Julia froze next to Hardy as the pulse of laser fire blasted the air. Leven released her arm to unholster his weapon, and she was free. Her hands were still pinned to the base of her spine, but she sprinted for the walkway stairs, as Hardy head-butted Leven in a smashing, bloody blow.

Mayhem broke loose.

A bullet hit the wooden doorpost next to her head, showering her with wood splinters.

“Jesus.” The nearness stopped her heart for a split second then she ducked for cover, Hardy tailing her, careening toward the stairs at the far wall. The women and children scattered, taking refuge behind pillars and stacked storage boxes. Their cries tugged at her heart and instinctively she wanted to help them, but she was useless with her hands tied behind her back.

Beth and her men were nowhere to be seen, but the lethal noses of weapons poked out from safe corners, hammering pulses of energy toward the upper levels.

Julia approached the stairs and stumbled under the shelter of the ornate metalwork as Violet clattered downwards from above, cursing as she joined the melee. Violet swooped under the stairs, joining them. She cut Hardy’s hands free with a knife, and he bolted up the steps, thick arms pumping as he zeroed in on a sniper positioned high along the wall.

“What’s wrong with these people?” Violet bellowed over the barrage of fire. She sliced through the plastic tie, freeing Julia’s hands. Blood surged into Julia’s fingertips in a prickly rush. Violet pulled another pulse rifle from her back. She tossed it at Julia, then rearmed her own weapon.

“There!” Violet pointed, and Julia joined her, firing a barrage of protective cover for Garrick and Foster who were dodging through rubble and broken bricks at the north entrance of the station.

The two men hurtled across the concrete and approached the makeshift wooden bridge. Without hesitation they bolted onto the floating walkway, which sank dangerously under their feet, only their speed preventing them from plunging into the mossy water. They hit dry land on the other side, their pace undiminished. Foster turned and lobbed a black stun grenade towards two shooters firing from behind a high pile of storage crates.

Julia dropped flat, squeezing her eyes shut to protect them from the flash. Her arms shot across the back of her neck and ears as the grenade detonated in an ear-splitting thunderclap bang. The sound wave boomed against her skin, drawing the hairs to painful attention and her breathing stuttered as she inhaled hot seething air.

Training took over and she lay still and counted to ten in her head before relaxing her arms, painful with tension. A dusty haze created by the detonation surrounded her. She crawled up on to her knees, her ears ringing, everything around her swimming in a nauseating swirl. She coughed and spat, waiting for the disorientation to ease, vaguely aware of Violet crouching next to her.

Julia raised her head slowly, still dizzy and her heart faltered.

Behind the crates was a man, propped against the wall, his hands pinned behind him. His head hung low, a shorn blur of hair down the middle of his skull. Realization punched through her confusion.

Sawyer was behind the shooters Foster had taken out. He slumped in a crumpled heap, blood trickling from his unprotected ears.

“Sawyer!” she screamed.

Violet staggered to her feet, “Go!”

Julia stumbled up to standing, terror fueling her unsteady pace across the shattered wood that littered the ground. Debris snagged her boots, as she half-fell, half-ran, Violet covering her steps every move of the way in a litany of swearing and laser fire.

She was only a few paces from him, when a bullet connected with the back of her body armor and propelled her violently forward. Rough concrete tore at her knees. Her pulse rifle skittered out of reach as her hands slammed onto the ground, ripping open the heels of her palms. Violet was on her in seconds, one arm wrapping around her shoulder.

“Okay?”

“Yes.” Julia hauled herself back up on to her feet, ignoring the searing pain in her shins. They covered the remaining distance lurching together, Violet, still providing lethal cover.

Almost sobbing with relief, Julia collapsed beside Sawyer, ignoring the pain from her ruined legs. She cradled his head, running her fingers over the bloody mess to find the source of the damage. She touched into a deep laceration above his forehead, and he jerked back from her, protesting in slurred words. Thick, dark blood pulsed from the gash matching the bloody trails from his ears to his collar. She glanced back, assessing how far he was from the point of detonation. She was sure he was far enough to have escaped permanent damage.

“He’ll live but his hearing will be trashed for a while.” Julia nodded to Violet, who cut the cable ties restraining him then released the handcuffs with a controlled blast from her pulse rifle. His groaned as his arms dropped. Julia took his face in her hands and pulled him close. Hot tears of relief stung her eyes as his breath brushed her throat.

“Can’t hear,” he mumbled.

She grabbed him by the shoulders, relief and anger overwhelming her. Breathless, she turned to speak to Violet, but her words were lost in the piercing Chittrix shrieks that suddenly filled the air.

Julia spun, searching for the source of the terrible noise. Behind her, the humans from both sides had stopped fighting, paralyzed with blind panic. Only seconds before, they’d been trying to kill each other. Now the water surged, barbaric spines carving through the surface.

The real fight hadn’t even begun.