The Free City

Chapter Thirty-Two : Sam v. Khan

A Super woman made of mud and earth sprouted from the ground and reached forward to slice at Sam with hands made of rocky shards. He dodged, barely a hair's breadth away from getting his throat cut open. Roman grabbed Khan and pulled the boy away from Sam, but one of Finn's shields sprang up behind Roman's feet, tripping him over backwards. He fell, and Khan followed suit. The kid crab-walked backward, trying to stay out of Sam's reach.

"Protect me!" he screamed again.

But it was too late. Sam grabbed the boy by his collar and hauled him up so they were face to face.

And the entire world exploded.

Their surroundings melted in a kaleidoscope of dissolving colors. It all spun and whirled, as if Sam and Khan stood at the center of a tornado. There was an immense pressure against his skull. A squeezing sensation as Khan tried to impose his will on Sam's mind.

Sam sank to his knees, hands still locked on Khan's shoulders. The boy was clawing his nails into Sam's hands, and neither of them seemed to be able to let go.

The tornado around them narrowed until the whirling power nearly touched their backs. Sam could feel it pulling him backwards, whipping against his skin like a lash. He held on tighter to Khan, and then shoved, trying to get Khan to fall into those spinning colors. Somehow, he knew the one who let go and fell into that void would be the one who lost.

"You'll lose!" Khan shrieked. He kept his footing, standing over Sam, who was struggling just to kneel. "You're weaker than I am! Even with your energy booster friend, I'm more powerful than you!"

It was true. Sam felt his feet sliding, his knees losing traction with the ground. And even the earth beneath them seemed to spin, making him dizzy with the collision of their power. Khan let go of Sam's hands and shoved at his chest, trying to get him to fall back into the raging storm of their own creation.

"And you know, it's that fire-boy's fault that this is happening the way I planned!" Khan gloated. "He had to stand next to Roman to save Dianna in the forest. Roman went into Kole's dreams and learned everything! I knew where everyone would be, and I sent my friends out to take care of them. Even Dianna! I know about her weakness. She won't be able to stop me! No one will!"

"What did you do?" Sam demanded, horror overtaking him.

"I matched everyone perfectly. I won! I've won everything! And I'll win against you, too! You're not strong enough to beat me!"

He's right, Sam thought. I'm not strong enough.

Everything inside of him turned to ice at the thought of losing his mind to someone else. Of losing everything. Was this it? Was Sam going to lose to Khan? NO! He refused to allow it! It was true that Khan was stronger, but he was still only a child.

"You're just a kid with mommy issues." It was an effort to speak. His words grated through his teeth, his muscles clenched, his head felt like it was splitting. His calves cramped at the strength it took to keep him from being pulled backward. But he would never give up. "No one would be your friend if they had a choice, or if they weren't afraid of you. No one really loves you. You're just a baby with a lot of power and no idea how to use it! Even Dianna said so. She'd rather die than be your friend."

"Shut up!"

The intangible wind began to shriek around them, gaining strength as they both used all they had to keep their footing. The pressure against Sam's skull was so intense he thought his skull would be crushed. The pain was indescribable. It radiated through his nervous system, and his vision swirled with colors and faded around the edges. His hearing went fuzzy. It felt like he was losing.