The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Fifteen: Raveena

Sirens. The sound was all too common in downtown Los Angeles, but it still made Raveena's heart quicken when she heard it.  It was impossible to get to every accident orinjury, to respond to every attack or gunshot, but she tried her best.

Raveena sat up and stared out at the city. Warm morning sun reflected off the windows of buildings around her and illuminated the rooftop she was currently using as a hideout. Her hand moved into her bag to find her radio. She pulled up the antennae, turned it on, and adjusted the dial until the traffic report came through clearly.

"—paramedics are on their way to the scene. We advise avoiding the area until further notice."

"Where is it?" she muttered.

"Three cars have joined the pileup—"

Come on.

"—At the intersection of Grand and Fifth."

Raveena jumped to her feet. She'd be cutting it close, but if she ran, she could get to the scene before paramedics. She tossed the radio back into her bag. The breakfast she'd grabbed that morning—an egg sandwich and a muffin—sat half-eaten on top of her sleeping bag. Next to that was her blue gaiter mask. She pulled it on and lifted it to cover the lower half of her face. Her long, straight black hair went into a low ponytail, and white fingerless gloves went over her dark hands. As a final touch, she added a pair of black sunglasses.

The fastest way to the ground wasn't through the building but down the exterior. Raveena hurried to the edge and surveyed the distance between her and the next section of the roof. It would be pushing the limits of what she could recover from quickly, and hurt like hell for a few moments, but it was doable.

She took a deep breath, braced herself, and jumped. Her boots slammed into the roof below and she rolled. Pain shot through her legs, but she forced herself to hop back up and run.

It only took a few seconds for her abilities to kick in. Her pain was quickly replaced with soothing warmth, and the fractures in her bones healed themselves. She picked up speed and sprinted to the next edge. This time, she dropped onto a fire escape. The impact wasn't as bad, but Raveena still winced. She needed to be careful not to waste all her energy before she could use it to help other people.

Raveena leaped from the fire escape near the bottom, bounced off the lid of a dumpster, and landed in the middle of an alleyway. She emerged on a crowded sidewalk and scanned the area, ignoring onlookers as she oriented herself.

As soon as she'd determined what direction to go, she was off. Her feet pounded against pavement, carrying her to the intersection where four cars were now stopped, all damaged to varying degrees.

Other people had arrived to try and help, while many more crowded the sidewalks and watched. The sirens were almost deafening, now—police and paramedics had to be just around the corner.

Raveena ran to the overturned car that looked to be in the worst condition. She yanked open the driver's side door.

"Hey!" a man nearby yelled. "That car's catching fire, get away!"

Raveena glanced at the front of the car. Dark smoke spilled from the hood, and flames were sure to follow. But there was an unconscious woman strapped into the driver's seat. Raveena leaned in and unbuckled the seat belt. The woman fell into her arms, and Raveena grunted. She was strong for fifteen but given the limits of her age and small stature, dragging adults around was definitely pushing it.

The heat reached Raveena's skin, threatening to burn it. She stepped back and pulled the woman away from the car. Fire moved in to swallow the seat where the woman had been sitting.