The distraction of the scream was brief, a moment at most, but it was enough to allow Rickards to spin on his side, kicking and breaking one of the knees of those kicking.  He caught a boot, then kicked a second knee, sending another man down and providing an opening for Rickards to scramble away through.

Frantically, he made it to his knees while three men followed.  The first again kicked at Rickards, who was now at least ready.

Crossing his arms and catching the kick, he grabbed both ends of the large boot and twisted violently with a snap, punching the man’s groin with everything he had as his assailant fell forward.

The man fell screaming. Rickards made it to his feet before being struck hard across the nose by a clenched fist.  He stumbled backward, looking for the man but took another to the jaw.

Rickards saw a flash of the third strike and ducked, then instinctively reached up to lock his arms.

The next man ran directly into him and fell away with another broken knee, screaming and causing two more men to pause out of caution, limping forward but now reassessing.

Yet, the person notably missing from the fight was Khoury himself.  Instead, Rickards’ eyes found him looking not at them, but past them into the darkness.

The glowing ground was getting closer and brighter.

Khoury then turned and stared at the lead building behind him, which now had a large, gaping break in its wall.

Panic riddled his expression.

There was no protection.

One of the two men reapproaching Rickards, Badawi slowed to a crawl as if having a similar thought.  Turning to Khoury, his fear was confirmed.

Instantly, he whipped around and peered out into the darkness, seeing the advancing light.

With their lead shield compromised, the phenomenon would wipe them, too!

“Stop!” yelled Khoury.  His men turned away from Rickards and looked at him, following the direction of the chief’s extended arm.  “Move!” he screamed at them.  “MOVE!”

In mere moments, everything changed, leaving Rickards standing on two legs and heaving, watching the other men suddenly scramble, dropping everything and running for the SUVs.

Khoury was also running but was farther away, allowing Rickards to charge forward and intercept him on the way to a vehicle.

In his weakened state, Rickards was an easy match for Khoury, but the man had no interest in the struggle.  Instead, he quickly scrambled to his feet and shook off Rickards’ clutches, continuing to run for the vehicles.

One by one, each truck pulled out, spitting glass out from under their spinning wheels as the thundering vehicles peeled away.

Rickards rose back to his feet, watching them flee.  He was puzzled until he saw it himself.  The ground was glowing and moving toward him, like a giant, slow-moving curtain of light.  Rising high into the night sky, where it became translucent and gradually disappeared.