Hello, faithful readers! This is the next action-packed chapter of my story. It's action-packed because the last couple chapters didn't have much action. Enjoy!
"Correction." Zai said, his voice hoarse. "Every Vesper all over the world knows we're here."
"What's going on, dudes and dudette?" Nellie appeared by the door.
"Nellie!" Ian yelled. "Get Dan! Go to the shelter in the basement. The Vespers are here!"
"Whoa! Vespers? Here?" Nellie asked. She looked around, as if she expected them to pop out from under the floor.
"Get Dan now! Ask questions later!" Zai yelled at her.
"On it." Nellie set her jaw and nodded. She dashed back up the stairs. Ian pulled out his phone and pressed a red button on the side.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" he yelled into it. "EVERYONE, TO SHELTER, NOW!" His voice was projected all over the mansion by speakers on the ceiling.
"Wh-wh-what're we going to do?" Amy asked. Her face was ashy.
"Elias!" Ian barked. "Activate the defense systems!"
"With pleasure!" Elias reached forward and pressed down of a flower vase in the middle of the table. In response, the table slid in two, revealing a huge screen. Elias tapped the screen, and it lit up. There were a bunch of touch-screen buttons along the side. He tapped 'Front lawns' The screen automatically showed the front lawns, where Ian, Elias, Zai, and Amy could see about thirty Vesper agents wearing black were advancing toward the mansion. He pressed a small black 'x' on the bottom of the screen. Suddenly, sprinklers came up out of the ground.
"What's that?" Amy asked.
"Watch." Elias grinned. The sprinklers started turning, but instead of spraying water, huge tongues of flame burst out of them. Amy jumped back, horrified. Even Zai looked a bit sick. When the flames cleared, some of the Vespers were wiggling around on the ground, screaming. The rest pushed on toward the house.
Amy looked to appalled to speak. Elias activated a different defense mechanism. As the Vespers reached the front doors, two stone lions in front of the doors opened their jaws. A cloud of pinkish gas billowed out of each of them. But none of the Vespers reacted.
They're wearing gas masks, Zai thought. I'll bet they've got Kevlar vests well.
"They're coming in!" Amy yelped.
"Not if I can help it." Elias pressed another option, and a metal grid dropped in front of the front doors.
"That will slow them down, but it won't stop them." Ian said. "Everyone, let's get to the shelter."
"Ian?" Natalie had appeared at the other end of the room.
"Natalie!" Ian yelled. He ran over to her and grabbed her arm.
"Natalie and I will...assist you from the safe room." He said. Rage choked Zai.
"You'll assist us?" he seethed.
"No!" Natalie wrenched her hand from Ian's grip. "We fight, too." She drew a dart gun that was attached to her belt.
"Oh. Um...okay." Ian looked thoroughly embarrassed. The others didn't pay much attention, though. Everyone was too busy with trying to save their lives.
Then, 'KAAAAA-BOOOOMM! A huge explosion rocked the house.
"The Vespers are inside!" Elias yelled. He pulled out his ever-present Beretta. Natalie tightened her grip on her dart gun. Zai reached onto the table and grabbed two knives. They all tensed. Then, the Vespers burst into the dining room.
"TAKE COVER!" Elias yelled. He fired two shots and dove behind the table. One of the Vespers fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Ian and Amy joined Elias behind the table, while Zai and Natalie crouched behind a humongous potted plant in the corner. About fifteen more Vespers streamed into the room.
"We can't hold them off forever!" Zai exclaimed, hurling one of his knives. It buried itself in the foot of one of the black-clad Vespers.
"I'll take care of that!" Ian pressed another button on his phone, and a picture of himself on the wall slid aside. Behind it was a large muzzle. Like lightning, ten, small, almost invisible darts streaked across the room. Some of them found their targets, and six unconscious bodies thudded to the floor. It helped, but it wasn't enough.
"DO SOMETHING!" Elias yelled at Amy.
"AAAAAAH!" Amy screamed.
"I'VE GOT AN IDEA!" Natalie yelled. "ELIAS, TAKE OUT THE LIGHTS!"
"YOU GOT IT!" Elias raised his pistol and fired.
SMASH! The large chandelier above the table burst into a million pieces.
SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! Six smaller light fixtures around the room shattered. Sharp glass shards exploded around thee room. Everyone ducked. When Zai and Natalie rose again, a Vesper was standing right in front of them. He sneered and raised his pistol directly at them. Zai was just about to break the Vesper's nose when he heard a loud CLANG!
"Oooh..." The gun-wielder wobbled and dropped to the floor. Standing behind him was Nellie, who was holding a flour-covered frying pan.
"Nellie!" they all called out at the same time.
"What are you doing here?" Amy asked.
"And what are you doing with that...thing?" Zai asked, gesturing toward the frying pan. It looked like something from a cheesy TV show from the 80s.
"Oh, this?" Nellie twirled the pan. "They're actually pretty easy to use. I snatched from that doughy chef as he ran for cover." She turned back around. The remaining Vespers were standing up, ready to fight.
"We need to get to the shelter." Ian whispered. "From there, we can escape."
"We'll need a diversion." Amy whispered back. Ian reached into his pocket and produced a small, black ball.
"This should do it." he murmured.
He threw it.
"COVER YOUR EYES!" he yelled. A flash of brilliant white light filled the room. The Vespers started screaming, blinded by the flash.
"This way!" Ian jumped up. They ran out of the dining room and down another flight of stairs. Footsteps were pounding behind them.
"Faster!" Ian screamed. They ran down another hall, Ian slamming the door behind them. At the end of the hall was a small room with metal walls. One wall was covered in screens. Dan was lying on the ground, and the Kabras' private doctor was standing over him.
"We need to leave." a deep voice said. Everyone looked over to see Matthew Brooks leaning against one of the walls.
"Matt?" Amy asked. "Why are you here?"
"Well, I was supposed to accompany you when you leave." he said. Ian nodded, as if trying to clear his head.
"Right. This way." he said. He pressed large red button on the wall. Part of it slid aside, leading outside.
"Come on!" he ushered them. Everyone in the shelter ran out. Just outside was the jet that Zai, Ian, Amy, and Elias had flown in on. Everyone hurried aboard.
"Take us out of here!" Natalie told the pilot. He seemed to notice the urgency in her voice, and started the plane up immediately.
They took off, leaving the Vespers behind. Just as Zai settled back, he heard another plane behind them. He looked back. The other plane was all black, with a big, red 'V' on the side.
Oh, crud.
Sorry I ended this chapter with another cliff-hanger. Just a warning: I might not update for another week. My computer needs repairing. Stay tuned til then!