Zane hardly slept that night.
If he hadn't been immobile, he would have tossed and turned, thinking about how he had lay there, completely helpless, as Tally fought the bear alone. How he still laid there as the bear's claws tore open Tally's back. How he only watched as she crumpled to the ground while the massive creature raised its paw to deliver the final blow.
He wondered how Tally had recovered so quickly from the attack, and had fought even better afterwards. It didn't make much sense in Zane's mind. He glanced at Tally, sleeping beside him in the darkness of night. By now, Zane had also noticed how she woke up every twenty minutes. He wanted to ask her about it, but couldn't bring himself to. Not now.
When Zane finally did fall asleep, his dreams were filled with the dreadful images of the fight. And just like in reality, Zane watched from his inert body as claws tore into Tally's back and blood stained her clothes.
"Zane!"
Tally's voice accompanied by a sharp shake jolted Zane out of his nightmare. Opening his eyes, he saw Tally leaning over him and realized that his face was covered in a sheen of sweat.
"Are you okay?" Tally asked him, a hint of worry in her voice.
Tally was asking him if he was okay, when she was the one who had fought a bear less than twelve hours ago. "Yeah," he managed to croak through his revulsion for himself.
Tally frowned and placed a hand on his forehead. Zane savored the her gentle touch. "Are you tired?"
Zane blinked. Once again, she was asking him if he was tired. "No, aren't you? You're the one who fought a bear yesterday."
Tally smiled. "Specials don't need much sleep."
"Is that why you wake up every twenty minutes?"
Tally raised one of her perfect eyebrows. "You noticed that?"
"Sure did...and when the bear clawed you..." Zane swallowed. "How did you recover so fast?"
"It's what we call being icy," Tally answered, not the slightest bit shaken. She ran a finger over the scars on her arm. "It's why we used to cut ourselves."
"Oh," was all Zane could manage.
Tally glimpsed at the sky. "Let's go, hopefully we'll make it to the Rusty Ruins by noon."
"Don't you want to rest? How's your back?" Zane worked to keep his voice steady.
"Good as new. And like I said, specials don't need much sleep," Tally answered. She turned away, but not before Zane caught the look in her eyes. He could swear it was affectionate, but maybe it was just his messed up brain fooling him.
As Tally predicted, they made it to the Rusty Ruins at noon. Tally quickly moved her hands to turn her skintenna on. She picked up a signal from somewhere much closer than the city. Stiffening, she slowed the boards and turned off their lifter fans with the crash bracelets Zane was still wearing. The magnetic lifters easily found purchase on the Rusties' metal structures.
"What's wrong?" Zane asked.
Tally's eyes scanned her surroundings. "Someone's here," she whispered.
"Tally?" came a voice through her skintenna. Tally's head jerked up and then she froze. It was David.
Tally turned on her infrared vision and looked around.
"It's me Tally. I can see you."
"Where are you?" Tally hissed, still looking around madly. Zane's looked at her in surprise; probably thinking she was going insane.
A moment later, David's voice came again. "I see you've brought Zane."
Tally bared her teeth and slowly lowered the hoverboards to the ground. She stood.
"Is there something wrong with him?"
"Can't figure that out on your own?" she snapped, still unable to spot him. She realized she was overreacting. David wasn't exactly as much a threat to Zane than the bear had been. Tally switched off her skintenna and listened, eyes still scanning the towers of metal.
Finally, she found him. He was hiding at the top of the tallest tower. Of course.
She turned staring straight at the tower. Kneeling down near Zane just incase this was some type of ambush, she rebooted her skintenna and said, "I found you."
She saw David then as he stood. He was unarmed. He got on his hoverboard and rode towards them.
Suddenly, Tally was irritated. He was wasting their time. She had to get Zane to Dr. Cable as soon as possible. "I don't have time for this." Tally got back onto the hoverboards and began to ride away. She would take a different course back, away from the river so that David's hoverboard couldn't follow her.
"Tally, wait!" David called. Tally kept going, urging the boards to fly faster, turning on the lifter fans for extra speed. Eventually, the lifters lost their purchase on metal. Tally smiled.
A moment later Zane spoke. "Um Tally? His hoverboard's still working."
Tally's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked back. Sure enough, David was still hot on their tail, riding a Special Circumstance hoverboard with lifter fans.
"Dammit, those stupid thieves!" Tally turned back towards the river. May as well use the extra speed of magnetic lifters in that case.
"Why are we running away from him? It's not like he's going to do anything," Zane said.
"Other than hit us with shock-sticks so he can despecialize me," Tally growled. Stupid Maddy and her "cures".
Cold droplets of water hit Tally's face as she flew over the river. She glanced back. David was gaining, quickly. Tally cursed. It was time to get risky. "Please don't fall off," she said as she shifted Zane so that he was lying on one hoverboard. Tally got on the other one and drifted away just a little to make sure that the board was stable.
Then, she slowed her own hoverboard. Once David was close enough, she flew up higher. Then, she dropped down, hitting the surface hard. A huge wave of water flew up behind her, crashing down on David. She heard him cry out in surprise. Tally glanced back, smirking when she saw that he had fallen off. Satisfied, she turned back towards Zane.
To her utter dismay, he was slipping. Tally pushed her hoverboard to go faster…
The hoverboard tilted, but it couldn't quite tell what was happening because Zane wasn't wearing a belly sensor. With a yelp of surprise, Zane was dumped into the current.
"No!" Tally shouted. She leapt off of her hoverboard, launching herself into the water, right where Zane had disappeared. The freezing water bit into Tally's skin, straight to her bones. But then her special moment came. If David caught up to them, all Tally had to do was knock him out.
But first, she needed to save Zane. He was sinking, his crash bracelets trying to pull him up, but the current was messing with it too much. With a few powerful strokes, Tally was by his side. She grabbed his arm, pulling…
Their heads broke the surface, Zane gasping for breath. Tally looked up, and the two hoverboards were flying mercifully above them. She threw Zane onboard, her head sinking under momentarily. Tally resurfaced quickly and climbed onto the other one while steadying Zane. Tally glanced behind them.
David was right there, his clothes soaking.
Tally's hand flew out—so fast that it was blurred—and hit David right in the jaw. She grabbed his arm and threw him onto the shore, not exactly wanting him to drown. His hoverboard followed him.
"Are you okay?" Tally panted.
Zane coughed. "Yeah."
Soon enough, they passed through the outer ring of Crumblyville.
"Don't say anything," she warned Zane as she switched on her skintenna. It connected with a drone patrolling the city limits. The machine gave her a quick electronic frisk before realizing she was an agent of Special Circumstances. "Message to Dr. Cable," Tally said into her skintenna.
"Tally Youngblood?" came Dr. Cable's razor-edge voice.
"I need to talk to you."
"Indeed," Dr. Cable replied. "Level J operating theater. I'll have the halls cleared." The connection cut off.
Tally kept the lifter fans on so that she wouldn't hurt Zane on her entrance. She contacted Maxamilla Feaster, one of Dr. Cable's sub commanders. "Feaster! I need in. Now."
"Agent Youngblood?"
"Yes! Now let me in! I have a meeting with Dr. Cable, level J—"
"Ah yes, I heard. We have an elevator waiting for you already."
The landing pad beneath Tally began to part. As the hoverboards descended, startled workers looked up at them.
She flew them straight to the open elevator. "Please Tally, off of your hoverboard already," came Feaster's voice in her ear.
"Fine," Tally grumbled as the elevator doors closed. She got off and picked up Zane in her arms.
"Special Circumstances?" he mouthed. Tally nodded, not meeting his eyes. As soon as the doors opened, Tally took off running.
Specials were pressed up against the wall, questioning looks on their faces as Tally sprinted past, carrying Zane. This is kinda awkward, Tally noted.
Finally, she reached her destination and leapt through the entrance, skidding to a halt in the dim room. Dr. Cable wasn't there yet. She set Zane down on the ground softly. His eyes were wide.
"I see you brought a guest Tally."
Tally turned. It was Dr. Cable, holding a knife in her hand.
a/n: Dr. Cable has a knife! sure wonder why... :O