Chapter 11.4: Can't Stop, Won't Stop

  Julia helped Amy get up and put her into the car. She took out napkins from her face and cleaned some of the blood off of Amy's body as Mary Jane's body went numb.

I killed that guy, she thought. I should have never split up. They were weaker than us, and I left them to die. She glanced at the children, one who had wet himself, and their silly costumes.

How can we keep them alive if he died and she barely survived?

"What should we do with them," Annie asked.

"Let's take them somewhere safe," Mary Jane suggested. Annie's fingernails grew and she went up to a nearby SUV. She pierced it with her thick nails and opened the car from the inside.

The alarm went off and she simply opened the bottom and turned it off. Mary Jane was stupefied as she deftly hotwired the car and it roared to life.

"Where did you learn that," Mary Jane asked.

"Grew up in a bad place," Annie replied.

I thought everyone here was a rich asshole, but I guess I was wrong, Mary Jane thought.

Amy had to coax the children into the SUV and they all got inside. "It's a little tight," Julia complained. "Some of us should take the Jeep."

"Mark had the keys," Amy mumbled. She leaned in the front passenger seat and started to sob. The children became afraid again, as they now saw Amy as the new Mrs. Nala.

"He's gone and I don't know what to do," she cried. "We were going to get married next year and he's gone!"

  They had met when they were eight, dated since they were thirteen, and knew that they would be together forever. Some people just knew when they met someone. Amy and Mark knew.

  Apparently forever for Amy and Mark was only ten years.

Julia looked away awkwardly, not knowing how to console Amy over the loss of her childhood sweetheart.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she mumbled. She was about to reach over to console her but pulled her hand away, not knowing what to say to a stranger.

"Please Jules, I love you, but shut up," Annie snarled. "You're a fucking dumbass."

They drove off, back into the woods, having no other clue where to go. This time they went to the lake. There was a gift shop near the pier, filled with snacks, canoes, an office, a public bathroom, and strangely, the electricity worked.

The kids cheered as they could have candy for a second time that night. They ran around the gift shop as Mary Jane pushed a decorative statue in front of the entrance so no one could get inside.

"Let's stay here," Mary Jane said. "You guys can stay with the kids and I'll head back."

"Are you crazy," Annie screeched. "We are not losing another person."

"I have two abilities. I'll be fine. I want to find my boyfriend, Dexter, and someone who can get us out of here," Mary Jane stated. Her voice was deadpan. She was tired, it was 3 AM, and the boots were starting to hurt her feet.

"Levi's strong too," Annie pleaded. "He can take care of himself!" Mary Jane shook her head.

"I think he's always bluffing," she mumbled. "I won't lose him."

Mary Jane shuffled through the gift shop until she found an astral's favorite snack: beef jerky. She quickly scarfed down the bag, trying to replenish iron so she could continue using her ability for the rest of the night.

Some of the children had found corners of the room to sleep in, exhausted, coming down from another sugar rush. "Please stay," Julia whispered. "You're the strongest of us all."

"Jules you can make people explode, you'll be fine," Mary Jane sighed.

"It hurts to do it," she protested. "Stay!"

Amy glared at Julia and laid into her. "Let her find her boyfriend," Amy snarled. "Don't let her lose what's important to her like I did."

  Julia held back tears and started to shake. She couldn't handle losing Mary Jane. Mary Jane was the strongest of them all, physically and mentally. Julia was afraid that if she left they would either die or they would die inside.

"I know I'm in charge of Team 8, but what are you guys going to do when I'm gone," Mary Jane complained.

"You, you're leaving," Annie stammered. "Why!? When?"

"Yeah," Mary Jane sighed. "When training is over I'm going to do ambassador work for the Union. My mom helped me get the job. Not everyone likes this shit."

She gestured around to the messy gift shop, the people covered in blood and trauma.

"Don't leave," she commanded them. "Don't stop me either." She moved the statue out of the way with one hand and opened the door.Without looking back she walked over to the SUV, still running, about to die.

I can't drive, Mary Jane thought. I guess it's time to learn.

She drove off, 100 miles an hour, believing that she was invincible, unable to stop.