The Free City

Chapter Thirty-Two : Sam v. Khan

Sam focused on his breathing, and kept his strides long. He'd always been fast, but Roman was giving him more trouble than expected. They left the road and crashed through the wet undergrowth of the forest.

Under the thick canopy of leaves, the rain wasn't so relentless, and Sam could finally see without spitting and blinking water out of his eyes and mouth. And he could hear a little better, too. He could hear the sound of his teammates trying to catch up, and the ground-shaking sound of the giant Super chasing just behind them.

But Sam didn't look over his shoulder. His sight condensed to the narrow stripe of Roman's back, just out of reach. He would reach it. He had to.

Just as a stitch in Sam's side threatened to slow him down, Roman burst into a clearing. One without any rain.

And the dell - dry and sunny - wasn't empty. Sam stopped dead in his tracks, dread filling him down to his bones.

A boy stood there, beside an elderly woman with the clothes and the features of a villager. She was clearly a cityless Super. And judging by her upraised face and the way the clouds swirled around her high above, she was a weather Super - the rarest of all Supers.

And the boy. Sam didn't need to ask him for a name to know who it was. He looked just as Dianna had described him. Almost angelic looking, except for the anger in his eyes.

Roman skidded to a stop right behind Khan, breathless from the sprint. The boy, who looked startled to see Sam, blinked in confusion. Seconds later, the rest of Sam's squad and their pursuers burst into their glade.

"Roman?" Khan asked, brows furrowed. "Have you touched them yet? What's going on?"

"There's a Super in the ground!" Lark's frantic warning sent chills down Sam's spine. "She got Jason!"

"Sam!" Finn raced forward, throwing up shields to stop the blood-wielder from slicing any of them in half. Sam's team surrounded him again, but they were missing Jason, Zuri, and Hank. Sam pushed away the horror in his heart and tried not to imagine what had happened to his classmates. He would get to Khan if it was the very last thing he did. Lark and Finn were by his side, trying to slow down and hinder the giant and the blood-girl, who spread out to surround them.

"Roman, what-" Khan didn't get to finish his sentence. Roman reached out and shoved Khan forward, closer to Sam's group. No... closer to Sam.

And Sam realized with sudden clarity that this was a trap; but not for him. Roman had set this trap for Khan.

"You can't!" Khan whirled on Roman.

"My powers are gone," the teenager ground through his teeth, jaw tight with tension. "You told me not to get taken by the mind-controller. That's him. I'm following your orders."

Khan whirled and speared Sam with a look of hatred and incredulity. "This is him? Don't bother touching him, then. Just kill him!"

Roman, now commanded directly from Khan, pulled a knife from his belt. Without his power, it was the best he could do. The blood blades whipping from the girl turned to Sam directly, and the giant groaned with effort to push past the gravity field and reach Sam. Lark and Finn both cursed as they tried to adjust.

"Where's the one in the ground?!" Lark was looking around frantically even as she held down the giant with all of her strength. Finn also seemed on edge, shifting from foot to foot as if afraid to stand in one spot for too long.

"Sam, go! Now!" He commanded. "Just get to him!"

Sam sprinted forward. Khan gasped and backpedaled.

"Protect me!" He cried.