This is an alternative chapter 21, the one I wrote originally. However in the editing stages I decided it was just far too complicated and though I'd researched the whole electric fence thing, I wasn't 100% about it and it wasn't like I could test it out without damaging somebody's property (and I'm a GOOD girl :)). So I swapped it up a bit, gave Ward some more work to do. But here's the original in case anybody was interested :)
Gable let out a long, low whistle as she stared up at the towering fence. It practically vibrated as it hummed with electricity. “Holy shit.”
“That about sums it up,” Ward agreed, nodding his head up and down slowly.
The team stood in a row, eyeing the impossibly tall fence with mixed emotions.
Cadby scratched at the blond scruff growing on his usually clean shaven chin. “But. . .this is good though, right? This means we've reached the edge of the compound?”
A slow smile spread across Gable's face. “Yeah, this is good. This is really freaking good.” She tried to contain the excitement coursing through her veins, but couldn't seem to reign it in. This was it!
They had only been trekking through the seemingly never ending rainforest for a couple of hours that morning before they'd come across the fence. It felt like a good sign.
“You think it goes the whole way around the compound?”
She shrugged. “I'd say so. My guess is there's only one way in and one way out, and that's a heavily guarded gate, armed to hell. This is probably our best way through.”
“I don't see anything on the other side but trees,” Zay said, craning his neck. “How far in do you think the prison is?”
“Who knows.”
“It must be a pretty big compound though,” Queenie pointed out. “Otherwise they'd have more guards stationed around the fence.”
Zay nodded. “The guard stations must be pretty far apart.” With a sigh that was nothing close to Gable's elation, he rubbed a hand over the back of his head. “You know what else this means? It means that this is where the electricity starts. On the other side of that fence is where the surveillance equipment begins. They'll see us coming every step of the way.”
Hue slapped him on the back, a determined smile stretching out his lips. “Come on, buddy. One problem at a time. We've made it this far. Now, numero uno, how in the hell are we getting over this fence without getting fried? Anyone know how to fly?”
When no one spoke up, Queenie put her hands on her jutted out hips and eyed them all in derision. “Seriously? Not one of you expected an electric fence? Bunch of amateurs.”
Nicky grinned, enjoying her attitude. “Rarw, kitty got claws. So what's your plan, oh genius one?”
Smugly, she slipped off her pack and dropped to her knees to dig through it, pulling out some thick, copper wire and a large crocodile clip. Gable was impressed, despite herself. “Someone find me a metal stake,” Queenie ordered.
Gable raised an eyebrow. “From where, exactly? These trees are weird, but I'm pretty sure they're wood. . .and skin and blood. But no metal.”
“Have a look around near the fence. There may be leftover scraps from when they built it. I doubt the guards were worried about leaving a mess. They don't exactly seem environmentally conscious.”
The team did as they were told, and it only took five minutes for Ward to call out in success. He came back with a sign post attached to a long metal pole which he must have pulled from the ground.
“Warning, electric fence,” Cadby read in bemusement. “Who exactly are they warning? The trees?”
“Snap the sign off,” Queenie demanded as she gathered her supplies.
Chuckling at her bossiness, Zay ruffled her hair. “Who's our little smartypants?”
She slapped his hand away. “Stop stroking me, I'm not a puppy.”
Ward snapped the sign off the metal pole with his boot, then handed it to her. “What next, boss?”
“Hopefully I'll be able to use these to short-circuit the fence and blow a fuse. I'm not sure how long it'll be dead for so we'll have to get through quick.”
Cadby tilted his head to the side, eyeing the fence warily. There were holes in it, but only small ones. They wouldn't even be able to fit their heads through. “You didn't happen to pack any bolt cutters in that never ending backpack, did you?”
“Um.” Queenie puffed out her cheeks and blew out a stream of air. “Those I forgot.”
He swallowed. “Over it is then.”
“The only thing is,” she continued. “this is going to draw us a lot of attention. They'll know we short-circuited the fence and they'll be on us in minutes.”
“That's true,” Zay mused. “Ward, how're you feeling today? You think you could rustle us up an earthquake while Queenie does her thing? That way they might blame it on the quake, or at least the confusion will give us a few minutes head start. Could you handle it?”
Ward lifted a shoulder uneasily at the prospect. “I guess I could try. . . It's risky though. I'm still unstable.”
“It's pretty much the only plan we've got going for us at this point. But it's up to you, bro.”
He nodded. “It's okay, I can do this.” With a weak smile, he held out a hand to Gable. “Help me?”
She slipped her hand into his without a word and squeezed gently, sharing her strength.
Closing his eyes, Ward took a deep breath and focused. Moments later, the earth began to rumble quietly beneath them. It was gentle, controlled enough that they could remain on their feet, though it made Queenie's job harder.
“You're doing awesome,” Gable spoke quietly so that only Ward could hear. She wrapped her free hand around his arm.
“Just don't let me go,” he murmured without opening his eyes. Then louder, he said to Queenie, “You'd better get this done quick. Not sure how long I can hold it.”
Nodding hastily, Queenie secured the copper wire around the makeshift stake, then attached the crocodile clip to the end of the wire.
“Hey, let me do the rest,” Zay called gallantly over the noise of the trembles.
“Do you know what to do?”
“Not even a little bit.”
She shook her head at him, then handed over the pair of rubber gloves she'd pulled from her pack like a real life Mary Poppins.
“Stab the metal stake into the ground near the fence,” she instructed. He did as he was told, and Queenie poured a bottle of water around it. It was lucky they were almost at the compound because they were beginning to run dangerously low on supplies.
“What next?” Zay asked, protectively ushering her away from the fence.
“Connect the crocodile clip to the fence as carefully as you can. Then step back right away!”
Job done, Zay leaped back as a serious amount of sparks showered out of the fence. “Whoa!”
Gable had no idea what kind of fancy smart girl trick Queenie had just pulled, but it seemed to have done the trick. “Okay,” she told Ward. “You're done. You can stop now.”
He nodded, squeezed her hand once, and then the quake slowly came to a stop. His eyes blinked open and he sighed in relief.
“Well done.” Gable released his hand to rub his shoulder comfortingly. “You kept control the whole time. Maybe the island is easing up on you. Or you're getting used to it.”
“Yeah.” But his voice sounded shaky.
“Think it worked?” Hue wanted to know, staring up at the fence. It had gone quiet and the sparks had stopped.
Nicky shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” Before anyone could stop him from being a gigantic idiot, he darted forward and grabbed a hold of the fence between his fists.
Gable's heart all but exploded out of her chest, but nothing happened. He was fine. “You stupid fucker!” she yelled, punching him in the arm as hard as she could. She was strong, but his arm was pretty much solid muscle so it didn't seem to faze him. “We could have just thrown something at it!”
He grinned, probably because he could tell how much she cared. “Well, now we know for sure. Win win.”
“You're such a dumb ass.” She punched him again when he laughed, then once more just because. “How long do you think it'll take them to fix it?”
“Not long,” Zay guessed. “Especially if they've got an Outcast whose power stems from electricity. We need to get over quick. Let's grab our weapons and leave our packs behind – we could do without the extra weight and we're not gonna need them any more, one way or another.”
Queenie paled. “And by that you mean because we're going to find the Outcasts today and take them home, and not because we're all going to die. . .right?”
“Sure,” he answered, a little too brightly.
With quick precision, they withdrew their guns and knives and tucked them safely away and their packs were tossed to the ground. They were done within thirty seconds.
“Should we hide them?” Cadby asked, looking at the pile of abandoned packs.
Zay shook his head. “Not much point now. Let's do this.”
Hue nudged Gable and held out his hand for her to shake. “Fifty bucks says I can get over before you.”
“Make it a hundred, ninja monkey.”
Without waiting for him to count down, she took a running leap at the fence, landing half way up and clinging on. The movement made her injured fingers ache so bad she felt the pain shoot right through every inch of her, but she didn't make a sound – she wouldn't give Hue the satisfaction. They'd healed some overnight with the magical faerie air – enough so that she'd been able to take off her bandage, but they still hurt like a bitch.
Her whole body was fraught with tension, expecting the electricity to turn back on at any moment. There was no doubt the disabled fence would have set off alarms.
She shimmied up, racing a grinning Hue. They reached the top at the same time, swinging their legs over and straddling the fence so they were facing each other.
“Watch this,” said Hue between pants, and with perfect ease, he flipped his other leg over and pushed off. He landed on the ground below with style and grace.
“Show off,” she called down, and he saluted in response.
A squeak on her other side caught Gable's attention. She glanced down to find Queenie struggling to pull herself up. They didn't have time for this.
“Hey,” Gable shouted. Making sure her thighs were gripping the top of the fence securely, she leaned backwards and stretched down her arms. “Grab on!”
Queenie was visibly trembling, obviously afraid to let the fence go. But with the threat of electrocution looming, she didn't argue. She grabbed onto Gable's wrists and held tight.
“Guys, hurry!” Hue yelled anxiously. The rest of the men were already on the ground next to him; Gable and Queenie were the only ones left. “I think the electric is starting up again – I can hear something. Get your asses down now!”
Gable would have flipped him off if her hands had been free. “I'm gonna yank you up on three,” she warned Queenie with a strained voice. “One, two, THREE!”
She heaved, and Queenie landed on her stomach over the top of the fence.
“Jump,” Zay encouraged, opening his arms. “I got you.” She scrambled over as quickly as she could and fell off the edge, landing in Zay's embrace.
Satisfied that Queenie was safe, Gable pulled her other leg over and dropped. Before she could land on her feet, Hue caught her in his arms. She rolled her eyes as his arms tightened around her waist. “I didn't need any help.”
He smirked back. “I know.”
Nicky shot Hue a dark look, then turned back to the fence. “Looks like we just made it.” He was right – the fence was humming with electricity again. Gable decided it was probably down to the help of an Outcast.
Queenie dragged herself away from Zay and took Gable's hand. “Thank you. You saved my butt. . .again.
“It was nothing.”
“You could have been electrocuted!”
Gable cracked her neck from side to side. Queenie was always finding ways to make things emotional and awkward. “Not like I was gonna let you die or anything. Told you I'd take care of you.”
The smug look was back. For a nice girl, Queenie certainly pulled off smug with a special kind of finesse. “You're so fond of me.”
Sighing, Gable shot her a look, but it wasn't like she denied it.
“Everyone ready to go?” Zay interrupted them, much to Gable's relief. “We end this shit today.”
The others agreed so enthusiastically Gable almost expected them to do a team high five. She'd probably have to get out her gun if that started going down.
The trees were a lot thinner on this side of the fence, and the terrain definitely easier to navigate. They hurried on for almost twenty minutes before Ward stumbled to the ground, groaning. “Not again!”
This time the earthquake came on harder and faster than ever before. It was vicious and angry and roaring like it was alive, so loud they had to throw their hands over their ears, even as they fell to the ground. Trees crashed to the leafy floor and splintered around them. One tree burst in the most horrific way and splashed blood all over Queenie, but her scream was lost in the ear splitting noise of the ground beneath them. Vines and branches shot out of the earth, wrapping around their arms and legs – not tight enough to hold them down, but almost as if they were afraid and searching for comfort.
“Ward!” Gable hollered desperately, but the sound of the ground tearing itself apart was just too loud and he couldn't hear her. She tried to crawl over to him, but the earth began to shift. With a thunderous rumble, it split open, the crack widening with every second. “NO!” she screamed, as rocks and grass started to fall away beneath her. She scrambled forward, digging her hands into dirt and mud to pull herself up, but it was no use.
She was falling. Sliding. Slipping away.
Two pale hands suddenly grabbed onto her forearms. She quickly glanced up into Cadby's strained face. A vein bulged in his forehead as he clung onto her. He lay flat on the ground, his leg twisted around a thick vine so he wouldn't fall in the fissure with her.
With an almighty heave, he threw himself back, pulling her with him and away from immediate danger, though the ordeal was hardly over. They collapsed, their arms and legs wrapped around one another as their hearts pounded furiously. His was beating so hard and fast that Gable could feel it against her own chest.
“Ward's out of control,” Cadby yelled in her ear. “There's nothing we can do to stop him now!”
And then, as if the terrifying island was trying to prove him wrong, the earthquake stopped. It all just. . .stopped.
Silence fell around them, so thick it was almost tangible. Cadby's breathing sounded heavy in Gable's ears. She pulled herself into a sitting position so she could do a headcount.
Ward, Zay, Queenie, Hue, Nicky. . . They were all alive. Blood was running down Zay's cheek from a gash on his head and Nicky was swearing as he pulled out a sharp piece of wood from his thigh, but they were alive, and that's what counted.
“He stopped himself,” Gable marveled quietly.
Cadby sat up next to her and shook his head. His eyes were wide, afraid in a way she'd never seen on him before. “No,” he whispered. “He didn't.”
Gable followed his gaze. Beyond the trees ahead of them, a group of at least a dozen guards marched towards them, guns pointed their way. In the center stood one man, his eyes as dull and soulless as if he was a corpse. She wasn't an Outcast, but he gave even her the chills.
He was a leech, and he was sucking all of the Outcast's powers away – including Ward's.
“Oh, shit.”
