Page 62 of Invincible
“Fuck,” Knox growled, looking around.It was the closest she had ever seen the man come to panic.“I lost the flare gun one of the times I hit the deck.”He looked around for a few more minutes before turning back to them.
“Okay, plan B.Greer, take this,” he said, pulling the knife out of its holster on his leg.“If you have to use it because they got past me, stick first, ask questions later.Got it?”
“Got it, but how are you going to fight if I have the knife?”Before she could finish, Knox took a step back and began rubbing his hands together in a circular motion.A blue flame danced between his hands as if it had been summoned from another realm.It swirled as it turned orange, growing into something the size of a soccer ball.
Tyler knew her eyes weren’t the only ones to look on in disbelief as the ball of fire grew between his hands.She, of course, had heard about what he could do but she had never seen it.It was both fierce and beautiful.
When the ball of fire had grown big enough, Knox bent with it in one hand before throwing it into the air as hard as he could with a roar.They watched as the flames shot skyward over the front of the ship before arching back toward the water, only to die out at the last minute.If the girls in high school had only known what their student math teacher was really capable of, Tyler was positive there would have been a lot more swooning.
“Come on,” he mumbled as they held a collective breath, waiting for a response.He had leaned up against the shelter, holding his head in both hands.
Tyler stared into the darkness, straining to see anything that looked like a police boat.At this point, she would even settle for an angry fisherman with a bat.
Standing back up, Knox began rubbing his hands together again, launching a second ball into the air.“We’re here, you motherfuckers!”he yelled.
There was still nothing but a dark waterway in front of them.He had to dive for shelter when a new volley of bullets danced on the deck in front of him.
“How does he do that?”Tyler heard Greer ask in astonishment behind her.If they made it out of this, she would have to have a long talk with her roommate.“It makes sense he would have some sort of gift like you and Memphis.”So, maybe not as long a talk as she thought.“It makes sense now, that thing his eyes do.”
Tyler had no idea what Greer was talking about, but she added a mental note to find out during their talk.
The gunfire that had been sporadically pinging at them earlier paused until after the second ball of flames shot out.
Crawling back out from under the shelter, Knox sent two more smaller balls of flame over the barricades toward the back of the ship.They could hear men shouting at each other as they fled from the flames hitting the containers.Tyler prayed they wouldn’t have to soon face a ship also on fire.Knox was beginning another signal fire with his hands when they saw flashing lights approaching quickly out of the night.
“Oh, thank God,” Knox mumbled, tossing the large fireball toward the back, making sparks explode in all directions when it hit.
When he slumped down onto the deck in exhaustion to rest against the container, Tyler couldn’t stop herself from crawling over next to him.Sliding an arm around her, careful of her shoulder, he pulled her close, kissing the top of her head as they watched the channel light up with red-and-blue strobe lights.
“Does that mean we’re rescued?”Mia asked, crawling out from underneath the container doors to sit by Tyler.She watched in awe as Knox continued to make small fire balls, tossing them over their heads onto the containers to ensure no one snuck up on them.
“I hope so.We’re about out of first aid supplies,” Greer answered.Crawling past Knox, she rose up on her knees, pressing a piece of T-shirt to his head.
“Oww!That hurts, you she-devil,” he groused.
“Your head is bleeding again.Now, stop acting like a tit and hush.”
Tyler had to fight to stop the laughter trying to escape.To spend so much effort at cutting each other down, they had completely missed the way they cared for each other since they met.She doubted either one of them had even noticed that Knox’s hand was holding her bare side as her breasts pressed in his face while she wrestled with his head.Based on his smile, though, he had definitely noticed her breasts.
“Do you have a headache?”Tyler asked when Knox tried to shield his eyes against the pulsing blue-and-red lights speeding toward them.
“Like a bitch, but I’ll be fine.Probably just this one trying to kill me with her care,” he answered as Greer worked at securing the wrap around his head tighter.It was still oozing blood, but at least she had managed to stop the worst of it.
“Stop whining,” Tyler and Greer said in unison.Knox raised an eyebrow at them.When the corner of his mouth started to inch upward, they laughed.Leaning his newly wrapped head back against the container, he smiled as he closed his eyes.
“On the bow.Are you okay?”She almost cried when she recognized Dex’s voice over the speaker.One of the patrol boats had stopped off the front while the others raced to the back of the ship.
“Ty, can you repeat these signals to the patrol boat?”She watched as he showed her how to move her arms in a specific sequence.She slowly stood up as Knox threw fire onto the containers to prevent another gunman from sneaking up on her.
Shaking, she ran through the signals Knox had given her.Giving each signal slowly, Tyler performed them twice before the boat sped toward the back of the ship.Slumping down again next to Knox, she wrapped her arms around his strong one.
She worried for a moment that he had passed out until he opened one eye to look at her before closing it again.Greer was leaning against the other side of him, blood smeared on her cheek, as she held on to his hand.She smiled briefly at Tyler before resting her head against his arm again.
Tyler decided at that moment that she really liked the whole idea of an older brother to look after her when she needed it.And right now, she really needed it.
“Hey, buddy, can you stop showering us with fire?I don’t know how you’re doing it, but it’s pretty effective.”Looking up, they were greeted by a man dressed in black peering back down at them.“I’m with the Houston police department.Mind if we come check y’all out.”Knox pushed himself up from the deck, helping Tyler and Greer up.
“If you’re here with the cavalry, you can do whatever you want,” Knox answered.With a nod, the man eased over the top using climbing gear, followed by another carrying a medical kit.“You have no idea how happy we are to see you,” he added as the men started tending to the women.
