Boxed In
1-4

I was up early the next day. The nurse at the medical station had let us stay on some unused beds. Officer Emese had given me a map that I had spread out on the bed. Someone had coloured the map in, showing safe, not safe and gang areas. It wasn't a hundred percent accurate, but it gave me some idea of where to stay away from.

I'd never thought I'd have to do something like this. All big cities were dangerous to some degree or another, and Brockton Bay was probably one of the worst. The city had the highest cape density on the east coast, after all. But really, that just meant staying out of certain areas, avoiding specific colours or just simply paying attention to people around you.

These were just things you learned growing up.

Now, I was poring over a map with things like 'killer trees' or 'wild hounds' written on it. Entire sections were coloured in red, warning against one danger or another. The worst, by far, were the question marks, parts of the city where no one knew what was happening because the people who went there didn't come back.

'Here be dragons.' I giggled briefly to myself. This was starting to look harder than I'd first thought. Doubt gnawed at my stomach, but I pushed it down. I was going to do this, no matter what.

My thoughts were interrupted as Madison came into the room, followed by the smell of warm potatoes.

I glanced up as she pushed the map aside and put the plate down on the bed.

"Here, eat. You're gonna need it if you're really set on this."

Picking one up, I sniffed it warily before taking a bite. The taste was fresh and warm, though I found myself wishing it had some butter, or maybe cheese, to go with it. "Where did these come from?"

"Louise, that's the nurse, has a plot out back. Apparently, whatever's going on with the city is doing something weird with the plants. Even small garden plots are growing like crazy."

"Yoink!"

Both of us jumped as Aisha appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and snatched one of the potatoes.

"Thesh a go!" she said through a mouthful of food.

"They're also ours!" Madison snapped, but Aisha just shrugged.

"That's how things are now. If you don't eat fast, you don't eat… what did you trade for these anyway?"

Popping one into her mouth, Madison threw Aisha one more glare before answering. "A bar of chocolate. Louise looked ready to cry when I offered it to her."

"No shit," Aisha muttered, "those things are like gold."

"Is food really that much of a problem?" I quickly finished the last of the potatoes. I'd have to keep what she said in mind. I still had a pair of chocolate bars in one of my pockets, after all.

"Kinda? Plants are growing quickly, but there's not much space. People tried to set up farms in empty lots, but monsters are drawn to them."

Sighing, I pushed the empty plate away. "Alright, I think I've got a route planned out. I'll follow the road east until I hit the main road, then go south." I'd have to divert once or twice to avoid the Empire, but it should be a mostly straight run.

"Nu-uh." Aisha shook her head. "We don't want to go that way."

"We?" If I'd still worn glasses, I'd have looked over their rims at her.

Madison's muttered "Well, you're certainly not leaving me here," went ignored for the moment. I hadn't wanted to assume she'd come, but despite myself, I was grateful that she was.

"Of course I'm coming!" Aisha drew herself up. "I know this city better than you! I'm a better guide than any map! Without me, you're gonna walk right into a spider's nest."

"… spiders?" Madison squeaked.

Aisha nodded. "Spiders, really big ones. The human ones are okay, even if they get off on tying you up. But the ones you're planning to walk into are straight-up monsters."

"Why aren't they on the map?"

"Because they don't know about them?" Sighing, Aisha sat down on the bed. "Look, ever since… this happened, I've been able to do things. I can turn invisible and stuff. But I also know shit. People ask for directions and I know where they need to go and I get this itchy feeling that won't go away if I don't tell them!"

"Aisha…" I said slowly, my voice as gentle as I could make it. "You realise this is dangerous, right? You've already been hurt once walking around the city, do you really want to risk it again? Why not head home, I'm sure your brother is worried sick..."

"I can't go back looking like this!" she hissed, raising the stump of her arm. "Bro will flip his shit! Look, I know you're going to the hospital, if I can reach Panacea, maybe I can get her to heal me? You need a guide and I can't get there alone. Please?!"

Groaning, I slumped forward. This was a mistake, I knew it was. We needed to move fast, and I'd have to keep a constant eye on Aisha, but she was right. I'd led us blindly into enough danger already; a guide would be helpful, especially one that could turn invisible.

"... alright, fine, but—"

Aisha cut me off with a cheer, wrapping her good arm around me and pressing my face against her chest. I'd barely had a second to enjoy the feeling before she pulled my face up and kissed me.

"This is going to be so cool!" Letting go of me, she turned to hug Madison, who returned it with enthusiasm while I tried to gather my wits.

I just knew I was going to regret this.

##

The 'town' gates closed behind us with a clang, the guard out front — the same woman as yesterday — nodding in greeting as we walked away.

Once I'd calmed Aisha down and passed her off to Madison, we spent maybe thirty minutes gathering whatever supplies we could, then headed off.

Officer Emese had warned us that it was a two-day hike to the hospital, longer if we got lost or if the city changed again. We needed food and water, but we really didn't have much to trade beyond some snacks, and the 'town' had even less to spare.

Despite that, Madison had managed to get a couple of old — but sturdy — backpacks and some empty water bottles.

"You're sure we'll be able to find food on the way?" I asked, watching Aisha adjust the bag on her back. She'd insisted on carrying it after seeing me struggle to get it on with my wings.

"We'll be fine," she said with an exaggerated eye roll. "We can dig through some of the houses and shops along the way. Besides, if things get really bad, we can always eat the monsters."

"You're kidding, right?" My stomach clenched painfully at the thought. "Aren't the monsters human?"

Smiling, Aisha turned on her heel and walked off with a whistle.

"Aisha?!"

##

The walk through the city was almost pleasant, if you ignored the empty streets, collapsed buildings and near-constant feeling of being watched.

That aside, the weather was, for now, clear. The ever-present fog had lifted high into the air and was thin enough that we caught the occasional glimpse of the sky above.

Aisha and Madison were walking just ahead of me, talking quietly between themselves, but I'd tuned them out. I could only listen to them talk about random singers or TV shows for so long before losing interest.

Rolling my neck, I closed my eyes and enjoyed a brief breeze as it drifted across my skin. The PRT uniform, or more likely the body armour, was a bit stifling. I wasn't hot, but the temperature around us was definitely rising.

Aisha was obviously less heat-resistant than Madison or me. The hoody she'd grabbed before we left the town was now tied around her waist, the too-small t-shirt she wore underneath showing a tantalising strip of midriff.

Coming to a stop, Aisha spun around, the low collar of her shirt exposing a generous amount of cleavage.

"Okay," she said, hopefully not noticing my flush. "It's not safe to go any further, but if we go right here, we can cut around the block and, I think, find some water."

"How do you know?"

"You can't smell it?"

"Taylor's kinda oblivious," Madison said, but the gentle smile took some of the sting out of her comment.

Sending a puff of smoke at her, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Truthfully, I'd been doing my best to ignore my sense of smell. It was so strong now that it could quickly get overpowering.

I'd tried, once or twice, to explain what it was like to Dragon, but it was like trying to explain purple to someone who couldn't see colour.

Dragon's hospital, for example, was sterile. It smelt unnaturally clean, with hints of machines, electricity and bleach. The small garden we had access to was nicer, smelling of grass and flowers. It smelt alive in a way that I couldn't explain.

Of course, those were controlled environments. Here in the city, everything was such a confusing mess of scents that it quickly gave me a headache, and I'd settled for just ignoring as much as I could.

Even now, on what was arguably a pleasant day, the tang of old blood hung in the air. It was faint, so probably a safe distance away and not something we needed to worry about.

Putting that aside, I could smell Madison nearby. She was a mix of warmth and spices that was distinctly her. Aisha, by contrast, was a shadow, tinged with old blood and… sickness? I guessed that was because of her injuries.

Beyond that was… "Freshly cut grass?"

"That's it!" Aisha grinned. "If you follow that smell, you'll find drinkable water."

Bouncing lightly on her feet, she went ahead of us down a side street for nearly a block. The buildings here were covered in moss, and plants were starting to break through the pavement.

We came to a tall building that had probably once been an office, but was now almost totally covered in plants. The front wall had collapsed, or been knocked down, and water was trickling out of the hole.

As we drew closer, the sound of splashing water and giggling could be heard, and I quickly put a hand on Aisha's shoulder, making her stop. Pulling her behind me, I put a finger to my lips and walked forward. I was done being caught off guard by this place.

The hole led into a lobby with four elevators behind a curved reception desk. The doors had been pried open at some point, and now the empty shafts were filled with plants.

Past the elevators was a broken set of doors with water flowing in little streams between them.

Creeping forward, I started to stoke the fire in my chest, ready to blast anything that attacked us.

Stepping quickly into the doorway, a warning growl died in my throat.

A large hole had been dug into the floor and was now filled with water that was raining down in a waterfall from the ceiling above. A tree, of all things, stood in one corner of the room, its branches pushing through the walls and ceiling and its roots stretching out to the pool.

A woman with green skin and plants in her hair sat on the edge of the pond, her legs spread wide and her head rolled back with a moan as her partner — a woman who seemed to be made of water — continued her ministrations.

I stared, mouth open in shock as Madison and Aisha pushed me to the side so that they could see.

"Huh, I thought this shit only happened in porn?" she said to me with a laugh. "I mean, I'm not against it, but aren't we kinda busy?"

Opening her eyes at the sound, the green-skinned woman gasped, her skin flushing a dark green that reached all the way to her nipples. One hand darted up to cover her chest, while the other tried to push against her lover, even as she closed her legs, trapping the woman in place.

"I'm sorry!" Spinning around, I stepped back into the other room, my heart pounding and face flushed. Madison followed, looking much more amused, while Aisha just leaned against the door frame.

"Don't stop on our—" Aisha squawked as I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away from the door.

After a few moments of embarrassed silence, one of the women called out.

"It's… okay, you can come in now."

Shooting Aisha a glare, I stepped around her and walked into the room.

The green-skinned woman was still sitting by the pond, her skin still flushed and breathing heavy. A simple cloth wrap covered her chest and waist.

Her partner, however, had remained in the water, lounging against the edge of the pool without a hint of shame. A strip of fabric across her chest was her only concession to decency.

"I'm really sor—"

"It happens," the water woman said with a grin and a shrug that did interesting things to her chest. "I hope you enjoyed the show at least."

My blush returned with a vengeance, making her, Aisha and Madison laugh.

"Erika! Don't tease the poor girl," the plant woman said with a sigh. "I apologise for her, she was always shameless, even before we were stuck here. My name is Victoria, is there something we can help you with?"

"Could one of you teach me how to do that cherry stem trick?" I hit Aisha's shin with my tail, making her yelp.

"We were just looking for some water. We didn't mean to, uh, disturb you."

Erika waved at the waterfall. "Help yourself, just don't take from the pool unless you want me inside you."

"Sounds fun," Aisha said as she and Madison walked around the edge of the pool. Could the ground just open up and swallow me now, please?

"Is the entire pool your body?" Madison asked, pulling empty bottles from the packs.

"Yup. When I first transformed, I was trapped in a puddle upstairs. Took me ages to work out how to make a body again."

Victoria giggled. "It was adorable. She was the size of a barbie doll!"

"Yeah, yeah." It clearly wasn't possible for Erika to blush, yet none-the-less the water on her face darkened. "Well, anyway, when water started pouring from the roof, I got mixed up with it and ended up down here, and as neither of us can leave, we figured we'd make the best of it."

"Oh, we saw," Aisha said, making Madison laugh, but I ignored them.

"You can't leave?"

Victoria shook her head, her smile tainted with melancholy. "This… isn't me." She pointed at the tree in the corner. "That's the real me. I can only make this body appear where my roots reach, and it fades if it gets too far away."

That… sucked. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"We'll be fine."

"Still… do people know you're here? We're heading for a safe zone, we could at least let them know where to find you. If nothing else, they could send someone to check up on you."

The two of them shared a look, an unspoken conversation going on between them, then Erika nodded.

"Actually, that would be great. The monsters don't bother us much, but it'd be nice to hear from people again."

##

Leaving the spring, we followed the side roads east. As we walked, I kept thinking back to Erika and Victoria. Their transformations had rendered them immobile, trapped in that room from now on. I couldn't even imagine what that would be like.

I suppose it was a small mercy that they'd ended up together. I dreaded to think what it would have been like for them if they had been trapped alone somewhere in the city.

I think I would have rather died than face that.

"Hey Aisha…" I found myself asking, just to fill the silence. "Does all the water come from… people like Erika?"

"Huh? Oh!" Turning, Aisha gave me an easy grin. "Nah, most of the time it's a burst pipe or water tower or something. That's the first time I've seen something like that… well, not the sex. I've seen plenty of that. Privacy is a little hard to get these days, but I've never seen someone made of water… I wonder what she tastes like?"

"You're terrible," I groaned, ignoring Madison's giggling. "Anyway, what are we going to do about food? I assume that's not so easy to find?"

Shrugging, Aisha turned back around. "Depends… There's always food around if you know where to look. Getting it tends to be tricky. Here, follow me!"

Sticking to the main road, Aisha led us into a small convenience store. The boarded-up windows had long since been smashed and the doors ripped from the hinges. Looters had clearly been here already, but Aisha insisted we search anyway.

Inside, it was much the same, with the metal shelving either missing or knocked to the floor.

"If you can carry it," Aisha said, pointing at the shelves, "then people in the safe zones will pay big for that metal."

"I'm not sure—" There was a growl behind me, and I turned to see a creature emerge from the back room. It looked like a skinless human with its hands mutated into large claws. Its brain was exposed, pulsing and twitching as the creature moved its head. I couldn't see any visible eyes; instead, it made a strange clicking noise that made the hair on my neck stand on end.

I was pretty sure it was blind, which meant it was either trying to hear or smell us.

I glanced at the others. Aisha had a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in terror, while Madison carefully lowered the shelf fragment she'd been holding. At the last moment, it slipped from her grasp and hit the ground with a clang.

A long tongue emerged from the creature's mouth, lashing out like a snake at the sound. Madison fell backwards with a shriek, and the monster jumped forward, but I tackled it from the air.

We hit the ground hard, its claws digging into my armour, but I wasn't in the mood to fuck around. Madison was mine.

Pushing its head back, keeping it from biting me, I drove my claws into its neck. The creature thrashed under me, growls giving way to gurgling as its throat filled with blood.

After a few moments, it went still, its body going limp as it died.

Madison was at my side in a heartbeat, helping me to my feet.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?"

Looking down at my ruined armour, I sighed. "I'm fine, but I think this has had it." Deep claw marks had torn through the fabric and shattered the plates underneath. If the creature had been only a little smarter, or maybe just bigger, it would have gutted me.

"We need to get out of here." Aisha stepped forward, gently touching the armour with her hand. "Those things usually hunt in pairs."

Sparing a glance to the back room, I nodded and followed her out of the building.

No one spoke again for nearly a block, not until Aisha called a stop near the remains of a Seven-Eleven. "That thing didn't bite you, did it?"

"No, why?"

"I've seen them around... bad shit happens to people who get bitten by them. Especially capes..."

"What happened?" I asked slowly, gently putting a hand on Aisha's shoulder.

"I… later. We need to find food."

Turning, she pulled away from me and walked into the Seven-Eleven. I gave Madison a worried look, but we followed along.

Inside, Aisha was standing on the counter, reaching up to touch the foam ceiling tiles.

"Sometimes people hide shit up here," she said, her fingers brushing the tile.

"Here, let us do that." Stepping forward, I picked Madison up by the waist, easily letting her push the tile aside. She twisted in my grip a bit, trying to look around, then muttered a curse.

"She's right. Over the corner!"

Lowering Madison, we moved to the far corner and tried again. There were maybe six inches of space between the tiles and the actual ceiling. It wasn't much, but it was enough for someone to stuff a couple of tins of beef stew and a pack of jerky.

As Aisha and Madison went into the backroom to continue searching, I examined the labels. The food was still sealed and in date, but something about it bothered me. Before I could ask about it, the others returned.

There wasn't anything to eat, but they had found a wooden pallet that I smashed for its lumber.

Given it was getting dark and the fog was rolling in, we started looking for a place to camp. None of us wanted to be out in the open or at street level after the day we'd had.

In the end, we settled on the third floor of a nearby highrise. We found a room that was big enough and had enough windows that we could safely build a fire.

While Madison built and lit a fire with her power, I used my claws to poke holes in the tins so that we could heat them by the fire.

"Aisha?" I said once we were all settled around the fire. "What happened?"

Sighing, Aisha stared at the flames.

"One of bro's friends… when things first went bad, I stayed with them. We thought it was safer that way. They were all capes and capes were immune to the virus. That was when I started getting sick and Bro wanted to leave the city… then one of those things showed up. It attacked us. Bro wanted to run, but his friend… she went nuts. The monster killed her dog and she attacked it. She got bit and she turned into this… thing."

She took a shuddering breath, "Her skin just peeled apart. She was covered in spikes and she attacked us. Bro killed her in the end…"

"Jesus…" Madison muttered, and we fell into a tense silence as I sliced the tops off the cans and handed them out.

"What happens if they bite us?" I asked eventually. "We're not capes, we've already transformed."

"Dunno," Aisha said, staring sullenly at her food. "Never stuck around long enough to find out."

I couldn't blame her for that. If those things turned capes into mindless monsters, it was no wonder they had all apparently run away or gone into hiding.

Sighing, I looked out of the window at the fog outside. It was hard not to imagine more of those creatures out there, clawing slowly up the walls and sneaking up on us in the dark.

Shivering, I tried to push the image away. "You two get some sleep. I'm gonna stay up and keep watch for a bit."

The others murmured their agreement, and we fell back into silence.

##

It was still dark when I awoke. The fire had burned low, but it was still warm enough to be comfortable.

For a moment, I struggled to identify what had woken me up, then I heard it again: a soft whimper to my right.

Sitting up, I turned to see Aisha twitching fitfully in her sleep. After everything she'd been through, it wasn't surprising she was having nightmares.

Crawling forward, I put my hand on her shoulder, and Aisha woke with a start.

"Sssh," I said quietly, "It's okay, you're safe—"

Before I could even finish, she leapt up and wrapped her arms around me, burying her face against my chest. Sitting back, I held her gently as she trembled against me.

After a while, she seemed to calm. Her breathing evened out and her shaking stopped.

I was just starting to think she'd fallen asleep when she spoke suddenly. "Don't tell anyone about this…"

She glared up at me with a pout, her ears flat. She was probably trying to be scary, but she just looked cute, and I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"Hey!" she hissed, poking me in the ribs. "Don't laugh!"

"Or what?"

She grinned suddenly, mischief dancing in her eyes. Before I could think to move, she lunged forward, pressing her mouth against mine. I pushed her back gently, and hurt flashed on her face as she tried to hold on to me.

"Please?"

The sound was so pitiful that I relaxed my hold slightly, letting her lean forward and kiss my neck.

'It's okay,' I told myself, 'she needs the comfort…'

Aisha continued her way up my neck and jaw, eventually reaching my lips. Her lips were warm and inviting, her hand quickly snaking itself around my back to play with my hair as she pushed her body against mine.

'She needs this,' I reminded myself.

Cupping her face, I leaned into the kiss with a moan, images of Erika and Victoria, of Madison flicking through my mind and the mild heat between my legs growing rapidly. The feeling of touching someone, of being touched, was almost intoxicating.

I hadn't realised just how much I'd wanted this.

I shivered as her hand moved from my back and slid across my chest. It was almost maddening, even with the feeling dulled by the layers of fabric. I'd taken my armour off before going to sleep, but I still had the PRT top and sports bra on.

Aisha tugged at my top, fumbling to undo the buttons with one hand. The feeling brought me back to myself with a crash, and I remembered where we were and what we were doing.

"Stop." I was as gentle as I could be as I placed my hand on hers. Aisha gave me another hurt look, but I didn't back down this time. Instead, I leaned forward and kissed her gently.

"Not here, please?"

"...Fine," Aisha snapped, but she gave me a smile. "Next time, however, I wanna see what's under that top."

Rolling off me, she moved closer to the fire and settled down.

As I tried to calm myself down, I was painfully aware of the dampness between my legs, and I couldn't help but wonder what it would have felt like if I'd let things continue. 'Would it have been worth it in the morning?'

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