ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Tethered ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Chapter 39

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• Luna •

Luna believed she heard Liberty scream, but it was not her. It was Selena.

"What the hell?" Greer shouted and grabbed a gun. He and Zander guarded Zain's body like soldiers.

Amir stopped Luna from reaching Zain by wrapping his arm around her waist. He snatched her up and turned immediately. When the room blurred, the back window exploded.

Agents stormed the house with large weapons while their feet pounded. The back door crashed against the wall. The side door followed, plunging into the kitchen counter. During the rain, men in full body armor with firearms entered the house.

And they were not standard guns.

Recognizing the specialized weapons they had just been looking at, Luna grabbed Amir's arm and her breath seized in terror.

The men swiftly split throughout the house, aiming their rifles at every living person. One flick of the trigger was all it took for them to die. Amir held her tight as she frantically looked around the room. Greer held his gun with one hand. Selena and Liberty held each other in the corner, horrified, while Zander changed from white mist to his physical body.

Several agents wore the same ski masks they all had seen on the road in destroyed communities. Luna was petrified of their appearance at this home, even if they were probably a different organization. None of them looked like BARDA or were wearing the DNA logo on their clothes, and her group was found there.

One of the agents spoke up. "We want Luna Khan."

Amir's breath brushed against her cheek. "You'd have to go through me first."

"Not a problem."

She clenched.

Amir grunted, and his chest rumbled against her back. "You better back the hell off of her."

"There are two options: the simple way or the hard way." The man who was speaking cocked his head. "We prefer the easy way. If you don't give her to us, we'll start eliminating you one by one."

The air whirred around Zander.

"And maybe you'll kill a few of us along the way," the agent continued, his voice terrifyingly calm. "But we'll kill all of you. Ready to take that chance?"

Luna was convinced of Amir's response. Yep, he would take that chance.

Zander clenched his teeth in rage. "You murdered my brother!"

"He was an easy target." The man cast a glance at Amir before returning his gaze to Luna. "We came here for one reason, and we're not leaving until we get who we came for."

When Luna saw the weapon pointed at Liberty, her heart raced. Her sister was quick now, extremely fast, due to all of the serums she had been pumped up with, but was she fast enough to run? Will she end up like Zain? Gone before she reached the floor? The same for Greer. She admired him and did not want him to die. And what about the rest of them? She liked Zander and Selena's generosity despite not knowing them well.

Her neck shivered. Amir? She loved him—she was madly in love with him and couldn't bear the thought of him dying.

She couldn't handle more deaths around her.

They were all going to suffer because the agents wanted her. Their weapons would kill them. A shocking realization appeared. She had one option.

"Let us have Mrs. Khan, and all of you will leave," the man uttered. "Alive and well."

Greer twitched his fingers at his side. "I'm curious why you'd want just Luna and not Amir but are willing to let us go."

Luna was feeling optimistic at that point. Greer knew what they wanted, but he was playing dumb.

'I am, Luna,' he said quietly into her thoughts. 'Stay put. Over a dozen agents have surrounded the house. And you're right. They aren't from BARDA.'

She shuddered, closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them.

The man speaking did not take his eyes away from Amir and her. "We have our orders. That's all you need to know."

When Selena's eyes widened, Luna's breath caught.

"Well, obviously you don't work for BARDA," Selena replied, her tone light.

"You're right," the man remarked, his sinister expression dwindling. "Our orders are not from them."

Amir gained power. Luna felt it vibrate. Electricity jolted his body. She took advantage of his change. He shoved her behind him. She didn't need seconds to decide.

She saw Zain on the floor.

She studied their attackers.

She imagined what would happen if they shot Liberty, her husband, or anyone else in front of her, and they died as a result of her. She didn't want that. Cooperation was her only solution.

Luna yanked free, only seeing Amir's stunned affirmation.

"All right!" she yelled, raising her hands. "I'll come along if no one else is harmed."

Liberty's eyes were filled with fear. "Luna."

'Luna . . .' Her thoughts were filtered by Amir's voice. 'Do not do this.'

"It's fine." She stepped around him, toward the man who had spoken. "Everything will be fine, Amir."

She was convinced it wouldn't be.

She knew it was bad when the agent grabbed her arm and dragged her forward. She knew they might kill everyone in the room, but she had to walk. She had to stop watching from the sidelines.

Her ears rang when she followed them. The staircase overwhelmed her.

Amir was quiet, but she could sense his strength growing behind her and bursting the house.

Four men stared. One pulled her other elbow and pushed her. While being jerked off the porch, Luna wanted to make a sarcastic comment. Her quivering hindered her from showing her powers.

While the rain poured harder and the sky was darker, she walked on shaky legs and tugged her hair loose. She knew what was happening. They weren't taking her outside to talk. They weren't leading her across the yard or into another city, pushing her past the deep row of trees to have a picnic.

Knowing they were going to do something terrible to her frightened her.

One of the men shouted, "Stay there."

Luna obeyed while trembling and staring straight ahead. The huge tree branches weren't dripping, but the stumps in front of her were fuzzy. She was going to be killed. She couldn't breathe. Before she could live with her family or have children with Amir, she was going to disappear. She realized that even while she and Amir frequently connected to their future selves, exploring their visions, they were continually altering their present. Because of that, she may have wrecked their chances of ever having a family.

That thought hit her deeply.

The agent commanded, "Stay."

She stopped herself from following the command quickly. "Make me."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to make this easy for you," she said, releasing a breath. She faced him to avoid being gunned down from behind. "I'm not—"

Suddenly, Luna's jaw erupted in pain. She wobbled after she touched her sore face. Blood burned in her throat. She was struck, and it stung.

A hand pushed her forward. "I didn't say look at me."

Another hand on her shoulder forced her to kneel. She slumped forward, her eyes wide, her fingers digging into the damp, loose soil. She opened her mouth. Blood poured on her hands.

It was red. Normal fluid.

She sensed a dull aching in the back of her skull when she saw herself in a steel cage with opponents.

A vision.

A man whispered, 'Get them before they get you,' while they fought her. Her bruises and severe cramps confirmed this. 'Prove yourself. Show me why I should keep you alive, Luna. Take them down!' the voice screamed.

Then, a deep inner switch was flicked.

She knew she was connecting to a different timeline, but she didn't know when. She felt obligated to unleash hell.

Fury crawled through her and outward, causing a sonic boom.

Someone close to her said, "Oh, crap. Tranquilize her. Now. Get—"

Luna looked at the man with a rifle. The ground shook under her palms. The earth rumbled when she imagined the man before her being swept up by the wind and thunderstorm. She wanted to get rid of him.

Like a thousand snakes, Luna's fingertips ruffled rich, black soil. It immediately sprouted oily, sticky tendrils to the man's boots. He shrieked, raising the rifle's barrel. When the ground gave way and sucked him up, the rifle fired into a nearby tree.

He was buried.

Gone.

Forgotten.

She rose and swiftly turned to confront the hooded man behind her. Her palm extended. "Float."

He was immediately hoisted high into the trees and tangled in the branches as they whirled around him and smothered his body. He screamed until he couldn't.

She spun to face another agent.

He dropped his weapon and begged, "Please don't. You—"

Luna folded her fingers into her palm. "Crush."

His shoulders collapsed and his head jerked right. He bent, snapped, and crunched. He was now a tangled mess.

She spun after a gunshot and dodged the bullet. The yard gleamed white. A pained wail broke the silence. Another strong wind swept the clearing, knocking over the man across from her. He clutched his revolver.

He was burning, so it wasn't her.

She stood with her head tilted to the side.

Another gunshot and sapphire light rattled the earth. The men's guns flew up. Then they disappeared below the surface.

A man sauntered. "I can't believe I had to come out here in the rain to rescue you, Moon," he said, looking at her with angelic light.

She groaned. "I have no use for you."

Movement caught Luna's attention. She raised her arm and the men to her right whirled toward the branches. At the speed of light, they fell back to Earth.

Someone charged the angelic man, who bowed his head. "Seriously?"

Angel, as she named him, caught the man by the throat. A painful crack came from another one coming behind him.

He laughed and kicked the man's legs. After seizing him by his shirt, Angel pummeled him. His hand flashed white.

Luna stared at the angel. As the light shone around him, the agent he was holding roared. The forest smelled of charred flesh and soil in seconds.

Angel had power.

Threatening.

Quick.

A problem.

But she was powerful.

Luna raised both arms and howled. The branches trembled and twisted when a cold blast blew her hair back. Split trees sprung. One that cut through the grass immediately hit her closest enemy in the chest. More men went down.

Air had been stimulated. Burned aerosol scent intensified. When she levitated, lightning struck overhead, shaking the branches and buckling the ground under her.

Long, withering roots were reflected when the trunks tore themselves from the ground. Lush, moist earth spilled forth.

Someone mumbled, "Holy hell."

Luna clapped her hands together.

Angel ducked when tree limbs sailed across the yard, settling on the ground while fleshy moans and frightened screams faded abruptly.

Silence.

She crouched, extended her fingers, and dropped her arms.

Luna stared at the angel-like figure after a twig broke. He ran towards her when she lifted her hand.

He stopped, his eyes slightly expanding as his damp hair curled back from his forehead. "Baby . . ."

She studied him.

His hands slowly raised in surrender. "Luna."

Names.

Her mind drifted through names. Moon. Luna. Reneé. They had meaning and weight, but Angel was forceful. Because he could, she couldn't let him hurt her. Nope.

"It's me." He sounded calm. "Amir."

"Someone missed gardening." She turned to face the voice after hearing a man speak. "I like what you've done with the place. It's impressive."

He had yellow and white eyes and olive skin. She could see a blond man and two dark-haired women trailing behind him. Masked men were still moving, and some of them ran between trees.

"Liberty . . . Selena," the blond said, facing them. "Keep your distance. Luna's been activated."

"No shit," the olive-skinned man said. "We're screwed."

"You're not helping, Greer," the other man replied.

"Zander, what's happening with my sister?" one brunette asked, staring at her. "I don't want anyone to hurt her."

"We aren't," Zander replied. "Luna doesn't know us or what she's doing."

"Someone put her down!" shouted an agent in a ski mask.

"Shut up," the other brunette said, her long hair dancing over her shoulder. "We've got this."

Greer followed Ski Mask, disappearing in the rain. Lazarus Souls would always outrun the masked men. That was their purpose. Screams filled the woods after he pursued him. Luna deemed each person a threat to her survival.

The man who fought with her whispered, "I'm still with you, Moon." Angel. "Don't worry, we'll help you."

She shifted her head from side to side as Zander, who she could tell was an Engineered Soul, muttered under his breath, and she noticed the electricity swirling inside her again. The white mist around him demonstrated his strength.

A conflict.

A threat.

"Stop!" yelled Angel. "Moon, you need to calm down!"

Moon?

He kept calling her "Moon" and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Angel stood in front of the agent, the man's white hair blowing back from his stern face, his shirt tearing around his waist.

Everything in her was centered on him. Luna cocked her head to the side and pounded her fist, picturing Angel's body caving and cracking, yielding to her power.

But that didn't happen.

Angel took a step toward her, his lips pressed together in a soft smile. "Moon, it's me. Amir. You must get out of this. I know you can."

She squeezed her palms even tighter, causing Amir to scream in agony. Seconds turned into minutes, and a bloodbath was on the horizon.

Luna was on the prowl for her prey, with each of them surrounding her.

━━─── • ───━━━

Yep, Luna has flipped her switch. Her previous vision (from "Encounter") has come true. It's time to hide your friends and family. Nobody is safe around her.