The New Zodiac: Arisen Anew

Chapter 19: We get ambushed like a bunch of chumps

(Hey hey hey, it's me, Zephyr the awesome! Let's get these next chapters started!)

The night air is crisp and cool against my skin as we run back towards my home. I breathe deeply, taking in the familiar surroundings as I run. Fern and Charlie are a little ways behind, so I slow a little, waiting for them to catch up.
"You guys are so slow!" I call out, a smile working its way onto my face. Fern grins, then shoots past me, putting her super speed ability to use, while Charlie is left stunned in the wake.
"Zephyr, be quiet!" He hisses, sprinting to catch up with me. "We don't want to wake anyone up or walk right into an ambush!"
"Relax man!" I laugh, taking off after Fern. "No-one's gonna see us if we go this fast!" Charlie shakes his head and sprints after us.

Eagle Heights is usually a quiet neighborhood at night, and tonight the streets are dead silent apart from the sound of our feet against the pavement. We round a corner and sprint down Allion Street, soon arriving out the front of my house.
"Okay, you two wait out the front. Whistle if anything shows up," I instruct them. They nod and I quietly push open the gate, being careful not to tread on my mum's plants. The lights are on upstairs, and I can faintly hear a conversation coming from the direction of my parent's room. I walk around the side of the house and begin shimmying up the drainpipe, straining my ears to hear the conversation.
"I honestly don't know what to do anymore, Matt," I hear my mum say, her voice shaking. "What if we've lost him forever?" I almost lose my grip on the drainpipe, but keep climbing. They're talking about me.
"It'll be alright," my dad reassures her. "We'll find him."
I reach the end of the drainpipe and stop for a second, preparing myself mentally, then slowly fly off of it. I maneuver myself just below their bedroom window and peer inside. My parents are sitting on the edge of their bed, heads bowed, quiet conversation passing between them. Swallowing my fear, I gently tap on the window. They both whip around, shocked.
"Zephyr?!" My dad gasps.
"Hey dad, mum," I say sheepishly. They both rush over to the window and push it open, allowing me to slip inside. As soon as my feet hit the carpet, my mum wraps her arms around me tightly.
"Oh honey, we've been so worried! Where have you been?"she asks, tears beginning to stream down her face.
"Somewhere in Greenville, with friends. Don't worry, we're doing okay, But I won't be able to come back home for a while. We've become caught up in something bigger than us, something dangerous. I can't let you guys get involved," I explain quietly. They both look at me, worried.
"Zephyr, we don't want you to get hurt either. Come back home to us, and we'll take care of you" Dad says.
"Dad, if I stay here, they'll come for me, and you'll get hurt."
"We can protect you."
"Dad, these people aren't normal! They've got powers beyond imagining and hundreds of weapons and monsters at their disposal. I can fight them, I promise!"
"How?" Dad argues. I sigh, then begin to stir up a breeze within the bedroom. They look around, astonished.
"I can control the breeze, create clones of myself, manipulate energy and fly. The others I'm with, they're also like me. We can protect ourselves trust me." I explain. They both stare at me.
"Zephyr, why didn't you tell us about all of this?" Mum demands.
"I couldn't. I swore to keep these powers secret for a very long time, and if I told you, you probably would have reacted badly. Now I've really got to go. There are two others waiting out there for me, and I can't keep them waiting. I promise I'll be back after all of this is over." I hesistate, then hug them both quickly before climbing out of the open window.

"Well that took you long enough," Charlie mutters as I close the gate behind me.
"Hey, I had to give them enough reassurance that I was okay." I retort, then dash off in the direction of Reeftown. Fern quickly runs after me, while Charlie yells a few curse words, then follows us.
We keep running, occasionally glancing behind us to make sure we're not being followed. About halfway to Charlie's house, I catch a glimpse of a humanoid-looking figure some distance behind us.
"Guys..." I call out. "We've got someone on our tail."
Charlie quickly glances behind him, then swears under his breath.
"There's more than one."
"How many?" Fern asks.
"About five, and from what I can tell, they're getting closer."
"We've gotta warn the others, then split!" I yell. Charlie nods, then pulls out his phone, sending a quick message to Nia. Fern takes both of us by the hand and activates her super speed ability. We race off, the ground blurring beneath us, and I silently thank the Gemini twins that Fern is able to share her ability with those touching her.
The figures aren't deterred, however, and they manage to keep pace with us, still seeming to multiply. I quickly send a blast of air in their direction, knocking them down, but they just get up and keep running.
"Fiddlesticks!" Charlie shouts. "They're all around us!" I quickly scan our immediate area, confirming what Charlie said. All around us are shadowy black figures, standing shoulder to shoulder with no gaps in between. Fern skids to a halt and releases us, panting.
"We'll have to fight our way out," I growl, beginning to concentrate. Clones begin to appear around us, and I can see Charlie and Fern shift into their hybrid forms out of the corner of my eye. The figures pull out guns and clubs before rushing at us. I quickly let loose a large blast of energy, knocking a wave of them back, but they keep surging forwards, a wave of black bodies. I frantically thrash around, punching, kicking and blasting air, but they swarm around me, constantly landing blows on me. They keep coming, beating my clones into submission. I make a last desperate attempt to escape, flying out of the scrum, searching frantically for Charlie and Fern, but one of them jumps up and catches me by the ankle and pulls me down. I slam on the ground, the world spinning before me, and I slip into unconsciousness.