Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) by David Leadbeater

manpower, but there were others scattered around he didn ’ t recognize , most likely agents from covert agencies trying to stay anonymous.
       Beyond the staging area he saw palm trees on fire , their splayed branches crackling and spilling blazing globules ont o the sidew alk. Beyond them flames licked through the mall’s shattered windows. Cleaver could see inside the main entrance to the food court. Tables and chairs and fake palm trees and benches and other debris had been piled high, and was the source of inferno. Vague shapes danced and flitted around the bonfire. Occasionally a shot rang out.
    Cleaver unclipped his cell phone.
       Thankfully his contact at Aegis a nswered quickly. “ Yes? ”
    “ I ’ m at the mall , Myleene . No sign of Gaines. ”
    “ Is anyone with you? ”
    “ Not from Aegis. Not yet. I don ’ t have much time. What ’ s your input here? ”
    “ Eldritch is coming to you. We just aren’t ready to commit everything yet . ”
    Cleaver watched a tower of smoke plume into the sky. He jammed a finger in his right ear as Miami PD ran by, shouting into their radios. “ Best be ready sooner than later, Myleene, ” he said. “ This place is going to hell. ”
    “Any sign of the s hadow phenomenon? ”
    “ Some of the smoke is moving against the wind. ”
    “ Those people in there, ” Myleene hesitated. “ They … well…the rising evil no doubt attracted them. If they weren’t criminal-minded before, they damn well will be now. It will have consumed their minds. ”
    “ Meaning? ”
    “Bleeding hell, Cleaver. Use your brain. Ever see Dawn of the Dead? Resident Evil? Gaines might be planning to send them into Miami. Don ’ t forget, you are at the epicentre. Miami is New Babylon- the focal point of the evil that is rising. Stay safe, Cleaver. And don‘t rush into this one. ”
    “ They ’ re just people in there, ” Cleaver wondered if Gaines might be testing him again. “ They didn ’ t harm anyone before today. ”
    “ Remember this- evil attracts evil. There ’ s a reason those people answered a calling at the damn mall, and I‘m gues sing it‘s not for Popeye’s chicken and biscuits . You might have every child molester and serial killer in the freaking southern States running amok in there. ”
    “Radio says people have been seen leaping into the flames.”
    “ I understand. ” Myleene’s voice was a disturbed whisper. “ But-”
    “ Understand this- ” and Cleaver snapped his cell shut mid sentence.
    If you ’ re gonna save the world, you gotta pick a time to start, Cleaver thought as he pulled one side of his duster back.
    His shotgun, concealed by a shoulder holster, swung into sight. He began to thread his way through the haphazard lines of police cruisers. Miami PD began to move. Cleaver’s thoughts were all about the innocents who might be trapped in the mall- the women with young kids and babies in strollers. The school kids out for a coke and a smile. The families, the geeks, the students. All the potential Josh Walker ’ s. If he could help them , he would.
    The noise level grew as he approached the front line. At that moment there was a commotion ahead and shots rang out. Everyone ducked for cover. Cleaver bobbed down behind a civilian Chrysler, suddenly fin ding his view blocked by a large guy with the SWAT legend across his back.
    “ Damn it. ” Cleaver raised his head cautiously. He saw a policeman caught half way between here and th e mall entrance, frozen in fear like a rabbit trapped in a searchlight. And people were from the mall were chasing him down!
    People covered in blood, with open wounds, wielding makeshift weapons.
    “ Shit! ” Cleaver was up in an instant, sweeping his duster aside like a cape and freeing his shotgun. Officers around him read the situation and began to shout at their colleague to get the hell out of there.
    Taken by surprise, almost everyone stood and watched. Or shouted. Or scratched their heads.
    Cleaver