“No!” Lucy cried. “We have to do something. Now! Guys, think of something.”
Brace was still trying to crack the energy and reach me. I could feel our melding bond. It was strong, but there was something interfering with the connection. It was like a mini version of what had happened when the lalunas broke the bond. The cabinet continued to empty, one row of stored energy after another, and then – it was all gone.
I cried out, but there was no sound, my agony silent within the barrier. The energy leaving me now was my own, wrenching out of my well inside. Walker and First World power flowed, and further weakening spread through my limbs. My knees crumbled and I hit the deck, just managing to keep myself from face-planting.
I knew Brace was losing it. I could sense the way he tried to get to me, and I wanted to reassure him, but I could barely hold on to the small semblance of lucidity I still possessed.
In the end, right before I knew the last of my essence would be stolen, I decided to stop fighting the force. Instead, with a final surge of strength, I threw myself at the field and went with the flow. My body jerked in a forward motion; I was off the boat and out into the barrier.
Holy crap. What had I done?
The moment I became part of the barrier, the flow of energy from within cut off. I was swimming through the air, following the electronic pulses. It was sort of like body-surfing the electromagnetic force.
Behind me the shield continued disintegrating, but whatever was tugging me along managed to keep me in front of the destruction. I knew there was no point struggling or stressing. I would save that for when I finally reached my destination. My eyes scanned the surroundings. I wanted a heads up if I was about to face-plant into a mountain or something.
I continued to fly across the ocean. Its sheer size and beauty was both mesmerizing and calming. Since I was trapped, I had little choice but to relax and watch the white wash below, water surging and crashing against itself. There was also the flip and shine of scales as fish ducked and dived with the currents. Even a few of the larger variety could be seen in the clear depths.
During this time small slivers of energy started filtering back into my depths. Which was a relief. I’d been severely depleted, like almost dead. But since I wasn’t dead, my Walker side was kicking into gear – regenerating me. No doubt, wherever I ended up, I was going to need as much energy as possible.
Movement was limited within the field, but I could shift my head far enough to keep track of the destruction behind me. The energy back there continued to fissure and shatter. Now, I was no measurement expert, but to my untrained eye, the gap between me and the destruction was getting smaller.
What would happen if it reached me before I reached my destination? Would I also crack and shatter, since I now seemed to be integrated into the barrier? Or would I simply drop into the depths of the oceans? I hoped I didn’t have to find out. I did not need to add anything new to my craptastic list of the week.
Have I mentioned lately that the Seventine were asshats? Stupid. Douchebucket. Asshats.
I felt marginally better after cursing them out. Nothing like a good swear-athon to keep a girl sane.
It was silent in the barrier, but as the fracturing loomed closer, my sensitive Walker hearing picked up a metallic screeching sound. Great. If the noise level was increasing, then it was definitely closer. My heart rate sped up. I craned my neck to see if there were any visible landmarks yet – where was the barrier taking me? The answer remained a mystery for a few more moments, but then finally I noticed that the ocean was tapering off and land was visible. Was this crazy ride actually coming to an end?
I mentally urged my body forward, and in some sort of strange jolt I actually started moving faster through the shield. Maybe I did have some control here. I tried again, and sure enough I surged even further forward. Narrowing my eyes against the sun and wind, I focused on the endgame target. Which was to get off this freaking ride-from-hell. I was suddenly mimicking an arrow, zooming through with the force of a projectile. At the start my flying speed had been slow and relaxing, now it was fast enough to have my stomach turning and swirling.
Lucy and I had attended a carnival once, when we were about eight. Back before it was quite so dangerous out on the streets. I hadn’t been a big fan of thrill rides then, but now I found something quite exhilarating as I flew through the air at hundreds of miles an hour.
The shield was over land now, but it wasn’t New York City. Somewhere more in the countryside, with lots of brown grass and even a few scattered trees. I had never seen trees within the downtown area.