Chapter 5

Romanov filled a vile with clear liquid and turned away from the steel table, sauntering to the unconscious form of Etrius. He checked his right vein in his wrist, and then sterilized the needle. It wasn't an inch from Etrius' skin when his eyes flew open.

His hand shot forward and sized Romanov's wrist. With his free hand, he grabbed the collar of Romanov's lab coat, and leveled his eyes with his cracked glasses. A light lit up the whites of Etrius' eyes like a dying candle. "Where am I?" He pressed, his tone darkened in fury and threat.

Romanov stammered, not expecting such a reaction. Nor had he been expecting Etrius to awaken with a sentience of mind. "You—You—You're at your base. Your comrades brought you back here!"

Etrius' face was twisted with anger. "I could see the lie in your eyes. Tell me the truth, or I'll break your neck as easy as those glasses. Who are you?"

Once the recollections began visiting his mind, he remembered that this man was working on the Castle operation, and he was also put in charge of researching anything close to a cure for Element Evil. It also meant that he created the element to destroy it. His hardened features softened as he took in the realization. He was too late—The General had already destroyed the cure.

Summoning a surge of power, he gained enough strength to bring himself to his feet and march out the door. Romanov followed, shouting indistinct words in an attempt to stop him.

~X~

Nox, Lloyd, Beecher and Boomer circled the table, a paper makeshift map of the base spread out in the middle with a knife driven through it.

"Obviously, The General's men are going to be guarding the backside of the base, now that they know that's where he snuck in. Now that they're aware of enemies, they'll be heavily guarding the perimeter. The lab is located near the entrance, but there's no way we're infiltrating through there. Too obvious."

Indistinct shouting resounded from down the hallway, and Nox's senses heightened. He sensed two people arguing over something, one of them slurred and a bit confused.

The door burst open before either of them could react. A livid Etrius stepped in, followed by Romanov.

"I told you, you cannot be running around!"

"I don't give a bloody fuck, doctor," He spat at him, and then returned to the team, eyes aglow and filled with ire. "What the hell happened? Where's the cure?"

Nox stared at him with as much shock as the rest of the team. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and stepped up. "Element Evil is still in your blood, Etrius. You need to re—"

His face was twisted with anger as he glared at Nox, the glow in his eyes lightening until his green irises were barely visible. "There's no time to rest. The General destroyed the cure, and he's still out there! God knows what he has planned next."

Beecher stepped forward, gesturing Romanov away before the situation got out of hand. But it looked like hell was already about to break lose between them. "We were too late." Wrath stirred in his eyes. "The General destroyed the cure, and there's nothing else that he can do to jeopardize our kind anymore. But he still has the antidote to cure that shit that's in your blood. Just don't kill yourself before we get to it."

The words seemed to echo within him like an empty vessel. It was evident in his eyes that he was repeating the words in his head, trying to register the information, but his brain continued to block it out. The gap of reality began to close, and there was no denying it.

His eyes suddenly darkened. "That bastard is going to pay for his crimes, mark my words."

"And you need to rest before that happens," Beecher grasped Etrius' shoulders and pushed him back towards the exit. "We're planning the next attack. We need you to stay here and keep an eye on the doc."

Etrius batted his hands away and fixed him with a harsh glare. "You expect me to stay here and do nothing? While that bastard goes on with his shit?" Light began to pour through his mouth, and brighter through his eyes, as if he were lit from within.

"Relax!" Nox warned him. "That power is sensitive! One wrong move and it's over for you."

Despite himself, Etrius listened to Nox's advice. He inhaled sharply, relaxing his shoulders. Slowly, but gradually, the light in his eyes died down until it merely flickered like a candle. "Alright. I'll watch crackpot and warn you if anyone finds the base. People will be looking for him."

Beecher responded with a nod, which Etrius stubbornly took and he headed off.

~X~

The plan was to infiltrate through the underground entrance that was kept hidden under the base. Beecher had been shown around the tunnels, and he was in charge of leading a team out or into the base in case of evacuation. He never imagined he would be using them to infiltrate the base.

He thought he would be able to lead the rebels inside without a problem, but the dark corridors that crisscrossed beneath the enemy base, echoing with rustling, whispered sounds, made him rethink. He didn't like that his mind traveled to Etrius, and the infection, and the fact that mankind had no cure to save them. He didn't want to be reminded of their failure, and that same failure can happen again if they weren't careful.

Moisture dripped from the low ceiling, and the sound of his teammates' echoing footsteps sent a shiver down his spine. Nox stretched her fingers, allowing a sapphire torchlight to escape from her palm, casting skittish shadows along the earthy walls. She lit the way.

An icy current tickled the back of Beecher's neck. Disturbed, he gave the darkness a stare over his shoulder.

"You sure you know where you're going." Lloyd stated, but it sounded like a question.

Beecher scowled. "I know—I've been here multiple times with Etrius, and they weren't exactly pleasant experiences."

"Keep your guards up," Boomer was concealed in shadow, but his eyes were set aflame by the flashlight. "We're here to get Silver Nitrate and return to base. We can't risk finding The General, there's no time."

Beecher cast his gaze to the blackened floor, and then resumed walking.

~X~

After some time, Beecher pointed at the ceiling, and Nox raised her psychic torchlight. Beecher reached up, and his hands brushed a pair of wooden double doors. He undid the lock and opened the door by a crack. Luckily, they landed in the west wing of the base, next to Romanov's lab.

Seeing no one patrolling this section of the building, Beecher pushed against the cellar doors and leaped out, landing on his feet with incredible agility. Lloyd, Nox and Boomer followed, and Beecher kicked the doors shut.

As if on cue, the doors and windows around them slammed shut, casting the room into darkness. Clicking and ratcheting sounds reverberated around them. Once Beecher's eyes adjusted to the dimness, he saw they were surrounded by guards. Again.

"We know your advantages," One of them said with a big mouth. "Whatever you learned while with us, you can use against us. And we're prepared for that. Put your hands over your head and kneel on the floor."

"Look, you need to understand," Lloyd stepped forward, prompting the men to stiffen and train their weapons on him. Red dots were trained on his chest, but he showed no sign of fear. "The General is the traitor—not us. He destroyed the cure, and you don't even know it."

"I said to put your hands over your head." He warned a second time.

"You're working for a corrupt—"

"I won't ask you again—put your hands over your head and kneel on the floor!"

The team exchanged glances, and they knew they were sharing the same thought. They slowly raised their hands and turned around as instructed.

Nox focused on the air around them, trying to summon a shield, or knock the guards unconscious—anything. But her powers were rendered useless. The lab wing held the most technology in the air, weakening her powers. She ground her teeth.

"You know that bastard will execute us, right?" Boomer gave the team a side-ways glance, but his tone showed no fear.

"He won't be given the chance."

"Just give me time to think." Nox squeezed her eyes shut.

"You won't have much time until these bastards take us in."

Nox glanced up at the high ceiling, to the smallest crack in the barricaded window. A shaft of light poured through. She felt the smallest voltage of power still left in her, despite the technology that cracked the air. Her eyes glowed.

"Open fire!"

Two gunshots fired in unison.

Nox ducked to miss a shot to her head, and the bullet buried itself in the opposite wall. The other bullet came from the very window she was looking at. The wood was splintered, shattered across the floor. A single silhouette disrupted the influx of light. He held a pistol, his green eyes set aflame with silver light. He extended a hand.

As if on cue, the guard surrounding the team jerked, as if struck with powerful voltage, and they collapsed in unison. Etrius glided to the floor.

Nox marveled at his ability to use his powers, even with technology crackling in the air around them like electricity. "How."

"We told you to stay at the base," Beecher scorned. "You left Romanov to run off!"

"He's unconscious," He said bluntly, walking past the team. "Forget the antidote. I can control these powers, I just need—"

"Are you crazy?" Nox shrieked. "You don't know what they're capable of!"

"No, but they're giving us an upper hand in fighting this war," He fired back. "You can't even use your powers around technology. Welcome to the future, Nox. Everything is technology."

Nox bit her lip, fighting back the urge to throw him a myriad of come-backs, but came up empty. "Fine," She breathed. "But you have to promise me something. Those powers can become addictive. If you're not careful, they will start to control you. Once this is over, you're getting rid of them."

Etrius caught her gaze, and a silent message passed between them. After a moment's time passed, Etrius blinked and looked away. "There's no more time to argue. Take the team and get out of here. I have a plan."

"What, get yourself into more deep shit?" Beecher spat.

"No, I just can't afford dragging you guys into it. Now follow orders and get out of here. Only I can handle this."

Nox ground her teeth and was about to stop him, but Lloyd placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let it go," He said lowly. "If he has that kind of power, and was able to take those guards out in seconds, then we should leave him. We don't want to get someone with that kind of power angry."

Despite herself, Nox knew he was right. It took much of Nox's willpower to hold herself in check, so she couldn't hurt her loved ones. Until they found a cure for Etrius, they had to be cautious. Rolling her shoulders back, Nox whirled around and marched back the way they came, the team following.

~X~

They made their way back through the tunnels and into the exterior of the base, remaining hidden from security cameras.

"What do you think Etrius is planning?"

An explosion rocked them off their feet. Nox's shoulder slammed into a tree, and she collapsed to the ground. Her hands clutched at dead grass and dry leaves, trying to get her bearings. She cast her attention to where the enemy base once was.

White light was cast in the area like an atomic bomb. Her jaw fell open.

Tree branches and brushwood were blown back by the force of the blast. Nox had to shut her eyes by the blinding ethereal light that outcast the sun. "Etrius!" She screamed, but the pressure in the air dissolved her voice.

In minutes, the isolated fires had died down. The base lay in ruins, rubble scattered. Nox nearly gagged as her foot nudged against someone's arm.

"What was that bastard thinking," She heard Beecher's voice behind her, but his tone was far from any form of anger. It sounded solemn.

"It didn't have to end like this." The coldness in Boomer's voice sent shivers up her spine.

A pile of rubble overhead shook.

Nox leaped back in surprise, finding herself beside Lloyd as the two of them unsheathed their swords at the same time.

Beecher readied his sniper, Boomer, his fists.

Etrius emerged from the rubble, shoulders hunched and eyes aglow with ethereal light. He dragged a body with him by the back of his neck. He let the unconscious General drop, and then locked eyes with Nox. "I found the reason why you couldn't mind-trick him." He opened his palm, revealing a shard of obsidian rock. Nox jumped, as if struck with powerful voltage. She backed away, covering a hand over her mouth like there was something poisonous in the air. A thick fog filled her head. "What the hell is that? And why isn't it affecting you?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Etrius nudged his foot against The General's side, but he was out cold. "Get him to the Humvee and back to base. We're going to get answers, one way or another."

Beecher raised his brows at him. "You want to interrogate him," It was more of a statement than a question. "This'll be interesting."

~X~

Timber limped through the seemingly endless woods, every once in a while stopping to examine his injured leg. At every sound, his ears would prick, and his eyes would remain focused like a deer staring at headlights. Once he was sure no one was following him, he continued to make his way through the forest.

It was when he arrived at the double cellar doors rooted into the ground when he collapsed. His injured leg wouldn't support him any longer. He let out a breathy whine through his nostrils, pawing at the double wooden doors.

Footsteps trudged up the staircase and the doors clicked open.

A man dressed in a hoodie that shaded the moonlight from his eyes stepped out, noticing his wolf lying on his side and covered in blood. He fell to his side and examined his injured leg, noting the bandages wrapped around it. Someone had been to him before he arrived here.

The assassin scanned the shadows of the forest, but no one was watching. He ripped his hoodie away from his face, revealing pale skin, silver hair that shined in the moonlight, and gold eyes. He picked up the fallen wolf and carried him into the cellar, his tail dangling.

The assassin laid the wolf near the staircase, shutting the door and blocking any moonlight from reaching in. He hovered his hands over the wolf's body, and a low, white light seemed to seep out of his pours, and curl around his fingers. It reached out to the injured leg, and wrapped itself around the bandage. In a matter of seconds, the wolf uttered a whine and dragged itself to it's feet. The open wounds that ran down the length of his leg had been healed, the marks from the metal claw vanished.

The assassin gave the wolf a scratch behind his ears. "What did you bring back for me, Khan?" He unrolled the bandage binding his healed leg and examined it. It was specked with black dirt, signaling he had been in the northern section of the forest. A smile tugged at the corner of the assassin's mouth. Long had he waited to find these rebels and bring them in. The General had promised him a large ransom for bringing at least one of them in alive. His thought darkened with intention at what he could do with four million dollars a rebel. Must've been some big project they were working on, to be so determined to get these rebels out of the way.

But he didn't know what he was going up against. They could have back-up, and he wouldn't even know it. He heard rumors about them having a… escaped experiment. One with powers beyond their control. If he was going to take them down, he had to learn more about them.

He grabbed a bone with pieces of meat still attached and slung it to the wolf. Khan grabbed it with his jaws mid-air and chewed. "Tomorrow, bring me something that can be useful to us," He spoke as if Khan could hear him, and his ears pricked up as he watched him intently. "And I'll have a full turkey ready for you on a silver platter."

Khan's eyes were set aglow by the dying flame on the surviving lantern.

The assassin crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. "This should be interesting."