All's Fair in Love and War

Chapter 4 Attack

Evie let out a shriek of absolute terror, a cry echoed by Raven as the blonde clasped her hands over her mouth while all of them flinched back. Lisa had let out a similar scream, backing away in fear while Angel hadn't let out a sound, too aghast to even breath as she too held a hand over her mouth and clutched the back of Sean's shirt with her other.

As one, the group stepped back from the window in complete horror and Darwin wrapped a protective arm around Lisa as the girl began shaking like a leaf, her eyes unable to tear themselves away from the dead man in the middle of the courtyard. Alarms began to sound and the lights throughout the compound switched on, but it wasn't stopping whatever was dropping the bodies; and Evie screamed again as another agent was dropped abruptly down onto a glass awning on the other side of the courtyard, the man dying instantly even as his body fell through the shattered glass.

Raven shrieked, Lisa whimpered, and Darwin shouted, "Get back!"

He quickly pushed himself in front of the group, spreading out his arms before them protectively as they all backed away from the window. Sean's face had gone absolutely white and he looked like he was going to be sick while Angel gasped repeatedly, "Oh, my God; oh, my God."

Raven was shaking worse than Lisa now, not that the dark-haired girl was faring much better as she clung to Evie while agents came running out into the courtyard. Hank was looking as queasy as Sean, and even Alex looked perturbed though he looked slightly more prepared than the others. As though it weren't the first time he'd seen someone die.

One of the agents ran by their window, and he yelled at them as he banged on the window insistently, "Get back!"

The mutants quickly did as they were told, all of them moving towards the other side of the room as they stared out the window with wide eyes while the agent ordered, "Do not leave that room. We're under attack!"

Something appeared in the middle of the courtyard, amidst a flash of red and black smoke – a man, or rather mutant, with red skin and a tail whipping out behind him.

His hands appeared strangely curved, but Evie didn't have a chance to really get a closer look at the mutant as Raven screamed, "There, behind you!"

The agent looked back even as the rest of his men hesitated, too surprised to react, before he yelled, "Shoot! Shoot!"

His men opened fire on the mutant, and the group inside yelped while they ducked in fear, taking cover behind the sofas as the gunfire rang in their ears.

Darwin had an arm out protectively, hiding Raven and Evie behind him while Alex and Hank flanked him. Angel, Lisa, and Sean were behind them, all of them cowering though they kept their eyes on the window.

Angel screamed as the mutant disappeared before reappearing behind one of the agents, twisting his neck as he moved the agent's arms around so that the agent fired around the courtyard instead.

Lisa gasped, a sound almost lost in the sound of gunfire as the bullets shot down the other agents, a few strays also coming at their window and shattered the glass into pieces. Alex pulled Lisa and Angel down further, shielding them while Sean covered part of them and Darwin and Hank ducked down over Raven and Evie.

As the bullets continued to fly in through the open window, the group pressed down even more, though Darwin maintained his protective stance at the front as he spread his arms wide to cover as much of them as he could.

Another sound drew their attention to the back window, and Evie's jaw dropped as she saw what looked like a hurricane coming around the corner into the back courtyard.

"Evie, please tell me it's your power I'm seeing." Sean gasped, and Evie whispered, "I wish, Sean. Oh, God, I've never thought I'd wish that I was seeing one of my visions."