Chapter 18: The Power of an Obsidian
Sunday, 8 March 2099
Bruno didn't think, he just pulled the trigger.
A golden stream of light struck, once again, the ground in front of Sir Adlington and the Vikings. Dust, chunks of soil, and gravel flew in the air as if a twister had just passed by; Bruno heard the men, and Meghan, shout in frustration.
"Piners!" Nelson shouted, shooting from his Obsidian. He struck the ground near the group of advancing Piners.
Valinoti turned around, flicked some sort of colored switch on the Obsidian, and pulled the trigger. A blue stream of electricity surged out of the black handgun and struck the Piner charging in the front of the group. The moss-covered man shook violently, smoke rising from his shoulders. The rest of the Piners stopped running, lowered their bows, and helped their convulsing friend.
Anzalone stood next to Bruno, aiming his Obsidian as well. The dust had finally cleared; Espen and Maximus were rising from the ground while Ake wiped dirt off his shoulders. Meghan had disappeared completely. At first, Bruno thought she had been vaporized, but he then caught a quick glimpse of her running further down the trail.
"Nice gun ya got there, Tyler," Sir Adlington shouted from down the trail. "Rich Bruno, I'm surprised to see you here, er, shooting at me."
Bruno didn't respond.
"Where are my parents?" Anzalone asked.
"Somewhere in what's left of this City," Sir Adlington responded. "Maybe alive, maybe dead."
"Bring me to my parents!" Anzalone ordered, and then when he remembered Bruno, "Oh, and Rich and Tim's families, too!"
"You're a coward for leaving your Home City because you worked too much!" Sir Adlington shouted. "And I bet you didn't complete the task I assigned you."
"Of Assassinating your brother, Julius?" Bruno interjected. "No, he didn't do that because he's not a killer. And Meghan obviously didn't Assassinate Tyler because she's not an Assassin!"
"Well, like I said, you'll pay━"
Valinoti fired his weapon again and another blue lightning bolt struck the same Piner that was convulsing on the ground. Anzalone and Bruno turned around and looked at their friends.
"You alright?" Bruno asked.
"For now," Valinoti answered. "Wait, what is going on?"
The five Piners were standing around their now-unconscious friend. The men sang something in a hushed tone that did not sound English. Anzalone turned his attention back to Sir Adlington and the Vikings, but the men hadn't moved an inch yet. Bruno kept his focus on the mysterious forestmen. They were still singing for their fallen Piner; it seemed that the two electric shocks stopped his heart.
"You killed him," Bruno said to Valinoti.
"I did?" the Sergeant Guard asked himself nervously, though he already knew the answer.
Bruno looked closely at the Piners. They were huddled in a circle, their backs facing Nelson and Valinoti. The dead Piner was hidden, blocked by his loyal friends. The muffled song was coming to an end as was the swaying. Bruno had a bad feeling that the song wasn't just a prayer for their friend's sacrifice.
And he was right.
All at once, the five remaining Piners spun around at amazing speed, gripping their bows. Bruno noticed how, instead of one, five arrows strung from their bows. There was no time to hide, no time to retreat. The Piners released and the twenty-five arrows flew at top speed towards Bruno and his friends. Nelson and Valinoti vaporized majority of the arrows with the golden beam, and Bruno disintegrated a few with his one shot. However, not all of the arrows were destroyed.
One arrowhead dug into Valinoti's left leg, while one connected with Nelson's chest. The other two arrows missed their mark, though almost taking out Bruno's eye. Valinoti fell to the ground, dropping his Obsidian as did Nelson. Bruno ran in front of his friend and fired from his Obsidian twice. The two golden beams shot down the trail and connected with the dead Piner. The man glowed for a few seconds before exploding into a trillion dust particles. The five other Piners noticed that their friend was gone for good.
And, just like that, the Piners turned around and ran out of Adlington. Back to their home. Back to the Pines.
"They're gone, Bruno!" Anzalone shouted, Sir Adlington and his men running further down the dirt trail.
"Who cares, help me with Nelson and Val!"
"I'm fine," Nelson said, snapping the arrow off his chest. "It struck my padding."
Valinoti was screaming; the arrow had drilled right through his shin and stuck out of his calf muscle.
"We gotta find him someone that can help!" Bruno shouted.
"Julius!" Anzalone said.
"No, too far!" Bruno realized. "Someone here!"
But there was no one around. The City was quiet.
And the Piners could come back at any minute.
. . .
Nelson had left to go retrieve the Humvee. Bruno had wanted to go with him because it was much too dangerous to head back alone, but the Sergeant Guard insisted. Nelson had said that Bruno and Anzalone needed to help Valinoti out.
"I'm safe with the Obsidian," Nelson had said, before darting off back to the Adlington Wall.
Bruno and Anzalone half-carried-half-dragged Valinoti into an abandoned home near where Sir Adlington had once stood by. The home was ransacked and vandalized, but not affected by fire. The boys lay Val on a sofa because the chairs had been stolen.
"It really hurts, man," Valinoti growled, biting his collar.
"It'll be alright," Bruno said, not knowing if that was going to be the outcome. "Nelson will come back with the Humvee and we'll go back to Espington."
"What about our families?" Valinoti asked.
Believe it or not, getting caught between a pack of Piners and the corrupt President of Adlington made Bruno kind of forget why he came to Adlington in the first place. The oncoming arrows, destroyed City, and the threats from Maximus forced Bruno to think of one thing and one thing only at that moment: survival.
"I'll stay here," Bruno said.
"What?" said both Valinoti and Anzalone.
"I'll find our families and make sure they're safe," Bruno explained. "And if that means vaporizing the President and his men, then so be it."
Anzalone looked at his friend with wide eyes. "You'd kill Maximus?"
"He threatened to kill you...twice!" Bruno replied. "He held your parents hostage and burned Meghan with his Torch Touch. Maximus is a dangerous man."
"Thanks for realizing that now," Anzalone said sarcastically. Then, he started seriously, "But I'm staying with you, too. Nelson will drive Val back to Espington and bring him to the Clinic. I need to see if my family is okay."
At that moment, Bruno knew Anzalone was a good person. All he ever wanted was a normal, safe life with his family. He would do anything to make sure his parents were okay and if that meant Assassinating the President, then, I guess, that was his choice. Bruno believed that that was morally wrong, but if his parents were in the same situation, would he do the same thing and kill Julius? Bruno didn't know at that moment.
Valinoti's mobile rang. The boy winced at the vibration, bit down on his fabrics hard; his shin was starting to swell.
Anzalone was the one to answer the mobile. Nelson's voice appeared and it sounded tired and frantic.
"Guys, guys," the Sergeant Guard screamed. "I managed to, uh, get the Humvee b-but the Piners were hiding in the forest. I had to, er, drive around Adlington, now I'm two entrances down...um, uh, Entrance C. Hurry!"
Bruno could tell Nelson was panicking by the way he spoke. "We'll get there as soon as possible! Hide the Humvee and keep your gun close to you!"
"Will do," the Guard said, panting. "See you soon."
Valinoti looked at his friends. "Well, how are we gonna get to Entrance C without the Humvee?"
Anzalone and Bruno looked at one another and then back at their disabled friend laying on the sofa.
Sunday, 8 March 2099, 2:11PM
Nelson parked the Humvee inside a living room. He didn't have time to park behind a shack or tree, so he drove through House Thirty-Seven's living room wall and put the automobile in park. Nelson took out his Obsidian and aimed it at the gaping hole in the wall. Luckily, the hole faced away from the outside of Adlington, so, if the Piners did pass by, they wouldn't see Nelson.
The Sergeant Guard's mobile rang. He anticipated Bruno's, Anzalone's, even Valinoti's name to flash on the miniature screen. However, neither one of the three boys' numbers appeared.
It was Ria Esteves, the Fabrics Marketer and Nelson's girlfriend. He answered right away.
"Hey, Babe."
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
Nelson quickly covered the speaker to muffle Ria.
"Shh, Babe, I-I'm, um, in Adlington."
"Adlington? Why the hell are you there, Jesse?
"It was attacked by Piners," Nelson answered quietly. "I went with Bruno and his friends to make sure their families are safe."
"Are they?"
"We haven't found anyone yet," Nelson admitted. "Except for Sir Adlington and a few Piners."
"WHAT━"
"Shh!" Nelson cupped the speaker again. "I'm hiding right now. Valinoti was shot by an arrow and we needa get back to Espington as soon as possible."
"I'll go tell Crad━"
"No!" Nelson whispered loudly. "He only thinks the Sergeant Guard are here to check up on the new Miners. Do not tell anyone, Babe, we'll be back soon. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Nelson hung up the mobile and looked ahead.
And standing in the hole was a Piner.
. . .
Bruno and Anzalone dragged Valinoti on a sofa cushion; they pulled him with rope they had found in the home.
"We're almost to Entrance C!" Bruno assured.
"No we're not! We haven't even passed Entrance B yet!" Valinoti noticed. "Ugh, my leg!"
"You can't scream, Tim!" Anzalone said. "We can't let the Piners know where we are!"
Valinoti bit the collar of his shirt, breathing in and out heavily. Bruno and Anzalone continued to tug their friend further down the trail, finally passing Entrance B.
Bruno continued to pull Valinoti when Anzalone stopped. Bruno looked at his friend, but his friend was looking straight ahead. Bruno did the same, but didn't see anything.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Behind the truck," Anzalone pointed.
Bruno peered over to the Mako and noticed a pair of feet; someone was hiding behind the vehicle. Anzalone had already taken out his Obsidian; Bruno followed suit.
"Show yourself," Anzalone said.
The stranger did not hesitate; they walked slowly around the truck with a shield in one hand and a sword in another.
It was Ake the Head Viking.
"Hello, Tyler," he said.
"You know him?" Bruno asked. Bruno knew of Ake. He was the Head of the Vikings, the equivalent to Jago and Sayer. The man resembled a dirty lumberjack with thick, veiny muscles. Bruno never spoke to Ake before and felt as if Anzalone and the Head Viking had a past.
"Hello, Ake," the silver-haired boy said.
"Gonna run away again?" Ake asked. "Make me have to chase you?"
"Where's Maximus and Espen?" Anzalone asked, disregarding Ake's question.
"Finding your girly friend," the Head Viking answered. "She needs to pay the price for not ending your life. Apparently she only got to kill a man named Dixon."
"Uncle Dixon is dead?" Anzalone gasped.
"Ha! Sucks ya had to hear it from me!" Ake laughed.
Bruno could see the water in Anzalone's eyes; Bruno turned around and saw Valinoti holding his leg, which was purple and completely swollen.
"I can shoot you right now," Anzalone said, bringing Bruno back to his senses.
"You could vaporize me like your friend did to that one Piner," Ake nodded. "But then you wouldn't know where your parents and the rest of the Adlington residents are."
"Where are they?" Anzalone asked loudly.
The Head Viking laughed. "Sir Adlington may be a tough and aggressive man, but he truly does care about his people. They're safe right now. Not sure about your parents though━"
A golden beam of light blasted out of Anzalone's Obsidian. The light struck the Mako truck, exploding the vehicle into metal dust topped with rubber tires. Ake was sprinkled with the remains; his beard looked almost glittery now.
"Where. Are. My. Parents."
It seemed as though Ake knew Anzalone wasn't kidding anymore, that he could really be vaporized in seconds.
"I don't know," he said.
Anzalone pulled the trigger again and the gold beam connected with Ake's shield. The Viking dropped it immediately, but what he dropped was ash and not a shield anymore. Bruno was surprised at how accurate Anzalone's shots were.
"Okay, okay!" Ake shouted. "I don't know if you remember, but when Espen called you saying he had your parents, the Piners attacked..."
Bruno remembered that and knew Anzalone did because the boy nodded.
"...I was hit by an arrow in the chest and fell to the ground..."
"Yes, and then Espen turned the mobile off. What happened to my parents?" Anzalone asked, gripping his Obsidian tightly.
"I don't know where they went!" Ake said. "I was too busy pulling the arrow out of my chest. You're parents broke out of their ties."
"So you really don't know where they are?" Anzalone asked.
"Honest, I don't," Ake said; he had put his sword back into his sheath.
"Then, why are you here? Why were you hiding behind the truck?"
Ake looked down at the ground and then back up at Anzalone. It looked as if the Head Viking was reaching into his pocket, not his sheath.
"I was hiding behind the truck on Sir Adlington's orders," Ake said.
"Why?" Anzalone asked and Bruno knew something was wrong.
"Because he ordered me to slice off your head!" Ake shouted, throwing these spherical objects in front of him.
There was a small explosion. Dirt, dust, and sparks flew in the air in front of Anzalone and Bruno. They couldn't see Ake anywhere. Anzalone didn't care; he fired his Obsidian once, twice, three times. The golden beam disappeared in the cloud of dirt; if it hit a target, Anzalone wouldn't have known.
"Keep your eyes open," the silver-haired boy said.
Bruno did, aiming his Obsidian at the dust cloud as well. Valinoti had lifted his weapon, too, but the pain in his leg was too much for him to aim properly. He finally set his weapon back down on his lap.
The dust was starting to clear; Anzalone peered ahead, aiming his gun all the while. Bruno trained his Obsidian behind his silver-haired friend. Ake wasn't standing in the same spot anymore; he could be anywhere now.
"Where is he?" Valinoti asked.
"I don't―"
Ake jumped off a roof of a shack, gripping the hilt of his sword. The Head Viking screamed in rage with his helmet on his head and armor on his chest. Anzalone went to turn and fire, but Ake's sword struck the Obsidian knocking it out of the his hands. Ake laughed and went to swing, aiming for Anzalone's head, but the silver-haired boy dodged as best he could. Bruno pointed his gun at the Head Viking, but couldn't get a clear shot; Anzalone was in the way too many times.
"Shoot him!" Anzalone screamed.
"I-I can't!" Bruno shouted.
Valinoti lifted his Obsidian again, grunting at the effort. The arrow sticking through his swollen leg only made things harder.
There was a blast of golden light. The beam struck Ake in the back. The Head Viking shouted as his entire body turned into a statue of grey and then blew away in the wind.
Bruno and Anzalone turned to Valinoti, but the Sergeant Guard hadn't fired his weapon yet. Their attention turned to the Humvee behind Val.
Nelson was standing in the vehicle, holding the smoky Obsidian.
Bruno noticed something about the Sergeant Guard.
The boy was already caked in dust. And if that wasn't weird enough, Bruno saw something else.
Nelson had tears in his eyes.
⛟
Anzalone wiped Ake particles off his head and shoulders; Valinoti readjusted himself on the cushion and winced at every slight movement.
"What happened to you, Nelson?" Bruno asked.
"N-Nothing," the Sergeant Guard answered. "Let's just go back to Espington and fix Val's leg." Bruno noticed Nelson wipe a tear from his cheek.
Anzalone and Bruno picked Valinoti up (the Guard wailed all the while) and placed him gently in the back of the Humvee. Nelson sat quietly back in the driver's seat, put his seatbelt on, and placed the key in the ignition. Bruno didn't understand what had happened to the boy when he went to retrieve the Humvee, but, whatever it was, it didn't look good.
"Go back to Entrance A, the entrance we came in from," Valinoti said. "So we're on the same course and don't get lost."
Bruno's heart started to beat rapidly. He came to Adlington specifically to look for he and his friend's families. The boys managed to find a group of Piners, Sir Adlington, Espen, Ake, and a few dead residents. They managed to vaporize Ake and a Piner, and lose Meghan.
Now Nelson was driving back to the Adlington Wall, heading back to Espington and leaving the Mining City. Bruno had no idea if his parents were alive, if Jack and Alanna were safe. His father was still in the Adlington Slammer, hopefully safe from the Piner attack. Bruno could only hope that his family was alive in the Clinic.
The car ride to Entrance A was in complete silence. No one spoke; the only noise came from the Humvee and the faint winces from Valinoti. Bruno saw his friend's bloated leg; the skin around the wooden arrow was inflamed, red, and filling with pus. Valinoti was sweating profusely and his skin was starting to pale.
"You okay, buddy?" Bruno asked.
"I've been better," Val answered, eyes half open. "We almost out of Adlington?"
"Almost," Nelson said, the first word he spoke during the ride.
"Are you okay, dude?" Anzalone asked the quiet Sergeant Guard.
"I'm fine," Nelson answered quickly.
Anzalone glanced at Bruno before speaking again. "You had dust on you when you came back with the Humvee."
"I drove into a house and got sheetrock crap on me. No big deal."
"You crashed the Humvee?"
"No. I had to hide quickly from the Piners so I drove through a wall and parked the vehicle."
"That's why you were dusty?" asked Anzalone.
"Y-Yes," Nelson stuttered.
"Then, why were you sad?" Bruno butted in.
"Excuse me?"
"I noticed you tearing up a bit," Bruno said. "How come?"
"I told you: I was covered in sheetrock dust. It got in my eyes."
"So you parked the Humvee in someone's house to hide from the Piners and then drove here?"
"Yes," Nelson answered after slight hesitation.
"What about the Piner you vaporized?" Valinoti interjected, and the three boys turned to him immediately.
"How did―" Nelson could not finish his sentence; the tears were forming once more.
"The dust on your body looked more like the dust from the Piner I vaporized before, not sheetrock," Valinoti explained. "What happened, dude?"
Nelson wiped the tears that fell from his eyes again. He drove slower now, though the other boys really didn't seem to notice.
"One Piner managed to find me in the shack," Nelson admitted. "He was young, probably fourteen or fifteen. He didn't realize that I was the person they were looking for until he noticed my Obsidian. The Piner went to scream but I already pulled the trigger. I didn't think, I just did it. I killed a kid, turned him into human dust. And now on top of that, I killed Ake."
It all made sense to Bruno now. No one responded to the Sergeant Guard; Valinoti justed patted his partner on the back.
Nelson continued driving the Humvee in silence.
➣Sunday, 8 March 2099, 3:00PM
Diggs had looked everywhere for Bruno. He had first gone to R9 where he spoke with Lee, Cariddi, and Schmidt.
"We just came back from lunch," Lee had said, petting Jojo the Great Dane. "Stupid wait took forever!"
"He's probably doing some Gatherer work," Cariddi had added.
At that statement, Diggs had darted back to the Guard House and took the elevator to the top floor (Bruno's Boss Gatherer office was located there). Unfortunately, when Diggs got to the office, the door was locked and the lights were off. Bruno hadn't been in there for quite some time. The Guard had then checked Espington Eatery, the Clinic, both other restaurants, the Espington Factory, and the Fabrics Market.
"He hasn't come here all day," Brittany the Fabrics Marketer had said. "And I've never been happier."
Diggs had finally walked back to the Inns Two Lobby, where Katrina and Amanda the Inns Two Convenience Manager were conversing.
"Find Bruno?" Katrina asked.
"No," Diggs said. "He's definitely with Guard Four Hundred and that's a violation of Chapter Sixteen, Section F of the ECC Handbook."
"Why are you doing this?" Amanda asked.
"What?" Diggs mumbled.
"Why are you trying to get Bruno in trouble?" Amanda wondered. "Isn't this a minor violation and aren't you two friends?"
Katrina looked at her boyfriend with a worried expression. The Guard took a seat on a lobby ottoman. Amanda crossed her arms, waiting for a response.
"...If Bruno went to Adlington unknowingly," Diggs started, "the violation would be big enough for Valinoti to lose his title of Sergeant Guard and, er, I could possibly get it."
Amanda nodded and walked back to Inns Two Convenience without another word.
Diggs held Katrina's hand and didn't say another word himself.
⛏ Sunday, 8 March 2099, 3:00PM
If things couldn't get worse, Sir Adlington and Espen Fontenot stood in front of Entrance A with their swords drawn.
"Stop the vehicle," the President said.
Nelson was the first to speak. The Sergeant Guard stood up, aiming his Obsidian at the two men after parking the Humvee. "I have a gun, a gun that could vaporize you like it did Ake."
Apparently Sir Adlington and Espen had no idea that their Head Viking was killed, reduced to cremated ash. Bruno watched as the two men looked at one another, closed their eyes for just a few seconds, and then looked back at the vehicle in front of them.
"What is your name?" Sir Adlington asked the Sergeant Guard.
"Why━"
"What is your name?" the President repeated.
"Jesse Nelson," he answered. "Yours?" he then asked sarcastically.
"Maximus Adlington," he said. "Do you want to know why I asked for your name?"
Bruno looked at Anzalone at this moment but his silver-haired friend was staring at Sir Adlington, aiming his Obsidian tightly. Valinoti was laying down, skin pale, hair damp. The torn skin around the arrow was turning a sickly maroon. Bruno knew there wasn't much time to save his friend's leg.
"Why did you ask me for my name?" Nelson asked Maximus.
"So I know the name of the man who killed Ake," Sir Adlington said, "and so I know the name of the man I'll kill."
Bruno aimed his Obsidian when he heard that last statement. Espen took a step backwards; he knew his sword wouldn't be enough to stop three men with hi-tech weapons. Bruno then heard something he didn't expect he would hear; Sir Adlington laughing.
"You won't vaporize me," he said. "None of you will."
"Yeah, and how do you know that?" Anzalone asked, finger on the trigger.
"Because Espen and I are the only ones who know where all of your parents are," the President said.
"All right, then, talk!" Anzalone demanded, flipping the switch from Vaporize to Electrify. "Or you'll feel ten thousand volts."
Sir Adlington didn't realize he could be electrocuted at that distance telling by his frightened face. Espen stayed behind his superior, clutching his sword as if it was his life source. Bruno kept his Obsidian trained as did his two friends. Sir Adlington pushed the Gate open a bit; Espen peered behind himself slightly.
"Don't move!" Anzalone shouted. "Tell me where my family is!"
That was when the Adlington Gate fully opened, but not from Sir Adlington. Someone from the outside entered the City. Nelson and Bruno turned their Obsidians to the Gate, expecting to see the Piners again ready with revenge after their sudden loss.
But a bald, Caucasian man appeared in a construction outfit. He had a bump on his head and his fabrics were tattered. Anzalone's eyes widened and he jumped out of the Humvee.
"Dad!" he shouted, lowering his weapon and running to the man.
"Tyler? Tyler!" Mr. Anzalone shouted.
Bruno knew it would happen before it happened.
Espen Fontenot swung his sword without hesitation. The blade struck Mr. Anzalone's chest and the bald man let out a loud scream that echoed the silent air.
"No, Dad!" Anzalone screamed, firing his weapon.
A blue current of electricity struck Espen. The Viking fell to the ground, dropping his sword, and convulsed violently. Sir Adlington threw down the same smoke bomb things Ake had thrown down. The President left Espen behind and ran down the dirt trail. Nelson went to pull the trigger, but Bruno stopped him.
"We need to help Anzalone's dad!" Bruno shouted.
Anzalone was already kneeling by his father's body; there was a long, arked strip of red along Mr. Anzalone's chest, under the torn shirt.
"Dad, Dad, it's gonna be fine," Anzalone assured. "You'll be okay."
"I g-got away," Mr. Anzalone stuttered. "The Piners w-were a-attacking the City-y. I wasn't w-with Stacey when t-they came."
"Mom? Where's Mom? And Jack and Alanna?" Anzalone asked, eyes watering.
"Mom, J-Jack, Alanna, and all t-the surviving residents are hiding in the Clinic r-right now," Mr. Anzalone explained. "I w-was working away from the family w-when the Piners came."
"Anzalone, your dad needs stitches or he'll get an infection," Nelson said.
"We'll bring him to Espington," Anzalone cried.
"No!" Nelson said. "The Guard would never let an Adlington resident in!"
Bruno was looking behind Nelson, Anzalone and Mr. Anzalone. Espen was lying on the ground half-unconscious-half-awake; the Viking twitched every so often. Bruno looked past Espen and noticed two people running towards Entrance A. The runners were both female and it took Bruno a moment before recognizing who the girl on the right was.
It was Meghan.
Bruno aimed his weapon at the Assassin.
"Put the gun down!" a short, dirty-blonde-haired lady shouted. "That's my husband on the ground!"
"Mom?" Anzalone noticed. "Meghan? Mom, stay away from her! She killed Uncle Dixon!"
"Meghan spoke with me, Tyler," Stacey said. "We have to forgive her."
"How, Mom?" Anzalone cried. "How can I forgive the girl that murdered my uncle?"
Meghan started crying. Bruno didn't know what Mrs. Anzalone was going to say, but he knew it wasn't going to be good.
"Because Meghan just found her mother," Stacey said. "Mrs. Geneux was killed by Maximus' Torch Touch."
Anzalone didn't speak; Meghan continued to cry. Bruno stood up and let Anzalone speak with his mother alone. Valinoti was breathing slowly on the Humvee; he opened his eyes feebly when he heard Bruno's gravelly footsteps.
"We needa get back to Espington," the Sergeant Guard muttered. "I need to see Henry Hodge."
Bruno knew it was time to leave. Who knew where the Piners were; they could be waiting right outside the City. Bruno needed to act now and get his best friend back to the Espington Clinic.
"Anzalone, Nelson, we need to leave," Bruno said. "Valinoti is getting worse."
Nelson didn't answer, just walked back to the Humvee. Anzalone was back by his father, who was now sitting up and cupping his laceration as if it were a newborn.
"I'm staying here," Anzalone said.
"What?" said both Bruno and Nelson.
"He'll stay with me and Meghan," Stacey said. "We'll bring Ed back to the Adlington Clinic; we have Nurses."
Bruno wanted to argue but he knew that with Valinoti's leg there was no time. Nelson started the Humvee once more; Valinoti widened his eyes when he heard the revving of the engine. Bruno looked at Mr. Anzalone and then at his silver-haired friend; Anzalone really did care about his family extremely. Bruno admired that.
"Keep your Obsidian safety off," Nelson reminded. "Piners can be out there."
Bruno held his weapon close as he entered the Humvee; Valinoti sat up and grunted at the immense pain.
"Keep me posted through the mobile," Bruno said to Anzalone.
The silver-haired boy nodded while helping his father up.
Nelson drove past Ed, Stacey, Anzalone, and Meghan and through the open Gate; the last thing Bruno saw before the Wall blocked his view was Espen's motionless body.
"Wait!" Anzalone shouted, running out of Adlington.
Bruno spun around quickly. "What?"
"I'll make sure your family is safe," Anzalone assured. "Valinoti's, too."
"Thank you, Tyler."
"Oh, and, uh, I think you should tell Julius," Anzalone added, his voice wobbly and faint.
"Tell him what?"
Anzalone looked up at Bruno with a look of total fear.
"Everything."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone