Clara
A storm of emotions surges through me—fear, wonder, an aching tenderness I cannot name—as my gaze tangles with Alister's. His eyes do not waver; they drink me in completely.
He came for me…
The thought blooms in my chest like fire and roses, burning and beautiful.
The men bare their weapons at him and pull out whatever artifacts they're carrying. Yet before anyone can do anything, Alister simply lifts his hand.
And suddenly, gravity abandons them. One by one they rise, writhing silhouettes levitating in midair, bullets spiraling harmlessly, and curses tearing from their throats.
Only Ava and I are spared, rooted as we witness the impossible.
"You came..." I manage to utter as I simply stare at him while Ava clutches onto me tightly.
He raises a brow as if I've said something absurd. "Why wouldn't I?" He finally says it, and I realize my heart quickened its pace just at the sound of it.
He says it so plainly and in a matter-of-fact way. Like it's a given he would come for me. That he'll always be there whenever I need someone. That no matter what happens, where I am, or how long I have to wait...he'll always show up.
A motorbike's growl tears me from the spell. Its headlight blazing like a comet as it devours the road. Zach bursts into view, brown curls and green shirt snapping in the wind. I see the glint of his golden chain and a baseball bat strapped across his back like some medieval knight's blade reimagined for the modern world. A contrast to his vacation look. He leans into the turn, before halting inches from me. He jerks his chin, arm outstretched.
"Come on! I'm supposed to take you two to safety."
I glance at Alister as he focuses on keeping the men in the air. How is he doing this? Wasn't he just able to lift smaller objects? Won't this have a heavy toll on his body?
"Ava." I gently pry the girl away from me. She's still shaken and scared. I don't want her to see more deaths than she already has. "This guy is a friend. Go with him. You'll be safe."
She hesitates before complying. Zach's eyes flick back to me with concern, and he reaches, silently urging me to follow.
I shake my head, retreating a step. "Go on."
His mouth tightens, but he reluctantly obeys. Gravel spits beneath his bike as he speeds away from the scene.
Suddenly, the back door to Alister's car flings open and a familiar redhead scurries out, breathing heavily.
"Do you not know how to drive!?" Simon wheezes. The scammer lifts his heterochromatic eyes upward—and freezes. The color drains from his face as he beholds the grotesque storm of bodies twisting in the air, some shrieking, some dropping their guns, others their precious artifacts, which clatter uselessly on the ground. I notice the snake-eyed man try to use his power, but it doesn't work. Probably because Alister wears glasses. I was right. The ability has no effect if there's a barrier in between.
"If I let that psycho drive, we'd have killed everyone on the road." Comes a cool retort. The driver's window slides down, and Stephanie leans an elbow against the frame, black ponytail falling across her shoulder. Her red lips curl delightfully as she whistles surveying the scene. "Man, I want powers too."
Alister doesn't acknowledge their rambling as he takes a step forward and releases his invisible grip.
The sky collapses.
Bodies crash to the pavement with bone-shattering force, the air ringing with sickening thuds, and the ground trembling beneath the carnage. Screams shred the night, mingling with the weapons and relics scattering across the asphalt.
But he is not finished.
His hand rises once more, and four knives slip free from the inside of his jacket. They hover for a heartbeat before moving towards the necks of the ones still alive. Throats bloom crimson. The struggling men gurgle as steel tears flesh, their final cries strangled into silence.
From the corner of my vision, I spot the liquid man beginning to flow across the ground. Gleaming in the streetlight as he surges toward Alister's feet.
"Watch out for that mercury-like thing!" I cry out the warning.
Alister's head tilts, and with a flick of his fingers, the liquid mass halts, then rises, suspended in midair like a quivering sphere.
"Interesting," Alister murmurs, as he stares at it like a specimen under glass. He glances back at Steph. "Jar. Glove compartment."
Once Steph quickly hands him the requested item, he seals the liquid into the jar tightly and gives it back to her. "The moment he turns into a human, kill him." He orders before his eyes suddenly go wide and he coughs into his hand. Even from this distance, I can tell that's a lot of blood coming out of his mouth.
"Are you ok?" The words leave me in a whisper as I step forward, weaving my way over the broken wreckage of my captors. Their bodies are scattered like discarded twisted dolls, and blood seeps into the earth. From above, the scene would resemble nothing more than a colony of insects crushed beneath a careless hand.
Alister finally looks back at me, and I try to keep my pace steady despite the odd traitorous weakness in my knees.
"This is the third time you've been kidnapped." He blurts out, ignoring my question and making sure I remember what a jerk he is. "Is this going to be a regular thing for you?"
My mouth parts in disbelief. "Stop saying it like it's my fault!" I glare at him as my feet pick up speed. "And I didn't even ask you to come after me!"
"Yes. I can see how well you were handling everything." He says sarcastically, but the words end in a fit of violent coughing. He bends, and blood spills from his lips into his hand.
"I was handling it!" I shout back, too loudly, too desperately, as though sheer volume might erase the sound of his choking. "I...I didn't need any help! You didn't have to do this!" I yell whatever comes to my mind frantically. Enough to ignore the rapid pounding of my heart. Enough to silence the urge to...do something to him.
He came for me...
I break into a run, unable to stop. His gaze remains locked on me as if he's waiting, expecting the inevitability of my arms around him. He doesn't move. Doesn't retreat. Well, since it looks like he won't push me away, I'll take it as an "as long as you want."
But before I can reach him—before I can touch him—his eyes roll back, and his body crumples like a marionette with its strings cut, crashing to the ground at my feet.
"Are you kidding me!?" I gasp, frozen mid-step, torn between horror and exasperation. My heart lurches at the sight of blood staining his mouth, my mind screaming at the possibility of what this power is doing to him. And yet, some small, bitter corner of me seethes with suspicion—that he would rather pretend to collapse than hug me.
"He's dead!" Simon wails, as predictable as sunrise, staring wide-eyed at Alister like a child caught in a nightmare. His faded jeans wrinkle at the knees, and the galaxy-patterned shirt he wears seems absurdly cosmic against the bloodied carnage surrounding us.
"He's not dead. He just fainted." I snap, crouching beside Alister. My own wound on my leg, stinging from the movement.
"Because of blood loss! The guy already looks anemic, and now he's losing whatever's left inside him!" Simon cries, and I hate that his argument makes too much sense. A spike of genuine worry pierces through my chest.
"Ugh, quit whining." Steph says, stepping out of the car. She's still in her plum shorts and black crop top. Does this mean Zach and Steph didn't even get to go home before they got roped into this? Another question that piles on top of the ones I plan to ask on the way. "Simon, go back inside and be useful."
He winces but doesn't argue, retreating into the car. "Hurry up. The police will be here any minute." I catch the bluish glow of laptop screens from the backseat before he shuts the door. I'm starting to understand how they found out where I am. Thanks to Simon's hacking skills.
"Don't worry, Clara. We're taking him to a specialist." She reassures, lightly tapping Alister's head with the tip of her boot, much to my annoyance.
"But before that," she begins stretching her arms. "Grab the gasoline from the trunk and start burning things."