Darkest Day (StrikeForce #3)

Published by Peitho Press
Detroit, Michigan, 2016

© 2016 Colleen Vanderlinden

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Contents

To those who have felt lost and helpless and sure you’ve lost your way. You are stronger than you realize.

Part One
Questions and Answers

Chapter One

I veered around, keeping my eyes on the stadium below. Over a hundred thousand people were packed into a college football stadium to watch an annual outdoor hockey game. Fans freezing their asses off to watch a game from the nosebleed section was a tradition I’d never understand.

I knew, for example, that as much as I liked hockey, I’d much rather watch it curled up on my couch without dozens of other people crowding my personal space.

I also knew that huge gatherings like this were like crack to certain super villains. Jenson and David had been picking up chatter over the past few weeks about the possibility of some of the random villains who had started working together under Killjoy planning something. Unfortunately, just like everything related to Killjoy in the weeks since we’d last faced him, it was like chasing ghosts. All we had was random chatter and gut feelings to go on. So here we were.

I flew overhead, keeping my eyes on the crowd. Ryan, Jenson, David, and Portia were in the stands, walking around and listening. A lot had been made of our presence there when the game started, and we’d warned both teams about the possibility of attack. They’d gone ahead anyway, trusting (sort of) that we’d keep everything under control.

“Anything, Daystar?” Portia asked over my comm.

“All quiet up here,” I answered. The game was almost through the second period. One more to go, and then we’d stick around until the crowd broke up, and then I could go back to Command and get on with the rest of my day. The horn sounded, signaling the end of the second period, and the teams skated off the ice. Once they were gone, the crowd started moving around more and I tried to pay closer attention so I wouldn’t miss any weirdness.

Our uniforms did a decent job of keeping us warm, but January in Michigan isn’t exactly the most hospitable, and the cold was starting to seep its way into my bones.

“I am freezing my ass off up here,” I muttered into my comm after pressing the button twice to get a direct feed to Ryan.

“And you hate being cold,” he said, humor in his voice. “I was wondering if this was getting to you yet.”

“It couldn’t have been a threat in a nice warm mall or something,” I said, and he laughed.

“Just think of warm things.”

“Coffee. I would kill for a cup of coffee right now.”

He started saying something, and then I heard him curse. “Section 41B. Something’s happening.”

I swerved, pulled back, and spotted the area he was talking about. Several people were bending over, holding their midsections as if they’d been punched in the gut. It seemed to continue in a wave up the stands, and I spotted a guy walking up the stairs between sections. Where he walked, the stomach clutching began.

I was about to head over there, when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, on the ice. The Zamboni had been doing its thing, the driver driving slowly in circles as the machine smoothed the ice, but now it had pulled to the center of the ice, and the driver, who I now noticed was a woman dressed in black and red, was getting off and grinning widely at the crowd as she ran off the ice.

“We’ve got people freaking out at the western side of the arena,” Jenson said. “Seeing things that aren’t there.” I glanced in that direction to see the crowd freaking out. Jenson had used her power to split herself into multiple Jensons, and they patrolled the crowd, pulling people out of danger.

“People fighting out in the concourse all of a sudden,” David said.

“I think that was Raider on the Zamboni,” I said, realizing where I’d seen that black and red uniform before. “It’s starting to emit smoke,” I said. “Shit.” I flew down. There was a grayish white fog coming from the abandoned Zamboni. I hit the button on my mask that would filter my air as I dove toward it.

The security guards who had run onto the ice to check it out were falling as they got close to the Zamboni.

“Christ. She pulled this a week ago somewhere in Norway. Twenty six people died. There’s no way we’ll be able to evacuate all of these people in time. We need to get the Zamboni out of here, now,” Portia said.

“Got it,” I said. I landed near the Zamboni and got ready to try to pick it up.

“No, no, you silly bitch,” I heard a woman’s voice say, and then Raider lunged toward me.

“What’s her power again?” I asked as I threw a punch at her.

“Brute strength,” Jenson said, sounding out of breath.

I punched out at her again, and my power sent her hurtling back toward the glass. She shattered several panels, flying through and into the seats as people scattered and tried to get out of Raider’s way. I went after her and she disappeared.

“Fuck. They’ve got Brianne here too. She just disappeared.” I said as I landed near the Zamboni again. A second later, just as I was about to pick it up, I felt a hard impact from my right side and went flying across the ice. Raider stood by the Zamboni.

“We’re not done yet,” she said.

“Ah, I thought you ran. You assholes are so good at running,” I said, punching out at her face with a quick blast of my power. Her head snapped back and into the side of the Zamboni. She jumped back up, shaking her head, and lunged toward me. I ducked her fist and sent a punch at her, making her crash into the Zamboni again, which was still sending out its fog. She was struggling to stand, and I was gathering my power, going for the final knockout, when she disappeared.

I wanted to find her. Hunt her down. But I knew that my priority was getting the Zamboni and whatever it was loaded up with out of there.

Luckily, there were lots of empty farm fields, once you got out of the city limits where the college was. I bent and lifted the Zamboni as quickly as I could. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it. I managed, but my arms were shaking almost immediately, my body complaining at the sudden strain I was putting on it as I lifted the bulky machine and rose into the air. On top of that, I was trying to act quickly before one of Killjoy’s assholes stopped me again. I had to get this away from everyone before it made people sick.

Or, probably worse, dead, if she was pulling the same shit she’d pulled in Norway.