PRELUDE
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Dusty could almost hear her heart beating as the suspense built. She was as close to the small screen as possible with her sisters and Marco watching as well. They were all crammed into the front of Marco’s father’s patrol car, and the screen was neatly positioned on the dashboard. Dusty was thankful that it was night, there were no glares on the already unclear screen.
“Wait, pause it,” Harmony, her first sister ordered, leaning even closer.
“Harmony, move your head, it’s already unfair that you got the best spot,” Jennifer, her second little sister complained.
“Alright, Alright, calm down. I paused it, Harmony back up a little.” Marco interjected.
“Look! There’s Peter!” Harmony said, pressing her finger against the screen.
Dusty remained silent, and looked at the screen where the young girl was pointing. There, frozen was a young man with uncombed, dark hair. It sure looked like Peter.
But, with all the chaos and large crowds in the video, it could be anyone. Dusty thought to herself as she studied the scratchy image of the man they were looking for.
“Just wait, with Dusty’s ability, Peter would be able to help us take out those dumb soldiers once and for all!” Harmony nearly squealed in excitement.
“I know right!? I can’t believe we’re this close to finding him,” Jennifer agreed, just as excitedly.
“Guys, calm down. We can’t be heard,” Marco scolded, looking at down at the two girls from where he sat on the edge of the driver’s seat.
“So what, if someone shows up we’ll just blast ‘em.” Harmony said confidently. Jennifer nodded in agreement with a wide smile.
“Still, it makes me uneasy, let’s hurry up and finish it,” Dusty finally spoke, leaning forward just a tad.
Without a reply, Harmony reached up and hit the play button and the video continued. Even though it was current, the camera swiveled and shook and the quality was grainy and unclear. From what they could tell, and from what they knew, the video was of a recent riot in Oregon that had included several specials and ended in even more deaths and injuries. Everyone was running and screaming while criminals with abilities caught buildings and people on fire.
Dusty was trying her hardest not to get sick at the sight of all the blood and burning bodies.
“Wait! Pause it,” She suddenly exclaimed, sitting up straight.
Harmony was quick to hit the pause button and looked up at Dusty with an annoyed expression.
Dusty leaned closer, ignoring the confused glances from her friends. Where the video was paused, the special that controlled fire had slipped and was falling back, while an elderly woman was reaching out to catch him.
“Is that woman a special?” Dusty asked, looking at Marco with an apprehensive expression.
“Yep, her ability is like the exploding man, she explodes at will…” He hesitated, concentrating on the woman, “But, after she goes boom once, it’s all over for her,” He finished with a solemn tone.
Dusty quickly nodded and sat back in her seat, “You can play it now,” She said quietly, focusing back on the video.
Harmony glanced at Jennifer before shrugging and hitting play once again.
As the video continued, the special fell back and the woman caught him and also fell back. A second passed and there was a loud bang and blood flew into the air and the people who had been running by were blown back by the explosion. Moments later, the wavering camera turned around, taking in a full 360° of the riot before being knocked to the ground, and the screen went to nothing but gray static.
Dusty stared in horror at the blank screen, her stomach lurching in disgust.
“Dusty, are you okay?” Jennifer asked, looking up at her sister.
Without a reply, Dusty opened the car door and stumbled out, before puking all over the wet asphalt. When it was over, she slowly stood up and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“I can’t believe that happened!” She exclaimed, her back to the car, “How could they kill so many people, how could that woman sacrifice her life just to save a few non-specials? Why did innocent people have to get caught in the blast?” By the time she finished, she was sobbing, tears streaming down her cheeks. She fell to her knees, her face in her hands, the tears refusing to stop.
No one moved to put an arm around her; no one said a word to answer her questions. The only sign that her sister and friend were still alive was their shallow breathing as they watched their companion fall apart.
They knew that she would only complain about it later. They had no answers. They only knew that they needed to find Peter and that Nathan Petrelli was their enemy.
