I didn’t care. I pulled myself up the crane to get a better view. Most of my mind was worried that Eva had been found or killed, but a cynical part of my brain was wondering if she had betrayed me. Something hadn’t felt right from the get-go; she was pushing me harder than usual.
I got up high enough to see the park while keeping myself hidden. Our gear was gone. She’d had enough time to pack up but not enough to give me a heads up? She’d left me here. Whether it was a set-up or not, she’d just left me.
The security team was closing in, still firing. I needed to get to the next hangar before I was completely surrounded. I’d be a sitting duck here, but if I could get to a spot with better cover, I’d be able to start firing back.
I threw up an ice wall to cover my back as I ran. It was three hundred metres to the next hangar. They’d cracked my wall before I’d made it halfway. I kept my eyes and momentum forward while throwing up more and more walls. It was draining me too fast. I could feel each wall getting thinner and thinner. If I kept at this pace, I wouldn’t have anything left to hit them with.
It was easier when I was working with water. Freezing air molecules took a lot more effort. Luckily there were a couple snowbanks near the hangar I could melt and refreeze to take some of the load off. I just had?—
“He’s coming to you, be ready.”
Shit. Someone’s radio was too loud, good for me, bad for them. Well, not really. I knew they were there, but I still had nowhere else to go. At least I’d be prepared to hit someone coming around the corner.
I melted the snow piled on the north wall, threw the water behind me, and froze it. That wall would be a lot harder breakthrough, it would give me time to fight whoever was hiding around the corner.
I melted more snow, throwing the water in front of me like I had to slide under the crane. This time I was sliding across the mouth of the hangar. Five people in full riot gear were waiting there. It took them a second to notice me, long enough that I could use snowballs to knock a few off their feet.
I attacked while they were disorientated.
I melted my slide, reforming them into icicles. Their gear was too thick for it to pierce but as long as I was firing those, they couldn’t shoot at me. I was running forward, pelting them until I could get close enough for hand to hand.
I went for the biggest guy first. He would be the hardest to take down, I’d need to get him while I still had energy. I threw up another ice wall, separating him from the rest of his team before I hit him with an icicle right in his protective goggles. He stumbled as I got in close. My fist connected with his jaw before he could recover.
He blocked my knee, striking my left side just below my ribs. I grunted. My costume was strictly for looks, it had absolutely no close-combat functionality because I’d never intended to be this close to my enemies. I’d need to rethink that if I made it out of here.
I stumbled out of reach and threw another icicle. He brought both arms up to block his face, letting his gun fall slack on its sling. I threw one more as I dove forward forming an ice knife to cut the sling and get his gun. He didn’t realize what I was going for until I’d stolen his rifle.
I wasn’t a fan of guns, even before my superpowers, a knife or a bow were my weapons of choice. I couldn’t make myself care in this moment. I needed to get this guy gone. Five rounds to the chest knocked him over. I wasn’t even five feet from him so hisvest did nothing to stop the bullets, but just in case, I knocked off his helmet and put one between his eyes too.
I forced my wall apart, sending ice shards and snow at the rest of the team. I put three more down while they were trying to bat away my projectiles. The last person got to cover before I could get them.
Shit. I threw up a half wall to duck behind.
I didn’t get down fast enough. A bullet ripped its way through my shoulder. Luckily, it went clean through and my body was already healing itself.Perks of having superpowers strikes again.
“Put your weapon on the ground and surrender. You’re surrounded and outnumbered.” Unnamed woman number two yelled from her cover behind a plane wheel.
“I like my odds.”
That was a lie. Every second I wasn’t running for the door, I liked my odds less and less. I needed to get outside, to the snow, so I could stop draining myself. With the rest of the team breaking apart my last wall, I needed to get the hell out of here.
“We can sit here all night; you’re not getting out of here alive!”
I switched to a crouch and popped up for half a second. Her rifle appeared from behind the wheel of the nearest plane. I sent my shattered wall flying at her before she could get a shot off and booked it to the back door.
I heard the gun fire behind me while I ran full speed to the door. I slammed it shut behind me, took one second to breathe, then ran for the hill. I needed to get out of sight and slip into the shadows so I could escape. If I drained any more of my strength creating ice walls from nothing, I wouldn’t be able to travel through the shadows at the speed required to get the hell out?—
A bullet pierced the side of my leg. I lost my footing and fell to the ground, pain ripping its way through me. It wasn’t a clean shot. The bullet was stuck in there and my body couldn’t heal.
A helicopter sounded overhead; I allowed myself one second to peek at it. It didn’t look like reinforcements, it looked like a news chopper. I could see a pilot, a camera person, and a reporter. Shit.
I was back on my feet—one foot, all my weight went on my uninjured right leg. I turned to face the crowd of soldiers pouring through the door.
“Looks like your odds aren’t so good.” It was the same voice from the hangar, coming from the middle of the crowd.
“It’s not over yet.”
I melted every snowbank in my immediate vicinity, turning the water into all kinds of projectiles—icicles, snowballs, ice balls. Guns started firing but no one was aiming. I thought I was doing pretty well until three bullets grazed me—left arm, right cheek, right leg—and two hit me—lower right side of my abdomen and left shoulder (again).
