“No.”

“I wasn’t asking, Jon. I was telling.”

I glared at him, tight-lipped. “Fuck you, Aedan. No. We’re going to-”

“Calm down and think about this rationally for two seconds, Jon,” Aedan snapped.

“I am thinking about-”

“Jon.”

My jaw shut with an audible clack as I fell into a furious, fuming silence. He smiled gently.

“You need to stop freaking out. I know you’re worried, but your sister will be fine. Just fine. Trust me.”

“You can’t possibly say something like that.”

He straightened with a sigh. “What good is killing her going to do, exactly?”

“I don’t fucking know,” I said, spitting the words out. “Maybe they’re just pissed off.”

“She’s worth more to them as a hostage,” he said, hands spread placatingly. “They wouldn’t just get rid of her like that. Right now we know where their finder is - for now. Once she moves, we’re back to square one.”

“I-” I started, but stopped. What he was saying made sense. It didn’t make me like it. “I’m not just going to play around while they’re hurting her,” I said instead, my chin raising stubbornly.

Aedan grinned crookedly. “Think of it this way. Recon’s got a truck. That’s what Jake there said, right?”

“...Right,” I mumbled.

“Well, just think of how much faster we’ll get to your place with some wheels.” His hand slapped my back, not unkindly. “Come on, Johnny.”

“Jon,” I grumbled halfheartedly, still completely unsatisfied with his answer, but when he jogged off into the dark, I followed.

My heart pounded in my ears as we slipped through the woods, our path lit by the dim light of our flashlights. The shadows were thick around us, smothering the sound until we were wrapped in a cocoon within the night, totally alone. I was just sure that someone was waiting behind every tree, pointing a gun my way or ready to spew fire from their hands. I’d meet some horrible, gruesome end, and that would be all they wrote.

“Am I going the right way?” Aedan muttered, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I jumped. “Uh. What?”

He glared at me. “Jake there said their finder was at a trailhead. Are we going the right way? Does any of this look familiar?” He swiveled his stolen flashlight, aiming it out into the forest around us. “He was pointing this way, but even still-”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah,” I said, gaining a bit of confidence as I eyed the woods. “I think, anyway.”

Aedan snorted, shaking his head. “You think. Great.”

“I’m pretty sure,” I said darkly. I was. We were walking on a trail by then, not stomping through the leaves and branches, and that meant we were getting close. The forest looked...familiar. That didn’t mean a whole lot, but it was what I had to work with.

“Fine.”

The silence stretched on between the two of us as we slipped closer. We were probably headed the right direction, but there was still a ways to go. The longer the quiet pressed on, the more paranoid I could feel myself getting.

Finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I cleared my throat.

Aedan glanced back at me, eyes narrowed. “What now?”

The question I was going to ask died at the irritation on his face. I glared at him instead. “What, going to stuff another sock into my mouth?”

He groaned. “What do you want?”

“I mean, it’s a valid question,” I muttered. “You were freaking out about me talking a few minutes ago. Why are you-”

“A few minutes ago, their finder didn’t know where we were,” Aedan said, shrugging. “I’m pretty sure they do now. And besides.” He locked eyes with me for a moment before continuing on. “Most finders, they can’t look at something like what just happened without being blinded. Too many powers get used in close quarters, it’s just...overload.” He shrugged again. “Most finders.”

“So, to you, I’m still talking in-”

“Hurry the hell up.”

I shut up, quickening the pace until I was right behind him. But I couldn’t help it. My mind was going crazy, churning through everything new that I’d had thrown at me that night. One thing still stood out over all the rest, screaming for my attention.

“Aedan?”

I heard him sigh, heavy with frustration. “What.”

“What’s your ability?”

“My Relic.”

“Yeah. That.”

I counted the seconds as we picked our way on, the seconds of silence as he chewed on my question. With every moment my confusion grew. It wasn’t that hard a question.

“Let’s...just worry about getting through this, all right?” he said at last.

I scowled. “What? That’s bullshit. You got shot.”

“I-”

“I saw you.”

He conceded the point with a halfhearted nod. “A little.”

“A-” I spluttered. “A little? How do you get shot a little? Would you stop-”

“If I start going into it, you’re going to have questions,” he snapped, eyes narrowed against the light. “We don’t have time for all that bullshit, and I don’t have time for you to try all the stupid shit you’re going to want to.”

“What do you mean, try something-”

“Everyone always does,” he muttered. “Come on. Hurry the hell up. I think we’re almost there.”

I could see the trees thinning out around us, but it wasn’t enough. He hadn’t told me anything - in fact, I had more questions after his little subject-dodge than I’d had before. “Can you at least tell me-”

He spun on his heel in an instant, his hand covering my mouth even as he pulled both of us to the ground. I flinched, caught off guard, but knew better than to fight. I’d seen how Aedan operated, and didn’t think he’d have many qualms about taking me out if I became a burden to his own chances.

“Quiet, now,” he breathed, inches from my ear. I bobbed my head in a nod, understanding what he was saying - be quiet, and don’t talk. Something was wrong.

The sound of leaves crunching was almost deafening in the anxious quiet. I lifted my head an inch, peering out into the dark.

We’d made it. The sight of the trailhead - and the truck parked in the lot - was an almost palpable relief. We’d made it in time. I could see two shadowed figures in the dim light of the cab. That would be that finder woman, then, and her bodyguard.

A shiver went down my spine. If that was the finder and the bodyguard, who was the man strolling idly through the woods at the edge of the parking lot?

“Fucking Jake,” Aedan muttered under his breath.

I swallowed hard, staring at the third man - the man who wasn’t supposed to be here. Had Jake lied? Had I been wrong about him? Or had he simply not known? Maybe plans had changed on their end. The why didn’t really matter. What were we going to do now?”

“We can still slip away,” I said, keeping my voice to a near-whisper. “Get back out to the road, hitch a ride or walk or something. It’s not really close, but my apartment isn’t-”

“The truck is what matters,” Aedan said, no hesitation at all in his voice as he gathered his legs under him. “One of these assholes is the vamp. The other one...well, I don’t know.” He glanced at me sidelong. “One more go. Still got that gun?”

My finger throbbed as I wrapped my hand around it, but yes, it was still tucked into my waistband. I pulled it free, trying to pretend like my hands weren’t trembling, and nodded.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Good. Good,” he said, patting my shoulder reassuringly. “See, you’ll be fine. Just stop the truck from leaving, and I’ll be right there.”

I opened my mouth to argue further, but he was already sliding his knife from his pocket. I stared. Well, Paul hadn’t had a gun, I supposed, but exactly how many people was Aedan expecting to go all Jack the Ripper on in one night?

“I-I don’t know if I can-”

“I’ll get you past the guy at the treeline, all right?” Aedan said, flashing me a grin that was probably supposed to be comforting. It just looked crazed to me. “Just keep them here. You’ve got this, Johnny.”

I had been a little worried about how I was supposed to get by the guy, but I was more concerned about how I was supposed to stop two freaks in a truck - a way that didn’t involve killing anyone, ideally. That would be just fucking great.

Before I could say another word, Aedan was moving, jogging casually towards the new guy. I was out of time.

“Who the- Nate!” the guard bellowed. I could see the two in the truck snap to attention, their heads swiveling as they searched for the new threat.

“What’s-”

“It’s them! Get clear!”

The sound of the truck’s engine starting echoed around the trailhead. I had one chance. Before I really knew what was happening, I was sprinting, dodging trees and bushes as I burst into the gravel parking lot.

The truck’s transmission thudded hollowly as the man behind the wheel - Nate? - threw it into gear. His eyes were fixed on Aedan and his friend - and the road ahead. He squared off, turning away from them as he focused.

My mind wasn’t involved in my decision-making at that point. If it were, it would have told me exactly how stupid I was being. This was a bad plan, a horrible plan, something that was going to get me killed. But as little as I knew about fighting, I knew a few things about people.

And no one wants to hit something.

As the driver’s eyes snapped back to the road, I threw myself in front of the truck. My hands slapped down hard on the metal hood, palms flat as I stared wide-eyed into the windshield. If I was wrong, if he didn’t react like I thought he would, he’d-

“Shit!” I heard him scream, slamming on the breaks as his instincts kicked in. The truck hadn’t even really been moving, but the whole frame shuddered as what little momentum it had was stopped in its tracks.

The woman in the seat next to him stared back at me from behind delicate glasses, her eyes narrowed. She didn’t seem afraid at all - just a bit surprised.

With every heartbeat that passed, I knew that Nate there was going to figure things out. He’d realize that I was Aedan’s ally and the people they were trying to run from - and he’d run me over without a second thought. I had to- I had to stop them before that.

These were the people trying to hurt me. The ones who had Keira. They weren’t innocent. They’d put themselves in the position where it was them or me - and I wouldn’t give in so easily.

As the truck revved, I hurled myself to the side. I’d jump clear, a-and do what I had to, and-

I fell like a rock as the front corner of the truck slid past me. My world spun as I hit the ground hard, gasping for the breath that was knocked clear of me.

He smirked down from the truck window at me, two fingers raised. He wasn’t revving the truck anymore. It purred along quietly, idling.

I tried to push myself upright again, but something had me.

“Nice try,” I heard him say, over the sound of the country music on his radio. “Stay there.”

His face was growing more pale by the second, but I could feel it - and see it, when I raised my head the few inches I needed.

The gravel underneath me had erupted into roots, tendrils and vines spreading out of the ground like some sort of jungle resurgence. They threaded their way between the stones, wrapping my limbs like a web.

People kept trying to break me. First gravity, now this? And I had, what, some vaguely-unusual skills with languages? What a crock.

My thoughts stilled as the first vines crept up the sides of my neck. I thrashed, shaking them free as quickly as they grew, but they were relentless. My leg was hopelessly caught, pinning me in place, and my torso wasn’t far behind. The weight of it on my ribs was fast becoming unbearable.

With the icy rush of adrenaline casting my world into quiet stillness, I reached over with my still-free left hand, tearing at the plants spreading across my other arm. My fingers ached at the motion. I could feel the skin splitting around my nails. It didn’t matter.

Any hesitation I might have had burned away as my arm swung up, clearing the vines and roots growing around me just enough to level my pistol at the driver’s side window.

His eyes widened, his smile falling from his lips in a single, breathless moment. He hadn’t seen the gun - of course he hadn’t. It was dark, and with everything they could do, he’d probably expected me to fall back on my ability. No one would expect a universal translator to jump headlong into a firefight.

The roar of the gun going off filled my ears with the dead, lifeless sound of ringing, wiping the sounds of the night away. The light was blinding in the dark, sending me reeling.

I’d seen him fall back, though, the window shattering between us. He was bellowing something, his arms thrown up around his face. I hadn’t hit him, then. Not entirely surprising, given my position on the ground and utter lack of skill with a pistol, but I would have preferred to finish it quickly.

The vines around me fell away as their owner hesitated, too caught up in his own pain and fear to control them properly. I seized the chance I was given, jumping upright before he could regain his composure. I could see Aedan from the corner of my eye, dancing around his opponent like a man possessed. He didn’t need a gun, I realized. That was his secret, the reason people kept underestimating him. He seemed to have pieced together that he was fighting Clark, the foretold bodyguard. Good.

The bloodied mess I’d left of Nate’s shoulder seemed to have finally settled the matter for him, I saw as I turned back to him. He fumbled with the column, trying to set it into gear, but his hands were shaking. He must have wanted to hang around and savor the kill - right up until I’d stolen it from him. More likely he’d wanted my Focus, I thought sourly. Joke’s on him.

With my ribs still aching from his grip and the feel of his vines on my neck still fresh in my mind, I didn’t feel any guilt at all about leveling the pistol at him. Fuck him. Fuck him and his friends, the ones who’d done all of this. If it was them or me, I chose me.

I’d missed before - when I was on the ground, half-wrapped in vines and gasping for air. That wasn’t the case anymore.

And I didn’t miss.

Underneath the deafening sound of what was probably going to be a great case of tinnitus, I could hear the sound of little miss Recon screaming. Her second bodyguard crumpled onto the wheel, his face-

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to look away. The truck’s engine revved, his lifeless foot still pushing the gas, but he hadn’t managed to get it back into gear.

The sound of a car door opening brought me out of my internal monologue. I blinked, head snapping up in a second.

The finder half fell from the cab, her face bone-white in the headlights. She was covered in the blood of her partner, and gasping for air. Part of me sympathized with her. It had to be a shock, and if Aedan was right about her abilities, she was as helpless in all of this as I was. Aedan had given me no reason to think he was wrong - but it didn’t mean that I could just let her run off. He was right, after all. The longer she was out there, knowing where to find us, having the skillset to track us, the more danger we were in. I couldn’t very well let her run.

My feet ached underneath me as I pushed myself into a run, taking off after the woman.

She glanced back over her shoulder - just once. Her eyes widened further than they already were, her mouth hanging open as she sobbed. I swallowed the bitter frustration that was welling up again. It wasn’t right. None of this was right. It didn’t change anything, but I just felt the need to acknowledge it.

The sound of gasping drew my eye as I sprinted after her. Aedan had Clark down on the ground, his jacket off and wrapped around his hand as he pushed the guy’s face into the ground. His other hand clutched a heavy, disgustingly-ornate pendant fixed around the man’s neck on a leather cord. He was strangling him with it, in fact, all the while inspecting it with a look of utmost interest.

Fucking Aedan. I tore my eyes away, hearing the woman ahead of me falter.

She was running out of road. Ahead was only forest - the forest we’d just come from. And while she was reasonably dressed for the season, she’d clearly been planning on sitting in the truck for the whole evening. Her quite-stylish shoes were tearing themselves apart with every thundering stride she took.

Two more steps. It took two more steps for me to close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around her shoulders as I launched myself at her.

She screamed as we hit the ground hard, a shrill, pained sound. I forced it away, refusing to acknowledge the pang of guilt that shot through me at it. She struggled, trying to wrestle away underneath me, but I had the advantage of size and adrenaline. She wasn’t going anywhere.

The gun was heavy in my hand as I pulled it free again. And then I stopped.

“Good work. Much better,” Aedan said, walking up behind us. The finder squirmed, twisting her head enough to get a look at him. Her eyes widened at the sight of him grinning down at her. “You’ll figure all this out in time.”

“Shut up,” I said, no venom in the words. I didn’t want to get better at it. I wanted to go home.

“Right. Just...finish up here, and we’ll-”

“Or we could not,” I said, glancing back at him.

Aedan stopped, scowling down at me. “This isn’t the time to grow a heart, Johnny. She’s one of them - a totally willing partner in all this. You can’t-”

“They’ve got Keira, right?” I said, staring at him.

“You don’t know-”

“You have her, right?” I shook the woman underneath me.

She shuddered. “M-Matt hasn’t said anything about-”

“Come on, Jon,” Aedan said, folding his arms.

“If he went to my apartment, then he’s got her,” I insisted, glaring at him. “She didn’t have work tonight.”

“Even so, I can’t-”

“If they have a hostage, then it only makes sense for us to have one too.”

Aedan stared at me, his expression unreadable. And then he threw his hands up, rolling his eyes. “Fine. Fine! Do what you want. But she’s on you, understand?”

I grinned, satisfied. “Right.” I glanced down. She was looking back up at me, her breathing slowing somewhat as she figured out that she’d gotten a reprieve. “Come on. If you make trouble, he’s going to kill you. Fair warning.”

She stumbled up as I rolled clear, pushing myself upright. Her glasses had fallen clear as we tumbled, coming to rest in the dead grass nearby. She reached out as she stood, her eyes fixed on-

Aedan’s hand whipped in, closing around the glasses before she could touch them. She visibly flinched as he stood again, inspecting them.

“Nice, nice. Awesome. Finders’ Relics are rare, you know, Jon,” he said, glancing at me with a crooked smile. “Always hold onto them when you find them.” His eyes flicked over to Recon’s. “And I will be holding onto these.”

Her face was drawn and tight as she stared at him, but she seemed to know better than to argue. She didn’t fight when I pulled her upright, or when I tugged her over to the truck a few moments later. Her eyes were fixed on Clark, cracks already shooting through his form where he lay, and on Nate, who Aedan was trying to leverage out of the cab.

Truth be told, I didn’t really care. She was marginally more harmless than the others on her crew, but she’d been with them all the same. Without her directing them, they’d never have found Aedan, and thus they’d never have found me.

I didn’t feel bad at all about zip-tying her hands together - another gift of Aedan’s backpack, which I was beginning to suspect was bottomless. She shuddered as we sandwiched her into the truck’s bench seat between us, her eyes still fixed on where her glasses had vanished into Aedan’s jacket pocket, but wisely held her tongue.

“All right,” I said, glancing over at Aedan. “We did your thing. Now-”

“Calm down and drive,” he said, motioning towards the road. “Time’s a-wasting. You’re the one who wanted to-”

My foot stomped down on the accelerator, cutting off whatever inane argument he’d been about to follow up with. A grin slipped onto his face and vanished as quickly as it had come as the truck lurched forward.

Gravel sprayed out from under the tires as we shot out of the trailhead lot. My eyes were fixed on the road. I’d lived here my whole life. I knew every street, every route and shortcut.

And right then, I was just mad enough to make it count.

The brilliant, achingly brief light of the two bodies shattering into dust behind us lit up my rearview mirror as I tore back towards town.