The Defiant

Prehistoric Transportation

Atlas

I grabbed Levi as he fell over. 

Gallons upon gallons of water fell upon the store as he lost control over it. I was grateful for the refreshing feeling of it washing away the dust from the explosion.

I heard Delta grunt as the ceiling was on their shoulders again. 

Luckily, the people in the store got the idea to start running outside. 

Dakota stumbled over and helped me support Levi as civilians ran out the door. 

About a quarter of the store was out before things went even more wrong. 

A man, who looked no less than six feet tall, bumped into Delta. My purple-haired friend let out a yelp as they nearly fell over. 

A deafening grinding sound came from the back of the store, and I craned my neck to see the back half of the supermarket crumble in on itself. 

Delta quickly righted themselves and returned to holding up the ceiling, this time looking a lot less strained, but still struggling. 

Hattie ran over to Delta and snapped in their face. I couldn't hear what she was saying over the terrified screams, but she looked mad. 

Another person ran into Delta— a woman carrying her child. 

Hattie started to curse her out, but the lady paid no mind to the angry teen. 

Delta started saying something over and over again. Tears began running down their face, mixing with the water soaking their skin. More of the ceiling in the back crumbled.  

I reached down into the earth and summoned a few skeletons to keep Delta and Hattie guarded. People around us screamed at them and some fainted right on the spot. 

One of the skeletons waved to me as it stood guard. As if the surrounding situation was no big deal. 

"Can you carry Levi out?" Dakota shouted to me, looking quite a bit shaken. 

I nodded and crouched down to slump him over my shoulder. 

He was heavier than Roan, that's for sure, but it wasn't too much of a struggle as I carried him over the broken glass and out into the late afternoon light. 

I looked around and caught the attention of a younger man who was staring at Levi in amazement. It was the same guy who had given him a quarter earlier.

I waved him over, and he took a moment to snap out of his daze before walking over to us. 

"Can you watch him, please? I need to go back in!" I said, squatting down to lay Levi on some grass next to a stop sign. 

The sight of his limp, water-and-sweat-soaked form made my chest ache. 

He thought he was going to die. 

Hearing his voice in my head, there was no doubt his 'I love you' was a final goodbye. To hear him in such a state was a wake-up call. Any of us could die, and I needed to make sure that never happened. 

The guy crouched down next to him and took a seat, fiddling with his nails. 

"Who are you two?" He asked in wonder.

I brushed a hand through Levi's wet hair before standing up again. 

"Just some people who need to live," I said. "I'll be right back. Please make sure he doesn't get hurt."

The brown-haired guy nodded, giving me a thumbs up. "You can count on me!"

I gave Levi one more long look before sprinting back inside.