Homesick: The Growing War

Chapter 13

"Kye!" I cried in desperation, trying to stifle myself out of Pollax's iron grip. I tried to kick him, slap him, even resort to biting, but there's no use. He's too strong, and his arm is forcing me back from the raging, triggered dam eager to swallow more people. My stomach dropped. Kye, he was gone, he was gone. "KYE!" I scream again.

"Kara, come on!" yelled Pollax, but his voice is trembling to and he think there's no hope for Kye to wash out and be revived. That's the first time he ever said my first name. Who knows what the water is contaminated with. Acid? Ice?

But as I keeled there hopelessly in the parking lot, watching the waves billow towards me, the waves gave a heavy lurch, and I flinched, thinking for a second that it might devour me next, someone was washed out. Spat out. How rude, I thought. Why was I thinking about manners? I really was brain-dead. Someone had been spat out. Kye? It was Kye! I could see him, he was head to foot, soaked to the bone in cold water, and lurching every two seconds, like he was having a seizure, twitching left and right. Relief soaked into me.

I couldn't waste anymore time before that water collided into him again and he was actually killed this time. Pollax and I raced up to him, Pollax checking on the waves as Ashlee fended off the guards, who were a good few distance away. I tilted his head up, but something was wrong. I felt his wrists, but there was a pulse. A slow one. Warm air could still be felt as my fingers fumbled across his lips. He was pale, deathly pale, his eyes were flickering and he was stirring feebly. His lips was tainted heavily with light blue. His veins were slowly turning into light blue as well, like he was going to become an ice statue. Something was obviously wrong with Kye, and his hair was soaked with water and flattened to a fringe.

"The water's dangerous. It's like Ice. Ice cold," I said quickly as we both keeled over Pollax. Of course, Governor Ice, soak your enemies with coldness. That's all you can do.

"We've got to get him to somewhere warm, before he dies of hypothermia," said Pollax urgently, and that triggered me to my feet. Kye dying, then becoming a mutant, becoming my foe when he wasn't. The water was now storming us at a higher rate, but the stairs now weren't far, and beyond that was the exit. The stairs should help us get to high ground.

"Come on, Ashlee, let's go!" I yelled, and she nodded and took off running. It was just the three of us. I placed a arm around Kye's freezing cold shoulders, and still dripping with water, we took off, Kye's injured leg dragging behind him, scraping on the ground, but the stairs weren't far now. Kye had regained consciousness.

The wall of guards were getting closer and closer as they had attempted to kill us again, and the water was still swallowing any remaining cars in the parking lot. The guards had started to shoot us again, and I was forced to duck and weave directions to avoid their bullets, creating sparks on poles and igniting, which was quickly extinguished by the chasing waves. The guards didn't seem to mind about the water catching up, maybe they didn't see it? I didn't care, but the stairs were now a foot away.

"It's catching up!" shouted Ashlee from my right, placing an arm over her head.

"Get the girl! Get the Dark Angel!" yelled Markus, throwing orders and curses to the guards. who was dead-centre in the row of guards blocking the small staircase. There goes the term again, but this was not the moment to ask. I pushed and shouldered my way through the guards, the water licking at our heels, but with a dive at the stairs and onto the elevated levels, higher ground, so the water would not reach to us.

I fell on my chest on the ground, and so did the others, my revolver and the remaining weapons clattering on the ground, all frozen. I turned around just in time to see the remaining wall of guards, with a strangled yell of desperation, being washed away and devoured by the raging water, and drowned underneath to death, most likely. I got up in a sitting position, retching and getting my breath back as Kye lay on his back, still twitching. The water slowly came to a halt, immersing the stairs and stopped flowing at our level. Guard helmets, batons and firearms were all of their remains, floating around at the top of the water.