Author's note: I am gobsmacked at the reviews you guys. *Blushes* Really, I can't believe all of the kind and supportive reviews you all have been sending my way. I am so happy you are enjoying my ideas and direction for Start of Days, which is actually, psst... End of Nights titled backwards. :) Pours a hot cup of tea for all. Thank you.

Enjoy!

Chapter 25

Ashley eyed the cream plaster coated walls following each sketchy line and molded smear as she paced forward.

There was a soft clang from the extra load of syringes swaying in their canvas back packs. Other than that it was soft breathing and muted footsteps on terracotta.

"Ashley, John, I am going to activate the EM Shield for a few seconds. Stay tight."

The whole grouped stopped mid hallway as Henry tapped at a small touchpad screen initiating his techno wizardry. John took the initiative to walk up to Ashley and placed a hand to her shoulder. "Just to counteract if you accidently teleport—my teleport may will cancel yours if you do so before we completely dematerialize."

Ashley caught the look of distraught in his face, though it only lingered for a moment before clear focus returned. She nodded, hoping there was truth in that.

"All done folks." Henry leaned closer to Helen as she viewed the screen on his device. "Doc," he chimed low, "I was able to bypass the camera feeds and link thermal imaging into the EM Shield after I turned it on. We have two creatures centered in the entrance foyer. They are trying to access the main frame through the side wall security outlet. The third," he growled, "is in the SHU hanging out in front of one of the enclosures."

"They're trying to release the Abnormals..." Helen exhausted through gritted teeth.

The one thing Helen Magnus hated most, was unwelcomed guests in her home.

"Mom, they know the password," Ashley griped as she tugged at the collar of her black Kevlar vest, "that Will double had told me which numbers to punch in to let him out."

"We're fine, I changed them, put them on emergency shutdown. They can't get out. For now."

Helen glanced behind her then back at Henry. "Henry, create a path for us to follow into the entry foyer. I want to keep and element of surprise and take them from the first floor. If we can ambush them we can take them down quickly without any bloodshed."

"Okay, I will force a closing on every hallway in the house." He scrolled on the touchscreen with his fingers as a red block flashed on the small screen. 'Initialize' it read as Henry tapped it, "and we're a go."

Heavy secured guard doors slammed down along corridors and short hallways throughout the Sanctuary—as it had done on the very evening that ended with the darkest of nights.

The loud thudding was felt beneath them as every floor of the Sanctuary was walled in, leading only a single path to the creatures for them to take.

Helen flashed a glance to Ashley. It was a 'you can do this. But I wish you were not taking such a risk so soon' expression. Ashley nodded with a slight squint of her eyes, as she straightened her shoulders, as if she was answering 'I understand you. But this is what I do'.

And reluctantly Helen nodded in cautious approval and turned around returning her focus once again to the mission unraveling in their Sanctuary home. "Let's move out. Keep us posted Henry on any changes."

"You got it."

The five of them shuffled off in a jog down the long hallway, rounding left through a brighter shade of the morning's light shining through an open curtained window on their right. Will and Henry kept their guns pointed down to the floor eyes still searching for odd movement in their path. Will's blue eyes concentrated on the side dark wooded tables and lit lamps, picture frames, flower vases, and knick-knacks atop the surfaces of each table. He analyzed if a door was cracked open or closed, but all they passed every now and again were doors that were shut.

Ashley filtered her eye line from the center position like a telescoping hawk. Adrenaline was surging, pumping heavily through her veins as she kept in pace with the group. And she was excited. She needed this. Redemption in a way, to prove she was still capable of what she was preemed to do, trained to do—what she had lived to do. Nothing in life had given her more of a rush other than peeling off of Dead Bridge on her motorcycle after her late night meditations on life.

Which reminded her—did they keep my bike?

As they rounded what seemed like the fifth hallway Helen halted them with a silent fist raised at a spiraling staircase—a stairwell that would bring them in down right under the right entry stairs of the entry foyer.

"Hold tight guys, I'm switching the EM Shield on again," Henry warned again for Ashley and John. "The two are still there," acknowledged Henry and then switched it off a moment later.

"I want each of us to slowly take the steps down, John when you get to the end and have them in our sight I want you to teleport one into the habitat. Jump out and hit 5 on the numbered passcode. This action will slam the door shut."

"Understood," he replied with a head tilt to her. "For the rest of us," she nodded to the group, "we keep firing stuns at the other creature. Last resort we shoot to kill."

Four nods gleaming with widened eyes answered.

One by one they followed Helen down the spiral black iron steps. Soft footfalls pinged quietly as they made their way down. Upon reaching the last step, the group huddled under the right stairwell.

A shuffle of noise caught their attention off to their right.

Biggie was standing at the corner of the wall, a finger raised to shush them of his presence. He sent a wink their way and raised his stunner, his other hand raising two fingers to let them know of the two creatures at the door.

John teleported over to him and revealed their plans.

When he turned his gaze back to the huddled family a blue flash erupted sending his body airborne as the Big Guy aimed his fully charged weapon at his back. John was tossed ten feet forward across the narrow spaces between each entrance staircase. His body lofted down and slid to an immobilized slump on his side.

Within that moment Biggie had fired a trail of blue hissing electrical charges into the scattering group across the way. Henry was hit first, the impact crashing him into the wall behind them. His body collided against the square inset stone and fell slack face first into the floor.

Ashley pulled her mother by her Kevlar vested collar to find cover behind the thinly iron worked stairwell.

Before Will could get a clear aim he too succumbed to the fully charged stun that sent him flying into a small corner under the main right staircase.

"Bloody Hell," spat Helen as she forcibly pushed Ashley down beside her as she fired an array of bullets peering through an open section between the iron railing. She kept a secure hold to her daughter's back refusing to allow her daughter to push back up in resistance.

"Stay down," came the muffled cry above the terror erupting around them. Bullets spit through the plastered walls from Helen's fire sending white pasty dust into the air across the way. The antiquated small horizontal wood planks, beneath the plaster, that held up the walls were being eaten away by her gun fire revealing the oldest of the Sanctuary's foundational structures.

Helen fell back on one knee to stay clear of touching the black iron as blue sparks exploded like fireworks right in front of her face. Teal flashes arced all around her from the staircase as the Magoi kept firing non-stop.

Then suddenly brick was exploding sending heavy cemented chips into the burnt air behind her. The Magoi had switched to the concentrated charges that held a magnetic pulse sending a more tangible stream of fire. Ashley managed to lift her head to see a blur of fur across the spaces firing at them through the narrow hallway. She huffed a heavy exhale, raised her weapon bringing her left arm across her right shoulder to shoot from outside the protection of the stairwell.

Blast. Blast blast blast blast blast.

And the Magoi faltered a step. It stumbled back with a drowsy back pedal, lowering his weapon for a mere second.

That was all she needed.

She yelled as she jumped to her feet, with one step she veered around the staircase, one more, a second and third into a dead run—sliding feet first towards a small pocket of a corner wall nearly twenty feet to her right.

On her left side she fell into a slide, skimming the surface of the slick terracotta floor, the white fiery blasts sparking at the end of the gun—filling the tall thin Magoi with more skin piercing, body ripping projectiles. With each impact Ashley watched the illusion fade weaker into a scaly green hide with rounds tearing through its thick reptilian flesh. Black blood trails oozed and splashed out from its epidermis as its head fell slack, rotating unnaturally along its neck. The fight ended with it falling on its back and her sliding feet first into the small crook blasting her 9mm rounds until the clip was empty.

Ashley immediately crawled over to a crouch to peer at her mom.

Helen was still pointing her weapon towards the dead Magoi, her large blue eyes fixed on her daughter.

Ashley flashed a musing smile.

"We got two more to find," she hissed low as she ran over to her mom. Ashley kept low, with her right hand held tight to her jeans pocket, cradling her shoulder for support.

When she got to her mom she reloaded her 9mil and side stepped to check Will, Henry then John. After a few moments she returned to get Henry's hand held device that lay on the floor beside his leg. "Everyone's alright, just out for the count."

With a few taps she turned on the bypassing protocols Henry had put in place to do a thermal sweep of the Sanctuary. The EM Shield turned on as Ashley searched the contained spaces nearby. "I found them. They are trapped. They must have taken the west end corridor," she pointed to where the fallen Magoi lay. The narrow hallway he was laying in led into a perpendicular corridor leading straight off to the right that could be accessed by just taking a left upon entering the entry foyer. It ended and opened into a quite larger room.

"They are in the library scattering like mice. They are hiding behind a table or something. They won't be able to get out." Ashley's voice was heavy with confidence, focus, and an obviously undeniable pitch of wild adrenaline.

Helen listened silently as her daughter spoke her words. She still hadn't gotten used to hearing her soft voice again.

She had missed it.

She had missed her.

After all, time and tragedy had made it so hard for her to remember. To just remember the one thing she thought she'd never forget.

Her voice.

For it was that one single word that had haunted her but allowed her to vaguely remember the simple lilt of her voice.

Mom.

"Mom," Ashley shook her mom's shoulder softly, "you okay, you listening?"

Helen blinked in a subtle head shake as she reached across her chest to pull a magazine free and reload her gun. "Yes. I am listening. The library."

"Yeah, right now they're in one spot. I think the other thermal image in the SHU is the Big Guy as Henry's main lab is empty."

"That would be a plausible outcome. He may be stunned as well."

"Let's hope that's all it is. I don't like losing people on my watch." Ashley spit the words as she helped her mom to her feet. "How do you want to do this? There are two ways in, but we'll have to raise the security walls up and that will make a ruckus. They'll see it coming if we try to access them from behind."

"Too dangerous I agree," added Helen. "Dear god, either way we do this we'll be pinned down."

"Unless?"

"Unless what?"

"Do we have water balloons?"

Helen frowned. "No why."

"Damn," scathed Ashley. "We could fill them with the salt water from Henry's water gun. Toss them in like grenades."

"Well, that is a brilliant idea I do say."

"Come on Ashley think," she said to herself. "Maybe I can teleport again."

"No," Helen raised her hand nudging her daughter's left shoulder with her finger. "Not an option. And don't you attempt it Ashley."

"Well, what if I could get in, just try to… teleport behind them—"

Helen shot a glance she had seen before. Just like the time she walked from her for the very last time as she and Henry left for Cabal Headquarters.

"Okay, no teleporting," she sighed feeling a creeping sadness fill her heart again. "Bad idea, what was I thinking."

"We'll just have to fire in from the frame of the doors. I'll get the stunner and blast through their makeshift table barriers. We'll make our last stand there."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Alright, let's go."

Helen led the way across the way and picked up the stunner from the floor beside the Magoi's limp scaly hand and made their way to the entrance of the library.

The doors were wide open exposing a morning glow shining through the large wonder that was the book room. Ashley crouched by the door and straightened her back against the outer stone wall and took in a deep breath.

Before she could turn her head a hand gripped the right side of her injured shoulder and pulled her in the room, lifting her off her feet as her heals clunked against the wood of the door frame.

She heard her mom's helpless cry of NO as the strong arms flung her into the wall of books lining the right side of the wall. A thud sounded as books fell around her and over her. Before she could lift her weapon a heavy colliding force pounced onto her body.

The other Magoi had strategically positioned itself behind a table flipped sideways as a wall of protection. It unleashed a torrent of magnetically charged indigo into the doorway. Again stone smashed into pale dust creating a white pasty mist at the entrance.

This isn't happening—was Helen's only thought.

Just as another crushing sapphire blast exploded stone above Helen's face a dark blur flew past her line of vision.

Henry was in full HAP.

He launched into the vast room with a howl that rumbled the ribs of Helen's chest.

A dark fury angered Henry Foss burrowed across the room with lightning speed barreling in jumps and lunges, ducks and skids over the distances to at last crash into the desk and the Magoi like a raging freight train. The immense impact tossed their bodies wildly with the broken table pieces flying in every direction. The stunner was lost from the creature's hand as it flew backwards onto the maple wood floors.

Ashley's body slammed deeper into the bookshelves unleashing another wave of colored books to cascade down around them. Again she was met by blonde hair and blue eyes.

It disgusted her.

She screamed her anger aloud in an exasperated yell.

Ashley head butted the creature—creating a quick defensive recoil from the Abnormal. It pawed at the air trying to grab blindly at her, any piece of her. Ashley then waited for an opening then swiftly kneed its stomach sending it backwards unbalanced on its knees.

Helen ran in the room angling to her right with her weapon poised and leveling at the two Ashleys. Her focus shifted with the announcement of devilish roaring howls emanating from across the library as two HAPS fought like rabid dogs.

"Ashley," Helen screamed as she stepped forward towards them.

"Mom, the syringes," Ashley yelled out almost breathless as the creature grabbed at her shoulders trying to force her down face first to the floor.

With all the chaos Helen had forgotten the single important detail of the salt water.

Whether or not it was Ashley, it was logical.

The creature still faltered on its knees but freed one of this hands from its grip and swiped across the front of Ashley's Kevlar vest before it completely lost its balance from another knee to its stomach. Ashley grimaced and sent a numbing left fist to its jaw—hearing a sick snap as she watched the jowl detached at the corner under skin sending a wave of blood from its mouth.

A blood curling hiss filled the air as Ashley leaned forward to jump to her feet.

Helen pulled free both syringes from her pockets and sprayed the contents over both Ashleys as she sidestepped a circle around both of them in a clockwise motion.

The salt water shot across Ashley's face burning her eyes in a horrible wave of flaming pain. "Ahhhh," she cried as she stumbled sideways falling into the tall bookshelf. The Ashley Magoi yelled in Ashley's exact tone as the thin steams of salt water sprayed across the back of its neck and onto its hands. Helen's focus was instantly cemented on Ashley, her Ashley— the first one that responded to the pain with the screams that bled from her reaction from the intensity of the salty stinging in her eyes.

Helen took that as a warning it was the creature.

In what seemed like a blur of slow motion she reached for her weapon. She unholstered her 9mm berretta and took aim at Ashley as she fell against the bookcase squeezing her eyes shut to the fiery burn. Without hesitation Helen released her clip into Ashley's chest. White sparks flashed at the end of the gun's muzzle as bullets fired, one by one, with each sending her body into multiple unyielding impacts sinking her deeper into the bottom of the book shelf.

After her clip emptied she saw a trickle of blood release from Ashley's lip as she slumped sideways to the floor.

The Magoi Ashley turned to Helen staring with an unnatural smirk. Helen watched as the expression grinned into bloody jagged sickly teeth.

Helen's soul turned to ice.

"Nicely done, mom." The creature's almost incoherent slur made itself present with its hissing husky words as it slinked to its feet, slowly morphing into a double of Helen.