We last read Chapter 9, in which Beth and Conner Bennett, the OCO investigator, travel to the scene of the shooting on the land of Xavier Wheldon, near the nuclear power plant. They hear voices as they explore the area, and are moving closer to investigate when someone shoots at them.
This is the second story, so if you want to start from the very beginning, you can jump over to book 1, and begin with the Prologue of Sapphire Angel, Superheroine. Or to start at the beginning of book 2 (this story), click over to the Prologue of Power Play.
Thanks for reading!
She had been on the receiving end of gunfire as Sapphire Angel, so there was no mistaking the sound. A second shot echoed through the air, and she dove flat onto her stomach. She winced, landing hard. So much for not getting dirty. She glanced back at Conner, who was also on his stomach. At least the ground was dry on the slope.
Crack! The sound of another gunshot pierced the air, just after a bullet smacked into a tree about ten yards away. She frantically scanned in the direction from which she thought the shot had come. With the echoes, she couldn't tell.
Crack! Another shot whizzed past, this one closer. They had to move. Their cover wasn't good enough with the thinned trees around them. She rose to a crouch again and darted back toward Conner.
"Come on!" she snapped as she rushed past him. He jumped to his feet and hurried after her.
As another shot hissed nearby, Beth broke into a full sprint, heading back toward the car. As she ran, she turned her head to make sure Conner was following. She wanted to lose him among the trees and make her transformation, but couldn't do it with him nearby.
Instead, she and Conner made a frantic dash through the woods. Crack! Crack! Crack! Gunshots continued, this time in succession. At least the aim seemed worse now. But she heard the rush of a pursuer breaking through the brush behind them. She didn't know how much of a head start she had, if any. As she ran, a thought pushed into her head — had Joseph Snyder gone through this as well? Was this how he had died?
The wet brush of the forest smacked against her face as she sprinted. She threw caution to the window, sprinting as fast as her feet would move, with Conner in pursuit. She did not pick her way around the vegetation as she had when creeping toward the voices. Now, she burst through all but the most dense growths, trying to escape the death that rained down on her and Conner from behind. Before long, her clothes clung to her, damp from the wet vegetation.
Up and down hills they went, zigzagging between the trees. The noise of shots split the air every few seconds, the bark of trees splintering much too close. She hoped she was heading toward the car.
"What the hell is going on?" Conner gasped as he ran.
"I don't know, just run!" she snapped, and continued her sprint. Another shot smacked a tree just to her left. Conner breathed hard as he tried to keep up. Her heart beat rapidly, but more from excitement than from exertion.
Another shot rang off, hissing past to Conner's right. Beth ran erratically, darting left and right but steering back in the same direction. Conner was barely keeping pace. She gritted her teeth and slowed enough for him to catch up.
"Move it!" she hissed.
He was breathing heavily as he came alongside her, his arms pumping as he tried to maintain his speed.
"Where... the... hell... did you... learn... to run... like... that? And... in... those... boots?" he asked between gasps.
She ignored his question as another shot whizzed past them.
"Beth..." he said, still gasping. "We need... to... split up. So we... both... don't die. Shooter... can't... follow... both of us. And I'm... slowing you... down."
Beth glanced at Conner. She hadn't wanted to leave him behind, fearing it would be a death sentence for him. But he was right.
"Okay," she said.
Her agreement seemed to energize Conner, and his face filled with determination.
"You turn left... up there," he said, pointing to a thicket ahead and to their left. "Put the growth... between you and the shooter. I'll lead him... away. Then you... run like hell... to the car."
"Conner, I won't—"
"Do it!" he snarled.
And then they were to the thicket, with no more time to argue. Beth blurted an uncharacteristic curse under her breath and veered left, as Conner angled to the right. She picked up her pace and said a silent prayer for Conner.
After a few seconds she glanced to her right, and could barely see Conner through the woods. She spotted movement behind him, and in a stroke of fortune, his pursuer, clad all in black, took a tumble. Although Conner wasn't safe yet, she allowed herself a slight exhale of relief.
Her relief was short-lived, as she heard the thrashing of footsteps through the brush behind her. She turned and saw another dark-clad figure coming after her, rifle at his side. Her heart sank. There was more than one shooter.
Beth turned her attention in front of her again, and skidded to a stop, nearly falling off a cliff into a ravine dropping away in front of her. She waved her arms for balance at the edge before taking a step back.
She glanced down at the smooth floor of the ravine, thirty feet below. Nowhere to go. She turned back to face her pursuer. He had stopped twenty yards away and raised his rifle, with her in his sights. She was trapped and staring death in the face.
Beth took a deep breath and sprang back, out over the edge of the cliff. She fell.
Thanks for reading! A new chapter is published every Monday and Thursday. If you’re reading this on the website and enjoyed it, please hit the like button or leave a comment — or, better yet, sign up to get future chapters delivered to you via email. Every bit of feedback helps me figure out what people like, and motivates me to keep going. If you’re reading via email, feel free to reply and drop me a line. Thanks!
If that wasn’t an exhilarating chapter, I don’t know what is. And within mere seconds, I went from somewhat disliking Conner to literally PRAYING for his safety, like Beth was. Writing is really good if it got me to change my mind on a character within just a few words. This is great, this whole superhero story-sharing thing we’ve got going on! I’ve got a lot of time, so let’s keep reading!