Chapter 19 (1/2)

”Tick tock, Daniel. You have five minutes to prepare. Think. What is it that you should be doing?” Mercury's voice brought Dan back to the present.

What should he be doing? He was clueless, overwhelmed, in deep over his head. He very nearly asked for help. The words were on the tip of his tongue, ready to be spoken. Stubborn pride was what stopped him. Not a particularly valuable emotion, but it was all that he had available at the moment. Mercury would probably help Dan if he asked, but it would feel like a loss, a failure. Dan wanted, needed, to think for himself. If he gave in without even trying...

Unacceptable.

So, here he was, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Here he was, surrounded by the dead and dying, standing beside brave volunteers, weathering heat that rivaled the hottest of deserts, within a city he was wholly unfamiliar with. What could he accomplish in five minutes?

Dan looked down at the map clutched loosely in his hands. Learning the area might be a good place to start.

An act of will took him to the nearest high ground, a small parking garage across from the hospital tent. He opened his eyes, and did his best not to notice the ash crunching beneath his feet. Dan unfolded the map and carefully examined it.

The blast zone had been separated into a series of square grids, each individually labeled. Supply stations were spaced out among the area, their placement optimized for ease of access. More information was scattered about the map as well. Terrain warnings, where footing or buildings might be unstable. Temperature warnings, as the ambient heat increased steadily as one moved further into the zone. There were even locations marked for emergency transport, where ATVs had been stashed with keys in the ignition.

It had been roughly an hour since the initial blast. Less than half of that, since SPEAR had left the area, and rescue efforts had begun in truth. The map was astonishingly detailed. Dan wasn't sure if the sheer efficiency should please him, or worry him.

Most likely some measure of both.

But that could be dealt with later. Dan planned to memorize as much of the city as he could in the next few minutes. He didn't need a particularly clear picture to teleport. His power seemed to defy all convention in its ability to accurately put him somewhere. He had managed to appear in front of the Pearson Hotel within an hour of acquiring his power, despite only being familiar with its dimensional alternate. That said, he would need a more accurate mental destination than 'grid marker A-1'.

The grid labels read like a book, moving left to right and top to bottom on the map, with the whole thing centered on the small office building that acted as ground zero. The medical tents were located in the southwest quadrant, at the very border of the affected area. If Dan teleported north, and paid attention to landmarks, then he should be able to hit every supply point on his map within a few minutes.

If only he knew which direction was north. The sun was hidden beneath a thick layer of smoke, and it was around midday besides. Dan frowned at his map, turning it about in an attempt to match the drawing to reality. There was a road running past the medical tents, though its path was barely discernible beneath the rubble. Maybe if he squinted really hard—

”Oh for heaven's sake! Check your pocket Daniel,” Marcus interrupted with irritation.

Dan complied, quickly patting himself down. He found a suspicious lump in his front left pocket.

”This was not there before,” he remarked, pulling out an army compass.

”I put it there. Watching you fumble about any longer would be physically painful. You'll need to purchase one for yourself in the real world., at least until you can learn directions like a normal person.”

Dan wanted to protest that most people could not be dropped into an unfamiliar area and immediately know which way was north, but the argument stalled before it left his mouth. Arguing with the doctor was an exercise in futility at the best of times, to say nothing of when he was only a disembodied voice.

More importantly, Dan had work to do.

He consulted the compass, glanced briefly at his map, and got to it.