Read Online Ablaze (Indestructible Trilogy Book 2) by Emma L. Adams - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Emma L. Adams
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events.” He skips the video forward, then hits the play button. Now, the screen shows an above-shot of the Earth. Our planet.
An overhead voice comes on. “This is our world, as it is now. The only world most people know about.” The camera zooms in, the scene changing to the image of a field. Grass, blowing in the wind under an honest-to-God blue sky.
“But there are others who wish to take it from us. Others who cloak themselves in our skin, but are no more human than an alien life form.”
I stifle the urge to laugh. This is bizarrely like a movie voice-over.
“Aliens,” the voice repeats. “Walking amongst us, seemingly harmless. You might have known one once. Talked to one. Made friends with one.”
Now, the video is showing a busy shopping centre, packed out with people. All kinds of people, carrying shopping, small children. Images as alien as the fiends.
“But they are not like us. And they are dangerous.”
Despite the eye-rolling dramatics, a shiver runs down my spine as the scene darkens, and a figure dressed in a red coat passes in front of the camera.
“Our job is to find them, hunt them down, before they can cause harm. You may wonder what aliens want with humans, why they would hide themselves rather than revealing themselves outright. Some might say they want to escape persecution. Humans, as a whole, are not accepting of those they deem to be outsiders. But these particular outsiders are waging a war against us even as we speak.”
Now, the camera’s showing what looks like actual video footage, the poor-quality black-and-white images of a CCTV camera. It shows a road between fields and a ramshackle hut sitting at the roadside. A car drives past, and comes to a stop. Someone gets out. The camera’s too distant to see anything distinct about them. But even I can’t miss the moment when they vanish into thin air.
“They have unnatural powers,” says the voice. “For a hundred years, our organisation has struggled to pull together information on our uninvited guests. But through rumours and eyewitnesses, we learned that they are, indeed, not from here.”
On cue, three figures appear where the first one vanished. Again, I can’t make out anything about them, but they leave an odd ripple effect behind them, barely visible on the poor-quality video. The three of them get into the car, and drive away.
The air shimmers, the ground shifting, grass blowing in an invisible breeze. Without warning, all the grass in the field vanishes as though sucked into a void. The small hut moves, walls falling apart either side, quivering, coming apart molecule by molecule. The sound’s gone, but I’ve seen enough buildings collapse to be able to fill in the gaps. Within a few seconds, nothing remains.
“They leave a trail of destruction wherever they walk, and it’s getting harder to hide their traces.” The voice drops dramatically. “This must end. They have waged a secret war against us for more than a century. Our realities are close to colliding.”
The planet Earth fills the screen again.
“Every day we hear more rumours. People with unnatural powers. Strange sightings. It’s our job to follow these rumours, and eliminate them. We can’t allow them to expose us. Because if you’re watching this video, you have some power of your own. Maybe you’ve always been aware of it. Maybe you’re confused, or frightened. There is no reason to be afraid, because we are here to help you.”
An image of a red coat, with a familiar symbol embossed over the heart.
A flame. Jared’s tattoo symbol.
“We are the Pyros. You have been invited to join us. We will train you in the arts of combat, teach you to unlock your powers.” A video image of a hall, like a school gym, full of teenagers engaged in the same training exercises we did back at the base. A sudden, unexpected jolt of homesickness goes through me.
“You will learn to fight them. Because we may have only seen a glimpse of the horrors
An overhead voice comes on. “This is our world, as it is now. The only world most people know about.” The camera zooms in, the scene changing to the image of a field. Grass, blowing in the wind under an honest-to-God blue sky.
“But there are others who wish to take it from us. Others who cloak themselves in our skin, but are no more human than an alien life form.”
I stifle the urge to laugh. This is bizarrely like a movie voice-over.
“Aliens,” the voice repeats. “Walking amongst us, seemingly harmless. You might have known one once. Talked to one. Made friends with one.”
Now, the video is showing a busy shopping centre, packed out with people. All kinds of people, carrying shopping, small children. Images as alien as the fiends.
“But they are not like us. And they are dangerous.”
Despite the eye-rolling dramatics, a shiver runs down my spine as the scene darkens, and a figure dressed in a red coat passes in front of the camera.
“Our job is to find them, hunt them down, before they can cause harm. You may wonder what aliens want with humans, why they would hide themselves rather than revealing themselves outright. Some might say they want to escape persecution. Humans, as a whole, are not accepting of those they deem to be outsiders. But these particular outsiders are waging a war against us even as we speak.”
Now, the camera’s showing what looks like actual video footage, the poor-quality black-and-white images of a CCTV camera. It shows a road between fields and a ramshackle hut sitting at the roadside. A car drives past, and comes to a stop. Someone gets out. The camera’s too distant to see anything distinct about them. But even I can’t miss the moment when they vanish into thin air.
“They have unnatural powers,” says the voice. “For a hundred years, our organisation has struggled to pull together information on our uninvited guests. But through rumours and eyewitnesses, we learned that they are, indeed, not from here.”
On cue, three figures appear where the first one vanished. Again, I can’t make out anything about them, but they leave an odd ripple effect behind them, barely visible on the poor-quality video. The three of them get into the car, and drive away.
The air shimmers, the ground shifting, grass blowing in an invisible breeze. Without warning, all the grass in the field vanishes as though sucked into a void. The small hut moves, walls falling apart either side, quivering, coming apart molecule by molecule. The sound’s gone, but I’ve seen enough buildings collapse to be able to fill in the gaps. Within a few seconds, nothing remains.
“They leave a trail of destruction wherever they walk, and it’s getting harder to hide their traces.” The voice drops dramatically. “This must end. They have waged a secret war against us for more than a century. Our realities are close to colliding.”
The planet Earth fills the screen again.
“Every day we hear more rumours. People with unnatural powers. Strange sightings. It’s our job to follow these rumours, and eliminate them. We can’t allow them to expose us. Because if you’re watching this video, you have some power of your own. Maybe you’ve always been aware of it. Maybe you’re confused, or frightened. There is no reason to be afraid, because we are here to help you.”
An image of a red coat, with a familiar symbol embossed over the heart.
A flame. Jared’s tattoo symbol.
“We are the Pyros. You have been invited to join us. We will train you in the arts of combat, teach you to unlock your powers.” A video image of a hall, like a school gym, full of teenagers engaged in the same training exercises we did back at the base. A sudden, unexpected jolt of homesickness goes through me.
“You will learn to fight them. Because we may have only seen a glimpse of the horrors
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