The small group of civilians was only about a hundred yards from where Jada continued holding the Cat Titan back, in a lot that was empty aside from some carts – most of them shattered. The majority of the people were wearing slings or sported casts. Bloodied bandages covered several heads and chests. Very few looked uninjured, one of them being Colton. 

“Thank the Giving Waters,” Colton said, hurrying to Maren. “We need all the help we can get.” 

A chunk of building soared overhead, landing on a nearby fence. The crowd made an uproar of gasps, screams, and cries. 

“I’m sorry,” Maren said, hoisting Clara closer. “I can’t rebuild carts. But I can try something else.” 

She found Kellen and Orla near the middle of the pack. A cast had been placed on Kellen’s leg and he leaned on his wife for support. 

“Girls!” Orla yelled as Maren delivered the daughters. “What are you doing here?” 

“They ran from the group,” Maren said. “They wanted to find you.” 

A building eighty yards from them collapsed. More people in the crowd screamed. 

“Listen!” Maren hopped onto a broken cart so the crowd of at least twenty people could see her. “Listen to me!” Their attention snapped to her. “Anyone who can walk on their own, step away now.” 

Maren expanded her canteen and drained it. She would need every ounce of water she had for this. 

Water poured from her skin, washing over the group of injured people. Maren bit her lip. There were eight people! She’d never carried so many before. 

Just push past it. 

Skin flaking, Maren raised the water, dragging the injured with it. She groaned. It was like lifting a hundred-pound weight over her head. She guided the water toward the lot’s exit, stepping from the cart. She stumbled, nearly falling and dropping the injured. The few uninjured people, however, stared at her with awestruck faces. 

“Move!” Maren said, straining to keep everyone aloft. 

They followed her orders, rushing beneath the small lake Maren created and into the street. Panting, Maren followed, tugging the injured along. 

The street shook, forcing Maren to slow even further lest she fall. The Cat Titan was only fifty yards away, pushing Jada back and getting closer. 

Curse it! If she were stronger, she could get away quicker. She’d trained a little more than she was used to since leaving Linick, but it clearly wasn’t enough. If I get out of this, I’ll have to join Mav in a workout. 

Her breath rasped from her dried mouth, yet she jogged on. The people kept glancing back, trembling with terror as the Cat drew closer. Now it was thirty yards, now twenty, and now ten. 

A roar split the night, overshadowing the violent shaking of the street. 

“Keep going, Sister!” Jada commanded. “I will not let this one’s pain cause any more.” 

The land tremored, then the entire section of the road Jada and the Cat Titan wrestled upon rose. As if from a catapult, it flung away, the Cat’s yowl fading. 

“You heard her!” Maren shouted. “Run!” 

While the Bird Titan rose, Mav hopped on its back and wrapped his arms around its neck. It cawed, raising its wings. The winds were already picking up. 

“Calm down!” Mav yelled, squeezing its neck. “You don’t need to attack these people.” 

The Titan soared, then made several loops in a row. 

“You can’t get rid of me that easily!” 

It cawed in response, diving down to the trees. Before it hit the treetops, however, it leveled out and flipped upside down. The top branches whacked Mav’s head and shoulders. They were like whips, smacking into his skin. Despite the flaring pain, despite the warm blood dribbling down his head and body, Mav clung tighter.

“I’m like a leach, man! Doesn’t matter what you throw at me, you won’t lose me!” 

The Titan righted itself once more and surged. Mav pressed his face into the nape of its neck. Some of his blood trickled down his cheek, staining the feathers. 

“Let me help you.” 

The Titan cawed again, anger and sorrow reverberating through the air. A spark of their earlier connection returned. It was as dim as a candle’s flame, but it was something. 

Mav focused on it, reaching, trying to let it expand over him. Wrath raged within, enflaming a sudden emptiness that gouged its heart. The Titan wanted to release his anger. He wanted to make the ones who hurt him so much suffer, give them everything they deserved. 

Mav held back tears. That emptiness, that sudden and melancholic loneliness, felt all too real. 

It was the same void Thomas left behind. 

“You don’t need to be angry,” Mav said. “Your friend isn’t dead. You can see him again.” 

The Bird Titan slowed, feeling Mav’s sincerity. An urgent curiosity stole over the Titan. 

“I’ll take you to him,” Mav said. “Follow my directions.”