Page 3 (1/2)

Mark shrugged back at hi He realized he was sort of in a daze He looked back up, wondered who could possibly be inside the vessel and what their purpose ht be Trina squeezed his hand and he squeezed hers back They were both sweating

"Maybe it’s God inside," the Toad said in a high-pitched voice--it always came out that hen he shouted "Come to say he’s sorry for all the sun flare business"

Out of the corner of his eye, Mark noticed Darnell taking in a breath, hissmart and funny back at the Toad But the action was cut off by a loud wrenching sound froroan and squeal of hydraulics Mark watched in fascination as a large, square-shaped hatch on the bottoes to lower like a ra out as the gap greider

Gasps and shouts rippled throughout the crowd; hands raised and fingers pointed upward Mark tore his gaze fro in, struck by the sense of awe surrounding hi each day with the weighty feeling that the next one could be their last And here they all were, looking toward the sky as if the Toad’s joke had beenin ht they were being saved by some divine power It asps spilled through the Square, and Mark snapped his head to look up again Five people had e, dressed in outfits that sent a chill racing down Mark’s spinal cord Green and rubbery and bulky--one-piece suits that covered the strangers from head to toe The suits had clear visors in the headpiece through which the wearers could see, but the glare and distance made it impossible for Mark toblack boots pulled up over the green e of the lowered hatch door, their tense body language showing the effort it took to maintain balance

Each of theun

But the tubes didn’t look like any guns Mark had ever seen They were thin and long, with an attach parts someone had ripped out of an industrial puers settled into their positions, they held up the tubelike things and aimed them directly at the people below

Mark realized that Alec was screa people toin chaos--shouts and panic--yet Mark had fallen into a trance, watching the strangers with their odd outfits and theiras everyone else in the crowd finally woke up to the fact that these people weren’t there to save anyone What had happened to the Mark who could act fast? Who had survived the year of hell after the flares ravaged the earth?

He was still frozen, watching, as the first shot was fired fro dark and s from one of those tubes Mark’s eyes followed the trajectory He heard a sickening thunk, his head twisting to the side just in ti out of his shoulder, its thin metal shaft planted deep within the muscle Blood trickled down frorunt as he collapsed to the ground

That finally snapped Mark out of it

CHAPTER 4

Screah the air as panicked people fled in every direction Mark bent down, grabbing Darnell by hooking his elbows under the boy’s arh the air to his left and right, finding targets, urged hihts fro the ground Trina had fallen but Lana was there, helping her up Both of the one of Darnell’s feet With synchronized grunts they hefted him up and moved away from the Square, away from the open space It was a roup had been struck by a dart

Swish, swish, swish Thunk, thunk, thunk Screa all around them, and Mark and Trina and Lana shuffled as quickly as they could, aardly carrying Darnell between theroup of trees--Mark heard a few hard thunks as darts buried themselves in the branches and trunks--then they were in the open again They hurried across a s and into an alley between several haphazardly built log cabins There were people everywhere, knocking frantically on doors, juh open s

Then Mark heard the roar of the thrusters and a ind blew across his face The roar grew louder, the wind stronger He looked up, following the noise, to see that the Berg had shifted position, pursuing the fleeing crowds He saw the Toad and Misty They were urging people to hurry, their shouts lost in the Berg’s blast

Mark didn’t knohat to do Finding shelter was the best bet, but there were toothe chaos with Darnell in toould only get theers in their odd suits lifted their weapons and opened fire

Swish, swish, swish Thunk, thunk, thunk

A dart grazed Mark’s shirt and hit the ground; so it deeper Another dart hit ho past--he screamed and dove forward as blood spurted from the wound When he landed, he lay still and three people tripped over him Mark only realized that he’d stopped, appalled by as happening around hi

The shooters above the people left and right and the air was filled with screams of pain and terror Mark felt utterly helpless--there was no way to shield hie All he could do was la uy with all the battle instincts? Where had he run off to?

Mark keptTrina and Lana toto help without getting in the way Darts continued to rain down fro bodies Mark turned a corner and lurched down the alley that led back to the Shack, sticking close to the building on his right for a partial shield Not as many people had coe

The little group hobbled as fast as they could with their unconscious friend The structures were built practically on top of each other in this section of the settleh and escape into the surrounding woods of the mountains

"We’re al is back on top of us!"

Mark twisted his body around so that he was facing front, gripping Darnell by his shirt behind hi inning to cra in their way now to slow the pace, each holding one of Darnell’s legs The Toad and Misty squeezed in and each grabbed an arh the narrow paths and alleys, over jutting roots and hard-packed dirt, turning left and then right and then left again The roar of the Berg was cos and rows of trees in between

Mark finally turned a corner and saw the Shack across a s He moved toresidents swar in all directions, heading for every door in sight He froze as the Berg rushed in overhead, closer to the ground than Mark had seen it before There were only three people standing on the hatch door of the craft now, but they opened fire as soon as the Berg settled into a hovering position

Little silver streaks shot through the air, rained down on the people surging into the clearing Every projectile see into the necks and arms of men and woround al over their bodies in the ed the side of the closest building and laid Darnell on the ground Pain and weariness slogged through Mark’s ar him want to collapse beside their unconscious friend

"We should’ve just left hi to catch her breath "He slowed us down, and he’s still right in the thick of things anyway"

"Dead, for all we know," the Toad’s voice croaked