Superhuman [Book 1]

28 || Mutter

➟ sam

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"Who the hell fights an agent?" Ly asked, running alongside us. The ten of us- Alliot, Piers, and Super, who was being pushed in his wheelchair by Nia- were moving towards the second level of the East Wing.

"I mean, this is Denver we're talking about," Zane said. I nodded, my breath ragged. Running wasn't really my specialty. "She doesn't have the nicest track record," Zane continued.

"Are we there yet?" Tommy mumbled, and I shoot my head, looking at the sign of the nearest corner.

"North Wing, level four," I said. Tommy groaned, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Doesn't this school have a damned elevator? I swear rode it just this week," he said, his pace matching mine.

"It does," Super said, and Tommy's hand flew from my shoulder, eyes on Super.

"Tell me then, why are we walking? We're not even walking, we are running."

"You need to be conditioned, Thomas. Speed is everything," Super retorted.

"You're in a wheelchair," Tommy laughed, taking a deep breath. "Don't be a hypocrite." Super smiled.

"I don't have to walk to be fast, you know," he said, and Tommy shook his head, a grin slipping lazily over his face.

We kept at the same speed, running through the hallways of the North Wing. Classrooms passed in a whir. We passed my History of SOSA class on the right, the bathrooms on the left, the elevator on the left- "Wait a minute," Tommy said, stopping. "That's the elevator. Now, whatever your preferences might be, I think the fastest way, without a doubt, is the elevator. I mean, carry on, if you wish," he said, pressing the down arrow.

"He has a point," Jack said, moving to stand next to Tommy.

All ten of us managed to fit in the elevator. Yes, Super's chair included. It was a tight fit, to say the least. The buzz of elevator music filled the air. No one spoke.

The doors opened to the second floor with a ding!, and we rushed out. Crossing beside the courtyard, we entered the East Wing. "Second level, right?" Kyle said, looking at the signs on the wall.

"Uh-huh," Piers said. "Outside classroom 214E."

"Do you have this on a reliable source? I don't want to be on a wild goose chase here," Hazzy said, looking at Piers.

"Most reliable source in the building, next to Super, of course," Piers said, sending a smile to Super.

"Of course," Super said.

Room 214E was just down the hall from the rookie dorms. First years usually lived here- Alliot was an exception. All in all, the second floor of the East Wing was nothing special, making it an odd place to pick a fight. There they were, though. A mountain lion, which was quite obviously the same one that attacked me forever ago, was growling at an agent, who was plastered against a wall, her eyes wide with fear. The cat growled, and the woman took a deep breath, looking up. "Piers! Thank god you're here, I'm kind of in a sticky situation-" The mountain lion growled again, and the woman cringed.

"It's okay, Agent," Piers said.

"Agent Yi, please remain calm," Super said. "Denver, I am going to have to request that you back away from the agent." Mountain-lion-Denver turned her head, looking straight at us.

"Uh, Denver?" Kyle asked.

"You're not gonna kill us, asshole," Ly said.

"Ly, c'mon, not really helping," Nia said back. Ly sighed, her fists clenching.

"Denver, I need you to listen to me," Kyle said. "I get it, you're angry. I understand. This isn't how you should go about it, though. Like..." he trailed off. Denver took a step closer.

"You can't reason with her, Kyle," Zane said. "She's a mountain lion. You're a human. Think about it."

"Fine," Kyle said defiantly. "Fine, I'll change that."

Kyle's skin began shifting. I averted my eyes, finding the idea uncomfortable. Every glance I got at Kyle, especially at times like this, felt stolen. The pounding thought of he's Jack's, he's Jack's, he's Jack's beat in my head in time with my heart, and it felt like it was burned there, a steady rhythm. I felt like I couldn't look at him without betraying her. She was my friend, as was he, and I felt that my... feelings, largely because of this, were wrong. I sighed.

He had completely morphed into a mountain lion. He stood across from Denver. If I could understand any animal language, body language included, maybe I'd understand what was going on. As I was, though, I had no idea. She roared at him, and he growled at her, pawing at the ground. Ly looked nervously from Denver to Kyle, as if she was listening in on them. She probably was, I thought, remembering her abilities. Denver threw herself at Kyle, pouncing on the other cougar. I took a step back, and watched Ly do the same. "Right. I don't think we should stand here," Ly said.

"No shit," Hazzy said, her face blank. I turned to see the two cougars tussling right in front of me, another agent and Piers having a casual conversation, and the rest of Alliot standing, looking about as dumbfounded as me.

One of the mountain lions- I think it was Kyle- growled, and the other one, Denver, stopped. She took several deep breaths, before her shape began to shrink. I shielded my gaze again. Even when it wasn't Kyle shifting, it was still odd to watch. Denver made a small noise, and I turned my head back. She was sitting there, scratched, bloody, and looking very confused. "Did you really mean that?" she asked, and Kyle pawed the ground twice. Denver nodded, standing. "Well. I don't need you anyways. I hope the two of you are happy. And Yi?" she said, looking over at the agent. "Don't forget this. Nobody messes with me and gets away with it."

"Except us," Zane muttered under his breath. I laughed to myself, despite the situation. It's weird the things you can find funny when you're scared.