The Time Hopper

A Doomed Plan

It took a minute for the plan to be whispered into everyone's ears, and it would have taken far longer to convince everyone had Alice not told them to suck it up and go with the plan. I felt somewhat useless, shoved into the centre of the group with Riley so the others could keep us safe. My hand kept twitching into my bag, seeking out my book but never finding it, a constant urge to get us away from here that I couldn't quite suppress. Instead of it, though, I grabbed my pocket knife and my lighter, holding one in each hand. I looked around for something to set on fire for a distraction, just so I could feel like I was helping, but there was nothing safe to set alight. I shoved it in my pocket, where I could grab it easily, and unflicked my pocket knife, ready to stab one. I was glad that I always carried a spare. 

"Alright, everyone ready?" Alice hissed, trying to keep her voice down. There wasn't really the cohesive yes answer that she was looking for, and she threw her hands up in frustration. I stepped forward and squeezed her shoulder. 

"Easy. Let me do this bit." I told her. I was used to dragging people along on my hairbrained schemes whether they wanted to come along or not, and frankly I wanted to do something to help. As it was, I was just staring back at Felix, his gaze freezing me in place. Alice nodded. I stepped back and grabbed onto Riley's hand, poised to run and drag him along behind me. 

"Alright everyone, you know what to do!" I bellowed. Sure, it would tip our attackers off to the fact that we were about to do something, but they wouldn't know what and it was more important for our party to all be on the same page. Felix began yelling out more orders, a new urgency to his voice, but I ignored him. "Three, two, one, now!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, turning on my heel and sprinting off as chaos erupted behind me. Lucas threw a wave of water at the attackers in front of us, and Lila froze it in place to trap them in place. Took turned and ran alongside us, only able to attack one person at once, and Eros did the same. Kat had turned around at my yell, thrusting her arms out in front of her with a yell. 

Immediately, two walls of earth erupted from the ground, a wide space in between as she threw those who had been behind us away. The top of the tunnel closed into place as she ran down in first, groaning and swearing with the strain of using her powers so much. Down into the bowels of the earth she burrowed, leading the gang away from them. Those who could attack many people at once threw everything they had at our attackers while those who couldn't fled into the tunnel, the children of light and dark warping what they could see to provide cover for the rest of us. 

I was right behind Kat, one hand grasping Riley and making sure he kept pace and the other on the small of her back, guiding her forward. We had to go further down underground, to try and escape from them, but she was struggling. Never really one for training, she was like me in that. I glanced over my shoulder to see the Alice backing into the tunnel, the last of us, and I called to Kat. 

"Close the tunnel and stop!" I yelled, poking at the centre of her back. She stopped first, causing me and Riley to skid into her, but she still managed to close the entrance to the tunnel, plunging us into temporary darkness. I heard a yelp behind us, it sounded like Alice, and whirled around to peer through the darkness, hand going to my lighter. Before I could use it, Rosie touched her heart locket and it glowed with bright light, throwing stark white brightness over our faces and making us look gaunt and shadowed. Alice was on the ground near the entrance to the tunnel, blood pooling under her, one foot stuck between two large rocks. She looked over, perfect red hair everywhere, eyes wide with pain and panic, tears and dirt on her cheeks. 

"Kat, what the fuck did you do?" She screamed, curling in on herself. Took was by her side in an instant, stopping the bleeding with a touch of his hat and looking round at the others with panic.