Spirited

The Elite Encounter

The second chapter's up!

So, ya, I caught the guy, made him talk, and then foiled his comically evil plot for taking over the known universe. It was pretty great.

Just kidding. When has it ever been that easy?

All I wanted was to effortlessly catch the villain and kick their butt for once. But instead, I sped through several blocks chasing this weird shadow person, and they always seemed to be several steps ahead of me, out of reach. This had to be impossible. I mean, I'm the fastest human in the world when I use my super speed, so why can't I keep up?

Because the shadow isn't human.

Okay, I'll admit it, they were quicker than I was, and they were evading all my attempts to corner them and fight one-on-one. We both wound up sprinting through the empty streets as darkness was setting in and snowflakes began to fall. After only five minutes of pursuit, I was already wading through a growing layer of snow and struggling to shield myself against a heavy blizzard.

Soon, I lost sight of the shadow person.

I slowed to a complete stop and just stood there as snowflakes began to coat me, nestling into my rainbow hair and melting on my jacket. I felt like a complete idiot for losing the suspicious guy. If anyone should've been able to catch them, it was me. But I had failed.

My leg then decided that it was the perfect moment to remind me that I was injured. I had completely forgotten, and my running at speeds inconceivable to the human eye had left my calf caterwauling for mercy. I was forced to my knees as I tried to battle the intense, throbbing ache. But this time, it wasn't so easy to ignore.

I moaned in pain as I fell backward onto my butt. Just great. I was out here, in the middle of nowhere, in no shape to move, with no buildings in sight and no one around to help me. I yanked my phone out of my pocket and with shaking hands, tried to dial my friends' numbers. Naturally, there just had to be no reception in this snowstorm either.

I was now fully shivering as the chill set into my bones. I had only worn a sweatshirt. Stupid me hadn't anticipated the snowstorm, although it probably was all over the forecast. Looking around, I tried to locate any spot that might be warmer. Being able to run at full speed would've surely warmed me up, but unfortunately, I couldn't. 

I was about to just lie down and let nature take its course before I suddenly heard a faint voice ringing through the blizzard, seeming to be calling out to me. 

I swung my head around to come face to face with a boy. I was so startled that I yelped and scrambled away from him. At least, as much as my leg would permit. He was around my age, with windswept navy-blue hair and skin that reminded me of pale storm clouds. He was dressed a lot smarter than me, in a long puffer jacket, a scarf, mittens, and boots. The most striking part about him to me, though, was his forest-green eyes, brimming with kindness.

Concern shone on his face as he leaned down and touched my shoulder. "Are you alright? I saw you out in the snow, and you seem to be in pain."

I was mortified, knowing someone was watching me being an idiot. I tried to play it cool. "Oh yeah, I'm toootally fine. Just...lying in the snow, chillin'...ahaha..." I laughed nervously.

Yeah, he wasn't convinced, and honestly, I wouldn't be either.

But to my great surprise, he just went with it. "Oh, I see. Well, it's still too cold to be out here, so is there anywhere that you need to be? I can walk you there."

I stared at him. "How? There's like, zero visibility. Also...I won't be walking anywhere."

I turned over my leg and showed him the injury on my calf.