Unsung

Chapter Eighty-Seven

I couldn't stop myself from screaming as the shot rang out, and I watched in horror as bodies fell to the floor. I lurched forward to try and see who'd been hit, but it was impossible. I was too far away and the whole place had turned into chaos. Foxes began to scramble around the room as if they hadn't been prepared for the shooting to begin. Some even released their captives in order to run for cover themselves.

Another loud crack filled my ears and I scrambled back into the darkness of my hiding spot. Peeking out from one of the structure's windows, I searched around for the senator. When I found him, he was standing in nearly the same place he'd been before. But instead of pointing his gun at my friends, he had it trained on a spot above them. Far above them.

Following his line of sight, I finally saw what he was aiming for, and my chest filled with terror.

Forty feet above us, hanging from the top of the building was a large white tank. Pipes sprouted from it like the roots of a tree, snaking around the entire building and ending in smaller chambers in nearly every corner of the room.

I wouldn't have known what it was, except that Cain had pointed it out once. He'd said that it was there to create the ideal environment for training.

It was the special air filtration system for the whole building.

And Senator Bradley was aiming right for it.

"Stop him!" I screamed, but my voice was drowned out by about a hundred other distractions all around the room.

McKayla and Ris had managed to wriggle free from the foxes and were standing nearly back to back as they punched and kicked their way free. As one of the foxes lunged at McKayla, she jumped into the air and delivered a flying kick to the guy's stomach, propelling him backward and onto his back with a thud. Once her feet hit the ground again, she turned and caught another fox square in the jaw with the heel of her palm and then brought his face down to her waiting knee. After tossing him aside, she glanced over at Ris who was taking on two guys of his own.

"Down!" she yelled at him.

Without hesitation, Ris ducked, allowing just enough time for McKayla to vault over his back and slam into another fox's face. Forced to his knees, she threw a roundhouse kick to the guy's head, knocking him out for good. Using the momentum to her advantage, she pivoted around and pushed another fox right into Ris, who delivered an explosive blow before sweeping the attacker's legs out from underneath him.

Part of me wanted to stop and watch the impressive show they were putting on, but I knew time was running out.

I turned back to Senator Bradley who had stopped to reload his gun. Luckily, shooting didn't appear to be his strong suit, because so far his shots had missed their target. But even I knew that eventually he'd hit his mark. The tank was too big to miss forever. And then the whole place would go up.

And the rest of us with it.

The others were all busy fighting off the foxes, so alerting them to what Senator Bradley was trying to do was pointless. And I would never get to him in time to stop him myself.

But there was one person who might still be able to.

"Austin!" I screamed as loudly as I could, fighting to be heard above the fray.

Surprisingly, he turned to face me immediately. It looked as if he might throw up. I understood the feeling.

I pointed behind him to where Senator Bradley was finishing up putting a new clip into place.

"Don't let him shoot the tank!" I screamed.

Austin turned to the senator and then looked up at the tank looming above us. He seemed to know what was going to happen without me having to explain it, because he instantly started to run.

Right toward Senator Bradley and his fully-loaded gun.

The senator was so focused on his target, he didn't see Austin coming. And when he was hit from the side like a linebacker going after a quarterback, his body was thrown nearly ten feet in the air before he landed with a groan on his back. Austin crashed down on top of him seconds later, and then struggled to regain control.

Sitting up clumsily, he grabbed for the senator's wrists in an effort to keep him pinned to the ground. As soon as I saw him do it, I knew it was a mistake. As if he'd been there with us in class that day, the senator bucked his hips into the air and tossed Austin to the side like he was a ragdoll.

To his credit, Austin immediately jumped to his feet and lunged at the senator again, going for another tackle of some sort. But this time, Bradley was ready. Raising his arm with lightning-like reflexes, his weapon gleamed in the low lighting as the crackle of another bullet rang out.

As if in slow motion, Austin's body rocked backward with the force of the blow, and he took a few staggering steps before slumping to the ground.

"No!" I screamed, watching in horror as he didn't get back up.

Hearing my scream, Senator Bradley turned in my direction and aimed the gun my way. Then he smiled at me darkly. With little time to react, I dove back behind the thin wall of the office, crashing hard onto the scratchy wooden floor as the space above me exploded and wooden shards rained down on top of my head.

He'd shot Austin. He'd actually shot him. And then he'd tried to shoot me. The guy was certifiable and wasn't going to stop until he destroyed all of us.

It was in that moment that I realized the senator had no intention of letting us leave the building alive. There'd be no loose ends for him to tie up. No heroes to save the day. No one left to fight against him. Incapacitate the only witnesses and then let us burn along with the school.

"Screw that," I said out loud, backing up against the far wall and taking a breath.

Thenwith a running start, I launched myself out of the second story doorway.