They all started to jog through the forest. She pulled down her night-vision goggles. She could see the body heat hiding beneath the dark cover of the bushes. Every time she spotted a heat signature, she used her mind and tossed it against whatever she could find to knock them out, trees, rocks, anything she could use as a weapon on her quest to get to Rick.
They rounded the building. Screams and yelling were now muted in the distance. They slowed to a walk. Her heart was ready to beat out of her chest. It wasn’t that the jog had winded her. It was their surroundings. She needed to get to Rick and fast. Micah’s hand stilled before he pulled open the steel door. He glanced over his shoulder. “There’s even more inside.”
Briggs grabbed another gun out of his holster. “Where are they holding him in case you get killed?”
Micah pointed. “Down the hall to the right, third door on the left.”
Briggs nodded once and glanced at her. He lifted a brow and shrugged toward Micah. “Knock him out.”
Micah’s mouth dropped open. Lydia flipped her wrist and sent Micah flying into the metal building. His unconscious body slid down the wall to the wet ground, leaving him lying in a heap. Briggs pushed the button on his com. “We’re around the back about to go in and get Thompson. We have an informant knocked out cold. Someone come get him and take him back to the truck. We might need him later.”
“10-4, an unknown voice replied.
Briggs stepped in front of her. “Are you ready for this?”
Lydia nodded. Even though she was on a mission, the butterflies were still assaulting her. She wasn’t a violent person, but she’d do what she had to when it came to protecting someone she loved. “Yep, the quicker we get in and get him, the faster we can get the hell out of here.”
Feet pounding against the ground could be heard from the side of the building. Someone was coming to them. Briggs spun around and lifted his gun, aiming at the intruder until he realized who it was. He whispered, “Shit, man, you almost got yourself killed.”
Brody grinned. “I wouldn’t have let you shoot me. I thought you might need help.”
Brody laid a palm on Lydia’s arm. A sizzle from his own power traveled down the length of her arm. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine, now let’s go get him.”
She pulled open the door, and she and Briggs came to a halt. The hall was covered with guards. Each had their guns pointed in their direction. Brody was still standing just outside the door, unable to cram in their tight space. Lydia flung her hands in the air and closed her eyes. Her hair whipped around her face. The surrounding energy was fast to meet the challenge, probably from the extra coffee she’d just downed. The emergency lights flickered before the bulbs busted above them. Tiny shards of glass came raining down on all of them. Briggs threw her to the ground as bodies went flying in all directions, hitting walls before sliding the floor. Screams echoed through the corridor. Lydia kept her eyes closed and poured out every ounce of energy she had in her body. There was no way she was going to let them fail to get Rick out of there.
She opened her eyes, and her blurry vision made the walls spin around her. With the last bit of energy she had in her body before she let the darkness suck her in, she whispered, “Go get Rick.”
Lydia turned in place looking down at all of the unconscious men laying around her feet. People were still shouting in the distance, yet no one threatened her. She felt as light as air, as if gravity ceased to exist. All of the heaviness that had been on her shoulders had lifted. She’d found a peaceful place like where she went to find her zen. It didn’t make sense. Lydia shook her head and let her head fall forward. Her prone body lay unmoving at her feet. “You’ve got to be kidding me?”
She watched as Briggs started pumping on her chest. He shook his head.
“You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die. On. Me.”
He leaned down, plugged her nose, and blew into her mouth. His ear went to her still unmoving chest. Brody pushed him out of the way and laid his hand on her chest. The electrical current he sent through her lifeless body lifted her body off the ground. Briggs again started pressing against her chest and breathing puffs of breath into her mouth. On the next set of pumps, he hollered at Brody, who disappeared down the hall and out of sight.
She lifted her see-through hand up to her face and twisted it. “What the hell?”
Behind her, someone cleared their throat. An unknown voice filled her ears. “No, Lydia, this isn’t hell.”
Lydia spun toward the voice. A woman she’d never seen before stood in front of her. Her long flowing pants and shirt reached the floor. She looked as if she’d just stepped out of a garden, as if she was ready for some iced tea. She could be anyone’s grandmother, a vision that emitted peace and safety. A comforting sensation washed over her. “Who are you?”
“Emma calls me Momma Mae.”