PART 8: as told by Landon

Now, consider my current situation—my ordeal if you will.

Here I am, nearly six feet tall, crammed into a van with a sagging roof with a whole gaggle of lovely people I trust as much as I trust a recycling bin. Where are we headed? Foster City, commonly referred to as "the city that hates supers." Who are we? Supers. Moreover, we were refuge supers, running from the cold super authorities, the founders.

Now, it is entirely understandable that I was slightly irritable. Especially because Claire had this strange tendency to squeal shrilly with excitement every time we passed something remotely interesting.

So, consider this, and attempt to understand it: Massie was angry at me.

"It was your decision to come," I said exasperatedly. "Stop acting like it's my fault."

"It is your fault!" Massie shot back immediately. "You're so careless! Why would you let Derrick fly so low?"

"He's not my servant, I don't give him strict orders and assume he'll obey them, then pat him on the head when he comes home." I rolled my eyes, and turned away to watch the passing scenery, which should've been an obvious indication of the end of our argument. Have I ever spoken of Massie's stubborn persistence?

"Shut up! This serious!" She hit my shoulder for emphasis.

"Would everyone just shut the hell up?" Dempsey shouted irately from the driver's seat. He was nearly shaking with anxiety. "I've never driven before. And since you had to steal the car with the faulty brake signals, I can't guarantee we'll make it out of this drive unscathed unless everyone's quiet."

Massie exhaled sharply and leaned back into the must-scented back seat.

Derrick had been sleeping soundly in the back, beside Massie, for many hours now. It was my guess that he was pretending, as to avoid involving himself in the arguments that ensued as soon as we screeched out of the school's driveway at 2 in the morning.

Claire had quieted after Dempsey's outburst. But she still shook a little with suppressed excitement every time we passed by a building or a ranch inhabited by cows and sheep.

I sighed and leaned my head against the cool glass of the window. The bright early morning light was beginning to illuminate the dull shapes of colors of the countryside. Meaning we weren't escaping under the cover of darkness anymore. We were entirely visible, and conspicuous in our stolen car.

"We should've told Cam we were leaving," Claire said randomly, and her mood changed entirely. Her voice was sullen and the countryside now longer amused her. "He would've come. He's really powerful, you know? And brave."

Massie and I laughed contemptuously, and then stopped abruptly when we realized we'd agreed on something.

"Cam is anything but brave," Massie stated mildly. "He flat out refused to help me save you Claire, so don't speak of him so well. He doesn't deserve it."

Claire shook her head vigorously. "I know him. He's a good person."

"What a touching display of loyalty," I murmured under my breath. I was slightly relieved when no one had heard my bitter comment. Massie and I were already feuding. I didn't need Claire against me too.

Derrick muttered some nonsense sleepily in the passenger's seat then turned to survey his fellow riders. "Food?" he said, his dark eyes wide with hope.

"No," Dempsey said firmly, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. "It's 7 am. The founders might be looking for us. We eat at dark."

"But that's like 14 hours!" Derrick protested, shielding himself from the blinding sunlight.

"Deal with it," Dempsey said, visibly reveling in his newfound authority that came along with being the driver.

A few hours passed and no one spoke a word. At one point Massie reached into her luggage behind her and produced a sleek Ipod. I didn't see the reason in bringing redundant technology along. It would only die after a few indulgent hours.

Later, Derrick tried to start a sing-along by humming a few bars of a vaguely familiar pop song. Dempsey swung his right fist at Derrick's face without tearing his eyes away from the road, so Derrick accepted that as a warning.

"SO," Claire said loudly just as the much-consulted clock at the radio struck 4 pm. "Let's have a friendly conversation," she suggested. "No bickering, no disagreements."

"I only disagree if someone says something stupid," Massie said smoothly, looking meaningfully at me.

"I only say something stupid if I'm trying to piss someone off who deserves it," I countered, shrugging.

"Wow," Claire murmured sarcastically, glancing at the clock. "What was that, like half a second of pleasant conversation and you two already poisoned it?" She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "These petty arguments must be locked away until we can afford to be a broken team." She raised an eyebrow, inviting us, or daring us rather to concur.

There were no responses, so she continued talking. "So, I like stories. Let's tell some stories. I was about twelve when I discovered my ability. How bout you guys?"

"Fourteen," I grumbled unenthusiastically.

"Thirteen," Massie offered.

"Fifteen," Derrick said.

Dempsey was too intent on driving to participate in the conversation.

"Okay, so how did it happen?"

"This conversation sucks," Derrick complained.

Claire looked genuinely hurt. "I was just trying to break the silence." She turned away and watched trees pass by at a dizzying speed.

Silence ensued.

Then, Dempsey became more anxious then usual. "Whoa whoa whoa," he said. "What's that? That car has been tailing us for fifteen minutes."

In tandem, the group looked over their shoulders at the road behind us. A single red, beaten up jeep was behind us. The driver was obscured from view by the dark windshield.

Derrick swore under his breath. "Well, Dempsey, now is the time to flaunt your mad driving skills. Get us away from the red jeep."

"I'll try," Dempsey said gravely, and he kicked the car into a ridiculous speed and sped off. The Jeep followed obediently. Only it seemed faster.

Everyone was in hysterics.

"Massie, get us the hell out of here!" Claire cried.

"I can only teleport a couple people at a time! And I've never been anywhere near Foster City!" Massie explained in a rush. "I can't do it. I can't even teleport Dempsey, I can't touch his skin!"

"I'm outta here," Derrick announced, rolling down his window and unbuckling his seat belt.

"NO." Dempsey snagged Derrick's shirt and tugged him towards him. "They could have guns."

"Good point," Derrick admitted and he hastily rolled up the window.

The jeep was directly beside us now. I recognized it as one of the founders' henchmen's car. We fearfully looked over at the driver. The windows were tinted, but we could make out a bearded man with sunglasses.

He smiled at us.

It was chaotic then, because we were assured that this man was trying to catch us, and potentially kill us. Everyone was shouting and writhing in their seats. Dempsey was swerving about, trying to get ahead, or at least frighten the pursuer off with his manic driving.

"Massie, teleport Claire and Landon out of here," Dempsey ordered. "Derrick can fly away."

"No, Landon!" Massie replied heatedly. "What about you?"

"There really isn't time to debate this," he said, eerily calm. "It's do or die."

He pulled into an abandoned gas station parking lot and watched as the jeep slowly followed us in. "There. No motion, now it'll be easy to teleport."

"What are you doing?" I demanded incredulously. "Now we're trapped!"

"We have a teleporter, Landon!" Dempsey cried, losing his temper. "There's no trapped when you have a teleporter!"

Massie seized my wrist with clammy hands, and motioned for Claire to hold out hers. "We'll go to my hometown." She glanced up at Dempsey and Derrick. "Meet you at Foster City, two days."

Dempsey nodded emphatically. "Go. Just go."

I felt an unnatural pressure, and Dempsey and Derrick and the car and our pursuer disappeared.

PART 8: (continued) as told by Cam

Dempsey and Derrick emerged from the car, stoic faced, to greet me.

I smiled and shut the Jeep door enthusiastically, relieved that I'd found them.

Then Dempsey took off his gloves, and the strides he took towards me became very aggressive.

"Whoa, Dempsey?" I said uneasily. "Calm down, buddy."

He stopped mid stride, and his expression changed. "Cam?"

I removed my disguise, a fake beard, sunglasses, and a baseball hat, warily. "You didn't know it was me?" That would explain the erratic driving. I thought he was just an awful driver.

Derrick started laughing hysterically behind Dempsey. He collapsed and started rolling around in the dirt.

"Hell no…" Dempsey said slowly. "We thought you were a henchman sent by the founders, coming to kill us." He jammed his hands into his jean pockets thoughtfully. "We thought when you smiled at us, it was like, a sick, evil smile."

I frowned. "I smiled at you because I thought you knew it was me…"

Dempsey gritted his teeth together, not quite accepting the news as well as Derrick. "You are wearing a disguise, Cam, and your windows are tinted."

"Oh this? You thought it was a good disguise?" I smiled, pointing to the disguise in my right hand. "I was just being cautious, just in case the founders sent out people to look for you and saw me in their stolen car, you know, needed to protect my identity."

Derrick continued to laugh.

Dempsey's shoulder sloped, and he sighed, over and over, still registering the shocking new plot development. "I thought we were going to die." He smiled oddly, then frowned again and added, "we sent Massie, Landon and Claire away. They teleported, because I didn't think we'd survive."

"Oh god," I said flatly, annoyed. I'd mostly come in hope to rescue Claire. "That's not good."

"Cam, why are you here anyways?" Derrick said, regaining composure and standing.

"Massie cam to me last night, looking for help, to save Claire from you two, and Landon," I explained. "I refused, because I underestimated the size of this issue. Then I went to Massie's room and she was gone. Claire was missing too, and you, Dempsey," I said, nodding at him. "So I went to see Isabelle, the French girl who sees the future, and asked where you were. She told me it was hazy, because it was fresh future, very new. But she saw Landon in the center of Foster City, in a crowd. Claire was there too, but not near Landon, and Massie and you two, and….me."

"So I decided to head over to Foster City," I concluded, shrugging nonchalantly as if the concept of entering the city made me want to curl into the fetal position and squeeze my eyes shut. "At around 3, I finished packing, got Chris to help me jack a car, and got some maps from a local gas station. I knew you'd take a car, because how else would you get there. I know Massie can only teleport two people at once, and she's never been near Foster City."

Derrick and Dempsey exchanged looks. "Wow," Dempsey said. "And just earlier they were saying you weren't brave. You sure as hell proved them wrong."

I was partly flattered, partly offended. "Who said I wasn't brave?" I demanded, frowning.

"Nevermind," Dempsey muttered, returning to his car. Derrick followed.

"Hell, now they're all the way in Massie's hometown, wherever that is," he said as they climbed in.

I hurried to the car. "I'll tail you," I said. "For the whole drive."

"Fine by me," Dempsey responded as he slid into his seat belt. "Just don't attract attention."

"Sure thing," I said, climbing into the red jeep. "Just keep a steady pace," I called as we started up the engines, knowing very well my car could easily surpass his in speed.

We pulled out of the empty driveway and continued along the highway. This time, Dempsey drove normally, at a healthy speed, without the insane swerving. I was slightly relieved that it had been intentional.