43

                                    

                                          
Mia's POV
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The school is standing tall, right in front of me. In fact, as I walk a few paces left, I can see the glass door that leads down the hallway I am in. I see Knox holding me, passed out, in his arms, heading for the door. Then, without me even wanting to, my vision swings to the right, so much so that my vision blurs. Then I'm standing in front of my house. The stone is in my house? When I ask myself the question, I feel a strong tug in my subconscious, like something in me is agreeing. Great, now I have to walk a mile to get to my house. What a waste of time, going to the school. Ugh.
My sight wavers, and a second later darkness returns.
My eyes open to harsh sunlight, and I bring my arms up to shield them.
"Took you long enough," Knox says from above. I squint up at him, and realize he's carrying me- like I weigh nothing, of course. Placing my hands on his shoulders to steady myself, I hop out of his arms.
"Thanks."
"So?" Knox asks, ushering us away from the eyes of my school, under an oak tree a few yards away.
I sigh. "It's at my house."
"The stone? Why did it show here before?"
"I don't know... But that doesn't matter. The stone is at my house. Hopefully-"
I stop my sentance short as a flash of black catches my eye. I turn around slowly, and just catch the back of two black-cloaked figures disappearing down the other side of a roof across the street.
"Shit," I whisper, pulling Knox with me as I start to jog down the sidewalk, wracking my brain for the quickest way to my house. We don't have enough money to get a taxi, and that would take too long.
"Did you see the Cin?"
"Yeah," Knox replies, his tone grim. Then I remember something, and veer right, into a small section of woods.
"Bike path," I say simply, hopping out of the woods onto a small, paved bike road with a line of trees on either side to separate it from the road and houses. It goes close enough to my house.
"Have you ever ridden a bike before?" I ask Knox, trying to keep my heartbeat calm and attempting to push back the nerves threatening to flip my stomach.
"No, but I'm sure I'll catch on."
"Ok, we need to steal one."
Yes, I feel bad, but we need to. This could save the human world, so yeah. It's worth it. 
Though it's warm, a cool breeze tells me riding fast on a bike will be cold in the late spring San Francisco weather. I slip on my jacket and jog to a small spot where a few bikers are pulled off to the side, sitting on a bench and eating snacks. I cringe to myself. I've never done anything bad like this.
So I just go for it, and Knox follows suit. We each grab a road bike, and I hop on and start pedaling, Knox watching me for a second before copying my movements.
"Sorry, we need them!" I yell back to the bikers, who are yelling and chasing us. But we're too fast, and soon the crunch of their shoes on the road fades far behind us. Knox and I race down the paved path as fast as we can, the wind stinging my ears and whipping my hair behind me. Knox pulls up beside me, looking perfectly natural. I scoff.
"Show off," I say over the wind. Knox grins.
We weave around slow bikers, and occasionally I'll try to glance through the trees to see if I can spot any elves on the roofs. I don't see any, but I know they're racing to get to my house, just like us.