Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 46: Enemies or Friends

The guy's face stuck in my head as I sprinted back onto the main street, following Julian's directions.  The mixture of fear and confusion in his eyes.  The amazement in his voice. The way he had spoken to me, almost as if he expected to be understood.  

I tried to put myself in his position.  What would I think if a pair of unrecognizable creatures appeared in a dark alley while I was in trouble, scared off my attackers and then disappeared without a trace?  What would I do?  What would I say?  Would I tell anyone about it?

Probably not.  I would probably just assume I was going crazy.

Concentrate, Eve, I thought.  This wasn't exactly the best time to be worrying about the consequences of my actions.

I pushed everything else to the back of my mind and focused on navigating the abandoned streets and alleys around me.  My speed picked up as my thoughts become more singular and focused.  The human and the wildcat were still working in perfect harmony together.  It was like their usually conflicting thoughts had merged together, forming a creature that was powerful and intelligent, aggressive and calculating, instinctual and rational all at the same time. 

I twisted and turned through the streets while Julian fired directions at me one after the other.  The world around me was a blur of colour and movement, only solidifying into familiar shapes for a split second at a time.  It was like being on my own personal roller coaster.

Pure power and energy surged through my veins like static electricity.  I was getting that warm, tingling sensation in my extremities—the same feeling I had experienced before transforming into a huge, saber-toothed tiger.

Evelyn, Isaac said, you're putting out an awful lot of energy right now.

You don't have to tell me! I said.  I was seriously pumped.  It felt incredible to finally have control of the wildcat.

That's not exactly what I mean.

There they are!  I see them!  I had just spotted a huge riot taking place in the middle of an otherwise deserted street. There had to be at least fifty people, mostly young men but with a scattering of young women as well.  I saw expressions of hatred everywhere I looked.  Knives flashed and fists flew.  Shouts echoed through the streets.  Feet pounded and bones cracked. 

Jewel and Reza were right in the middle of things, dragging people away from each other, knocking them to the ground and doing whatever they could to stop the fighting. 

Hey, would you cut it out? Jewel yelled, batting the knife out of one young woman's hand.  She did not appear to be extending her thoughts to the rioters.  It was more like she was thinking out-loud.

Do your parents know what you're up to? Reza demanded.

What on earth are you fighting about, anyway?

Violence is never the answer!

Cut it out! Jewel said.

Okay, that's it!  That's it!  You're all grounded!

But, even the presence of two wildcats was not enough to stop the fighting.  It was like the gang members were so blinded by hatred and they hardly noticed what was going on around them.  For all I knew, they were all high on some kind of drug.

As I closed in, I tried to come up with a good strategy for separating them.  Of course, I was strong enough to shatter all their bones or knock them out cold without breaking a sweat.  But, I wanted to stop the violence, not perpetuate it.  Even my saber-tooth form wouldn't be much use in this situation.