Chapter Fourteen: Only Option

"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else." -Winston Churchill

I go into autopilot. The second my body senses that I’ve fallen from a great distance, flames blasts from my feet. I pull my arms close to me and soar up and over most of the buildings.  I fly to the southern area of Downtown L.A., passing over soldiers dying and killing one another. You can’t tell who’s who from up here. Yet down there, it’s so clear.

Santee Alley is full of evacuating people, flooding and jamming the street in a mad dash to safety. None of them turn to look at what’s behind them. They’ve dropped everything and sprint-- probably faster than they ever have. In less than a mile, they’ll be out of Downtown. I turn left and fly towards the jet, held in place over South San Pedro Street.

I can see Ty standing on the edge of a one-storied supermarket, trembling, his fists clenched and grit teeth. Sweat drips down his forehead and the jet starts drifting closer to him. His arms start bending, and I can hear him grunting.

"Ty!" I shout. He looks towards me, and his eyes are wide. "Keep the jet there! I’ll take it out!"

He nods and straightens his arms, focusing on the jet. His arms shake, his elbows start giving way. I aim for the engine, dropping low to the ground. I have to plow right through and get it on the first try. I need to nail it just behind the cockpit. I calculate the angle and arc I have to follow, and I increase speed.

I keep my hands to my side. The gas of the engine will help me. Gasoline’s my spinach. I dive low, my head pointing to the ground. I swerve up and lock my sights on my target. I pull my arms and feet close to my body and pick up speed. I shut my eyes.

I plow into the suspended jet, hitting my mark. The metal breaks without much resistance, and I hit the engine.

I feel the gasoline hit my skin and inflame. The warmth spreads throughout my body, sinking beneath the skin and deep into my body. I crash through the engine, my body soaking up the gas. I feel my body expanding and rising in temperature, tearing through the jet faster and faster. I hear the carnage of the jet all around me, the crinkling and melting metal, the explosion igniting behind me. It forces me through rapidly, hurling me into the air. I pry open my eyes as the boom hits my back, pushing me even higher. The heat from the explosion hits my back, the wind tears at my shirt. The empty blue sky surrounds me like a net, and honestly, my heart beats from excitement. Most kids ride on swings. I ride on explosions. I only notice my smile when I think about it.

The force fades, and I dangle a good hundred feet in the air. My arms wave and my feet kick, and I blame that on human instincts being left over. I let myself fall, looking straight ahead. Once the ground enters my vision, I shoot flames from my hands and feet to catch my fall. It’s easy, and I’m grateful for that.

I land soundly, barely making a dent in the ground. I turn around, eager to commend Ty for holding off the jet for so long. Instead of the sunny, empty streets, I see something sinister. Much of the jet made it out of the explosion crashed into the supermarket. The entire left side has a huge hole, the wall completely gone with whatever was inside. A huge pile of debris sits in the street next to the market, a mix of supermarket guts and jet gore. Surrounding buildings have chunks taken out of the roof or walls, exposing frames and foundation. The street has several new potholes that will desperately need repairs. Smoke bellows from anything the jet touched, staining the air and graying the sky. There are small fires scattered around the shrapnels, crackling and snapping. The scene in front of me contains two colors: gray and red. I can’t see Ty. My smile drops immediately.

"Ty!" I shout. I run into the rubble, throwing metal and wood and plaster and plastic out of the way. I reach both hands in and hurriedly shovel everything out. "Ty!" He has to be here. He has to be fine! Please, don’t tell me that I hurt Ty. I didn’t hurt Ty, I didn’t get him killed, please, please, no. "Ty!" I start to scream, my chest tightening, I sharply gasp. I dig my fingers into the pieces and huck them over my shoulders. He has to be fine, he has to! I reach for another handful of junk, my fingers unable to cooperate with my mind. My throw my hands to my side in frustration. "Ty, if you can hear me, say something!"

A breeze flows across my back, and I turn around, grasping at my skin. I hear a heartbeat behind me and see nothing. Soft chuckling pierces the air, and Ty appears, floating upside down in front of me. He has a wide grin on and a few cuts here and there. "Right here, Blondie."

I shove him back hard and hold my hands behind my back to keep from slapping him. "You a*****e!" I yell. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought I hurt you!"

He backflips, landing with his back to me. He turns around and shoves me right back. "That’s what you get for dropping four jets on me."

"That’s nothing. You just had to gently lower them to the ground." I snap at him. I backhand slap his stomach and walk into the center of downtown. Ty hurries to keep up with me. Poor choice. He’s getting within range.

"Wait," He says, all humor and anger dropped from his voice. He stops walking. "That’s what you wanted me to do?"

I halt and face him. I give him a second to tell me that he’s joking. He doesn’t. He stares at me blankly, and I’m concerned. "What did you do?"

"I compressed them into little boxes and threw them at soldiers." He tells me.

"No wonder you’re exhausted! You’re doing more than you had to!"

"Whatever, Blondie. I got the job done."

An explosion from the southwest of Downtown L.A. zaps us back into life. The earth rumbles, we see the cloud emerging from behind buildings. I don’t know if even Ty can pick up on the distant screams. "Not yet. Let’s go."

Flames shoot from my hands and feet, Ty effortlessly steps into the air. We fly through the air, travelling over the city. The site of the explosion? The Staples Center. Can’t say I’m motivated to save that place. But, if there are people in there, then I am. If the Clippers are playing the Warriors, then I’m obligated.

I scan the area. The place is surrounded with helicopters on top, soldiers on the outside, dozens of trucks parked around the circular stadium. Seeing all the cars parked in the lot, there must be a game today. Of course. This group will be the death of me.

"You got your contingency plans?" Ty asks. I can barely hear him through the rushing wind crashing into my ears.

"Yeah." I call to him. "Let’s team up for this one."

His face lights up. "Combo move?"

"Combo move one-three."

He chuckles. "It’s about time we did that one!"

"We’ll start on the ground. Can you clear a space?"

"I bet you five bucks I can faster than you could."

"On a good day, and you’re on."

He extends his right arm to the ground and swipes right, throwing all their trucks and soldiers to the side. They tumble and twist, the cars crash and crunch. We land, and Ty begins conjuring up winds. "Cover me."

I pace around him, fireballs loaded in both hands. I look up and down, carefully watching every soldier. If they face us, even for a second, I fire. A helicopter starts nearing us, and I’m quick to launch. I manage to get it right in the cockpit, nailing it first try.

The winds get stronger. I turn around, and Ty’s little gusts of accumulated winds have grown. A growing tornado stands in front of him, picking up in speed and in size. It surpasses our height and begins to climb towards the height of the stadium. My feet skid towards it, and I struggle not to get sucked in. The closest soldiers, cars, bikes and even trees are roped in. It swirls and grows, until the winds are furiously circling and racing. Ty pushes it slightly away from the stadium, where it can take up more cars and develop further. I didn’t know he could make them this big. Judging by his awed expression, he didn’t, either. I think everyone’s been too focused on me to see the strength the others have. Ty, Andrew and Kelli are seriously superheroes. I’ve been overrated, they’ve been underestimated.

I slowly take steps towards it, snapping the fingers on my left hand. A fire springs like that of a lighter, and I hold my thumb to the winds. Ty glances at me, giving a slight nod. I reach closer, my clothes and body being dragged closer. The wind threatens to knock my flames out, so I thrust my hand into the winds. Ty grabs onto my bicep, keeping me from being sucked into the tornado.

The fire enters the winds and is carried around the circle in a thin line. It spreads, growing in width. It moves up and down, coating the air in a layer of flames. Ty steers the thing around the stadium, devouring all it touches. The heat severs the edge of the stadium, seering the metal. "Ty!" I have to yell over the tornado. "You’re getting too close!"

"It’s the fire!" He shouts back. The tornado wavers and starts tearing off the outsides of the stadium. "I can’t control it! Give me a hand!"

"I can’t!" I remind him. "I can’t control anything I don’t touch! Snuff it out!"

Ty’s clenched fists loosen until they’re wide open, and the tornado begins to unravel. The winds spread rapidly in all directions, blowing the fire out. The cars drop, along with any people, trees, bikes, signs and any other objects unfortunate enough to have been caught in it. They fall the the ground with a loud thud, sizzling and broken. If they were alive, they’re dead now.

"Let’s go to the roof!" I tell Ty. We make our way up, Ty flies and I’m able to jump most of the way and propel myself the rest. The second I do, my hearts starts tugging at me again. The gasoline doesn’t last long. I land and put my hands on my knees to heave and pant.

"You okay?" Ty asks, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah." I lie. "We’ll just have to do more technical stuff."

"Combo moves two-zero through three-one?"

I nod and force myself to stand. That was a mistake. I get lightheaded, and I refuse to let it show. Not when there are helicopters still flying around, looking for weaknesses to exploit. I jog to the edge and point to a helicopter veering straight for us. "Move two-eight." I declare.

"Got it."

Ty stands on the very edge of the stadium. Not even an inch from safety, he cannot get any closer. I move a good forty yards behind him prepare to sprint. A noise behind me startles me, and I turn. The soldiers from the far side at firing! I dive backward, pressing my hands into the ground and avoiding the bullets that pass over my stomach. I continue to flip backwards, and it’s too late to stop. I don’t normally backflip, I’m supposed to front flip. It won’t make a difference to Ty, but it’ll make it harder for me. I never practiced this.The helicopter races towards Ty at the same time I do. He cannot move. If he so much as flinches, I’m screwed, and our plans are ruined.

He won’t flinch. Ty never does.

If I’m not fast enough, they’ll plow that thing straight through Ty. I have to nail this. I pay close attention to my technique and positioning I say a silent prayer, begging God to keep Ty safe. The soldiers do not cease fire, and I feel bullets nicking my shins. Either I’m too powerful to be affected, I’m too focussed to notice, or I’ve willed myself to ignore physical pain to prevent emotional pain. I continue to hurry forward, flipping, careful to keep my arms locked. Ty’s coming up. I hold my breath in, keep my torso tight. I haven’t practiced this way. I’ve practiced backflips, I practically do them everyday. I’ve never combined this move with backflips, though. Of course, when it really matters, it’s the real deal.

I couldn’t breathe if I tried. My heart is beating too fast for other bodily functions to work. I calculate where to land, and my only concern is if I’ll be able to do it. My stomach flips more than I do, and it’s time. Ty’s not six inches in front of me. I plant my hands right behind his feet and press high instead of forward. I spin in the air, my feet falling directly towards Ty. For a moment, I am still, andI I neither breathe nor hear my heartbeat. I think it stops, and the moment slows to an eternity. Facing the enemy soldiers, my back is to the helicopter. I force my bones to loosen up, a commendable task in its own. My body is locked up like my joints have frozen. I look down. Ty holds out his forearms, wrists clutching the opposite elbow. Ty looks up at me, and when he sees me facing the other way, his plain expression drops to one of blind terror. His mouth hangs open, his eyes widen. Still, he does not move.

I land on his forearms, and he bends down before thrusting his arms forwards at the chopper. I hurl my head back and sharply curve my spine. My back faces to the ground as the chopper enters ten yards. As the thing reaches a fatal distance, my feet are whipping around and heading straight for the windows of the cockpit. Normally, my right heel would hit the window. Now, the top of my feet have to hit. I bend my left foot, close to my chest and keep my right leg extended. I lock my knee, stiffening the muscles. My feet connect just barely off the mark, and the momentum, force and gravity combined send the helicopter in the direction of my kick. Ty reaches out his hand, and I hastily grab it. He yanks me out of the air, and the chopper plummets to the ground.

"What next?" He asks.

I wait a minute to catch my breath.

I look around. There’s another chopper headed right for us, with loaded turrets! "Two-three!" I shout. Ty grabs onto both of my wrists and spins counterclockwise. He swings me off my feet, and I bend at the waist. I straighten my legs and lock my knees. I sway over the edge and slam my feet into the side of another chopper. Ty continues to swivel, and I continue to move forward. The metal of the chopper breaks on contact and falls to the ground. I unlock my knees and land easily. Before I allow a second of rest, I look around. Nothing of an immediate threat.

A chopper far above passes over, and soldiers throw themselves out. "This’ll be fun." Ty insists.

They land in a half circle around Ty and me, our backs covered by the gap. A helicopter or jet or missile could enter at any moment, so we’re not off the hook. "Two-six." I murmur to Ty. The enemy’s smart. They know better than to attack one-by-one. They’re going to attack all at once and try to overpower us. Unfortunately for them, we’ve practiced for just this thing.

They rush us, I jump towards Ty. He puts his back to me and bends forward. My side hits his spine, and I lock my left elbow with his right. He holds me sideways, and I stiffen my body. Ty spins, smashing my feet into the heads of the soldiers. Once I reach the edge, I roll to the side and bend my knees and back. Facing the edge, my elbow is still locked with Ty’s. He slides onto my back, and we entangle both elbows. The group of soldiers close in on us. "Duck!" Ty yells, and I drop low. He kicks at the soldiers, and I look over the horizon. No one coming specifically for us.

There’s too much smoke coming from the city. There are still rippling gunshots, explosions, jets, helicopters and missiles. We have to find out where their supply is coming from and destroy it, or we’ll fight until we die not from a bullet or the enemy; from fatigue. As soon as Ty and I are done here, we’ll find the second location. And we’ll end it. Then, we can end the battle. I’ll have completed my mission, and I can rest soundly for the first time in what I can and will consider forever.

Ty shifts to the right, and I do, too. I feel wind rush past my side. Someone took a swipe at us. "Jump!" He orders. I feel that same breeze underneath my feet, and I hear Ty knocking soldiers out. He plants both feet on someone and shoves. He nearly carries both of us over the edge with that one.

What’s our next move going to be? We need to finish it off here and move on as quickly as possible. "Three-oh!" I yell.

We relax our elbows, and Ty lands another kick in the process. However, one of the soldiers grabs his collar and throws him down, and away from me. A soldier charges me from the right before I can help Ty, and I turn to face her. She jabs at my chin, and I block. She kicks my gut, landing a kick that actually makes me take a step back. I rapidly regain my control and try to hook her temples. She hits my arm away, and with my opposite leg, I attempt to roundhouse her. She grunts as she jumps, and the second she lands, I throw my head forward and into hers. Our foreheads connect, and she falls back. Now the front and back of her skull’s injured.

I turn to Ty, who has two soldiers on him, five more are rushing towards us from the other side of the roof. He’s still on the ground, and they’re wailing on him. Three-oh is no longer an option. "Two-five!" I yell, running at a soldier with my knees bent and arms out low. I flick my arms past his knees, flipping him off them. For the second soldier, they get a solid hit to my temples. I stagger back, unable to blink the blurs away for a moment. They get another hit, and I continue to back up.

I’m going to go right over the edge. I need to step it up!

He swings, and I dart to the left. I jump over his attempt to swing my legs, landing on his side. I put my right foot against his left heel and press my left palm into his left shoulder. I swing both clockwise, spinning the man off his feet. His head hits the ground with a loud thud, and I rush to Ty, starting to get up. "Two-five!" I remind him. "Two-five!"

He stays on the ground and spins one hundred eighty degrees so his feet face our approaching attackers. He bends his knees, and I run at him. I hurdle over his body and angle my feet sharply downward. He straightens his legs suddenly, launching me into the attackers with combined force.

I fly at the soldiers with my fists out, arms stretched, stomach to the ground. I keep my torso tight and legs firm. I tilt my head to my right as I near one of the assailants and open my hands. I barrel into the man, sending him back a good fifteen yards before his spine and skull smack on the roof. The second he touches, I detach and somersault forward, rolling over his chin and onto the ground. I whip around, left leg bent and the right straightened.

The other soldiers rush at me, and I know what to do. I've seen Andrew do it a thousand times. I pick my right leg up and swing it across my body, snapping my foot high enough to nail the dude in the face. I move my arms and bring my leg down, sweeping the legs of the next soldier. My right leg, blocking the rest of my body, I pull my left leg over in a half jump-half hop. I swing my leg around my body and return it to its original position.

There are two more. They fire at me, and I drop my back against the roof. The bullets pass over my head and graze my features, and I roll to the side. What else would Andrew do? I try to imagine all the impromptu dance battles Ty and Andrew would have. I bend my elbows and put my open hands in front of my chest as I roll. I swing my legs up, back exposed. I twist my hips and spin my feet, hitting the guns of the soldiers.

I roll onto my back and lean away from them. I thrust forward, jumping onto my legs. I head butt the woman on my left and pull my fist back to take out the right one. Before I do, his eyes roll up and he falls forward. Ty faded in from invisibility. "Before you know it, I know where those moves came from." He tells me.

I mean to smirk at him, but my mouth hangs open to pant, and I grin instead. I elbow him in the ribs and he punches my shoulder. "You okay?" I ask.

"You're the one who's out of breath." He says. He has cuts and bruises, nothing too serious. We walk to the edge of the roof and overlook the city. "Where to next?"

"We get any people inside of the stadium out. I'll guard the outsides, you get everyone out. Steer them out of the downtown area, towards the highway." I say.

"Got it." He says.

"Start out invisible. There could be more inside." I instruct.

He turns invisible and jumps, leaving a strong gust of wind. I jump from the building, and my knees buckle at the contact. I crack the ground, and my feet hurt. I'm becoming more and more human. I don't know when I'll fade and really run out of energy. I walk it off, pacing around the stadium.

So much of the city has been decimated. I wonder if I could see the fifteen miles or so to the shore. I wonder how Cody's doing. I wonder if he's dead and if we've completely lost the waterfront. I wonder if Mav would have tried to stay with me in this battle. I wonder what would have happened to him.

I pull my mind back. When we're done here, I'll have to check out the coast. I figure Ty could get us there quickly. It's about a fifteen mile distance-- far out of sight-- not too bad, I suppose.

I hear a gunshot from inside and press my face against the glass of the stadium. Several more gunshots fire, and my heart stops. There are loud screams rumbling, and then I hear it.

Thousands of people running. They turn the corner, sprinting, and I smash my fist through the glass to give them another exit. They flood the doors, not slowing down for a second. "To the freeway! Out of the city!" I shout over the thundering exodus. The crowd never lessens, not even for a moment. The doors are jammed, people kick the glass and duck through my exit. They never even look at me. They drop everything in their mad dash to safety, fleeing to the freeways in desperation. It looks like the majority of the stadium is alive. Some people have injuries and clutch to others, children cling to their parents, who in turn, have a death grip on their offspring. I will never understand that kind of love. And it's a shame. That's supposed to be the strongest kind.

Ty will be the last one out. The crowd begins thinning, and I start keeping a look out for him. He could be invisible, so I don't think too much of it when the last few dozen flee, and Ty has still not appeared.

The last person runs out, and the atrium is empty. After a moment in silence, I start to panic. I run into the building, looking left and right. "Ty?" I ask, running up a set of stairs to the stadium. "Ty!"

I enter, and what I see makes my stomach drop.

Everyone on the court is dead. Both sides of basketball players and the benchwarmers, coaches, managers, photographers and those rich enough to pay for seats on the floor. They lie on the floor, covered in a thick layer of dark blood. There are a few cadavers scattered in the crowd, and I think of the crying faces I saw in those escaping. I wonder who was crying because they were overwhelmed or scared, and who was crying because they were leaving with one less person than they entered with.

I locate Ty. He lies on the stairs near the court. I sharply inhale and sprint, jumping over seats to reach him. I don't speak. I save my energy.

I reach where he is and slide to meet him on the ground. There's blood on his clothes, he's unconscious. I can't hear his heartbeat, I haven't been able to hear anyone's for a good twenty minutes.

I run my hand across the side of his face, wiping blood from his eyebrows. There's a large cut splitting his skull open and my stomach tries to run away. "Ty?" I ask, my voice broken and shaking. I press my ear to his chest, my guts twist and knot and I'm going to die. I don't hear anything. Oh, my--

No, his heart is beating. I exhale loudly and thank God over and over again. He starts mumbling, and his eyes slowly open.

"Ty, if you were pranking me, I swear I will rip your eyes out." I warn. If he was faking, he’ll pretend he wasn’t, and I’ll never know.

He groans and slowly sits up, rubbing his head. His eyes are glossy and blood trickles from his mouth. "Do they always shoot at your head?" He asks.

"Yeah." I admit.

"That freaking hurt." He spits the words out with a slob of blood. "Good Lord."

I stand up and offer him my hand. "I know. Come on, we’re not done yet."

He takes my hand and eases to his feet. "We’re never done." He mumbles. "Where to next?"

I look into the city. There are still endless amounts of helicopters and soldiers and jets. We can’t defeat them if they run out after we do. We have to stop them at the source. "We find where all their supplies is coming from and destroy it." I say.

"How do we do that?" He asks.

"Simple." I tell him, pointing at the helicopters flying into and out of the city. "We hitch hike."

Every now and then, helicopters for the enemy side that are falling apart retreat the city, probably returning to their home base. Our plan is to, as we’ve planned for, to snag a free ride on the enemy choppers. They have a large opening in the side I should be able to enter through. I’ll take out the soldiers inside and I’ll pull Ty in.

"There." I say, pointing to an approaching chopper. Ty sprints a dozen yards away or so, bending down and holding his latched hands underneath his knees. I look over my shoulder at the chopper, bouncing on the balls of my feet. I countdown in my head and start sprinting before the chopper crosses perpendicular to Ty. I race, and the chopper goes faster than I thought it would. I try to speed up, and I’m still going just as slow!

I reach Ty as the chopper enters my vision. I plant my right foot on his palms and jump. I bend my left leg to add momentum. He thrusts upward, pushing me into the air. I look forward at the chopper, and d****t! I missed my mark! I was too late! I didn’t think I’d be so slow! I sharply inhale and lose my composure. I blindly reach for the end of the landing gear, and my fingers scrape on the metal. I hurl my right elbow around the back bend and clamp my left hand around.

I dangle off the edge of a fast moving helicopter flying low to the ground. They head for buildings, going within four feet of the roof, and hey, I’m still taller than four feet! I wrap my left elbow around the landing gear and inch forward. I continually look over my shoulder at the nearing buildings, my heart starting to pound. I reach the opening of the chopper and throw my right forearm into the hold. I pick my head up to peer inside. There are three soldiers, all armed to the teeth. They haven’t noticed me yet.

My hips and everything below slam into a roof, crashing through the plaster. It stings, and the agony causes me to shriek. I barely break through, the force tossing my forearm off the chopper. My lower half throbs in pain, I hang from my thin left elbow.

A soldier leans out of the chopper, and panic, adrenalin and pain cause me to act before he does. I grab onto his collar and pull, yanking him out of the copter. He falls with a thundering scream, pulling the other two over.

One points the barrel of his gun at my head, and I drop from my elbow to my hand to swing away. The gun fires at the building below me, and I pick my legs up to avoid it. It brushes against my back half and scrapes my clothes. They hold the gun far out of the chopper, and I snap my right foot up. I kick the gun out of her hands, and her grip is tight enough that she falls out with it.

One more soldier left, and then get a solid shot to my heart. I scream out in pain, my face twisting in the anguish it causes. I hang on. My vision blurs and I get tunnel vision, but I hang on. They fire again, and it barely misses my heart. It breaks several of my ribs and penetrates my right lung, The wind leaves me, and I have to move. I need to get away from this soldier.

But I hang on.

Maybe I’m that stubborn. Maybe I’m that much of a lunatic. Either way, I’m beating this soldier. I grab onto the barrel of the gun after a third shot strikes me in my collarbone and causes me to yelp. I put my hand over it as I push up, allowing the soldier to blast a hole through my right hand.

The gun knocks back, and I clench the edge of the inside hold. I prop my forearm on it and pull my torso up. The soldier points the gun at my forehead, and I can only think of one solution. I grab onto the man’s ankles and pull just as he fires.

I black out, I don’t know how long I’m unconscious. When I wake, the man and I are on the ground. He is not breathing, his neck and back bent at unnatural angles. The helicopter is flying away, and someone’s running towards me.

"Come on!" Ty shouts, tugging on my wrist. He yanks me to my feet and gets me sprinting after the helicopter. He gives me a boost up, and I easily pull myself into the hold. I lean over the edge, extending my hand to him. I bring him into the hold, and we duck down. We have to go undetected.

I try not to wince or grimace or make any sound of pain. I scrunch up my nose and curl my toes, trying to combat the pain. My chest has been torn apart, there’s a hole in my head. Ty looks at the wounds and his jaw drops. He starts forming words and can’t finish them. He just points and raises his eyebrows. I nod, giving him a weak smile.

The chopper leaves the downtown area. We’re not going to the highway, right? I pray that this helicopter isn’t going to suicide bomb the bumper-to-bumper traffic exiting the city. Fortunately, we cross over Santa Monica Freeway, and even highway one-ten. We exchange a similar look. Where are they going?

An atypical building with arches along the sides, yellow domes marking the corners, a tall roof and palm trees around the edges enters our vision. Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall. This is it.

A panel in the roof opens up, and the helicopter goes in for a landing. Ty and I try to shrink to the back of the hold, silently taking in the compound. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. And that terrifies me.

It’s nothing like it usually is. The concert hall has been hollowed out and replaced with rows and rows of weapons, vehicles and soldiers welding and soldering damaged goods. The large windows have been blacked out, there’s an elevated stand in the middle of the floor. On top sits the computer.

It’s much bigger than all the other ones, this time spanning the length of the entire world. There are red lines traced from country to country, across land and sea. California is almost entirely coated in red, and I can’t make a single thing out of it. The screen is easily six feet wide and maybe even five feet tall, elevated ever so slightly off the ground. Soldiers tap the screen, and something starts flashing in the Central Valley. This must be the main control room. Not where the missiles are stored, but a lot of progress can be made here.

I look to Ty. He takes in the dark room in awe. I notice the rafters tracing the edges of the warehouse and the guards patrolling them. The helicopter we’re in lands, and the pilot exits. Ty glances to me, and I shrug. This place is beyond intricate. There are so many guards and weapons and aspects that need to be destroyed.

First of all, we need to shut this place down. Nothing more goes in or out. That’ll at least make it easier to manage. "Create a forcefield around the warehouse." I tell him just loud enough to make out through the engines and tools and shouts.

"That big? It’ll take up all my energy!" He says.

"I know, I know. I’m figuring out as we go along, and we have to put this place on lockdown. Create a forcefield." I repeat.

Ty exhales solemnly. "I’ll have to stand next to a wall. With my back to the warehouse."

"I’ll protect you." I ensure.

"You’re almost out of energy. How can we take this place down?"

"We’ll figure it out. Come on, before they deploy something else."

I insist Ty goes first and get him to bolt out of the helicopter. With all the personnel, it takes less than a second for us to get noticed. It goes from calmly organized to chaos almost as rapidly as my heart is beating. I push Ty forward to get him out of the ring of fire. I slow down to branch away and draw the attention of my favorite group, now furiously opening fire on me.  I zigzag as I run, trying my best to dodge the bullets. To say I’m sloppy is… an understatement.

Ty faces the walls and I stand with my back to his. I spread my arms out wide and cover him. No bullet gets through me. A strong gust of wind hits my back and moves around, spreading the entire warehouse. It moves quickly at first, then barely manages to close the back corner. I hear Ty straining behind me. I need to do something fast.

They still have control of the computer. They can still fire missiles. I need to destroy that. And their tanks, those need to be annihilated. The automatic weapons do, too. Everything in here has to go, and I have to do it now, before both of us run out of power and die.

Ty gasps. "There’s a jet. Trying to land." He rasps.

"Just hold on! I’ll think of something!" I say. I see soldiers flocking to the computer. One taps the screen over where Los Angeles probably is, and yells into the microphone for his troops to invade the base. Crap, they’re bringing in more. Ty and I are so dead.

Many then move to the tanks and aim for me. I puff out my chest and stare them down. Not Ty. He has to live. I’m prepared to take whatever they can manage. It can’t be worse than the pain I would feel if I lost Ty. Let them fire their guns! Let then shoot their bazookas! I can handle it!

The tanks, to my surprise, don’t fire. I drop my guard for a moment, and it’s a mistake. They plow towards me, and I have a split second to react. I throw my hands in front of my face to stop it, opening Ty to be shot from the sides. As I dig my heels into the cement and push against the tank with all my might, groaning and struggling to keep it back, Ty shrieks. I see a splatter of blood in the corner of my vision near Ty’s clavicle. My arms tremble, my bones are going to snap at the force it takes to merely slow it down. My feet dig into the ground, my elbows start bending. The tracks grind against my hands, and I can’t stop it. Not without leaving Ty exposed and vulnerable.

I withdraw my arms, wrap them around Ty and dart to the side where I can once again cover him. The tank rams into the forcefield, and Ty cringes. "Ashler!" He shouts through grit teeth. Blood begins to spill from his nose.

"I don’t have a lot of options!" I yell back. Bullets pepper my skin, there’s too much going on and I can’t see straight and my heart refuses to stop hurting and I’m hurting and I don’t know what to do.

I can hear soldiers behind the forcefield yelling. Guns are fired outside, and I can hear them ramming on the walls. Trucks and tanks and guns and helicopters test the might of the forcefield, giving it all the firepower they have. I don’t know what I’m going to do, because I’m about to run out of power, and Ty could bleed to death at any moment. I’m going to run out of power, Ty’s going to get shot, and I’ll be at the hands of the group.

Ty murmurs every profanity he knows. "What?" I ask, and he doesn’t answer. "What is it?" We’re going to die, is that it? Are they coming at us with impossibly more? Did someone die? Who’s dead? I can’t breathe and my injured lung is aching and it hurts.

"They brought a fire hose, Blondie. They’re spraying it…" His voice trails off, and I can see his sweat. The blood from his nose has grown from a little trickle to a large pour that hits the ground or stains his shirt or colors half his face scarlet. "I can’t hold them much longer."
My heart drops, and panic sets in like never before. There are no thoughts in my head. "Let me think of something!" I snap. I look around and the world is moving too fast. I couldn’t tell you what was happening to save my life. It’s all slurred and I’m shaking and twitching and I can’t think of a plan. "I’ll think of something!"

Ty shallowly inhales. "I have an idea. It really sucks, and it’s our only option."

I’m absolutely desperate. "What is it?" I thought emotions gave me power! This stress is just tiring me out! It’s more killing me than helping me! What’s the point of feeling emotions that negatively impact you? Why are humans bodies so stupid?

In a low, humorless tone drier than Ty has ever used before, he tells me, "You’re going to have to do plan three."

"No!" I fire back immediately. "I won’t! I’m not doing plan three! Never!" I can’t do that! There has to be another way, another option, another choice, anything! I’d take my own life before initiating plan three!

"Ashler! It’s our only option!" He counters.

"No! No, it’s not! Plan three is not an option! I won’t go through with it!" I protest. I start hyperventilating, and words spill out. Anything to stop me from having to do plan three. "Just hold on! Just a little longer!"

"There’re too many! They’re going to break in and kill us both! If we had another choice, I’d take it!"

If we had another choice. We don’t. There’s nothing else I can think to do. My body is beginning to shut down in pain, both of us are straining. My entire body threatens to drop dead, I can barely breathe through the agony. It grips me and crushes me from the inside out. I don’t doubt that I will die if I do plan three. Plan three is worse than death. I’d rather be killed with water. "I can’t do it!" The world is collapsing, and all my life is in this moment. No matter what I do, I will be dead when I leave this building. If not physically, emotionally and mentally. Plan three crosses all lines of humanity.

"You have to! One of us can survive!"

My chest tightens, and my face burns. I shake my head, and sobs get caught in my throat. "No, Ty, please don’t make me do this. We can’t give up."

"We’re not giving up, Blondie. We’re winning the battle." His voice is so calm, so blasé that I can’t function at all. My bottom lip trembles, I shake my head. I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this. I would rather die. I’d rather give my own life. "Hey," He smiles, and my heart shatters. "I’ll be alright. And so will you. And so will Andrew and Kelli and," He sneers, "Cody."

"Stop." My voice is weak and cracks like my bones. "Ty, no."

"It’s going to be okay. I know it will. We’re going to win the battle, and we’re going to visit Vegas. I’ll play craps and poker and try out all the slot machines. We’ll have fun, right? Like we always do?" His voice gets so distant and dreamy, I can’t keep myself together. I start choking and coughing and it comes out as a suppressed sob. "We’ll get yelled at and probably kicked out of a casino, but that’s fine. There are a million others we can go to. We’ll be fine. In the end, we always are. Just like the heroes."

I stop breathing. I know what he’s telling me. Be the hero. Save the day. Heroes have to make sacrifices. I don’t know if I want to be the hero. I know I have to. "Okay." I admit defeat. "Okay, Ty. I’ll do it."

He scoffs halfheartedly. "The only time I’ll ever beat you."

I wish it wasn’t true. I wish we could make a thousand more bets and I’d lose them all if it meant that the horrible and terrifying plan three was just an emergency, last case scenario, and that it never came to that.

It did. It came to that and I’m so scared.

"I love you." I tell him.

"I know you do. I love you, too, Blondie."

I want to cripple to the ground and just weep. It hasn’t even happened yet and I already feel like my soul is dying. It’s just as bad as the nomads, and it hasn’t even happened yet. I try to breathe and end up with this awkward cry.

"On the count of three, I’ll drop the forcefield, and you do your thing. Got it?" He asks.

I can only nod. He faces me, and I look right back at him. I don’t want him to see me like this. I really don’t. I have to see him, though. I have to see his smile and his eyes and his hair one more time. I need to be with my brother.

"Tell you what." I always find comfort in his voice, except for today. I find only heart wrenching sorrow and pain. "Bet you ten bucks that tomorrow, you have a great day."

The idea of tomorrow, the idea of what that’ll look like is unbearable. I’d take water over this pain. I can’t stop the waves of sadness drowning me, hurting me, tearing me apart, beating me down and killing me. It’s killing me. I wish I was dead. I was I could die and Ty could be fine. I wish I didn’t have to feel this pain. I wish I didn’t have to cause myself the agony.

"What do you say? Do we have a deal?" He asks.

Ty. Ty the Guy who Can Fly

and Doesn’t Have to Try, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry you had the mispleasure of knowing me and teaming up with me. I wish I’d left you at the Staples Center. I wish you were relaxing, slowly recovering from your wounds, on the stairs of a stadium. I’m sorry I chained you down so you could drown with me.

From some abyss I didn’t know I had, I have the ability to speak for maybe half a second. "You’re on," Squeaks out of my throat.

He smiles a big, loving, deep and true smile. It’s a real smile, and I know I’ll miss it. I want to hug him I want to cry with him until the pain ends and I never have to feel this way again. I wish we had different circumstances, and I could have another eighty years with him or so. Five years weren’t enough. Eternity isn’t enough. Not for someone greater than life, like I’m supposed to be.

"Okay, I’m going to start the countdown." He speaks slowly. I wish he could count down from at least a million. I wish my wishes meant something. I wish my wishes could do something.

"Three," Ty is my best friend. He is my partner in crime, my comic relief, my good times, my reminder of the humor and light in my life. I’m never going to be the same without him. I reach into my dying, broken heart and rip out pieces of energy. I contract whatever I can from other places in my body, borrowing flames from my dermis. My skin sinks into my bones, and all I can think about is Ty.

"Two," Ty never got a lover. Ty, who is worthy of more love than I am able to give, never got to be kissed. He never got to find someone who took his breath away and made his heart thump with mere presence. There is so much he deserves to experience. My muscles begin to go to my heart, where the last of my vital power is being stored. My toes disappear, my fingers shrink until I have empty knuckles.

"One." Ty may not have been the favorite of Cody or Kelli or Mr. C. or most of the compound workers. He lived his life his own way, and there’s something you have to admire in that. In a world of people being afraid of who they are, I don’t know how many people possess the fearlessness he does. I don’t know who will ever laugh like he does or smile like he does or mean as much to me as he does. Maybe because no one ever will. He is irreplaceable. I don’t know what tomorrow, or even minutes from now, will look like. I never wanted to find out. My arms and legs are sucked into my torso, along with my head and neck. I stop seeing as everything I am is stuffed into small little beam of energy.

Zero. I wonder if Ty says it in his head. The wind around us drops, and let go.

The beam of energy, no larger than a soccer ball, expands. It expands in a fiery inferno that envelops everything within a ten feet radius. Then a twenty foot radius. Then forty then eighty and so on until the warehouse is taken out by an explosion that incinerates all it touches. Exceeding temperatures of one thousand degrees, everything I am blows up and takes out the warehouse. My heart, my lungs, my head, my body, it all goes into the surge of energy that, in one single move, completely obliterates the warehouse and eliminates the problem.

The energy surge is also strong enough to kill any living beings. Normal or not.

I explode.

I explode, and I destroy the final compound and complete my mission.

I explode, and my body is no longer put together and will take a while to even be at the basic human stage once more.

I explode.

And in the process,

I kill Ty.