They were instantly blown back due to the unnatural force.

Initially trembling in the air within odd, offbeat directions, each of the girls anchored themselves back down onto the streets, skidding as a result.

“Fuck--!” Maddie voiced what they all wanted to scream.

Jackie winced and started to pant, looking up to see what caused that.

Beyond the patched over crevice, the Center was there. Clouded within the haze, surrounded by the debris of the buildings that once surrounded it, and more horrifying, the people within the air—zigging and zagging to get back down, or is under said debris despite being upwards, as if the physics ignored in one place and made up for in other ways.

And no signs of the Trends. Despite, for reasons the girls don’t know, feeling them being here. Around them. Surrounded on every side, top to bottom.

“What should we do?” Aiko asked, looking towards the scene. “Do we rush for the building, do we face the Trends when they come--?”

“Let’s get the people down first,” Jackie looked towards them.

“We barely got down ourselves!” Tracy argued.

“But we did,” Jackie answered back. “Our superpower is reminding us that we can use muscle memory and stretch that thin. It’s about time for using our trauma twitches for something.”

“Man—” Maddie quipped right after.

“I mean,” Jackie nearly stammered it out. “We’ve suffered through things, I’m allowed to—no, focus. I’ll try getting to one first, to see if this can work. If it does, follow my lead.”

She put her eyes to the skies, and gazed at her options.

She couldn’t help to be reminded of Bentley, and what her understanding of his ability was. How she saw his eyes flicker, trying to determine to make his arm not only hit, but be possible.

So she focused on a floating object, a chair from an office, that was hovering closer to the street, but not extremely so. Then, she craned her head at an angle, to imagine the trajectory and find something close.

And to her delight, there was a streetlight.

She crouched down to the ground, before sprinting towards the floating chair, using the siVis in her legs, she sprung forward hoping that she would make it, and that it would be enough to fight against the pull.

She then curved left, causing her to scramble in the air.

What could’ve been a perfect landing on that chair, became her using her long arms to fumble, clutch at it and ultimately was successful. She dangled completely to the right, shifting the chair and looking like she’s laying in the air sideways.

She cursed herself, and craned her head to see the streetlight. Still there, but far.

She couldn’t give up now.

As she used siVis to unlock the strength in her arms, she remembered the… She remembered traversing her hometown. She then remembered needing to be quick despite the environmental pressure, like the Nulgarrt Stew.

And most importantly, she remembered attempting curling for the first time, and wanting to die.

The combination allowed her to scale the seat, fighting against the so-called gravity, and she stood erect, still at an angle. She looked up to the streetlamp, and bended down, using siVis on her legs again.

She darted with all the strength she has, reaching out towards the object, even losing steam towards the end as she started to curve downward.

But she made it, grabbing onto the pole with one hand, before landing against it. She quickly added the other hand, and give herself a second of breath. She hoisted herself up it, climbing it.

“Oh god! Help! Please!”

Jackie found herself turning her head, towards a 40 year old or so woman. Clothes covered in mess and sweat, her aging face full of horror.

Jackie nodded, looking at the pole and then at her to figure out the next course of action.

She looked towards the woman, and then to the building that was far away from them.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Jackie climbed up to the top of the streetlight, slid down with one hand, and proceeded to anchor her legs against the pole, and jumped.

She reached for the lady’s shirt, grabbing it, and pulled her in close as she screamed.

Jackie shifted throughout the air, making sure that she’s at an angle again with her feet towards the approaching building as she held the woman in a bridal carry.

She landed so hard, that she made another indent, this time, into the windows, It was lucky for both, that it didn’t cave in—instead just shaping into the indent.

Jackie was panicked, but of course didn’t show it to the more deserving to be panicked woman. She scanned, she searched…

And saw a low floating bench below them.

But that was far too low to just jump to and her legs are just throbbing at this point.

She looked around and found a manhole cover and ripped up street around it, floating aimlessly, therefore away.

“Hold on, m’am, just trust me—”

The woman couldn’t make words, just nodded. Less trust and more she’s desperate.

Jackie crouched again, and bolted towards the cover.

She course-corrected within the air once more, and landed feet first onto the manhole cover.

And then darted forward again towards the bench, correcting herself instantly as they launched, thus landing once more.

With sweat and grime collected herself, Jackie readied herself once more as she panted, and jumped from the bench, tucking her legs in and using siVis on her lower body to fight against the pull.

It worked.

Once it was clear, she used her siVis-enhanced legs to land feet-first on the ground, trembling despite doing the impossible.

She put the woman down, the lady crying with joy and hugs her.

“thns-thank-you—”

“Help is beyond the vans there,” Jackie reassured. “Stay safe, m’am.”

With that, she ran for said vans and the girls ran towards her.

“Holy shit—” River exclaimed. “You’re an actual hero now.”

Jackie wiped the sweat from her brow, and looking at her siVis-enhanced legs, knowing if she drops such, she’ll tumble towards the ground.

“It’s so hard—” Jackie panted out.

“Yeah, I bounced off some walls earlier,” Maddie confirmed. “Shit sucks.”

“Sucks more than the Terminsys City?” Aiko tilted her head in surprise.

“Yes,” Jackie made sure to vocalize.

Tracy just looked towards the mess and madness.

“Well Hell,” she murmured in both frustration and sadness.

“Five,” Jackie winced. “At least five. Let’s get five more down, at least, then we could talk about doing something else…”

Each girl looked towards the wreckage of the air. There were gulps, swears under breath, whimpering…

But they did it anyways.

Each of them, darting across the debris, sailing through the air despite the currents that could yank them at a moment’s notice, and the realizations that they’re so high up. But they didn’t focus on that, they focused on grabbing people. Fathers, grandmothers, only friend, estranged child. With their efforts, Tracy, Maddie, River, and Aiko nabbed four people, with Jackie struggling against the pain, and grabbing the final one.

One of the girls was yanked violently by a current and had to stay calm stranded for a bit. Another, jumped too early and let their passenger up in the air and had to angle themselves back up to get them. One let the reality of how insane this is get to them, and spun in place clinging to their person for support.

Each one, able to beat their troubles. Each one, were able to beat themselves.

With five people saved, running for their lives, left the girls panting, aching, and sweating.

“LET’S DOUBLE IT—” Jackie shouted.

“DOUBLE?!” Tracy exclaimed, as if she’s going to pass out from exhaustion.

“IF WE CONTINUE TO PUSH THROUGH, THEN THE WORSE PART OF OUR PAIN CAN BE DROWNED OUT!” Jackie stood upwards, before hunched over her knees. “WE KEEP THE PACE, WE CAN BE ABOVE THE PAIN! WE CAN DO THIS! WE CAN DO IT THIS TIME! WE HAVE TO!”

They all looked at each other and noticed their respective cracks on their body.

They then nodded.

Despite tired, despite in pain, despite noticeably slowing down and losing finer control over their steering—these pathetic, broken girls managed to save a total of 13 people so far.

It felt like the longest week happened within a hour, which was a distance five years ago.

River slammed right back down onto the streets, skidding. “We… We’re surviving… We’re… Thriving…”

Maddie walked over and leaned against her for support. “But we really gotta rest… Or else we’re not making it up there…”

“We…” Jackie had to swallow the excess saliva. “We did good… As much as we—more than we could’ve done…”

“Yeah…” Tracy said in a rasp. “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.”

Aiko was going to retort, but something caught her eye. She immediately pointed.

The rest bore witness to what was about to happen.

As if… As if they were deities of folklore. The Trends, N’atural Savage and this Terrence—they were surfing through the clouds of static and haze.

N’atural, in flickering of frames, stauntered across the skies, moving as an idea almost within the clouds.

Terrence, was also this living tapestry, lunging forward towards the living painting N’atural, within his clouds.

So slow. Yet so fast.

Once they clashed, the madness only begun.

There was a flash of wispy white. Then stillness, as if time itself stopped.

What followed was a brewing, pulsating growing orb that expanded by the second.

A white, wispy orb that had something akin to tendrils that came out of the “boarders”.

It grew. And it grew. And it couldn’t stop growing.

Until everything around was consumed within it. And soon, it did.

The reality within this sphere, it broke as if it were glass—actual shards raining down on everyone—the people in the skies, and the girls themselves, with no way to dodge and hide from such a thing.

All the objects and surrounding buildings, were violently turned inside out and proceeded to break—being ripped apart within this space of impossible physics.

The Research Center simply peeled itself open, as if it was an obedient pet that did what their Masters commanded.

And if it wasn’t from the sheer shock and horror of experiencing this didn’t do it, every victim in the air that fell onto the ground all awoke at the same time, and immediately started showing signs that they were Shattered.

Despite being far away enough. Despite doing everything in their power to do something. Despite everything, the girls, already hurt, then saw the hill of junk starting to crash around them. They could only hold or block each other from the wreckage.