Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

twenty-four

Oscar sat in a room on one of the upper levels of The Acropolis. Theo, Andre, and Stella filled in the other chairs at the table. Agent Strong assumed the head position. The man rubbed his temples, grumbling under his breath.

Everyone was quiet, stunned into silence. Then again, what was there to be said? They'd been caught resting on their laurels. The victories of the past lulled them into a false sense of security. Kismet capitalized on their complacency.

After Victoria's altercation with her brother in The Grid, Oscar and the others—barring Chase, Emily, and Stella—headed to the common room to play video games. He'd been kicking Theo's behind at a first-person shooter when the explosion hit. The sirens blared throughout the building shortly after.

Without a second thought, the trio of boys rushed downstairs to the epicenter of the blast. Unfortunately, they'd been too late by the time they got there.

They found Emily first. She'd been kneeling in a hallway in the medical wing, her eyes brimming with tears. That's how Oscar knew something terrible happened. She wouldn't speak to anyone, not even after they helped her to the infirmary—which was where they found Stella.

She was sitting on a bed, shoulders slumped and eyes fluttering dreamily. Blood seeped from her fingers, which were wrapped around her forearm. Unconscious, or dead, Kismet mercenaries littered the ground. After stabilizing the girl's wound, the group learned they'd been attacked shortly after the explosion.

The soldiers had been after Victoria, who was nowhere to be found. According to Emily, she left the facility with Apex. Oscar wasn't sure if he believed that, but who was he to question her? He hadn't been there.

In the aftermath of the attack, murdered and wounded agents were found inside The Watchtower. The technicians did a scan across their systems and discovered extensive amounts of research on Primonium had been swiped. And to make matters worse, Kismet made off with their repossessed Nexxus Industries shipment. They'd been on a mission.

After they helped Emily, they learned what went down in The Grid. Somehow, Apex managed to bust out of his cell and defeat Chase—who'd been in bad shape when he was wheeled into the infirmary. Upon seeing him, Stella was immediately sent to hysterics. He looked like he'd been pulverized by a jackhammer.

Oscar wouldn't have been surprised if he was declared dead soon.

Lycan and Apex managed to damage him. That thought alone chilled Oscar to the bone. Chase was supposed to be indestructible. He was invincible. He was their leader. But there he was, unconscious in a hospital bed fighting for his life.

Not to mention the condition of Director Shaw. He'd been rushed into the infirmary as well. While not as damaged as Chase, the man appeared to be in bad shape as well.

Oscar was afraid. In fact, they all were. He thought they'd been safe, that they'd been in control of the situation. After all, they had two of Kismet's most dangerous players captured. They intercepted materials crucial to their plans. Where did it all go wrong?

''What do we do?'' Theo asked, breaking the silence.

No one had an answer. How could they? They'd been ambushed at their own home. That wasn't supposed to happen. Two of their best fighters were injured and the CEO of Atlas was down for the count. That wasn't even including Victoria's treachery.

He still didn't understand that part. The girl just helped them fight Kismet a week ago. But now she was with Kismet? It didn't make any sense. For some reason, he felt personally betrayed. His chest ached and his body felt like something was crushing it slowly. He didn't even know why. They hadn't even been friends. In fact, they were barely acquaintances.