Another burst of the pungent smell of ammonia caused me to jolt awake from my brief reprieve from the pain that pulsated through my bones and my limbs.

After the shock wore off, I glared at Red, who shrugged. He had taken some of the smelling salts and wrapped them in a small bundle which he had held close to my nose.

"You weren't waking up even after I tried to shake you."

I shook my head to clear the fuzziness the pain was causing. Using the smelling salts wasn't pleasant, but it was better than being slapped awake.

Red offered me his hand, and I took it. He tried to pull me up slowly, but that just caused me to hiss in pain. He tried to yank me up instead, and my voice cracked as I screamed involuntarily. Red uttered a string of curses.

"Know any first aid or something?"

"There's no first aid for broken ribs or a concussion apart from ice and painkillers."

Red's swearing intensified. I held my hands up to placate him and ignored the wince of pain that came with the action.

"Just pull me up. Ignore the screams of pain and try to do it as fast as possible."

Red looked at me like I was a psychopath.

"Fuckin' masochist."

He pulled me up again, this time without stopping even when I let out a mangled scream out of my mouth. The pain made it feel like I was being torn in two, but Red didn't let up.

After what seemed like an eternity, I was upright. I wobbled around before Red took my arm and slug it over his shoulder. With his help, I took a couple of shaky steps toward the exit of the warehouse. My steps became quicker as the pain faded from a universal throbbing to small stabs when I moved.

As Red picked up the pace, I tried to keep up with him without tripping over my feet.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

As I focused on my feet to stay coordinated, Red answered back.

"I know a clinic close by. The doctor is a good person, and she's discreet, so we don't need to worry about paper trails or someone snitching us out."

I nodded, and Red and I fell into step, slowly making our way to the corner of the street. It was when we started to round the corner that I heard it.

I was a persistent thudding sound that seemed like a mix between a giant and an industrial power hammer. The sound seemed to repeat at regular intervals and then stop after a couple of frantic thuds, then it picked up again.

Red turned around to check what it was, before breaking into a frenzied pace. The pain flared up again, and I cursed while turning around to see what had spooked him. What I saw wanted me to ask Red to move faster.

Dauntless was on her feet again, sprinting toward us. Well, if someone knocked me out and left me in an old warehouse, I'd be mad too.

You never appreciated superhuman feats until you saw them with your own eyes. Her superhuman strength was helping her in her pursuit, causing her to cover incomprehensible distances in the blink of an eye. Every time I looked back, she seemed to be getting closer.

Red desperately tried to throw her off by turning into random streets to keep us from getting caught. He trudged onward, but I could see that his plan wasn't working. With every fork in the road we came across and turning we took, all we did was add a few more seconds to the chase.

Red and I paused for a bit, panting. We were only given a moment's respite before the sound of her footfalls got even closer.

With no time to lose, Red picked me up and slung me over his left shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes. I would have protested at the indignity of the situation, but I kept my mouth shut. We needed every advantage we could get.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Every time Red's feet slammed against the pavement, it sent a jolt of pain thorough my chest. However, my new vantage point allowed me to see just how we had gotten away from the enhanced cape.

The only things that were allowing us to keep a slim lead over her were the facts that she couldn't run at full speed since any damages to the road would be cited as property damage, and it seemed like the effects of the gas hadn't fully worn out. Every few steps, she would stumble before coming to a stop to prevent herself from falling over.

Red ran faster, but it was hard to outrun someone with super human strength. The old concrete roads with all their cracks and potholes overgrown with weeds gave way to actual tarmac and asphalt as we came closer to the north side.

I could see the bridge that linked the north and south and the river that churned under it as Red crested an incline.

Red ran toward an old warehouse that looked better than most of the derelict properties in my area.

He ran into an old service road that ran behind the warehouse and followed it for a while before coming to an abrupt stop.

I tried to turn around, but just ended up wiggling awkwardly." Why did you stop?"

"It's a dead end." He whispered. His voice carried a volatile mix of emotions, from anger to acceptance to despair.

He set me down, and I slumped against the wall.

"How is she still on her feet? I thought you knocked her out?" His voice was accusatory, with a hint of anger.

I groaned. Now was not a time to point fingers. "I'm not a magician. I synthesize chemicals, and I knocked her out by using an aerosol mixture of several opioids, and I made the mixture on the spot. I gave her very little because I didn't want to stop her heart or something."

The technical reply seemed to do little for his nerves, but he stopped glaring at me. I slumped even further down the wall, my hands now resting on the road.

There had to be a way out of this. I just need to think. There was always a way out. I just needed something to...

I paused as my felt the asphalt under my hands. I quickly got up, ignoring the protests of my body.

Red looked at me, and the hope I had was mirrored in his eyes.

"I have a plan."

"Out with it."

I took a deep breath before continuing." I need you to heat up the asphalt. As hot as you can get it."

I could see the gears turning in his head." You want to melt the road and get her stuck in it."

He shook his head." That will never work. She'll just see the melting asphalt and jump over it. Even if she doesn't see it, the smell will give it away."

I put a hand on his shoulder." Let me worry about that."

He looked at me again, before casting his hands out and sending stream after stream of fire at a wide section of the road.

The air was soon filled with the smell of burning asphalt, and it wasn't pleasant. I could already feel a headache approaching.

I pushed the smell out of my head to focus on the problem in front of me. While I could try and hide the melted asphalt with smoke, it didn't solve the problem of the smell.

I looked around the alley while pumping out smoke from my hands to hide the already half melted asphalt. The things I saw were typical for an abandoned back alley. A metal barrel, a couple of old tires from a truck, some bags of trash and a bunch of needles and bottles.

Another idea struck me, and I quickly moved the barrel against the back wall, where it would be visible from the entrance. I picked up the tires as well, and produced the strongest adhesive I could. I quickly smeared it against the back of the tires and stuck them on the wall, creating footholds.

Red finished up and looked at my project.

"What is that supposed to do?"

"What do you think? I made some footholds from old tires and a barrel."

Red suddenly perked up." For us to escape over the wall?"

I shook my head. "Dauntless can jump over walls."

His face fell, but I didn't have time to explain things to him.

"Just half melt the tires, please."

He seemed puzzled at why I was making him do it, but he complied.

Just as he finished, Dauntless rounded the corner. She saw the melted tire footholds and picked up her pace. I quickly scampered up the barrel and on to the tires, making her look up at me.

She was so preoccupied with my "escape" she paid no notice to the melted asphalt half obscured under the smoke. Her feet sank into it, and Red closed the distance between them. He used her inability to move to cast his hand right in front of her face.

She stopped struggling instantly, knowing that a blast to the face would do more than tickle her.

I jumped off the tires, my adrenaline keeping the pain at bay.

Red looked over his shoulder, still keeping an eye on the heroine." What do we do now? The moment we leave, she's going to break free."

I shrugged." I didn't plan this far ahead."

He dug around in his pocket before producing a smartphone. "You said you didn't know the right dosage for the opioids, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, search them up." He said, like we had all the time in the world.

I quickly got to work, finding a table with a list of the amounts to be administered based on weight and height. A quick search revealed Dauntless's weight and height, and I quickly calculated the appropriate dosage.

I held a hand over her mask, and the heroine went still.

"I'm sorry."

That was the thing she heard as the gas flooded her mask, knocking her out.

After that was done, we laid her on her side to prevent her from choking on her own tongue, and Red offered me his shoulder again.

I let out a huge "woop" that he mirrored as we both walked away from the site of our victory, grinning.