Alien vs. Alien

parts were strewn all over, in the pool and around it.
    Another laser hit the street that separated the World War II memorial from the Washington Monument. The streets within the Mall had all been blocked off for the Festival, so no cars were there. However, once again, there were plenty of people running on the street because it seemed to provide a safer path.
    Many dodged the strike itself, but not all. The blast not only sent bodies flying but also threw up chunks of tar and pavement into the air—and they came down indiscriminately. Booths, stages, old people, young people—destruction rained down.
    Another downside of having to use supersoldiers in this kind of situation was that they were a lot bigger than any human, and they clearly weren’t programmed to watch where they were stepping. They seemed focused on protecting the monuments, which was great, but innocent people were getting trampled under their feet.
    A thought managed to crawl into my horrified mind. “If we can get people into those tunnels, they’ll be safer than anywhere out here.”
    “How?” Christopher asked. “There’s only three of us.”
    I spotted something. A lot of somethings. Lots of guys in black suits, movinpg really fast. The Field teams were here.

    Yi

CHAPTER 95

    “O VER HERE!” JEFF BELLOWED.
    More than a few teams heard him, and we had a lot of A-Cs in front of us in moments.
    “Grab as many people as you can and head for the Lincoln Memorial,” I shouted. “We’re going to have you take them underground. Pass it on!”
    The agents nodded and took off. Well, some did. Some grabbed people nearby.
    “Link hands!” I shouted as we jumped down and ran past.
    Jeff bellowed that order as the three of us continued to the Lincoln Memorial.
    We couldn’t run at hyperspeed. Well, we tried, but slammed into a group of people who’d reversed direction at the last moment because of a laser blast in front of them.
    I lost my hold on both Jeff and Christopher and went flying. Landed on some bodies. “I’m so sorry,” I said as I scrambled to my feet. “Are you—”
    I was going to ask if they were okay. But they were all dead. I could tell because none of the bodies were whole, and no one was breathing.
    Backed away and got slammed into someone else, spun around, shoved, and generally manhandled. If my purse hadn’t been over my neck, I’d have lost it, and not because anyone was trying to steal it.
    A supersoldier was barreling toward where I was. I grabbed the people nearest me and ran in the opposite direction. Spotted some black Armani suits in the crowd and tried to head for them.
    “No!” a man I had hold of screamed. He yanked away. As I tried to grab for him, he moved out of my reach and right under a supersoldier’s foot. He was crushed in front of me.
    I turned away to head back toward the Field agents I’d spotted but saw now why the man had pulled away. They’d been shot by a direct laser hit, probably what the supersoldier had been trying to block. The other person I held yanked out of my hand and ran off. I couldn’t move.
    The air was filled with dust and smoke now. Not so much that I couldn’t see, but enough to make your eyes water and throat dry. Fear has a smell, and this much fear smelled the way a kick in the gut felt. We were animals, after all, and animals pick up the panic from other animals. I wanted to run away screaming, just like everyone else.
    Thought I heard someone calling my name and turned around. There was a little girl standing on the grass, alone, crying. Somehow, no one had run her over yet. However, it was just a matter of time.
    I ran toward her, dodging people, and got to her just before a clutch of people ran her down. Managed to get us to another clear patch.
    Against all odds, a woman ran to us. “Oh, thank you!” she said as fshe took the little girl from me.
    “Let’s get out of here. Head for the Lincoln Memorial.”
    She nodded and we took off. I was doing better with someone specific to actually protect. I couldn’t be afraid, I had to take care of them. I had the woman by her arm so I wouldn’t lose her.
    Dodged and weaved us around people, like salmon swimming upstream against a thousand grizzly bears. Felt the ground shaking, moved to hyperspeed, and got us out of the way of another supersoldier. Itjust missed us as it took a laser blast. And then another. And then more. These blasts were more rapid fire, like machine guns versus cannonballs.
    “Wow,