The Anomaly Project

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

NOAH

I fire a bullet through a Bannik's chest and sprint over to Masato. He kneels on the grass over Brooke's limp body.

There are several Banniks advancing on us, so I stand over them and start firing as fast as I can, trying to drop as many of the creatures as possible. Masato is pressing his palms hard on Brooke's wound, trying to suppress the blood flow. I shoot down as many Banniks as I can, but they keep coming.

"Get her inside the shed!" I shout to Masato. "She'll die if she stays out here!"

He nods, gathers Brooke up in his arms, and takes off toward the med shed, raising a cloud of dust behind him. I shoot three more times, and then I fire a blank. I've run out of ammo.

I could switch out the clip, but that'd take too much time, so I drop the gun, pull out my sword, and start to go hand-to-hand with the Banniks. The creatures scratch and slice me so many times that my arms are soon covered with more blood than skin, but none of the wounds are very bad. I manage to hold my own.

A Bannik comes at me and I'm about to stab through its chest, but before I can, it screams and drops dead of its own volition, falling to the ground and revealing a stocky man with light brown hair and a short beard standing behind it. He pulls his own sword out of the Bannik's head and looks at me.

The sight of him shocks me at first. How come I didn't know he was there? Why didn't I hear him thinking? Is something wrong with my telepathy?

Suddenly, I freeze. My concerns about my telepathy disappear. I know this guy – I saw him, in my dream-vision-thing. He lifts an eyebrow, probably confused as to why I'm staring dumbstruck at him. I'm about to explain, but then I see a Bannik running toward us and I'm snapped back to the battle.

"Watch out!" I tell the guy. He jumps to the left and I jump up, pulling the creature down by its shoulders and driving my sword into the weak spot on the top of its head. The guy goes to work, fighting beside me. In my peripheral vision, I catch sight of the second guy from my dream-vision locked in combat with... is that a battle axe?

At last, the Banniks' roar begins again, and the remaining ones retreat into the woods. Once they're all gone, my sword slips from my fingers and I drop to my knees, exhausted. Spots appear in front of my eyes, and I press my fingers to my temples, trying to still my spinning head.

The guy drops next to me. "You alright?"

I pull in a long breath and release it slowly. My vision clears a bit. "Yeah."

"I'm David," he says. "David Hunt." He nods toward the second guy, who is now jogging toward us. "That's my older brother Travis."

"Noah Stone," I say. "I'm one of you. I mean, I'm enhanced too."

David frowns. "How did you know—?"

"Noah!" Masato yells from the med shed, cutting off David's words. I shake my head to clear my mind and use my sword to stand up, going as fast as I can to the infirmary. David follows me with Travis on his heels.

Brooke lies on the bench, her face wan and pale. Masato presses a white towel onto her side, not even glancing up when we enter. A blood-soaked cloth lies on the floor next to him. "What do I do, Brooke?" Masato asks her frantically. "Talk to me. How do I help?"

"Keep... applying pressure," Brooke instructs weakly, her eyes closed. "Is Noah here?"

"Yeah," I say, stepping forward. "What do you need?"