"You feel okay about leaving Edwin back there by himself?" I whispered as the train's doors dinged shut and the capsule-like beast started its trek.
She didn't meet my eyes. "He made his choice. As far as we know, Thomaston is on the level. I don't think Logan would be mad enough at us throwing in with his people to do something to Edwin."
That hadn't been what I'd meant but it was something to consider. Was anyone out there worth trusting? Hell, there were people in the train with me that I didn't trust further than I could throw them; or maybe less, I could theoretically chuck Lexi a damn long way if I really wanted to.
I entertained myself with that thought for a moment before I shooed it away. It was awfully dark, especially for me, but some tiny bit of that felt so good. She was such a pain in the ass.
"We'll just have to hope," I said as the rail came to a stop and the doors dinged open again.
A Kipa smashed through the track in front of us. Thank God it was a normal-sized one, not one of the enormous freaks that had smashed my new car to pieces. A pang struck me at the memory of the car I'd owned for a whole 48 hours, but I put it away for later. I pushed Cassie out the door as another Kipa flew toward the capsule we were in. She flew onto the platform. The others pitched out after her, leaving only Nate and I inside when the Kipa hit the thing.
It teetered, threatening to splatter us all over the ground. I grabbed him and shot into the air just before it tipped off the tracks and hurled to the ground below. I only made it twenty feet up before the nosebleed hit me. He pinched my nostrils shut as we landed, my skull threatening to explode. Nate fell out of my arms and I hit my knees on the surviving platform.
"Creed?" Izzy's voice was strained, terrified, in my ears. I felt her shake my shoulders, but there was nothing I could do to help calm her down. It was all I could do to keep kneeling straight up.
Someone pulled her away. "Easy," Nate said. "He's just hurt. Give him a few minutes and he'll be ready to party. Shaking him around like that isn't going to make it any better."
"But he's bleeding. He's bleeding so bad. What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything. He's been like this for a while. I think it's something to do with an inflammatory issue. We'll get it looked at when everything calms down, but it should be as simple as a prescription or two."
My chin tipped up at that and the blood poured down the back of my throat. It was horrible, disgusting, and I was so tired of it happening. If Nate was right and a pill or two would take care of it, I was all for it. I just couldn't manage to say that without spitting crimson all over everyone at the moment.
A local superhero screamed out there on the battlefield. Lightning white adrenaline poured through me, almost at the same level that I assumed Cassie felt it. I shook it away. I wouldn't do anyone any good if I went out there like a Blitzer.
But Cassie did. She hurtled off the platform, Nishelle right behind her. Lexi went behind the both of them, already keyed up. Izzy tutted. "We should be out there as a group. That's the rational thing to do. Running off like that-"
"Is as brave as it is dumb. I know, Melody. I know," Nate said, looking down at me. "How long do you need to recover, Creed?"
I spit a bit of blood onto the platform and swallowed. The taste was less metallic but there was still more than I wanted in my throat. "Let's go. I'll heal on the way and we can't let the girls get trampled."
Nate gave me a measured look, something that said he knew I was full of shit, but he didn't try to fight me on it. Instead, we set off at... well, a very quick walk. You still have to be able to breathe to move and when you're just awash in a nosebleed like I had, oxygen doesn't come to you very easily.
The scene we arrived at was one of mixed chaos and heartbreak. Kharmia was already on the ground, bones visibly protruding from her arms and legs. Whirlwind was flat beneath a car; some Kipa had thrown it at him and he hadn't been able to cope with it. His dead, glassy eyes stared off into the distance and I just hoped wherever he went had given him some form of peace.
Because we sure as fuck weren't about to give it to those Kipas.
Forgetting the blood on my face, I broke into a run. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands. I'll put it this way; the Kipas were so numerous that I couldn't count them at all at first glance and I didn't really want to. You'll have to use your imagination.
I shot into the first one and grabbed it by the neck. It tried to bite me but I didn't care. I jumped into the air with it, just a few feet, and used that momentum to smash it into the ground so hard that one of its eyes popped from its skull. Cassie came by and punted, its head popping right off and soaring into the air.
She was already covered in weird, blue Kipa blood. I frowned at her but she ignored me. A
