Page 13 of Ash Fall

Three of the soldiers sag immediately. One grips the side of the truck while another bends forward and drags in several hard breaths. The third rubs both hands over his face.

Thenton stays standing but his expression doesn't show relief, it shows irritation.

Then he smiles darkly at Torrin.

"Well, aren't you a useful little party trick."

Torrin goes rigid beside me as Thenton studies him more closely, his head cocked to the side. "I know that face. You're the Colonel's boy. The one who wouldn't take the commission." His smile widens. "He kept your school photo on his desk at Larkhill. He used to tell us his greatest failure was raising someone as soft as you."

The color drains from Torrin's face and I've heard enough.

Anger hits, and the shadows answer before I even call for them. Darkness spreads from beneath the truck and across the pavement toward Thenton. It wraps around his boots and climbs his legs, then tightens around his arms and torso causing him to look down in shock.

"What the fuck?"

I pull and the shadows force him onto his knees. His body hits the pavement hard, and he swears.

"You can shut the fuck up." I step closer. "You want to talk about soft men? Torrin is standing here trying to save people while you spent the last week helping a psychopath hold civilians at gunpoint. I know exactly which one of you is stronger." I spit as the shadows reach up to wrap around his throat.

"Mars." Torrin says my name with a hint of warning in it. His hand closes around my shoulder. "Don't kill him, yet. He might know something we need."

I hold the shadows where they are but stop tightening them.

Thenton laughs. He actually fucking laughs.

"You think freeing their minds changes everything?" He looks at the soldiers around him. "Some of us followed the Colonel with our minds already free. He's building something useful out of this mess while everyone else sits around crying about what they lost. You want the warehouse? Go ahead and try for it. He'll be delighted to see you. He's been waiting for more people with abilities to show up." His eyes move from Torrin to me. "Reports have been coming in all week. He has ways of dealing with you freaks permanently."

That gets my attention and Torrin catches it too. What the fuck has his father been doing to people?

Foster and Charlie restrain Thenton with his own zip ties, remove his rifle, sidearm and radio, then drag him into the back of the second truck. They're not gentle about it but nobody complains.

Freeing the civilians goes faster now that several soldiers are explaining what happened. Most people head home, but three more decide to come with us because they think family members are being held at the warehouse.

The man with the spatula is named Bernie and he stays but refuses to give up the spatula. It’s weird, I don’t know why exactly, but I like him.

While the trucks idle, the freed soldiers gather near the tailgate where Torrin goes over the plan with them.

"We're going to pick up a couple of our people and then to the warehouse next. Tell us exactly what we're driving into."

Charlie and Foster exchange a look before Charlie answers. "Two trucks returning from a sweep won't raise questions as long as we're back before shift change. Patrols radio their count and go through the gate. There’s two guards at the entrance, usually four to six in the front yard."

"The radios are the real problem," Foster adds, tapping the handset clipped to his vest. "All it will take is one man keying his mic before you stop him, and everyone on the site knows something's wrong. There are hundreds of civilians inside already. If shooting starts, they're in danger of being collateral damage."

Torrin nods slowly. "Then we don't start with the whole unit. We take the gate first and use them to draw my father outside."

The soldiers look doubtful.

"We tell him you've captured me. If he believes I'm there, he'll come out. He won’t be able to help himself from gloating."

Charlie grimaces. "Probably."

"As soon as he's in range, I lock him down. If he's controlling the others, he can't be allowed to keep giving commands. Once he's contained, we use the radio to bring the soldiers away from the civilians in groups and free them from his orders."

Foster looks toward the end of the street. "And once they're free?"

Torrin looks around at the British soldiers. "Then you decide what you want to do. If you want to go home, go home. There has to be someone in your regiment who can fly. Find an aircraft, get back to England and find your families."

Nobody answers immediately but most of them look hopeful as they exchange looks.