Chapter 18.

"Anastasia. Do you remember your role?" Her head bobbed up and down as she shook out her arms.

"Stick behind and East. Knock out as many as I can with a mental blast." A brief glance at James caused him to nod and open his mouth.

"Then as soon as the child is secure, I get Ana out of there." His face had become serious. Yet there was still a little glimmer in the back of his eye.

"Promise me that you will leave if the Ambush comes in too quickly. Anything goes wrong, you both leave immediately."

We all stood in a circle in the middle of the safe house. My body felt heavy from the small arsenal I had strapped to me and James looked similar.

Even Anastasia had her own gun and was briefly taught basics.

With any luck, she would not have to use it.

I seemed to be the only one between she and I whose psychic abilities gave a sense of foreboding.

Despite all that still laid yet before and behind me, my stomach felt heavy, my bones frozen to the marrow.

It feels just as it did before.

At least now there is no cage. I am free.

As the three of us were as ready as we were ever going to be, I placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

Warmth flowed from the centre of my core and spread out, strengthening and disrupting the air around us as it spread all the way to my fingers.

I could feel the fabric of Anastasia's bullet proof vest as I dug my fingernails in.

I was going to be vulnerable without it.

The warmth was now a burning fire in my veins as it travelled through my veins and into my eyes.

In an instant we were in the rain on top of an old abandoned warehouse surrounded by other dark gloomy warehouses, hunched together in the cold rain.

Opening my eyes to look at them, my red vision faded for a moment.

"Ready?" I called over the sound of the heavy rain.

They both nodded. As they turned around and started walking, a part of me spoke up. "James?"

James turned around and I jumped at him, wrapping my arms around his neck as I smashed my lips into his.

They were still chapped and soft. His face was beginning to lose its temperature from the rain as I moved and held it between my hands.

Breaking away, I leant my forehead against his. The shadows of the past had not come this time. I wasn't going to have this kiss haunted by them.

"Thank you." Barely a whisper, I doubted he heard it.

I moved over to where Anastasia was, my vision turning red and burning my eyes.

She was scoping out a fire escape that would take us in the direction we wanted to head in, but I motioned for her to wait.

I do not know how long we stood in the rain.

All I knew was that with each coming moment my stomach acted stranger and stranger.

Until there were lights.

Cars began arriving in both directions as if choreographed. They were dark in colour and ran almost silently in the oppressive rain.

Anastasia and James both watched me. It was likely they were unable to see.

The rain began to lighten a little as the intruders stopped. One of the vans reversed so that it's rear faced the headlights of another groups car.

Time slowed as the back doors opened.

Squashed into the back of one of the vans was at least eight children, chained and gagged with thick, glowing collars around their necks.

The feeling that had begun in my stomach now burst through every cell of my body as I nearly tripped over my feet in retreat.

Anastasia and James' eyes still haunted my movements, waiting.

There must be so many if they are switching over eight children at once.

Calm and rehearsed efficiency... This was not the first exchange but, perhaps it was the most important.

That boy is here. I can feel him.

"Change of plans. If there is an opening, we are taking that van."

With all the children inside.

We moved down the opposite side of the building quickly and silently. Landing in a small alleyway.

Nodding to each other, I pulled my twin handguns out of my holsters and took a deep breath.

Adrenaline began to brush up my spine as my eyes began to glow. I could feel time begin to start slowing as I stepped out into the light.

My glowing eyes took in every figure as they began to react to my presence in slow motion. The woman of the hour, Sabina Vasiliev, ducked as bullets began to leak from my guns. The rain dissipating the sound.

Just as the first bullet hit its target, they let go of the struggling child they were holding.

It's him.

A high pitched ringing ripped itself through my ears, but not as loudly as it seemed to be hitting everyone else.

"COVER THE CHILD!" I screamed over the noise and James, now next to me, nodded.

The child was covering his ears as he ducked to the side, towards the van and the others.

My gaze burned as almost every bullet fired caused a fatal wound, but there were too many.

Despite time moving slowly, it all happened so fast.

And I was out of bullets.

For all of my guns.

The piercing ringing slowly died down and James fell back to protect Anastasia as I moved forward.

No one fired as I moved forward, but one from the American side pointed a hard, heavy machine in my direction. In the silence, I could hear it's slow beeping.

"This is who they are all afraid of? You are weak." He laughed as he turned towards his lackeys. All covered up, they were dark gender less forms moving in the dark. Fire flooded through my body as the Rage tingled in my chest. "Eliminate her. We have no use for her abilities."

I glanced at Sabina for a moment as a slow blood-curdling grin emerged on her face, and she moved back towards her van.

Deal with your current enemy first young one... And don't you dare die on me.

The first bullet from their side hurtled towards me and I teleported away. As I emerged next to the first to shoot, my dagger formed in my hand and dug itself past his arm and on an angle into his chest, bouncing off of a rib.

Abandoning it, I moved to the next closest person, forming two short spears that clicked and locked together, making a crude, deadlier bo staff.

Spinning, the edges lashed out. My heartbeat thudded in my ears and my eyes burned through the rain as I moved, teleporting whenever I felt a gun pointed in my direction.

Blood splattered my face and clothes as I struck at weak spots between their joints, leaping off of one body and crashing into another with force.

The Rage was my aid as for once, I did not fear it. It and I were one in the fight as it kept my adrenaline going and pushed me through the thick, soupy air, faster than a regular human.

My hair spun as the sound of engines pierced the sounds of the fight.

Teleporting over to the boy, I lifted him up with one arm as he screamed. His words were a mix of English and Cuban-Spanish.

"HUSH. I AM HERE TO HELP!"

I yelled at him in Spanish and he fell limp in my arm as the collar around his neck beeped and shocked him.

Keeping my arm around him, I teleported to Anastasia and James. Dropping my staff I wrapped my hands around the collar and pulled violently at it before it rebooted from my interference.

Anastasia gasped as she took him in. Black messy, almost-curled hair and those eyes.

"Oh my god Scarlet. He looks just like you."

Familiar brown eyes stared at me in shock as I froze, my red vision dying for a moment.

Ignore it young one, you do not have time to get distracted.

I took a step back and shook myself, reigniting the slowly cooling Rage.

My eyes returned to their red hot glow. I had to go back before my Adrenaline died.

"Go with them. I will get the others." His eyes made my chest ache. I was not used to seeing my own eyes. So young.

Teleporting back, I leapt into the fray, daggers forming in my hands.

A heavy feeling formed in my stomach as I jumped into the re-formed group.

Defensive positions cannot protect them from an above attack.

I will never forgive you for this.

The mental ghost of my Sensei growled in my head.

I will never forgive you for dying. I hissed back.

A bullet ripped through the flesh of my arm as the world refused to slow down under my red gaze.

I was momentarily distracted by the memory of the boy with my eyes.

I retreated backwards as the dagger in my hand dissipated against my permission. My Rage would not reawaken.

It refused.

Tired.

Alone.

And I could hear the Ambush on its way.