Elementals: A New Era: Book One

Chapter Four

Andrew and Luke burst out of the bedroom as another explosion rocked the large building, alarms began blaring as Andrew took off down the hall, Luke had little time to see the rising smoke from below them before he followed the Operator into the Command Centre. Andrew quickly sat in his seat and swiveled, pulling his headset on and calling Mari and King back. Luke looked on as Stacey barked orders to her team, telling them to contact the medical team and the Military Division, while others contacted the police. He watched as there was a sort of organized chaos within the room, everyone scrambling to get others to come, but he was right there, he could go down and help.

"Where is it?" Luke asked.

"Detention level, where Zero is interrogating a suspect," Andrew replied. Luke turned to leave and was stopped by a voice.

"Luke," Stacey called, turning to him. "You're free to use your Powers inside the base, but the second the attackers leave, you cannot pursue, you are not an Agent. Is that clear?"

Luke nodded before breaking into a run, heading towards the lifts, cursing as the doors wouldn't open and deciding to make it to the stairway. He jumped over the metal railing and descended a few floors before using his Powers to help him land safely in a roll on the right floor. With a flick of his hands, the door burst open and he was greeted with a hallway full of smoke.

"Zero?" He called out as he covered his mouth with his shirt. "You good bud?"

A loud banging came from up ahead which caused him to break into a run, he came to the large hole that led out into the city below, sunlight barely making it through the thick smoke. Another crash came from within, causing Luke to peer into the smoke. Something flew towards him, before he could call out, something large and white impacted him and the two of them were thrown from the building. Luke's mind raced as he began to fall in slow motion, the large Dog unconscious in his arms.

"Zero!" He called. "Wake up!"

He felt Powerless as they fell, Zero's field wrapped around him and cut him off from his Source, preventing the only way he could save them as they plummeted to the ground. His heart raced, his fear increasing as the ground quickly caught up with them. He embraced the Dog as they impacted something soft and began to roll down a slope. Cradling the large Dog was awkward and clunky and one wrong move caused a cracking sensation in his wrist as they tumbled towards the ground. The surface turned from a soft carpet to a jagged and hard ground, causing Luke to let go of the Dog as they rolled to a stop.

Luke managed to his feet as he looked back at the ramp of Air that had saved them, and then back at the police that were quickly surrounding them and holding off the ever growing crowd of Humans. His heart began to race as people began to point at him and the unconscious Zero, his breathing became erratic and he found his feet beginning to move, willing him forward and past one of the officers. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to get out of there. The world spun as his vision began to blur, the sound of heart pounding within his head as his feet carried him around a corner and down an alleyway. He collapsed onto his knees before falling onto his back against a brick wall. His hands clutched his chest, his heart a constant beat, he moved his hands to the side of his head to try to get any thoughts to calm himself down, his legs constantly moving in and out trying to find a place of comfort. His hands moved up and down his body, stopping briefly as they brushed over his pockets. He pulled out the cube and instantly felt his heart rate slow, and his breathing regulated, the cube was something he knew, something familiar, something he could control and manipulate. His fingers began to wiggle as he felt the sensation of pain entering his other hand. He opened his eyes and watched as the cube moved about, its several pieces pulling apart and reconnecting, a small and simple use of his Powers allowed his body to normalize to the point where he felt okay. He leant back and looked up at the sky between the two buildings, a large figure flew overhead, some sort of bird with figure grasped in its talons. Luke took a deep breath and exhaled before standing and flexing his muscles, his left arm felt weak and sent pain shooting through him each time he tried to move. He looked out towards The Agency and found that they had fallen towards the back of the building, meaning he could slip around the front and enter without a fuss. He just hoped that the guards hadn't rotated and that he would be recognized without needing to call Andrew or anyone from above. He awkwardly held his arm as he walked into the tiled reception, the same guard from before stood and looked at him with concern.