Disclaimer: Still don't own "Level Up".
10
At dawn, Maldark himself addressed his city and its captive population, the Mesmers projecting his image—large as a skyscraper, for all to see-onto the energy dome overhead. Such spectacle was unnecessary, for every monster in the city had crammed into taverns and shops to watch the broadcast. Others had gathered in the courtyards of Maldark's palace, for he had granted his people an audience for this special occasion. Triumph loved an audience. Those who weren't watching the broadcast courtesy of the Mesmers were gathered around the fallen high school to see the action in person.
Dante and the Grinders stood on the steps of their headquarters, surrounded by Mesmers and Tenrecs. Dante and Deacon flanked Lyle. They'd had to tie his hands to make a good show for the warlock, but that didn't mean Lyle had to be thrilled with the situation. Behind them, Wyatt had donned the mask and overcoat of a Grinder, half-fearing to be recognized from the Wanted boards. The monsters, however, were fully concentrating on Dante and his prisoner while their master ranted.
"Looks like every monster and mutant in the city turned out for this," Wyatt observed.
The Tenrecs hissed for silence during Maldark's speech.
"A glorious day dawns. The last of the human dissidents are in my hands," Maldark boasted. The image showed the Grinders guarding Lyle. "The Genesis Orb will be restored to us. Our empire has been stalled, confined to this limited city. But this was fortunate, for our delay has gifted us time to study these creatures, learn their weaknesses, and we stand ready now to expand our domain to the ends of the earth. The day will see the end of the human domination of this planet and the rise of the avatars…save for a few humans with the insight to recognize their place as our servants."
The image again showed the Grinders. Under the mask, Dante fumed, humiliated.
Lyle did not miss the conspicuous absence of his father during Maldark's speech.
Maldark beamed at his enslaved hunters with false, cloying pride. "Well done, well done indeed. Now is the time to step forward, our slaves, and receive the reward you've so rightfully earned."
"That's his way of saying we're dead," Lyle mumbled.
"No kidding," Dante answered.
The Tenrecs made way for their First One. Every human present tensed as Saast climbed the steps to stand in front of Dante. He still towered over the boy.
Saast gestured to the Grinders. "Surrender your weapons."
At a nod from Dante, the Grinders and Wyatt did so-they had been expecting this. Only Dante refused, clinging tight to his own Hail Razor when Saast reached for it. "This has the Genesis Orb inside. Maldark doesn't get this until I get my mom."
Saast's tail gave one thrash as he considered using it to knock the boy's head from his shoulders, as he'd longed to do since the day Dante escaped from the prison. The Tenrecs took a step towards the Grinders' leader, but Dante put his thumb over a red button on the stick.
"Try it and I teleport the orb right into the Lava Belchers' volcano," he warned.
"Do so, and I will kill you now," Saast warned.
Dante stared back at him, not blinking or twitching.
Saast grunted, and the Mesmers reluctantly backed away. Wyatt and Lyle relaxed…slightly. The First One waved for the humans to follow him. There would be ample time to kill the human whelp once Maldark had his Genesis Orb, the Timiga reasoned.
"This is it," Dante said. "Point of no return."
Wyatt couldn't resist a whispered, "Tulta Munille."
Lyle and Dante both frowned. "What?"
Saast, the monster guards, and the boys were swept up by teleport stream. When the beam faded, they stood before Maldark's castle. Wyatt barely recognized it as Max's former mansion. It looked vaguely like the hotel from 'Psycho' now. The assorted mutants and monsters that packed onto the castle grounds only made the place creepier.
Lyle studied the bizarre architecture and whispered to Dante: "And I thought your place was Freak City..."
Saast led the procession into the warlock's fortress home. The humans were led past the mutant crowd, which tittered insults and jeers at them in all the different languages of the game. Lava Belchers spit balls of flame until a growl from a Tenrec cowed them into stopping. The hooded warlocks from Sculpture Park brandished Thunder Poles and shook gloved fists at the humans. Ziglis and Zaglis were regaling the crowd with stories of how they'd defended the Scare Crows' orchards from the filthy humans. A herd of Gula Munchers paced at the edge of the crowd, their large noses twitching, drooling at the hopes of being fed what was left of the humans when Maldark was done with them.
Wyatt guessed there were a couple hundred game leaks in the mansion. "Dante, were you counting on this many avatars?" he asked nervously.
He shrugged. "One dozen, one hundred, does it make any difference?"
"It does if they're standing between us and the Doubleback."
Dante grinned under the mask. "Do you always overthink everything, Wyatt?"
They were led to what had once been Max's lavish backyard. It was now a large dome, three-stories high with walls of glass. At the center of the main chamber was the towering shield generator, still stuck in its holding pattern without the Genesis Orb to fuel the expansion of the energy field. Standing on the platform with the generator was Maldark, gazing down on his soldiers, followers, and slaves. At the arrival of Saast and his prisoners, the warlock beat the air with a fist and the crowd cheered obediently.
Lyle saw his father standing a short distance behind Maldark on the platform, on display for his son's benefit obviously. Maynard Hugginson's face fell when he saw Lyle had truly been captured.
Wyatt and Dante scanned the faces of the mutants. The Doubleback was there, too, standing not far from Maldark. There was not a trace of a time vortex, neither was Dante's mother among the throng. He hadn't expected her to be.
"I feel like Harry Potter walking up to Voldemort at the end of Deathly Hallows," Lyle said.
"Can we use an analogy that doesn't make one of the three of us Hermoine Granger?" Wyatt asked.
Maldark finally thumped his staff, demanding silence from the crowd. He held out his hand to Dante. "At last. I'll have the Genesis Orb now, whelp."
Dante clutched the Hail Razor tightly. "Did you forget your promise, Blue Boy?"
Maldark fired his staff, and a tendril of energy yanked the weapon right out of Dante's hand. It flew to warlock, who easily snatched it from the air. "Did you forget your place, human?" he snapped. Forgetting the teenager, the warlock turned and addressed the human standing behind him. "Mr. Mayor, you may say goodbye to your troublesome progeny while you have the chance."
The Tenrec guards stepped aside, permitting the mayor to run from the platform and embrace his son. He'd seen Lyle only on Wanted boards in the months since the invasion. Maldark had told him nothing of Lyle, other than vows to kill him and take back the Genesis Orb, but Maynard Hugginson still heard rumors whispered by the servants in Maldark's palace. He knew his son had been a thorn in Maldark's side. He'd been both proud of his boy and terrified for Lyle's safety. He was no less terrified now that his son was here.
Wyatt was unabashedly misty-eyed at the scene. Dante elbowed him. "Don't cry."
"I won't," Wyatt lied.
His father nearly squeezed the breath out of him. Lyle wheezed out the words: "Dad, I'm sor-"
Maynard shook his head. "Don't. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of what you did. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe."
"Just stick close, we aren't done yet."
Maldark sneered in contempt at the humans and their emotional display. He saw the way the Grinder boy watched the reunion, seeing past the boy's stoic façade to the sadness beneath. Maldark kneeled, smirking down at the teenager. "Family is such a vile concept-the construct of a species cursed with the weakness of emotions. See how it leads them to their doom. You could have had any reward for faithful service to me, yet you also want your pathetic family."
Dante smirked at the insult. "You could throw in a Ferrari, too, if that's less pathetic."
Maldark straightened. "As you see, boy, the price you've demanded to return what is rightfully mine has been paid." He indicated the waiting Doubleback. "Before I allow it to return your wretched kin to you, satisfy my curiosity-how did you know such a creature existed?"
Dante had been expecting anything except that question. "I…saw it on a cereal box," he said lamely.
Behind him, Wyatt groaned. "Really? That's the best you could come up with?"
"I'm under stress here!"
Maldark waved his hands. One of the half-destroyed game manuals from the Grinders' collection appeared in his hand. "Perhaps you read it in these forbidden texts?"
Dante was about to ask how the hell Maldark had found the book…until Saast snapped his fingers and the Tenrecs brought Guy from behind the platform. The game leak's hands were bound. A Mesmer followed him. Dante's eyes widened. "Guy?"
Reveling in the humans' diminishing bravado, Maldark continued: "Perhaps you heard about it from your new friend. Revelare!"
Another flash of lightning from the staff tore the mask off Wyatt's face. The crowd reacted with a mix of fearful squeals and brandishing weapons, remembering his face from the Wanted boards. Wyatt reflexively tried to duck his head. "Uh…okay…hi."
Maldark peered at him. "So, this is the boy out of time…in every way."
Wyatt was too surprised to notice the underlying threat in the words. "How did-?"
Guy bowed his head in shame. "My apologies, Sir Dante…the Mesmers caught me by surprise. I'm afraid Maldark knows about our friend, Mr. Black."
"It's okay, Guy," Dante said.
Lyle wasn't so sure. "Not that okay. What else did you tell them?"
Maldark nodded. "Yes…I recall killing your counterpart the night I first conquered your world. He wasn't much of a challenge, either. The female was more of a challenge than you, boy. How pathetic that a universe exists where insignificant insects like you…" He included Dante and Lyle in the insult. "…could defeat me, Never Fail. I assure you, this is not that universe…as you're about to see."
Maldark raised Dante's Hail Razor, firing it to release the Genesis Orb.
Instead, Angie materialized out of the beam, clad in her new gear as 'Kutisha'. She held her Atomic Wedge in one hand. She wished she didn't need the mask so that the warlock could see her grin as she cried, "Tulta Munille, jackmunch!"
She threw the Atomic Wedge. It sliced off Maldark's hand-the hand that had the ring that controlled the implants in the Grinders' necks. The warlock screeched.
At the pre-arranged signal, the hooded Sculpture Sorcerers pulled back their hoods, revealing Reggie, Kowalski, Mike, Philbert, and Natalie. When the mystical bestowers of the Magic 8 Ball had asked, the sorcerers had handed over the disguises and the Thunder Poles willingly, in gratitude for the gift of the mystical black sphere.
Reggie tossed his Thunder Pole to Lyle. Lyle used the sharp point of the weapon to slice through his bonds.
His father stared, first at the sudden appearance of the fighters and then at the bizarre weapon. "You know what you're doing?" he asked.
Lyle grinned. "Like you taught me-plan, prepare, prevail."
Natalie used her Hail Razor to send the Rubber/Glue gun to Wyatt. He aimed the Rubber/Glue gun at Maldark, who was howling as he clutched the stump of his digital arm. The blob of glue snagged his severed hand and its ring and bounced it back to Wyatt.
Wyatt smiled at Guy. "You didn't tell the Mesmers everything, did you?" Maldark obviously hadn't known about Angie or the Sculpture Sorcerers.
Guy half bowed. "As I said, Mr. Black, the trick is not to lie but to choose which truths to tell them."
Mike and Kowalski used their Hail Razors to teleport more heavily armed fighters into the large chamber-more allies from Lyle's camps, the remaining Grinders, and volunteers from the mass of people from the tunnels. The new arrivals carried their own telesticks, which beamed in still more resistance fighters. In a matter of a minute, the number of armed humans in the chamber had increased exponentially. They began counterattacking the Tenrecs before the foot soldiers or Saast knew what was happening. The Gula Muncher pushed its way through the confused spectators and burped up a Hail Razor for Dante. The human accepted the mucus-coated weapon without so much as a blink.
Rat was the first of the Grinders to materialize, courtesy of Guy's Hail Razor. The human fired his own taser weapon, releasing a considerably upset Deacon from his overnight prison. The smaller teenager whirled. He was about to advance upon his captor, until he took notice of the battle going on around him. He noted the presence of Hugginson's outlaws and the swarm of avatars-both friendly and hostiles-and at the center of it, of course, was Onterro.
The larger boy shoved a Hail Razor at Deke, "We need your help."
"No shit." Deke snatched up the weapon and fragged a Lava Belcher that was preparing to douse them both in molten rock.
Dante would have been psyched that the plan was working, except that Angie was still on the platform, standing two feet away from an enraged Maldark. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Maldark raised his weapon. She lunged, kicking and punching with every Krav Maga move she knew. A Tenrec rushed to its master's defense, but Angie disintegrated it into computer code with a toss of the wedge weapon. In the instant that her attention shifted from him to the guard, Maldark swung his staff and knocked Angie off her feet.
"Angie!" Dante forgot the Doubleback and ran for the platform. He tried to use his teleporter to zap her away from Maldark, but she was moving too fast trying to dodge Maldark while still kicking the warlock's ass. Dante ran for the platform instead.
Maldark pointed his weapon at her again while Dante aimed the Hail Razor. He teleported Angie off the platform a split-second before a blast from Maldark's wand would have disintegrated her. She reappeared beside Dante at the foot of the makeshift stage. He caught her in a tackle, rolling both of them beneath the platform as the warlock took another shot at the pair of humans.
Wyatt tracked the Doubleback as the avatar tried to retreat from the sudden battle. He aimed the Rubber/Glue gun at the chronometer and squeezed the trigger-but Maldark waved his scepter and a shield deflected the blast.
"Really, really, really not good." Wyatt gulped. He shouted to Lyle, Dante, Angie, and whoever was listening to him in the middle of the battle: "Get the chronometer no matter what happens!"
The Grinders and dissidents knew the plan. Guy and Bob the Barbarian had found broken pipes and boards to use as clubs and subdued as many avatars as they could. The Newporter was eager to repay the Mesmers for forcing him to betray his friends.
The Tenrecs surrounded the Grinders first. Deke and Rat searched for anything to use to shield themselves as the monsters fired their sharp needles. Not finding a trash can lid or anything else, the two boys pushed a Mesmer into the path of the quills. The creature tumbled, not only blocking the projectiles but also bowling over the porcupine mutants. The boys exchanged high-fives.
Wyatt zapped a Lava Belcher as it breathed a stream in Mike and Philbert's direction. The creature squealed as it reverted to coding. "I'm starting to feel like I'm back home," Wyatt grinned to himself.
The element of surprise had given the Grinders and the dissidents the upper hand. Saast moved to quell the uprising, but a large Barbarian knocked him momentarily senseless with a piece of broken table. Seething at his minion's continued incompetence, Maldark aimed his scepter at the stump of his computer-generated hand and recited an incantation. His hand grew back…and the control ring with it. Maldark activated the implants, and the Grinders, including Dante, screamed.
Around them, Deke, Rat, and the other Grinders fell, clutching at the metal shards in their necks as electricity coursed through their bodies. Wyatt and Lyle saw what was happening and froze. Pinned half-under the platform, Angie climbed to her knees and slid from under the shelter. She tried to get another shot at Maldark, but from this angle she couldn't even see him.
"Wyatt!" she screamed.
Wyatt shouted. "Lyle!"
"What do you want me to do?!" Lyle raised the Thunder Pole, but had not a clue what to try.
"Anything!" Wyatt answered.
Lyle took a breath, shutting the anguished screams out of his mind as he tried to recall his hurried studies from the night before. "Permuto!" he cried, pointing the weapon at Dante and hoping like hell he had gotten the spell right.
The Thunder Pole glowed. Seconds later, the implant vanished from Dante's neck-and re-planted itself in Maldark's throat. It was his turn to scream. Naturally, he muttered a spell and the implants disappeared.
The fallen Grinders now opened their eyes, feeling in wonder at the smooth skin where the devices of torture had been. Avatar allies and Lyle's friends helped them to their feet. No longer held back by the fear of the implants, the Grinders tore into the Tenrecs with renewed fury. Wyatt and Lyle saw Angie leaning over, saying something to Dante. A few moments later, he rolled onto his side and shakily pushed himself up.
The Mesmers were having but marginal success in subduing the crowd…and no effect at all on the Grinders as they counterattacked the Tenrecs. The tide of battle was shifting to the humans' favor. Worse, Maldark still did not have the Genesis Orb. They would converge upon the platform within minutes, and the warlock could not allow that. He cast a final spell and a wall of energy began to form between the platform and the combatants.
Lyle saw it happening. If the wall closed, his father, Dante, Angie, and the Doubleback would be trapped on the other side with Maldark and Saast. He pointed the Thunder Pole, "Foramen!"
A small hole, barely big enough for a human to pass through, formed in the wall. Lyle held the Thunder Pole in place, keeping up the litany as it held open the gap while Maldark fought just as hard on his side of the barrier to close it.
Reggie and Deacon shoved Wyatt towards the opening-if it closed before they got the Doubleback, it was game over. Epic Fail. "What are you waiting for?!" Reggie asked.
Wyatt made one last Hail Mary play with the Rubber/Glue gun. The blob of rubbery glue splashed against the Doubleback's metal torso. Seeing this, Saast spat a fang at the avatar. The chronometer ripped from the Doubleback's chest and instant before the fang impaled the creature. The game leak vanished, but the chronometer flew into Wyatt's grip.
Wyatt frantically started dialing the chronometer to the fateful September 30, 2011 date. The time vortex opened a few feet from him.
"Yes! Got it! Let's go!" he shouted to the others as he ran to the portal.
Lyle strained to keep the gap in the field. From the corner of his eye, he saw Dante and Angie start to move for the opening. Dante was waving for Lyle's father to follow, but Saast and the Tenrecs were already moving to intercept the trio. Maldark intensified the pressure and Lyle's bad knee almost buckled beneath him as he fought to stay in place. "I can't keep up the shield in place if I move. Go on!"
Amazed that Wyatt's plan was actually working, Dante and Angie broke from the cover of the platform and ran for the breach in the shield that Lyle was struggling to maintain. Tenrec quills, scepter blasts, and other hazards were flying past them as the warlock and his minions tried to block their escape.
"Come on!" Dante shouted to Mayor Hugginson, waving him to the opening. Lyle's father ran for the gap, but Saast and his Tenrecs stepped into his path. Dante and Angie took out the two Tenrecs with their weapons. Another was yanked off its feet as a shot from Wyatt's gun snaked through the aperture and coiled around the monster.
Wyatt held his ground at the mouth of the vortex, unwilling to leave without them. He urged them: "Come on!"
Dante and Angie raised their weapons again as Saast advanced. "Wyatt, go!" Dante shouted back.
Still, Wyatt hesitated.
Saast swung his massive arm and knocked both teenagers aside. The Timiga could not decide which of these three humans he wanted to destroy first: The filthy urchin who had humiliated him by supplanting him as Maldark's bounty hunter, the wretched girl who had fetched human slaves entrusted to Saast's keep (for, under the Mesmer's influence, Guy had also told them about 'Mahtava' and Angie's other avatars), or the father of the thief who had foiled their conquest by stealing away the Genesis Orb.
He turned his attention back to the mayor.
Maldark chose for him. Unable to do the honors himself as he grappled with Lyle, the warlock commanded his First One: "Kill the human mayor!"
Lyle shouted, powerless to help. "No!"
Maynard Hugginson saw the Timiga prepare to spit the fatal fangs. Caged in by the platform and the force field, there was nowhere to run. It would be worth dying if it bought his son the precious seconds he needed to stop Maldark or escape. He would die for that. Saast growled and Hugginson saw the razor-sharp fangs flying right at him. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain. At least if they hit his heart, his death would be instantaneous-
-the projectiles never hit him. He sensed someone stepping in the way. Lyle, no…his heart sank. His eyes flew open, expecting to see his son.
The Grinder kid, Dante, stood in front of the mayor. The Timiga's fangs had struck the boy in the chest. Maynard caught him as he fell.
Angie, Lyle, and Wyatt froze, shocked.
The humans who had been locked in combat with the avatars heard three simultaneous cries from the trio, loud and anguished, drowning out the sounds of the battle. All eyes turned towards the platform to see what had happened.
There was a moment of absolute stillness in the chamber.
Then the blasts from every weapon held by human hands or their avatar allies were suddenly directed only at Maldark and Saast. The gap in Maldark's shield was narrow, but enough that it afforded him no protection against the onslaught of several dozen weapons suddenly unleashed upon him. The blasts collapsed the platform out from under him, breaking his concentration so that the force field winked out. A blast of glue affixed him to the metal of his dais as it fell. Humans and monsters scattered clear of the collapsing dais. The warlock disappeared into the twisted heap of rubble. They knew better than to hope he was dead.
Saast now aimed for Angie.
Lyle's mouth curled into a scowl of pure rage. As Saast spat a fang at the girl, Lyle pointed his staff and snarled, "Aversa pars!"
Mid-flight, the fang reversed course and buried itself in the Timiga's neck. He disappeared in a shower of data codes, along with his pet Slimer, before he had time to utter a sound.
Wyatt abandoned the vortex and ran for Dante; Lyle was only a half-step behind. They reached him just as Maynard eased the boy to the floor, leaning Dante against him. Dropping to her knees beside them, Angie tore off her helmet to get a better look at the injury, and then wished she hadn't. She grabbed the ever-present rag from Dante's pocket, ripped it in half, and packed the pieces around the wounds, murmuring an apology when he grunted in pain at the pressure. Her vision blurred, but she wiped impatiently at her eyes.
The Mayor reached around and Dante's shoulders and put pressure on the bandages. Desperate to help and unable to do anything more, her hand seized his in a death grip. She was barely aware when Wyatt and Lyle crouched beside her, but she was surprised when Lyle grabbed Dante's other hand in an equally fierce hold. Wyatt didn't know where to touch Dante without hurting him more and settled for reaching past Angie and gingerly laying a hand on his friend's arm.
The Grinders closed around the vulnerable group, beating back the horde of monsters. Rat was ashen-faced, eyes bright with tears. Deke's mouth was set in a grim line.
Dante blinked, more than a little shocky. He saw the fangs and the blood and supposed he should be in pain, but he really couldn't feel his body at all. That was bad, he knew in an odd, detached way, really bad. Darkness threatened at the edge of his consciousness. The only word that would form in his mind was, "Crap…"
Lyle fumbled for words, at a loss for words except to stammer, "Dante-why?"
Brown eyes blinked groggily up at Lyle. Slowly, Dante turned his head to look over his shoulder at Lyle's dad and stared back at Lyle. Shakily, he moved his hand, the hand Lyle was gripping, and lays it over Maynard's hand. Then, Dante weakly pulled his hand back, leaving Lyle's hand laying across his father's.
Lyle got it. All he could say was, "Thanks, man. Really. Thank you."
Angie jerked her chin at Lyle's Thunder Pole. "Can't you do something?!"
"I don't know what to do, Angie! I don't even know if this works on humans!" Eyes narrowing, he stood up and stared at the pile of rubble. "But I know it'll work on Maldark."
"Lyle, wait! There's no time for that!" A pair of Tenrecs broke the Grinders' defensive line. Quills missed Wyatt by a hair's breadth. He picked up Dante's Hail Razor and barded them into non-existence.
Wyatt was torn, not wanting to leave Dante while knowing the time portal would not stay open forever. If it closed, he did not know if he could re-open it now that the Doubleback was gone. He looked back down at Dante, feeling slightly sick at the sight of the blood-stained rags. We can fix this…this should never have happened…we can make this never happen…there's time, his mind raced desperately.
Feeling Wyatt's gaze, Dante opened his eyes. He saw the dilemma in his friend's gaze. He breathed out, "Go."
Lyle and Maynard tried to move Dante, but just the slight jostle made him groan in renewed agony. Maynard eased back down, still supporting the boy. There was no way they could get him to the vortex.
Dante whispered again. "Go."
They didn't move. If anything, Angie's grip tightened around his hand and Lyle became more resolved to stay. Dante weakly pulled his hands out of Angie's hold, No good…no good…the portal… He turned his head to search for Wyatt again, gasping out: "Wyatt-"
Wyatt knew what Dante was asking. At his nod of answer, Dante sagged in relief.
"We have to go! That time vortex is going to close! There are two of those Doublebacks! I can't catch them by myself!" He barked at Lyle and Angie. They didn't move.
He put a hand on Angie's shoulder, and she whirled on him, looking fully capable of tearing him in half. Lyle only frowned, having an unpleasant déjà vu to the night of the invasion, when his friends dragged him off that football field, leaving his Dad in Maldark's hands. Unhappily, he knew what had to be done.
He glanced at his father. Maldark would kill whoever they left behind…
…unless they stopped the Doubleback. If they did, the effect here should be instantaneous, at least if all the good sci-fi t.v. shows were to be believed.
Maynard nodded. "Son, go. I'll stay with him." He took the Hail Razor from Wyatt.
"Guy!" Lyle waved to the game leak who hovered anxiously at the edge of their circle, wanting to help and reluctant to interfere. Guy slipped into the space that Lyle vacated. Dante's eyes had slid shut. Guy pressed his fingers to the boy's neck, checking the pulse there. It was obvious he didn't like what he found.
Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Guy said, "I'll take him home. Godspeed, Mr. Lyle, Mr. Black, Lady Angie." He was putting on a brave front for the sake of teenagers. They knew as well as he did that there was nothing they could do.
Except…
"Listen to me! We can't fix this if we don't get through that portal! Angie! Come on!" Wyatt risked pulling at her again.
Angie shook him off.
He would not force her. Their chances of succeeding were better if she was with them, but Wyatt would not force her to go. He and Lyle slipped away, running for the vortex while their friends covered their escape.
"Wait."
Angie's voice was soft, but it still carried to Wyatt and Lyle before they stepped into the portal. They glanced back at her.
Angie was not sure if it was calmness that settled over her or simply numbness. She wanted numbness. She wanted to feel nothing, especially not this shattering anguish. But, she would not sit here and give up…not if there was the slightest hope that, somehow, Wyatt was right and they could change this. She took one last look at Dante.
She kissed him good-bye.
Then she picked up her weapon and followed Wyatt and Lyle to the vortex.
Angie did not look back. She didn't have to. She felt it in her soul the moment that Dante's lax hands slipped from Guy and Maynard's hands. She felt it in her soul the moment that his shallow breaths stopped.
Then, she stepped through the portal and, for a few merciful seconds, she finally felt nothing at all.