Free All American Rejects (Users #3) by Stacy, Jennifer Buck Page B

above the rattling of the wood beams throughout the house.
    "It's not an earthquake," Bobby said. As the teams Mover, he must have recognized the force that was shaking the house down to its very foundation because he said, "It's a trap!"
    "They're outside!" Alaric yelled. "They're trying to collapse the house on us, and bury us under the debris! Get out now!" But the floor boards had already started to come apart. Drywall fell from the ceiling, hitting Stella hard and knocking her to the floor. In a flash, Alaric was by her side. He threw the drywall across the room, and tried to get her back to her feet, but the house was shaking so violently, he could barely stand.
    A long wooden support beam that ran across the ceiling broke off at one end and hit the floor.
    "Go!" Alaric shouted, but his companions stumbled and fell as they tried to reach the open door.
    From beyond the portal, Alaric could just barely make out the image of Evan, standing with his arms pointed at the house. The man's palms were up and he was clearly exerting himself to his limits. Evan had a strained look on his face. His teeth were bared and he was shaking almost as much as the house was.
    Then the floor gave way and the roof caved in on them as the wall support collapsed. Alaric saw nothing but black.

Chapter 11
     
    Evan grimaced in pain and finally keeled over as the strain from bringing down the house put him on his hands and knees.
    "You okay," Barber asked as he rushed to Evan's side.
    "I'll be fine," Evan said. "Just need to catch my breath." Evan heaved in and out, and Carter wondered if he would pass out from over exertion.
    The abandoned house was no more than a pile of rubble after Evan was done with it. The foundation broken into chunky fragments, it's walls had been shredded apart, and the ceiling caved in on itself, condensing the entire structure to a meager pile as it crumbled into the basement level. The picket fence that surrounded the home now stood taller than the whole of the disintegrated house. Evan had done an exceptional job at flattening the building, and burying the All Americans in the process.
    "Well, that should hold them for a while," Ryker said.
    "If you think that's going to slow down the All Americans," Carter said, then paused for a moment as he stalked over to stand before the rubble. "Then you don't know them as well as you think you do." Carter bent over and picked up a broken piece of two by four that used to be a support beam along one of the homes outer walls, inspected it, and then used his powers to light it on fire. He tossed the little torch onto the pile to join its friends.
    "What are you doing?" Ryker asked. "You're going to set them on fire now? What are you trying to kill them? I thought we were just going to hurt them."
    Carter was grinning from ear to ear as he took a few steps away from the debris, turned, and shot a blaze from his palm like a flame thrower. The aged wood of the destroyed home went up like kindling. The orange and yellows flickers, jumped from one broken beam to the next, spreading like a forest fire. Soon enough, the whole pile of debris was aflare.
    "That oughta do it," Carter exclaimed.
    The fires rose above head height and black smoke billowed into the sky.
    "You've lost it," Ryker said. "You're really going to hurt somebody, and bad."
    Carter's companions took a step back away from the flames as the heat became too much to stand next to, but Carter didn't move a muscle. He basked in the heat like a lizard sunning itself on a warm day.
    "Are you forgetting that they came here to capture you and have you killed?" Carter asked.
    "So that makes killing them okay?" Ryker asked.
    "Uh, guys," Barber said.
    "What!" both Carter and Ryker shouted at the same time.
    "We've got a problem," Barber said pointing to the fiery debris.
    Carter peered into the flames and found a piece of burning wood being jostled about ever so slightly.
    "Get ready," Carter said and as he did the debris exploded,