The Fourth Kinetic – Cover Reveal and Giveaway

 The sounds of thumping feet come my way as I stumble across the room. Dust flies into the air when I scamper by. The fight to prevent a cough seems to take more focus than attempting to move my old couch with my mind. I hear them tugging away at the front door just as I’ve reached the edge of the room. I glance back and see two shadows stream against the murky floor. I turn and squeeze the doorknob. Shift it to each side as swiftly as my hands can manage, but it doesn’t budge. A squeal escapes my lips as I tug. It’s no use—the door is locked.

I shift my head back. Their masked faces have turned, and I know they’ve heard me.

Crash!

Shattered glass rattles the floor, and reflexes cause me to raise my arm over my face.

“We’ve got him!” one of them shouts, as he creeps through the jagged hole he’s just created.

The other shoves him through with a heightened eagerness.

Instinct kicks in, and my arms fly forth, triggered by the renewed thumping in my chest. I can feel the invisible energy surge through my body and across the room like a tidal wave. The remaining scraps of the doorway explode into pieces as both armored men go flying outward. I don’t wait to see their bodies scrape against the withered parking lot. I turn and refocus my attention on the locked door. I spread my fingers as I place my hand just above the knob.

“We…we’ve got…a…a Kinetic,” one of them groans, while writhing against the dilapidated asphalt.

All other sounds are mute to me now. Every bit of focus is on this doorknob. I can feel the veins protruding from my brow, and my eyes turning a bloodshot red. My hands shake, and my teeth rattle. I think about the closet door at home that I unlocked with ease. I can’t let my panic cloud my senses.

Slowly, the knob rattles as if stricken by a miniature earthquake, until finally I feel it rip from the crusted wood. Close enough. I glance back as I swing the rickety old door against the wall. Here they come. Two more soldiers join the ones I previously blew away. I fumble up a mucky stairwell. The smell of dust and poor plumbing fills my nostrils.

Voooom!

A sensation I’ve never felt comes rushing by. A powerful gust seems to clip my legs just as I turn the corner of the stairwell. It knocks me to my knees and sends a flurry of wood and dust scattering into the atmosphere.

My body slams against the wall, and I gasp for air. A powerful ache creeps into my skull, like I’ve just been thumped in the head by a baseball. What the hell was that? If that was the blast from their guns, I doubt I’ll be able to withstand a straight shot.

Thunderous footsteps return as I regain my focus and begin stumbling up the stairs. There are only a few steps, but it feels like I’m crawling up thousands. I don’t know what is pushing me. Fear, perhaps? Whatever it is, the adrenaline surging through me is incomprehensible.

Voooom!

The next blast comes just as I dive through a steel doorway. The door swings from its rusted hinges and smacks against the rooftop floor. A warm beam of sunlight flows into me as I cradle into the fetal position.

I just lie there, clutching my hands to my head. A piercing screech seers though my mind. My heartbeat is the only recognizable sound, and my entire body is numb. I peek out and see the open rooftop. The sun is glaring at me through a thin patch of clouds. My mind is yammering at my body to do whatever it takes to move. I have to get up!

The only thing I can muster is a limp crawl. It doesn’t take long to realize that they have me.