Atonement (Heaven Sent Book 1) Page 5

  As if on cue, the sirens from a fire truck rang out in the distance. The piercing sound of its horn drifted through the trees that lay beyond the property line. No lights could be seen yet which meant they were still a few minutes out.

  Smoke fogged the windows on the second floor, and the first shrieks of terror rang out as people realized the danger enveloping them. Kelly noted the size of the windows, they were large enough to exit through, if you could break them.

  “We should break a window for them, no?” Kelly waited for a reply, but none came. They were caught in that terrible space between action and inaction, that pause in the chaos that she hated most. She countered the lull. “The silence is deafening, tell me something or I’m just going in.”

  Dan had walked off to the west hillside, perpendicular to where she stood. As he reached the top of the embankment, he answered her. “Just give us a minute to assess what’s going on here.”

  Kelly couldn’t sit still and began pacing back and forth. Watching her siblings separate and fan out trying to cover as much ground as possible was an excruciating exercise and all she could hear was the ticking away of precious time, like an invisible clock taunting her. She observed Michael making his way toward Deb’s position. She was the only one of them that was visible to the humans. She had to be, or she wouldn’t have had the children’s cooperation without them being able to see and touch her. Deb had been able to project her shield onto them but being in human view during a potential supernatural event was risky.

  Kelly was about to call out Dan on his one-minute timeline when an explosion erupted deep inside the first floor. Smoke rolled like a sandstorm through the corridor, while tile and pieces of sheetrock rumbled to a halt at the windows. The pressure cracked portions of the glass. The haze inside thinned, and she watched the outline of a being take shape.

  “Good guy or bad guy? I’m going with bad since lately it seems like they’re everywhere.” Kelly let the statement hang in the air, not expecting a reply.

  Out of the corner of her eye Kelly could see Deb coaxing the children to turn back needing to avoid the building now, she gathered them onto the grassy area that lined the tarmac. They were behind the relative safety of parked cars.

  Kelly saw the Hunters from the field as they staggered into view, sweating and breathless they looked back and forth between the building and Deb.

  Michael’s voice distracted Kelly. “A watcher just arrived on the opposite hillside. Tom she’s closest to you, go have a chat. In a minute this area is going to be overrun with people, it would be good to understand what they are really running from.”

  I’m dying here people, let’s just go in already! Kelly thought.

  A side door burst open and people began to pour out chased by the billowing smoke and fumes from inside. The scene was devolving, chaos was unfolding, people were yelling and crying for help, with no idea where to go when they left the building. They huddled together on the outskirts of the parking lot and watched in horror as the façade continued to falter under the tendrils of fire consuming it.

  “We’ve dealt with that Watcher before,” Gen told them. “Her name is Lacey. I saw her with Harry a few months back.” Kelly didn’t recognize Lacey.

  “Speaking of our Angel, where is Harry? Shouldn’t he be here? I feel like he’s slacking lately.” Kelly heard Dan sigh in reply.

  Blue flashing lights splashed across the pavement, with police cruisers escorting the fire department, emergency vehicles spilled into the parking lot. Firemen were unloading equipment when they were interrupted by a second explosion that rocked the building. They took cover and Deb used the distraction to her advantage. She brought the children to one of the police officers, speaking only briefly with the female cop before leaving the children in her care. Walking around the cruiser Deb disappeared behind the firetruck coming out the other side no longer visible to the human eye.

  “Where are the other firetrucks? One isn’t going to do it, people!” Kelly was impatient, and she could feel Gen’s anxiety increasing in tandem with her own.

  Deb made her way back to the Hunters who were noticeably looking around for her. “They’re probably wondering where you went Deb,” Kelly snickered.

  The men had their cell phones raised in the air trying to find a signal. One of them was pointing at the building as if trying to convince the others to accompany him inside.

  Kelly saw Deb walk around behind them, touching each man on the shoulder, she sparked influence. Her sway could persuade them to charge toward the danger and not away from it.

  “That’s it, Deb. That’s what we can do here, we can guide until we know what’s happening.” Gen’s voice lilted upward. Kelly thought it expressed forced optimism.

  Before anyone could agree, Tom’s voice rang out with answers. “It’s confirmed, what’s inside is supernatural. Lacey says the two Hell Fighters Kelly just killed infected a student then went to distract us while the venom did its work. This fire will mask the birth of one of their own. What’s inside is a newborn Hell Fighter.”

  Heat rushed through Kelly’s body and flushed her cheeks. Her hands closed into tight fists at her side and her heart was hammering as she sensed the anger surging. This was the reaction she felt whenever anyone mentioned a Hell Fighter. She killed the one in the field handily, but newborns were different. Though she had never faced one, she had done plenty of research on them. They were said to be tenacious, unpredictable, and their venom was at maximum strength at the time of creation.

  “What’s your plan?” Dan had come up alongside her.

  “Engage.” Kelly turned toward her brother and smiled, but he didn’t return the sentiment.

  “That’s not a plan, that’s a suicide mission.” Michael’s piercing brown eyes caught hers from across the parking lot.

  “Hey, it’s not like there’s a manual for this,” Kelly retorted. “And it’s not like you can join me inside.”

  She closed her eyes and attempted to quiet the inner swell that was building. “Maybe I can track it, give me a second.” She wondered if it was the figure she saw earlier, the outline that had faded and disappeared when people rushed out. The screaming from the people inside was interfering with her concentration. It wasn’t helping that Gen’s concern was turning into sheer terror at the thought of Kelly having to enter the building alone.

  “What choice do we have? It’s a newborn, you guys shouldn’t even be in the parking lot. The fumes, the flames, the smoke, it’s all poisonous to you.”

  “We are not leaving you, Kell, don’t even go there. Just tell us what you need us to do.” Gen walked toward her.

  “This place is getting overrun, soon it will be hard to manage through all these people and their emotions, especially their fear,” Gen said. “If you go inside there is no guarantee you will even hear us out here.” Gen spanned the crowd with concern.

  “I need that window broken, and it’s going to have to break outward, so we don’t hit anyone inside with glass,” Kelly told them. “Deb, you may have to project your shield onto those firefighters along the front.” Kelly was pointing at the building, but looking at Deb.

  Deb was about to influence the last Hunter in the line, but before she could touch him, he turned and faced her.

  “Thank you, Deborah, but I don’t need your divine intervention, I’m good. Please thank Gen for me. It took a few retellings, but she finally heard me recapping the story of what was going on in the field.” The scruffy faced male turned and winked at Kelly before running for the building.

  “Jared” was the only reply Deb could muster.

  “Oh my God, Jared! Wait! Stop! Don’t make me chase you. You know I hate running!” Kelly watched him run toward the building heading for the same spot she had just been speaking with Gen about.

  “Quick, break the glass, he’s going to jump through and I’m heading in after him.” Kelly was running now too. She held her arm up in front of her spreading her fingers wide and concentrating
her powers on the window. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gen doing the same and assumed Deb was also.

  The glass panes that remained exploded outward and Kelly watched the firemen jump back and take cover. They would not know it wasn’t necessary. Deb had projected her shield over them sending the shards of broken glass cascading down to the ground in shimmering fashion just behind where they stood.

  Having successfully made the leap, Jared was inside the building, where he quickly disappeared. Kelly was close behind; in a mid-air leap she removed a weapon from a holster attached to her back and readied herself for the newborn Hell Fighter inside. She landed on her feet but was forced to crouch down as she slid a few yards further into the school corridor. When she turned back, the thick smoke obliterated any view of her siblings in the parking lot.

  Now that she was inside, the screams for help were piercing, human souls tormented by Hell share their pain with any nearby Guardian. Right now, all their fear was palpable. Given how many people were inside, the weight of their agony hung heavily around her, making it difficult to get to her feet quickly.

  She could faintly hear Deb praying for her safety. She could feel Gen, racked with guilt over not being able to join her inside. She could sense Dan puzzling through how else they could help her from outside. The sound of steel cracking pulled her away from their concerns. Up ahead an exit door was thrust open and she felt the rushing relief of cool air as it swept down the hall toward her. She watched people run through the door to the safety of the outside. Just beyond the parade of people jockeying for position she saw Jared staring at her. The hood of his sweatshirt was down, his black hair shaggy and longer than last time she laid eyes on him. His brown eyes and rosy complexion mimicked her own, but the scarring on his forehead and along the side of his neck was evidence of serious battle.

  He must have opened the door on his way by, she thought to herself.

  He smiled as she took steps in his direction, but then she was forced to stop and turn back when she heard Dan’s voice.

  “Kelly, people are stuck on the second floor, we’re going to break the windows upstairs too. The opening should allow rescue via a bucket truck for some, but there are too many, you need to try and kill this thing as fast as possible if we’re to have any hope of getting them all.”

  “I don’t know where it is. I think Jared opened the side entrance. You should see people fleeing through it now. I’m going to see if I can catch up to him. I don’t know why Jared came inside, he shouldn’t have risked it, but now that he’s here maybe he can shed some light on what the heck is going on.”

  She cautiously moved forward. Jared left the doorway, disappearing once again. She stopped when she heard the distinctive sound of something banging against thin metal.

  “It sounds like someone is throwing themselves against a set of lockers. Since that’s ridiculous, it’s probably what I’m looking for.” Kelly turned left and followed the noise.

  She came upon a scrawny teenage boy flailing himself around the hallway. Panting and breathless, his pores nearly burst open from the bubbling venom she saw running through his veins.

  “Oh my God, how’s he going to make the transition? He’s too small, too weak. How can his narrow frame handle the strain of what’s coming? I’ve never actually seen a Hell Fighter born. This is torturous.” Kelly looked on in horror as this unsuspecting high school student buckled under the demonic force overtaking his body.

  He yelled out, “Help me, please, someone help me!”

  His shoulders flung back, arms extended, his skin slit open, and his eyes filled with blood. With each excruciating breath his body tried to hold on, but one at a time his bones began to crack and stretch, until his height nearly reached the ceiling, his fingers and nails grew like talons and his hair fell out when his head gorged with venom. Each moment of madness brought him one step closer to beast form. There was no way to stop it and he was burgeoning to explode into true demonic form. Kelly felt an arm around her waist pulling her away from the teenager.

  “Get back, you can’t stand that close to it,” Jared yelled the words as he sent her flying backward. She landed with a thump about six feet away, her head ricocheted against the wall. Her vision temporarily blurred, but she heard the last of the teenager’s air leave his lungs like the hiss of a balloon not properly tied.

  The explosion rocked the building and Kelly covered her ears and tucked her head down against her knees. The force brought pieces of the ceiling down upon them. Peeking up, she saw Jared had turned away from the newborn and faced her with his arms extended outward as if he could shield her from the blast. Behind him a massive swath of flame licked the ceiling.

  It worked. You were able to protect us! How did you do that? She really wanted to ask him, but the words would not form.

  The heat from the blast melted lockers, while one massive step from the Hell Fighter dented the floor. Now he would be coming for them.

  “He’s enormous, of course he’s frigging enormous!” Kelly’s sarcasm did nothing to temper the panic she felt coming from her siblings.

  “Run, we need to wear him down first, make him run!” Jared turned and distracted the newborn allowing Kelly to stumble to her feet and awkwardly escape down the opposite hallway. Once she was far enough away, she told her siblings about the plan.

  Michael was quick to give additional guidance. “Newborns are weak in the joints. Go for the knees first chance you get.”

  Her vision returned, but throbbing pain remained in her head. She searched for another weapon as she had lost the spear when Jared tossed her backward.

  “Ok, he’s coming, I’m running toward the back.” Kelly lurched forward and began running. She heard the hammering of his footsteps coming up fast behind her. Given his height it wouldn’t be long before he caught her.

  She abruptly changed course and the Hell Fighter was too big to make the tight turn. He slipped and smashed through a wall, taking part of a classroom with him, and Kelly momentarily got caught up in the destruction of his fall.

  She could hear his breathing was uneven; he was expelling a lot of energy to keep up. The heat coming off him made her feel like she was nearing the sun.

  “Why are all you guys so ridiculously hot?” Kelly wiped the sweat from her brow and pulled the T-shirt away from her body, it snapped back and clung to her skin. She was soaked in sweat and venom. Looking around she couldn’t place where the closest window was.

  She was slowly trying to make her way out when she felt cold air sweep in and wrap around her ankles. She looked back over her shoulder and spotted Dan and Xavier influencing firemen to spray their firehoses through an open window.

  “Run through it, Kelly, you need to get your body temperature back down,” Dan ordered.

  She ran through the cooling spray, but the demon didn’t follow. She watched him step back, spreading his arms along the wall to avoid it. The reddish glow of Hell fire that encircled him danced all around as he moved. Unlike the one in the field, the newborn’s fire wasn’t abating. It seemed to flicker and re-ignite sending spasms of movement though it’s body. When his eyes fell upon Kelly, they betrayed confusion.

  “He’s not sure what the water will do to him and neither am I.” Kelly watched the newborn attempt to slither away and yelled to her brothers. “See if you can hit him with it.”

  The water line came close, but the demon’s temperature was so hot it turned the water to steam. The beast roared a reply, clearly irritated but unharmed by the attempts to cool him off.

  Kelly went back to running, stopping to catch her breath only once she was certain that she was out of his sightline. “This really sucks, I want to be done running because panting and sweating are so not fabulous.”

  She returned to a jog and continued down a new hallway until she reached the next cross-section. Unsure of which way to turn, she stopped to listen for footsteps, but heard nothing.

  “What if he’s no longer following? Crap, I need to
double back.” Talking out loud she had no idea if she could still be heard, the connection to her siblings seemed to be cutting in and out like an old transistor radio, staticky and unreliable.

  As she turned the next corner, the smell of rotting flesh and burnt hair washed over her as she nearly slammed into the newborn Hell Fighter.

  “You adapted, learned to teleport, great.” Kelly’s sarcasm went unabated. The newborn shoved her. With no time to brace for the impact or slow herself down she crashed against the wall. Pain seared through her shoulder as it took the brunt of the force.

  She pulled a small dagger out of her boot and watched the newborn gasp rapidly for air, the breaths congested like his lungs were filled with poison, which they were. He had an arm against the wall for support and he was no longer looking at her.

  “He’s laboring guys, this might be as good a time as any to engage.” She heard her own labored breathing as she spoke and wondered where she was going to get the energy to fight.

  She threw the dagger and the beast moved his hand to bat it away, but he missed. When it pierced his skin, he yelped in pain and pulled the weapon from the side of his neck. He awkwardly threw it back at her, but she caught it in mid-air, spinning it between her fingers she angled the blade down into a defensive position.

  “Why are you here, why now? Why did you go after this kid?” Kelly watched as the Hell Fighter looked over but didn’t respond. “Ok, so when do the powers of speech show up? I feel like it would have been helpful for that one to have come first.”

  He grumbled something incoherent then jabbed with his fist, she ducked and targeted her counter punches on the side he was favoring. He bellowed in pain like a howling wolf. He swung his arm hard landing a blow against her right side. Though she had braced herself and was still on her feet, the impact winded her.

  The dance of contentious punches continued, each of them landing occasional blows. Kelly noticed sparkling flames would scatter through the air every time she landed a punch. Each glowing ember started a new fire wherever it landed. The space they were in was clogged with blackened clouds that were getting thicker by the minute.