Rising Shards

“Where’d she go?” Aira yelled between the sounds of giant tentacled crab-turtle monster laser fire.

“Kalei?” Syval called out. “We could really use you right now!”

Did I break something?

I patted myself over as I stared upward. The sky still looked weird, all warped and shifting like someone spilled oil onto it.

Just the wind knocked out of me. I think.

When I came to after getting thrown into a building by a tentacled monster, I was on the sidewalk ground, somehow not injured.

It must’ve been instinct, but I conjured up a pile of poofy snow that stopped the fall from breaking every bone in my body.

Still hurt like hell, obviously.

Aira and Syval were fighting the monster, with the two zipping around with their flight and teleporting powers, but from my brief glance neither seemed to be making much of an impact.

Why isn’t anyone helping them? Where is everybody?

Did we end up in an abandoned street? Nobody seeing this chaos from inside a building wanted to step out? I felt so helpless.

I’m such an idiot. Why’d I come here? Can I even get up?

I could move, but it hurt.

Now what?

I patted my pocket. The vial of Dose 8 was intact. Tough glass, I guess.

The thought came to me like a sudden breeze, and I almost dismissed it right away.

Should I take it?

The lab notes said it’s the beast tendency formula or something. I saw what beast tendency did to Ovie and 09. And heard from Zates too when she almost had it.

But it was ‘stabilized’? So maybe I wouldn’t turn into a giant monster and then be stuck as a wolf if anyone could stop me.

OK, being stuck as a wolf wouldn’t be the worst. I could get away from class for a while. And be a badass wolf.

Mom’s voice rang in my head telling me how dumb this superhero vigilante crap was. She was right, and a pang of real fear hit me that I had hurt myself enough that I’d miss out on the beam chasers season I’d spent my entire time at Rising Shards waiting for. Caya’s voice clanged around in my head, too. If I took this, was I firmly setting myself on a path to loneliness while chasing after some great power?

I wouldn’t be doing it for the power. Or the fame and glory.

Well, the fame and glory would be pretty cool, and I am jealous of Tokickaman getting all that attention.

But I want to help people, too. Don’t I?

Am I even helping anyone? What am I doing? Seriously, where is everybody?

Aira and Syval were, to put it plainly, getting the absolute hell beaten out of them. If I was going to help anyone in this moment, it was these two dopes who got in over their heads. I flicked off the cap of the vial with my thumb, the plastic bouncing on the ground. A shaky hand brought the bottle close to my mouth. It had a pleasant cinnamon aroma.

How does anyone take anything like this? I guess if it’s clinically tested and junk?

But this is just from some scientist, who knows if they’re on the up and up!

I sound like Zates. I don’t like that.

Even if I didn’t want to think like my constantly worrying best friend, my hand wouldn’t move.

I could still barely move in general. So it was either lie down here and hope Aira and Syval could beat that thing, then pick my worthless ass up and get carried back home, or drink this mysterious lab made substance that maybe, maybe would power me up.

What did it even say in those lab notes? This thing was a dud, it didn’t mix right. Maybe it wouldn’t even do anything. Maybe it’d just turn my guts to acid and that’d be it for me.

Maybe I’m the biggest idiot in the universe for even considering this.

Aira and Syval cried out in pain. The two had ended up in the crab claws that came out of the sides of the turtle's shell. They didn’t look like they’d be able to break out of this. Could I just watch as my friends were crushed to death? I didn’t see any other option at that point.

I downed the vial in one gulp.

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