Although I’d been a little woozy from being slammed into the car, being bathed in cold water shocked me back to full awareness.

 

“What are you doing? What is that?” Olivia yelled.

 

“Tainted water, the same tainted water that I spent hours painstakingly spiking for your class. This bottle was supposed to last me for another week, but since it’s unlikely that I’ll get another chance to use it, I might as well use the rest now,” Ortiz replied coldly. “From what I’ve been told, all it takes is a teaspoon’s worth to cause one of you Empowered to go off, and any more than that has a chance of causing you to open an even larger rift. I gave you a diluted amount yesterday, but now? Why not go out with a bang?”

He chuckled. “Can you imagine what people will say when they find out one of you popped your top and destroyed an entire town? Maybe they'll finally see reason and start putting you down like the animals you are.”

 

“You’re insane…” Kira whispered. “Hundreds of people will die. You’ll die!”

 

“But my death will have meaning,” Ortiz spat. “And right now, that’s enough for me.”

While Ortiz ranted, I tried to push myself up off the street. If what he was saying was true, I really needed to get out of this water as soon as possible. I put one hand on the doorframe and pulled myself to my knees. As I raised myself, I noticed there was a toolbox sitting on the floor, along with a heavy pair of bolt cutters and a crowbar.

 

Even though I felt weak and I was shivering uncontrollably, I knew what I needed to do.

 

Grabbing the crowbar, I whipped around and smashed Ortiz in the knee as hard as I could. He screamed in pain, grabbing at his knee, but didn’t go down. “You little bitch!” he snarled.

 

Since he still had the gun, I didn’t hesitate; I brought the crowbar down again, this time on the back of his hand. This time, the blow was accompanied by a satisfying crunch.

 

I considered smashing his face, but before I could, Amelia came flying across the car’s hood. Before Ortiz could react, she kicked Ortiz in the chest so hard that he flew back several feet.

 

She glanced between Ortiz and me for a moment, obviously conflicted on whether to pummel him or help me, but after a second she knelt in front of me. “Are you all right?”

 

“Don’t touch her!” Kira snapped as she sprinted around the front of the car. “You heard what that psychopath said!”

 

“But we can’t just leave her there…” Olivia whimpered.

 

“I’m… I d-don’t know w-what going off is s-suposed to feel like, b-but I t-think I’m fine, f-for now,” I managed through chattering teeth. “I-I don’t k-know if there w-was something wrong w-with this w-water, but i-it’s p-probably better if y-you don’t t-touch me.”

 

“Then what should we do?” Kira asked.

 

Amelia stared at me for a moment, then stood up and headed for the driver's seat. “Kira, Kyle, can you please restrain that rat before he runs away?” she asked, without looking at them.

 

“Of course,” Kyle growled.

 

Ortiz tried to get up and defend himself, but even from here, I could tell that he was having trouble breathing. I had no idea if Amelia had just knocked the wind out of him or she’d broken his ribs with that blow, but he didn’t seem to be in any shape to defend himself when Kyle got to him.

 

I had to give Kyle credit; I didn’t think he had enough self-control to keep from using his powers on someone who had pissed him off, yet instead of frying Ortiz, he just tackled the man. After wrestling for a moment, he finally managed to wrench Ortiz’s hands behind his back so his sister could restrain him.

 

While this was happening, Amelia jumped into the driver’s seat and fiddled with something on the dashboard. “It looks like the psychopath remembered to put the car into park, although he didn’t turn off the car… which is good for us,” she remarked before sliding back out and crouching down in front of me. “Tamera, I cranked up the heat in the car as high as it could go. Do you think you can manage to crawl in there?”

 

“I-in the b-back maybe,” I replied.

 

“Good enough,” she replied with a slight nod. “Hopefully that’ll keep you warm until we figure out what to do.”

 

“I’ll call Doctor Micheals!” Olivia exclaimed. “I’m sure if we called the school switchboard, or the BEI emergency line, they’d send people to ‘help’ us, but I think the doctor’s probably the only one that actually understands what the water does, and how we could neutralize it.”

“If we can neutralize it,” Kyle grumbled.

 

“Make the call quick,” Kira added, ignoring her brother’s negativity, “That water’s running down the street and who knows what’ll happen if it runs into the sewers.”

 

“I-I’ve got it,” I hissed through gritted teeth as I pushed myself to my feet. Even though the bottle was only half full, I didn’t think I had the strength to lift it right now. So, instead, I grabbed the neck with one hand and the handle on the side with the other, and twisted. It took me a couple of seconds, but I finally managed to roll the bottle to the edge of the seat. When the bottom of the bottle fell towards the car floor, I pressed against the neck to try and get the thing upright.

 

It rocked back and forth violently, and for a moment I thought it would just topple over again, but thankfully it settled down before that happened.

With the bottle taken care of, I crawled across the backseat, located the closest vent, and collapsed in front of it.

“Take off your Jacket,” Amelia ordered from the front seat. “And anything else that’s soaked.”

“Everything’s soaked,” I growled. “And I’m not getting naked in that asshole’s car.”

“Then at least take off your jacket. You can wear this one,” she said, flinging a fluffy, white one over the seat.

 

I stared at it for a moment. “That’s Olivia’s. She needs that.”

 

“She insisted that you take it before getting on the phone. It may be cold out here, but the weather is relatively mild for October. She can do without a coat; you cannot be sitting out here in soaking wet clothes. You’ll freeze to death before that water evaporates. Besides, once she’s done, we’re going to run to your house to get you something to wear.”

“I appreciate the thought, but it’s probably better if you guys get out of here. If Ortiz was telling the truth, and I cause a rift…” I started.

 

Amelia held up a hand. “If that happens, we’ll deal with it.”

“Even if it opens a rift strong enough to destroy the entire campus?” I asked.

 

“If that happens, then it won’t matter how far we run; the town is sealed, remember? We can’t escape. If it’s something smaller, Kyle and I will buy Olivia and Kira time to drag you out of the danger zone.”

“You guys are insane,” I snorted.

 

“We’re your friends, and we’re not leaving you,” Amelia replied. “Now take off that jacket!”

 

I glanced over at her, and when I saw her stern expression, I knew there was nothing I could say to convince her, or the others, to leave me behind. It took me a couple of seconds to peel my sodden jacket off, the wet material clinging to my shirt and skin. When I finally pried it off, I just dumped it on the floor next to the water bottle. “Happy now?”

“Yes, now put on the other jacket and stay put. We’ll let you know what’s happening once Olivia gets off her phone call,” Amelia declared, backing away from the driver’s side door.

 

“Hey Amelia…” I called before she closed the door.

 

She paused and stuck her head back inside, “Yeah?”

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

 

She smiled. “No problem, what are friends for?”