The Heat Of The Chase

(TW: This story contains heavy swearing and mention of violence.)

The sound of alarms ran through the building. I could feel my anxiety grow with every corner I turned, we had to get out, we had to run. “Mason!” My best friend's voice yells out to me, she was just as scared as I was, we both knew if we stayed any longer it would be the biggest and the last regret we would make.

“There is an exit down the hallway, shit! There right behind us” I turned my head to take a quick glance and see three men in heavy duty uniform running after us.

Without a thought I shoot out my hand to send a wave of force directed at the men, sending them back into the furthest wall. ‘Oof that looks like it hurts’. Nyra lets out a cackle at their bruised bodies and their even bigger bruised egos, “nice one, Mas”.

After what felt like forever we reached the door, I reached out to open it, only to find it locked. “Fuck!” I exclaimed, I was too tired to break the door, my fear rose once again at the sound of heavy footsteps, just as I thought this was it. I felt a weird sensation go through me, the next thing I knew we were outside, we were finally free.

“Yeah thank you so much, Nyra, you really saved my ass” she mocks, I look over at my best friend to see her with a big smirk on her face and a couple of shadowy letters spelling the words ‘your welcome loser’.

“Thankyou, Nyra, for saving my ass” I laughed, we were broken out of our bubble of freedom by the sound of yelling and keys being tossed around.

“We should probably go”

“Yep”

Then once again we were on the run.

After what felt like ten hours of running, we finally made decent amount of distance from the place called ‘hell on fucking crack’ I finally realized it was hotter than fucking hell on a good day.

“Of course the day we finally get out hell is the day, there is the biggest heatwave in America” Nyra yells, and just when I thought she was done talking, “this heatwave is bigger than my parents divorce and the day I came out as gay combined” that sentence sends me into fit of laughter, “your not even fully gay” I retort back in a mix of giggles and confusion. “I know but I would rather deal with my parents and satan than go through this heatwave”, I forgot to mention, Nyra Donovan was the most dramatic person I have ever met.

We had been walking for 3 hours, my legs felt like they were about to fall off and my skin felt as if it was melting off at this very moment. Just as I thought that our day was going to get worse, a flicker of hope flashes in my eyes, a city comes into view.

“Oh thank baby jesus” Ny yells, “we are going to live, Mas” I roll my eyes at her dramatics once again, but I can’t help agreeing with my friend. “Well don’t just stand there, shadow, come on” I have called Nyra ‘shadow’ ever since the day we met.

Flashback*

My body ached, my head thumped with every movement. They had been doing experiments on me since the day I got here, they had not taken me out of the chamber since the day I was abducted. I was only 20 at the time, I knew I had so much to live for but I was in so much pain each day, I would rather them kill me

Right there and then, but no they were going to kill me slowly. I was there lab rat, ready to their bidding, to become their fucking weapon.

I was thrown on to the hard concrete ground, when I lifted my head I was brought face to face with a clear glass cage. Then men in the black uniforms slammed the door and a big click echoed into the room. I laid there as they walked away, my hope had disappeared by the first round of the test, I wasn’t getting out of here anytime soon.

My attention was pulled away from my thoughts as pleas for help echoed through the building, ‘they have someone else too’ the guards walked through the big metal door, along with a struggling girl being dragged behind them. “Shut up, Rat” one of the men yelled, slapping the hysterical girl across the face. I flinch at the sound, within a second later she is thrown in the cell next to me, not a glance our way they finally left.

“Let me guess they took you too?” I whispered, she just responded with a nod. The poor girl must have strained her voice with all her screaming. “I’m Mason, Mason Bennett” I told the girl, scooting closer to the opposite side of the cell to hear her better. It looks like she and I think alike, as she moves closer to me too, I saw shadow weave around her figure as she begins to spell out ‘I am Nyra Donovan’.

“Huh, shadows”

End of Flashback*

“Alright enough reminiscing, dipshit” instead of talking back and starting another random argument, I follow the dramatic girl to the city ahead.

We got to the city, it was busier than Ikea on a Tuesday, yeah that’s busier than it gets on a Saturday, “where are we?” I asked, my nerves still on a high alert. “I don’t know, but I am starving” I look at Nyra with a straight face, “and how do you suggest we get food, we are more broken than two mirrors on a sidewalk” instead of answering me she just gives me this stupid smirk. I was going to annoy the girl until she told me her plan, that was until she bumped into a man in what looks like a very expensive suit, “oh my goodness, I am so sorry” She panics.

“Watch where you are going, kid” the man spits as he continues to walk away, “what an asshole” I was shocked at how rude he was, “yes, but a rich asshole” she pulls at a stack of cash from a wallet that I could only assume was from the man's pocket, “since when do you know how to pickpocket”.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Bennett” she smirks and struts away. I stood there for a minute or two in a state of bewildered shock, “Oi, come on! You're waiting for an invitation” Nyra yells, instead of questioning her I shook off the shock and jogged after her.

“Hello, welcome to Happy La diner” a waitress greets us at the door of a small diner with a bright smile, she picks up two menus and leads us to a table, “alright, lovelys, what can I get for you two” she pulls out a notepad and pen, ready to quickly write down our orders. “Could we please get two chocolate milkshakes and two lots of pancakes with ice cream on the side” Nyra asks, the girl across from me is practically drooling and bouncing in her seat at the thought of food.

“Why of course, sweetpea” and with that the waitress turned away leaving the two of us at the table. I was starving. The last thing I remember eating was what they gave us at the lab which made me want to bleach my taste buds.

“So where are we going after this?” I asked, I pulled out a map I managed to pick up during the walk here.

“We might be able to hitchhike to California” Mumbles came from the girl at that suggestion, ‘alright Cali is not an option’.

By the time we decided where we would go next our food got to our table, “thank god, I was about to eat one of my limbs, I was that hungry” all Nyra got was a disgusted look, thrown by yours truly. We were headed to the biggest city in America, New York.

‘Oh boy, we were in for a journey’

We didn’t stay for long, we both knew better than that. I was surprised we managed to get this far, usually when people run from them, they are dead by morning. It’s officially been a week since we escaped, we have been hitching rides from strangers on the road, and when I say we, I mean I have been manipulating them to give us rides with my “gifts”.

When we have been walking Nyra manipulates the shadows to cover us at night, the longer we take to get to the city of lights the more fear and paranoia takes over us.

“Do you think if they find us, they’ll kill us?” I have only ever seen Nyra this vulnerable a couple of times, once when we first met and tonight. “I won’t let them get us… I promise” I grabbed her hand with a soft smile on my face.

“We made it, Mas!”

It had been 3 weeks since we escaped, finally after weeks and weeks of tracking across states we finally made it. But like every story, the happy moments never last long.

Gun shots rang through the air, “shit! RUN!!” I yell grabbing onto my best friend's hand sprinting away from the men that caused us pain and anguish for years. Nyra uses her phasing abilities to make the bullets soar straight through us, but not even Nyra is strong enough to hold on forever. Her powers won’t last long, it was already hard enough to walk for this long through a heatwave of this magnitude but with the added pressure of the bullets flying straight at us. I threw my hand back and sent some of the men and the bullets away from us, it gave Nyra enough time to let go of me and create a shield made of pure darkness.

“What do we do, Mas?” she yells, terror has surrounded us like a storm that would never end, I had to end it, but how?

“I don't know…” my words left my throat as an idea filled my head, “I got it” I crouched to the ground, I looked at Nyra with a determined nod “hold on just a bit longer, Shadow” my hands touched the gravel of the road, I could feel every bit of the ground, from the gravel to the dirt and the grass. Without a second thought I threw my hands up rapidly bringing the road with me, crushing all of them when I threw it back down. Their screams filled my ears, but I felt no guilt, I promised that they would never get us again and I will never let that promise die.

“Come on” I whispered, swinging the drained girl's arm over my shoulder as we hobbled away from the sea of debris and bodies, we made it, we are going to be ok. Or so I thought.

“Nyra?” I called out, turning to check on her. “No!” a scream left my throat, “I promised you”

THE END