Revolution

- 30 -

Isabelle drops the bar and darts away. I press my face against the glass, desperately trying to see where she disappeared to, but I can't see. There's cursing, and the grinding noise gets louder. "Isabelle!" I yell, slamming my hand against the glass as my heart beats in my head. Let me out, let me out, come back, help me...

"We're fucking screwed," Clarissa says, sinking back against the wall. I ignore her. I don't know what's going on, but her pessimism isn't going to help here. I pound on the glass, screaming Isabelle's name. I punch the glass in anger, and my knuckles sting from the hit. I have to get out of here.

"Is that gasoline?" Someone asks, fear laced in their voice. There's muffled talking. The other mutants are yelling, same as me, and I can't hear what's going on. The situation only gets more chaotic.

Maya steps back into view, shuddering. She doesn't look at me. "I can't do it," she whispers. "I can't. The gasoline, the water..."

"You have to!" Isabelle yells. I aim another punch at the glass, even though at this point, I know it's useless. I can't do anything. Blood from my knuckles smudges on the wall, and they sting, but I don't stop. If I'm going to be captured anyway, I'm not going to take it peacefully. There's going to be a fight.

"Maya, look at me," Clarissa says calmly. Maya's eyes are unfocused, staring straight ahead. Her fingers twitch at her sides. My blood feels thick when she does it — she's using her abilities without even realizing it. I'm stock still as Clarissa tries to calm her. It's precarious and we all know it. Amber liquid trickles down the floor, over the flickering lights, and I recognize it to be gasoline. This is bad.

"Maya, you've gotta to focus," Clarissa says, and I know she's feeling Maya's abilities too. She pressed a hand over her bullet wound, which is starting to look suspiciously supernatural. She hisses through her teeth. "Maya, please. Focus on me." I'm reminded of how I treated Brandon right before I killed his family; it wasn't unlike this, but harsher. Clarissa is one of the best of us. If there's ever a time to surrender and have someone else help, that time is now. I sit tight, shut up, and try to ignore how blurry my vision is getting.

Clarissa pleads quietly, and Maya's fingers fall limp. "There you go. Listen to me. It's gonna be okay."

"I wasn't supposed to do this," Maya whispers.

"None of us were. I just need one thing, Maya, and I know you can do it because you're so young and powerful. The gas, Maya, you need to get it out. I don't know where it's leaking from, but it could cause a really bad fire."

Maya shakes her head. "Gasoline and water separate. They don't mix for very long."

"You've gotta try. Please."

Maya blinks, and I know she's back in the game. Slowly, her fingers contort, bending awkwardly as she raises her hands carefully. I watch with both interest and urgency as the gas on the floor writhes unnaturally, spreading and thinning as though ignoring the physics of liquids altogether. It pools away from the lights, piling up unnaturally. Maya grits her teeth. This can't be easy. "That's it," Clarissa hums. Maya raises it into the air and the glittering sphere raises off the floor, sucking the rest of the liquid with it.

It's fascinating, but after a few seconds of watching, the gasoline starts to separate and sink to the bottom. Maya flicks an index finger and the water swirls underneath, catching it, but it's clearly a struggle. She flings the sphere out the back of the truck, where I assume they entered from, but there's still a glistening film on the floor. Maya doesn't miss it. She tries to seep it up but can't seem to manage, quickly letting her hands fall to her sided in defeat. "It's separating too quickly," she says. "I can't... I can't..."