My temper flared to life and using my telekinesis, I bounced Benny off the burnt-out remains of a city bus until he dropped his weapon.
“Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me.” Benny raised his hands. “I surrender. I surrender.”
Dad keyed his mic, “Adam-30 we have one in custody.”
The dispatcher replied, “Copy Adam-30.”
“A man has the right to eat,” Benny whined. Bags of cookies, chips and candy were scattered across the roadway.
I cuffed him. “You get a ration card just like the rest of us.”
“It’s not enough. I’m a big boy.”
Dad grimaced. “Get a job and you can buy more food.”
“I have a condition,” Benny bleated.
Fire ants danced across my head. Shit! That hurt. I reached out with my mind. Twenty Marauders were approaching Arizona.
Dad glanced at me. “Incoming?”
“Yeah, a slew of Tai-Kok Marauders is heading our way.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I’ll call in an emergency alert.”
I politely tapped on Quinn’s mind.“Sir.”
“I’m aware.”He broke the link.
God, what an ass.
A fast, high-pitched wail filled the air.
People fled down the street.
Benny’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he toppled over.
“Dammit!” I kicked his leg. “Get up. You’re too big to carry.”
“Watch out!” Dad grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the way of a speeding delivery truck.
Fishtailing wildly, the truck clipped a Cadillac and slammed into a fruit vendor’s stand. A crate of watermelon exploded, and pink juice streamed across the windshield. The driver jumped out of the truck, stopped long enough to grab a cantaloupe and ran.
I blew out a long breath. People continued to surprise me and not in a good way.
A little girl stood crying on the sidewalk.
“Get the kid, Dad, I’ll see if I can lift Benny.”
“We’re running out of time,” Dad protested.
“I know. Go.”
Dad scooped up the kid and ran for the nearest bunker.
“Sorry, Kaelen,”I whispered as I drew on his power again. Using my telekinesis, I managed to lift Benny a foot off the ground and tow him toward the bunker. Damn, he was heavy.
The Marauders whizzed overhead. Thirty seconds later, a beam of blinding yellow light struck what used to be Glendale City Hall.
