ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR: Flashes VI
194
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“Stop,” said Alden, ignoring the jostling as the others halted right behind him.
No more careful walks or extended conversations—they had fifteen minutes left of class, and they had to make this run count. He was trying to focus on all the necessary details, and in this particular second, the priority was Instructor Klein. The Agility Brute was across the gym, finishing off a whirlwind of an attack on Vandy. Febri shouted something that was probably a curse, grabbed Vandy to carry her onward, and Klein’s head turned for the briefest of moments toward Alden’s increasingly frustrated team.
Haoyu was permanently flushed now. Even though he was deliberately stepping up to be his parents’ primary target on their team, he was probably hitting his limit. The spell impression that helped him stay on his feet wasn’t nearly as good as the skills that helped his parents keep their own footing, and it showed when they were repeatedly prying him off the floor.
He wanted to be able to stand with them in dangerous places so much that he’d asked Esh-erdi for advice. And despite his even keel and general optimism, he had expected—and been expected by most people who grew up with him—to be an S. It had to feel like crap at a time like this to be getting such frequent reminders that he was miles away from being able to look after his own family.
Klein was moving again, toward Reinhard’s team.
“Go! Move! Go!” Alden yelled, already running.
“Snake!” screamed Everly. Watching Instructor Waker was her current assignment. Carrying Konstantin, who had one broken leg again, was Haoyu’s. Whenever Everly called out a warning, they all tried to act with coordination based on whatever the wind situation was.