Partials series 1-3. Dan Wells

park; sprint to the trees and head left.”

      Another shot zipped by as they crossed to the thick forest, and Kira swore under her breath as she ducked behind a car. The others ran past her and she steeled her courage again, racing for the trees. The park turned out to be riddled with fences, keeping them out of the dense cover in the center, but the outskirts were still better than nothing, and they ran from tree to tree, always keeping something at their backs. Every few blocks a wide street cut through the trees, but the park kept going.

      Jayden stopped by a cluster of taxis and lowered the Partial prisoner to the ground, wincing.

      “Keep going,” said Haru fiercely. “You can rest when you’re dead.” Jayden nodded and reached for the Partial, but Kira saw a drop of blood fall from his arm.

      “Jayden, you’re bleeding!”

      “Keep going!” repeated Haru.

      “He’s been shot in the arm,” said Kira, looking at Jayden’s wound. “How long ago did this happen?”

      “Just a few blocks.” Jayden reached for the Partial.

      “Haru can carry it,” said Kira. “You just run. I’ll bandage this when we get somewhere safe.”

      “My arm’s practically broken,” hissed Haru.

      “Nut up and carry it,” said Kira, shoving him toward the Partial. She took Jayden’s semiautomatic and checked the chamber. “I’ll take the rear, now run.”

      They took off again, Yoon leading the way through a maze of fences and trees and rusted cars. They passed a subway entrance, a dark stairway down underground, and Kira looked in as they ran past: It was flooded halfway up the stairs. No cover there. They kept to the park, and soon a thick steel tower rose up ahead of them.

      “That’s the bridge,” said Jayden. “Take the first entrance you see.”

      Kira shook her head. “That’s not the same bridge.”

      “Do you really care which bridge?” asked Jayden. “Just get off the damn island.”

      “But the traps,” she insisted, glancing behind her as she ran. “The traps will still be in place on this one. It’s too dangerous to cross.”

      A bullet flew by, and Jayden cursed. “We don’t have a lot of options right now.”

      They burst out of the park and into a wide street. The bridge rose before them at an angle, up and southeast toward the river, and the four runners were now so tired that they staggered up the incline, panting with dry, scratched throats. A shot pinged off the cement barrier, and they collapsed behind it out of sight.

      “I didn’t see who it was,” said Kira.

      “Whoever it is,” said Yoon, showing her pistol, “the Partial’s effective range is a lot longer than ours. We can’t outshoot it.”

      “You go on ahead,” said Jayden, grabbing Yoon’s gun. “Find the traps, defuse them or mark them or . . . whatever you can do. Haru and Kira will follow with the Partial. I’ll guard the rear.”

      “She just said you can’t outshoot it,” said Kira. “Are you crazy?”

      “I can’t outshoot it at this range,” said Jayden, and pointed back toward the base of the bridge. “I can outshoot it just fine from down there, if I get a drop on it. It has to come around that corner sooner or later if it wants to pursue us, so I’ll hide behind one of the cars and wait.”

      “Then I’m waiting with you,” said Kira. “I’m your medic, you idiot, I’m not leaving you behind with a bullet hole in your arm.”

      “Fine, just stay low.”

      Yoon crawled forward, and Haru followed, dragging the Partial behind him. Kira crept back down with Jayden and took position behind a fat truck tire. Jayden crouched by the next tire over, keeping an eye on the edge of the barrier below. The truck’s driver, a weathered brown skeleton, stared forward blankly.

      “Who do you think it’s going to be?” asked Kira. “The Partial, I mean: Nick or Steve?”

      “You mean Skinny or Scruffy?”

      Kira laughed emptily. “It’s not like they’re hard to tell apart, I was just too embarrassed to ask which was which.”

      “I’ll guess we’ll see,” said Jayden.

      Kira looked up at the bridge, then whispered softly, “The watchmen will see us crossing the river.”

      “I know.”

      “We’ll get reported, we’ll get arrested, you’ll probably get court-martialed. Our secret mission isn’t going to stay secret.” Kira watched him, but he said nothing. “I’m beginning to think this was kind of a stupid idea.”

      She saw a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth.

      “Shut up, Walker,” Jayden whispered. “We’re trying to set an ambush here.”

      They waited, Jayden watching the edge of the barrier and Kira watching the rest of the road. As soon as the Partial appeared, they’d—

      She heard a click.

      “Drop it.”

      She looked up to see a Partial standing over them—not Skinny or Scruffy, a Partial soldier, likely one of the team they had encountered, black faceplate gleaming in the sun. Somehow it had gotten behind them. It gestured with its automatic rifle, and Jayden set down his pistol with a sigh. Kira set hers beside it.

      “Don’t make a sound,” said the Partial. “There’s a—”

      A wide crack spiderwebbed out across his faceplate, centered around a small hole that seemed to appear out of nowhere; half a second later the soft puff of a suppressed gunshot wafted past them. The Partial crumpled to the ground, and Kira stared in shock. Jayden grabbed his semiautomatic. They heard running footsteps, and Kira managed to turn herself around to see Scruffy running toward them, his rifle in his hands.

      “That takes care of the sniper,” Scruffy called out, “but there are more coming. We’ve got to move fast.”

      “You’re the one who warned us,” said Kira.

      “You can act surprised later,” said Scruffy, dropping to one knee by the dead Partial. He slung his rifle over his back, picked up the fallen Partial’s automatic, and turned to Jayden. “I’m serious—there’s at least ten more behind us. We have to blaze.”

      Jayden paused a moment, then stood and started jogging up the hill. “Come on, Kira. This is a long damn bridge.” They ran upright, not bothering to stay below the barrier, trusting speed and distance to keep them clear of the bullets. They caught up with Haru somewhere in the maze of stopped cars.

      “Good to see you, Nick.” Haru dropped the Partial prisoner with a painful grunt. “My arm’s broken and Jayden’s is shot; take a turn with the mutt.” Scruffy looked behind, shrugged, and handed Haru his weapon. Before he could even pick up the prisoner, Haru shot him in the head. Kira yelped, Scruffy toppled to the ground, and Haru shot him again.

      “What the hell are you doing?” Jayden shouted.

      “I told you,” said Haru, “as far as I’m concerned, they’re both guilty. I’m not taking any more Partials home than I have to.”

      “He saved us!” Jayden shouted. “He killed a Partial soldier!”

      “That doesn’t mean anything,” said Haru, checking the assault rifle. “Now shut up and carry the prisoner.”

      “He was also telling the truth about the group behind us,” said Kira, looking back. “I can see at least one soldier already. We’re not going to reach the other side in time.”

      Jayden frowned. “If the cat’s out of the bag, we might as