“Shit shit shit!”

Podinal cursed, firing off a few rounds into the darkness and then ducked back into the speeding vehicle.

Looking out the window, Terra could see dark figures running on the rooftops alongside them despite them going over eighty miles an hour on the road. Roip was expertly maneuvering her way through the floating car highway, coming dangerously close to clipping the other vehicles but never making contact.

The trip to the rendezvous point was uneventful and quiet, but things changed dramatically once they switched transports. Within minutes of Roip driving the shipment, hooded figures jumped out from the shadows and began firing at the group. Terra had wanted to bail at that moment and let out some steam by fighting with the mysterious people, but she was under the watchful eye of Unter, Dexai, and Beiwot in the back. Plus, if she had opened the back cargo doors there lay the possibility of the crates of medicine falling out, and she wasn’t going to risk it. For now, she just had to wait and see if the group could get out of the predicament by themselves before she could part in the action. She didn’t have to wait long.

Roip made a sharp turn to get off the populated road, but the car came to such a sudden halt that everyone not strapped in flew forward. Terra heard the sharp crack of a skull against the windshield, and all the passengers in the back, including her, pitched forward. Immune to the trauma, but feeling part of her face get coated in black crystals, she looked around at the damage. The medicine crates were unharmed, but Unter and Dexai were out cold from having hit their heads against them, while Beiwot was groaning on the side clutching her bleeding shoulder. She could hear some more groaning and shuffling from the front, but couldn’t make out who was still conscious. The back doors sprung open and by instinct, Terra grabbed her crowbar to defend the group.

The first figure lunged at her and she easily deflected them away, landing a solid hit on the back of their neck with her weapon and effectively knocking them out. She jumped out of the floating van to face her opponents.

One tried to catch her unaware by using the roof of the van as a surprise tactic, but Terra could hear their loud footsteps coming a mile away. Just by stepping to the side and swinging her crowbar up at her opponent’s chin rendered another one unable to battle. She heard something whistle past her ear and saw a small metal cylinder poking from the frame of the vehicle behind her.

Catching a glimpse of silver flying at her, she dodged out of the way and then knocked another out of the air that followed directly behind it. More flew in her direction, but she cartwheeled out of the way, leaving a trail of metal rods on the ground behind her. Another dark figure jumped out at her, but she was ready; knocking more flying metal to the ground before using her attacker’s leverage against them, kicking their feet out from underneath them and smashing their face into the pavement.

A silent wind abruptly sent her flying into a nearby wall, concrete crumbling from her impact. She gasped for air when her breath was knocked out of her, but the unseen assailant sent her flying into a pole that lined the road. Not bothering to catch her breath, she swung out her arm in the hopes of somehow hitting the invisible person.

“To your right!” Vazerio called out.

Terra swiped her crowbar to the right of her, catching the culprit somewhere in their torso judging from the grunt of pain she heard. She grabbed an arm and brought them down to meet her knee, hearing them crumple and then visibly see them lying on the ground. From down the road, she saw a dozen more opponents and she readied herself, staving off a few more flying metal bits. Before they could reach the van, however, she saw something fly past her and the small army ahead of her was tossed in the air as an explosion burst near their feet.

Unter was carrying pieces of debris in his hands and looked incredibly pissed off. He gave Terra a nod of approval before chucking another piece of rubble at the attackers who were too stubborn to turn back, causing more concrete and debris to scatter around them as it exploded.

“The car still works guys!” Roip called out from the vehicle. “Get in!”

Terra was curious as to why they had come to such a sudden stop to begin with but jumped in the van so they could move the medicine. After all, that was their number one priority. She heard Vazerio curse in the front seat and then yell at the back seat crew to close the doors. The now-conscious Dexai quickly shut the doors, and not a moment too late.

A metal claw attached to a wire lodged itself in the hood of their van with a thunk and blue lightning streaked down its length. Electricity sparked from the dashboard, short-circuiting the control panel, causing the van to drop from its height. Terra looked around to see the blood draining from everyone’s faces.

“He’s here,” Podinal announced stoically, a large gash on his forehead from ramming into the windshield.

“What do we do?” Dexai asked, panic evident in his eyes. “Last time--” his voice cracked. Beiwot hugged him to try and calm him down, but Terra could tell that she was just barely keeping things together herself. Even Unter looked alarmed.

“Who’s ‘he’?” Terra inquired.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“This guy is a fucking force of nature. He controls electricity, and believe me, it hurts if he ever touches you.” Roip stated, pushing up one of her sleeves to show a scar that crisscrossed all the way up her arm. More rays of lighting jumped around them and the hope seemed to drain from everyone’s eyes. Vazerio turned around and faced Terra.

“Don’t lose yourself.”

He tossed a small item in her direction and she caught it easily.

A calm serenity washed through her the instant the black crystal was in her hand and she knew what she had to do. Leaving her crowbar on the cargo floor, she tightened her grip on the crystal and watched as it extended into a sword, the weight and length made perfectly for her. Kicking open the doors, she felt electricity hit her body, but wherever it hit it simply left black crystallized scars; it didn’t actually cause any pain.

She shut the doors behind her just in case the lightning jumped to the passengers inside, and then calmly walked to the front of the vehicle where the metal claw was lodged. More silver blurs came flying at her, but she just knocked them out of the air with her sword. Time itself seemed to favor her as it slowed whenever a metal canister got near enough her striking distance.

Taking a firm grip of the wire that ran from the claw, she allowed the electricity to harmlessly ground itself on her rather than striking the car. Black crystals quickly formed around her hand, consuming the wire and welding it to her arm. Making sure it was secure, she sliced the wire attached to the car, cutting the link that caused the car to short-circuit.

With the wire still attached to her hand, she started pulling the culprit towards her. At this point, she was just playing tug-of-war with the person on the other line, and she didn’t plan on losing. Needing both hands free to handle the wire, her sword melted around her hand, creating a black crystal gauntlet that covered her fist. She could hear the others scrambling to get the vehicle started again. Once the engine was running again, she could hear the others urging her to get in the car so they could complete their mission, but she ignored them. Nobody threatened her and her new comrades and got away with it.

With one last tug, she saw the figure on the other end finally come into sight. She sprinted towards them, never letting go of the wire just in case they decided to run. More metal rods came flying towards her and she realized this man was not unarmed; he had been the one shooting at her from the beginning.

She dodged the flying bits and circled around the person who was too focused on not getting within her striking range that he didn’t realize that she was still holding onto the wire that was linked to his arm. Tugging up, Terra smiled when the male’s arm snapped across his chest and he was completely bound. She watched in amusement as fear crept into the guy’s eyes--the same fear that she had seen dig into her friend’s eyes when he was the one in control.

The gauntlet shifted into a sword again as she calmly made her way to the bound male who now looked like a caterpillar trying to escape a hungry beak. She nestled the sword against his neck, a warmth spreading across her chest when she knew she could easily get rid of one of her enemies so easily.

“Terra!”

She heard a voice call out to her in the haze. Looking up, she saw someone pointing a gun at her. Vazerio? Was that his name? He was a friend, so she simply looked back down at the man crying for mercy at her feet. She heard a shot ring out and something hit her leg, the bullet bouncing off and black crystals tearing her uniform. Had her comrade shot her? Deciding the person on the ground wasn’t going anywhere, she turned her attention to the person who she thought was on her side. His eyes had gone wide and he scrambled backward.

“Wow, I didn’t realize just how weak you were.”

Terra turned her attention to the voice that had insulted her. To her surprise, she saw Alter standing right next to her without the help of a mirror.

“Don’t worry, I’m just a hallucination. Or maybe you should worry…” Alter pondered. “But you’ve gone too far. Do you even remember your name?”

Terra scoffed, of course she did, it was T...Te...Ta…? What was it again?

“I thought so. You should probably let go of that crystal, you’re not ready for it yet.” Alter touched the sword Terra held, and it transformed back into a rock. But Terra didn’t want to let go. It made her feel invincible. It took away all the problematic thoughts in her head. It was made for her.

She felt a hand reach down and grab the crystal from her hand. Alarmed, she looked up and saw Vazerio’s concerned face looking down at her.

“Are you alright?”

She nodded, feeling embarrassment at her behavior creep up her neck. Had she really considered him her enemy when he’d shot at her? Well, the fact that he pulled the trigger did surprise her, but at least it helped bring her out of that state-of-mind.

Terra hung her head low and didn’t want to make any eye contact with anyone because of how mortified she felt.

“Holy shit!” she heard Podinal call from the front when she had crawled in the van. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten chills like that before! That was incredible! You totally showed him who’s boss. Is he still there?” He squinted through the windshield to see if he could spot the electric-user.

Terra shrugged her shoulder. He probably was unless his colleagues had already untied him. She tried to push it out of her mind since she was still horrified at herself for nearly slitting the man’s throat and enjoying it.

“How did you warp that rock?”

“How come you’re immune to everything?”

“Why are there black crystals on your face?”

“Is that your power?”

“Why did your eyes turn black?”

“Who were you talking to?”

“Hey!” Vazerio shouted, quieting everyone down. “Let’s just drop the topic for now. We still have to stay alert since the mission is to deliver the medicine, remember?”

Everyone reluctantly nodded and watched the windows in case another attack came. It never did. When they had delivered the crates to the six different cities, the suns had begun rising over the peaks of Hayland City, indicating the start of fifty hours of daylight. Exhausted, they all collapsed on their corresponding beds and passed out. Terra lay in bed wondering if she would ever gain control of the crystal or if the crystal would one day take her mind.