The Twisted Future (Teen Superheroes Book 4) by Darrell Pitt Page B

had never been born?’
    They were complicated questions and no-one had any answers to them. Taking someone to the past is obviously a bad idea , Brodie thought. Who knows what you might break?
    Sharla might never be born. Most of the people they had encountered may never exist because their parents never met in the first place. Making changes in the past could cause irreparable harm.
    Except, she reflected, it would seem the world would be a better place.
    After all, it could hardly be any worse.
    Could it?
    ‘What’s that sound?’ Chad asked.
    They stopped. At first Brodie could hear nothing, but then she heard squeaking. They turned, but there was only an empty corridor. Then Sharla angled the flashlight to the floor.
    ‘A rat,’ she said. ‘And a big one too.’
    It was large. Almost as big as a fully grown cat. Chad wondered if the yellow fog had affected it. Then he peered more closely.
    ‘What’s on its back?’ he asked.
    ‘They look like...’ Brodie started. ‘I don’t know what they look like.’
    In the next instant they had their answer as the rat ran towards them and launched itself into the air. Spreading a pair of leathery wings, it flew onto the wall, landed on the edge of a Van Gogh print and gave a high-pitched cry. Brodie snatched up a cup from the floor. She took careful aim and hit it. The creature swooped towards the ground and raced away.
    ‘A rat with wings,’ Brodie said. ‘Now I’ve seen everything.’
    ‘Not everything,’ Sharla said. ‘There are stranger things in the badlands.’
    Brodie didn’t want to think about them. Increasing their pace until they reached a set of swinging doors, they pushed through into the next section. After another minute, Chad heard a sound from behind. He glanced back and saw the double doors were wedged open.
    That’s strange , he thought. We closed them. How—.
    ‘Sharla,’ he said. ‘Point your torch back down the hall.’
    She did. Dozens of rats were pushing into the hallway. The nearest was only a few feet away.
    It launched into the air and flew directly at them.

Chapter Twenty-One
     
    The creature flew at Chad. He stood frozen in shock as it headed directly towards his face. It was only at the last instant that Brodie’s gloved fist struck out, swatting it away in mid-flight.
    ‘Don’t shoot at them!’ Sharla shouted. ‘It will just bring more.’
    ‘Run!’ Brodie yelled.
    They ran, followed by a stampede of clawed feet. Chad wanted to use his powers against them. He could incinerate them in an instant, but he needed his suit intact. The next doors were still thirty feet away. He doubted they would reach them in time. 
    ‘To the left!’ Brodie yelled. ‘Go left!’
    She disappeared through an open door with Sharla following. Chad was last. He leapt through the door just as a rat slammed into his back. He threw himself to the ground and rolled about, trying to dislodge it, screaming in panic. Normally he was in complete control, but that was when he had his powers. Now they amounted to nothing. He was helpless.
    He saw Brodie aim a savage kick at the rat. It spun across the room, slammed into the far wall and lay still. Sharla had already bolted the door shut. One rat had been half-way through; its splattered remains stained the floor. A thumping sound came from the other side as its companions threw themselves against the door in desperation.
    They were in a private cabin, lit by a single porthole. Sharla shone her torch around. Another door led to the bathroom, but this did not even contain a window.
    ‘There’s only one way out of here,’ she said, pointing to the window. It was barely big enough for an infant let alone a teenager. Brodie examined it closely before peering about the cabin. She upended a bed, breaking off a six-foot metal strut.
    ‘We might be able to solve this with a lever and some good old fashioned grunt,’ she said, setting to work on the window.
    Within minutes she had removed the casing. It took