Unordinary: New Student

33: So Close

Stephanie's POV

As soon as the smoke bomb hit the ground, thick gray clouds of smoke billowing from it, Blyke and Isen drew back. The four of us hastily covered out mouths and noses as the smoke engulfed us. I coughed violently, the memories of that man in black with the fire threatening to resurface. Through the smoke, I faintly saw the outline of the vendor rushing away from us. "He's getting away," I coughed to Remi.

Remi turned to Blyke. "Blyke, clear the smoke."

Blyke nodded, muttering, "Brace yourselves." Two balls of red energy materialized in his hands, and he smashed them together, creating a wave of red energy strong enough to blow the smoke away. My coughs lessened as the smoke disappeared, but it left an uncomfortable feeling in my mouth and nose.

"He's gone!" Remi stared at the empty booth where the vendor had been sitting. "Isen, did you get a mark on him?"

Isen was glancing around the panicked people around them, his eyes glowing. "Over there! He's running to the exit!" I had to admit, I was impressed with his ability as we dashed after the direction Isen was pointing at. 

And that's when things started to get crazy.

As we ran we passed a green-haired security guard. "Requesting backup," I heard him yell into his walkie-talkie. "Four teens, orange, pink, red, and blue, set off a smoke bomb and are now running to the West Entrance!"

'Darn it,' I thought, but I didn't break my stride as we made our way outside. In the parking lot, we stopped, looking wildly around for the vendor. I couldn't spot the orange-haired vendor, and for a moment I thought we had lost him. 

Then Isen pointed. "Over there!" Our mouths fell open when we saw a yellow motorcycle drive out of the parking lot into the street. It had no driver!

"He's got to be invisible or something!" Remi reasoned.

Isen muttered, "I bet he has an accomplice." He stepped out into the parking lot, starting to chase the motorcycle. 

"Watch out!" I yelled as I saw a truck coming straight toward Isen. He froze as he stared at the truck that was speeding at him. The truck driver tried to brake when he saw Isen in the way, but it was way too late for that. Before I knew it, I was moving. Extending my hand and activating my ability, I created an energy barrier between Isen and the truck. The truck slammed into the barrier, and the barrier actually held, to my surprise. I hadn't been sure if it was strong enough to stop the truck.

Isen flinched as the barrier cracked slightly, but relaxed when it didn't shatter. "Idiot." I huffed as I removed the barrier, a sharp pain in my chest. Ignoring it, I said, "Look both ways next time."

Isen looked like he didn't know what to say. Then Blyke called, "You're such a moron, Isen. Who jumps in front of a truck like that?" Blyke grinned teasingly at Isen, boosting himself to the top of the truck. 

"Shut the f*ck up, a$$hole!" Isen swore at Blyke, suddenly revived. Smiling to myself, I followed after Remi, who had activated her lightning and was dashing after the motorcycle.

Blyke, from the top of the truck, yelled, "Remi! Stephanie! I'll back you up!" But as I glanced back, the green-haired security guard erupted from the mall, then froze for a second as he stared at Blyke, who was charging up his energy beams on top of the truck, Isen, who was talking apologetically to the truck driver, and Remi and me, who were sprinting away after a seemingly driverless motorcycle. I heard the guard roar something, and I realized Blyke and Isen couldn't help us anymore.

I caught up to Remi. "Hey, the guards will be coming after us soon." I informed her. 

"Then we'd better hurry." Remi said determinedly. Releasing a burst of lightning, she propelled herself forward, closer to the motorcycle. As soon as she was in range, she blasted the motorbike with ray of lightning. 

Right after getting hit, the motorbike toppled, and two men suddenly came into view. The vendor was collapsed on the ground while another man wearing a helmet that covered his face was struggling to stand. Quickly, I formed a barrier around them so they couldn't escape. "Now you have nowhere to run." I growled. "Tell us why you planted those trackers in the prizes."

Then I was tackled to the ground by a female security guard. Her blue-hair tied up in a bun, the woman held up a pair of handcuffs. "Stop right there!" she yelled, trying to put the handcuffs on my wrists. 

"Are you crazy?!" I yelped as we tussled on the ground. I lost my concentration and the barrier disappeared. The guard accidentally brushed Remi's leg, which was still sparking with electricity. The guard jerked as she was electrocuted, then fell limp. 

I scrambled to my feet, but the two men were already gone. With a sigh, I sank back to the ground. "Darn it. We almost got them."

Remi examined the woman on the ground. "So what should we do with her?" Then suddenly, the guard grabbed Remi's leg, coughing.

"You're not going anywhere. You're in big trouble." She said wearily. 

***

A few minutes later, Remi and I arrived at the security office, the woman guarding us suspiciously. Turns out, the woman only had one pair of handcuffs, and they went on Remi. Well, I wasn't too unhappy about that.

Then we saw Blyke and Isen, also in the special handcuffs, speaking to the green-haired guard with frustration. When we saw each other, there was an awkward silence that stretched on and on.