CHAPTER 14

The Founders’ Gate opened wide, its once-imposing structure now blackened and fractured by Adelle’s flames. Smoke coiled through the air, carrying with it the acrid scent of charred metal and stone. Inside, the city lay in ruins, the remnants of battle scattered like broken memories.

Adelle emerged from the gate, flames flickering around her like a living shield. Behind her, Michael and Frank stood catching their breath, their hands with fresh blood from the six-armed creature now lying motionless at their feet.

“We’re through,” Adelle said, her voice firm but laced with exhaustion.

The sight that greeted them was harrowing. Signs of fierce resistance were everywhere: barricades made from overturned carts and furniture, scorch marks from desperate skirmishes, and the bodies of defenders lying where they had fallen.

Phoebe and Emma entered the gates to find one such body, a young woman clutching a shattered spear. “The wound is deep,” Emma said putting her hands over the woman. “She is gone. I can’t help her.”

Frank surveyed the scene, his expression grim. “This wasn’t just an attack. It was annihilation. They wanted to leave nothing standing.”

Phoebe stood in the remains of a once-grand plaza showing signs of a brutal struggle. Scorch marks marred the ground and shattered weapons were strewn everywhere. The air reeked of sweat and blood. Michael and Frank joined her, stepping over the bodies of fallen defenders. Most were too far gone to be saved, their faces twisted in anguish but Emma checked anyway.

Adelle turned to a group of survivors huddled in the shadows of a crumbling building. Most bore injuries—burns, cuts, and bruises—but their eyes held a spark of defiance.

“We’re here to help,” she said, lowering her flames to appear less threatening.

A man stepped forward, limping heavily on one leg. His face was streaked with dirt and blood, but his voice was steady. “Where were you when we needed you?”

Michael raised his hands in a calming gesture. “We’re sorry we weren’t here sooner. We came as fast as we could.”

The man’s scowl softened as his gaze landed on Michael and Phoebe. “Michael…Phoebe, is that you? Thank the stars you’re here. When the stories came we thought you might not have survived.”

“Mr. Kulisevski, “ Phoebe said, stepping forward. “Can you tell us what happened here?”

“They came out of nowhere. That …thing,” he gestured to the fallen creature, “led the destruction. killing everything in its path. The guards did their best to hold them back but we weren’t enough. Only a few of us are left but we made sure the families were safe.”

Adelle stepped closer and placed her hands on Kulisevski’s shoulder. “We can’t bring back what’s lost, but we can help those that are left. Can you tell us where they are?”

Kulisevski hesitated looking around the area before nodding. “There’s a safehouse to the back. Those who…could move made it there. Follow me.”

Natasha stood at the edge of the gate, her force field shimmering faintly around her as she leaned on her knees, catching her breath. “That was too close,” she muttered, glancing back at Brock, who was being tended to by Rin.

“You don’t say,” Chester quipped, rubbing his temples. His teleportation powers had drained him, and he looked ready to collapse.

Brock grunted as Rin tightened a makeshift bandage around his side. “I’m fine,” he growled through gritted teeth.

“You’re bleeding through the bandage,” Rin snapped, her usually stoic demeanor giving way to frustration. “Sit still or you’ll make it worse.”

“I’m still standing, aren’t I?” Brock shot back, though the wince on his face betrayed his bravado.

Natasha stepped in, her tone sharp. “Enough. We’ve got bigger problems to deal with.”

“Natasha is right. We have to find where everyone is. Unfortunately, we don’t have a safehouse like the Founders but we have also not found any dead bodies so that’s a win.” I said to the team.

Felicity’s voice came through the telepathic link, “ Jace, how did you know they found a dead body and a safe house? Did Ma tell you?”

“What do you mean? The link connects us, so I could see and feel what they felt. Doesn’t everyone?”

Ma’s voice chimed in linking everyone to the same conversation. “My link doesn’t work like that. I don’t think so anyway. It’s possible if you have a strong emotional connection to another person from the other team but they would have also to have telepathy in some form. If you can see and feel what the others experience, it’s probably because you have a power that is similar to mine. That is the only explanation I can think of.”

It felt like everyone was staring at me until Felicity’s voice cut through that awkwardness, “Anyway, we think about that later. Good work on both gates, but this isn’t over. The enemy’s movements suggest they’re regrouping. You don’t have much time to secure the survivors and prepare for what’s next.”

“Agreed,” Natasha said. She glanced at Rin and Chester. “We regroup, we heal, and come up with a strategy to hold out in case other Deviants come for us. There’s no point in winning battles if we lose the war.”

Adelle’s flames dimmed to a faint glow as they pressed deeper into the city offering warmth and light to the huddled figures emerging from the shadows. 

Kulisevski led the group through a maze of hidden passages that required identification, eventually arriving at an unassuming bakery house. Its wooden sign, weathered but intact, read Sweet Haven.

The air inside was warm with the comforting scent of freshly baked bread. Children skipped between rows of tables, laughing and chasing one another, while adults sat in quiet conversation.

Frank raised his eyebrow in confusion. “This…doesn’t feel like a house under siege.”

Kulisevski smirked, his expression tinged with pride. “It’s by design. The bakery’s oven mask the scent of blood and the soundproof walls drowns the noises. It was built in case of attacks to the house.”

Adelle glanced at the adults, noting their forced smiles and the tension in their eyes. “They’re trying to keep the children from seeing the truth,” she murmured to Emma.

Emma nodded. “I grew up here. You’ll be surprised what they don’t tell you.”

Kulisevski led them to a back room where a group of defenders huddled around a table covered in maps. “This is what we have left,” he said, gesturing to the makeshift war room.

“Where are the Taskforce X operatives?” Michael asked

“Most of them went to the outer gates, some are with the Four families in their homes. Normal guards like us were the ones who protected the residents when one of the operatives died closing the gate with her powers.”

Michael turned to Phoebe as she helped a child tie her shoelaces. “We’ll barricade the gate and set look-ups in front. Phoebe, Emma, and I will go find the other families. Adelle and Frank will take charge of the guards and tell us if the enemies get any closer to the gate.”