The spectators on the watchtower froze as Yesu flew past them.
And disappeared beyond the walls of the Foundation camp.
Everything went still.
Silence stretched.
Until a thud from the other side woke them up.
They rushed to the outward edge and looked below.
Yesu had landed face down in an open dumpster.
Her bloody fra was completely still.
"Is she… dead?" A board mber asked hopefully.
No one said a word.
Yesu's eyes were closed where she lay, peacefully, like imdiately falling asleep in bed after a long and tiring day.
But what flashed before her was anything but peaceful.
Loud explosion. Screams. Consuming flas are spreading fast. More screams.
An outstretched hand.
Then one of her fingers twitched. Her eyes shut tighter.
She rose suddenly with a deep gasp, like soone who had just escaped drowning.
She panted for a few seconds then looked above her.
The faces on the watchtower were pale.
Except for Doctor Heckman's. He looked more confused than ever.
The Commander rushed to the side and pushed a red button.
Alarms blared throughout the Camp.
Yesu sprang up and climbed out of the dumpster.
Her foot landed awkwardly and pain cracked through her leg.
She groaned.
The leg that had been healing and breaking for days seed like it had reached its limit.
But she pressed forward anyway, even though she was practically dragging one lifeless leg after the working one.
Soldiers rushed to the top of the wall from different angles. Large, weirdly shaped guns at the ready.
Yesu was no longer dragging one leg and was now limping. Although she was still moving slowly.
Doctor Heckman adjusted his glasses and squinted hard.
"Still resembling regeneration… but the timing makes no sense," he mumbled to himself.
The soldiers pulled their triggers and black rectangular nets sprang out, flying towards Yesu.
The nets expanded midair, corners spreading wide.
Yesu limped faster, her bad leg starting to rise above ground but not landing properly, making her trip multiple tis.
Her arms grazed the dust occasionally to stabilize herself.
But she didn't fall.
"Like a fish breathing out of water for the first ti…" Doctor Heckman's words ran into each other.
The nets closed in on Yesu.
Every single one missed.
Yesu kept changing direction at the last second without seeming aware of it herself.
Tiny movents.
A stumble. A crooked step. A sudden drop of the shoulder.
Enough to throw off every trajectory.
The Camp commander was shocked for a mont.
Yesu continued her escape. Her feet were finding rhythm.
"I suggest we try sothing more effective instead." One of the board mbers said.
"Yes..." said another. "Sothing that will stop her completely."
"The only effective asures we have left are extrely dangerous." The Head Warden stated.
"I know." The board mber said. "But it does seem like a necessary action. And if she sohow dies in the process…" he smiled and shrugged. "...then it can be counted as a retrieving accident."
"She's a powerless test subject. Of course, she's definitely going to die." The Head Warden protested.
Yesu was getting farther away. Her stride was stabilizing.
Then her bad foot finally landed, solid, on the ground.
A laugh escaped from under her breath in disbelief.
And she ran.
Doctor Heckman gasped, leaning over the edge.
"A fish learning how to breathe out of water," he exclaid.
"Powerless test subject my foot." The Commander said bitterly.
"Fire the missiles!" He ordered.
Yesu heard the scream of missiles overhead.
She glanced back and saw the missiles pouring down like rain.
The first one landed a few ters away from her.
The blast swept her off her feet.
She rolled across the rocky ground.
Then ca another blast.
Then another. And another. Multiple blasts in quick succession.
All around her.
Yesu coughed. Smoke was choking her. Her ears rang. Everything was hot and her skin felt burned.
Her eyes stung and she couldn't see a thing.
She made it to get on her feet and a missile scread just past her head.
She pushed herself in the opposite direction, rolling desperately.
The explosion flung her further away.
Yesu felt the heat almost consuming her body.
Another missile was screaming towards her.
She shut her eyes tightly as a similar mont in ti flashed before her again.
But the blast that swallowed her next wasn't hot.
It was cold.
Wind roared around her instead of fire.
Smoke bent away violently.
Yesu opened her eyes. The missile that was about to finish her landed not far away.
The heat from the explosion didn't affect her either.
Even the sound of everything was muffled.
She realized she was surrounded by air tightly woven together.
Yesu looked up.
A boy stood before her, waving both outstretched arms with skill, controlling the elent.
Another missile directed at them was redirected.
The boy had his back to her, but Yesu only had to look for a second or two to know who it was.
"Finchkin?"
"It's Finch!" He hollered, glancing back for a mont. "Still doing that thing where you don't die?"
Three missiles were coming at them in sync.
Finch let his hands down for a mont, and the air ball around them slowly disappeared.
The noise, heat and smoke reached them imdiately.
Then Finch set his feet hard on the ground in a perfect stance.
He sucked in a breath then pushed air forward forcefully with both hands, creating an air blast.
The blast hit the missiles above and they scattered, landing in different directions.
The sound was deafening.
After that, the only loud sound was tal falling apart and fire crackling.
The missiles had stopped.
Finch sighed in relief.
Yesu coughed.
"Seriously…" Finch stood akimbo, breathing hard, looking at her. "Why are you always like this?"
"What?" Yesu coughed so more.
Finch walked sluggishly to her. "Scooch over."
"Why?"
"I want to sit."
Yesu scowled at him. "Go sit sowhere else. This is my spot."
Finch made a mock shock expression. "I just saved your life."
Yesu cocked her head to the side like she was thinking about it. Then shifted reluctantly.
He sat beside her and looked around. At the smoke shadowing them, at the glinting flas, at the debris.
"Care to explain?" He asked.
"Why are you here?" Yesu countered.
"An appointnt," Finch replied with a goofy smile. He reached into his pockets and brought out a small mirror.
He clicked his tongue at his reflection.
"This won't do."
He produced a comb from his other pocket and straightened his shoulder-length hair.
Yesu stared blankly as Finch admired his appearance, pushing back the edges of his hair delicately with his fingertips.
"Co on," Finch said, rising to his feet. He shoved his belongings back into his pockets.
"Where to?"
"I assu anywhere would be better than here."
He extended a hand to her with a charming smile.
Yesu stood on her own, not taking his hand. Then dusted her badly ripped jumpsuit.
Finch closed his hand, nodding to himself. "We'll get there."
***
On top of the Camp wall, the Camp commander squinted at the huge smoke far off.
"I don't see any movent." A board mber said holding binoculars.
"Let see." Doctor Heckman snatched the binoculars impatiently.
"She's obviously dead." The Head Warden said.
The Commander signalled to the soldiers and they went over the wall.
Jumping. Flying. Sliding down cables. Scraping against concrete.
In search of Yesu.
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