Flashf0rward

Chapter 10: Secrets and Revelations

Ivy

Placing the last of the ammo back onto Fred, I looked at the two rifles and several mags we'd added to our small arsenal. The very idea of those two possessing weaponry of that level worried me. It made me realize how much other people out here could be hiding, and what kind of power they had. Metahumans weren't the only dangerous things out here.

As I zipped up the bag, I heard a small shout back in the clearing. Turning, I quickly walked back to where I'd left the two of them, and saw that Connor currently had the glasses-wearing man, who'd identified himself as Robert, pinned up against the tree where we'd tied him up, holding his hair.

"I won't ask again." Connor said with a growl. "Who do you work for? What are you doing out here?" Robert seemed genuinely scared, and didn't seem to want to say anything, terrified of Connor more than anything else. "Please...d-don't-" Slamming his head against the tree and making Robert shout again, Connor leaned in. "You're trying my patience. Either you tell me, or you'll end up just like your friend." He motioned over to the motionless body of the other man that he'd flung back against the tree.

Robert was visibly shaking, his glasses knocked askew on his face as he stared down the now slightly cracked lenses. "Ok, stop." I said out loud, and both Connor and Robert turned to look at me. Connor got up and walked over. "Stay out of this. It's the only way he's going to talk." I gave him a disapproving glance. "That's not true and you know it. You're just scaring him."

Connor spoke lowly to me. "He's just some stupid hired gun who has no idea what he's up against out here. I can intimidate him." Crossing my arms, I looked back up at him. "All you've done so far is tie him to a tree and bash his head into it." Connor placed his hands in his pockets. "You're the one who shot him." Clenching my jaw and biting back words, I spoke calmly. "Let me talk to him."

Pausing for a moment, Connor finally conceded as he motioned to Robert. Walking over to him, I kneeled down in front of him. "I'm sorry about my friend. And I'm sorry for shooting you. We were about as surprised as you were." Looking back at Connor for a moment, I whispered confidentially. "Between you and me, I don't know if I can hold him back much longer. How about this. You give me something good, and I promise we'll let you go, ok?"

Robert stared into my eyes hesitantly, and scanned them as if searching for any form of deceit in them. Then, he seemed to be satisfied with what he saw, and spoke to me, breathing out. "Ok...we live about an hour south of here. We were just out on patrol, checking these forests for any signs of life...then you both showed up, and Lyle, well...he gets a bit trigger-happy when he's bored."

I assumed Lyle was his friend who was currently unconscious. Or at least, I hoped he was unconscious. "Right. How many of you are there?" Thinking, Robert shrugged. "I dunno...a thousand? Maybe more? I lost count. But he managed to get everyone from far and wide to come to him. Must be those speeches he makes."

Frowning, I leaned in a bit. "Who's he?" Robert's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, no, no, I can't tell you that. Please, if he finds out, he'll kill me!" Looking at him, I shook my head. "He won't find out, I promise." Robert kept talking, faster now. "No, you don't know him. He always finds out, and when he does, no one's safe."

I was now more curious than ever, and I held his uninjured shoulder. "Just tell me his name. There's no harm in that." Robert seemed to be crying now, and was in genuine terror, more than anything Connor could have done to him. "I'm not allowed to say his name. If I do I...I'll end up wishing I was dead...please don't make me say it."

Then, I heard Connor growling behind me and he walked up to Robert, pushing me out of the way and grabbing his shoulders, his thumb pressing into the bullet wound and making him cry out in pain. "Enough with this cryptic crap! Tell us who he is!" Robert was trying to get away from Connor, even though he was tied down to the tree. "Oh God please, don't make me say it!"

I grabbed Connor's shoulder and pulled him off of Robert, pushing him aside. "Stop! That's enough!" I glared at him, and Connor seemed to back away for now. Looking back at Robert, I grabbed my hunting knife, which made him seem to flinch, but I instead cut his bonds. "Now you're gonna get out of here, and run as far away as you can, got it?" Robert looked confused, not sure of what to do or if this was a trick, and I spoke again. "Go!" With that, he took off into the woods.

Connor got up and looked back down at me. "So that's it? You're gonna let the guy who tried to kill us go?" I stood up and placed my knife back in my backpack. "Better than practically killing him by blowing him against the tree." Connor sighed and glared at me. "I don't know what your brother taught you, but out here it's either us or them. You let them get even the slightest edge, you're dead."

Looking at him, I walked over to him and firmly grabbed his jacket shoulder, pulling him with me. "Well, my brother taught me that everyone always has a backup plan." Jerking him out of the clearing, I showed Connor what I'd found. The two horses that Lyle and Robert had ridden up on. "Looks like we found you a ride."

After dividing the load between both Fred and Connor's new horse, he got up onto the saddle. "What about Lyle?" He asked, and I sighed. "Well, judging from what you did, he'll be unconscious for a while, so he shouldn't be too much harm. Unless you want to go and finish him off." I said cuttingly.

Gripping the reins, Connor looked down. "I didn't want to kill him. If I did, he would be dead. Just like how you could have killed him." He said, motioning in Robert's direction. "I've done enough bad things with my powers. Maybe I'm starting to grow a conscience." I thought to myself about that. If he was, it was sure taking a hell of a long time.

Before we were about to ride off, I looked back at him. "What is it that you can do, anyways?" I wasn't quite sure what he'd done, and I'd never seen his power in person before. Connor stared back at me, adjusting his eyepatch. "I believe the people at Reservoir called it aerokinesis. It's the ability to control all forms of air. I can manipulate wind currents, change air pressure, all kinds of things."

My eyebrows raised. "Wow...cool. So you're a human fan." Connor frowned, and without another word, made his horse start to canter slowly ahead of me on the path. Smiling a little, I started to ride after him. "Aw c'mon, it was funny!" I said as we continued down the stretch of forest road.