Influx (Book Four)

Chapter Eight

The moment that Beta has been dreading her entire life, and the one we are all eagerly waiting for. Beta is going back to the Mavericks tower 👀😂. Let the games begin!!

Chapter Eight

"I still don't see the tower," Click calls out as we zip up the side of the river. Checking the battery on my board I see it is dangerously low. We should be able to make it; we are less than a mile away.

"There is a barrier around it, I know where it is, don't worry," I call out reassuringly. I can see the faint glimmer and feel the massive electrical charge it is creating. A beep catches my attention and I immediately move to land, but the board just drops from our feet. That's a design flaw if we've ever made one.

"Shit!" I scream and I kick off with all the strength I have as we dive headfirst towards the water. Grabbing Cathleen, I yank down her scarf and pull her close to me as we smash into the icy cold water. Everything lights up in pain as shock consumes me, I try to shove her upwards, but I am quickly losing oxygen. A hand grabs my own and I am pulled upwards and we both break the surface. Floating in the river I see Click jogging along the bank.

"Grab the board," she yells and the board fly's back towards us. I hand it to Cathleen and between her swimming and Click's manipulation they pull her out. Floating along, I don't have the strength to swim and when my foot gets caught on something, I am pulled under. Kicking hard, I can't figure out what I am trapped on. Kicking even harder my foot loosens but my boot tears open. Feeling the metal board next to my hand; I grip it with all my strength, and I am pulled upwards and I climb onto the bank and collapse. Pulling my scarf down, I see Click hovering over me as I try to catch my breath.

"Where is she?" I ask winded.

"She's sitting down over there quietly," Click says and I slowly sit up. Ripping the scarf off my face, I wring out the water as much as I can before rewrapping it.

"Are you alright?" Click asks while squatting down next to me.

"I'm zonked," I admit, I barely have any energy left to stand up.

"Are we even close to the tower?" Click asks and I look around.

"Half a mile max, we can walk it," I say bitterly.

"Let's go, Cathleen," Click says and she pops up to her feet and follows behind us. Collapsing the board, I pull out my phone and see it's smashed, soaked, and it smells oddly burnt. Resisting the urge to chuck it in the river, I put it away and keep walking.

"Are we close?" Click asks me as we approach the barrier.

"Watch this," I say, and I flick my wrist and rip a hole big enough for us to walk through. I hear Click gasp in shock, there it is, the Mavericks tower. No one knows where it is or what it looks like, and for good reason so I am sure it is a little exciting to find out what the elusive building looks like. It's a stunning state of the art tower too, with solar panels that move in the direction of the sun, large glass windows, and a massive training field.

"Wow, I was not prepared for that," Click says and I glance at Cathleen who is drenched and looking around in confusion.

"I've been here before," she says, and I perk up. The sooner she gets her memories back the sooner I can go back to resenting her and pretending she isn't a part of my life anymore.

"Yes, you spend a lot of time here because you're a member of the Mavericks," I tell her, and she bobbles her head.

"What's a Maverick?" She asks me and I groan and stick my thumb on the fingerprint scanner, surprisingly the door unlocks.