Breed

Chapter Twenty-seven

"We have a right to be here," Mikaela said, planting her foot on the cobbles of the commons.

"No," the officer said, putting his hands on his gun belt, "you have a right to be a quarter mile south, in the designated free speech area." Police, some from the campus, others from Bellingham, were advancing in a wall on the students.

"Maybe you aren't familiar with the Constitution, but this entire country is a free speech area," she said back. "Penning us in a secluded area defeats the point. The whole purpose of this demonstration is showing solidarity, that we, in large numbers, refuse to allow this kind of treatment of transhumans to stand."

"And I'm telling you, if you don't stand in the designated area, I'll have to resort to tactics designed to render you there safely, ensuring your complete compliance as I do."

"Then you'll do it on the evening news," Demi said, raising her phone, prepared to record.

"Stop it!" Mayumi yelped, stepping between them. "This doesn't need to escalate." Her voice was delicate, even though she was nearly yelling to be heard over the crowd, even just by those around her.

"I've been polite," he said, reaching for his nightstick. In one motion he pulled it from a loop, and whipped it towards Mikaela. She flinched, but the blow never came. She opened her eyes and saw Mayumi bleeding from the head, on the ground. She must have stepped in the way of the night stick.

"That was a mistake," Demi said, electricity arcing between her fingertips, as her eyes began to glow.

"Wait," Mikaela said, grabbing her shoulder. "He's not worth forgetting why we're here."

"Yeah," Demi said, and unballed her fist.

Mikaela ran to where Mayumi fell. Drake was already kneeling beside her, and Iago and Peter were standing by. "Mayumi, are you oh-" The back of Mayumi's fist came at Mikaela faster than she could react, and carried her off her feet, sprawling onto the cobble stones.

"Kae," Demi said, reaching out for her.

"Stay down," the officer yelled, pulling his pepper spray from his belt and aiming it at Mayumi. She stood up, and a stream of erupted from the device, cascading off Mayumi's face. Droplets splashed off, and hit Mikaela's face, and caused her eyes to water, but Mayumi refused to stop moving towards him.

The officer backed away as Mayumi marched towards him. He fumbled with the gun at his belt, but she was on him in an instant. She lifted him up by the belt, then thrust him into the air, so that the entirety of him cleared her head. Then she caught him by the ankle, and cracked him like a whip onto the ground. The skin on his face ruptured like an overripe pimple, spattering blood across the stones.

"May," Mikaela said weakly, but the other girl simply roared, before running across the commons. The violence had been swift and brutal enough that the entirety of the protest had stopped, and stared. Mayumi disappeared through a corridor between buildings.

"He's still alive," Drake said, from a crouch over the fallen policeman. "But I don't think he's in any shape to teleport to the hospital."

"Call Cris," Demi told Peter.

"What makes you think I've got his number," he said, trying to feign innocence.

"Because he gives it to you at least once a week- and at a minimum you get off on the attention."

"And if we can get him patched up before the ambulance shows up, it's that much more likely we can keep Mayumi from an attempted murder charge."

"Provided we want to," he said, then sighed peevishly. "I'm not entirely certain some kind of incarceration isn't better for her." Demi and Mikaela both glared at him. "Fine," he said, and dialed his phone. "Cris? Can you come to the school? There's kind of an emergency. No, this kind of emergency very definitely requires pants."