Ian and his troops were momentarily startled, which gave the peacekeepers the few extra seconds they needed.
“Get ready!” Mel commanded.
About that time, Ian yelled, “Go!”
“Go!” commanded Mel.
The peacekeepers and KTP members raced toward one another and merged into a massive battle. Bullets began to fly all around them.
Jeremy looked at Adam and Mel, eyes wide, as he earnestly mouthed the words, “I swear, I had no idea,” and took off running in Ian’s direction.
Adam watched in amazement as an assault rifle appeared out of nowhere in Jeremy’s hands as he ran, and then he panicked.
He was a novice at this RTP stuff. What the hell was he doing out here? He was going to die.
He spun around, frantically looking for Maddie. He spotted her a few yards away, flanked by several of the 12-L and KTP leaders alike. She, and many others around her, had manifested what looked like tactical riot gear. They were advancing toward the enemy, beating off attackers with shields and batons.
Adam saw Caragh and Callum standing back to back, each with both hands extended. When bullets or attackers came close to them, bright balls of energy burst from their hands, knocking back anything in their path.
He saw Roman donning a gladiator helmet and steel breastplate while swinging a steel sword so large that Adam doubted he could even lift it. Roman wore a determined smile. Was he actually enjoying this?
Adam heard Maddie yell, “Adam, watch out!”
In the same instant, he heard bullets whizzing by and felt a stinging, painful sensation in his bicep. He reflexively grabbed his arm and felt the slickness of blood. He pulled his hand back and stared at the blood in disbelief.
“Adam!” screamed Maddie. “Are you okay?”
She came to him and put her hands on his shoulders. It suddenly seemed like they were in a cone of silence as bullets ricocheted off an invisible force around them.
Dazed, he shook his head, looked at her and said, “I think so. It’s just superficial.”
Relief flooded her face. She covered his wound with her hand and it healed instantly.
“Either do something or take cover!” she yelled into his face. “I can’t just stand here shielding you. We have to fight.”
He inhaled sharply and remembered his vow to himself. He would die on this field fighting if it meant Maddie and the others could live free lives.
With a renewed sense of purpose, he grabbed her face with his hands, kissed her roughly, bellowed a battle cry and ran headlong into the crowd.
Wyndolyn and many of the peacekeepers were standing motionless in the Namaste greeting stance with their eyes closed. As Adam ran past them, he could hear bullets ricocheting off their invisible shields. He heard someone scream. It was one of the gunmen. The gunman fell. And then another. All around them the gunmen continued to fall from their own ricocheting bullets. All of the shielded peacekeepers remained standing.
As Adam ran, he envisioned himself being able to see bullets in slow motion. He focused all of his thoughts on blocking the bullets or any other form of attack. As he ran, time slowed down into a quantum moment. He was moving quickly, but the bullets were coming at him slowly. He imagined his body being made of steel. He swatted the approaching bullets out of the air like flies. He saw a punch coming toward his face. When the fist made contact, it bounced right off as the attacker screamed out in pain. Adam punched the attacker back, knocking him to the ground. He kept running. He had one target in mind—Ian. He would pay for this dearly.
Adam ran by Jonathan, who stood nearby with both hands outstretched. A few yards away was a heap of KTP attackers lying pressed together on the ground as if in a football dogpile. As other attackers advanced on Jonathan, they were pulled by an invisible, magnetic force into the human pile. Struggling only seemed to make the hold stronger.
Roxy and Tarek had joined forces, moving in what looked like a beautiful martial arts dance. Each flying in the air, spinning, kicking, flipping, punching, and blocking in ways Adam had thought to only be possible in the movies. They were so fast the attackers didn’t know what hit them—but Adam could see everything vividly in slow motion.
Shannel had manifested nunchucks in both hands and was swinging them rapidly with the grace and expertise of a ninth-degree black belt. Everything that came into her path felt the wrath—bullets and body parts alike. Adam watched in slow motion as a bullet ricocheted off the nunchucks and struck the attacker in the heart, killing him instantly.
As he searched the crowd for Ian and Helen, Adam saw Albert limping along on the field using a stick for a cane. He started to head toward him to check on him but stopped short when he realized what Albert was doing. As attackers ran by, bypassing the seemingly harmless, injured old man, he would slyly trip them with the stick and then snicker.
The old bastard was enjoying this.
One attacker caught on to the game. After being tripped, he jumped to his feet and proceeded to throw a spinning heel kick aimed at Albert’s head. Adam winced, expecting to see Albert get the total knockout. Instead, to his and the attacker’s surprise, Albert’s hand shot out and grabbed the foot in an iron grip an inch from Albert’s face. He gave the shocked attacker a sly grin before he flung his leg with enough force to send the attacker hurling through the air and into a tree. TKO!
Adam continued to push his way through the crowd but stopped again when he saw a lightning bolt strike the ground and knock Sancha, Mel, and hundreds of other
