Shocked by Casey Harvell Page B

“It’s going to be bad up ahead. Be ready.”
    I nod my understanding and take a deep breath. I move. Control’s the key here. Blasting an enemy’s one thing, blasting a refugee’s something that can’t happen. The fighting can be heard before I even round the corner of the building.
    It’s been a while, but once you have been through some form of battle, you don’t really ever forget it. The glow from the enemy’s weapons ignites around us. The infectious fog looks different from the original form it’s based off of. The fog surrounds us while the enemy soldiers relax—obviously having done this before successfully. I smile and yell. “Get down!” My team complies.
    The energy that courses through me itches to get out. Control is a little harder because of it, but not impossible. I start with a soft stream and face my palms out to coax the energy into the fog. It disintegrates quickly. I carefully look beyond the fog to the enemies who stare in wonder and memorize their positions. I use the energy from their fence to my advantage and crank the power up a few notches. I send a stream of energy to each of them.
    This is a little new for me. I’ve streamed the energy before, but not like this. It’s completely in my control. It’s the first time I’ve let loose a stream and contained it. Throwing the spheres is too risky here. Two more enemy men charge through the door of the building and I zap them too. It’s easier every time. I wonder what else I can do if I try.
    My team moves to their feet and we push forward together. Two of our men move to the sides of the door. One moves to open it when bullets rip through it. The fog seeps through the crack. How can they be so careless with the lives inside?
    A quick zap dissipates the fog. I create a sphere with just enough force to stun someone for a short while and hold it lightly in my palms. My team member catches onto my plan quickly and cracks the door open once more for me to roll it inside. There’s a rumble and burst of light. We move.
    Inside is dimly lit. Maybe eight men lay unconscious on the floor. A few members of our team move to secure them while the rest of us move forward. Adrenaline courses through me while as secure room after room. By the last one the enemy men all surrender.
    I look at Lucas in confusion. “I thought there were people here?”
    Lucas turns to one of the now captive soldiers. “Where are they?”
    The man looks warily at the others in the room but doesn’t say anything. Lucas nods and another member of our swiftly hits the man in the stomach. He drops to his knees and gasps for air.
    “I’ll ask again, where are they?” Lucas repeats.
    Still nothing. Lucas nods again and just before the man can be hit another of the captives shouts out. “Downstairs. They’re all downstairs. It’ll be easier to get to them if you take those keys.” He says and juts his chin towards the door where a ring of keys hang.
    I don’t stick around to see any more of their violent question and answer session. The keys from the door jingle when I shove them in my jacket pocket and move towards a door with a picture of a stairway next to it. Lucas and a few other team members are right behind me.
    The door creaks open into darkness. The others hit their flashlights, spattering the darkness with constantly moving light. It makes it hard to focus so I create a glowing orb like the one we found so useful in the cave. This one is slightly larger. Everyone’s lights click off and to their credit they only stare for a moment.
    There’s nothing other than darkness and dirt down at least four flights of stairs. No one stands guard at the bottom: only the large, heavy looking metal door and the padlock chaining it shut. I dig the keys out from my pocket and hand them to Lucas, who begins to try keys out until we hear the click of the lock opening. The chains rattle and echo loudly throughout the empty stairwell above us.
    It takes two of us to get the