The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

21: All He Says is "Die! Die! Die!"

Time came to an abrupt halt.

Ryan's heart screamed for her to move. The stone floor felt like quicksand, pulling her feet down, struggling and helpless.

The smell of rotten eggs filled her nose. She blinked, her arms like concrete.

The sound of ringing in her ears drowned out any stray sound. Chaos unfolded in front of her like a movie on mute.

Liam slid in front of her. His hair extended in a blur of green, racing up towards Carson. His glasses hung crooked on his face.

Zack reached his arm out, his face filled with desperation.

She grabbed his hand. Instead of teleporting, he simply pulled her to the side.

Liam's hair wrapped around Carson's body. He held him rigid, his face carved into a scowl as his grip tightened.

Carson screeched in alarm. He squared and squeaked, flailing his wings and gasping for air.

"Let...mundane...fight...herself!"

Liam squinted and without a word, he tossed Carson out the window with a loud crash.

A chorus of gasps rang through the halls. The crowd of magics backed away. Their posture uneasy as they watched Liam.

Ryan groaned. Why were fights always entertainment for teenagers? Didn't they have somewhere else to be? Did they always have to spring up like rabbits?

A screech shook the ground. It cut through the crowd like a dagger, every magic within ten feet folded their ears to their necks.

Liam hissed and pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. His hair waved behind him in the wind like a cape.

Carson came diving in through the window. Wings extended, his body covered in shadows as he flew up against the sun. Blood and glass shards dropped to the ground.

He landed. The force of his body created a shock through the crowd. His eyes glowed a sickly green, smoke curling out from his beak and eyes.

"All of you will pay for what you've done." He hissed.

He turned to Ryan, clouds of green smoke billowing out of his beak with every word.

"But mostly you."

Liam took a step forward in front of Ryan, followed by Zack and Dominic.

"I'm afraid I can't let that happen." He said.

Mist danced on the ground as it poured from Carson's mouth. He walked forward and loomed over Liam, his chest puffed.

"Let her fight for herself. Prove her own worth." He spat. "Prove that she's not a useless little brat."

Liam glared at Carson like his life depended on it. They stood silent and still, locked in each other's eyes for what felt like hours.

Beads of sweat ran down Ryan's face. She ran.

Carson's cackled loudly. Green smoke curled from his beak. He rose up into the air, dodging Liam's hair as he pounced onto Ryan. His talon on slammed into her chest and pinned her to the ground.

She grunted as she hit the ground. Carson's breath like a heatwave across her face.

"Where are you going, round-ear?" He hissed, "Don't you want to stay a while? Or are you going to try to run back to mommy?"

He raked his talon across her face. Pain racked her senses like fire, a hot stream of blood slipping down her face to her mouth.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Carson slammed his talon over her head.