See Me

#9 Car Chase!

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      It's been seven months since we escaped. It's been five since we stopped running. They haven't found us. It's been a month since we all started to feel better again. Most of us don't know what it's like to be free, but we're learning.
     I'm not quite sure what led me to the idea of using online videos to keep us safe. It was one of the easiest things that didn't require personal information. It also meant that I could keep an eye on everyone else without dragging all of them out in public. I met Adam soon after. He apparently liked my 'style', and introduced me to six others. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. They would never know how much I appreciated them.
     One of them left a few months after. All they left was a goodbye message to all of us, and took down all his videos. The seven of us left never got any answer about where he went.
     "What happened to SetoSorcerer?"

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     Seto's smile fades when away when Adam figures out who he is. I feel stupid for not realizing it sooner. The slight familiarity of him is what kept me from running, even if I didn't know it. Seto obviously recognized me. None of us have ever seen his face until now. The truck levels out, and I'm finally able to sit up again and not lean against poor Jason. Seto's Shadow looks between us with an eyebrow raised. It's one of those 'Are you really going to discuss this now?' kind of look.

     "Blaze is right", Seto sighs, "I'll tell you more about what happened later". He clutches the steering wheel with what looks to be a death grip.

     "But Seto, where have you been? And who's Blaze?", Jason asks him. Seto laughs at the second question, and I crack a smile. They can't see the Phoenix, bloody wing and all, lounging in the front passenger seat.

     Seto digs around in his pocket before pulling out a pair of beaded bracelets. He chucks them at Adam and Jason, saying, "Put those on for me". Adam hesitates for a moment while Jason slips his on. Blaze shifts his wings with a wince to peer at both of their shocked faces.

     "Well, meet Blaze. He's my Shadow and the only family I have left", Seto smiles grimly. Blaze playfully sticks his tongue out at Seto.

     "Everyone sees the feathers, right?", Adam asks after a moment.

     "You don't even know the half of it", I laugh. Wait till he sees Squidlox!

The truck suddenly lurches forward when something slams into us. Seto swerves the car as more gunshots go off. Jason yelps, and Adam twist in his seat to see what's going on.

     "Did we just break Ty out of prison?", he mutters.

     "Prison would be better than where I was just trapped", I answer.

     Large, armored trucks drive up along the sides of out truck. Seto struggles to steer the car away from the other vehicles. He flinched when Blaze's hurt wing bumps up again the seat. They're just too big to be in a car like this. The whole truck rocks when a blue blur rockets by. The figure turns and nearly slams into one of the armored trucks.

     Oh God. He has a hover board", I say, dumbstruck. Beat whoops as the board picks up speed and whizzes by us again. I saw Squidlox in one pocket, Dollox in the other, and Pig tucked between his feet. Siren hangs onto Beatlox's shoulders with a death grip. I cringe when I notice the blood staining Siren's shirt. That was a very unpleasant experience.

     What is that? Is one of them your Shadow?", Set asks in confusion.

     "Ty, are you a triplet by any chance?", Jason half jokes. Both he and Adam are still very confused, but trying to keep calm. A thud comes from the roof, and I turn just in time to see Brinelox tumble into the back of the truck. He sits up and looks at me with a groan.

Wing beats sound on the side of us, and Enderlox quickly swoops into view. Insane is loudly cackling from on his back. Demonlox follows closely behind. Ghoslox sweeps out from under our truck and moves along with us. A tired bat even falls onto our hood. I have no idea how Vampire caught up. Hologram's figure appears in front us, and continues to look the same distance from the moving truck. Show off. Seto slightly jumps and swerves the car when Shadox pops up in the mirrors. That's all of them. Wow, I thought it'd take them longer. But they sure know how to make one hell of an entrance.

"Did all your Minecraft skins just crawl out of your computer!?", Adam yells out.

     "Um, more like my skins are based on them!", I laugh.

     "Holy shit! Are these all your shadows!?", Seto shouts.

     "Oh my God, Seto just cussed!", Jason says, trying to be funny. Brinelox knocks on the back window of the truck, and I turn to slide open the little door.

     What's going on, Ty? Who called in the backup?", he asks me. Blaze snorts and looks away. Brine stares at him for a minute, then turns to look at Adam and Jason. They're both staring back. ".........Do you see me?".

     "Yes".

     "Damn, I didn't brush my teeth this morning".

     "Hey! You with the glowing eyes", Seto pipes up, "Do you think you guys could help get rid of the other trucks? They're kinda trying to shoot out our tires". As if in response, another round of gunshots go off. Brine raises an eyebrow and looks at me.

     "Could you tell Ender to get the trucks off our tail? We have an injured, and I could really use your help", I ask instead. He nods, moving back in the truck bed. Enderlox sees and slows to fly level with him. Insane also slips into the truck bed while the two of them talk. Ender gives me a nervous look before swooping away to catch up with Beat. Adam and Jason are still stuck staring. It's about to get a whole lot stranger.

I reach my hand out the window, and Brine takes it in a strong grip. My vision violently flickers before everything becomes brighter. The space around me instantly feels smaller. I'm crouched on the trucks's back seat, making the two on my sides flinch in shock at my new appearance. A thick cloak covers my body. My thoughts quickly change to the steady calm of Brine's personality. We finally look back up with blazing white eyes.

"Ty?", Adam mumbles. Our attention briefly shifts to him, but I'm more concerned with the blood that I see.

     Ty? What are you doing, don't you know how dangerous that is!?", Seto yells while he looks between me and what's in front of him. We don't listen. Blaze flinches when I take his wing in my hand. It's a clean wound; the bullet went straight through. Don't know why it's bleeding so bad. I start sending thin strands of magic into the feathers. The energy feels like a warm ball built up in my chest. I know time is just the same for everyone else, but it moves more slowly for me. My magic gently prods the wound until I find something that makes my face cringe. Poison. It's not letting Blaze' blood clout like it should. Very dangerous. Blaze hisses when I my magic 'burns' up the poison. I then work quickly to heal the hole. I wouldn't of been able to this if either of us were on our own. Brine's magic is stronger when we're together.

     Time returns to normal. Blaze stares at his wing, no evidence of an injury remaining. I look up and out of the front window just in time to see a blue wall form to the right of us. The armored truck slams on its breaks when Hologram appears in their path with about 15 copies of himself. It's enough to scare the drivers into stopping. Vampirelox transforms mid air and drops onto the vehicle. He smashes through the window and drags the driver put. They're dropped onto the ground, Vampire and Hologram quickly disappear by their own means. Now there's only one more truck following us. Adam and Jason jump when an ear splitting shriek splits the air. Shadox. The other truck flips over soon after the yell. Adam, surprisingly, cusses at the sudden chaos.

     "You have a lot of explain to do", Jason mumbles. I'm not sure who he's talking to at this point. Seto whoops and steers the truck back onto the road.  He's still going way over the speed limit. I've cracked a smile, too. Our visions suddenly starts to flicker, and my ears are ringing. Shit. I briefly hear Insane yelling at me, but I collapse from where I was still crouched over Blaze's wing.