Chapter 10 - Escape

The chill of the air whipped against Tayo's face as he plummeted toward the ground. The three figures above moved with unnatural grace, their bodies flickering like static as they chased him down.

From a single glance, he could tell that they were better than he was. This made him reevaluate his chances of escape.

His mind screamed and his heart pounded like a war drum in his chest. In the dim moonlit dark of the night, the glow of their eyes that he saw when he glanced back was like death chasing him down.

Amid the crisis, his body jolted as something inside him snapped. There it was—that feeling of loss. His breath caught in his throat as his vision stuttered, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of being locked out of reality.

He lost control of his limbs and a voice; that same voice—low and calm—spoke in his head.

'Watch.'

Up to this point, so much had happened that he forgot that he was falling off a cliff and at some point, he was supposed to land, but now his focus shifted to it, and panic set in.

At that moment, everything slowed. For a second, he felt like he could feel the air around him like it was a fabric he could touch. His form shimmered, and then his body blinked out of existence for an instant and reappeared just a meter away from where he should have been. It happened again. And again. Each flicker broke the laws of physics he knew as he turned into a blur.

THUD!!!

He hit the ground, but it was not the bone-breaking impact he'd expected. His body phased in just before contact, and he slid a bit before he could stabilize himself. He dropped to one knee, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What... what was that?" he panted, his breath fogging in the cold air.

He got an answer but it was not the one he expected.

'Don't forget the kid.'

"What?!"

Then a terrified scream entered his ears. He looked up to see the kid plummeting to the ground. He leaped forward and caught him, sparing him from an unpleasant death.

"Sorry… I'm not used to these abilities," he said in a hurry.

But time had run out and the three glitches chose this moment to appear. They landed around him in a triangle formation, blocking any path of escape.

They had a mission and they wasted no time getting to work. Their abilities came pouring out, causing Tayo's heart to clench.

The first was quickly shrouded in flames, his skin glowing like smoldering coal while the second's breath came out in visible puffs of frost, his fingers tipped with icy claws. The third figure's eyes barely glowed but the ground beneath his feet shifted as if it was alive.

'Fire, Ice, and Earth,' Tayo's mind cataloged them automatically, his eyes darting to every escape route. They'd left him none.

His classification of their abilities was an intuitive action while his mind spun before he cried for help.

'Help!!!' he willed the voice in his mind to take over again.

"Stay back," he growled at the figures, shifting his stance, keeping Zion's small frame tucked behind him, but these figures gave no heed to his words.

The one wreathed in flames was the first to move. He dashed forward, his hands blazing like torches, swinging a wild arc of fire aimed straight for Tayo's head.

He tried to dive out of the way, but Zion was a burden he had to bear.

He was sent flying moments later without the slightest resistance.

"Tayo!!," the kid called.

He had barely landed and was trying to collect himself when the cry reached him. He looked up to see the last of the figures standing on raised earth as if to taunt him.

"I promised," he whispered to himself as if to gain the sympathy of the voice in his mind, but there was nothing.

Silence…

It felt like he was being ignored.

The other two figures were approaching slowly. Their mission seemed to be at an end, given Tayo's loss of fighting abilities, and he could see it in their eyes.

He felt a gaze causing his eyes to look upward. They locked onto a figure standing atop a ledge jutting out of the side of the cliff.

The hooded figure…

He stood there still… watching… unmoving…

Like every other time he met him, the whole situation was nothing short of a phenomenon to be observed. In fact, he even held the usual tablet in his hand, on which he tapped away.

Tayo's chest tightened. 'What's he doing here?'

He did not know what came over him, but anger flared up deep inside him, rushing to his head before anything could calm it down.

His hands twitched at his sides, crackling with faint blue sparks.

Tayo moved before his mind caught up. His heart pulsed, and his frame flickered. One moment, the fire-cloaked figure's hand was inches from his face, the next, Tayo was behind him. The pulse rang through him again, his body phasing with unnatural precision.

He didn't think—he acted.

A burst of blue light formed in his hand, energy surging into the shape of a jagged spike. He swung it upward, aiming for the fire-user's back.

He hoped to kill or incapacitate the figure.

CRACK!

The sound of ice cracking echoed through the quiet valley. The ice user's arm had jutted out into a wall of ice, intercepting the strike.

The fire-wielder turned, his face expressionless as he sent a fireball straight at Tayo.

Seeing the incoming flames, he tried to evade, but ice bloomed at his feet, locking his ankles in place. The cold sank into his bones, sharp and biting. He grunted, pulling at his legs, but they wouldn't budge.

Tayo snarled. He clenched his hand as he grabbed a hammer out of the shattered remains of his first construct and swiped his hand downward.

The ice cracked and splintered, freeing his feet just as the torrent of flames sent him flying.

'Pathetic,' the voice returned.

This time, Tayo ignored the voice's comment, refusing to answer it.

The figures moved in sync. Fire lunged again. Ice's hands glowed blue, summoning frozen spears that hovered, ready to fire.

Earth spared some time to slam his fist into the ground, sending jagged stone spikes racing toward him.

'Move!' the voice said.

His heart thumped once, and his body obeyed. He phased, reappearing behind Earth just as the stone spikes shot through where he'd been. He dropped low, sweeping Earth's legs out from under him. The glitch's eyes flared in surprise as he fell.

He had one target and before Earth could do anything about it, he had taken Zion in his arms.

In saving the kid, he opened himself to attack which sent him flying once again. He had ignored the pain from the injuries so far, but now they were getting to him as he found it difficult to stop himself from slamming into a tree in the distance.

Pain surged through him.

"AHH!" he gasped, clutching his arm. Zion was pressed against his side, eyes wide with terror. Tayo's breath grew shallow, and for a moment, he felt it—a rush of vitality surging into him. Too much energy.

'It's too much!' he thought

The sensation was intoxicating, like lightning coursing through his veins. It called to him, begged him to take more.

'Do it,' whispered the voice. 'Take it.'

"No!" Tayo shoved Zion away with trembling hands. The boy's wide eyes searched his face, hurt and confusion swirling in his gaze.

"Sorry," Tayo muttered, clenching his fists. "I—I can't."

The glow of distant lights caught his eye. A town.

'I saved him… Get us to safety or nothing you did will matter,' he barked at the voice.

There was a lull as he watched the three figures flicker.

BANG!!!

Then his vision blurred. The figures landed at his previous spot, raising a cloud of dust in the process. He was in the back seat again as the scenery flew past at breakneck speeds.

He thought they would chase after him, but they didn't.

He saw the hooded figure watching him as he ran like nothing would ever phase him. The hooded figure pointed his hand at him.

There was no time to think as a primal fear gripped him. Before he could react, a flash of light soared past him like a thousand suns exploding at the same time.

His heart beat rapidly as the dust cleared.

He continued to run while the hooded figure turned away as if the flash of light was to send him off.

At that moment, he hoped he never had to cross him again.