boom might have simply been
it
. Tom could be gone, ripped apart by the force of the explosion into pieces no one would never find. And to top everything off, try as she might, Maddy couldn’t focus her frequency on Tom. He was either too far away and caught in the frequency static caused by the panic spreading across Angel City, or that
had
been a jet she’d seen explode, and it’d been
his
jet. The reason she couldn’t track his frequency was because he was . . .
Maddy chased the word out of her head before it could enter. He couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t let him. He
had
to survive.
Kevin burst through the front door, breaking Maddy’s reverie.
“Thank God you’re still here!” he said. “It’s all over the news, Maddy. Some of the demons have already broken through at the coast. They’re headed straight toward Angel City, but, Maddy, get this—they’re following the freeways.”
Maddy didn’t turn to face her uncle, and instead just kept looking up at the sky. Kevin took a few steps farther, out from under the eaves of the house, and followed her gaze up toward the evil brewing in the sky.
“Are you . . . ?” Kevin trailed off, visibly overwhelmed by the scene.
Maddy finally turned to Kevin. From the look on his face, she could tell he understood.
Her inner Angel had come out.
“Stay inside until you hear from me,” Maddy said. “Or if we . . . can’t reach each other, try to get out, any way you can. Maybe they’ll reopen the evacuation routes. Just . . . stay safe, Uncle Kevin.”
She looked up and their eyes locked. All their years spent sharing each other’s lives passed between them in that moment.
“You be careful,” Kevin said.
She gave him a faint smile—the biggest she could muster in the moment—and nodded. Slowly, as if reluctant, Kevin headed for the front door and, with an attempt at a cheerful wave, went inside.
Maddy turned back to the darkening sky. Inky clouds ran from behind the demons’ tails, spreading blackness from the ocean, as fighter jets gave pursuit.
In the distance, a huge explosion of concrete and flame rocked the edge of downtown as a demon touched down on a freeway, pulverizing a large stretch into ash and fire instantly. As Maddy looked out across as much of Angel City as her front lawn perch would allow, it seemed to her that the demons weren’t flying straight. It was just as Kevin had said—it looked like they were following the freeways.
BOOM.
Before she had a chance to think for even a microsecond longer, an enormous explosion erupted just blocks away, rocking the very ground Maddy stood on. The shock waves from the blast rippled through her body.
Gasping and stunned, Maddy sprinted into the middle of the street. Out toward the Walk of Angels, a snarled cloud of flame and smoke crept toward the skies above rooftops and palm trees. Car alarms blared all across the city, and emergency sirens began to wail.
Overhead, a sudden streak of black fire and flame passed, followed by the deafening roar of two F-16s, which appeared to be trying to get in position to fire on the Dark Angel. Something in Maddy’s subconscious told her to duck, even though the jets were hundreds of feet in the air. They launched missiles as the beast passed over the hill, and soon the whole group disappeared over the ridge toward the Valley.
Still more demons appeared in the far-off sky, and the air raid siren began singing its howling song again. There was already a smattering of fires all across the city.
Chaos. Pure, hellish chaos.
Maddy dizzied under waves of panicked frequencies running through the city all at once. Using her every ounce of effort, she tried to isolate them, just like Susan had taught her in class. But it was too much. And there were too many. How would she be able to—
Suddenly, a vision. Maddy braced herself under the impact of grisly imagery and human misery.
It was close. The young woman was close. There was still time
it
. Tom could be gone, ripped apart by the force of the explosion into pieces no one would never find. And to top everything off, try as she might, Maddy couldn’t focus her frequency on Tom. He was either too far away and caught in the frequency static caused by the panic spreading across Angel City, or that
had
been a jet she’d seen explode, and it’d been
his
jet. The reason she couldn’t track his frequency was because he was . . .
Maddy chased the word out of her head before it could enter. He couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t let him. He
had
to survive.
Kevin burst through the front door, breaking Maddy’s reverie.
“Thank God you’re still here!” he said. “It’s all over the news, Maddy. Some of the demons have already broken through at the coast. They’re headed straight toward Angel City, but, Maddy, get this—they’re following the freeways.”
Maddy didn’t turn to face her uncle, and instead just kept looking up at the sky. Kevin took a few steps farther, out from under the eaves of the house, and followed her gaze up toward the evil brewing in the sky.
“Are you . . . ?” Kevin trailed off, visibly overwhelmed by the scene.
Maddy finally turned to Kevin. From the look on his face, she could tell he understood.
Her inner Angel had come out.
“Stay inside until you hear from me,” Maddy said. “Or if we . . . can’t reach each other, try to get out, any way you can. Maybe they’ll reopen the evacuation routes. Just . . . stay safe, Uncle Kevin.”
She looked up and their eyes locked. All their years spent sharing each other’s lives passed between them in that moment.
“You be careful,” Kevin said.
She gave him a faint smile—the biggest she could muster in the moment—and nodded. Slowly, as if reluctant, Kevin headed for the front door and, with an attempt at a cheerful wave, went inside.
Maddy turned back to the darkening sky. Inky clouds ran from behind the demons’ tails, spreading blackness from the ocean, as fighter jets gave pursuit.
In the distance, a huge explosion of concrete and flame rocked the edge of downtown as a demon touched down on a freeway, pulverizing a large stretch into ash and fire instantly. As Maddy looked out across as much of Angel City as her front lawn perch would allow, it seemed to her that the demons weren’t flying straight. It was just as Kevin had said—it looked like they were following the freeways.
BOOM.
Before she had a chance to think for even a microsecond longer, an enormous explosion erupted just blocks away, rocking the very ground Maddy stood on. The shock waves from the blast rippled through her body.
Gasping and stunned, Maddy sprinted into the middle of the street. Out toward the Walk of Angels, a snarled cloud of flame and smoke crept toward the skies above rooftops and palm trees. Car alarms blared all across the city, and emergency sirens began to wail.
Overhead, a sudden streak of black fire and flame passed, followed by the deafening roar of two F-16s, which appeared to be trying to get in position to fire on the Dark Angel. Something in Maddy’s subconscious told her to duck, even though the jets were hundreds of feet in the air. They launched missiles as the beast passed over the hill, and soon the whole group disappeared over the ridge toward the Valley.
Still more demons appeared in the far-off sky, and the air raid siren began singing its howling song again. There was already a smattering of fires all across the city.
Chaos. Pure, hellish chaos.
Maddy dizzied under waves of panicked frequencies running through the city all at once. Using her every ounce of effort, she tried to isolate them, just like Susan had taught her in class. But it was too much. And there were too many. How would she be able to—
Suddenly, a vision. Maddy braced herself under the impact of grisly imagery and human misery.
It was close. The young woman was close. There was still time
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