Page 22 of Rescuing Air

“Guess we all should have paid better attention,” Parker mused.

The car fell silent as we all thought over the years of training and how we didn’t really appreciate it the way that we should have. Now, when we really needed it, there were holes in our education. At this point, we didn’t know who to trust and ask. Brayden and Hudson’s parents were working tirelessly to find a way to neutralize the serum, but we didn’t know enough about demon venom to move things along as quickly as we’d like. So far, from what I heard, it was all dead ends with backtracking to learn more about demon venom itself. Was this how Lailah felt all the time? At a loss for what to do and not having the slightest clue where to even start looking for the information?

I knew she had to be worried about us and cursing the fact that we talked her into separating. After this whole ordeal, I knew we wouldn’t hear the end of it, but after this was over, I wouldn’t mind being attached to her hip. Glancing back at Parker, my mind couldn’t seem to wrap itself around the fact he left Lailah to protect someone else when she needed him. I would let the world burn if it meant I could save the woman I loved and who held my heart in her hands. Pulling my thoughts out of that downward spiral that just made me mad, I took in the road signs noting we were over halfway to Paarl. The traffic was light since it was the middle of the day, which I was thankful for.

Reaching over, Micah turned on the radio and flipped through the stations until we found one that was speaking English. “This just in... a rogue tsunami level wave has hit the east side of the peninsula, wiping out a large section of scenic road R44. This wave then resulted in a landslide but thankfully,as far as we know, no one has been injured in this random catastrophe. It will take some time for the road to be repaired so we suggest avoiding that area for the time being. More reports on the bombing that happened at Pride Resources. The police believe they know the people who are behind this and are actively searching for them. No terrorist groups have claimed reasonability for the bombing so we will just have to wait and see what the police have come up with. Now, on to traffic...”

“Did they just say a tsunami type wave happened out of nowhere?” Parker asked.

Micah and I looked at each other, knowing that the only person who could make that happen was Hudson. We’d heard in history books how the past Water Elementi could do such things but Hudson had never been that strong. Although, there hadn’t been much chance for him to try his powers out to that extent since he bonded with Lailah.

“Should we find a way to contact them?” Micah asked.

“If they were taken and needed to fight back, I don’t think they’ll be able to take a call from us,” I responded, sarcasm thick in my voice. “Now it’s even more important to get to the base so we have backup. We don’t need to worry about the police coming after us to pin the bombing on.”

“No need to be an asshole about it, Jay,” Micah muttered.

Opening my mouth to respond to him, I felt my powers explode inside me to the point I couldn’t see; the light was so blinding.

“Pull over, now!” Parker yelled, lunging forward and grabbing the wheel. “Take your foot off the gas, Jay. You’re going to get us killed if you don’t slow down!”

I could feel when we moved off the smooth asphalt of the road and hit the rocky terrain. Using the last part of my willpower, I let off the gas and pressed on the brakes, trying not to bring us to an abrupt halt. When the car finally stopped, Parker shifted it into park and I could lose myself to whatever the hell was going on with my powers. It was like I got pulled under in a sea of white light only to have bursts of green and gold popping off like fireworks around me.

What the fuck was happening?

I caught images of Brayden and Lailah but they happened so fast I couldn’t figure out what was happening. While I might not be able to see with my eyes, I could feel what was happening. Lailah was terrified and feeling trapped. Sensing she needed my help, I sent my power to her, letting her take what she needed. Just when I didn’t think I had more to give, I was slammed with a return of power. It was intermixed with all our powers, as if she’d pulled from all of us and was giving us back the extra. Soon, the moment ended, and I was able to see the world around me once again. My heart was hammering in my chest like I’d been given a shot of adrenaline.

“What in the holy hell just happened?” Micah rasped, looking as bewildered as I did.

“I don’t know, but I’m betting it had something to do with why Hudson needed to create a wave that big,” I answered. “Parker, I think it’s better that you drive since you don’t have to worry about anything happening to you.”

Parker grimaced at the reminder that he wasn’t attached to Lailah in any way. “Yeah, fine, it’s better we live to find out what’s going on than to die a sudden and horrible death, crashing into a mountain.”

“You acted fast and kept us alive,” I pointed out as I slid into the back seat. “Good work.”

“Wow, your gratitude is so touching. What will I ever do with all these warm fuzzy feelings?” Parker muttered as he got the car back on the road. “How much farther do I take this road?”

“Take this all the way until you hit a town. That will be Paarl. Then we’ll have to ditch the car somewhere and make our way to the base on foot. Can’t have the cops finding a stolen car on their property,” I said, resting my head against the window, still feeling unsettled by what just happened.

Lailah, what had happened to you three?

Lost in thought, trying to come up with our next move, I was once again blindsided by my powers rioting in my body. Thankfully, with Parker driving, there was no danger to anyone as Micah and I got lost in a whirlwind of energy. This time, flashes of Hudson and Lailah kept appearing, and I got the sense that Hudson wasn’t doing well. Lailah was worried but this time things seemed slightly more controlled as she took from us, giving me the chance to focus on what she was doing. She was collecting from us and then pouring it into Hudson until he couldn’t hold anymore, which was when she sent the energy back to us. It took a bit for her to pull out her own, giving us back what she took and then some.

“The fuck is going on? Now you guys are glowing,” Parker called out.

Whatever Lailah was doing to us wasn’t over yet, trapping us until she cut the connection, allowing us to return to what was happening around us. Parker was still driving but he looked between Micah and me with wide worried eyes. Lifting my hand, I could see that he was right. I was glowing with a faint silver light, matching my energy. This time, instead of feeling panicked and on the bad side of an adrenaline spike, I felt healed, well rested. Even the old injury in my knee wasn’t aching. What the hell had Lailah done?

“Jay, I get you don’t want to reach out but we need to contact them sooner rather than later. I don’t like that we have no clue what’s going on with them,” Micah stated, turning to look at me. “How much longer until we get to the base?”

“Fuck the plan of leaving the car, we need to get back faster,” I said, rubbing my hands over my shaved head. “Once we hit the town, it’ll be another fifteen or twenty minutes to get where we need to go.”

“Why the hell can’t anything about this go right?” Parker grumbled.

Following my directions, we finally pulled up to the gates of the base. Parker pulled up to the guard stand and one of my father’s men stepped out. “This is a private facility. You’re going to need to turn around and leave.”

Not wanting to slide into the seat with all the glass, I got out of the car and walked up to the guard. “I’m Jalen Minh, Makoto’s son, and team leader of the Alpha-Seven.”

“Sir.” The guard straightened and saluted. “I apologize, I wasn’t informed you would be coming to the base.”