I couldn't resist the temptation to try out what, if anything, I might be capable of whilst wearing the new 'sinew-suit', a term I made up in my head on the spot.

With very little forethought I let myself fall onto my side, landing on my right hand. The sinew-suit responded to the movement automatically, and with surprising grace I held a one-handed handstand with very little effort.

The tactile feedback from the suit flooded my brain, giving a whole host of new information to understand. I was not only hyper aware of every inch of what the sinew-suit was doing, I was also aware to a degree I hadn't experienced before of the temperature around me, and the texture of the mud and grass, as if the sensations were several times magnified.

Entertained murmurs from Azad and Xandra caught my attention. They seemed to be enjoying the show.

I pushed off with my hand-standing-arm and righted myself to a standing position.

Xandra jumped back out of the mansion, keeping her knees close to her chest to avoid her feet catching on the broken windowsill frame on her way out.

She landed, and the next thing I knew she embraced me in a firm hug.

"I'm so glad you're not that ugly monster anymore," she said.

"Yeah," I said, a little taken aback by the sudden hug, "Me too."

I caught an amused look on Azad's face. The way he raised his eyebrows twice insinuated there was something romantic going on between Xandra and I.

I pulled a face of my own which must have said several different things at once in response; I was in a good mood, a little surprised, feeling awkward, but also excited. How much my face was actually able to convey about how I was feeling however I couldn't tell.

Xandra let go, took a step back, and admired the sinew-suit up-close.

"How it feel?" she said.

"It breathes well," I said.

Xandra giggled.

After that I returned with Xandra into the mansion, her jumping through first, then me right after.

The springy, yet powerful jump I was able to do in the sinew-suit was incredibly exciting to experience; it was as if the suit were making every minor and major movement I made a good deal easier yet more precise at the same time; and I wasn't even trying to push the suit's limits yet.

The room we had all jumped into was empty of any furnishings. The floorboards were heavily scratched and the walls were mired in graffiti, as well as many different sized holes and other damages.

Azad, who had picked up the blanket and blue basket, led the way to the doorway which led into the adjacent manor entrance. It wasn't a mansion like the ones seen in old games of Cluedo, or black and white detective movies. Instead the mansion had a particular 'new build' look to it that was clear to see even after everything but the very foundations of the mansion had been ransacked, and set upon by vandals. Being a modern build also meant, more likely than not, the mansion was made out of far cheaper and less sturdy materials.

I noticed a large amount of 'whippets' on the ground; little gas canisters meant to be used for stuff like whipped-cream. I had seen plenty whippets around the parking lot of the flat where I lived, since there were plenty of people near where I lived who enjoyed getting high off them.

Xandra let out a whistle and said, "Must have been a wild party."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Parties," said Azad, sniffing a little due to the debris and dust set all about, "I bet they come back every month or so."

"But you don't know that for sure?" I said.

"No," said Azad, "I was jus' here for a week."

There wasn't much need for us to scour every inch of the place right away, since the three of us, via our combined heightened senses, already had a pretty good understanding of the layout of the mansion.

"You know," I said, as we moved into a vary spacious kitchen with a large kitchen island in the middle, "We might not be able to hear that anyone's here, but there might be powered teenagers that have found a way to remain quiet enough to evade our senses."

Xandra jabbed me in the shoulder.

"Shut up," she said, though she wasn't angry.

"Maybe," said Azad, setting the blue basket and the blanket on the kitchen countertop with a thud, "I got lucky the Sub-Divisioners before didn't hear me. Either they didn't try to listen out for me, or they didn't know they could do that with the power yet."

"Right," I said.

I tried to imagine the possibility that there might be any powered individuals hiding in the mansion already. It seemed very unlikely, since that would mean that they would have heard us coming, or might even have known we were on our way to the mansion.

"Crap," I said.

"What?" said Azad.

"The odds of others being here isn't zero," I said, "As a precaution I think we shouldn't split up, and we shouldn't assume nobody's here until we've searched every inch of this place."

Azad waved a hand at me.

"Nah," he said, "There's no one here."

He walked as if tired to the far end of the kitchen, looking out the broken window to a section of overgrown garden beyond.

I felt a stab of annoyance at Azad's dismissal of my concern.

He should know as much as I do that we can't take anything for granted any more, I thought.

"I agree with B," said Xandra, "We should look everywhere we can before settling in."

"You do that," said Azad, "I'm going upstairs to sleep for a bit. Let me know how it goes."

Xandra and I shared a look, both agreeing without saying a word that Azad wasn't taking the danger we might be in seriously.

If I hadn't have experienced all the trials and tribulations of the last month and half since being evacuated and barely escaping with my life several times over, I likely would have let Azad's dismissal stick. But all of the torments were still raw and at the fore of my mind, and I found myself becoming angry enough I almost yelled at him.

Xandra's hand reached out to grab mine, but she second-guessed this action and kept her hand by her thigh.

She thinks I'm going to do something drastic, I thought.

I turned away from her and Azad and faced the doorway we had entered into the kitchen from. After taking several deep breaths I let the anger which gripped me subside.

That anger was dangerous, because I knew at some point the bill would come due with the fox-frog-monster. Had it been born out of my suppressed rage? Was every time I took the cowardly way out of a situation just one more domino set up for the eventual cascade where the fox-frog-monster would unleash again?

I wasn't sure, but I was determined to try and change up how I approached both my anger and the issues which were going to keep presenting themselves as problems.

Use a little bit of your anger, I thought to myself, and use your brain to think up a solution. Treat this like a test.

Before this thought occurred to me the situation seemed like a dead end. A mental block that was threatening to give me a headache. But then, upon agreeing with myself to see the obstacle ahead as a test, something with open possibilities with trial and error allowed, a plethora of ways to handle the situation sprung to mind. In my excitement I went with the first one.

"Ah," I said, turning back to Azad and Xandra, "I guess if we come across any Sub-Divisioners or Pied Piper officers we'll just shout out for you to come join the fight."

Azad turned and faced me, a wary look on his face. What I said had troubled him, like I expected.

"But," I said, the words coming out of my mouth with scary ease, "I was hoping the three of us could learn to work as a fighting unit. Sure, we can each hold our own in a fight, but true fighters know how work as a team."

Azad's troubled look gaze way to a slight look of wonder, like a misbehaving child realising they'll miss out on a day of fun should they continue with their tantrum.

"But don't worry about it," I said, "We can save that kind of training for later."

"No," said Azad, stepping forward, "It's better we train together when it counts."

Gotcha, I thought.

"D'you think?" I said, "We could always do combat simulations later on."

"Better we start now, when its real," said Azad.

"Oh, okay," I said, playing dumb, "Well, in that case, since you know this place, maybe you could lead our recon mission?"

"Yes!" said Azad, clenching his fist and grinning excitedly, "Follow me!"

Azad charged past Xandra and I so fast he might as well have been skipping back to the manor entrance.

I caught another questioning look from Xandra. She could see clear as day what I'd done, that much was clear to see on her face. I smiled a little and shrugged, and walked in tandem with Xandra out of the kitchen, following after Azad.

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