--XLIX--

This wasn't a workout. But if my body was going to do something nice for someone that day, then hey, let's flip.

MONDAY

8:59 AM

Northwest of Windcreek

Status: Unavailable

I put my phone back in its pocket, and took one of the tiny, compact combat knives. I wasn't intending to really use it, unless necessary.

The light purple shade of the 9AM Overwoods sky spun, and glowed, like milky purple Taro bubble tea. The kind Kaylee and I were practically addicted to; I just didn't buy as much because I cared about not spending funny crazy money.

"You have about a second and a half to stop because I don't believe in hurting anyone."

Most of the time I didn't, at least.

Those wore the words I spoke as I took my first two steps.

"Just..." Connor croaked, "...just stab him."

No.

Arms out, roundoff half turn, two whips, flip with three twists, full in back out back pike. With both my shoes now on top of the Talon's large head, I twisted into my left for the quadruple twisting dismount- without trying to stick this time, because the heel of my left foot was going into this Talon's left temple, near the left ear and impact swinging into his frontal and limbic lobe, and corpus callosum.

Assuming Talons' brains were the same as that of "normal humans," anyway.

I felt the subtle gush of heat leave my body upon contact and out through my left foot. Connor broke free, spun around, and threw a punch to the Talon's nose the millisecond the I front flipped over them both. On the half turn right before my landing, Connor dropkicked the large creature in both shins. And in that split moment right before the Talon toppled onto his knees, my right palm connected into the same temple I'd gone after earlier.

There was no need to put this man in a submission lock. He wasn't going to be walking for a week.

Neither was I... probably.

I backed up into Connor. Two more Talon- seemingly a male and a female, at least by the looks of them- approached us with weapons. One was flying and the other was running. Sam and Kaylee were occupied.

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

I watched as the large bird-people-mutants brandished their weapons at us. Both were visible. Both were sharp and jagged.

Connor, apparently, was otherwise occupied as well.

I heard the sound of a blow behind me.

"What are they holding?" Connor asked me.

Other thoughts please other thoughts other thoughts other thoughts other thoughts

I blinked away monsters and flashes of people larger than me holding pointed objects in the Lowdown. I shook off memories of blood puddles with gin vomit and of broken bodies and of bloodstains and alcohol stains.

It's fine, I have an apple in my pocket

I win like that

"A bear trap and a beer bottle?" I said, as I pocketed my one wielded knife, carefully placing it back in alignment with all the other ones in the black leather. "A bear trap and a beer bottle. That's... certainly a choice for weapons."

Connor spit, twice, on the ground behind my shoes before responding in his very fascinating accent.

"Hell, man," he said. "I'd use the same ones."

"Tango Echo Delta, team!" Kaylee yelled from her spot on the ground about twenty feet away from where we stood. She probably telepathically heard our conversations, or, more probably, was reading all of our minds- as long as none of us were locking up from her.

Or the rest of the telepath world.

"Eldredge here," said Sam's telepathic voice.

From about fifteen yards to my right, I saw Jupiter Two practically sear two Talons with one opening of his mouth. I smiled. My new friend had jaws.

"Team- Tango Echo Delta," Kaylee commanded again. "What's up, Edge?"

Sam's voice was the physical one when she replied, and we all heard it.

"Y'ALL DON'T NEED TO KEEP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO HERE," it said. "I'm having a blast!" I heard her knuckles connect with a Talon's face- and I saw it from where Connor and I stood. The Talon woman stumbled a million steps back until Sam again pursued her and connected her knockout blow, all the while still throwing hands at the others around her, her brass knuckles gleaming and shining the more she threw her fists. She was a glowing rainbow of pure destruction. I saw her smile at me. "I don't know about you!"

"A brother and a father are missing," Kaylee replied, with her physical voice, slowly backing up toward us while still shooting Welwitschia arrows; throwing mutated poison anthurium bombs. There was still a smile in her voice; it wasn't as prominent.

"They could be..." I paused. "For all we know they might be hurt."

Sam zoomed her way in and toward us, a glowing speeding lightshow of yellow and green and white and blond and pink.

"That's why we're here," she said.

"They might be-" Kaylee started.

I wasn't frantic, but my next words were automatic and five times faster than my words normally were.

"They might be in an experiment. They might be subjected to stuff; they might be, might be being experimented on." I paused to pull out one knife, throw it in one straight line- at the right wing of the Talon man that viciously lacerated Kaylee's back- before she could say much else. From atop the tall trees around and all above us, Happy the raccoon tossed a mini-apple, which I axe-kicked in Kaylee's direction. "Kayles!" I yelled. She caught the apple in her right hand and started consuming it immediately, as her blood saturated the back of her delicate, silk, orange top. "We don't know," I said. "But I think we all know that if they're tested on or tortured for even one day, and it's my fault, I will never forgive myself."

"Me neither," Kaylee groaned, as Sam shielded us with her body. I put my left hand under the fabric of Kaylee's halter tank top, on her waist- as the skin of my back started to sting madly. Whatever claws these monsters had on them, they weren't normal claws. "Thanks, Marblefox."

"Keep shooting," I said.