Nova P.O.V

Date: December 15, 2238

Regret swelled inside my chest as soon as we left the tunnel, and an icy blast of air hit us. A reality check from Mother Nature, but it was much too late to retract my decision. I'd put on a brave front for Troy and the others, but mainly for myself. Cause I feared if I contemplated too deeply who we were attempting to find, I'd stop. And I'd imagine anyone else would in my position.

A thief, and even worse by my purview, Troy's ex.

Sure, she was Maddox's cousin, but that didn't change the fact she and Troy were once together. But oh, well. You live, and you learn. C'est la vie. And all that jazz.

Throughout the trip, my chattering teeth provided a soundtrack as we glided along the train tracks. And when we'd finally reached our destination, I leaped off the machine, risking twisting my ankle in my haste to get away from it.

After a short hike through the forest, we stood, hidden amongst the trees, observing the warehouse. For how long? I couldn't be sure. But the pain in my lower back and the snowflakes on my eyelashes told me far too long.

A cold blast of pine-scented air brought my attention back to the warehouse.

No one.

Not a single person had left or approached the building since we'd arrived, and the blacked-out windows didn't allow us even a glimpse inside.

"Jax? Jax!" Troy's voice sounded through my earpiece. He was behind the tree and a few feet ahead of me on my left side.

"Yeah?" Jax's voice came back.

"Did you get in touch with Ryder?"

"Yeah, he's coming. He's still fifteen minutes out."

"Okay. That should give us enough time to do what we need to do. Can you give us a rundown of what's inside? And how many people were dealing with?"

"I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine. I can only access the outside cameras." Jax spoke over rapid keyboard clicks. "Just before you guys arrived, I saw two people unload something from the back of the truck before disappearing inside, but that's about it. Sorry, I can't give a more accurate count."

I looked at the single set of footprints leading from the black armored truck to the warehouse and the path of the tire tracks imprinted in the snow, confirming what Jax told us.

"That'll do, Jax. How many exits?"

"I only see two. The front and a side door near the loading dock."

"Okay, let's move in," Troy commanded.

We jogged from the treeline to the side of the warehouse, pressing our shoulders against the cold brick wall. Troy eased forward, peeking around the corner to check the entrance.

I stepped forward, following after him. When my boot thumped against a dark object poking out of the snow, I stopped.

"What's that?" Maverick asked.

I kicked away the snow, revealing the object. "Toy gun."

"Give it to me," Maverick said with his hand out. "It could come in handy."

Shrugging, I passed it to him.

"I have an idea," He said, blinking away the snowflakes sticking to his eyelashes while tucking the gun into his waistband. "We don't have the man or firepower to go barging inside the warehouse, and there's no telling how many people are inside. But the one thing we have is the element of surprise on our side."

"Alright, what's your plan?" Troy asked.

"Cut the electricity and let them come to us."

Troy slowly nodded in approval. "I like it. Let's do it."

Maverick jogged towards the back of the warehouse while Troy and I remained in our position. A short while later, Maverick's voice came through the earpiece. "Done," he said.

Not long after, the squeak of the front door opening broke through the quiet of the night as an unknown amount of assailants exited the warehouse.

"One person is coming your way." Jax voiced through the earpiece.

I slowly exhaled, listening to the rapid crunching of footsteps drawing nearer and nearer. A man rounded the corner but stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Troy's raised gun leveled precisely with his head.

His chest rapidly rose and fell, expelling thick, visible puffs of air from his mouth as his wide eyes roved over us.

"Ya move, ya dead," Troy warned, cocking his gun.

The man's Adams Apple bobbed twice in his throat, but other than that, he didn't so much as move a muscle.

"Powers back on," Maverick's voice came through the earpiece. "I'm heading back your way."

Neither Troy nor I responded to his words since we were absorbed in studying the man. The faint light from the street poles didn't allow a clear view of his face. I could only make out a soul patch beneath his thin, pale lips and a pointy, stubby nose.

The walkie-talkie clipped to the man's pants chirped before a deep voice spoke. "Hey, what's going on out there?"

I snatched the walkie-talkie off the man's pants as Troy kept his gun aimed at him.

"Answer him," Troy growled. "And I'm warning you. You better not say anything stupid."

The man gave a brisk nod before I raised the walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"The wind knocked out the power." The man answered.

I quickly released the button and lowered the walkie-talkie before he could say anything else.

"Alright, hurry up and get back inside. So we can get this done and get out of here." The man's partner commanded through the walkie-talkie.

"Okay." He said in response when I raised the walkie-talkie back to his mouth.

"What's your name?" Maverick asked when he rejoined us.

"John Smith." He answered, the corner of his lips curling upward.

"John Smith?" Troy scoffed. "Fucking asshole."

"How many people are inside? Huh?" Maverick questioned.

John, or whatever his name is, remained silent.

Maverick pressed the barrel of his gun deep into his side and repeated the question.

John winced and gritted his teeth. "Just one."

"Just one? Okay." Maverick said, sucking his teeth. "What are you two doing out here at this time of the night?"

"I could ask you the same thing. It must be past your bedtime." John cheekily replied, smirking.

"You're funny," Troy stated monotonously, dragging his knuckle across his eyebrow. "Now, answer the question." His clipped, icy tone rivaled the current temperature.

"W-we are unloading some supplies." The man stammered.

"What's so important that you're unloading it in this weather? Huh?" Maverick asked, shooting daggers with his eyes at John.

The man's jaw clenched as he stared at Troy silently.

"No answer," Troy said. "Well, John Smith, you are going to escort my friends and me inside, and we're going to see for ourselves what you were unloading."

"Move," Maverick ordered, shoving the man forward.

Troy tapped his earpiece. "Jax, we're heading inside. Let us know if anyone comes in after us."

"Got it."

"Keep comms open," Troy stated as we stepped around the corner, following behind John.

"He looks familiar," Maverick whispered to me.

I tilted my head as my eyes scanned the man's profile. Nothing about him seemed familiar to me. "Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think I've seen him somewhere before."

"Where?"

"Can't remember."

"Alright, well, let us know when you figure it out. We don't need any surprises."

Maverick nodded in agreement.

All of us fell silent when we stood in front of the entrance.

Blinding white light spilled out onto the ground from inside the warehouse as the man pulled open the door and rushed inside.

"Slow down," Maverick growled, yanking John's collar. His eyes scanned both sides of the entrance before he cautiously proceeded inside. "Clear."

Troy grunted before we entered the building, stepping into a Y-shaped corridor. I squinted, allowing my eyes to adjust to the all-white walls and matching floors. There was not a speck of color unless you considered the two thick silver doors at the end of each passage blocking the way.

The metal slab bolting both doors only piqued my curiosity as to what lay on the other side. I dragged my eyes away from them to the small windowless room in the middle of the floor. A chill went down my spine as we crept towards it, with John leading the way.

Troy hummed in approval when John thrust his hands in the air and kept them there.

"What's inside here?" Troy asked when we stood before the room.

"Nothing," John stated, slowly lowering his hands.

"Bullshit! Open the fucking door!" Maverick snapped.

John immediately reached for the handle but stopped with his hand hovering above it when Troy said, "Wait! What's behind these two doors?"

"N-"

"Hold on. Let me guess. Nothing." Troy interjected warily, eyeing the two bolted metal doors on each side of the small room. "Don't worry. We'll check inside there next."

John said nothing, just opened the door. The space inside the room was more cramped than I imagined, with a white control desk and two rolling chairs taking up most of it.

"You lied to me, John," Troy stated. His voice was gravely low as he glared at the back of John's head. "You told us there was only one person inside. Where did you learn to count? Huh?"

John's head bowed slightly as beads of sweat appeared along his hairline.

My eyes shifted to Maverick as he rushed inside the room, opening the door wider.

I gasped as my eyes finally landed on Karla, Sky, and Andrew sitting against the back wall with their feet and hands bound together. A black cloth covered their mouths as their watery red-rimmed eyes looked at us. Shock, relief, and anger hit me at once and froze me in that spot.

"Quickly untie them," Troy instructed.

His words broke me out of my stupor, and I immediately rushed to Andrew's side and uncovered his and Sky's mouth.

"You guys alright? Did they hurt you?" Maverick kneeled in front of Karla and pulled down the cloth tied around her mouth before cutting the rope binding her arms with a Swiss army knife.

"We're fine. We're fine. Just get us out of here," Karla answered as Maverick pulled her into his chest for a quick hug.

A smile made its way across my face while watching the two cousins reunite. We'd done it. We'd found them. Well... almost all of them.

"Where's Ashley?" I asked.

"They took him somewhere," Andrew said.

Maverick handed the knife to Karla for her to untie the other before crossing over to John with his gun raised to his head. "Where's Ashley?! Where did you take him?!" He demanded.

John stared him down and kept stone quiet.

"Oh, sh-" Troy's voice trailed off as he stared wide-eyed out the window overlooking the desk.

"What?! What is it?!" Maverick asked, eyes switching back and forth between John and Troy.

"You won't believe me if I tell you."

I went over to the window to see for myself. My jaw dropped at the rows and rows of cages throughout the warehouse. Their gray bricked walls shielded what was inside, but the barbed wires strung along the top allowed a clear view. Each one had a steel bolted door, but that didn't seem enough to contain the pack of snarling mutants inside.

A chill ran down my spine as I watched the thin gray bodies sway in perfect sync as if they were all a part of a single mechanism.

I gasped, spotting a man shoving Ashley towards one of the cages. "Ashley's in there!"

"In the cage?! Which one?!" Troy asked.

"No! There!" I jammed my finger against the glass as the man continued to nudge Ashley forward, kicking aside dusty toys and crumpled pieces of clothes lying scattered on the floor until they reached one of the cages.

"Move!" Troy grabbed John by the hood of his jacket, shoving him from the room. "Maverick, open the door!"

Maverick quickly pressed one of the buttons on the control panel, unbolting the right door before joining Troy.

"You guys got company. Someone's entering from the side door." Jax frantically announced through the earpiece.

Neither Troy nor Maverick responded as they opened the door and stepped out onto the stairs. Both were preoccupied with stopping the man from pushing Ashley into the cage full of mutants.

"You sick son of a bitch!" Troy yelled. "Let him go!"

The man pressed a button near the cage door. Another chill went down my spine as the eerie click of the door unlatching reverberated through the warehouse. Ignoring Troy, the man pulled open the door.

"Tell him to let him go," Troy demanded, shoving John hard into the stair handrail.

John stared straight ahead with his jaw clamped shut, refusing to say anything.

Suddenly, the side door flew open, and to my and everyone's surprise, Dean Winston rushed inside. When he saw Ashley, his footsteps tapered off before stopping altogether. His wide-blown gaze swept the room quickly, and as they passed over us, the shock and confusion twisting his features deepened.

Muffled noises drew our attention back to Ashley.

"Shut up!" The man shouted with a sharp yank on the back of his shirt.

Ashley's red-tinged eyes pleaded up at us as he struggled against the man's hold, but the bindings around his wrists limited his movement.

Dean Winston took one step closer to the pairing, but the man held up his hand. "Don't come-" He started, but before he could finish, multiple pairs of arms wrapped around him and Ashley, snatching them into the cage.

I clamped my eyes shut as they tore into their flesh, and blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the room.

"Get inside! Get inside!" Troy yelled, shuffling us back through the doorway.

I opened my eyes to see Dean Winston running for the stairs with mutants hot on his heels. Their ravenous black gazes locked on him despite the fresh blood still chilling on their lips.

"How do we shut the door?!" Karla asked, dragging me into the control room.

"I don't know. It's gotta be one of these buttons." I scanned the panel while simultaneously keeping an eye on the boys. "Check that side."

Muffled gunshots traveled through the doorway as Troy and Maverick fired at the mutants close behind Dean Winston. One after the other, gray limbs flailed while tumbling down the stairs.

"Inside! Inside!" Troy commanded as Dean Winston cleared the last two steps. He waited until the others were through the doorway before rushing in after them and shutting the door behind him. "Lock it! Lock the door, Nova!"

I hit the button, and everything's suddenly thrown into darkness. It's pitch black, even out beyond the glass. The emergency lights come on, a strobe of white cutting through the dark.

"What happened, Nova?" Troy asked.

"I don't-I don't know. The power just went out."

"You're screwed!" John chuckled, backing up down the hallway. "You're screwed! Why do you think I was running to turn the electricity back on? If there's no power, the mutants will get out of the cages."

Oh, god. I collapsed against the frame of the doorway, staring at John. The news literally sucked the air from my lungs.

"Get back here!" Troy barked, stepping away from the door. He snatched my gun and aimed it at John as he turned and ran.

"Forget about him!" Dean Winston snapped, straining to keep the door closed.

"Fuck!" Troy handed me back the gun before returning to the door and pressing his weight against it. But it wasn't quite enough. Gray claws poked through the crack, swiping in their direction.

"Nova, get them out of here! We'll be right behind you." Troy commanded through gritted teeth as they fought to lessen the opening. "Have Jax led you to Ryder."

I nodded and took two steps before turning back to look at them. Every part of me was refusing to leave them behind. To leave him behind. There just had to be another way. A way we all got out together. But for the life of me I couldn't see it.

"Nova! Get them out of here." Troy reiterated, snapping me out of my daze.

"Let's go!" I yelled before leading Sky, Karla, and Andrew away.