22
It felt like an eternity, though it couldn’t have been more than a fraction of a second, but eventually, Scout worked out that she hadn’t just died.
But she might be about to.
Something caught hold of her, and she lurched forward, half running, half nearly falling down the staircase. The blue energy was still crackling up and down the g*n barrel, occasionally snapping out and trying to strike her.
The air smelled of burned hair. She hoped it wasn’t hers.
She felt a rawness in her throat and realized she was screaming. She could feel her screams vibrating inside her chest, but she couldn’t hear a thing. She almost wished her eardrums would burst, just to relieve the pain and the pressure.
The hum was more of a whine now, the blue energy dancing up and down the g*n barrel snapping a
