"Can you calm down now?" asked Elijah.
Isaac still looked incredulous, but he nodded. It was useless to resist because his body couldn't move at all. The young man moaned softly and said, "Put me down."
As soon as Elijah's strength left Isaac's body and he fell, Map got out of bed and hugged the short blonde. The little girl looked frightened at Elijah. Elijah's feelings were immediately hurt, he never wanted to hurt or frighten Map.
"Map, it's me," Elijah said.
The girl shook her head in fear. Isaac put his arm around Map and stared at Elijah.
"That doesn't look normal," Isaac said suddenly.
"What's normal to you?"
"I mean, every kid only has one superpower." Isaac's eyes looked at Elijah carefully. "You don't look normal to us."
Elijah sat back down on the ground and continued eating, he was really hungry. "So, according to you, I'm double abnormal?"
"Maybe." Isaac shrugged.
There was nothing more Elijah wanted to say. He just kept quiet, letting Isaac and Map feel that it was much safer for both of them. It became quite quiet between them, with only the sounds of Elijah taking a sip of soup and chewing.
"How come?" Isaac asked suddenly.
Elijah glanced at his academy friend. "I don't know."
"Tell me the truth, Eli." Isaac pointed. "That stone, there's no way it could just stick to you. Or show up on your birthday like some miracle. There's a scientific explanation for everything."
"Not really."
"You still want to lie."
Elijah paused and licked his lips, slightly nervous. What kind of scientific explanation was it after he blew up the queen and suddenly he was alive again, with no body parts splattered everywhere? Surely Isaac would think he was some kind of alien too, or perhaps in league with those creatures.
"Eli?"
"I destroyed the Orb," Elijah replied.
"How?"
"By blowing it up from within."
"And then?"
"I came back to life."
Isaac's eyes flickered and the young man said nothing yet. Elijah stared at Isaac, waiting for a response. Either Isaac would lunge at him again in the next few seconds or not.
"Okay, your story about getting multiple superpowers makes more sense to me," Isaac said.
"So what else do you want to hear? Or what you think fits your assumptions."
"I don't know, Eli. Nothing that's happening makes any sense to me, really."
Suddenly there was a loud siren and the lights in the room flickered. Elijah and Isaac gasped in shock and immediately stood up. Isaac held Map in his arms. After a few minutes, they remained in the room, listening to the incessant wailing of the siren.
Then the door opened from outside and Hannah's face looked panicked and frightened.
"We have to go," she said.
"What's going on?" asked Elijah.
"Eight-legged creatures! They're attacking!"
*
Their footsteps echoed down the hall, and Hannah ran ahead. People ran here and there in panic. They came out into a large hall where several vehicles were parked. There was the sound of bullets being fired by the rebels from behind a gap in the wall of the building.
People climbed into the vehicles, evacuating mostly women first. There were no children, but many people over the age of 35. Elijah, Isaac, and Map were put in a jeep, and Hannah rushed over to the men at the front. Derek was one of them.
"When everyone's on board and the creature breaks through the gate, we'll just floor it and go," Hannah said.
Derek shook his head quickly. "They can block the vehicle, Hannah."
"Launch missiles to clear our way."
"In this building?" The man widened his eyes. "You're crazy."
"Do you want everyone here to die? It's better to sacrifice a few lives than to destroy them all."
"Can't we use the children?"
Hannah snorted. "One is bound with a bracelet. The little girl and the boy named Elijah show no strength."
"Are they normal?"
"We'll discuss that later. Hurry, help the people."
The sound of blows from outside was heavy, mixed with gunshots and people screaming in panic. The atmosphere was chaotic. Elijah, Isaac, and Map just sat and waited in the jeep, anxious. They watched the scene outside.
People were carrying large, heavy weapons and positioning them on the roofs of trucks. They waited until the gate was completely breached by the ants. All gunfire stopped as everyone got into the vehicles.
Hannah got into the car, followed by Derek, the woman glancing at Elijah briefly before concentrating on the front.
Everyone waited in silence.
As the gate was torn apart by bites and scratches, Hannah threw an arm out the window. Waving her palm, several missiles were fired at the gate. A huge explosion followed, causing everyone to duck in fear.
All the cars rushed forward, people shooting out of their windows to clear the way.
In front of the jeep in which Elijah was riding, two large trucks were speeding and crashed into the ants blocking the road. But the ants were so numerous, they didn't know where they were coming from. The car was stuck in the middle, making it an easy target.
Shouting and screaming came from the direction of the other cars that the ants had overturned, and people were being ripped apart mercilessly. One by one, the cars were immobilized. Several ants surrounded the jeep Elijah was riding in, and Derek and Hannah opened fire from inside to finish them off.
"We can't do this! We're going to die!" cried Derek in fear.
Map jumped to Elijah and hugged the young man tightly, screaming in terror. The little girl's finger accidentally touched the stone in the hollow of Elijah's neck.
[Warning]
[Activation Mode]
[τηλεκίνηση] [Telekinesis]
He didn't know where the impulse was coming from, but Elijah felt as if his body was being flooded with an enormous amount of energy. So much so that Elijah screamed out loud. Elijah's wave of energy blasted all the ants surrounding the car and they died instantly. Meanwhile, the other ants that were not affected by Elijah's power stayed where they were. The antennas on their heads stiffened.
"Move now! Move!" Hannah yelled at Derek.
The vehicles sped up as fast as they could, dodging the rest of the ant army that just stood there stiff. Hannah looked around.
"What's going on?" She immediately looked back. "Did you guys do it?"