Free After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) by Karly Kirkpatrick Page A

the staring eyes looking at them from the doors they'd opened up and down the corridors.
    The halls were silent, but for the sound of machines whirring here and there. Their footsteps echoed down the long corridors.
    "Where are the others?" Xavier's voice floated into Paivi's ears.
    "I told them to get out as soon as that all happened," Peter said. "We're nearly at the exit, Paivi. Can you do this?"
    "Yes," she whispered.
    Paivi blinked her eyes. The sun poured through the entrance of the mountain, bringing her back to life. She planted her feet firmly on the rocky ground at the entrance. Peter and Xavier looked at each other before slowly removing their arms. They kept their hands on her shoulder, and for that she was glad. She could feel their energy awakening hers. She hadn't lost strength in a long time. But there was something about that place. It was not for the living.
    Not anymore.
    She glanced down the dirt road to the car. Dennis had the engine running and the rest of the group was piled in the back. They were ready to run.
    Paivi sucked in a deep breath, allowing the energy fill her weary body. She hoped it would make the distance. She put her hands in front of her, forcing down the sorrow and the pain that threatened to overwhelm her.
    Her fingertips glowed brightly as she pictured trails of energy racing through the corridors and colliding with Dr. Todesengel. The golden energy flew into the mountain, into the shadows. She was thankful for the heat of the sun on her skin.
    Paivi closed her eyes, begging for an image from the energy. She could see it racing along, the doors a blur, the faces behind them not visible.
    Behind her eyelids, she could see the energy crashing into Dr. Todesengel's still form. He instantly came to life and backed against the wall. A few streams of energy hung in the air above, giving Paivi a connection to the room.
    Malcolm Davis patted the monster of Paivi’s dad gently on the arm before turning to Dr. Todesengel.
    Malcolm's eyes widened. He stared at Dr. Todesengel and pulled the IV from his arm. The IV bag dropped to the floor with a thud. Blue liquid dribbled from the needle onto the floor, burning a hole in the stone.
    He smiled at Dr. Todesengel, who screamed in terror. Malcolm's skin went from ashen gray to bright red. Light poured from his eyes, mouth and nose.
    "Let's go!" Peter shouted.
    The vision faded. The earth shook violently at their feet as Peter and Xavier ran to the truck, dragging her behind. Rocks crumbled around the entrance and giant boulders crashed down on the spot they had been standing moments ago.
    Lola and a few of the others reached down from the bed of the truck and pulled them up as Dennis gunned the engine down the dirt road.
    Behind them, a blinding red light blasted through the rocks that had fallen at the mountain's entrance and everyone threw hands over their eyes. Just as quickly, it was sucked back into the entrance and an explosion rocked the earth and the mountain. Piles of rock tumbled down the mountainside, destroying what remained of the entrance.
    Paivi uncovered her eyes and stared at the mountain. She could feel nothing. Her body was numb from a pain that shredded her very soul. Paivi wondered if she would ever be able to feel anything again, any joy, any love.
    She had said that at the least, she wanted to give her dad a proper burial, free from the horrors he had known.
    She had failed.

Chapter 12
     
     
     
    Paivi struggled to feel something. Her eyes were trained on the ruined mountain. Its peak still stabbed the sky, but the hole, the darkness within, was no more. Voices floated around her as the group planned their departure.
    "What happened in there, Xavier?" Paivi heard Lola whisper.
    He simply shook his head in response.
    Paivi understood.
    There were no words for it. No words for the crimes that the doctor had committed against nature. A week ago, Paivi would have been convinced that the EOS camp itself was hell on earth, a place