"Will, now!"

At Terra's urging, Will flooded the hall with his Darkness, casting his power wide. The entire council cried out in unison as they reeled in terror, some slumping over the table, others grasping wildly in the air. President Senn crumpled to the floor, trembling in stiff convulsion. The Darkness hit Terra as well. Staggering and gasping at the sickening vertigo, she reached out blindly toward Will. He caught her in his arms before she fell, holding her against his chest.

This Dark cast was much stronger than what we practiced.

Will lifted Terra into his arms, then raced up the ramp. Not till he opened the door did she recover enough for him to put her down. Glancing back, Terra noted the council was still incapacitated.

The three guards outside were also disabled. The two higher function Talents lay twitching against the wall, while the other guard sat at his desk with a blank stare on his face. After Will settled Terra into a chair, he gathered sets of fighting spikes from two and a handgun from the other. By this time, Terra stood on her own, although wavering. He handed her the spikes, which she stuffed into her boots.

"That was intense, Will." Terra said, bent over and shaking off the last remnants of the Darkness.

"Are you alright?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Terra took a deep breath and straightened up. "We have overstayed our welcome. Time to leave."

As they rounded the corner, they came upon Hex and Walt, dazed and leaning against the wall.

Hex glared at her. "What the hell, Terra!"

Will answered for her. "That was me, Hex. Sorry you got caught up in it. You should be okay in a few minutes."

Walt said, "Terra, you and Will need to go now. I will trip the front-side alarms while you go out the back."

Terra hugged Hex and Walt, one after the other. "Thank you both. For everything."

Breaking into a run, Terra guided Will hand-in-hand toward the back door. They startled two guards along the way, but telekinetic pushes by Terra and a focused Darkness cast from Will quickly incapacitated them.

The last door to the outside was manually locked, but Terra's psi-surgical skills made quick work of the lock. Will pushed the door open, but the alarm did not sound.

Well done, Hex.

They sprinted to the truck. Will drove away with haste, but not so hast to attract undue attention.

As they left the city behind, Will let out a deep breath and smiled. "Wow."

Terra allowed herself a smile. "What was that you said? You are nothing but a little Dynasty? That really pissed him off."

"Yeah, but you already had him worked up."

"You were awesome, Will."

"No. We were awesome."

*****

Several hours passed as they made their way towards Freehold, where Terra now considered home. But a vague uneasy feeling lodged itself in her gut that she could not shake.

Her thoughts spilled out. "That was too easy."

"Easy?"

"We faced some of the most powerful Talent in the world and walked out without a scratch."

"Well, they had no idea what was about to hit them," Will reasoned. "Are you worried they are going to come after us again?"

"Well, yes, but that's not it. It will take them a while to recover. Near term, I am more worried about the Dynasty. I had hoped to come to an understanding with the Uprising to leave us alone." She paused while her heart pounded. "It's just a feeling I have now, maybe nothing."

"Don't worry," Will said with a comforting smile. "We are fine now."

Terra sat silent, gazing straight ahead. Her hand tightened on the door grip as the undefined anxiety grew stronger.

Something is wrong...

She snapped her head around, peering out the back window. Nothing. Slipping into the aura, Terra scanned for Talent while trying to minimize her signature. A bright entity stood out.

No!

At that moment, multiple projectiles slammed into the road just ahead of them, snaping divots in the pavement. Two more sliced into the right fender well with sharp cracks. Tires squealed as Will swerved. Within a second, another volley hit before Terra could throw up a shield. This time, the darts pierced the cab, popping and hissing around them with deadly intent.

Will jerked his head back and cried out in pain. The truck swerved, crossing the road and bouncing across the ditch, kicking up dirt as it spun to a stop in a field. In the commotion, Terra's head struck the side window, leaving her momentarily dazed.

The source of the gunfire revealed itself as an aircraft, powered by four roaring thrust fans, passed over the top of the truck and landed on the road just ahead.

Will hissed, clutching his side. His face grimaced as a red blossom grew under his hand, leaking onto the seat.

"Will!" Terra gasped, her eyes widening and breath shortening. She reached toward him.

He waved her off. "Not now. They are coming."

Opening his door, Will tumbled out to the ground. Terra followed him out and peered over the hood at the advancing group. There were three Talents followed by four Uprising soldiers armed with rifles. She recognized the arrogant smirk of the man in the lead.

Ian! The same insufferable brown-noser who nearly got her killed on a mission.

"Terra, are you surprised to see me?" Ian shouted over the din of the aircraft as the fans wound down. "I bet you did not expect an attack from above."

That was true. Flying machines were rarely used in conflict because they are so easily taken down by a sufficiently powerful Talent, if seen in time.

He sneered. "I put a tracer on your truck. Did you really think you could get away?"

Terra looked at Will, breathing a sigh of relief that he remained alert, although still clutching his bloody wound. He crawled toward the cab and motioned to Terra to keep Ian talking. Terra pulled several fighting spikes from her boots and laid them on the ground, including three, which she slid under the truck.

She yelled. "So Ian, how is your nose?"

"Funny Terra," he grunted. "But I think you actually improved my good looks."

Ian and those with him stopped in formation, and he raised a set of spikes in the air before him. The armed men shouldered their rifles, standing slightly crouched and ready for battle.

Pushing his chest out, Ian snorted. "Terra, I am going to give you a chance to give yourself up. But dead or alive, you are going back." A cruel grin came to his face. "You should be happy for me. I may even get a seat on the council for this."

She rolled her eyes. "Ian, you are a legend in your own mind."

Will reached in the cab and pulled out a handgun from behind the seat, and then crawled to the back of the truck. He glanced toward Terra and nodded, indicating he was ready for whatever she had planned.

A realization came to her. They may not even know Will is with me. We might use this to our advantage.

"Well, Terra, what is it going to be? Haven't got all day."

Terra held her right hand open, palm outward, at waist level so Will could see it. From behind the truck, she slowly stood to face Ian.

Ian shook his head. "I hoped you would fight."

Terra gritted her teeth and pushed into the aura. Simultaneously, she launched the three spikes under the truck, sending them whizzing to her foes, then ducked back down and dropped her hand. Will took the signal, rolled out from behind the truck, and cast the Darkness from a prone position. Flying low, Terra's spikes found their mark in the legs of two soldiers, causing them to cry out and drop to the ground. The other spike flew just wide of another.

Firing back just before the Darkness came upon him, Ian launched a spike. With a hiss, it flew just over Terra's head. Ian and the two other Talents staggered as if drunk as the Darkness overtook them, dropping to their knees. Terra leaned back against the truck, grasping the inside armrest on the open door to steady herself from the dizzying vertigo.

The gunman on Will's side leveled his rifle and fired, hitting the truck's back bumper and ricocheting with a sharp ping. Will took aim and returned fire, felling the gunman with a dart to the chest. He then spread darts toward the other three gunmen, causing the one still uninjured to dash toward the ditch. By this time Terra had recovered. Gritting her teeth, she lifted two spikes and sent them on their way toward the running gunman, striking him down.

Hot rage overtook Terra as she jumped out from behind the truck, clenching fists. The two gunmen who laid in the road with spikes imbedded in their legs both raised their rifles simultaneously. She sent them sprawling along the road with a telekinetic shove.

Ian rolled to his side on the road. He took a deep breath as he wiped a trickle of blood from a gash on his head. A sneer came to his lips as he reached for a discarded rifle that lay on the pavement nearby. Sitting up, he lifted the gun and leveled it toward Terra, but he never got the chance to pull the trigger. Will put two darts into his chest. With wide, vacant eyes, Ian slumped down, staining the pavement in crimson.

As Will and Terra surveyed the battleground, the flier powered up its fans with a loud whine, lifting from the road.

"Oh, no you don't," Terra muttered.

She launched two spikes, piercing both the windscreen and the pilot's chest. The hovercraft tilted, crashing down into the field beside the road and kicking up a cloud of dirt.

Will dropped his handgun and rolled on to his back, his breath shallow and rapid as color faded from his face. Fresh blood saturated his shirt and his pants at the waist, front and back. Terra rushed to his side.

Between difficult breaths, Will wheezed, "You were right, Terra. Something was wrong."

Terra pulled his shirt up to inspect the wound, only then understanding its severity. Blood streamed from a jagged gash in his side just below his ribcage, and also from an exit wound in his back above the hip. An icy dread crawled down her spine, for she knew this type of injury was easily fatal.

"Just stay with me, Will. Okay?" she said, struggling to not to sound as despondent as she felt. "We can get through this."

She shifted into the aura, attempting to use psi-surgery, but found that she could not with Will.

Damn it! He has no aura!

Returning to the truck cab, Terra retrieved with the first aid kit. She pushed as many gauze pads as she could into the wounds to help control the bleeding.

Terra spoke as calmly as she could. "Will, we need to get you to a hospital. Let's get you to the truck."

He responded weakly. "Okay."

Terra helped him slide into the seat and then took her place behind the steering wheel. Pressing more gauze pads over both the entry and exit wounds, she leaned him back in the seat and placed his hand over the gauze on his front.

"Keep some pressure on it as best you can."

Will nodded.

Terra stomped on the accelerator, but cursed as the truck wheels only spun in the soft, loose soil.

Will pointed at a button on the console. "Put it in four-wheel drive. Easy on my truck."

Out of the field, she sped off, leaving the carnage behind. Will's head bobbed as he struggled to stay awake.

"What if I make you some pancakes?" Terra said, hoping to distract Will from the pain.

"You know how to cook pancakes?"

"I can learn," she replied with a forced smile.

"So, would that be a sign of commitment?"

"It is for us."

Will's face paled. His head fell forward as he slumped down in the seat.

Terra skidded the truck to a stop. "Stay with me!"

She turned and supported his head against her shoulder. A river of tears streamed down her cheeks. "Will, don't you dare die on me!"