"Jeremy Ashe, FBI," he growled, as some overeager police officer tried to get in his way. "Move!"

  "But sir, the area's not clear!"

  Jeremy ignored him, dashing into the cul-de-sac. News teams were arriving now too, just behind the rescue crews. A news chopper hovered on the opposite side from the police spotlight. Rika followed a few steps behind him. Stebbins had taken Ryan and their hostage away in the truck, promising Jeremy that nobody would find Viper's man until he wanted it.

  Five houses had collapsed. There was dust and debris everywhere. Bullet holes covered fences, mailboxes, walls. A few men were dead in the street on the north side — likely Brian's men. Jeremy didn't see a single figure that looked to be one of Viper's. Two of the front yards looked like they'd been hit by artillery fire, with huge craters sinking into the dirt.

  "Jesus Christ," he muttered, taking in the destruction.

  Rika was speechless, following behind him. They hurried to where they'd last seen Hailey dive — the absolute worst house, of course. As they approached, it buckled in even further, coughing out another cloud of dust that burned at their eyes and lungs. A pair of firefighters emerged, carrying a body out with them.

  A male body.

  Jeremy blitzed toward the house, but a thick-sleeved firefighter held him back. "It's not stable. Stay back."

  "But—"

  The whole crowd stopped as a chunk of rubble flew aside, fifteen feet through the air like it was made of foam. Hailey — caked with dust and coughing hard — emerged, stumbling out of the wreckage. One of the firefighters hurried to her side, helping her walk out. She was clearly weak and unsteady, but she'd also just tossed aside more weight than anyone her size could possibly hold up, all to rescue a man she'd never met. Right on cue.

  Despite everything they'd just gone through, Jeremy glanced at the cameras, which had caught everything, and felt a grim satisfaction. There's your fuckin' sympathy drive, Maddie. There's your marketing. Hailey Winscombe, a real fuckin' hero.

  As Hailey was helped back to an ambulance, Jeremy and Rika hurried over to join her. "Shit, Hailey," he started. "The hell were you thinking?"

  "Couldn't—" She paused, coughing through the dust she'd inhaled. "Couldn't find him."

  "So you went diving through a bombed-out building?" asked Rika, raising her eyebrows.

  "Heard… someone in pain. Had to help. Jess… would have wanted me to help."

  "Holy shit, Hales. She's going to be fine."

  We don't know that yet… Jeremy glanced at Rika, and got a glare in return. Right. "We got her in the ambulance fast. She's gonna be fine."

  Hailey shook her head. "All... my fault."

  "You didn't try to kidnap Ryan in the middle of the night," Rika pointed out. "It's those fuckers' fault."

  "This ain't on you," Jeremy agreed. "There's a whole lot of shit goin' on here and you ain't responsible for it." He sat down next to her on the edge of the ambulance. "We're gonna find 'em. Don't you fuckin' worry."

  "I know who hired those assholes," added Rika. "Trust me, they aren't getting away clean."

  Hailey shook her head. "I… those guys. Down on the street."

  Oh shit. "We got 'em. Took all three away for questioning. They'll be locked up tight, don't worry."

  Rika glanced at him, and it was his turn to shoot her a glare. Don't you dare fuckin' tell her.

  She shivered. "So cold…"

  Rika climbed in, looking around for a blanket. She got it and tucked it around Hailey's shoulders, wrapping her up tight. "You good?"

  "...Jess… usually keeps us warm. I can't do Nature magic." Hailey shook her head again. "Oh god…"

  She shivered again, staring at the ground. Rika just sat there, confused, not sure what to do.

  Jeremy put an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay, Hailey. You're done for tonight." She leaned into him, wrapped up tight in her blanket.

  None of them spoke for several minutes, watching the city buzz with activity around them like someone had kicked over a hive. Hundreds of emergency personnel had flooded the neighborhood. Heavily-armed police squads in full riot gear were kicking down doors and going through every house, while firefighters and rescue workers continued to dig through the rubble of the collapsed buildings.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  What the hell happened tonight?

  Hailey coughed again, and thankfully, it finally sounded like her throat was clearing up. She glanced up at Jeremy, voice ragged and raw.

  "...Where'd they take her?"

----------------------------------------

  Hailey couldn't sit still. All they told her was that Jessica was still in surgery. The bullets shattered her leg completely, obliterating major sections and causing heavy bleeding — with the high powered guns Viper's people used and at such close range, it was a miracle it hadn't done more damage. She paced up and down the waiting room, while Rika snored curled up in the corner. Jeremy was outside fobbing off the media, who'd followed the cars back to the nearest hospital as soon as they realized Hailey and Jeremy were involved.

  She kept moving, afraid to let her thoughts settle. She'd already done everything she was supposed to do. Jessica's parents were on their way, and she'd even gotten them an escort — the best possible escort she could think of, under the circumstances. They were as safe as Hailey could possibly make them.

  Cinza was on high alert. With the news that Viper was back to being a real player, and willing to go to such lengths, they needed to be ready for anything. She'd called back everyone she'd sent out, and invited several of the most-trusted newly awakened to take sanctuary in the Greywood. Cinza's well-fortified, magically protected haven was secure — but given Viper's knowledge of the area, and the considerable resources backing him in Cornelius Malton, there weren't many other places any of them could feel truly safe.

  Worse, Viper was awakened, unlike Brian and his people. He had access to magic and mundane weapons, and the ability to come up with something new that might blindside them entirely. Hailey knew the golems by now. She knew their limitations, and how to keep them at bay at the very least, and Cinza's people were working on more targeted spells using the golem Scrap. On top of which, Brian played by the rules. His own, insane rules — but they were rules: only the awakened were valid targets.

  Who knows what rules Viper's playing by…?

  There was no doubt they'd killed more than a few innocent people in the crossfire tonight. Between taking down several houses, the improvised explosives laid into the yards, the gunfight… Hailey shuddered at what the death toll might end up reaching.

  "Hales?" Rika murmured, rolling over. "Did I miss anything?"

  "No…" Hailey sighed. "Still no word."

  "Shit…" Rika sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Sorry I fell asleep."

  "It's okay. One of us really should."

  "You, for sure," said Rika. "You need it way more than I do."

  "I can't." Hailey started pacing again. "I can't miss anything. Not while she's…"

  "Yeah, I know." Rika yawned and stretched out. "You want anything? Maybe the cafeteria's still open."

  "It's three in the morning," she snapped, frustrated.

  Rika shrugged. "Okay, so maybe not."

  Hailey sighed. "I'm sorry."

  "Seriously, Hales. No apologies necessary. I should be the one apologizing to you."

  "Huh?"

  Rika shook her head. "I keep blaming myself for this shit. Because I made that deal with Viper. Gave his boss everything he could dream of."

  "How's that related to this?"

  "Probably isn't, but that's how my fucked up brain works."

  Hailey sighed. She walked over and took a seat, and put an arm around her. "Thank you, Rika."

  "Uhh… for what?"

  "Sticking around. Being my friend."

  Rika coughed. "I'm a pretty shitty friend."

  "Nah." Hailey smiled, though she could barely manage it. "You see anybody else in this waiting room? It's you and me."

  "Points for attendance, then." Rika shrugged. "I guess that's something."

  Hailey nodded. "Hey, speaking of which…"

  "Huh?"

  "Gimme your number. Let's not just meet up every six months whenever the world's ending."

  Rika snorted. "Good call."

  The waiting room doors burst open a minute later, just as they were both starting to settle down a little. Jessica's parents rushed through. Malcolm's face was streaked with tears, and Beth looked like she was in the middle of an active panic attack. Beth opened her mouth as soon as she saw Hailey, but nothing came out. Hailey wouldn't have cared if she'd starting screaming for hours.

  She hurried to them, burying them both in a hug.

  "Is she—"

  "We don't know yet," Hailey whispered.

  "Oh god…" Malcolm collapsed into the nearest chair. His wife followed him, clutching his hand. Neither of them spoke, staring dead-eyed at the emergency room doors. Hailey took a deep breath, trying to keep from breaking down at the sight of them. She turned around to greet the last member of the group — the escort she'd called in.

  "Everything went okay?" she asked.

  "Nothing the whole way here," he replied. "Nobody even recognized us. Had to convince the front desk staff we were for real."

  She smiled. "Thanks, Wes."

  Weston nodded. "Anything, Hales." He hugged her tight, and she melted into his arms for a bit, letting him hold her upright. She didn't want to do it herself anymore. Gravity felt like her worst enemy. "Any news?"

  "No…" Hailey buried her face in his shoulder. Horror flooded her veins like purest ice. She felt magical energy rushing in her chest, but it couldn't do anything for her. "Nothing at all."

  He hugged her tight. "She'll be okay. She was always the strongest of us."

  Hailey didn't move, didn't respond. She couldn't move. Everything felt so wrong. She couldn't bear to see anything anymore. She just kept her face there, pressed into Weston's shirt, standing in the waiting room with the pale buzzing lights above them, while Rika rocked back and forth in the corner trying to keep herself awake, and Jessica's parents clutched each other's hands, pale as ghosts. Nobody spoke another word, waiting desperately to hear the answer to the same question they'd all been asking over and over.

  Waiting for a doctor to come let them know it was going to be a while and they could just go home, only to get declined, and practically shoved back out the door.

  Waiting for the surgery team to return, let them know it was a success and she was in recovery, but that they couldn't see her for a while.

  Waiting for Jessica to wake up and tell them everything would be okay.

  Waiting for anything.

  Waiting.