CHAPTER 122: DUSTIN’S SUPERHUMAN RETURN

Engines snarled as the trucks bounced on the uneven ground.

"You better hope that nothing happens to that woman." Janet mumbled, she had told Lugard to attack a few times but he ignored her.

When they got back to the White house, she would report things to President Ceasar exactly as they happened in the field.

Inside the base, Moon was still fighting against Pastor Salem’s men and she was screaming for help. What she expected was for the believers to rally around her and fight back because she had been kind to them. Instead, they remained back like frightened sheep that had encountered lightning on a moor.

Disappointment quickly found it’s way to Moon’s face. "That’s it? You people cannot even fight for me after everything I have done to save your lives! " She hissed through pursed lips. "We are many and they are few."

Pastor Salem fired a gun into the air, warning the believers to back off.

Naturally, they all did because none of them was eager to die foolishly. The whole reason for paying absurd amounts of money and surrendering most of their fortune to Pastor Salem was so that they could survive in the apocalypse.

"Drag her into the rain!" Pastor Salem barked. His voice carried the conviction of a zealot and cruelty of a man who enjoyed it.

Moon dug her heels into the ground, her wrists raw from struggling. "You will have to kill me first." She spat, her voice hoarse but steady.

"And what would be the fun in that?" Pastor Salem massaged his tightening chest, he was having a little breathing complications lately thanks to the poisoning. He was not even sure if he would be saved. If he was heading for death then he wanted to watch her die first with his very eyes. "Move her." He barked once again, pointing his pistol at her.

One of the guards shoved her forward but before Moon could be forced into the down pour, acid rain started to move away from where Moon was. It was acting like it was avoiding her deliberately.

Pastor Salem’s pistol jerked sideways as a drop of acid rain with the force of a bullet struck it, the weapon spun out of his grasp and cluttered into the mud.

A heart beat later, the fortress gates exploded inward as Lugard’s convoy sped in, the soldiers jumped out of the moving cars, riffles raised.

The believers faltered, some scattering, the security guards at the base also drew out their weapons.

Lugard’s voice cut through the chaos. "I have orders from President Ceasar to take in Moon Raine. Stay back and hand her over, and all will be well. Resist and you will face harsh consequences."

A derisive laugh came out of Salem. "President? Look around you we are in the apocalypse. The government has fallen and no one voted Ceaser president." He said in a demeaning tone.

"I will not ask you again Salem," Lugard cocked the gun. "Hand Moon Raine over. Now."

Bright lights from the cars flashed the area where the pastor was standing, putting him under a spotlight.

The pastor straightened his white robes as if he were still in control. "You think your bullets frighten me soldier? I have no fear. Soon I will awaken. The mist will grant me superhuman powers beyond anyone’s comprehension."

Moon’s lips curled into a cold smile. "Awaken? Dream on you conman. You will not live long enough. The slow burning in your veins, the weakness in your chest? That is me. I have been feeding you poison for sometime now and it’s eating you alive. You are a fake con and I helped you but you betrayed me. Just stay here and wait for death."

Her arrogance grew wings because she was about to be rescued and taken away from the hell that was the Rainhounds base.

Her words caused an uproar among the survivors that were still close enough. The true believers were processing shock already.

The divine prophetess was a murderer and the pastor was fake!!

Lugard was not interested in the drama and he fired his gun. The bullet tore through Pastor Salem’s right hand. His scream compelled gunfire to erupt as his loyalists started firing at the soldiers.

"We need to get to her!" Lugard told Janet.

Janet started sending the loyalists back with blasts of acid rain. Even those that wanted to fight back did not dare to anymore as they run for cover.

With ease Janet created a pathway for Lugard, he pushed forward through the chaos and reached Moon, grabbing her arm. "You are coming with us__"

Moon yanked herself free. "Not with you."

Before Lugard could respond, a thunderous crack split the air. A wave of heat rolled through the rain, strong enough to dry the rain mid air for a few heart beats.

From the shadows beyond the gate, a man stepped forward.

He was tall, broad shouldered and eyes glowed like molted irons. Flames curled lazily around his fists. He was not alone as he had come with the company of six people.

One of them was controlling the acid rain just like Janet. Another seemed to be controlling the wind and he was using it to push back the soldiers.

Moon’s breath caught. "Father..."

Dustin smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it. His voice was low yet dangerous. "Step away from her!" His demand forced pastor Salem to stealthily get away after all it was he that pushed him into the citrus drizzle, he would have been nicer if he knew that the man would become a pyrokinetic.

Janet’s brow furrowed, her focus wavering as she tried to keep the acid rain away from Lugard and his team while fighting back against the middle aged man in a red hoodie who had better control over his water abilities than she did.

Lugard tightened the grip on his riffle. "I am not here to hurt her, but I am not leaving without her. The president needs to have a word with her." He exhaled sharp breath. "Since you are her father you can come with us." He made a proposal.

"You will leave with your life if you are wise." Dustin said, stepping forward. His fists glowed red and heat radiated from his hands. "If you insist on taking her, you will all be burned where you are standing."

A shot rang out from a window. Zadok was the one shooting with a sniper rifle. The bullet was meant for Dustin but his companion deflected it with a surge of water, sending it veering off course until it struck Janet instead.

She jerked back with a cry, a bullet tearing into her shoulder.

"Janet! Focus!" Lugard yelled at her.

"I have been shot!" She shouted back

Dustin’s companion seized the moment, sweeping his arms upwards. The acid rain hovering over Lugard’s team surged downwards in a single punishing wave. The soldiers screamed as some of the drops managed to eat through their bullet proof vests and flesh.

Dustin raised one flaming hand, and a wall of fire burst between Moon and Lugard, forcing him to fall back. The heat was enough to blister skin of those who were close.

Moon’s eyes locked with her father’s. "I cannot believe that you survived." She ran to his side.

"I do not want to cause any trouble, all I want is to leave with my family. If it is not done within a minute, I am setting everything and everyone here on fire." Dustin announced.

Meanwhile on the far side of the courtyard, as the chaos deepened. A camouflaged figure moved silently among the shadows. He managed to slip into one of the trucks without a sound. It was time for him to leave the Rainhounds mountain.

Rowena was brought out by some of the believers and handed off to Dustin. Dustin created a wall of fire between them while the man in the red hoodie sent more acid rain flying out.

As they run for cover, Dustin’s group left.

Defeated, Lugard ordered his men to leave. He watched the ring of fire that Dustin had left behind as a blockade. Once the fire ceased, they headed back to the statehouse with Cassius who was undetected.