Shock and Awe (Enhanced Book 1)

Epilogue

When we break the surface, there are multiple stripped buses waiting for us. The damage to the outside of the facility is astonishing, and the group of us take in every bit of the desecrated government base. Flames and. Smoke drift from multiple collapsed structures, and I catch the telltale signs of burns marks that signal Crimson Current was involved in the fight above the ground.

Bodies — many deformed or only partially whole — litter the ground and, thankfully, they seem to be mostly agents and guards.

Nobody and her muse drop us on a relatively flat piece of ground, and we stagger slightly at the loss of movement. My ears pop at the change in pressure and I start to wonder just how far below the ground we were.

The golden shield around us blinks and disintegrates slowly. When no attacks come, a collective sighs escapes the group.

"To the buses!" A super shouts from the sky.

I blink against the rising sun, trying to make out the figure flying above us. His suit it white with different multicolored patterns on it, and his movements seem as if he is controlling the air around him rather than actually flying.

It takes only a second for our instincts to kick in, and we take off toward the buses parked just outside of the fallen gates round the facility. Some struggle to keep up, but together we all manage to help the weaker ones and get to the buses without any incident.

My eyes scan for my friends as I help load a fragile girl into an already over-filling bus.

I spot Plaz climbing in to the bus furthest from me and will my strength to last as I sprint toward him. When I do make it in through the back emergency door, someone closes it behind me and we lurch as the bus starts moving quicker than any I've been on before.

There is still a line of people along the isle, trying to find any seat available, and they block anyone I may know from view. "Windpress, suppress the dust," a commanding voice sounds from the front of the bus. "Dark Cloak, make us invisible."

Too slowly, almost everyone climbs into a seat until all that's left standing is me and two figures at the front.

My eyes follow their movements as Plaz gives a confusing handshake with a hug to the red-colored super perched on the back of the very front row of seats. From he perch, he looms over everyone else as they chat quietly and check for injuries. His eyes scan the seats, row by row, as if searching for something.

Then, his eyes — the thunderous color of full rainclouds — meet mine as I stand pressed against the back wall of the bus.

Everything seems to freeze and fade into the background as his eyes search mine for something, anything.

Crimson Current stands, his feet in the seat of the bus before hoping down into the now-empty isle. His eyes never leave mine as he ever-so-slowly walks toward me, some strong sense of purpose in each stride.

My heart is racing out of my chest and something a little stronger than butterflies gnaws at my insides.

He reaches me, stopping just inches away, and lifts a hand to gently touch my dirty hair.

My hands shake as I raise them to his mask, needing to see his face. Crim doesn't seem to mind as I loosen the mask from him and slowly pull it off to reveal the man I've known since kindergarten.

I don't think he cares that I'm covered in grime from my cell, or that I haven't brushed my teeth since yesterday morning with the single, ratty toothbrush the guard would bring by after breakfast.

Kingsley takes my face into his hands and kisses me with a passion ten times more than that evening in my bedroom so long ago.

I'm the first to break away, tears pricking my eyes. "They have Forrest," I sob into his chest. I'm so happy to see Kingsley, but at the same time a part of me wants to go back to that facility and search through every piece of rubble until I find my brother.

Using his grip on my face, Kingsley pulls me up to look at him. "We will find him," he promises. "We're going to gather our forces, get a game plan, and then we are going to take these guys down. Together."

A calm silence fills the bus as we drive down the dirt access roads to the main highway. From there, we head for the mountains on the eastern most outskirt of the city. 

I don't know how, or where, or when, but as I look around the bus full of supers, I know Kingsley is right. We will find every Enhanced we can. We'll rally together and go after this corrupt government, expose them for the sick cowards they are, and we will find my brother.

We have to.