The traces of blood were enough for Keng to understand where the seeker was going. He wanted to follow it, but he needed to find his friends first. "Where are you guys?" Keng asked, looking left and right. Keng brought the map up and scanned it.
'I think I know what you're so scared of now.' Manny came through the comms. 'I feel like lurking around…' Keng watched the map. Manny's colored dot wasn't moving at all. He circled it in red.
'The monster is there…' Keng thought as he glanced at the blood. 'Liz and Evan are the nearest. Olivia's on the other side of the building. I'll go towards Liz and Evan and hopefully there's only one seeker.'
'Crap, someone got found!' Manny yelped.
'I'm coming for you!' Olivia shouted. 'Hold on!'
"Does the monster look like it was hurt? I tried to burn it earlier." Keng asked as he made his way towards Liz and Evan.
'I, uh… can't tell.' Manny's thoughts were shaking. The fear was certainly getting to him. 'I-I think so? Th-there's a small flame on him… S-silver?'
'It is what I thought it was… How did that thing manage to scurry so far so quickly?' Keng thought as he turned and ran down the hall. He could hear faint shrieks. The creature was definitely catching prey.
"Coming up on you, Liz." Keng slid to a stop. His eyes scanned his surroundings as the map grew larger. A door opened as Liz peeked out. She waved Keng over, who instantly motioned him to stop.
'There's others with me. Do you want to keep that form?' Liz asked. Keng glanced at his tails and sighed. He was getting tired of hiding his form, but there would be a select few who would instantly know who he was. Keng's form shifted back into a regular Biohuman before Liz fully opened the door.
"Is it safe to leave?" A man asked behind Liz.
"My friend's here for me." Liz answered. She turned to look into the room, revealing three others with her. An older man with an older woman and a teenage girl. "You guys should try to keep quiet as much as possible."
"What if… it finds us?" The teenager asked. "I-I can't protect my grandparents if th-that thing screaming is that strong."
"Don't worry." Liz grabbed the teenager's hand. Liz's patented face came on. She was soft yet confident. The small smile appeared on her face and she looked at the grandparents. "We'll make sure you aren't found. Just stay low for the allotted time. Move rooms if you need to. My friend and I will deal with the seeker."
"Isn't the whole point to hide from that thing? What if you don't succeed?" The older woman asked.
"We will." Keng spoke up. They all looked at him. An air of confidence wouldn't accurately describe Keng. He was more than confident. He was absolutely sure between him and the others, they would kill it. "We've been doing this for awhile now." Liz nodded and pulled away from the three family members and took her spot next to Keng.
"If one of our biggest hitters says that, you can't really deny it." Liz smiled. "Stay safe. All of this will be over before you know it." She looked at Keng and motioned. "C'mon, let's get Evan." Keng nodded and Liz quickly waved goodbye to the small family before leaving.
"You befriend everyone." Keng commented.
"They were scared. I couldn't ignore them." Liz replied. "You'd do the same." Keng smiled and agreed. He did try to help the kid and his father.
"Although I didn't protect the dad… I did protect his kid." Keng sighed. Liz didn't need to look at Keng to know he was beating himself over it. Death was something they dealt with constantly, but it didn't make it right in their hearts.
"We're coming up on Evan." Liz tapped Keng.
"Ah!" Evan screamed as he slammed against the lockers. Keng and Liz picked up speed and ran over to Evan, who was staring into the lit room.
"You really thought you could just get away, Trainor?" A deep male voice spoke from the room.
"Are you alright?" Liz whispered. Evan nodded as he pushed himself up onto his feet. Keng watched as a large man stepped out of the room with five other guys with him.
"Who knew someone from the Trainor family would become a terrorist." The man smirked. "And looky here… The rest of your 'friends.' Good, I'll teach you all a lesson." The men quickly began to trap them from escape. Keng quickly stood in front of Liz and Evan with his arm out to stop the others from attacking.
"Who's this?" Lackey 1 asked. "I don't remember his face."
"Must be a new 'friend.'" Lackey 2 answered.
"Who the hell are you?" Keng asked the guy in front of him.
"Me? I guess Trainor really didn't tell you anything…" The big guy responded. "We went to school together, but then he moved away… Caught sight of him when he entered this school and thought I'd teach him a lesson, but… It seems like Trainor turned into a terrorist like the rest of you."
"We weren't the ones who destroyed that village!" Evan shouted. He moved past Liz and grabbed Keng's shoulder, pulling himself ahead of him. "How many times do I have to tell you that? We were attacked!"
"Yeah, yeah. 'Attacked' is what you did. You think anyone is going to believe you and your terrorist buddies?" The man smirked. Liz moved straight up to the big guy and socked him across the face. The lackeys all turned and looked at their 'boss' as he slowly turned to look at Liz.
"Have you been fantasizing about this day? You want to beat Evan to a pulp because he's a so-called 'terrorist?' Let me tell you something, asshole. We aren't terrorists. You are just a bully who thinks they want to do the 'right thing' by beating the 'bad guy' up and putting them in their place. . The only thing that's true is you're just a dick who wants to hurt the weak!" Liz shouted.
Keng, Liz and Evan watched as the flashing from their comm devices lit up. Keng pulled up the notification and noticed a circle quickly moving.
"Shit." Keng whispered. He looked up and watched as the large man lit up.
"I'll start with you, bitch!" The man swung his hand straight for Liz. Psionic barriers flew up, knocking the men away while Evan and Keng watched.
"We don't got time!" Keng shouted. "We need to leave now before the seeker finds us!" Evan pulled his map up and looked at his. His eyes widened as he moved for Liz.
"Liz!" Evan grabbed her wrist. "C'mon!" Liz let Evan pull her away as the three ran.
"Where do you think you're going?!?" Lackey 3 shouted as the floor shifted. It crumbled, taking the three down a notch. Keng wrapped gravity around them and pushed them forward as the hallway began to cave in on them.
"What the hell? They were able to avoid that?" Lackey 1 asked.
"Put it back together! We have to go after them!" Lackey 2 barked. The hallway moved back into its original place as three of the lackeys ran after Keng, Evan and Liz.
"C'mon, boss! We gotta get them!" Lackey 4 said as the two remaining lackey's helped the boss up. A howl exploded through the hall, drawing the lackeys attention. Keng pulled back to the hall, glancing at hands coming out from the left side of the hall.
"It's here!" Evan shouted. "We should go."
"If we go they'll die!" Keng replied.
"Fuck them! They picked a fight with Evan! Let them fend for themselves!" Liz retorted. "Go!"
'Why did it suddenly move?' Olivia asked.
'I don't know. It's like it heard them from here.' Manny grunted. 'Keng, Liz, Evan. Are you guys okay?'
"For now." Liz answered. She tugged on Keng's shirt. "Let's go!" The seeker moved into the hall, filling the space as the bullies began to realize the position they were in. They weren't on top of the food chain. Keng's jaw tightened as Liz and Evan continued to pester him to go.
"Ah!" Keng left Liz and Evan as he blasted forward. "They're assholes but they're in the same spot we are!" Hydrosphere flashed in Keng's hands as he zoomed straight for the large monster. The seeker grabbed three lackeys and the big boss, lifting them up as the monster's mouth opened larger than humanly possible.
"Ahhh! Do something!" The big boss shouted. A hiss escaped Keng's mouth as he flashed forward, swinging his sword at the arms with the bullies. The monster howled in pain as the arms fell. The bullies landed on the ground as Keng blasted the monster, forcing it backwards.
"Run!" Keng shouted. The bullies whimpered in fear as the hands loosened. Keng turned and ripped the hands apart without thought. "Run, assholes! Run before it gets you!"
"Graah!" The seeker lurched forward, regrowing its destroyed arms in an instant as it snatched Keng.
"Keng!" Liz shouted. Lightning coursed through her arms, firing a beam of lightning at the monster as the bullies ran towards Evan and Liz.
"We could've left them to die and been safe!" Evan shouted, rushing forward. Evan's kinetic armor grew on him as he pushed himself past the bullies without issue. A kinetic shield appeared on his right arm as he pushed all of the energy out of his fingertips.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m