A black shape appeared in front of them. They stopped and started to go back, but more were behind them. Mary Anne whimpered softly as they closed in and clutched at Zac. They came into the light…
“Trying to leave are we?”
Zac breathed a sigh of relief as he recognised the voice.
“Moriarty! You gave me a start,” he said to the fifth council member.
“Indeed.”
Zac eyed the mutants and Mary Anne moved closer to him.
“What’s going on?” Zac asked.
Moriarty didn’t answer, except to nod. With a start, the two realised what was happening. The murderous mutants closed in on them.
“I won’t let you kill her. You’ll have to kill me first.”
“As you wish.”
Zac pressed his lips together.
“Stay close,” he warned her, then looked at the mutants. “Stay back!”
“Humans don’t belong here,” a voice snarled.
Just as they were getting too close for comfort, Zac let loose with a huge electric shield. He hadn’t made one this big before, but he had to else Mary Anne would be electrocuted. He wasn’t sure how long he could hold it for.
“I’m telling you, stay back! I don’t want to hurt you, but I swear if you come any closer I will.”
“There’s a lot of water in this place,” Moriarty glowered. “Be careful with that thing! You’ll kill everyone, including your girlfriend.”
Zac didn't answer, he didn’t have to. He simply manoeuvred himself and Mary Anne towards the exit. His mind was racing. It wouldn’t be over when they got to the exit. Here, where it was dry (well, for the most part anyway) he could use Electricity against them. But once they were in open ocean… Zac would be able to hide himself by turning into water. But if he did that, Mary Anne wouldn’t be able to breathe. And besides, even if he did turn into water, she would still stick out like a sore thumb.
They made it to the exit and Zac moved the shield so that it made a wall between them and their attackers. He and Mary Anne walking into he water, Zac keeping closer so that he could provide her with air when they went under. The Zac had a thought. Maybe, just maybe he could keep the electric wall up while they escaped. He had never done it before so he wasn’t certain how long it would last, but he was reasonably certain it would stay up while he was in range. This was something to experiment with when he got back home. He could only try.
So Zac left the electric wall up and pressed his mouth against Mary Anne’s as they plunged into the water. Zac turned his legs into water, as he knew he moved better in water when he was water, and figured that half of him was better than nothing. Propelled by his legs, the two shot towards the surface. He could feel Mary Anne’s heart racing against his chest.
Then the mutants came out. In his horror Zac realised he had completely forgotten about other exits! He forced himself to breathe properly. This was no time to panic, and besides, Mary Anne needed the air. The surface wasn’t so far away. If he could get Mary Anne to the surface, he could turn completely to water and propel them straight to the nearest island. Lallie had told them there were a number in this area.
They were still a good deal ahead of the mutants, but for how long? And Zac couldn’t see those with a mutation that turned them into water. He paused, or could he? He started to notice that he could sense things. Rocks, reefs, fish, anything and everything around him. He could feel, really feel the differences in temperature and pressure.
He knew where the nearest island was.
Mary Anne gasped for breath as her head broke the surface. She panicked for a moment, not being able to see Zac, but relaxed soon enough, knowing Zac was taking care of her, although how she didn’t quite know. She smiled softly when she spotted the island.
An exhausted Zac reverted back to human as they stepped on dry land. The energy required of him in the last few minutes left him panting.
“Will, will they follow us?” Mary Anne asked nervously.
“I… don’t… know…”
“Maybe we should head into the forest?”
“Sure… sure.”
With Zac as exhausted as he was, it was Mary Anne’s turn to be the leader.