March City: Land of the Gifted [Book 1 | Fantasy/Sci-fi | Complete]

Chapter 37: Street Brawl

Ari, Fris, and Shon stiffened. More shapes moved in the red mist not too far away. The pattering of footsteps reached Ari's ears. Human cries. Human screams. They were just behind a collection of vats nearby.

"Oh my god! What are those?" shrieked a girl. Scuffling reached their ears.

"I can't see!" said Shon, his gun pointed at the source of the sound, peering through the machinery. Ari dashed to the nearest working generator and tore off its lid. She stuck her hand into the live wire, feeling energy course through her body. With a swat of her free hand, a gust of wind rippled out, temporarily blowing the thick fog aside.

A User struggled against a creature that had its mouth clamped against her arm. She pressed her free hand against its face, trying to gouge out its eyes, but its jaws closed too tight. Her hand glowed. The monster's flesh melted into itself but didn't seem to affect it in any way. Shon fired. With a thump, the creature collapsed. The girl wept, getting onto her side, gripping her bloodied arm.

"Xera!" said Fris, horrified. "Oh god, the others are just escaping now!"

More young people joined the fray, confused and terrified. The monsters swarmed, attracted by their screams, tearing into the nearest ones. Ari fired blast after blast of energy, hitting them with accuracy on a par with Shon's. Fris hesitated, anxious, her fingers poised. User and creature tumbled into a mess of limbs, making it almost impossible to shoot without the possibility of injuring innocent parties.

"We have to go! They won't stop coming!" hissed Rale from atop the wall. The fog drifted in again. Once more, Ari blew the smoke aside. The sight of figures in bright yellow hooded capes caught her eye. Her heart skipped a beat.

She snatched Shon's arm and tugged him behind the generator with her.

"What?"

"Investigators," she whispered. Shon went white. Fris must have seen the same thing, for she crouched at her hiding spot, daring only to peek now. "At least the kids will be safe now."

"Are you kidding? Don't you know who else must be here if they are? The hounds never leave the master."

On cue, a tall, slender figure appeared in the red smoke, her dark cloak billowing. The yellow-clad Investigators fanned out, their electric batons and whips at the ready. Some of the creatures got distracted and attacked them instead – and dropped dead when the Investigators retaliated. The rebels huddled together, trembling and crying.

"Ari, you have to help them!" called Mina from above.

"Lira's going to hear her!" said Shon. He waved at her, gesturing for her to be quiet.

"Please! They don't have anyone to look out for them!"

Ari hesitated. Lira hadn't detected their presence yet, but it wouldn't be long until they were discovered if they stayed. If she were in this situation a week ago, she couldn't have cared less about them. The rebels would be safe from the monsters if the Investigators were here, but Shon was right. Lira was renowned for being merciless. The rebels might be safe from Kena's creatures, but who would save them from Lira? They deserved a chance. It could easily have been Mina and Fris in that crowd.

"Stand back from that wall, Shon," she said. She gestured above. Rale understood, pulling Mina away from where Ari pointed. Ari put her hand inside the generator again, sensing the pulsing warmth from the millions of joules of energy coursing through the wires. Taking in a deep breath, she absorbed the energy. It continued to pulse into her skin. Her core storage filled to the brim within a few seconds. Squeezing her eyes shut, she took in a little more, her skin and lips tingling. Her hair stood on end. She wouldn't be surprised if she were glowing then. She ignored Fris's gasp.