survive this.’
‘Just let me handle it,’ I say.
‘Wait, Six,’ Crayton says, scooping up Marina’s Chest. ‘He’s right. The mountains will give us more cover. You can still take out every single one of them. It just won’t be as visible, which is good for us. We don’t need the Mogs picking up on this right now.’
Marina puts her hand on my arm. ‘Crayton’s right. We need to be smart. Let’s not draw more attention to ourselves than we have to.’
‘The Mogs?’ Commander Sharma asks, confused. We’ll need to be more careful around him.
Before anyone can answer, two low-flying helicopters zip in with their guns blazing. Several of the commander’s soldiers are mowed down, their weapons blown to useless shards of metal. If we’re going to run, it’s now or never. I use my telekinesis to pull on the tail of one of the helicopters, tipping the nose down. It looks like a rodeo horse trying to buck its rider as the pilot struggles furiously to level the copter out. We watch the pilot give a particularly hard yank to the joystick and two men bounce right out of the cabin. They weren’t very high in the air, so the fall shouldn’t injure them – much.
I look over at our fleet of stalled SUV s and see smoke rising faintly from one of the tailpipes. An engine is still running! I shout, ‘Let’s go! Now!’
Everyone rushes from behind the cover; Commander Sharma yells for his few remaining men to retreat. The brigade is less than a hundred yards away. As we run I feel a bullet zip through my hair. Another one rips through my forearm, but before I can scream, Marina is right next to me, her icy hands tending to my injury as we run. All but one of the commander’s soldiers follows his orders to retreat. That lone soldier follows the commander, running with us.
We reach the SUV and get inside – the four of us, plus Commander Sharma and the one soldier. Crayton steps on the gas and whips us onto the road. Bullets tear through the tail end of our truck, shattering the back windshield, but we’re able to maneuver around a small rock formation and evade the relentless gunfire.
This is not a road built for speed. It’s full of potholes, rocks and other debris, and Crayton struggles to keep us from careening off the shoulder. The SUV is overflowing with guns--I find a shotgun and crawl into the back, waiting for a target. Marina follows suit, leaving her Chest with Ella.
Now that I have a moment to gather my thoughts, I’m angry. We thought if Number Eight remained in the mountains, we would be safe here, under the radar. Instead, we’re being attacked because of him. If we survive this, I am so going to tear Eight a new one.
‘Where are we going?’ Crayton yells over his shoulder.
‘Just stay on this road,’ the commander says. I look over my shoulder and see the Himalayan Mountains through the windshield. They are slowly getting closer, their jagged tops growing more menacing. Up ahead, the brown desert ends, and a curving band of green surrounds the base of the mountains.
‘Why do these guys want to kill Number Eight?’ I ask Commander Sharma, the barrel of my shotgun bouncing off the frame of the back window.
‘The Lord’s Resistance Front does not believe he is Vishnu. They believe we are blasphemous, accepting this mountain boy as the Supreme God. They want to kill us in his name.’
‘Six!’ Ella yells. ‘Incoming!’ She’s still wearing the glasses.
I look out the back window in time to see something fire out of the helicopter. It’s a missile of some sort heading straight for us. I use my telekinesis and send it directly into the desert floor, where it explodes. The helicopter fires two more missiles.
‘Time to take these dudes out!’ I yell. ‘Let’s do this one together, Marina.’ She nods and instead of directing the rockets into the ground this time, we loop them so they’re heading directly back at the copter. We watch grimly as the helicopter explodes in a
‘Just let me handle it,’ I say.
‘Wait, Six,’ Crayton says, scooping up Marina’s Chest. ‘He’s right. The mountains will give us more cover. You can still take out every single one of them. It just won’t be as visible, which is good for us. We don’t need the Mogs picking up on this right now.’
Marina puts her hand on my arm. ‘Crayton’s right. We need to be smart. Let’s not draw more attention to ourselves than we have to.’
‘The Mogs?’ Commander Sharma asks, confused. We’ll need to be more careful around him.
Before anyone can answer, two low-flying helicopters zip in with their guns blazing. Several of the commander’s soldiers are mowed down, their weapons blown to useless shards of metal. If we’re going to run, it’s now or never. I use my telekinesis to pull on the tail of one of the helicopters, tipping the nose down. It looks like a rodeo horse trying to buck its rider as the pilot struggles furiously to level the copter out. We watch the pilot give a particularly hard yank to the joystick and two men bounce right out of the cabin. They weren’t very high in the air, so the fall shouldn’t injure them – much.
I look over at our fleet of stalled SUV s and see smoke rising faintly from one of the tailpipes. An engine is still running! I shout, ‘Let’s go! Now!’
Everyone rushes from behind the cover; Commander Sharma yells for his few remaining men to retreat. The brigade is less than a hundred yards away. As we run I feel a bullet zip through my hair. Another one rips through my forearm, but before I can scream, Marina is right next to me, her icy hands tending to my injury as we run. All but one of the commander’s soldiers follows his orders to retreat. That lone soldier follows the commander, running with us.
We reach the SUV and get inside – the four of us, plus Commander Sharma and the one soldier. Crayton steps on the gas and whips us onto the road. Bullets tear through the tail end of our truck, shattering the back windshield, but we’re able to maneuver around a small rock formation and evade the relentless gunfire.
This is not a road built for speed. It’s full of potholes, rocks and other debris, and Crayton struggles to keep us from careening off the shoulder. The SUV is overflowing with guns--I find a shotgun and crawl into the back, waiting for a target. Marina follows suit, leaving her Chest with Ella.
Now that I have a moment to gather my thoughts, I’m angry. We thought if Number Eight remained in the mountains, we would be safe here, under the radar. Instead, we’re being attacked because of him. If we survive this, I am so going to tear Eight a new one.
‘Where are we going?’ Crayton yells over his shoulder.
‘Just stay on this road,’ the commander says. I look over my shoulder and see the Himalayan Mountains through the windshield. They are slowly getting closer, their jagged tops growing more menacing. Up ahead, the brown desert ends, and a curving band of green surrounds the base of the mountains.
‘Why do these guys want to kill Number Eight?’ I ask Commander Sharma, the barrel of my shotgun bouncing off the frame of the back window.
‘The Lord’s Resistance Front does not believe he is Vishnu. They believe we are blasphemous, accepting this mountain boy as the Supreme God. They want to kill us in his name.’
‘Six!’ Ella yells. ‘Incoming!’ She’s still wearing the glasses.
I look out the back window in time to see something fire out of the helicopter. It’s a missile of some sort heading straight for us. I use my telekinesis and send it directly into the desert floor, where it explodes. The helicopter fires two more missiles.
‘Time to take these dudes out!’ I yell. ‘Let’s do this one together, Marina.’ She nods and instead of directing the rockets into the ground this time, we loop them so they’re heading directly back at the copter. We watch grimly as the helicopter explodes in a
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