Aegis: Catalyst Grove by Nathan Roten

struggled to get their arms free, but their arms were pinned down to their sides by the men.  
    “LET GO OF ME!” screamed Kel.  
    Damien reverted back to his native language and spat out a long Spanish rant as he too struggled to get free from this captor’s grasp.   Ailey silently struggled, but her small frame was no match.  
    Graham began slamming the back of his head against Chase’s chest.  
    “LET GO CHASE!   WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!”  
    The pain coming from the tight grip of Chase’s hands paled in comparison to the shock of electricity that came next.   Grunting as every muscle in his body tensed up, Graham became very light-headed and his knees buckled.   As he crumbled to the ground like a rag doll, he could hear the thuds of the other three hitting the ground.   He lay there on his side.   He could hardly see anything, just a few shadowy outlines of the others lying motionless on the floor.  
    His body jerked as surges of electricity continued jolting through his body.   What is happening?   Why?   He clenched his fists in the feeling of betrayal, but before he could react, he felt something press against his back.   Another wave of electricity surged through his body.   His body went rigid as he his throat groaned in the shock.   The faint outline of Damien’s unconscious form grew darker and darker.   His body went limp and the wave of panic gave way to an odd sense of calmness as his eyes shut, unconscious.

C HAPTER T EN
    The Warehouse
    “Graham?   You ok, Honey?   That was a good fall!   You are so brave!” said the lady.   She took little Graham by the hand as he stood back up and proceeded to get back on the fallen tree trunk.   He ran the length of the tree, giggling as he wobbled back and forth.
    “This looks like a good place to eat, doesn’t it Graham?
    “Eat!” said the two year old boy.
    “Yes, eat,” said his dad.
    Graham sat eating his sandwich as thick black smoke rose up out of the ground like inverted tornados, wrapping their misty tendrils around them.  
    “GET BACK!   STAY BACK!” yelled the father.
    Graham could not see anything through the smoke.   His little lungs closed tight, choking him, unable to breathe in-between coughs.  
    “Graham?   You ok?   Graham?   GRAHAM!”
    With each mention of his name, the sound of his mom’s voice changed.   At first she sounded like his mom, then each time his name was repeated, the voice sounded younger and younger.
    Intense flashes of light pierced the smoke, as if the brilliance of the sun was engulfing him.   His little body was trembling.   The black smoke was now swirling around in circles, being diffused by the light as Graham screamed.
      “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
    Graham’s eyes popped open, and his head jerked up.   He was in darkness.   His mind raced as he tried to get a grip on reality.   Through the darkness, he could see faint outlines of people sitting in chairs.
    “Graham, wake up!”
    He rigorously shook his head until the black hood fell onto the concrete floor beside him.   Adjusting to the light of the room, Graham flinched.   He batted his eyelids in an effort to slowly take in the light, little by little, until he was fully acclimated.  
    “Graham!   Snap out of it!” said Kel.  
    Graham looked up to see that he was no longer in the woods with his parents.
    “Graham, you ok amigo?!”   Graham looked over at Damien seeing the concern in his face.   “I have never seen you like that bro.   You were screaming.”  
    “It’s nothing.”   That was a lie.   Graham was terrified.   “Just a reoccurring nightmare I have sometimes.”  
    Beads of sweat dripped through his sideburns and down the sides of his cheeks.   Graham looked around him, expecting to see hovering objects crashing to the ground.   He quickly realized, though, that it is difficult for chairs and tables to hover when they are bolted to the floor.   He tried to lift his hand to his face to