Power (Book 1)

Chapter 30

"Where are you?" I asked Cassie on my phone. She needed to be here while we were discussing the plan.

"Five blocks away from my house. Why? Are you okay? What happened?"

I checked the clock conveniently placed on the wall high up near the ceiling. It had been nearly two hours since I had woken up.

"A lot," I settled on saying. "But right now I need you at the base. You should know what I'm talking about, since-"

"I've been in your head," she finished for me.

"Yeah," I said. "Do you have a ride?"

"Nope." I heard her sigh on the other end. "My car is at my house. And I'm not going all the way back to get it."

I chuckled. She was so demanding. "I'll get you. Be there in two." I got ready to hang up.

"Wait, Jay," she said. She seemed to hesitate. "Is...is my dad...is he okay?"

"I don't think he's dead if that's what you're asking," I said. "Last I saw he ran off to who-knows-where. So I think it's safe to say that he's okay."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just stressing. Even though I should be since he tried to kill you and all. Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's not your fault. And besides, what harm could he have done to me? I'm invincible," I said.

"Don't get cocky," she warned.

"I won't. See you in a few," I said. Then I hung up and turned around to face Blink and Jake. "I've got to go get Cassie. I should be back in about five minutes."

I didn't wait for an answer. I ran to the void and went through.

On the other side, I ran back outside of Afterlight, making sure not to go too fast before I was a safe distance away from the building. An unintended sonic boom could destroy the whole place.

Cassie was five blocks away from her house, just like she said.

I stopped abruptly in front of her."I'm here," I said.

"Whoa," she said. She covered her eyes to protect them from the dust and wind I had created.

"Sorry," I said. "You ready?"

"Yep. Let's go." She clapped her hands.

"Okay. I'm going to hold you in my arms, like this," I said, demonstrating how I would carry her. "It is important that you keep your head tucked in at all times. Otherwise, you'll get whiplash and die."

"Well jeez, I should probably just take my car, shouldn't I?" she said.

"It's up to you," I said with a shrug.

She looked back, presumably to the way to her house. "No...I think I'll just go with you. I don't want to walk all the way back. Plus, I don't want to think about my family too much."

I didn't even realize- her mom was there, too, when I came. Maybe Cassie's sister, too. But when I fought Sage, they were gone. Where could they be? They were probably safe, but still...

"I'm sure they're okay," I said. "Are you sure you don't want to walk home to get your car? I'll come with you if you want." I don't want to possibly hurt her if I didn't have to.

"Just run me to HQ." She sounded irritated. The best thing for me to do would be to do what she said. "Plus, I want to see how it feels when you run, too."