TEN

The guards began to raise their weapons. Piper didn't hesitate. Neither Phoebe nor Paige had their powers because of the injections they had received. Piper tapped into her magic and froze the entire room. She wasn't worried about her sisters. They weren't affected by her freezing ability. And it would be a simple matter to break Cole loose from the freeze. But it would give them the time they needed to escape.

Except Piper had overextended herself. She had never tried to freeze so many people at one time. Her power did work but not completely. Her power was the ability to freeze time. But she was pushing her power to the limit. Instead of freezing the room everyone began to move in slow motion.

Piper reached over and grabbed Cole's arm. This broke him free of the freeze. He looked around at the armed guards moving slowly. There were several popping sounds as several of the guards fired their weapons. But the bullets were coming out of the barrels very slowly.

"We need to get out of here," said Piper, turning for Phoebe and Paige. "I don't know how long this is going to last. Considering I couldn't actually freeze everyone I'm betting it won't last long."

"Then let's get going," said Paige. "I don't want to spend one more second here than I have to."

Suddenly a shot rang out. Cole stumbled slightly. Then blood began to run out of a wound in his chest. He stumbled to the floor, trying to rise. They all turned to see who had fired. One of the guards' rifles was still smoking as he turned the weapon on the others.

Piper again tapped into her power. Normally she wouldn't consider harming an innocent. But these were not exactly innocents. They were armed and they were dangerous. And they had all ready proven they were more than willing to kill all of them. In an instant the guard exploded from Piper's power.

"Is he okay?" Phoebe asked, rushing up to Cole.

He was grimacing in pain.

"I'll be fine," he said. "Let's get out of here. Leo can heal me once we're safe. At least my human half. Right now we have to get you to safety."

Suddenly several more shots rang out. Piper stumbled forward and then collapsed on the floor, four bullet holes in her back. Phoebe turned and kicked the nearest guard to her. He went reeling back, his rifle falling to the floor. She reached to pick the weapon up as several more shots rang out. Phoebe fell to the floor covered in blood.

Paige looked up and saw even more of the guards coming out of the freeze. In addition additional guards were starting to rush in through all the doors. Cole screamed as Phoebe fell to the floor. He formed a fireball and cast it, incinerating the nearest guard. Paige turned and grabbed a rifle that had been dropped by one of the guards.

Several shots rang out and Cole collapsed on the floor. One look told Paige he was dead. She glanced around and saw Piper lying on the floor, covered in blood and unmoving. Phoebe was struggling to rise to her feet. One of the guards, an officer according to the rank insignia on his collar, stepped up to Phoebe. He pulled a pistol out of its holster and pointed it at Phoebe.

Paige never saw the shot fired. She glanced down at the rifle to see how to operate it. She wasn't exactly trained with weapons but she figured it couldn't be hard to figure out. It seemed straight forward enough. She turned toward the guards and raised the rifle as she heard a single shot ring out.

She looked and saw Phoebe lying on the floor unmoving. There was a small hole in the middle of her forehead. There wasn't much blood on her face. But the floor beneath her head was covered in blood. She didn't have to check the body to know that Phoebe was dead.

Paige turned the rifle on the guards. Tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks. She knew there was no way for them to escape now. Cole lay dead on the floor. He was the only one who could get them out of this complex. But she wouldn't go easily. And she vowed to take as many of them as she could.

She raised the rifle and pulled the trigger. A guard dropped his rifle and grabbed his chest. He fell to the floor as blood poured out of the wound. Paige fired again and another guard fell. Suddenly two rounds hit Paige in the chest. She dropped the rifle and grabbed her chest as she fell to the floor on her knees.

She looked down and saw her hands and chest covered in blood. There was a searing sensation in her chest. The pain was nearly overwhelming. Her head was beginning to swim. She had been shot. The realization was astounding for her. She had actually been shot.

Try as she might she couldn't keep herself upright. She fell over on her back onto the floor. She lay on the floor looking at the ceiling as her body shuddered. She was dying. She knew that. And even if she weren't she knew the guards would surely finish her in a matter of moments.

My fault, she thought to herself. This is my fault. If I had only listened to Piper and Phoebe. If I had only taken them more seriously. This is all my fault. They were right. I didn't understand. Now, it's too late.

Paige looked around her. Cole lay dead on the floor. So did Phoebe. Piper wasn't moving and was probably dead, too. The guards were swarming into the room. Several had stopped to check the bodies. Wellington turned back into the room smiling.

Several guards moved over to Paige. They stood looking at her as she gasped for air. Wellington moved across the room and stood looking at her, a smile on is face. He turned to one of the guards.

"They were fools," Wellington said. "Did they actually think they could outsmart us? Finish her. Destroy the bodies. Then clear this place. We can't take the chance that Mr. Wyatt may make good on Mr. Turner's threat."

"Yes sir," the guard.

Paige watched as the guard pulled his pistol from its holster. He chambered a round and stood looking at Paige for a moment. Paige closed her eyes knowing she would never hear the shot that ended her life.

"Paige? Paige? Are you okay?"

Paige opened her eyes. Chandler was standing in front of her. They were holding hands as if they had just shaken hands. Paige looked around her. Piper, Phoebe, Leo, and Cole sat around the around the living room watching her. She was still in the manor.

"What the?" Paige began.

"Just take it easy," said Chandler. "The experience can be a bit overwhelming. Especially if you're not ready for it."

"What happened?" Paige asked. "We were in that God awful secret complex. Wellington was trying to force us to help him. You were all dead. I saw you die."

"Actually," said Chandler, "that all happened in your mind. I'm afraid you've been the victim of a little subterfuge."

"Subterfuge?" Paige questioned. "Just what the hell is going on?"

"Why don't you sit down," said Chandler. "We'll try to explain it to you."