Chapter 9: Unexpected guest

As he pulled his friend by the arm, Ivan feared something might hit them from the back. His protective instinct made him pull Darian and put him in front. As Darian understood how he messed up, he also ran progressively faster. Darian screamed :

- "FUCK I AM STUPID!"

Ivan did not answer that. His comprehension of the whole situation had many holes. Nevertheless, somehow, he felt confident in his ability to understand and accept whatever it meant that Darian was Hypernova's link. While running, Ivan felt something odd above him. The sun was shining, and the sky was cloudless. But one spot was bothering him. A bird was flying above him and Darian. That bird was flying slower than how birds usually fly.

Darian understood that his mistake was what he thought to be a good idea. Asking Zahid to describe his power was way too much of a stretch. Ramid and Zahid already knew that Darian had information about how the world works, so it made little sense for him to be this naive and ask such a question the way he did. Darian was holding back tears at his situation becoming even more complicated. As he ran with Ivan toward his house, he felt motivated by the idea that Edgar still decided to protect him after learning that he had lied.

They chose to run in the middle of the crops to make it slightly harder to follow them, but just two minutes after they started running, they heard someone else's faster footsteps. The footsteps then adjusted their speed to the two young men's. They could not see the person but clearly distinguished a silhouette through the plants.

- "Here you are. Come with me."

It was Aurore's voice. Darian and Ivan were reassured, and they followed Aurore. She led them to the barn where she had already moved Julie and Klara. Darian and Ivan shared a look that only they could understand.

- "What happened exactly?" Asked Aurore
- "We do not know, they got the bodies and wanted to avenge them, but Edgar protected us." Answered Darian
- "Nothing triggered them?" Questioned Aurore
- "They believe that Darian is Hypernova's link." Said Ivan
- "I see. The Captain should be able to deal with them. I am worried about this Rami, his abilities are unknown, but he looked strong as fuck." Said Aurore
- "Why did you come looking for us?" Asked Darian
- "The Captain used a signal to make me understand that something went wrong and he does not need reinforcement. So I figured I would find you running." Answered Aurore

Darian did not want Aurore to know about Zahid and Rami's doubts regarding him. But now it was too late, and Aurore looked a bit on her toes. It could be unrelated to what Ivan said.

Ten minutes had passed since Ivan and Darian left Edgar. Some time was spent explaining the situation to Klara and Julie. Both women were terrified at the idea that their sons almost died a few minutes ago.

- "How long do fights between people with superpowers last ?" Asked Darian, breaking the silence.
- "It depends heavily on the abilities involved. But, here, the Captain is against two severe opponents. No matter how strong he is, he cannot do any reckless moves." Answered Aurore.

After a short while, she added:
- "I am sure the Captain will return in a few minutes."

Silence again. The barn was huge, and even the cows stayed silent as if they knew something was approaching and were expecting it, powerless. A considerable impact was heard at the main door. Aurore looked at the boys. It sounded like a car had failed to break through the metal door.

- "Go at the back." Said Aurore

Klara, Julie, and Darian ran to the back. But Ivan was stuck in his position, fixing the door. A second impact was heard, and now the metal door was distorted.

- "It's the bird." Whispered Ivan

Aurore was standing right on her feet, expecting the worse. It was not Edgar, and she did not feel Zahid around. She felt only a very dim and unknown presence behind that door. After the third impact, the door cracked open, and a bull was behind all the commotion. Maybe it was forgotten outside and wanted to return to the barn because it was hungry. But Ivan immediately shut that hope out of Aurore's brain by saying:

- "This is not one of our bulls."

The bull charged at Aurore, and Aurore caught its horns at the moment of the impact and stopped it after a 10 meters slide back. Aurore took a deep breath and overthrew the bull, trying to make it fall. But before the impact on the ground, the bull vanished.

- "It is still here. Go with the others. Now!" Ordered Aurore

Ivan went to the back. As Aurore tried to figure out where this thing had gone by focusing on its dim presence, she felt Zahid and Edgar approaching quickly.

- "Knock knock knock, we are back." Said Zahid

Zahid, Rami, and Edgar, unconscious, appeared from the side of the door. Edgar's face was bloody, and he was barely breathing. Zahid was dragging him by the hair. Rami and Zahid looked almost unscathed, they both had a little bit of dirt and appeared sweaty, but no major wound was visible.

A third person appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, next to Zahid. It was a girl. She had long curly black hair along with very light blue eyes. Unlike Zahid and Rami, she looked like a mix between their ethnicity and a more occidental one. Her skin was rather pale in comparison to theirs. She was relatively thin and wore a tighter uniform which was as black as her hair.

Darian looked at the scene from the other end of the room as he dived in despair. Ivan interrupted his depressive thoughts by saying:

- "She's the bird, Darian."
- "What is wrong with you?" Answered Darian
- "What do you mean, Ivan?" Asked Klara.
- "This girl over there feels like the bull and the bird from earlier." Noted Ivan

Aurore was trying to scan the situation. The dim presence of the bull matched the one she felt from the woman. She still felt like Zahid was a relatively weak opponent and did not feel anything from Rami. If she trusted her senses, this could end in a win for her. But the problem is that it looks like even Edgar lost to them, so they are probably hiding something.

- "Give the Captain back." Said Aurore.
- "Give us Hypernova's link." Answered Zahid.

Aurore's eyes opened as all the events were now evident in her mind.

- "Will you give me the captain if I give him to you?" Asked Aurore.
- "Yes, we will give him and leave this place as fast as we came." Said Zahid.
- "Give me a minute." Answered Aurore
- "Very well." Said Zahid

Aurore went in the back to her four allies and told them.

- "Look, I am sorry, but I do not have a choice. So you guys will run out, but you must leave Darian with me."
- "Why?" Asked Julie, concerned.
- "Because he's Hypernova's link. They want him, and we need to get Edgar back. But they will likely not kill him, and once I get the information I need about their powers from Edgar, I will immediately chase them and get your son back. It is either this, or we might all die today." Said Aurore.
- "I will do it." Said Darian.
- "If Darian stays, I stay." Said Ivan.
- "No, you are coming with us." Said Klara.

Darian and Ivan exchanged a look, and Ivan stayed with their mothers as Darian was slowly brought into the front by Aurore.

- "How do we proceed with the exchange?" Asked Aurore.
- "Let you and me walk toward each other with our hostage, and when we meet, we exchange and then walk back. My friends will not move a finger." Said Zahid.
- "Okay, let's start walking at 3."

Darian's heart was beating fast. He felt like he was meeting his end. Even though he knew he would most likely not get killed, he wondered what kind of treatment awaited him.

- "1" started counting Aurore

Darian felt like the weight of the past hours of his life was crushing him.

- "2"

His brain was actively trying to find a solution but found nothing else but regrets.

- "3"

The walk started, and after 2 steps, a loud noise and an intense and moving infrasound were heard. The steps stopped, and Darian recognized the sensations of when the army's planes flew low over the countryside when training for operations.

- "What is this?" Asked Zahid.

A considerable commotion was heard a second later, very close to the barn. Aurore had a smile on her face. Darian needed help understanding what was happening.

- "Why are you smiling?" Asked Darian

Some footsteps were now heard outside, approaching the barn slowly. The cows started being agitated, and Zahid said something in his language. Panic could be heard in his voice.

- "Master." Whispered Edgar.