More Than Human

Chapter 31

Ally spread her wings, her face a stone-cold mask. "I'm going to go see what these helicopters are," she announced, and took off. If she felt anything at all about the fact that the girl who was practically her sister was dead, she didn't show it.

I, on the other hand, was kneeling beside Katie's body, crying with the rest of the V1s and V2s, except for Tessa and Taylor. Tessa was standing off to the side, staring into space, while Taylor was pacing angrily, muttering to herself.

Erica, Rose, and Jess were standing awkwardly off to the side. They didn't know Katie, so they weren't quite sure how to mourn her.

Sophie and Jamie were saying some words. I didn't quite hear them. I was away in my head, thinking about Katie. We only saw her once. I regretted that. We should've spent more time with her when we had the chance.

Even while I was thinking that, even while the tears streamed down my face, I couldn't truly accept that she was dead. I just couldn't. I kept expecting her to wake up, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

I heard footsteps. People running towards us. Five people who worked for the Institute, like the guys who brought me from the flat board I was tied to to here, came running into the room, guns ready.

On instinct I jumped up and put myself between them and Katie's body, my arms reaching out, with my palm facing towards them. "Don't shoot," I said. My voice was shaky, but final.

"We don't want to," the lead guy said, "but it's the only way to control you."

He has tranquilizers, Lea said in my mind. He'll be shooting the most. The others have guns. They won't be shooting as much because they don't want to accidentally kill us, but watch out.

I don't want that to happen. I heard Fay's thoughts too. Had Lea somehow connected our minds?

No. It's a bad idea. Can I kill them now? Gloria.

No. Lea. They have to attack first. Then we'll just have been acting in self defence. You know, in case we get arrested.

I laughed. Arrested. Me. After everything that they've done, we could get arrested. Wow.

A loud bang snapped me out of the thought link and back into the real world. The lead guy was aiming his gun right over my shoulder. He shot at me. He shot at me!

"Okay, you can kill him now," I told Gloria.

And all heck broke loose.

Taylor fought like someone had unleashed a hungry demon, slashing them in the face with her claws.

Gloria ran right at them, bent over like she was going to headbutt them. They re-aimed at her, but right when they pulled the trigger, Gloria tripped. The bullet missed by inches. She rolled across the floor and grabbed a guy's leg.

"Backup! We need back-" a guy started to yell, but got cut off because his face started melting, courtesy of a blast of fire from Morgan.

Maddie. You, me. Sneak behind them, Lea said in my brain.

It was a good idea, but I didn't want to leave my post defending Katie's body with Jamie.

Busy, I sent back. Get Fay.

Why does this suddenly remind me of PvZ Garden Warfare?

"Mind if we help?" said a voice. I turned around. It was Erica, Rose, and Jess.

"Not at all," said Jamie, making up my mind for me. I was going to tell them to go hide, but if they want to help... Oh, who am I kidding? I didn't want them there. They had no powers or weapons, and the other guys had guns.

Jess ran off into the bloodbath, oblivious my worries.

I was starting to feel useless, guarding Katie's body. None of the bad guys were even making it this far. What else could we do that's not in the middle of the battle?

Suddenly someone came running out if the attack zone, right at us. I raised my arms to attack, but Jamie screamed, "NO!"

Then I saw who it actually was. Sophie. I lowered my hands. Thank god I didn't attack her.

Sophie collapsed to her knees in front of us, panting heavily. Her shoulder and chest were covered in blood and she was holding her right shoulder tightly with her left hand.

Erica gagged. "Blood..."

"Turn away!" I snapped to her, then turned my attention back to Sophie. "What happened?"

"Got shot," she wheezed.

"Okay. Okay." I tried to calm myself. "Is it still in there?" By it, I meant the bullet.

Sophie got what I meant and shook her head. So it went right through. I felt like fainting.

Jamie started ripping her shirt up for bandages, leaving only a crop-top. Rose and I followed her example.

I layered the shirt-bandages over Sophie's wound, pausing every time she winced, which was a lot. I think Erica had passed out.

We had just finished and got Sophie to sit off to the side, behind Katie's body, when Taylor dragged Tessa over by the arm. "She got shot in the leg," Taylor explained, then left. I noticed as she walked away that she had a bullet wound in her upper arm, but didn't even seem to notice.

I grabbed the thin strip of shirt bandage left over from Sophie and wrapped it around the part of Tessa's leg where all the blood seemed to be coming from. Jamie got a chunk of drywall from when the ceiling collapsed and propped the leg up on it.

This had better work for now. These people had better not die. I did the best I could with Rose's shirt.

Someone dropped from the ceiling beside us. "Ally?" exclaimed Jamie. "You're back!"

"Yep." Ally folded up her wings. "Those people are government. They want us to come with them."