Was?
Gone now, from what I could tell.
Damn.
I watched Drake move away. He was trying to hide it, but he was definitely favoring his left leg. Julie pointedly ignored him.
Everyone here was hurting. Everyone was hiding something. Were we really going to win the War?
We have to!
Zoe's urgency jolted me.
I know, Zoe.
"Pair up," Drake barked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Again? I thought we only needed to draw blood once a week?" Claire asked.
Dr. Hill opened up a large briefcase. It was filled with syringes containing an iridescent, crimson fluid. "We're injecting today. Your first recovery charges are ready." She motioned to the syringes. "Make sure you pick the one with your name on it."
The others paired up like before, while I had to inject myself. This time, we were quick and efficient. Afterwards, Dr. Hill went around to collect the used syringes.
"See me after today's training session," she said as she took my syringe.
I nodded as she moved on.
Crap, I haven't had time to decide what I'm going to do.
Isn't it obvious? Drain your life force or make little baby Dustins. That does sound fun, doesn't it?
It's not that simple. What happens to them? What happened to Staccato? Aren't you the one who said we should be careful?
Zoe was being a bit too carefree about the whole thing. Something was up.
What about the Second Strain? I asked. The Mekanics? The traitors?
Imagine a team of Dustins. It might be just what we need to tackle those problems.
I shook my head. Zoe had some explaining to do. I had passed out immediately last night after getting back to my room. We still need to talk.
Someone touched my arm. It was Mia. "Dustin?"
I looked around. The others were lining up against the wall. Dr. Hill had left. "Right. Thanks, Mia."
Drake was watching me. "Hurry up, Hunter. The War's not going to wait for you." He beckoned to the girls.
Something about the way he said that was strange. Did he know what Dr. Hill and Dr. Preston had in mind? I moved to join the others.
"Listen up, boys and girls!" Drake shouted. "Today, we'll be working on something you all in particular need to learn. How to handle to a superior threat."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Our punishment was over, then. The other girls had relieved looks.
Drake must have noticed. He laughed. "I ain't going easy on you. Today you'll be fighting a threat that's better than you in every way. An unstoppable, overwhelming force. Where your only goal will be to survive."
Another captured Mekanic? A hoard of training bots?
I'm guessing, no.
Drake's grin grew wider. He jerked his thumb at himself.
"Me. And if you're wondering, yeah." He cracked the knuckles of one meaty fist, then the other. "This is going to be personal."
CHAPTER 6
Drake melded and flew to the ceiling of the training room, a good hundred feet above us. He hovered, beating down strong enough with his wings to force us to huddle.
I melded, as did all of the others.
An eight-legged form scurried up the wall towards Drake.
"Julie!" I shouted.
Julie's Beastform shot a gob of sticky webbing at Drake, but he sent an extra strong gust of wind that threw the webbing off course. It stuck harmlessly to an empty spot on the transparent ceiling above. I spotted someone on the observation deck. Probably Dr. Hill.
"Stupid and reckless," Drake growled. He dove at Julie, but before he collided, a red streak smashed into Drake from below, knocking him away. Claire.
The silvery dragon spun in mid-air, swiping at the fiery bird with the sharp leading edge of his huge wing.
Claire screamed as Drake pelted her to the ground.
He's going to use his Dragon's Breath!
Drake was rearing up, raising his head as if taking a deep breath.
"Dragon's Breath!" I shouted. "Spread out!"
The large attack would be impossible to avoid on the ground. Claire flew to the opposite corner of the ceiling. Julie climbed onto the ceiling as well, scurrying away from Drake.
"Behind me!" Mia yelled.
Nikki jumped and landed next to Mia, then hid under her, while Mia tried to position herself to block the incoming attack.
Mia or climb?
There's not enough room. Climb!
I latched my claws into the closest wall and ran straight up. I had decent defense with my Phase Shift as well. I glanced down and saw Stella crouching by herself in one corner. Kayla was coiled in another corner.
What are they doing?
Kayla's too big to hide behind Mia. And Stella…she could be trying to dodge.
Drake didn't delay any longer. A torrent of white-hot flame burst forth from his open maw, smothering the ground. Just before it hit, a blue streak shot straight upwards in my direction. Stella was using her attack move to evade the attack, but she'd fall back down into Drake's flames if I didn't do something.
"Stella! Grab me!" I ran to meet her. She crashed into me, and I fell several feet down the walls before regaining my footing. Something hard clamped down on my neck.
ENERGY: 570/600
Her bite had done some damage, but Stella was holding on. I climbed higher to avoid the flames. Meanwhile, Claire was holding Kayla with her feet and hovering halfway up the room. Kayla looked a bit smaller, as if she had just used her molting ability as well.
Mia and Nikki were being cooked alive below us, and the rest of us were mostly sitting ducks. Not a good start.
Julie sent more webbing at Drake, this time a thin stream that she aimed continuously. Kayla wasn't simply waiting in Claire's grasp, either. She spat a green bolt of poison at Drake.
Stella shifted on my back.
"Uh, Stella…"
The weight on my back suddenly vanished. I twisted my head to catch the upside-down sight of a blue streak heading towards Drake.
The flames stopped as Stella's attack reached Drake. Drake whipped his tail around, batting Stella away. He sent a quick puff of flames to his left and right, dissolving Julie's webbing and burning Kayla's incoming poison.
The flames were gone, but the floor was still covered in a thick layer of gray smoke.
"You can't run," Drake said. He clapped his wings together, sending a blast of air at Claire and Kayla. Claire smashed into the wall behind her, dropping Kayla.
"You can't hide." Drake descended in a corkscrew dive, his wings spread wide. The spiral of air pushed the smoke on the ground away, which was when I realized the smoke was from Nikki, not Drake's attack.
Mia and Nikki were hiding in one section of the floor, and Stella had landed in another.
I sent a quick Sonic Screech at Drake's head as a distraction, but Drake ignored it completely and landed with a loud thump. He spun his razor-sharp wings like twin scythes, extended to span almost the entire training room.
One set of wings skittered off Mia's shell in a shower of sparks. Stella threw herself to the ground to avoid the other one.
"What do you do?" Drake thundered.
Julie dropped onto Drake's back. "Attack, motherfucker," she screamed. She started stabbing Drake's back with her legs, while also biting down.
Stella recovered and bit down on one of Drake's back legs. Mia closed in on a front leg. Nikki bounded out past Mia to bite down on Drake's other back leg. Kayla threw herself around Drake's neck and head, winding herself around them.
We had practiced the move before. A full-team takedown. I bounded to the ground and bit into Drake's remaining front leg. Claire hovered above, while Julie skittered under Drake, stabbing his belly. Claire used the opening to begin dive bombing Drake's back, forcing his weight to the ground. Julie slipped to the side to avoid being crushed, then wrapped herself around the leg I was holding.