Chapter Thirteen:

Assault of the Vicious

"What weapons do we have?" Mina asked as she walked beside Ellie.

"The town's lent us a few guns—rifles mostly—while they look for the stuff they'd been reserving for their commandos," Ellie replied. "They were waiting for a few Conduit commandos to come to the town. From what I hear, they got distracted along the way by a few people they used to go to school with who happened to become bad guys. They're still fighting."

I wondered why'd the town needed commandos to be around, but then I decided that they probably just needed some crowd-control if any one of us got out of hand.

"We're setting-up some barricades near the shield," Ellie explained further. "No one's getting through unless they're stepping over my dead body!"

Trish and Vi went back to the hospital to help with the wounded. Mina, Ellie, Nicholas, Dilyn, Quinn and I were gonna be on the front lines. Nicholas had argued that I wasn't well enough, but Ellie said that they needed all the help they could get. And anyway, I wasn't gonna make a big deal about a tiny needle. Some kids had half their bodies burnt to a crisp, and they were still holding weapons.

"Get ready!" someone yelled over a loudspeaker. "They're starting to get into formation!"

Quinn handed me two handguns. "Have fun," she said with a smirk.

I gulped.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Nicholas asked.

I looked at him. His rifle fit perfectly to his shoulder. There was dirt all over him, but he had the same careful eyes and smile that he always wore. This was where he loved to be, and he wasn't sure if I belonged here.

"I just… We're kids. Students. We're not fighters," I answered honestly. "I don't wanna take any lives, and I'll aim places where I won't kill 'em, but I'm not gonna hesitate if they're trying t' kill me."

"They won't hesitate either," Nicholas said. "These kids're following James. If that means that they're doing it willingly, I'm not gonna hesitate. But if they're hypnotized by him somehow, then I won't shoot to kill."

We focused on the distance. People were marching. The looks on their faces wanted to kill us themselves. I could see Hunter and a few other kids I recognized from a few classes. Most were second-years. I think the only Sojourn we had on our side was Victoria Stafford.

And in the front was James.

I glared at him. He saw me and grinned, but otherwise ignored me.

"I know you all can hear me!" he yelled through the shield. "Surrender now and join me, and I can guarantee your survival! But if you resist, you will be wiped-out without mercy, and tossed aside like an insect!"

"And we're giving you this chance, James!" Mina yelled back. "If you surrender, you can still get away with this! At the most, you'll get a few years in the adult prison if you plead insane! But if you continue this, you're writing your own death warrant!"

James laughed. "Is that a threat, Paragon?"

"I don't make threats."

He ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I guess I should explain some things before you all die…" He motioned to the army of kids behind him. "We are the Vicious! We will not bow to the rules of Human society any longer! This is a world for Conduits! It's our playground! And to let go of Human society, I've decided that the name given to me is dull and unneeded. My name is Bishop, and to all who oppose me, that is the name of the person who killed you!"

A few kids shifted uneasily. I took in a few deep breaths in an effort to stop myself from hyperventilating.

He didn't wait for Mina's reply. "Attack!"

The kids slammed their powers and weapons into the shield. I could see it start to flicker, and then it was spastic.

If I don't make it… I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The guns in my hands were shaking. No. I will make it! I'll definitely make it!

The shield came down, and the battle was on.

I fired at their legs and managed to take down a few kids, stopping them from coming close. But there were lots, and I wouldn't be able to stop them all. Powers flew in all directions. I found myself stretched to my limit, trying to dodge all sorts of attacks. Someone I didn't really recognize slammed into me and shoved me onto my back. He pressed a gun up to my throat—.

Quinn slammed into the kid and pushed him off of me. He rolled a few times and then aimed his gun up, but Quinn was way too fast. She kicked the gun out of his hand, punched his jaw upwards, and then pressed her shotgun at the bottom of his jaw. She pulled the trigger without any remorse, and then moved onto the next Vicious member.

I got onto my feet. The battle was raging around me. Everyone was focused on everything and nothing. I ran through the thick of it, shooting anyone I didn't recognize as an ally in the legs or arms.

And then I felt him behind me. I whirled around, pressing the barrels of the handguns to his chest. Bishop's hand slapped me across the face, hard, before I could even register that I was about to kill him. I hit the ground and turned onto my back without a second's hesitation.

"I'm upset that you didn't take my offer," he said to me. I aimed the guns at him again, so he kicked them out of my hands. "But you're still pretty pathetic. All this fear around you, and you're still weak."

I glared at him. "Shut-up!"

"You're not even a fighter," Bishop continued, "so why continue to oppose me?" I didn't answer. "Are you my personal renegade then?"

"Whatever you do," I said, "I'll fight you."

He smiled. "Then that's the case."

I got up and ran at him. The kids who'd died, the attack on Trish—everything was poured into my hate for him. I leaped towards him. He brought up his hands to stop me. My breathing slowed as everything else did. My only focus was Bishop.

Suddenly, Bishop was blasted back. He slammed hard into a wall and glared at me.

"Looks like you do have some fight in you."

Trish MacGrath

Explosions were sounding outside. The hospital itself was being rocked. Rubble was falling, but the building was sturdy. It'd take a few good hits to collapse it.

"Calm down everyone," a doctor was saying. "Please, we need you to remain calm—."

"I don't think anyone's listening to that guy," Vi grumbled. "Geezus, when's this gonna end?"

"It's only been going on for a few minutes," I reminded her. "I'm guessing this could last hours."

She sighed, and then suddenly perked-up. "Hey! I know!"

"Know what?"

"How I can help!"

"One of my cousins're already out there getting attacked! I'm not letting another go out!"

Vi shook her head. "No! Y'see, I can find where the generator for the shield is! I can get it back online!"

I looked at her, grinned, and then hugged 'er. "You l'il genius! I'll help out, but we've gotta hurry."

Vi nodded. We proceeded through the hospital, asking some people who lived around the town where the generator was. Some gave us good directions. And then it came time for us to actually leave the hospital to find it.

"Not looking forward to this," Vi mumbled.

"Neither am I," I admitted. "But if we can trap them or keep them out, then we'll have done our part."

We charged into the thick of the fighting. With luck, we'd be able to reach the generator without any troubles. Swerving around the fighting Conduits, we dodged anything sent our way. I looked ahead and saw Quinn and Dilyn, back-to-back, firing as many curses as bullets. Mina and Ellie's faces were like stones as they tried to avoid any unnecessary deaths. Nicholas was aiming at the legs of any attacking kids in hopes of crippling them.

"Where's Kayce?" I yelled over the screaming and shouting.

"I can't see 'er!" Vi replied just as loudly. "Don't worry; it doesn't mean she's dead!"

"I hope not!" We eventually made it to the brewery, where the generator would be. I slammed my shoulder against the door, and it gave in.

Vi hurried ahead of me to the generator. "I see it!" she exclaimed. "Gimme a sec, and I'll work my magic!"

"Hurry it up!"

Hands flying around at nothing, Vi made the link into the generator's systems. Her eyes closed as she connected fully. I paced. Explosions were getting closer. It'd be only a matter of time before—.

A wall of the brewery suddenly had a hole in it, and Kayce came flying through. She rolled on the ground a bit before coming to a complete halt, and then she stood up again.

Hunter stepped through the hole, followed by a third-year I didn't recognize. Both of her arms had been connected to guns, so you couldn't see her hands anymore, while the bottom-half of Hunter's mouth and part of his neck looked like it was spewing lava.

"Aw, the poor baby's arm's broken!" the third-year sneered. "Looks like you've got a l'il problem!"

Kayce looked exactly like she had when she'd first woken up earlier in the day, blue eyes 'n all. She looked down at her broken right arm, but it looked like she was completely uninterested. Kayce glared at Hunter and the third-year.

"Worry about yourself," Kayce said clearly. "I'm still alive."

Kayce had a cocky smile on her face that I'd never seen before. It was like she knew she was gonna win, and nothing would stop her.

"Maybe you dogs should go back to your master," she chided. "Didn't I break his fingers, one-by-one, only a few minutes ago?"

"And your arm's been coated in lava," Hunter pointed-out.

With that cocky smile, Kayce shrugged. "It's no big deal. The nerves're already off, so its not like I feel any pain."

Suddenly, she attacked. That cocky grin changed into a sadistic smile as she slammed her foot into Hunter's jaw, effectively throwing him into the wall like a ragdoll. Dodging the bullets the third-year shot at her from her hand-guns (literally), Kayce got close enough for every shot to be ineffective.

Kayce grabbed onto both guns and flipped. The guns were ripped out of her arms, spurting blood everywhere as the third-year screamed in agony. Kayce threw the guns to the side and grinned.

"Like I said; worry 'bout yourself."

And, just like that, Kayce was gone.

Hunter groggily crawled to his feet and stumbled over to the hole in the wall. I ran at him and kicked him right out, hoping he'd fall and knock himself out or something before I ran to Vi.

"Vi, you wouldn't believe—!"

"I'm focusing here!" Vi cut me off as if I'd invaded her homework time. "I've almost got it…" I kept my mouth shut as I waited, and then suddenly, I heard the shield crackling. "Yes!" Vi exclaimed. "They've got about a minute before they're trapped in here!"

I hurried to the hole. I could see the light blue outline of the shield cascading around the town. Everyone else noticed it too.

"Retreat!" James roared above the chaos. "Don't get trapped inside!"

Our side cheered and screamed at the kids running for the school. A good portion of kids got out, but some of the others (mostly those who were wounded) didn't get there in time.

I saw Quinn land on top of one of the bigger guys and tie him up with some rope. "You've got the right to shut the hell up!" I heard her say.

God, I hoped aunt Joan didn't say anything like that when she was younger. Then again, she probably did.

More kids came around with rope and captured the others. They were led off to a basement somewhere. I wasn't around to listen. I was looking for Kayce. Vi trailed behind me, just in case I missed anything. I'd tell 'er what I saw later.

I finally made my way into a building that was almost totally rubble. It looked like it could've been the firehouse. Vi and I crawled past the debris and made it out to the side that hadn't crumbled. Bodies littered the floor; some were alive, others weren't so lucky.

And there, slumped against the wall with her ruined arm splayed by her side, was Kayce.

She weakly raised her head and regarded us with her familiar smile. She didn't have that creepy aura around her anymore.

"I guess… Bishop actually… did manage something… eh?" she mumbled quietly. She suddenly cringed from pain, but I didn't know where it was coming from. "D-Damn… that bastard…"

Bishop? I repeated in my head. No, first we've gotta get 'er to the hospital. I'll ask 'er later.