AllFreeNovel
Share Us
18
McManus Bridge was in chaos. Vehicles backed up on either side, gridlocked, the middle of the bridge blocked by an overturned city bus. People had left their cars behind, faces turned up toward the looming mass of shadows that roiled above them. Others were helping the passengers from the bus, pulling them out through broken windows. Smoke poured from the front of the bus, and Guardian saw a lick of fire shoot out from the hood. Someone shouted that it was gonna blow,get back, it’s gonna blow!
“We have to help them,” Guardian said, and without waiting for a reply, hurtled toward the bridge. He landed hard, the jolt shooting up his legs, but he hit the ground running, hearing Pyro Storm right behind him.
They reached the overturned bus and found a heavyset man standing on it, leaning down, looking through a broken window. Pyro Storm went to the front of the bus as Nick jumped on top of it, landing next to the man. He startled but recovered quickly, saying, “I can’t get them out. Her kids won’t leave her.”
Guardian looked down into the bus and saw a young woman, two children clutching her as they wailed. “Are you hurt?” he called down.
The kids stopped crying, looking up at him with wet eyes, their mouths hanging open. They couldn’t have been more than eight years old. The mother said, “Leg stuck. I can’t get out. My kids. Please help them.”
“I’m going to help all of you,” Guardian promised. “Just hold on, I’ll—”
“Nick!” Pyro Storm cried.
Guardian raised his head in time to see a goddamnBuickflying toward them, flipping end over end, the headlights still on, momentarily blinding him. He grabbed the man next to him by the front of his shirt, pulling him down. The Buick flew over them, the heat from the undercarriage immense. It landed with a crash on top of empty cars on the other side of the bus, the collision of metal causing a cascade of sparks, windows imploding, glass bouncing off the ground. Nick lifted his head slowly to see Shadow Star hovering high above the bridge, the shadows around him growing larger.
“Fire’s out!” Pyro Storm shouted. “Help them. I’m going after Owen.” He shot up into the sky, flames bright.
Guardian glanced at the man. “Get down. I’ll get them.” Without waiting for a response, he rolled forward through the broken window, landing a few feet away from the woman and her kids. The bus groaned around them, but he paid it no mind. The woman’s leg was pinned under a seat that had broken off.
The kids—a boy and a girl—flinched as he approached, turning their faces against their mother’s chest. “It’s all right,” Guardian said. “I promise. I’ll get you out of here, okay?”
He reached for them, only to be knocked to the side when something struck the bus, causing it to slide along the bridge. A moment later, another collision and the sound of breaking metal. The bus lurched at a dangerous angle, the rear rising up, purses and backpacks raining down around him, mixed with shards of glass. Guardian turned toward the front of the bus, and through the windshield, saw the dark river below them.
The bus was sliding off the edge of the bridge.
“Oh, shit,” Guardian breathed.
The woman shrieked, and Guardian whirled around. The little girl fell toward him, sliding along the aisle of the bus with a wail. Hanging off a seat, Guardian caught her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Her legs kicked, hitting his thigh. “I got you,” he told her, trying to get her to calm down. “What’s your name?”
“Alma,” she whispered, bottom lip trembling.
“Alma. Awesome name. Hey, Alma. You ever gone on a piggyback ride before?”
She nodded, face slick with tears and snot. “I do it with Daddy.”
“I bet he’s the best at it, but can you do it with me? I know you’re scared, but I got you, okay? Hold on tight. We’re gonna rescue your mom and brother.”
He helped her around his back, her arms and legs tight around him as the bus slid farther, the rear windows illuminated by flashes of orange and red. Fire. Whatever Pyro Storm was doing, he hoped it’d be enough to distract Shadow Star.
He started toward the woman and boy when the bus lurched again. “Hold on,” Guardian told the girl. “This is gonna go fast. You ready?”
“Ready!” Alma said, practically choking him.
The bus had reached the point of no return, tilting up and up as Guardian ran up the center aisle. Without stopping, he raised his hand, blasting the seat off the woman’s leg, sending it flying out a shattered window. As she and the boy began to slide toward them, Guardian caught them, the impact jarring, almost knocking him back. Without hesitating, he turned his hand toward the side of the bus. The side of the bus twisted, metal and plastic bulging outward before breaking completely, leaving a large hole. He pulled the woman and the boy through it, all of them stumbling when they hit the ground just as the bus slid over the side of the bridge and disappeared from sight. A moment later, a great splash sounded as the bus hit the river.
Hands on him, then, and Guardian jerked his head to find the man helping Alma off his back, the woman and the boy reaching for her. “I’ll get them outta here,” the man said, face pale. “Go help your friend.”
“Boyfriend,” Guardian said automatically.
“Oooh,” Alma said as her mother brushed grime off her cheek. “He has aboyfriend.”
“Thank you,” the woman whispered, the boy hugging her leg. “We’d have gone over if it hadn’t been for you.”
“Go,” Guardian said. “Quick. Don’t stop running until you’re off the bridge.”
The man grabbed the little boy, lifting him up, taking the woman by the hand and pulling her and Alma away. They weaved in between the cars.
