Please Rhen, she silently prayed.Let him be all right.She burst the prayer out of her, sending it in all directions, beseechingly, with every ounce of energy she had.
The back of her leg hit the golf cart and she almost fell. She righted herself, got in, sobbing, hating it, hating all of it, rage and sorrow making her mind stutter and her heart twist. Not in her right mind, not knowing how she was managing it, she drove. She sped back the way they had come and made it to the elevator. The door shut and Sage sat in unnatural silence, crying softly to herself, allowing herself this short time to grieve.
The elevator dinged open. Sage cut off the hurt inside her off with practiced viciousness and drove out, pulling herself together little by little. She didn’t want anyone to see what had happened in the expression on her face.
She had to right herself completely before she made it back to her family.
37—Beautiful Monstrosity
Canyon and Timber sped down the bluff, forest lining both sides of the winding road. They rounded a bend, and downtown Serenity came into view below them.
Timber whistled, long and low. “Look at that,” he said.
Hot glowing smoke billowed into the air. Canyon counted plumes, noting there were at least five fires raging in town and two in Big Claw Woods.
Think this is it?Canyon said.
“What?”
TheVahiycompleted. The DOR. The Death of Rhen. The final invasion. The 777th sign.
Timber shook his head. “No way,” he said firmly. “Ain’t nodeaedying today. Not on my watch.” He switched on the police radio. Officers were talking over themselves, requesting fire and rescue in six or seven different locations.
A dispatcher broke in. “All units requesting fire and rescue, everyone is on critical assignment already and calls are stacking up. If you have injured, take them to the hospital or to the triage point at the bear statue.”
Timber switched to the fire department’s radio channel. The firefighters were doing the same—talking over each other, requesting help and backup.
A male broke in. “Central, Assistant Chief 2, coming on duty. Call all surrounding stations, all volunteers, Chicago F.D, and activate the forestry service. We need help, we need a lot ofit, and we need it now. Get as many fire trucks into Serenity as they can spare, water trucks especially. As they come into town, have them check in at the temporary command post at the bear statue for assignments.”
“Who’s that? Not Conri.”
I think that’s one of his brothers.
Timber switched back to the police channel and caught the tail end of an officer urgently calling for anyone who could come help.
“—the roof is gone and everything’s on fire. I’ve got people trapped on the third floor balconies.”
“10-4. I don’t have anyone to send to you. I’ll notify rank.”
Timber picked up the radio. “Central, where is that officer?”
“Location is the apartments above Baker Hill Bakery on Renway Street.”
“10-4. SRT-443 and 444 responding.”
Canyon popped on his lights and sped that way. Within a couple blocks of the bakery, the street was filled with boards, bricks, bent metal, and choked with black smoke, but also smelling sweet like a donut.
Canyon turned his truck around and left it in the middle of the street in case they needed a fast exit. They jumped out and grabbed pry bars and a medical bag from the back of the truck and went in on foot. People yelling and the crackling of fire spurred them faster. They found one police officer carrying two children and leading a group of humans through the smoke. When he saw them, relief filled his strained expression.
He shouted, “The front is blocked. Go around the back and inside the door that’s standing open, then up the steps as far as you can. The fire is in the next building, but the explosion blew out the steps.”
Canyon and Timber ran around the back, found the stairs, and headed up them, breathing shallowly through the smoke. Above the second story, the stairwell was blocked, and they could clearly hear people on the other side shouting and making noise. They got to work with their pry bars and their bare hands. A chunk of ceiling fell from above and hit Canyon square on the head.
“Damn,” he whispered, rubbing the top of his head.
The portable radio on his belt played an emergency tone and then a scared-sounding dispatcher spoke in an almost-whisper. “Explosions at SPD, explosions at SPD.”
Canyon and Timber looked at each other, then they yanked and pried even faster, determined to free these humans and get to SPD to help.
