3.2 - The Rumbler

The seismic shockwave bulldozed through everything in its path—cascading closer and closer by the second.

An idea popped into my mind; a crazy idea.

I rushed forward, leaving Elaina.

"Jace!" she called after me. "What are you—-?!"

I waited for the shockwave. Then, just before I would have been minced by the flying chunks of concrete and wood, I brought my gloved hands down to the floor.

Immediately, the shockwave died off. But my whole body vibrated as the force of the it ran up my arms. The back of my head swelled with pain, and I could not control the innumerous trajectories—every bit of rubble and dust—that all moved with the cascading force.

I had no other choice but to push it all in the opposite direction.

Again, the floor ruptured, and the shockwave curved and cascaded back towards the Rumbler.

He gasped and tried to dive out of the way. His right leg got caught in one of the bursts, and he yelped and fell on his face.

The whole apartment complex shook as the redirected shockwave went on to destroy the debris ramp.

I fell forward, panting heavily as I tried to catch my breath.

"Jace!" I heard Elaina call out.

The Rumbler stood up. He balled his fists again and prepared to punch the floor once more.

"Ela!" I raised my voice, panting heavily as I got to my feet. "Tell me you've got a Spell that can deal with this guy...!"

I heard her flip through her Spellbook frantically. "Um...define 'deal with'?"

"Rrgh! Anything!"

"Dead or alive!" Rumbler bellowed our way, "Doc preferred 'Alive,' but if 'Dead's' on the table...!"

The Rumbler slammed both his fists onto the floor, sending a massive wave of debris our way.

It felt as though the building itself shook with so much fury, and I couldn't imagine the extent of the internal damage our fight was causing.

There was no way I could redirect this next shockwave. My only options were to dodge, run, or—

Elaina's voice caught my ears, and the floor beneath me calmed as she spoke her incantation:

"Oh, Mighty Earth.

Heed my resolute words..."

I turned and saw her kneeling on one leg, with one hand on the floor and another on an open page of her floating Spellbook. Her eyes were fixed on the double shockwave and The Rumbler further down.

She continued without pausing.

"...Infuse thy soul into my work, and consume the enemy before me!

GROUND BREAKER!"

At once, a fissure formed in the floor, originating from Elaina's hand. The Rumbler lost his balance, and both cascades erupted into explosions of gray dust and debris as the entire floor collapsed in front of Elaina.

I blurted my thoughts out as I ran to her, leaping over several smaller fissures. "Where'd that come from?!"

"I was reading!" Elaina replied as she stood up and tapped her Spellbook.

Around us, chunks of the floor collapsed, and a massive cloud of dust appeared in the aftermath of Elaina's Spell.

The building shook again, much more violently this time.

Elaina met my eyes. "Do you still have the bomb fragment?"

I felt my jacket pocket. "Yeah!"

"Then let's get out of here!"

We were too far from any window we could jump out of, so the only other alternative was—

"Elevator!" Elaina pointed at a hall to our left.

We sprinted for it.

I placed my hands on the elevator's metal doors and imbued them with a strong trajectory. They burst open and fell down the interior of the elevator shaft, landing with a loud crash at the base.

There were no cables.

Once again, I faced an inevitable choice, just like at the hospital. Once again, I had to go against the very thing I vehemently chose to never do again.

But this situation...this moment...

There really was no other choice.

I pulled on my gloves and sleeves, and I zipped my jacket up all the way. I felt my hood and pulled my hood over my forehead.

"Ela, grab on to me...!"

She blinked. "H-Huh? Why? Um, a-all right. Does it matter how I hold on to you, or—?"

"Just come here!"

She held me from behind, wrapping her arms around my chest.

I took one look at the Rumbler, and he immediately understood. He charged at us. With each step from his boots, the building shook even more.

"Hang on!" I told Elaina.

"Y-Yeah!"

I jumped down the elevator shaft.

"WA-WAAAAAAHH!! N-Nngh!"

Elaina tightened her arms and legs around me, and I tried to keep my focus as the rush of air made my eyes water.

Suddenly, the sound of screeching metal roared above us.

A seismic shockwave of exploding steel panels and cables descended rapidly on every one of the shaft's walls. From behind the shockwave, the silhouette of The Rumbler appeared for a brief moment, also descending after us.

I felt Elaina's left arm pull away from me as she steadied her aim at the thundering shockwave and The Rumbler close behind.

I blinked as a sphere of orange and yellow flames sparked to life around her outstretched hand, illuminating the dark elevator shaft, as she chanted—

“Oh, Cleansing Fire.

Carry my rage, my fury.

Infuse thy soul into my work, and reduce my foe to cinders!

ROAR, INFERNO!”

The fireball blasted upwards from her palm, crashing into the shockwave.

I couldn't look back, but I heard the explosion and The Rumbler shriek as he got caught in whatever fire Elaina conjured.

I kept my focus as the base of the shaft got closer and closer. I thought only of the time Elaina and I jumped out of the hospital window.

As soon as I touched the ground floor with my right hand, I redirected our falling momentum with my left arm to blast open elevator doors leading into the lobby.

The building never stopped shaking.

We dove out of the shaft in time, just as the avalanche of steel, concrete, and wood fell at the base.

A massive cloud of dust burst from the impact, and Elaina and I got to our feet.

Then, something heavy landed on the heap of melted steel and burnt concrete.

The Rumbler walked out, glaring at us. Part of his face and arms were seared, and he again cracked his knuckles.

He slammed his fists down on the lobby floor, sending his largest seismic shockwave towards us.

Elaina was about to conjure another spell, but I grabbed her arm with my gloved hand instead. We dove out of the way as the shockwave cascaded past us, destroying several support pillars.

There was a loud thud, like a truck falling somewhere above us, followed by another, then another, then another, then—

We ran for the nearest exit we could find—a wide doorframe that used to have a pair of glass doors on its sides.

The cool, late-night air rushed against our faces as we made it out of Sunshine.

The entire apartment complex imploded on itself, and the consecutive thuds merged into a cacophony of chaos as my former home reduced itself to nothing more than a wasteland of rubble.

I raised my arms just as the colossal dust cloud roared at us. I heard Elaina rush behind me, and the sight of the dust cloud reminded me of the bomb incident. Just like that day, I guided the dust and smoke, raking in as much of it as I could to dissipate into the open air directly above the site. Thankfully, the streets around the complex were spared from being blotted out by the cloud, and, after several minutes, it was largely gone.

But someone's silhouette limped towards us as the last of the dust wore away.

The Rumbler appeared, clutching his left side, bloodied from an apparent wound from stray debris. His arms and head had several gashes from glass shards.

"It's over," I spoke up to him, and Elaina stood next to me.

The Rumbler chuckled. "Not yet, you...you traitor..."

"Me?" I pointed at myself. "A traitor to who?"

"To every Abnormal...in Ave Strata. You kiss up...to the Normals, and now you're kissin' up to Mages. Boy, you're just a class act in irony. But I don't give a damn no more...because...the Doc...will make...you see..."

"Hey, Rumbler," I took a step forward as The Rumbler fell to his knees, defeated. "That doctor you mentioned before. Who is he?"

"Molecruel..." Elaina said. "That's the name...That's what he said before he attacked us. 'Doctor Molecruel sends his regards.'"

"Doctor...Molecruel..." I spoke the name aloud and focused back on The Rumbler. "Tell us what he's after, Lawrence! Why does he want me dead, and why did he frame Ela for it?"

He looked up at the sky and I saw a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

"Nadia..." he mumbled. "Forgive me..."

The Rumbler fell back onto the debris-ridden base of the apartment complex, too exhausted to continue.

Just then, the blaring of sirens wailed through the streets.

"We need to move...!" Elaina turned.

I sprinted after her as the red and blue lights of the Police Force flickered faster and faster. Down the block, I heard the electric motors of Police Force hover cars racing to the front of the annihilated apartment complex.

Elaina turned a corner into an alleyway and I followed her in.

But then, something caught my mind. I stopped running after Elaina.

When she couldn't hear my footsteps anymore, she turned around, halfway down the alleyway. "Jace...? Jace, what're you waiting for?? Come on!"

I looked back at the ruins of the complex, noticing our enemy on the ground.

We knew The Rumbler's arms and face were burnt and bruised. He couldn't stand, but he was still alive.

A couple of officers approached him.

"Thought you'd be slick, huh, you damn freak?" one officer mocked him as he kicked at The Rumbler's chest.

The Rumbler winced from the pain, and he turned on his side. "Na-...Nadia..."

A female officer squatted down and grabbed The Rumbler by his ruined shirt, staring at his injured face. "About time we got this guy! Look at 'em! Ain't so tough now!"

Sentry bots arrived, followed by a familiar poster boy officer.

"Put him in Truck Delta," Lieutenant Vali said as he walked onto the scene, guarded by two officers. "We'll have all the time in the world to interrogate this bastard. Sentry Units! Fall in!"

Six Sentry bots assembled in front of Vali and stood in a row.

"Analyze the rubble. Calculate any possible points of impact that could have caused this. List any potentials in a report. Five pages maximum. Size twelve font. Double spaced. Times New Yoman."

"Affirmative," one of the Sentries replied. "Estimated time to report generation: six hours."

"Excellent." Vali glanced at The Rumbler one more time. "Get him out of here."

Two Sentry bots lifted The Rumbler off the ground and carried him to the back of an armored police truck, followed by two medical personnel.

The sight of Vali and the officers treating The Rumbler with contempt pissed me off for some reason, and a part of me felt sorry for our enemy.

But our original goal for tonight was achieved.

I turned away and met Elaina at the other side of the alleyway.

"They've got cops down this way, too," she said. Her Spellbook floated up to her and flipped to a specific page. Elaina met my eyes. "We'll have to Shadow Travel. Though, I wished I didn't have to try this just yet."

"Shadow Travel? What's that? And—Wait, 'try' this? What do you mean by tha—"

"Too much to explain right now." Elaina stood next to me and linked her arm around mine.

I felt a shock run through my whole body.

Elaina glanced at me. "You, uh...might wanna close your eyes for this..."

"Huh? What do you mea—!?!"

In the next instance, the entire world turned black and an intense rush of dark wind—or was it smoke?—billowed through my hood.