13

Brandon was standing next to Aaron Clark, looking down at his Shifters from the railing in satisfaction. After today, all their training would finally be paid off, and thanks to their newest member, they knew exactly how the upcoming attack would take place. It wasn't happening for another hour, though, allowing him time to discuss with Tyler and Kaitlyn how they would counter.

"They're some fine men you have, Brandon," Aaron Clark said respectfully, as the full group of 18 Shifters finished preparing for battle and went to different locations around and within the office complex. "They've demonstrated their abilities quite well, considering the resolve they've acquired."

"I agree," Brandon replied. "We all believe in the cause that's been present for so long: getting rid of the dangers to this world. Ryan's Shifters never should've been organized all these years. It's about time we wipe them out."

Aaron looked down at him seriously. "Not just our enemies. We need to eliminate all Shifters, including your own. And I trust that if they don't do the job first, you'll carry it out instead?"

Brandon didn't meet his eyes and kept his head down. "Yes." Deep down, it broke him that he had to get rid of his own men. They were more than just soldiers, they were his friends. But that didn't mean he was fond of Shifters in general, including himself. The only reason he agreed to be trained by Aaron, alongside Ryan, Alex, Frank, and the others who soon became the leaders, was that he had nowhere else to go. His family had gotten killed by Shifters, and he felt that increasing his own powers was the only way to avenge them.

"What's going to happen after today?" Brandon asked, attempting to back away from the horrible memories that were trying to surface.

"Life will go on as usual," Aaron replied. "But once the immediate threat is extinguished, the other dangers in the world will have to be dealt with. 74% of the world has been closed off due to radiation, and the population that remains is scattered around. In our country, they're mostly in the Western areas, and while they're protected by the military, it's critical we preserve the human population; we make up a quarter of the entire human race."

"Finally, we'll be able to come out of hiding and show everyone that we can help them," Brandon replied quietly. "We can save the world as a group."

"Not quite."

This time Brandon glanced at him, surprise and confusion written on his face. "What do you mean?"

Aaron smiled slightly, which didn't sit well with him. "Brandon, your abilities are stronger than any other person in this building. You're a Shape Destroyer, but even more powerful than that. Do you understand?"

He nodded, unsure of where the conversation was leading to.

"I never intended for the Shifters to advance beyond their normal strengths." He chuckled. "Nor did I think there'd be as much as there is now. But, unfortunately, these strengths are just as, if not more, dangerous to use. Sooner or later, they have to be snuffed out."

Brandon looked down, face pale, heart racing, muscles tensed. He rarely felt this way, and it scared him, this feeling of unease. But, Aaron Clark was truly a man of his word, hoping to destroy all the Shifters that were still around.

Even Brandon.

The same probably went for Tyler, and even Aaron's own daughter, Kaitlyn. It didn't make sense how someone could be that heartless, but here he was, witnessing it right now. All of a sudden, he knew what he had to do. There was no escape otherwise. Brandon put his hand on Aaron's back, as if consoling him.

"I get it," he said softly. "Saving the world will come at high costs, one that we'll have to take."

Aaron chuckled again. "I know all about high costs. You wouldn't believe the things I had to do to bring the Shifters into existence."

Brandon sneered. "I can imagine. It's too bad that it all turned out to be for nothing."

Aaron's smile fell, and he began to face him to ask for clarification. He never got the chance because at that moment, Brandon's hand cupped and a Particle sword appeared, glowing a blood red color, sticking through Aaron's chest. Before he could react, the weapon solidified, becoming a stone one, which Brandon yanked out. Aaron's jaw was slack, his eyes wide as he stared at him for a short moment. Then, he fell to the ground next to him, motionless. Brandon was shaking slightly. This was the first time that he'd killed someone, and it felt weird having taken his life. But, he smiled slightly, as he slung Aaron's body over his own, and went to go find a place to put it. It was a little heavier than he'd anticipated, but he managed to carry it on his back and lay him down in the nearest storage closet.

You never should've decided to teach us this power, he thought. We were bound to find new abilities that would allow us to do things we've never dreamed of. That's the biggest mistake you'll never make up for.

He stepped out of the storage closet, closing the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, he began walking down the hall, looking for Kaitlyn, wondering how he'd explain this. After that there was nothing left to do but wait for the inevitable attack to arrive.

I glanced out the window of the subway car, knowing that I wouldn't see anything, dwelling on the morning events. Ryan had wanted us all to be up at 6:30, which wasn't much of a problem for me. I had the weird habit of waking early, mostly from going to high school for a year. But Aiden had forgotten to set an alarm, so he was still fast asleep when I got out of bed.

Which meant that it would be up to me to wake him up.

At first, it looked like it would be complicated. He'd somehow turned himself around in his bed, his head nearly dangling off the edge. But I already knew the trick to work past it, and pulled up a random song on my phone, turned the volume up, and played it inches from his ear. Aiden jolted awake, eyes flying open, then managed to get himself up. He was never happy with me when I did that, but we had to get down there as soon as possible, and couldn't waste any more time. After a weak breakfast, most of us couldn't eat much except for Jam of course, the entire army began the trek to the subway station, and got on, which was where we were now. Even though the train could go up to pretty high speeds, it was still going to be a while before we got to the place where Brandon and his Shifters had been hiding out, so it was all I could do to not freak out over the upcoming battle.

"Did Ryan tell you the news?" Aiden asked.

"Hm?"

"The newest update that literally everyone else knows?"

This time I turned to look at him, annoyed. "No, what is it?"

"He sent scouts out before we left to confirm the exact building where they are, and they found important information."

"How do we even know their location?" I'd been dying to ask this question, and it felt good to finally bring it out.

"Alex was able to track them," Aiden replied vaguely. My shoulders slumped and I figured that it wasn't worth trying to pry. "Anyway, they heard Brandon talking to Kaitlyn about Aaron Clark."

That caught me off guard. "Wait, seriously? He's with them?"

"Was," he said. "Apparently, they found his body in one of the storage closets. Brandon killed him."

"That's impossible," I responded instantly. "Isn't Aaron the guy who murdered 20 Shifters at once?"

"Yeah. But, I'm sure it still happened. Not even he is indestructible. However it makes me think that the fact he was there reveals their true reasons for fighting. They want to eliminate all the Shifters, just like him."

"If that's the case, shouldn't we not fight them?" I asked. It seemed obvious. "We can't give them what they want."

"I agree," Aiden replied. "But they'll just keep looking for us, and frankly, we can't continue running like we used to. If we can track them, they can track us."

I nodded. "Fair enough." Though, a part of me felt like we were walking into a trap.

About 15 minutes later, the train began to slow at a steady clip, and then stopped altogether. A moment later, Ryan stepped into the car where the 20, or so, of us sat.

"Alright, everyone," he said, authoritatively. "The time that we've been training for has finally arrived. When we go in, we'll have to hit them hard from the beginning. If we play our cards right, this should be over within a couple of hours. Understood?"

Sounds of acknowledgment were heard throughout the car.

"Good. Now, I need all of you to assemble into your assigned groups as soon as we get off the train. Stick to the plan, and we'll get through this. Good luck."

Ryan left, returning to the driver's section, allowing us time to exit. I hadn't felt comfortable teaming up with a lot of the other people in our group, so I'd just chosen Aiden again. As weak as it might've seemed, I always felt a sense of protection whenever hanging out with him. As soon as we stepped onto the metal platform, I looked in the direction of the exit that I knew led above ground, before I felt a strong hand settle on my shoulder.

"This way," Aiden whispered, pointing to a side hallway that everyone else was walking toward.

"Where are we entering their base?" I asked.

"From underground," he explained. "A similar structure like the one under the high school is here too. It leads straight into their office complex, so we can avoid trying to break in."

We began to follow the other through a stone corridor that seemed all too familiar.

"That seems to easy," I replied with a frown. "Would they know about this?"

"I'm not sure. But if they do, they're not waiting around here for us."

"Maybe they want us to break in this way in order to trap us in some way."

"We'll just have to find out," Aiden said, a smile visible under the light coming from the bulbs in the ceiling. "But we're getting closer, so we should probably be quiet."

It was then that I realized everyone else had been silent the entire time. I felt my face grow hot from embarrassment, and kept my mouth closed for the rest of the trek. Ryan seemed to know where he was going in the maze of corridors. The layout seemed different from the one under the high school, so he had to have been using that tracker Aiden had talked about. It was all eerily silent, save for the sound of our footsteps which seemed twice as loud now. Several minutes passed before our group arrived at a stairwell that must've led into the office complex.

It was at this point that the Shifters began breaking up into their groups of three to five, each one waiting a few minutes after the previous, to enter and walk into the place that would decide their fate. My heart was pounding, amplifying my nerves and fear, as I hoped the worst wouldn't occur. Lin went in with another guy and girl, who were part of the regular army, ready to perform her task, which left Ryan, Alex, Jam, Aiden, and I standing in the chilly, damp atmosphere, waiting. Looking over at him, I noticed Ryan had a solemn expression on his face, his brow knitted with grim determination. It was easy to see why; his job was to hunt down and take out Brandon, to prevent whatever he had planned. Ryan had insisted on doing it alone, even though no one agreed or encouraged it. He clearly had some sort of score to settle with him, so none of us were planning on trying to stop him.

But that didn't mean I had no intention of wanting to help keep his mind focused.

I began to open my mouth to say something to him, but he walked into the stairwell, and began the short journey up, his time having finally come. Turning around, I saw only four of us remained. Jam and Alex were in a tight embrace, whispering things to each other that I couldn't hear. Alex was down on one knee to be able to reach him, but even then he nearly reached Jam's shoulder height. After a moment, he stood back up again, making Jam look like a twig next to a tree, and they started moving toward the stairs.

"Good luck guys," Alex said in his deep rumbling voice giving us each a fist bump, and the two walked up to ground level, ready for the battle of their lives.

If it came down to it, at least. Their job was to find the control room for the building and hack into it to use it to our advantage. As they disappeared past my line of sight, I caught myself wondering if that was the last thing Alex would ever say to us, or the last time I'd ever see Jam. My mind banished the thought to a place where it couldn't be found again. I had to trust that it wouldn't be true. Aiden was brooding quietly next to me, the muscles in his arms bulging slightly with tension. I could tell he was nervous again, despite our conversation the previous night. But he usually became stark silent in this mood, and right now, the silence in the area was like a weight on my shoulders, slowly crushing me.

Plus, I felt like engaging in some small talk before we went up there.

"So, it's finally happening," I began, a little awkwardly.

He glanced at me. "Yeah. Can't believe it."

I tried to bring in a joke while I still could. " I wouldn't have been as nervous if you let me go after Kaitlyn."

That brought a small smile to his face. "Sorry, man. I have a bit of history with him, and she's the one I want to face more out of the two of them. Besides, Tyler's not that bad. You'll do fine."

"Easy for you to say," I retorted. "You beat him in the Shifter's Tournament within three minutes."

Aiden snickered, pulling out his phone to check the time. I didn't feel ready to start yet, and I opened my mouth to say something, but Aiden beat me to it.

"We're on, let's go," he said, all traces of humor gone in an instant, and began moving toward the stairwell. I took in a shuddering breath, and willed my body to follow him up the stairs.

Lin moved as stealthily as she could through the empty halls, trying to catch any sounds of footsteps coming from up ahead. Shouting and clashing of blades on all kinds of weapons was recognizable from various places, the fight having begun. They were louder than she expected, so she had to work to tune her ears to hear anything close by as she walked through the hallway with Tiandra and Ben, both older than she was. Lin was annoyed that she wasn't asked to handle one of the leaders of the rebellion. Instead her task was the same as nearly everyone else's: destroy as many Shifters in Brandon's army as possible. Ryan had figured she was more suited to do it. The only thing was, she really didn't want to kill those who weren't much of a threat. Sure they wanted to take them out badly, but she didn't feel the same way about them as she did with Tyler, Kaitlyn, or Brandon. For all Lin knew, Brandon's Shifters probably weren't on their side. She could only imagine what the three could've done to make them join him.

A noise down the hall to her left startled her out of her thoughts, and she held up a hand to make Tiandra and Ben stop. After a moment, nothing happened, so she started to go see what it was. Then, before any of them could react, a Shifter wearing a black leather jacket burst around the corner firing the gun he was holding. Ben reeled back, slammed into the wall, then slumped to the ground, his chest bleeding from the wound. Tiandra barely had time to look over in surprise before she was shot and killed as well. Lin was momentarily stunned from narrowly missing being murdered, and from her teammates deaths, but found it in her to transform a nearby wooden shelf into a stone wall that blocked her off from the Shifter. The sound of bullets bouncing off the hard surface made it sound like he was throwing pebbles at it, but she knew that it wouldn't protect her forever. Lin was already running, by the time the wall disappeared, and was around the corner when he started shooting again.

While passing an area filled with several desks and computers, she glanced over her shoulder to see that now three Shifters were chasing her, with the first one taking aim at her head. She managed to duck in time, and the bullet came into contact with one of the windows, shattering it instantly. She refocused on her surroundings ahead and turned left into another hall, only to nearly run into yet another Shifter who seemed to have been waiting for her to burst around the corner. He took a lunge at her, but Lin quickly focused on the part of the hallway behind him and reappeared there, out of immediate reach.

She continued to run, but realized pretty quickly that her body was tiring out, her breathing coming more heavily. Meanwhile, her pursuers weren't even breaking a sweat despite the fact that they were sprinting to catch up to her. It wasn't much of a surprise; she'd never been that athletic before joining the Shifters. Both of her parents had made her do gymnastics back in elementary school. It'd been fine for a while, but Lin never fully got into it, and she'd quit after a few years. After that, she tried doing soccer to stay fit, but that hadn't turned out to be a good idea. She wasn't exactly the best on the team, to put it in mild terms. She left after her first season.

Lin was aware that it wouldn't be long before they caught her, and then she'd be in position to continue with the plan. It was time to go on the offense. She slowed for a few seconds, before coming to a stop at the end of a side hallway, and aimed her hand at a nearby storage unit. It burst into Particles and flowed toward her, instantly becoming a Particle sword. The Shifters came at her, following her lead, but instead, didn't stop in the slightest. They continued, brandishing their Particle weapons varying in shades of blue to green. She recognized this to mean that they had more energy stored up, ready to be unleashed on her. Well, in that case, it was time to get a little crafty. The guy wearing the leather jacket went first, his sword cutting through the air with vicious intent. She blocked him for a second, then pulled off, trying to find places to strike. He maneuvered around her, though, with surprising swiftness, leaving her trying to catch up to fend him off. But it was all too obvious what he was trying to do; as soon as he was in Lin's previous position, he began pushing her back toward his two friends, who were ready to impale her with their weapons.

Lin tried to fight back against him, but he was stronger than she anticipated, not giving in despite her efforts. His muscles bulged in his arms, and his face narrowed into a scowl as they moved within five feet of the guys behind her. That's when they charged.

However, one thing Lin had learned in soccer was to have quick reflexes when the odds were against her. And now was the time to act. She ducked and moved around with great speed, and kicked him in the back of the legs, causing him to stumble forward. The two guys in front of him, unknowingly, pierced their already solidified swords through his body, where they exited out the other side. Their looks of shock must've mirrored his own as he went limp, and Lin took a step back, breathing deeply. But their faces soon morphed into rage as they withdrew their swords from his dead body and advanced toward her, ready to finish the job. She dropped into a fighting stance, turning his jacket into another Particle sword for her, resigning to the fact that she couldn't rest yet.

They charged as one, each veering to a different side of her, and she blocked them, trying to get the upper hand. For a few moments a two on one duel ensued, the first one Lin had ever participated in. It was a little harder than Lin had expected; she constantly had to switch her attention from one Shifter to the other, trying to to keep them at bay. At one point, she had to take extra time to fend off one of the Shifters, which ended up being a big mistake. Lin felt a searing pain in her arm, and she cried out, falling back against the wall. Hastily, she turned her swords into a stone wall in front of her to buy her a few seconds, and looked at her arm. A deep gash had been made, stained thickly with crimson blood. However, it was clear that the strike was made for her heart, though. She could barely move it without wincing from the stinging pain, and she willed herself not to cry. But now, Lin was desperate to destroy the ones who were trying so hard to kill her. So when the wall came down, she was ready.

Lin charged forward, forming a Particle sword in her hand, and forcing it into the nearest guy's chest before he could react. She solidified it, and yanked it out, causing him to fall to the ground, immoble. She turned to face the other Shifter, then quickly jumped to the side as a slab of concrete the size of a chair nearly clobbered her on the head. She ran to engage him, her weapon returning to its Particle state, and they began to duel again, slowly moving back down the hallway. All the hacking and slashing was beginning to tire Lin out, and she knew she had to end it soon, or it was over for her.

She took a step back, then caused one of the ceiling tiles to reform in mid-air. The Shifter looked up in alarm, then diverolled out of the way before it hit his head. However, Lin was persistent and repeated the motion four or five times, trying to pin him down. But he was agile and avoided each tile almost effortlessly. Then, when she tried to move again, she tricked him by summoning two of them in the air at the same time, one on either side of him. The Shifter dodged the first ceiling tile, but had stepped into the path of the second one, which struck a blow to his head. He stumbled back, grunting in pain, and fell to the ground, giving Lin enough time to spear him with her now solidified iron sword. The Shifter made a sound in his throat, then went still, blood pouring out of the hole in his chest.

Lin took a step back, then sunk to the ground, her shaking knees failing her. This was the first time she'd killed anyone in her life, and it felt different, almost bad. But, it was necessary; they would've taken her out without batting an eye. It still didn't seem right. All of it. They came here to save the world, but was that really what they were doing? Most of them were taking out Shifters who were misguided, brainwashed by Brandon, Tyler, and Kaitlyn. Which meant that they were the only ones who needed to go. If they could just destroy the source, maybe all this useless fighting could stop. Lin found the strength to stand up, and did so now with new resolve, wiping a tear from her eye. Her task was going to change a little; no longer would she only destroy the army. It was time to go straight to the top, and she knew exactly who to target.

With that, she walked out of the hallway, a plan formulating in her mind, leaving the three bodies in her wake.