Marcus goes through the fence first, then he turns invisible. The rest of us slither through and I set off with Gabriel and Sameen, fast.
I reach the door ahead of Gabriel and kick it in with so much force it almost hits me back in the face. I’m stunned by what I see, though. It’s not an empty hangar—there are three rows of bunk beds extending the full length. Enough to sleep nearly a hundred people. All the beds are empty, or so it seems, but we have to check. I drop to the ground and look under them. It’s so new and unused that there’s nothing here. But I can’t see to the far end and now I wish Nesbitt was with me.
Gabriel says, “Sameen, stay here. Guard the door. I’ll take the right. Nathan, you take the left.” And he runs past me down the right-hand side to the far end of the hangar, shouting, “Empty. Empty. Empty. Empty.”
I get up and go slightly slower down the left aisle. But I see no one; there are no corners to hide in. Gabriel meets me at the far end and we come back, running and double-checking. As we reach Sameen gunfire bursts out from another hangar.
Five Hunters run from the middle hangar toward the gate. And I’m chasing them, going for the fastest one first. I tackle her, my knife in my hand, and slit her throat in a single movement. She was a novice; she didn’t even fight. The girl behind is now running past me and I tackle her, punch her. She’s out cold. I look round and see Gabriel has shot one of them, two I think, as there’s only one still upright. Sameen caught her but she’s knocked Sameen back.
The Hunter starts to run but I’m in her path and I catch her, swing her round, and stab her in the stomach, ripping upward. I let her body drop to the ground and notice Marcus coming toward us from the gate. He passes the unconscious body of the Hunter. The second one I got. She’s starting to groan.
Marcus goes to her and breaks her neck.
More shots coming from the hangars. Marcus heads to the far one. I run to the middle one with Gabriel and Sameen.
Olivia is at the doorway. She looks terrified. She says, “They’ve shot Greatorex. She can’t get out.”
Greatorex is inside the hangar on the floor, surrounded by dead bodies of trainee Hunters. She’s alive because she’s being protected by a body lying on top of her. More gunfire comes from the far end of the hangar.
I say to Gabriel and Sameen, “I’ll crawl in and grab Greatorex. You two’ll have to pull us both out.”
Gabriel shoots at the back of the hangar while I slide in along the floor as low as possible, the bodies around Greatorex providing cover for me too. I grab Greatorex’s wrists. They’re thinner, more delicate than I was expecting. She’s light.
“Pull!” I shout. Gabriel and Sameen drag us out. The Hunter’s body comes with us. But we slide out and onto the grass and then roll to the side.
Greatorex has been shot in the leg. Olivia cuts her trouser leg away to look at the wound.
“How many in there?” I ask.
“Four, I think,” Greatorex replies. She looks like she’s going to pass out.
“What do you want to do?” Gabriel asks.
“Not commit suicide,” I say. “Wait for Marcus.” The hangar next door has gone quiet and we don’t have to wait for long.
Celia, Claudia, and Marcus join us.
“Are we all clear here?” Celia asks.
“No,” Gabriel replies. “There are four more inside here, at the far end. Fully armed.”
Marcus says, “Don’t come in for a few minutes.” Then he goes invisible and we wait.
There’s a blast of lightning, and the far end of the hangar is in flames and then there’s a burst of gunfire, and another and another.
Finally it goes silent. We hold the door of the hangar open to see in. The only movement is of flames and smoke.
Marcus appears beside me. “Five of them,” he says.
Celia looks at Gabriel and says, “Do a body count, now. And make sure it’s right. If any are alive I want to keep them that way. I want to talk to them.”
Gabriel and Sameen disappear and Celia moves to check on Greatorex.
Nesbitt limps over and slumps down on the ground beside me. His face is bruised and one eye is swollen shut.
“Where were you, partner?” I ask.
“One of the Hunters came out and saw me when I was scouting about. Bloody expert in kung-fu or something, she was. Took me ages to sort her out. What did I miss?”
I’m tempted to make a comment about lots of people dying but I’m too tired.
“Greatorex got shot in the leg. It’s lucky none of us got killed,” I say.
Gabriel and Sameen return at a run, sliding to the ground beside us. Gabriel says, “Twenty-two. Four older-looking Hunters, so I guess they’re the trainers, and eighteen younger ones. All dead.”
“A few more than ten recruits and two Hunters,” I say. Though I can’t blame Nesbitt. I’m angrier at Celia for taking the risk. If Marcus hadn’t been with us it would have been harder for sure. Some of us would be dead.
Celia says, “We need to get Greatorex back to base. Start collecting whatever we can use. We go in ten minutes.”
Blondine