Purple Phoenix

Chapter Nineteen

I sprung over parts of a wrecked car and continued running. I slid to a stop as I spotted the green car around the corner. The blast must have thrown it here.

"Soraya?" I called out, trying to find her.

She choked, "Eve! I'm here. Under the car." She waved her hand, and I spotted her black, short hair cradling her head as she peered at me.

"Soraya! Are you okay?" I hurried to her side. She had a cut on her cheek. Luckily, it did not look serious. The main problem was that the green car was right on top of her legs, immobilizing her.

"I'm just peachy," she responded, and I did a double take. This was the first time I heard Soraya being sarcastic. She continued, "I can't feel my legs."

"Wait a second. Where are the others?" I saw that the car was empty. No sign of Jax, Olivia, nor Axel.

Soraya attempted to shrug, but in her position, it didn't work well. "I don't know. I blacked out for a moment. I guess they must have left."

"They wouldn't leave you behind." Especially not Axel.

"We can figure that out later. Can you help me get out here?"

"Yeah, of course." I curled my fingers under the car and attempted to lift it, even though I already knew I couldn't. I grunted and let go.

She sighed. "I already tried that. It's way too heavy." I looked back and realized that the police cars were nearing. Maybe they could help us.

"The police are here soon. I'm sure they can help us. Just hang in there, Soraya."

Her eyes widened. "Shoot. Oh no. No, they can't."

"What? What do you mean?" I gazed at her face, trying to see what's wrong.

She struggled a bit. "Eve, you need to get me out of here before they come."

"Why?" I stood there, not knowing what to do.

She yelled, "Eve! Quickly! Find a way. I'll explain later." She was serious. Completely serious. And fearful as well. I blew a strand of hair from my face. How will I get her out?

I heard her mumbling and cursing. "Whatever. You know what, whatever. This is an emergency. They will understand. Eve, I'm not who you think I am."

She's not who I think she is...? "You're not Soraya?" My brows creased. What did she mean?

"What? No, I'm Soraya. But I'm also... um. You know, a super. Animalia?"

"You're Animalia?" I froze and gaped at her.

"No. I mean yes, yes I am. Just don't freak out while I do my thing, all right?" I nodded and took a step back. She squeezed her eyes shut while I went through my memories, looking for any possible action or event that connected her to Animalia. No way was one of my... friends my enemy. Sure, in the past week we may have been allies, but after this was over, we would be enemies again.

She jarred me out my thoughts with a depleted sigh. "It's not working. I must be too weak." She whispered, "It's over. It's all over. They will find me. It's over." The police had arrived. They hadn't seen us yet as the car was hidden in a side street.

I glanced around. How could I help her? Fire would only hurt her even more. But maybe I could use my flying power. Again, I grabbed the edge of the car.

"Eve, what are you doing? You already tried that, remember?" I ignored her and focused on flying up. I levitated up a bit, and my arms were completely stretched. The car didn't budge. My mouth pressed into a thin line, and I dropped to the floor.

Glancing at Soraya, her eyes were wide once more and her mouth completely open. "You're a super too?" I nodded and focused back on the task. The car was tilted to one side because of Soraya's legs. Between her legs and what was left of the wheel was an opening, big enough that I could slip in. I got to my hands and knees and crawled into it. This was the first time I appreciate my short height and small frame. Turning around, I pushed away the claustrophobic feeling and placed my hands and feet onto the bottom of the car. Then, I flew upwards. I heard a creak, but the car didn't budge. I continued to push, using every strand of strength I had. Finally, the car lifted an inch. Soraya quickly rolled out.

Now the question was, how would I get out? If I would drop it, the car would topple on top of me. I couldn't hold this forever either.

"Here, I got something." I heard Soraya's voice. She pushed four brown bricks to where she was before. "All good." I let go of the car and fell to the ground. The car fell with me, and my heartbeat raced as it stopped a mere half an inch from my nose. That was close. A hand reached in, and without thinking, I grabbed it. I was pulled out from my little space and groaned. Lifting the car had taken a lot of energy out of me.

"Is that her?" I froze. That was definitely not Soraya's voice. It was a male, gruff voice who did not sound particularly friendly. "Lift her up." Someone grabbed the scruff of my shirt and hauled me to my feet. I stumbled a bit but managed to find balance. My eyes flicked to the man standing in front of me. A sense of coldness crept up my neck. I was right. He was definitely not friendly. It looked like he had a permanent scowl sketched into his skin. A thick, unkempt mustache was above his scowl, and his eyes were black coal. I couldn't even spot a pupil. Where was Soraya? Who were they? What had happened?

He sneered, "What's your name kid?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Who the hell are you? Why should I tell you?" He raised his fist and swung. I tried to duck, but the guy who pulled me to my feet made sure I couldn't. His fist struck the side of my face, and my teeth hit my lips due to the impact. My nostrils flared as my the taste of my blood entered my mouth. Who were they? What did they want from me? I struggled against the person's grip on my wrists.

I tried again. "What the hell? Who are you? What do you want?" I was so close to setting the persons around me on fire. I wanted to see them suffer and scream.

"I like that last question, sweetie." He came closer to me, and I felt his foul breath on my face. He made me want to puke. On his face.

"Have you ever brushed your teeth?" I asked him. His brows turned down, and he was about to swing again but a voice stopped him.

"Gregory. That's not her. I don't know why you're assaulting an innocent person." I peeked over the person's shoulder and spotted one of the people I most dreaded in the world: Steve. Great. On another thought, what was he doing here? And where was Soraya? Did they hurt her? I started struggling against the person once more. If they hurt them, I was going to make them regret being born. I would create their own personal hell.

"What? No. This is her. We found her under the car, just like Paradox had said." So Paradox had been responsible for this. I supposed he would be the first one to kill, then.

Steve walked up to him. "Did you just hear what I said?"

"Yes, sir." 

Steve looked at his watch. "Then why is she still here?"

"I'm sorry, sir." Gregory motioned to the other person, and he let go of my arms. Greg grabbed a helmet he had thrown to the side. Only now did I notice the letters SCU on his chest and the familiar green gun in his hands. He was part of the Super Combat Unit. Time to leave.

I turned around and was about to run away when Steve spoke up again.

"You're not free to go yet," Steve told me, "We're just going to have to do something to you for a second."