his head around to see Branson approaching.
 
He knew they would eventually come face to face, but nothing could really prepare him for it.
 
He thought he would have more time to build up his nerve, but they had found them too fast.
 
He was not ready.
 
Damien tightened the cap on the 2
^nd
water bottle and stood up to face Branson.
 

“Maybe this was a good thing,” he whispered.
 
“Don’t think. Just react.”
 
He kept telling himself this over and over as he stepped down into the pond.
 
The water was frigid.
 
The shock of the cold felt like tiny knives stabbing him all over his feet and ankles as he waded further in.
 
Damien kept a tight grip on the bottles, squeezing them in reaction to the cold water as he made his way towards the middle of the pond.
 
He continued walking backwards, keeping his eyes on Branson.
 

“That is an interesting strategy.
 
Are you hoping that I am unable to swim?”

Damien said nothing.

“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but swimming is a pre-requisite for Navy Seals.”
 

Branson walked over to the water’s edge.
 
He held his right hand up to display bolts of electricity flowing around each finger and down his glowing wrist.
 
The blue of his eyes gave way to a deep amber color as he stared at Damien.
 

“I’ve heard you have a Pusher with you.
 
That is a raw force, kinda like an earthquake sending ripples through the earth’s surface.
 
Mine is more electric.”

The bolts of electricity grew more intense, with sparks flying from the sides of his hands.
 
The glow from his hand cast shadows, making his expression appear more sinister.
 
He moved his electric filled hand closer to the surface of the water.

“Do you know what happens when water and electricity meet?”

He bent down further and put his left hand into the water to feel it’s temperature.
 
Damien saw this as his time to strike.
 
Dropping the bottles, he hovered both arms to his right side of his body as the water beside him began to churn.
 
A large wave formed under his arms beginning to twist and turn in a circular motion.
 
Damien scrunched his nose and bared his teeth.
 
In a quick motion, Damien flung both arms towards Branson as he bawled, commanding the huge wave to follow.
 
Branson barely had time to look up from the water.
 
As he lifted his head, he saw a large spiraling tidal wave hurling towards him, slamming into his chest.

It hit him so hard, than his feet flew up in front his face.
 
As the water surrounded him, the electric sparks from his hand surged and engulfed the wave.
 
Gargling screams echoed through the valley as the fog lit up like fireworks.
 
Branson’s body tensed under the surge of electricity flowing though him.
 
He rolled to the side, curling up into a ball, then straightening his legs, going stiff as a board.
 
He writhed in pain and shock for a few more seconds while the water soaked into the ground.
 
He was unconscious, but his body was still twitching with the residual effects of being electrocuted.
 

Damien was concerned that he actually killed him, but the faint puffs of white vapor coming from Branson’s mouth told him otherwise.
 
Murphy sprang from his post at the site of his fallen comrade, running towards Damien.
 
Once waist deep in water, Damien now stood near the middle of the pond with the water around his calves.
 
With his teeth still bared, he lifted both hands up, his palms facing the sky, bringing the remaining water of the pond with them.
 

“AAHHHHH!”
 

Damien screamed again as he flung both hands in front of him.
 
The water gathered together in two large streams and shot upwards towards Murphy.
 
The force was so strong, that even the moisture from Damien’s clothes was stripped from the fabric.
 
The water rushed towards Murphy, but it was obvious that he was anticipating this move.
 

Murphy whispered something into the air holding both hands up in front of him as he sprinted.
 
Two large walls of light formed in front of him, acting as a dam between him and the water.
 
The streams of water slammed into the wall of energy, diverting the water to each side.
 
Murphy created the wall far enough ahead, so that he did not have to slow his pace.
 
Once the wave was gone, he pulled his arms down at 45 degree angles causing the light to disappear.

Damien took a fighter’s stance.
 
He put one foot back bracing himself against the dry lake bed for Murphy’s attack.
 
What once was a pond, was now just a dry hole in the ground.
 
With his arm drawn back, Murphy was the first to shoot a blast of light from his hand.
 
Damien reacted by doing the same.
 
The blasts met in between the two of them creating a blinding light and sounds of booming thunder.
 
The blasts flattened into discs, then faded away into the thick fog.
 
Damien reared back for another blast, but before he could release, the ground erupted beside Murphy, creating a mound of earth protruding out and upwards towards Murphy.
 
The dirt and rock crashed into his face, propelling him over Branson’s crumpled form, and into the vacant pond.
 
He rolled past Damien like a rag doll.
 
He was out cold.
 

Damien looked up to see Kel running towards him with an outstretched hand.
 
She glanced over to Damien to see if he was okay.
 
Damien was far from ok in the general sense, but given the circumstances, he wasn’t complaining.
 
He confirmed his condition with a nod.
 
Two down, two to go.
 
They looked around them for any sign of the others, but the fog was too thick, and the light of the sun was beginning to fade behind the horizon.
 
Damien hopped from the hole in the ground.
 
The two of them ran over to Branson and pulled him back down into the hole beside Murphy.
 

Kel stood shoulder to shoulder now with Damien, looking for any sign of Cavaness or Chase.
 
Starting left and sweeping the perimeter of the woods, they looked for movement.
 
A gust of wind began to blow, forming goose bumps on their arms.
 
They both shrugged their shoulders in reaction to the chill, as the hair on the back of their neck began to stand up.
 
The fog in front of them began to whip and whirl.
 
The gust of air grew stronger, carving a channel in the fog.
 
Before they could process the abnormality of the wind, they saw a blur of movement through the path in the fog.
 
They barely had the time to take a breath before the blur began to glow and a blast hit them both in the torso.
 
They both crumpled over in pain, falling back into the lake bed.
 
The blur stopped at the edge, and once the fog separated, they could see Chase standing there looking down at them.

Chase had his hand up with the same blue fiery energy flame dancing around his hand.
 
He looked over at Murphy and Branson lying in the dirt and shook his head sarcastically from side to side.

“Now that wasn’t very nice,” Chase said.
 
“Though I’ve got to say that I am impressed.
 
No one has knocked one of us out, much less two.”
 
Chase stood there with a genuine appreciation with the strength of this group.
 
“But please don’t tell me this was all you had to your little plan.”