Culture Shock

Chapter 52: Motivation

She didn't give him a chance to reply before she stepped onto a fast-forward tile and zipped away. Above all else, her mind screamed at her to get to Dora before the other dragon could do something to her. The coven was on their way and would be arriving to help the humans at any minute, which would mean one fewer distraction for her. 

And, of course, it was too naive of her to think she could just do what needed to be done and call it good. Down on the ground, Relle spotted movement ahead and slowed her pace to get a more thorough look. A middle-aged man with his leg in a cast shuffled as fast as he could while a little boy no older than seven or eight clung to his father's hand. The bulk of the crowds had long since moved on, leaving these two to struggle along at a snail's pace in search of shelter. Relle felt her molars ache when she ground them together, but then she was sliding down a sharp decline on her tiles to alight on the asphalt in front of them. 

"Here, I've got you," she said and held out her gloved hands for them to take. The father seemed reluctant to accept her help, but his son gasped with delight and immediately grabbed her right hand. 

"You came back! I knew you would!" he said, the picture of unfounded confidence. 

The boy tugged his father forward, and he soon accepted her other hand. "Thank you, Relle," he said softly, and she smiled in kind. 

It was hard not to flinch at the way they both stared at the injury on her arm. A fair amount of her concentration was needed for what she was about to do, so she simply said, "Keep your eyes closed. It'll help with the vertigo." The son readily did as he was told while the father took an extra second to convince himself to follow her directions. 

Relle felt the heat in her core flare up in response to her command to teleport. The three of them reappeared several blocks back the way she had come before teleporting again. They flickered in and out of reality in rapid succession until they had caught up with the edge of the mobs. One last teleportation later, and Relle let go of their hands amidst several close clusters of terrified and nervous people. Another of those sirens specific to her ecto-signature started to wail from the street corner a few yards away.

"Thank you for helping us!" the little boy exclaimed over the sound of the siren, and Relle beamed down at him while trying to not let her eyes mist over. 

"You're welcome," she responded gently. 

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled with the knowledge that hundreds of pairs of eyes were on her now. She turned to see a wall of faces many rows deep cautiously crowding closer and closer. Countless phone cameras were trained on her, too. After drawing her left arm close to her chest and tossing her right arm to the side, Relle cleared her throat. "Hey, let's not let people fall behind! Got it?"

Then she teleported a dozen feet into the air and set down on a new tile. Before taking off, she added, "Please find shelter, and take care of each other!" 

As she resumed her pace toward the approaching pair of dragons, a high-pitched sound gave her reason to pause and look back. Were... Were some of the citizens cheering for her? A few lifted their hands high to wave while their words blended into a mesh until all that was left was a feeling of appreciation and well wishes. Relle Phantom felt a pang in her core, and she lifted a gloved hand to wave back before continuing to run. 

That little detour had already cost her precious time to act on Dora and the other dragon's actions, and now they were within city limits. If she didn't do something fast, the damage could be indescribable. 

~*~

"Ramón, your goal is to find groups of survivors and escort them to safe locations," Ricardo said without taking his eyes off of the road ahead. Their borrowed SUV was easily at capacity with everyone crowded in together, not that there was much they could do about that. He tried to drive as quickly and smoothly as possible, but the city streets were in desperate need of repairs after more than a month of taking constant beatings. Fleeting images of people rushing toward the suburbs flew past the tinted windows. "Terese, Olivia, you both are staying with Ramón and doing what he says. Prioritize removing obstacles and watching each others' backs at all times." Ramón grinned with triumph at the way his sisters bit back their complaints.