Talisa screamed as loud as she could because she thought this would be the end of her life. Not only that, imagining her entire body being pierced by giant thorns made her feel the pain even before it happened. However, a second later Talisa felt someone hugging her body. From his scent, Talisa could guess that it was Darius who was hugging her.
When Talisa opened her eyes, she found that Darius grabbed her body and hugged her tightly. He was holding on to a rusty iron ladder. The rusty ladder is the way to get out of the sewers to the highway.
"Y-you…"
Talisa didn't know that Darius was taking such a big risk by moving his body between the unstable gusts of wind. He even tried to get closer to Talisa by putting his feet on the edge of the giant thorns, so that he could push himself forward. The soles of his shoes were torn apart and the thorns were piercing the sole of his feet. Blood oozed out until it dripped down, enough for Talisa to see.
"Darius, you're bleeding!" Talisa exclaimed.
Darius didn't answer. He was trying to set his feet on one of the rusty iron steps while still holding Talisa. The ladders were too narrow for the two of them, so Talisa was still hanging from Darius's body. Unfortunately, some of the ladders have been damaged or missing, the rest are not much anymore. It was difficult for Talisa to reach one of them, as well as Darius who was still looking for a foothold with his injured leg.
"Nooo!!" Talisa shouted when Darius' body felt like he was about to fall.
It turned out that Darius was holding on to the already fragile iron step. The iron is now bent, soon it will be broken. Darius and Talisa will fall and get pierced by giant thorns.
"Michael, help!" Talisa shouted again.
Michael was unable to answer. The wind that blew was no longer as big as it felt before. Now even Michael's body was tossed about. He had been using his powers for too long. Michael could only stare at Talisa without being able to say anything.
"He can't help us..." Darius said.
Talisa looked up to see Darius' face.
"Soon he will be exhausted and unconscious," continued Darius.
"He can't faint now! He will die!" Talisa exclaimed frantically.
"We will also die if you don't do something," said Darius. Talisa could sense that Darius was under pressure but he still has that poker face.
"Darius..."
Talisa couldn't continue her words because suddenly the sound of metal breaking was heard. Talisa screeched in surprise. But they were still hanging there by relying on Darius' one hand holding on to a piece of broken iron. Darius' sweaty hands made it difficult for him to hold on to the half-lived iron rod. They descended slowly even though Darius groaned while gripping the iron tightly.
"Darius!" Talisa shouted when Darius' grip was completely released.
Talisa thought that she was going to die now, but a moment later her body jerked and stumbled against the damp wall. Talisa looked up and found that Darius was hanging to another rung of the iron ladder. The condition of the iron was no better than the others. Rusted, almost broken, almost ripped off the wall. Darius and Talisa's weight made it bend now.
"Talisa, now is the time!" cried Darius.
Darius glanced at Michael who was barely able to keep his body floating. He seemed to have almost closed his eyes, losing consciousness. In just a few seconds, he will surely fall and die.
Talisa tried to concentrate but her fear was blocking all her efforts. She forced herself until the ground around them began to shake, but still, it wasn't enough. The iron that was their sole life support was getting bent and slowly being pulled out of the wall. At the same time, Michael lost control. The last strong wind tossed him upward, almost hitting the roof of the sewer. Darius knew that in no time Michael would fall freely on the thorns.
"Talisa, do something!"
Darius had no other choice. With his remaining strength, he lifted Talisa's body so that Talisa's face came closer. Immediately, Darius kissed Talisa's lips. This took Talisa by surprise, but at the same time, her power radiated strongly. Talisa's body glowed with a greenish glow. At the same time, an earthquake occurred. The earthquake made the iron steps completely broken. However, Darius did not stop kissing Talisa's lips. He knew that if he stopped, Talisa would be unable to bring out her maximum strength.
Darius's warm lips made Talisa seem to forget whatever was happening around her. Her strength took over her entire body. It happened so fast, that Talisa barely realized what was happening. All she knew was that they all fell freely to the ground. Surprisingly, Talisa didn't feel scared at all.
They should have fallen with thorns, but their bodies fell hard to the ground. Darius reversed their positions as they almost fell to the ground. Darius was beneath, so Talisa fell right on top of Darius with their lips still connected.
At that moment, Talisa realized that her lips were still attached to Darius's. She immediately released herself and Darius let her. Clumsily, Talisa shuffled and when she looked around, she found that all around her had turned to flat ground. It was as if the ground was growing higher, creating a mound that covered the giant thorns. Talisa glanced at Darius with a look that implied she was both angry and embarrassed.
"What? We would have died earlier if I didn't do it," Darius said as he stood up.
Talisa couldn't answer. She could only sigh because what Darius said was true. It felt even more strange the relationship between her and Darius. Talisa still couldn't believe that she has to be that close to Darius whenever there was danger.
Darius walked towards Michael who was lying helplessly. He checked Michael's pulse by touching his neck.
"He'll be awake in a moment," Darius said.
Talisa watched as Darius lifted Michael's body and shifted him towards the wall in a half-sitting position. Darius then released fire from the tip of his index finger and then did something to Michael's body.
"What did you do to him?" Talisa asked curiously.
"I'm just transferring my energy into him. Michael is running out of energy," Darius replied.
"I thought you didn't like him," Talisa said.
"I didn't. But he saves our lives."