His memory wasn’t fuzzy. Gabriel had been standing, and then he heard a crack louder than the sonic boom of an F-18 breaking the sound barrier. Then he hit the street, the sky falling around him.
Coughing, he waved his hand in front of his face. The building he was leaning on was still standing, but there was crap all over the street. Had one of the Ground Team’s bombs gone astray? It wasn’t likely. They didn’t have anything stronger than a frag and fireworks. Nothing that could cause a dust cloud like this.
The street was to his right, so he turned, making his way to the underground substation. Maybe the air would be clearer there. He kept his right hand on the building, using it as a guide. Gloved hand fisted, he tried to work the tremors out of his legs as he walked. The pain was abating, not quite as sharp, but with the dull throb of vengeance tomorrow, if he lived long enough.
He walked farther than he thought he should. Head on a swivel, he could see indistinct shapes taking form—a downed stoplight Blake had used as a landmark when they first found the substation, a turned-over bus with the realtor’s face still uncomfortably intact.
Gabriel paused. The bus waspastthe substation. How could he have missed it? The building stopped right at the stairs. He couldn’t miss it.
Dread clutched at his chest. Turning on his heel, he jogged back the way he came. There! He’d missed the texture change under his glove. Gabriel hadn’t passed the stairs. The stairs were gone.
The entire opening to the Metro station was gone. Crushed beneath concrete.
“Judd!” Gabriel screamed, his voice ragged. “Tommy!”
His breath hitched as he screamed again, digging at the chunks. Swiping through dust until he could find a seam, anything to dig his fingers in. Bits fell out only to be replaced by a larger piece of concrete or a steel beam. His shirt caught on a jagged piece of glass, but he didn’t stop. They had to be fine. TheMetro was deep underground. They’ll just have to backtrack the way they came. He just needed a hole to shout through.
Gabriel spun his gun around and used the butt to slam against some loose debris. He threw his whole body into it.
His breathing was ragged, and his shoulder burned, but he hardly noticed. They were down there. His team. Gabriel had to get to them. Had to make sure they were okay.
Explosions echoed from the south, and Gabriel whipped around. He could just make out two trucks careening toward him.
The Ground Team.
Blinking sweat from his eyes, he looked back at the street. His sightline cleared, and he could see that there wasn’t just debris in the street. There was an entire fucking building.
The building adjacent to Queen Dolly’s rooftop was gone. It had been cleaved in two, collapsing into the street to make an impenetrable wall of concrete, steel beams, and construction material.
Their escape was gone.
Looking back over his shoulder, he watched as one of the trucks took a hit. It swerved out of control, catching a curb before spinning through the air. The men in the back were thrown out as the front bumper slammed into the second. Tires squealed as the second truck tried to avoid smashing into the downed one, spinning out until it slammed into a restaurant.
The doors popped open on the first vehicle, and people streamed out on unsteady legs. No one got out of the second truck. They didn’t have time to get their bearings. A FUD launched into the bed, crushing the cab under its jaw as it ripped through the frame to get to them. Someone screamed, and they started running toward him.
Toward the blocked exit.
That first FUD was joined by others. Monkey Cats streamed into the street, picking fights with the Off Formers even as they chased the humans. What was left of the Ground Team was running like hell, firing blindly over their shoulders for cover. Handler fire whizzed by them, exploding in chunks of molten heat. People screamed as they were immolated or smashed.
Gabriel didn’t look at their faces.
He advanced forward, withholding fire until he was close enough to provide cover. His gun barked, the familiar recoil rolling through his shoulder as he picked his targets. Gabriel was close enough to see Alvarez running backward, throwing a grenade into a cluster of Handlers. It popped off, knocking them sideways. The fragments barely penetrated their thick armor, glinting in the sun where they stuck. The Handlers barely paused.
Heat seared past him as ordinance struck the street. Gabriel winced but kept going forward. Reloading, he tossed his empty clip and concentrated his fire on the first FUD’s eyes. It paused, unable to see, when a Handler round struck it. The FUD didn’t even have time to clack its pincers.
Beaumont and Zoe were dragging Tyler between them, their faces red with effort. Tyler looked unconscious. Gabriel stepped between them and the oncoming aliens and unloaded his clip.
A Monkey Cat leapt over the smoking FUD and snatched a woman. Her scream was cut off with a sickening crunch. The Monkey Cat spat her limp body out. Blood dripping from its maw as it sighted on Gabriel.
Fury erased his fear and hesitation. He screamed as he fired at the thing. Bullets chewed through its skin, flesh, and thick amber blood spurting as it loped at him. It was three strides away when his gun clicked empty. He didn’t have time to grab his pistol.
Gabriel flipped the gun as the Monkey Cat leapt. Its bifurcated jaws spread and snapped onto the stock, knocking Gabriel back onto the street.
It hit him so hard the breath left his lungs. The Monkey Cat loomed over him, spit drooling onto his face and chest as it snapped at the gun, trying to wrench it out of Gabriel’s hands. He kicked at its chest and belly, clinging to the gun with everything he had. The Monkey Cat swung its head, dragging Gabriel across the asphalt. He felt it chew through his clothes.
Its fetid breath washed over him, crimson blood dripping off its teeth as it clawed at Gabriel’s head. He grunted, arms going numb with the shaking.
Bullets ripped through the Monkey Cat’s shoulder and neck. It snarled, leaping back and taking Gabriel’s gun with it. He scrambled backward, trying to put space between himself and the alien.