A Tale of Two Masks

Ashton was already waiting when Summer left the restroom. He seemed so unnaturally calm. She noticed he had managed to change enough of his clothes that Summer almost didn’t recognise him with his smooth black mask. She took a glance at her own outfit trying to spot anything else she could change. Didn’t she have a scrunchie in her pocket? Last minute ponytail acquired, she approached Ashton.

“What do we do now?” she asked, flinching as another strong gust rattled the glass doors at the entrance.

“Before we go out there, we need to find out as much as we can,” Ashton replied, “All we know so far is that we are dealing with a woman with wind powers.”

Wind powers were pretty rare, and even more rarely strong enough to be mentioned. The only person who Summer could even recall having them was RefRain’s mother, who was briefly mentioned in an article after his arrest. She paused and thought again. That was far too coincidental, but the article had described her power as more of a gentle breeze.

“Did you think of something?” Ashton asked as the windows gave a particularly startling rattle.

“It’s just a hunch,” she replied, “and it’s probably unlikely. RefRain’s mother had wind powers. Just not like this.”

Ashton’s gaze jerked sharply in the direction of the glass doors as a haunted howl seeped through the cracks.

“She never had a reason to before,” he pointed out, “Anyone discovered with elemental powers is advised not to test their potential. Forces of nature are known for quickly getting out of hand.”

Out of hand… Summer stared outside at the dancing trees, leaves whipping back and forth under the relentless roaring winds. That was definitely an apt description, but if that were true, how would they stop it? He was absolutely right that they couldn’t make a move without a plan. It was just, no matter how she thought about it, there was nothing her powers could do against a force like that. Was it time for an old cliche?

“Maybe we could try talking to her?” Summer suggested.

“How?” Ashton asked, “We won’t even be able to get close enough for her to hear us.”

Once again, he was right. Not only had the idea been childish, it was impossible in the howling winds out there. “Do we just wait and hide like cowards until the professionals arrive then?” she asked. The idea of doing nothing even though the very situation they had predicted had occurred hurt more than Summer had thought it would.

“We can’t afford to do that either,” Ashton replied as he shook his head, “The glass won’t last long, and the storm doors have already blocked access to the rest of the building.”

Right at the points where the reception area broke off into hallways, large metal shutter doors had long been locked in place. They were trapped. Why did the bathrooms in the entrance of SI have to have outward facing walls and windows? These were things that had never occurred to her to think about until just now.

“If we can’t fight, talk, or hide, do we have to run?” Summer asked. That was the only other option she could think of.

“Actually, talking might work if we can draw her attention,” Ashton said, observing the storm outside, “I think she is holding back. That must mean she wants to avoid making more victims like her son.”

That was promising, probably. Summer wasn’t really certain of anything right now. They had no backup team, no superiors to feed them a plan of action, and no advantage in this fight. It couldn’t have been a more different situation than the hero work she had done so far.

“Let’s do it,” Summer told him, determined to take any action they had a shot at that wouldn’t leave her with regrets.

“Just remember, walking in high winds can be dangerous,” Ashton warned her, “You need to move slowly and plant your feet firmly on the ground. It doesn’t look strong enough to do much more than knock us over yet, but we shouldn’t take that for granted.”

How was he so calm and confident? Rather than a sham like herself, Summer thought she saw the makings of a real hero in Ashton. Someone who could lead people to safety and stand against real threats. Then again, just because he could, was it really right for her to have dragged him into a situation like this?

“Ashton, I-”

“Let’s go,” Ashton told her, approaching the center door that slid open to the side rather than outward.

“Alright,” Summer agreed. This was no time for half-hearted guilt born apologies. It was time for action.

The moment the door opened, the fierce gusts whipped through Summer’s hair with great fury. She was glad she had tied it back, or else she might not have been able to see. Even with it tied back, leaves and other debris flew on the currents around them. Where was she? She had to be nearby since Ashton had seen her. There!

A woman stood in the barren parking lot that was reserved for guests. Well, barren except for Summer’s car. Where had Ashton parked, anyway? Despite the ruthless gusts whipping at their hair and clothes, the woman’s own hair moved gently as if in a breeze. It was the calm in the center of a storm.

“Just like a tornado,” Summer realized. Talking would be useless once the winds were beyond her control. They needed to hurry. Summer was about to rush forward when she remembered Ashton’s words. If the wind knocked her down now, she might not be able to get back up.

Ashton was trying to tell her something, but the wind was too loud. She couldn’t hear him. They needed to get to the calm. Summer stubbornly pressed forward. As she did, Summer locked eyes with the woman. She made no move to help or hinder their progress towards her. She merely stood there at the center of everything. Something about that sent chills down Summer’s spine. It was like she had given up on everything.

She took a firm step forward, and then another. As long as she didn’t try to run, she could do this. As she got closer, the wind grew more ferocious before dying off completely, sending Summer stumbling forward.

“You should leave,” Mrs. Mcshay said, offering a hand to help her up, “You’re a victim, just like my son. I can tell. Don’t worry. I will take care of everything.”

“The reason it hasn’t started yet, are you trying to give us time to escape?” Summer asked.

“That’s right,” Mrs. Mcshay confirmed, “My goal today is not to take lives. It is to destroy the only face SI has left. I have been waiting for this day.”

Once Summer was standing, the woman gave her a nudge. She wanted her to run. She intended to take full responsibility for whatever happened. “I can’t just leave you here,” Summer told her. The fact that her car was right in the middle of the most dangerous winds aside, she didn’t want to see any more sacrifices on account of SI.

The woman’s gaze suddenly became sharp as Ashton entered the safe zone. Why did she seem so wary? Nothing about Ashton looked particularly dangerous.

“Mrs. Mcshay,” Ashton called out, “Do you know of F7?”

A powerful gust came out of nowhere and threw Summer back before she could ask any questions. What was going on? Why had the wind become stronger? Why did she look so furious now? Just what was F7?

Summer struggled to get back to the center of the storm where the winds were calm, but every time she got close, another powerful gust would send her back again. Even over the howling storm, she suddenly heard a horrible creaking, and a crunch. She had a terrible feeling she knew what it was, but she turned to look anyway.

Her car had finally been tossed by the endless torrent and flipped on its head. The next nearest vehicles were bouncing in the currents, half threatening to turn as well. The winds had gotten stronger. Much stronger. Were they too late? Summer looked back to Ashton to try to communicate that they should run while they could.

What she saw was him carefully lowering Mrs. Mcshay to the ground. Had she passed out? Summer rushed forward, noticing the subtle calming of the winds on the way. For a second she thought she saw some kind of spark near Ashton’s fingertips, but there was so much going on she didn’t think too much of it.

“Ashton,” she panted once she got close, “What happened?”

“She passed out,” Ashton replied, “The stress on her must have been too much.”

It sounded plausible, but Summer had the sinking feeling Ashton was lying to her. She had been right there, but she had missed out on everything.

“Ashton,” Summer began. What should she say? Should she accuse him of lying? Emotions swept over her and she felt her eyes well up with tears. The words that came out of her mouth surprised even her. “My car…”