Alpha Centauri

Twenty-Eight - Nizami

 I freeze, staring at the agent.

She tricked us. She pretended to go into the next stall and lured us out.

The agent goes for the handcuffs at her side. It's over, it has to be. We'll never make it to Crenala now.

The agent is about to grab me when her body jerks and goes flying back into the tiled wall. She stays there, kicking, an invisible force keeping her there.

I fling open the bathroom door and dive behind the chip aisle. I slink around the shelf, keeping out of the officer's sight. A part of me tells to run and get the hell out of here, but another part tells me that I can't leave without Julian. I pray the agent only knows about me.

I anxiously watch the restroom door. I hear the officer approaching from around the corner and scurry around the shelf. His boots click over the tile. When he disappears back around, I sprint across the dining area and leap over the deli counter, somersaulting and landing silently behind the deli.

I dare a peek at the rest of the store. The agent comes limping out of the bathroom. The officer rushes over just in time for her to collapse in his meaty arms.

"What happened?" the officer asks.

"The girl..." the agent croaks. "She's telekinetic too. She threw me against the wall, and..."

"Ms. Owens said she saw the boy and the girl here."

"The boy must have escaped. The girl is still here. I know she is." The agent grits her teeth and slowly rises to her feet. She pulls a gun from her belt and scans the gas station.

I sink to the floor. Where is Julian? I stare at my bracelet, contemplating on whether or not to use it. I look up and see the shadow of the officer pass over the wall.

I wouldn't harm a human, would I? Why? I think. Why do they have to get caught in a battle that's not theirs?

I pull my sleeve back over my bracelet.

I'm not going to harm them, but I am going to get out of here.

I grab a soup ladle from one of the trays. It looks like a somewhat useful weapon. I leap to my feet and pitch the ladle as hard as I can. It connects with the officer's sweating forehead.

The officer stumbles back. "Hey!" He fumbles for his gun, but I've already swung my legs over the counter and ducked under one of the dining tables. I smile, seeing a knot already forming on the officer's forehead.

He aims his gun into the dim, still store, panting. I launch myself out from under the table and tackle the officer, wrapping my arms around his legs and forcing him to the ground. He crashes into another table. I jump up. The officer seems to be unconscious.

I'm about to make a run for it when someone tackles me.

I'm ready to hit this person in the head with a soup ladle before he says, "You're gonna leave without me?"

"Of course not."

Julian helps me to my feet.

"Which way out?" he asks.

Before I can even think of an answer, the sound of a gun firing splits through the air. I cringe, expecting to feel some sort of pain, but nothing comes. Julian's grip on my hand goes limp, and he drops to his knees.

A bullet is protruding from his thigh. It's a tranquilizing bullet.

There's no way I can get both of us out of here in time. I whirl around, desperately looking for anything. Anything that could help me.