[REND] 17.1 - Steering Into Trouble

Amber Deen Leska

Amber Deen rolled her shoulders. The gnawing pain below her left shoulder blade bloomed. She thought she’d never experience this again after becoming superhuman, but here it was. This might be psychological; otherwise, her regeneration would’ve taken care of it. She might be unconsciously tensing her body. She had super healing capabilities, but also possessed super strength that could harm herself.

She had no choice other than to endure it. It was impossible to turn off the worries of her overthinking brain. And who could blame her? There were so many ways this mission could go wrong!

Calm down, Deen… she thought to herself.

Deen? She was calling herself Deen now? Living with Erind, getting called ‘Deen’ all the time, changed how she referred to herself in her mind. Deen cracked a small smile. What would Erind say in this situation?

Probably something like, “Is it still hijacking if we’re targeting a truck? Should it be truckjacking?”

Erind and her random thoughts. It was like she had a world of her own in her head. Then Erind would wonder if ‘truckjacking’ was a real world—she’d push that it should be. Yes, Deen was positive it was what Erind would say if she were here.

Imagining her best friend beside her made Deen relax a smidge. She shouldn’t be too worried; she had Gabe to warn her of danger. But having Gabe sometimes increased Deen’s worry, as odd as it sounded. Gabe would only talk if there was a problem. She dreaded when it would speak, like waiting for a message or a call from her sister, who would only contact her if there was an issue.

Deen wished for a different power. But this was what she got, and it was supposed to be connected to her personality or life or something. Was this like the embodiment of someone telling her how to live her life?

In contrast to her parents or her sister, Gabe gave actual helpful advice. Deen willed herself to be grateful for Gabe. She’d rather have this power than what Reo had, though one of Reo’s fairies was supposed to make this truckjacking work.  

“Anything, Ambriel?” Dario asked from the middle row, calling her by her codename since they were on a mission.

The team was inside a beat-up van driven by Johann. They were a few cars behind a police cruiser that was supposed to be escorting the fake UPN truck they would hijack—Reo swore that he remembered the plate number. And it was behaving weirdly, maintaining a steady distance from the truck for around fifteen minutes now.

Deen sat in the backmost seat of the van with Myra. They were looking outside the back window for anyone else trailing the fake UPN truck.

“Gabe’s silent,” Deen answered Dario.

“Good, good,” said Dario. “Emcee. Go for it.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” said Everett in the passenger’s seat. “Ride, keep the van steady. I need a constant line of sight with the cruiser’s tires.”

“Steady with the heat,” Dario said. “Don’t explode the tire, if possible.”

“There’ll be a pop. Can’t avoid that. Just pray it won’t be a big one, and that our corrupt friend on the wheel won’t be too surprised.”

Deen couldn’t see what was happening. She could only hope that the police cruiser would come to a gentle stop and not crash into bystanders. She couldn’t help but think of the collateral damage. This was probably due to being collateral damage herself. She was kidnapped only because she was with Erind. She was lucky to be alive when many others died in that warehouse. Would innocents be harmed during their mission?

“Yes, the tire blew out!” Reo cheered.

“We’re good, we’re good,” Everett said as they watched the cruiser slow down, its left back tire flopping like a fish. The van maintained its speed as it passed the cop car that was parked by the side of the street.

Deen looked behind the van and saw the cop alight from his car to check what had happened. How far away was the cruiser when Everett used his powers? More than ten yards? It could be around fifteen yards or so. Presumably, Everett could set things on fire further than that.

She filed the information in her brain to tell Erind later. They’d compile everything they could gather about the powers of Dario’s group. There might be a chance that their allies of today might be the enemies of tomorrow, and Deen and Erind would be prepared with contingency plans. Deen was glad she wasn’t doing this alone.

“Ambriel?” Dario asked.

“Gabe is still silent,” Deen said, slightly annoyed by the constant questions. She would tell them if there was danger without needing to be prompted. “The cop isn’t looking our way. He doesn’t seem to suspect that it wasn’t an accident.”

“Tires can sometimes blow out if the road’s too hot,” Johann explained. “Happened to me once. Though the tires of cop cars are of much higher quality than regular ones. If observant enough, the cop might suspect the use of powers. Rubber wouldn’t melt like that even on the hottest of roads.”

“If he’s an Adumbrae, he might think that,” said Dario. “But he’s a cop on the 2Ms’ payroll.”

“Ah, yeah,” Johann said. “His immediate problem is explaining why his tire blew out while he’s not in his assigned patrol area. What’s he doing back there, Merge?”

“He’s kicking the tire and throwing his hands up,” Myra said, laughing. She was also looking at the cop car before it got blocked from view by other vehicles. “Nice, he’s pissed. He’s not thinking the truck he’s guarding is gonna get hit.”

“The truck’s not slowing down,” Johann said. “They’re sticking to schedule.”

“And we’re sticking to our schedule too,” said Reo. “Show. Fucking. Time!”

Deen’s heart started to beat faster. If taking over the truck went awry, or the guard managed to send word that they were under attack, they couldn’t proceed to the docks. She didn’t have an actual part in the truckjacking, but she couldn’t help her nervousness.

“Wow, you’re pretty pumped, Obe,” Myra said.

“Why wouldn’t I? This is my plan, and it’s going to work. We’ll take this truck and bust up the docks!” Reo thumped the ceiling of the van. “Core Slots, can I get a hoo-hah? Hoo-hah!”

“Hoo-hah, my man!” Everett shouted. “Do your best spider impression later.”

Deen weakly said, “Hoo-hah,” as she raised a fist. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do.

Myra rolled her eyes and gently pulled down Deen’s hand. “I get it, Obe,” said Myra. “You’re hyping yourself ‘cause you’re scared.”

“Earth to Merge,” Reo said. “Who wouldn’t be? Anyway, let’s do this. I got a feeling that luck is on our side. There’s only one guard compared to the two last week. They’re having layoffs or something? Here’s hoping there are fewer guys at the docks, too.”

“It’s time,” said Dario. “The traffic lights will turn red. You can start summoning, Oberon. Everyone, close the curtains.”

“Wow, even the traffic lights are cooperating with us. Scootch to the back, will you? Gotta need a bit of space here.”

They adjusted the backrest of the middle seat as Dario moved to the back with Deen and Myra. Reo assumed his summoning position, kneeling on his seat while stretching his arms. He started chanting as the van stopped behind a sedan with a family inside. The entrance to the tunnels was a few blocks ahead.

A silvery glow coated the van’s interior as Reo chanted his undecipherable words. The curtains that Johann had installed yesterday blocked the lights of Reo’s summoning. Only the sedan in front had a view of the bizarre ritual happening inside the van. Thankfully, the kids in the backseat were engrossed with their phones to look back.

“Ride, is the father reacting?” Dario asked.

“Father? Oh, the driver of the sedan. He’s talking to his wife. No problems here.”

I forgot about that, Deen thought. The dad could see them in the rearview mirror.

He probably wouldn’t think much of the light, but Deen was annoyed at herself for forgetting about it. She should be more attentive. She should predict possible danger, especially those that were too far in the future for Gabe to catch. It was for her and Erind’s safety. Deen couldn’t trust Erind to be this careful; she had to be the responsible one.

The mysterious glow didn’t last long. There was a guttural mumbling as tiny hands—more than two—grasped the edges of Reo’s opened mouth. The many arms pulled up an elderly fair with a long, braided beard. Deen gasped when she noticed that the fairy had its tiny eyes sewn shut. This was the first time she had seen this summon.

“The little old man is called Takeover,” Myra explained. “A dumbass name. Obe should’ve searched on the internet for names or spirits. Something mythological.”

“This is the fairy that can possess people, right?” Deen asked. It was what’d allow them to control the truck driver.

“Yep, yep. Gross-looking fairy.”

“Isn’t it an extremely powerful ability to control people?”

“It is, yeah. But it comes with a rather inconvenient downside for Reo—erm, Obe. He gets drained fast when Takeover starts controlling someone. Also, the target needs to be unconscious for the entire time. Easy to knock out normal people and make them stay knocked out. Harder to keep an Adumbrae out of commission for a long time.”

“Combine both, and it takes too much effort to control an Adumbrae,” Reo said, cracking his neck and stretching. Takeover sat on his shoulder and faced Deen, wriggling its crumpled gossamer wings.

Is it looking at me or… Gabe? Deen looked to her right.

Gabe rotated mid-air while ruffling its feathers. Deen turned to Takeover again and forced herself to examine its disturbing appearance. Even though its eyes were closed, Deen couldn’t shake the feeling that Takeover could see Gabe. Maybe because they were both summoned from the power of the same Mother Fragment?

Takeover started to chatter. The sound it made didn’t coincide with its mouth movements. She just had to put on record that it had a creepy mouth, a gaping hole of darkness. No lips, no teeth, no tongue.

Deen leaned forward to hear it better, but she couldn’t understand its words. Was it talking to her, or was she imagining it?

“Fortunately for us,” said Dario, snapping Deen out of her fixation on Takeover, “the driver appears to be a regular human based on our surveillance.”

“Unless he’s the greatest actor on the planet,” Reo said. “I spied him having difficulties lifting a heavy box. He couldn’t have known Sneak was there.”

“The Adumbrae guard is the problem,” Deen said.

“That’s right,” Reo returned the seat’s backrest to its position as the van drove forward. “But he’s only one guy. We’ll deal with him after I take control of the driver. Should be easy enough, so long as we get him out of the truck.”

“Can Takeover read the mind of the driver?” Deen asked. “There might be information that can help us. You can also trick the guard into leaving the truck if you can mention something familiar.” She was fishing for Takeover’s abilities.

To her relief, Reo replied, “Nah, Takeover can’t do that. It would’ve solved a lot of problems if he could. I would be the interrogation specialist of the group!”  

“Tunnel is coming up,” Dario said, climbing to the middle seat and strapping a bag to his back.

Their surroundings darkened as the van entered the tunnel. It wasn’t that long of a tunnel, around five minutes to cross under normal traffic flow. Reo and Dario should get on the UPN truck at that time.

[Tell them not to mention your power.]

The calm voice popped into Deen’s head. It was the first time the entire day that Gabe talked to her.

“Uh, guys,” Deen piped up. Everyone looked at her. “Don’t mention anything about my powers while we’re inside the truck.”

“Did your Guardian Angel tell you this?” Dario asked.

Deen decided to lie. She didn’t want them thinking that Gabe could warn far in advance—that was what she thought was happening, seeing that there wasn’t any immediate danger. “No. I was just worried that the 2Ms’ men might hear about my powers and warn others.”

“We won’t allow them to report it to anyone,” Dario said.

“I meant afterwards. When they regain consciousness and—wait. Are you going to kill them? Not just knock them out?”

“We’ll see,” Dario simply replied. “Everyone, mask up. Be careful of your hair, Merge.”

“I know,” Myra said, tucking her hair into a bonnet hat before fixing a mask over her face. “I should’ve bought a ski mask instead.”

As for Deen, she had a black balaclava she ordered online. She got one for Erind, too. If Erind were here, she’d mention wanting to eat baklava, and how close it was to balaclava.

“Ride, let’s start,” Dario ordered.

Johann drove the van as close to the right side of the tunnel as he could. The door opened. The noise of all the vehicles outside became louder. Reo and Dario quickly climb to the van’s roof. Myra closed the door.

“It’s up to them,” she said in a wobbly voice. Myra seemed to be scared, too, but was trying to hide it.

Only a few minutes to go. Johann expertly snaked the van through the cars and reached the back of the truck. The van slightly bucked for a moment as Dario and Reo jumped off. They latched onto the back of the truck. Johann kept the van close to cover them. The two quickly climbed onto the truck’s roof, and Johann allowed the truck to pull away.

The plan was for Dario and Reo to climb to the front of the truck. Dario would then use his headache field to knock out the driver. In that moment, Takeover would possess the driver and stop the truck from crashing. It needed perfect timing. Earlier, Dario mentioned that he practiced it with Reo. Deen didn’t know how they did it.

“We can only trust them at this point,” Everett said to break the silence after a couple of minutes passed.

“Think they’re gonna pull it off?” Myra asked. “Reo’s all responsible and dependable right now. Feels weird.”

“We should be glad he’s regaining his old spark. Hey, there’s the signal!” The truck turned on its right-turn signal even though there was no turn. Reo had successfully taken over the truck.

“So fast…” Deen said. “And smooth. The truck didn’t even wobble.”

“The Adumbrae guard must be thinking he has high blood pressure or something,” said Myra. “A sudden massive headache that just disappeared.”

“Onto the next phase,” said Johann.

The truck exited the tunnel, followed by the van. The truck slowed. Johann overtook it and began to drive to the side. Reo made the truck tailgate the van. Johann then pulled a lever, and the van began to belch black smoke. It wasn’t a smoke screen. Instead, it was a reason for Johann to suddenly brake.

The van lurched as the truck bumped its back. It wasn’t a collision. With that light of a hit, the bumper wouldn’t even be damaged. Johann maneuvered the van to block the way of the truck while continuing to pretend to have mechanical problems.

The truck stopped.

“The Adumbrae’s getting out,” Myra said, opening the van’s door. “Time to make friends.”

(Author's Notes: We'll have another Deen chapter, a continuation of this one. I had thought of just shortcutting this portion, maybe making it happen off-screen. But I decided not to constrain myself to counting chapters to the end of Book 1. If it ends up longer than my original aim, so be it. I'll leave the trimming for the far future, when we'll (hopefully) publish REND as an actual book.

At first, I was hesitant to have a side POV for 2 chapters without Erind. But there's a lot we can develop in a couple of chapters dedicated to Deen and Dario's group. Also, it's a bit anti-climactic if I just off-screened this part.

As always, many thanks for the support!)