Wraith

Chapter 09: Fire Strike

Chapter 09: Fire Strike

"Do you think you can actually take this island?" Ricochet asked. "Do you know how many soldiers they have?"

"I'm not concerned with their numbers," I replied. "You could take on the entire base by yourself, and Mirror could turn the island into a glowing crater with her sun mimicking powers. If I wanted, I could transform a part of the planetary crust to shadow, and the island would fall through, being absorbed by the ground and covered by the ocean."

Ricochet nodded thoughtfully.

"We have the decided advantage here," I continued. "Our difficulty comes not from our ability to win but in doing it without wholesale slaughter. Most of these mercenaries aren't mindless killers, and there are the prisoners in the base to consider. We need a surgical scalpel, not a sledgehammer."

"What do you have in mind?" Ricochet prompted.

"First of all, we need to prevent their escape," I stated. I took hold of a fuel drum and turned the metal barrel to shadow. When it lost physical substance, its weight reduced significantly, and I was able to lift it with ease. Shoving it through the wall, I let go and left it imprisoned in the stone. "We can remove their fuel supply and a few key components from their boats to keep them trapped here."

"We're also going to disable their communication systems, so they won't be able to call for help," Denise added.

"How do I fit in with these plans of yours?" Ricochet inquired, clearly eager to be of assistance.

"I need you to keep the soldiers so busy, they won't have time to notice as Mirror and I sneak in and break their toys," I answered.

"I can mix things up," Ricochet agreed. "When do we start?"

"Just as soon as we're done here," I replied, shoving another fuel drum through the wall.

***

After burying the entire fuel supply for the docks and crippling the boats, Ricochet bounced away through the jungle while Denise and I returned to the base through the ground. Daylight was approaching, so we had to move quickly before our powers switched.

The alarms were already sounding madly when we arrived. Ricochet had done his job exceedingly well as the soldiers were in chaotic disarray. They ran in multiple directions, unaware of which way the attacker had come from or gone. Random shots were fired around the base perimeter as the on edge soldiers attacked wind blown leaves in their panicked state.

Sliding down through the earth without trouble, we descended past the first few levels to reach the communication center. Two dozen people sat at their desks and computer consoles, typing on keyboards or speaking into headsets, trying to coordinate operations.

"Let's shake them up a bit," I suggested before walking Denise and myself into the room. My sudden arrival, combined with my freakish, ghostlike appearance, caused a terrified commotion in the room. I released Denise and gave the attending support staff a chance to run. "If you don't want to die, I suggest you leave!"

Denise followed my lead and ignited her hands, turning the room bright with intense fire. People scrambled for the exits, and I felt glad no one could see my face as I couldn't hide a smile. This base had been subjecting innocent people to bizarre experiments and had planned lethal harvesting of their powers, so it was good to see them running for a change. When the room cleared, I turned to Denise.

"Light it up," I told her.

Throwing out her hands, she sent forth streams of fire similar to solar flares. They washed across electronic equipment and office furniture, melting and burning away everything in the room. The carpet ignited, shriveling away as it was roasted. Even the plaster wall covering vaporized until only the scorched concrete of the structure remained.