Rise from the Ashes

Chapter 8: I Found You

"How the hell did you let her go?" Mike screamed, passing down the hallway overlooking the beach below with a soldier and Benito walking beside him.

"She used her abilities, sir. We didn't stand a chance," the soldier reported, keeping pace with him.

"Then you're of no use to me," Mike growled as Benito whipped out his gun and shot the soldier point-blank in the head.

His body collided with the ground staining the sun lite tile beneath while Benito and Mike continued on. The normal-looking vacation home was littered with former military soldiers running around, locking down the house and burning every physical evidence of their existence.

Walking down a set of stone stairs, Mike led the way down to the basement past the wine cellar to a guarded hostage room. Instantly the guards unlocked the heavy steel down, revealing a semi- Emerald strapped down to the medical bed while Dr. Travis powered down her bone saw, allowing Mike to talk.

"How much longer?" he questioned, looking over at the three containers of bone marrow.

"If you want a successful transfusion, I need at least 5 containers," Dr. Travis explained while two guards came in behind Mike and Benito carrying a medical cooler.

"The blood and skin samples are ready along with the rib piece, but I need more time for extracting marrow," she clarified.

"You have less than 10 minutes now. Get it done," he ordered, beginning to walk away.

"And what should I do with her?" Dr. Travis asked, motioning towards the slowly dying Emerald corpse.

"Once you have everything, end her," Mike ordered, exiting the room. "Benito put the artifacts in my car and make sure Dr. Travis finishes her work."

"Yes, sir," Benito responded.

Walking back up to the ground level, Mike felt the floor slightly shook under them. Soldiers froze in mid-work. No one moved. Before the tension could breeze over, a man in a grey suit broke through the ceiling, scattering debris and dust. Men were temporarily blinded as Mike ran in the opposite direction heading for his awaiting vehicle. Grabbing a soldier on his way, Mike pulled them close.

"Steel Shield is in the building. IceWings and Phoenix can't be far behind," he informed. "Get Dr. Travis and kill that girl!"

"Yes, sir," the soldier obeyed fearfully, heading to the basement.

-

"Tell me you're close," Luke requested as 12 soldiers converged on his location in the great room.

"I'm close. This place is a guarded maze," Kida replied, launching ice blasts at every moving thing while making her way to the basement. "Have you located Mike?"

"Yeah, he was here," Luke mentioned, redirecting the bullets around him to target other soldiers.

"Was?" Kida repeated before backhanding a blast at two middle-aged soldiers.

"I'll take care of him. You just worry about getting Em back," Luke declared.

"I've located Micheal Cyrus," Jarges intervened, echoing in Luke's ears. "He just got into a silver Lexus."

"Fuck," Luke mumbled, flying back through the hole in the roof he had created. "Jarges track him and give me his coordinates. You good on your own?"

"Fine," she responded before freezing a 10 man squadron in place in front of an extensive wine cellar. "Made it to the basement."

"Good, I have Mike insight," Luke reported noticing a silver Lexus speeding down the single-lane road.

Descending from the air Luke sped up, flying only a few feet in front of the fast-moving car before slamming into the hood. The vehicle flipped hood over bumper, scattering shards of broken glass and bits of metal into the air. Luke created a protective shield around him as the car continued to roll three times over, with every roll causing more damage.