Blossom

[HERO] 3. getaway car

Added 2023-10-09 19:32:47 +0000 UTC

Static buzzed. A ceaseless ringing echoed from one ear to the other. Slowly, as awareness of her body returned, Clara realized the crackling static was her friends.

“Clara! Clara, can you hear me? Where are you?” Izzy’s frantic voice snapped in and out of clarity. It was followed by Nico shouting Clara’s name over and over.

Clara tried to make a sound, but all she managed was a groan lodged deep in her throat. She was curled up, hanging from the grill with the camera held close. Her phone’s light shone from somewhere below.

She opened her mouth, and this time she managed an ugly burst of coughing. Dust flew out of her mouth. Dust and glowing blue sparks that lit up the space in the vent before fading. That's not good.

Her fingers hurt. She looked up and realized she was hanging from the grill. When the wall collapsed, it left the air duct propped up so that if she let go of the grill, she’d slide down to where her phone was. But then she’d never be able to climb back up, and there was no telling what the rest of the duct looked like, if the way back to the pipes outside was still there.

I have to let them know I'm here. They’re tracking my phone signal, but it must be a mess out there. Fuck.

She tried again to speak, cradling the camera, and gripping the grill harder even as it cut into her fingers. The back of her head hurt so much, she was sure she had a concussion. She coughed again. There was another burst of sparks. But the burning pressure in her chest relented.

“I’m in the vent,” she whispered, praying the earpiece would pick up her voice.

What if I die in here?

After what I just saw?

I can’t die here; I have to tell the world.

But what I have is... it’s so fucked.

They'll kill me for it.

He’ll kill me for it.

Or eat me...

Panic surged through her. She swallowed hard, then screamed, “I’m in the vent!” Her cry echoed in the dusty, cramped air duct, and then she heard Nico’s voice again.

“Oh, thank fuck! Where are you? Clara!”

“Make some noise, Clara,” said Izzy breathlessly. “I think we’re close.”

Clara was about to tell them to call emergency services and leave her here. No reason for them to get in trouble too. She must be buried in the rubble. They’d never be able to get her out. But then she heard footsteps nearby. Things shuffled outside; they must be right there.

She kicked the duct, remembering the metallic clang from when she hurt her head. But her kick barely made a feeble thud. Fuck.

She pressed the tip of her boot against the duct’s wall and pushed her body till her back was against the other side. This gave her more space to wind up, and this time when she kicked, the sound rang loud and clear, echoed and amplified by the duct.

She wasn’t sure how long it took. Or if she’d passed out again. All she knew was that she couldn’t let go of the grill no matter how much her fingers hurt, and she had to keep kicking. Her friend’s voices in her ears wouldn’t let her go to sleep.

Clara couldn’t keep kicking, so she tapped her camera against the duct, hoping it would be loud enough for them to find her. Her heavy eyelids shut, and she lost consciousness again.

She dreamt she was floating on the river. Sunset bled through the surrounding skyscrapers, a pink and orange sky with a few white clouds trailing overhead. Wind teased her hair; she felt something wet on her face that was too warm to be river water.

What the fuck? She sat up. She was sitting on the waves, and she spread her legs to see her reflection, only to find Starkeeper’s face grinning back at her, blood running down his chin.

She screamed, crying like she had to rip her lungs out of her chest right this moment, and slapped the water repeatedly, splashing the colors of the sunset until the pink ran with the orange, thickening and growing hotter and reddening, and Clara sank. The river churned to blood, bubbling down her throat as she kicked and struggled and cried for help.

When Clara woke up again, she was in the back seat of Izzy’s mom’s tiny car. They were driving through the city. It was nighttime now, and traffic lights washed over them, as wailing sirens and emergency vehicles rushed past, headed in the opposite direction.

Her fingers stung like she’d tried to rip them off, but that was nothing compared to the throbbing ache in her head. She could’ve sworn her brain was trying to hatch out the back of her skull.

“She’s awake!” shouted Nico, glancing at the passenger side rearview mirror before flipping around in the seat. She grabbed the headrest and stared at Clara. “You’re awake!” Then she started blabbering, her eyes wide and frantic, her blonde hair bouncing all over. “I carried you all the way to the car. There were all these sirens and people, I think cops? But there was so much smoke, they didn’t catch us. And Izzy thought we had to jump into the river or something, but I said we could make it, and I carried you over the fence and-”

“Sit down,” hissed Izzy, glancing nervously at the rearview mirror. “Put your seatbelt on. Do you wanna get pulled over?” Her sunglasses slid down again, revealing bloodshot eyes and she looked like she’d been crying.

She seemed even tinier than usual in the driver’s seat, her brown hair and face caked in dust, and Clara’s heart squeezed seeing her friend look so frightened.

“Clara,” said Izzy. Her voice broke into a sob. The car zoomed down a busy street, swerving to avoid a double-parked mail truck. They were definitely going over the speed limit.

“Hey,” said Clara, struggling to sit straight. They’d put her in the backseat and strapped her in. But she felt so sleepy, like she could lie down back here and pass out and wake up next week. Her chest felt like she’d inhaled too much water, but at least her breathing wasn’t strained. Her camera was on the seat beside her, unharmed.

“Hey?” said Izzy, stopping at a red light, her shoulders twitching like she wanted to zoom through the bustling intersection. “All you say is ‘Hey’? You weren’t responding, and I didn’t know what to do, and I was driving to the hospital – we're still driving to the hospital-”

“No, don’t,” said Clara quickly, alarm ringing through the fog in her head. Her parents would freak about a hospital bill. “No, I’m fine. I promise. I have something, I...” She winced as she stretched forward, looking for her bag. The throbbing spread across the back of her head like a spiderweb. “I just need to rest.”

Nico turned back in her seat, staring at Clara. “You need to see a doctor,” she said, firmly.

Clara shook her head. That was a mistake. Everything swirled into a blur of jiggling light and color – the night sky, Nico’s worried face, the back of Izzy’s head, the dashboard, the windshield, the streetlights. She shut her eyes tight and rested her head back. Her friends were right, of course. She needed to see a doctor. But that didn’t matter. She had the next best thing.

“I’m taking you to the ER,” said Izzy. The car roared back to life as the light changed from red to green; she was still going way too fast.

“Do you know how to get there?” asked Nico.

“Yeah. Shit, I should’ve checked this for the fastest way,” said Izzy, tapping the phone for her audio assistant. “Take me to the hospital.”

Directions to New Apple City General Hospital.

In 500 meters, turn left.

Izzy turned to Nico. “They have maps now too.” She was trying to make a joke, but her voice cracked, and she sounded wobbly. She was gripping the steering wheel so hard, her knuckles were white and threatening to burst out of her skin.

I must look dreadful if they’re acting like this. “Guys...”

“I’ll give you my medical card,” said Izzy, dropping her voice to a whisper.

“Slow down,” said Nico as the car vroomed forward again. She was clawing at her beanie. “And that’s not gonna work. As soon as they run your ID, they’ll see nothing matches. Height. Weight. Blood type. Whatever else they check for.”

“We tell them she has a concussion. And they’ll look at that. And then we’ll leave before they do any blood work or ask questions, and I think I have an EMP somewhere, and maybe-”

Nico nodded fervently. “Okay, that’s perfect. Let them check her up and then we’ll knock out the power and run.”

Izzy made a sharp turn. The wheels screeched and other cars honked angrily. Clara groaned as her head lurched on the seat, setting off another wave of intense throbbing.

“Wait,” she hissed. “Stop the car and listen to me. Izzy! Stop the car. Pull over. Please!”

Izzy whipped around, the look on her face wild and frantic. “What?”

“Izzy!” Nico grabbed the wheel. Everything lurched again. A van blared its horn. And then their car rolled to a stop. They were in front of a group of busy restaurants and a dry-cleaning service and an office supply store, all sandwiched on the ground floor of a giant apartment complex. Ads ran across the glass fronts of the stores: happy people chewing on burgers and drinking soda, everyone laughing and cheering silently as the visuals played.

Cars rolled by to their left, honking angrily. Some of their windows displayed ads too, and Clara saw one showing off a depression drug called Purity. The woman holding up the drug was smiling way too hard, it ticked Clara off, and then she remembered Starkeepr spitting out blood. This one was hooked on that Purity crap.

Once she’d caught her breath, and as her friends stared at her, she raised her hand meekly. “Where’s my bag?”

“Behind your feet,” said Nico, nodding toward the car’s floor.

She knelt and dragged the backpack out. She unzipped it slowly, the sound like a chainsaw moving through her head, and then rummaged inside. The traffic light went from red to green, and the car displaying Purity drove away. Headlights from another car flooded theirs for a moment, giving Clara enough light to find what she was looking for.

Izzy pulled the car over slowly, gently, double parking in front of the dry cleaner’s so that people would stop honking at them. Clara pulled out the MedBox she’d packed.

It was a flattened rectangular prism, about the shape of a phone. It was white with a red button on top that also served as its screen. The data chip had been stripped away for unlicensed use. She passed it to Nico who was sitting right in front of her.

Clara lowered her head, wincing at the pain. “Hold it to the back of my head and then push down with your other hand.”

“Where did you get this...” whispered Nico.

“Careful,” said Izzy softly, though she was hyperventilating.

“I got it. I got it. I’ve seen people use this on TV.” Nico unbuckled and twisted fully in her seat. Then she pressed the bottom end of the MedBox to Clara’s skull. “Ready?”

Clara hoped to God that this would work, that the Box she’d bought off the black market would do the job. If it didn’t, it might just fry her brains out, but at least she had the footage. Either way, the pain stops. And Big Lizzie swore it works and she’s never sold me anything defective before. She sucked in a deep breath. “Okay. Do it.”

When Nico pressed down, Clara felt a surge. The throbbing roared back to life, and she gasped, squeezing her fists into her lap to keep still, to keep from crying out and worrying her friends further.

After a heartbeat, the pain subsided. Coolness spread across her scalp, and she sighed dramatically, exaggerating it to show that it worked. She leaned back in her seat. “See?” she said with a tired smile. “Nothing to it. Don’t gotta go to the hospital.”

Izzy deflated. She turned to face the dashboard and slunk in her seat. Her hands were still on the steering wheel like she was itching to race off to the hospital anyway.

Nico stared with her mouth open. “Where did you get this?”

Clara took back the MedBox and held it to her stinging fingers. There was still 73% charge left in the Box, as indicated by the numbers appearing faintly on the button, but she decided to save it. “Big Lizzie sold it to me.”

Nico’s eyebrows shot up. “You went to see Big L?”

Izzy groaned loudly, but she didn’t say anything.

“Yeah, a while ago actually.” Clara sealed it back into its package and placed it carefully in her bag. She’d gotten it right after her 18th birthday when she hadn’t Woken. She was going to be a journalist. And that meant throwing herself into dangerous situations. If she didn’t have powers, at least she’d have this. But also, if her friends kept insisting on sticking with her, then it was for them too. It was worth all her savings.

Izzy finally let go of the steering wheel. She raked her fingers through her hair, kicking up dust, and stared at Clara through the rearview mirror. “Why didn’t you tell us you had one?”

Clara bit the inside of her cheek and looked away. Liability, she wanted to say. Possession of advanced hospital technology without a permit could land them in prison for twenty years, minimum. Never mind that it was hacked to function without a license. Desecration of State Property. That was what? A hundred years?

Nobody spoke for a while. Now that the pain was gone, Clara could think. And that made her wish for the pain.

She didn’t want to think. She didn’t want to remember. And what had her friends seen in the warehouse? Shouldn’t they all be freaking out? Losing their minds? It all felt like a bad dream, and if she blinked enough times, if she crawled back into bed and flipped the pillow over and over, then she’d forget it by morning.

It was Nico who broke the silence. “So what the hell happened back there?”

Before Clara could respond, Izzy slammed the car horn. Beeeeeeeeeeeep. She was breathing hard. “We were worried sick,” she said. There was still a quiver in her voice, and she sniffled. “You weren’t responding. And then we found you. And we didn’t know what was wrong.”

“I just hit my head,” said Clara softly. “That’s all.” She reached over to touch Izzy’s shoulder.

Izzy rested her cheek on Clara’s hand. “The whole wall came down. We thought for sure you got crushed.”

“I didn’t think you got crushed,” said Nico. She’d put the beanie back on, pulling it down low to her eyebrows. “I knew you were gonna be fine.”

Clara squeezed Nico’s hand too, and they sat motionless while sirens and cars and shouting drivers whirled around them. The city night was in an uproar, and she was sure this incident was Breaking News. But nothing on TV would be as breaking as what she’d seen. What was the media gonna report? How would they cover this up? They had to, right? They couldn’t just say Starkeeper went on a murder spree.

She kept finding herself checking the sky, and she realized she was expecting to see the Man of Gold rushing through the night like a meteor. Rushing to get her.

Izzy rested her forehead on the wheel. “Our friend is bonkers. This is our punishment for being her friend.” Nico patted her back.

Judging by their body language, they hadn’t seen what Clara saw. They didn’t know what was inside her camera.

“I got...,” she started to say, then her voice caught in her throat. She licked her lips, trying to steady herself. Should she even show them? She’d kept the MedBox from them. Sharing this might be worse. It wouldn’t just be prison time. It would be death.

She picked up the camera and held it in her lap. This was the most dangerous camera in journalism history. Excitement and dread gurgled through her thoughts. Her fingers were shaking; she was shaking. What would the headlines be? Starkeeper: a murderer? A cannibal? Were all the supers like him?

Or would they attack me? Say I faked it for internet clout?

Would they silence me?

“Clara, what is it?” asked Izzy, but Clara glanced at Nico.

How am I supposed to tell her that Starkeeper is... How would the world react to seeing Starkeeper chew through a woman’s neck?

A fresh wave of sirens shrieked behind them, and Clara flinched. Fire Engines rushed by, followed by almost a dozen cop cars.

“Did you find something good?” asked Nico, searching Clara’s face. “We got something too. Bubblegum showed up and there were these hospital beds...” She trailed off when Clara shook her head. Nico and Izzy exchanged looks.

Clara chewed on her lip, trying to find the right words. Her throat felt very, very dry. Maybe that was just all the dust she’d inhaled. But she had to tell them something. They’d risked their lives too. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a wretched cough.

She coughed so hard that her entire body spasmed, and more blue sparks burst into her hand, glistening before fading quickly. “Dust,” she said weakly. She grabbed her backpack and pulled out a bottle of water and chugged it.

Then she coughed up a decent amount of it all over her lap.

Izzy snatched the camera away before any water could hit it. “Are you sure we shouldn’t go to the hospital?” she asked. Clara was about to say no again, but Izzy was talking to Nico who was chewing on a thumbnail.

“Let’s just get back to your place for now. And if she starts coughing up blood, I’ll shove that Heal Box down her throat or something.”

Clara leaned back and finished the rest of the bottle as the car pulled away. Her thoughts were a mess of light and blood, but the water felt so good running down her burning throat. It soothed the ache in her chest.

When she closed her eyes, the ringing came back, and she felt like she was falling again. Every flash of light made her wince.