The Prince of Astoria-Chapter 54: LIV - The Rural Safehouse (Part 3)

"Anti-Weather System: Anti-Blizzard."

As soon as the words left Ms. Friendly’s mouth, the flames roared to life. The small barn was engulfed in a storm of rushing flames. The flies climbed the walls with impossible speed, transforming the weathered wood into something alien and horrifying. The sturdy wooden planks now blackened and curled under the intense heat. The burning wood released smoke that stung the heroes’ eyes and throat.

Shota immediately jumped in front of Nairobi and yelled, "Duck!"

The metal nut above Nairobi’s head spun wildly and increased in size. She ducked down immediately behind Shota and held back her cries of pain as the flames surrounded them. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Nairobi squeezed her fists and closed her eyes tight.The heat was unbearable. The air itself shimmered and warped, making everything beyond the flames look hazy. The old farm vehicles—a rusted tractor, a dented plow—transformed before her eyes. Their metal surfaces, covered in years of orange-brown rust, started to glow like coals in a fireplace. First a dull red, then brighter and brighter until they seemed to pulse with their own inner light. The paint bubbled and peeled away in long strips, curling like autumn leaves. Then the metal itself began to soften, sagging and dripping like candle wax, pooling on the dirt floor in molten puddles that hissed and steamed.

Ms. Friendly walked through the flames toward them slowly, her arms still crossed.

"You think you can protect her from me? Do you think your ability will last longer than mine, Protag?" Her evil grin was visible even through the haze of flames, "Fine then. Show me if you’re really the protagonist of this story."

Shota held his arms up and withstood the onslaught of flames, barely able to keep a straight face. The skin on his body burnt to a crisp and healed itself just as fast.

The fire climbed up the barn and reached the hayloft near the ceiling. After a few more seconds, the barn began to fall apart. The roof sagged inward, the boards warping and splitting. Light poured in through the new gaps in the melting ceiling. The gaps were small at first, where splinters of burning wood fell away, and then larger holes that opened up as the wood gradually surrendered. Through these ragged openings, daylight came streaming in, thin shafts of natural light that cut through the smoke and flames in stark.

"It’s been 30 seconds, Protag! You think you can hold up much longer?" Ms. Friendly chided him, tapped her foot impatiently.

Shota could barely hold his head up; his consciousness drifted in and out because of the pain.

"Damn it!" Nairobi thought to herself, "Shota is almost out! I need to do something! I need to make a stand!"

Nairobi dug into her pocket and fumbled through the screws, nail and nuts scatter loosely. Her frustration only grew as the flames increased in intensity and seared her skin.

She took a deep breath in and tried to focus, "This is a life or death situation. I may have to use that," Nairobi thought to herself.

Before she could pull something out, the flames halted.

Nairobi shook her head in disbelief, before examining the area. Any remnants of the barn or the farmhouse were completely erased. The entire area turned into a smoldering crater.

Shota still stood defiant, with his arms held up. His body was mostly healed and free of burns because of his abilities, but his stance was shaky and his arms wobbled.

Shota’s arms finally dropped, and he nearly fell to his knees, but Nairobi caught him and propped him on her shoulder.

A bead of sweat rolled down Ms. Friendly’s forehead. She panted loudly and put her hands on her knees.

Nairobi watched Ms. Friendly intently and thought to herself, "She’s...tired? So she really isn’t invincible."

"You’re late, GoGo."

Nairobi turned around and watched in horror as a middle-aged dark skin man with straight, wavy hair and a pink mink coat draped around his shoulders jumped out of an old car.

The man jogged past the two heroes and stood next to Ms. Friendly with a devious smile.

"Sorry ma’am. I was caught in traffic. Thanks for making a path through your fireworks show. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that."

Ms. Friendly folded her arms and steadied her breathing.

"I destroyed the safe house, our job is here is done. Send these children away."

GoGo stepped forward and put his hand up, holding his thumb and middle finger together, "Yes, ma’am. Right away."

Nairobi’s mouth flew open in despair as GoGo snapped his fingers.

____________________________________________________________

Nairobi’s eyes fluttered open as the wind ripped past her. The wind screamed into her ears, roaring so loudly that she couldn’t hear her thoughts. Nairobi covered her ears and forced her eyes open.

"Shota, where are you..." Nairobi scanned the air for a few moments before spotting an unconscious Shota tumbling through the air.

Nairobi scooted through the air, "All of these damn monsters! Do you think you can just push us around?"

She pushed her way through the air, inching slowly toward Shota before grabbing hold of him.

"Shota!" She screamed out, but her voice didn’t carry.

She reached into her pocket and grabbed a small screw. She dug it into his hand until she drew a small trickle of blood.

Shota’s eyes flew open in a panic as he looked around and took in the situation.

He leaned in and yelled into her ear, "What’s going on? Where are we?"

Nairobi leaned in and yelled, "This is the power of GoGo, it’s called Leagues Above. He was a gangster in Oregon for a long time, but it looks like he’s part of the Black Company now. When he snaps his fingers, his ability teleports us ten thousand kilometers into the air."

Shota’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

He yelled out, "T-ten thousand? Shit, Nairo, this is bad."

"Can’t you fly?" Nairobi screamed out.

"Of course I can! But I’m almost at my limit for today. I spent 30 seconds fighting her in the barn and I spent 65 seconds surviving that firestorm. I only have four seconds left of Level 99."

Nairobi gritted her teeth, "What can we do? Do you think you can fly us to safety with four seconds left?"

Shota breathed in and out steadily, "I don’t know. I’ve never tried to fly while falling through the air. I only ever started flying while standing on the ground. But we are getting close, so I guess I have to."

Nairobi’s breathing became more erratic as they descended lower and lower. She could see individual trees, barns and farmhouses, and even a field of multicolored flowers in the distance. Her heart pounded louder, almost drowning out the wind still rushing through her ears.

As the ground approached closer and closer, Shota’s body started to glow and his hair stood on end.

He grabbed Nairobi into his arms and soared through the air, attempting to meet the ground at an angle to lessen the impact. He dropped Nairobi a few feet from the ground, causing her to roll several feet across sharp grass before stopping.

Shota’s powers fizzled out immediately after that, and he went careening into a nearby farm. There was a sound like a bomb went off as dirt exploded into the air around him.

Nairobi scrambled to her feet, fighting through dizziness and disorientation as she stumbled towards Shota’s position.

"No, no, no! This can’t be real! Shota, please be okay..." Nairobi thought to herself.

After several minutes, Nairobi finally made it to Shota. His body was heavily bruised and burned. His breathing was shallow and labored. He writhed in pain, rolling back and forth and cursing to himself.

Nairobi breathed a sign of relief and nodded her head.

"You’re alive," Nairobi exclaimed.

"I sure am. Barely," Shota groaned, rolling onto his side, "So that was Ms. Friendly, huh? Sorry for underestimating her. Maybe Oregon isn’t as weak as we thought."

Shota let out a weak laugh before wincing in pain once again.

Nairobi stared at him and frowned. She thought to herself, "He is seriously injured. And without his power, he can’t heal himself. I should call the Gamers..."

Nairobi pulled out her phone, and her finger hovered over Mina’s contact, but she stopped herself right before making a call.

"I should probably call Etienne too..."

Nairobi typed his number and let the phone ring. After a few seconds, he finally picked up.

"Hello?" Etienne answered nonchalantly.

"Etienne, you need to come quick. We investigated the safe house, we ran into Ms. Friendly, it’s bad..." The words came flying out of Nairobi’s mouth.

"Wait what? Slow down, I can—"

Nairobi shook her head and continued, "Shota is hurt badly, Etienne. Please just get here."

Etienne’s voice became more concerned, "I’m coming right now. Send me your exact coordinates. I’m already close."

Etienne hung up the phone immediately after.

Nairobi sighed and swiped through her contacts.

"Now, I need to contact his team..."