Raven drifted around the corner, only to be met with a bus stop. She swerved, just in time. She sped from the sidewalk to the highway, then throttled the accelerator with her Gifted strength. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Nothing could stop her now. She’d reach the station soon enough…

  She swerved around the people which littered the streets. There were friends nestled close together, parents holding their children. All looked to the six towers of smoke which dominated the skyline. Raven was nearing one now. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked. The bomb went off in the wrong place, or maybe it wasn’t as powerful as the smoke suggested. Maybe only the barren half of the station was bombed. Please, let it be so.

  She couldn’t be the only one left.

  Raven made the final turn into the station. She skidded to a stop. The police building was gone. Not in tatters, or ruins. Gone. In its place was a pile of ash and soot. There weren’t even any bodies. Her mother. Her cousin. Even little Mae. They were gone, with no trace that they had ever existed in this world. Raven’s vision blurred. A tear splattered on her palm.

  A red van was parked in the rubble, and two men were collecting contraband from a metal safe which had somehow survived. Opportunist. No, it was worse. The rubble was still hot. The people hadn’t even been gone for five minutes. No sympathy. No guilt. They were scavengers, mere crows.

  Raven transferred vinye into her clenched fists. She’d kill them both. Wipe them off the face of the planet. No, that was too good for them. They would suffer. She’d see to it.

  “Help! Someone!”

  The yell jolted Raven out of her trance. Only now did she see that the fire from the rubble had spread to nearby buildings. Towers of flames surrounded her. An apartment building across the street was already engulfed. That yelling had come from there. Raven saw a face.

  A child was trapped on the top floor. There was a fire escape near the window, but fear had taken hold. The kid was paralyzed. Raven glanced at the robbers then up at the kids. She growled. First the child, then the crows.

  Raven rushed for the fire escape. She strengthened her legs, letting her arms grow weak, so she could focus on ascending. She had to get up there. No one else could die today. Her legs continued to strengthen. Vinye poured out as a violet aura.

  She ran up at great speed. Metal clanged. Bricks popped. The fire escape’s railing scalded her palm. Smoke gnawed at her eyes, infested her lungs. Yet still Raven ran. A little smoke wouldn’t stop her.

  Upon reaching the top story, Raven tried the window. Its metal frame had melted, fusing with the brick. Raven transferred vinye into her hands then punched the wall with all her strength. She fell into a filthy kitchen. The far wall was on fire. Screaming came from another room. Raven broke down the door. Three children were huddled in a corner.

  No parents. But no time to look. The wall besides Raven crumbled. It was going to collapse. Raven strengthened her back, then leaned against it to keep it up. “Out,” she said to the kids, pointing back. “NOW!”

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  The children staggered forwards, coughing. Two ran for the window, but then the third and smallest tripped over himself half way through. The floor around the child cracked, then fell away. The boy fell down.

  Raven leapt after the boy, catching him midair. She turned around, slamming into the floor below with her back. The ground gave way beneath them, and Raven and child fell onward before landing on the third story.

  CRACK!

  A sharp sting pierced her back. Pain flared across her body. Raven groaned as her back cracked. Then the pain dulled down. She was fine. The boy was on top of her, trembling but alive. He stepped to the side. “A-are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Raven said, struggling to stand. Raven strengthened her legs to keep from collapsing. Everything spun. Everything was gray. Each breath felt like inhaling mud. “Just go. I’m right behind.” She pointed to a window. The kid marched with Raven staggering behind.

  She couldn’t stand straight. Her trembling legs were going to give way. The smoke invited her to rest. Give herself up to the darkness. The boy was almost there. He’d be fine. She could give up the fight. Join her family…

  The child gasped. A charred corpse was on the floor. He ran back, holding Raven tightly. She hurried the kid along. The window was within reach now. Raven hoisted the boy up, helping him out, before she herself went over and out.

  They reunited with the kid’s siblings on the ground. The moment they did, the top floor exploded. Tears streamed from the kid’s faces, as they fell to their knees, crying in a huddle. Raven looked towards the police station. The low life thieves were gone. At least the kids were safe, even if their parents were gone.

  All this destruction. All this death. It was because of Terran. Raven had underestimated him. She wouldn’t again. She’d kill him. Him and his merry band of terrorists. No, death was too good for these monsters. She’d make the Dark Lord beg for death. And then refuse it…

  Sirens erupted, again knocking Raven out of her trance. A fire truck arrived at last, though there was only one to deal with this whole block. It wouldn't be enough. Raven directed the kids to the fire department. She hobbled to her bike, ready to go on her way. But then one of the firefighters approached her, “Ms. Blackwell?”

  The name burned Raven more than any fire could. “Yes?”

  “Thank goodness,” the firefighter said. He stammered over his words before getting way too close. “Wh-what’s happening? We’ve called everyone. The police. The mayor. The other Blackwells. Everyone. No one’s talking. Is it just you?”

  “I don’t think so.” Raven could not give a concrete answer. That would only add finality to the whole situation. It wasn’t a lie anyhow. Karl should be fine — wherever he was. The kid was probably held up in a mansion or something. He should be fine.

  “Thank goodness you're okay,” the firefighter said, holding her arm. “We could really use a Gifted up in the Northern District. Two fires are joining…it’s really bad up there. Please. Hurry…it could doom the whole city.”

  Raven looked out to the open road. Terran’s laughter echoed in her mind. The husk would not be far. He’d be trying to take the city with his army. She could go after him now and end this by sundown. But then she looked north. So much smoke and ash. The entire city screamed. Raven trembled in place, desperately wanting to collapse and let it all out, but she forced herself to stay standing.

  There was a city to save.