BAM!

Matt shoulder-barged through the fire door and into the stairwell, a tight concrete spiral straight up. He ran, chest heaving as behind him came the sound of crashing, tearing, metal rending metal. Suddenly, there was a deep, resounding boom and Matt’s hand gripped white-knuckled around the railing as the entire staircase shuddered.

Don’t look back. Keep going.

He flew up the steps two at a time, breathing in starts, heart hammering – one floor, two. The sounds were getting louder. A crackling, something like gunfire, then worse – silence. Matt blocked it out, had to block it out, keep running. He reached the top of the stairs, slammed open the door and ran, sprinted out into the blinding daylight-

“MATT!” Three hundred yards away, beyond the fence, a man, a friend, a familiar voice – running towards him, shouting, waving-

“WILL!” But in an instant, behind him, four floors down, the fire door exploded off its hinges, and Matt looked back, horrified, awestruck, as something flew up towards him, not around the concrete but through it, an unstoppable force, a blur of white and gold and-

There was a bang – a rush of sulphur – and suddenly a hand had grabbed Matt by his arm and he was hurtling through the blackness, through the tunnel of nothing, through the howling abyss towards-

Bam! Countryside. Green fields and cows and him and Will, tumbling through smoke, the teleporter’s face clenched and grip tight, the world roaring around them, pressure in his ears, as a second later-

Bam! Snowfields. The top of a mountain. Grey-black clouds and chilling, biting cold crashing over Matt’s exposed skin, squeezing the air from his lungs before he could even breathe, stand, before he could gather his bearings, work out where they-

Bam! A beach somewhere. Matt’s shoes caught on sand and he staggered, stumbling, catching glimpses through blurred vision of palm trees, sky, the endless ocean and Will, his eyes wide, his hand still locked in a vice-grip around Matt, gasping, sweating, but once more scrunching up his face to-

Bam! A desert. A different desert, not tan scrub like the plains around ADX Florence but hard, dry dirt, red and brown rocks and towering stone formations. The grip around Matt’s arm faltered and Will fell to his knees, pale and panting, his arms shaking, struggling to breathe as Matt staggered forward, his hands outstretched, fumbling against a stone wall for support.

“Is he behind us?” he gasped. He turned, rounding on the teleporter, coughing and wheezing in the dirt. “Will, is he coming?!”

“I don’t know,” Will panted, “I don’t think so, I think, I-” His eyelids fluttered and he heaved, doubled over, clutching his stomach. For a second, Matt thought he was going to hurl – but after a moment, the teleporter uncurled and looked up at Matt with terrified eyes, his teeth clenched and chattering. “Matt,” he whispered, “It was following us.”

“I know,” Matt mumbled. He stepped forward, numb, his mind still reeling, head spinning, his legs feeling like they would give way at any moment. He gazed down at Will who was staring up at him with a slow-dawning horror matching his own.

“Matt,” he cried, “It was following us!”

“I know Will, I know!”

Will pushed up, staggering to his feet, reeling, his eyes wild. “Only a teleporter can tunnel through jumps,” he muttered, still clutching his chest, still fighting for breath, “Only a good one, only… but that wasn’t… it couldn’t…” His head snapped up, his face terrified. “Matt, what was that?!”

“Will, it’s Heydrich.”

The teleporter fell silent – abruptly silent, as if Matt had hit him in the face. “No,” he breathed. Matt nodded.

“The Black Death’s alive.”

Will mouthed some shaken reply but the desert wind turned the words to whispers. They stood there, amongst the sand and stone – the sun beating down on them, together and alone. Matt stared into nothing, a tight pain around his chest.

The teleporter spoke.

“Ok,” he muttered, and the way his voice shook made Matt wonder who he was trying to convince, “It’ll be ok. We can go back to Morningstar, we can get Dawn, we can-”

“Will,” Matt said bluntly, cutting him off, “Dawn is dead.”

This time Will let out an actual, physical moan.

Matt pressed on. “He killed him,” he said, “The Black Death, he killed him, back in Africa, he… he killed him, and-and took his place, and nobody… nobody realised he…”

There was silence. A moment’s terrible silence as the truth of Matt’s words – the implication of what he was saying – sunk in.

“He’s going to take over the world.”

“He’s been killing the real Dawn’s family.”

“Nothing can stop him.”

“I told everyone, they’re going to figure it out.”

“The Academy, rebuilding the Legion, it’s all a lie.”

“There’s no more reason for him to hide.”

“He’s got every power imaginable.”

“There’s nowhere we can go. Nowhere he can’t find.”

“Jesus,” whispered Will. He cupped his head in his hands. “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Christ. What the hell are we going to do?”

Matt drew a long, shaky breath, staring at the dirt, the cracks and pebbles, the rocks on the ground.

And then – in tinkling, generic tones – a phone rang.

Matt glanced over at Will. Will glanced back at Matt. They both glanced down at Will’s pants, at the vibrating, buzzing, glowing cellphone in his front pocket. Will gingerly pulled it out. His dark brow furrowed.

“It says it’s you,” he said stupidly, holding up the screen for Matt to see, confused. Matt shrugged.

Then at the same moment, they both clicked.

“Jane!” Will shouted, his fingers scrabbling to answer, the phone flying up to his ear, as through the receiver came Jane’s frantic, panicked voice. “Jane!” he called, “Where are you?! We’re in trouble, Dawn’s- what? Hold on, slow down, you’re not making any-”

Suddenly, Matt’s mind woke up. Suddenly, the world became clear. “Get her,” Matt commanded, pointing his finger, “Get her now, get the Legion, get… get anyone! Go! Now!”

Will hesitated, lowering the phone a fraction, Jane’s words still bubbling through. “What about you?”

“Who cares about me!” Matt roared, “Leave me here, I’m useless, I’m just a…” Then suddenly, he stopped. The words faded on his tongue – as a terrible, shining thought captured his mind.

Matt breathed the final word. “…clairvoyant.”

His head snapped up, his heart racing. He understood.

“It’s me,” he said, the words racing from his mouth before he even knew what he was saying, the truth erupting as it dawned. “It’s all me.” Will started to speak but Matt cut him off, driving over his protests. “Heydrich,” he told him, “He’s after me, that’s why he attacked Nightingale, that’s why he chased us, he doesn’t care if the world knows, he wants my power, he wants my blood…”

He trailed off, then laughed, mirthlessly, shaking his head without a single shred of humour. “The power to see the future. The ultimate protection. One more power and he’s safe forever.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “One more power and he’s invincible.”

He spun to face Will, standing there, stunned, his mouth hanging open. “Go,” he commanded, “Leave me here. Get Jane, get the Legion, get anyone, get… he’ll come for me. Before he comes for the world. I know it. I’ll buy you some time.”

Will opened his mouth to argue.

“GO!” Matt roared, causing the teleporter to flinch. For a moment, the two of them locked eyes. Then with a small, curt movement Will nodded, eyes swimming with pity, with fear, with wordless thanks-

“Wait.” Matt reached into his pocket. He held out Jane’s silver badge. “She’ll want this,” he said. Need it, maybe. He tossed the badge to Will, who caught it with a nod – then he raised the phone to his ear, spoke three words, and vanished into thin air.

Leaving Matt alone and waiting to be found by the greatest murderer in the history of the world.