Lacy had run the opposite direction of Tohoak. Her breath came out in even, yet quick burst. She had trained for this, yet she was still running. When she looked back she could see that two men of the group where following her. She had about a ten foot lead on the men, but they were fast. It wasn’t hard to guess why they hadn’t used their powers. They wanted to catch Kyle, Tohoak, and her alive. If Hunter and Kydlin had been discovered instead it would’ve been a different situation completely.
The Decimators constantly were trying to get more recruits and they wouldn’t waste their chance now. That was the last thing Lacy would ever do. She would rather die than join the Decimators. Glancing back at the men again she saw they were gaining on her. She focused hard and stopped running. Holding her hand up ice started to form on the wall. The men were only feet away now. Her breathing quickened and she fought hard not to panic. The ice spread more rapidly suddenly extending from the wall to create a solid barrier between the men and her. The first man skidded to a halt and pounded his fist on the ice structure testing its strength. He made an infuriated noise and called something back to the other man.
Lacy stifled a laugh and continued running. These men would find another way around she was sure of it. They did quicker than she thought they would. As she reached the end of the tunnel a man blocked her way. She twirled back around and ran toward her ice wall. It melted allowing her to pass only to reveal the other man waiting. She gasped and he flashed a toothy grinning at her.
“Thought you could get away,” he said shaking his head with a laugh. Lacy spat in his face and started to lunge out at him only to be grabbed from behind be the first man.
“She’s quite a fighter, Thomas,” the man that had her in a tight hold said. Lacy snarled and kicked backwards freeing herself. Her eyes flickered an icy blue color and frost began to form on her hands. She would fight tooth and nail to get free. The man in front of her, Thomas, raised his eyebrows.
“Now listen. We don’t want a fight, do we Mike?” he looked at the man behind her, “If you just come with us we won’t hurt you,” he said now acting friendly. Lacy bared her teeth at him.
“I won’t become a Decimator. So try all you want, but there’s no way I’ll become another kid ruthlessly forced into your army,” she hissed. Thomas clicked his tongue.
“That’s not really for you to decide. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but either way you’re coming with us,” he said. Lacy almost smiled.
“I really do love doing things the hard way,” she replied. Before they could react she jerked her elbow backward and up bringing it into Mike’s nose which instantly started gushing blood. He muttered some interesting words, which Lacy stashed in the back of her mind for later use. She kneed the man in front of her before he had time to react then she shoved him to the side narrowly avoiding getting grabbed by Mike again.
Laughing, she pelted down the tunnel back to where she had come from. Her laughter ended abruptly as she heard a faint scream that could only belong to Tohoak.
“Looks like the others might have caught one of your friends,” Thomas came out of the tunnel behind her. His voice was a harsh mocking tone. Lacy shot him a venomous look of hatred and continued running down the next hall. She wanted to help Tohoak, but knew it wouldn’t help anyone if they both got caught. So she ran. She followed the route they had come in from hoping to escape into the city to prevent the men from following. Up ahead she could see the bound guards and the opening to the surface.
“We’re going to lose her, hurry!” she heard Thomas shout behind her. Lacy leaped through the entrance turning as quickly as she could to form an ice wall. Thomas punched the ice wall angrily with an aggravated yell. Lacy gave a sigh of relief that was short lived. Mike arrived behind Thomas and shoved him out of the way. He put his hand to the ice and suddenly the ice started to vibrate. Then it exploded into little pieces like a broken mirror. Lacy didn’t waste time in running toward the lights of the city.
She could hear the heavy breathing of Mike and Thomas behind her, but she was already in the city. It would be easy to lose them here. The lights of the city were dim, but a comfort. She could blend into the crowds. There was only one problem. It was night time and barely anyone was on the street.
“You really thought we’d let you get away after breaking into our camp?” Mike asked finally catching up to her. He grabbed her arm jerking her to a stop and spinning her around. Thomas came to a stop behind Mike, his breathing heavy and uneven. Lacy wondered how much exercise he got on a regular basis.
“You’re coming with us back to base,” Thomas said angrily after catching his breath. Lacy was ready to put up a fight again and was glad to see Mike’s nose was still bleeding. If she had to guess she would say his power was to explode any surface his hand touched. Since Thomas had yet to reveal his powers she had no idea what they were. The odds were stacked against her, but she wouldn’t go with them without causing some trouble.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she retorted. Mike gritted his teeth in exasperation.
“Yes you-” he was cut off by someone who had just turned the corner onto the street.
“Lacy?” the voice was familiar and brought instant relief. It was Emily and Tyler’s mentor, D. Behind him there were three more Protectors all of them mentors; a patrol. “Is everything alright here?” he asked raising his eyebrows. Lacy could tell he knew exactly what was going on, but was playing dumb.
“Move along buddy, we’re just having a friendly conversation with your friend here,” Mike said tartly. D’s hazel eyes flickered dangerously in a secret threat. Even in the shadows of the street D's well toned muscles were visible through his shirt. His short cut brown hair stayed unruffled as a breeze filled the air.
“That’s not what it looks like. How about you just let her go and walk away,” he offered. Mike glared at him.
“Who do you think you are a hero? Get going before I teach you a lesson,” Mike spat. Lacy ducked her head hiding a smile. D held up his hands.
“I was just trying to give you a chance because if you aren’t blind it should be easy to tell you’re outnumbered,” he motioned to the Protectors behind him who stood patiently waiting.
“Is that a threat?” Mike shoved Lacy roughly to the side and looked back at Thomas, “Let’s teach these guys some manners Thomas,”
They evidently thought D and the other Protectors to be Unabilitied. Mike started toward D cracking his knuckles while Thomas went toward the other Protectors. D shrugged and looked over at the other Protectors. “Manipulation of electricity,” D warned them. Lacy knew immediately what D was talking about. His power was the ability to sense other’s powers. He was simply stating what Thomas’s power was. Thomas jerked at his words in confusion as did Mike. They both came to the same realization.
“Protectors!” Mike snarled. He spat at D, his saliva landing on D’s shoe, then both he and Thomas bolted. They knew they were outnumbered and how well the Protectors trained. “This isn’t over!” Thomas called as they disappeared into the dark. D rolled his eyes at the Decimator’s words then his face turned serious and his eyes moved over to Lacy.
“Are you okay?” he asked moving toward her. Lacy nodded, but D still looked her over just in case. “I thought you went on a mission with Hunter,” he said once he had confirmed she was unharmed.
“I did. All of us got separated. I think Tohoak and Kyle got capture, but I’m not sure. Hunter and Kydlin were safe though. We distracted the Decimators so they could continue the mission,” she explained quickly. D cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Hunter let you be a distraction,” he asked skeptically. Lacy bit her lip.
“Not exactly. He kinda didn’t get a say in it,” she mumbled. D looked understanding.
“At least you’re safe. Let’s get back to camp, Kyle and Tohoak might already be there waiting for us. If not we’ll find a way to get them back, don’t worry,”