The Secret Rebellion (Book 3 in The Secret Series)

Chapter 12: Road Block

Chapter 12: Road Block

“You do know the way out of London, right?” Bruce asked uncertainly, gripping the armrest beside his seat as Mel sped away from the apartment.

“I have lived in London all of my life, you know,” Mel replied, sounding insulted.

“Sorry,” Bruce replied sheepishly.

Mel took the next turn so fast that I almost fell off my seat and into the aisle. Bruce squeezed his eyes shut, taking deep breaths. Steve looked at him concernedly, before meeting my equally uneasy gaze.

The last thing we needed was for Bruce to ‘Hulk-out’ on us.

“What did you do to your arm?” Steve asked suddenly, noticing the bandage, and I grimaced.

“Frost Giants,” I replied simply, and he nodded sympathetically.

“How long will it take to heal?”

“Hopefully a day at most.”

Steve smiled slightly. “Being an Asgardian sure comes in handy.”

The coach careened down the street, not even pausing at the flickering traffic lights. Mel swerved to avoid a carelessly parked car, and cursed loudly. I darted onto the seat beside Bruce and clutched his hand tightly, as his eyes flashed open and revealed green irises.

“Everything’s fine, Bruce,” I assured him, and the pressure of his grip on my hand was excruciating.

“Can you slow down a bit, Mel?” Steve asked anxiously in a low voice, but Mel shook her head violently.

“I can’t. You have no idea how fast the Peace-Keepers can organise themselves when they want to. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d already set up road blocks,” she said bleakly.

As if on cue, Stark’s voice sounded through the coach’s speakers. I had no idea how he managed that, but I’d learned not to question Tony’s seemingly limitless ability to hack into anything.

“The bridge you’re heading to is blocked.”

Mel scowled. “I told you so.”

I stayed beside Bruce, but looked up curiously over the top of the seats.

 “What’s the situation, Tony?” Steve asked, looking around for something to direct his question at.

“Frost Giants. A lot of them. They’re stood in front of a barrage they’ve set up, but it looks flimsy. They’ve only used plastic road-blockers. I suppose when they blocked it, they weren’t expecting a bus,” Tony mused.

“Should I go a different way?” Mel asked, braking.

“No, don’t brake!” I exclaimed suddenly.

Mel seemed surprised, but carried on at the same breakneck speed as before. Steve looked at me questioningly. I noticed that Bruce’s grip was even tighter now as he struggled to regain control.

“Keep going,” I instructed firmly, “And don’t stop. If the roadblock’s “flimsy” like Tony says, you should be able to drive straight into it. I’ll jump out, and make sure the Frost Giants don’t follow you. You should be able to get out of the city if the Peace-Keepers attention is kept on the bridge.”

Steve frowned slightly. “But your arm-”

“Steve, I’ve had worse injuries. Trust me. And Tony can help. It’ll make it easier for Mel to navigate out of London.”

The bridge was visible now, and Mel was approaching it at high speed. Even from this distance, I could make out the roadblock easily.

I noted over thirty Frost Giants, and a large hulking man lounging against the safety rails of the bridge. I assumed he was either a mutant or Asgardian. Humans were useless in this kind of situation. The man caressed a long whip in his hands, a crooked grin on his face as he watched our coach draw closer.