Requiem of the Broken

Chapter 64: Ashen Light

 The massive bolt of psychic energy slammed into the hospital doors, but the thin barrier covering the entire hospital still held firm. Jackie stamped a foot in anger and started pacing while staring at the translucent barrier that flowed like water over the whole building.

Her team had been sent to retrieve Eri and to eliminate any wounded heroes they may find. They'd arrived fine, and killed the hospital director, but a barrier had been erected from within the building and so far nothing they had thrown at it had made a dent. They'd been trying to find a way in for the past ten minutes but with no luck.

While she paced in thought, she sent another casual lance of psychic energy at the barrier, only to have the barrier again resist and send ripples across the barrier like water. She didn't think the user could keep it up forever, so without any other options, she resorted to bombarding the barrier with a constant barrage of psychic lances. It was a crude method, and she hated crude methods. Ripples scattered across the barrier constantly as she hit random locations across the building front.

She'd sent her team to scour the outside for any way in or a weakness in the barrier. A few had returned and stood around bored. Those who hadn't returned were busy doing the same thing she was, trying to smash the barrier.

Jackie yawned as she kept up the barrage when there she heard a boom and the earth shake for a moment. She paused in her barrage and turned around, over where Zeus's "new ally" was located a massive column of dirt and dust had been sent into the sky. As she watched, she saw a second smaller plume, followed quickly by a second larger one. Each tremendous impact echoed across the city.

"Not earthquakes... but massive impacts..." she thought, narrowing her eyes.

"Whatever Zeus's "ally" is doing, it must be one hell of a fight." She thought, then she turned back to her task of trying to break the barrier. As she did, she thought she saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. She turned back and scanned the area behind her, but there was nothing. Just an empty path leading to the parking lot.

She turned back to the hospital front when she saw the same flash of light to her far right, round the hospital's nearest corner leading to the side of the building. Feeling uneasy, she went to her radio.

"What was that flash?" she asked.

She waited but there was no response.

"Well? Anybody?" she asked, growing annoyed.

When there was still no response she rolled her eyes and gestured for a small group standing around.

"Go see what happened." she barked.

The group grabbed their weapons and jogged over to the side of the building. While they were jogging the same flash of light came from behind the hospital, and despite the building height, the flash was strong enough to be seen from where she stood.

Feeling uneasy she went to her radio again.

"What the hell is happening?" she asked.

"I'm not sure ma'am, but the team at the back of the hospital is no longer responding." came the voice of the team leader on the left-hand side of the building.

"Well get over there and assess the situation. If we have a company I want to know about it." she barked.

"Ma'am, we got a visual on the right-hand side... Everyone on this side of the building is gone." came the grim voice of the team leader she'd sent to check things out.

"What do you mean gone?" She demanded, growing equal parts annoyed and nervous.

"I'm not sure, there are just piles of... dust I thin-." The talker cut himself off before speaking again. "Check that, piles of ash. They've been incinerated..." he said grimly.