On the next corner I almost wipe out, slipping on the wet cement. Kaiden catches my elbow before I can make a fool out of myself, hauling me to my feet.
“Thanks,” I breathe just before raising my gun to fire at the man coming out of an alley, aiming at Kaiden’s back. Kinsley beats me to it before I can even pull the trigger though, and Kahl instantly pivots to cover the opposite side of the street.
It’s so dark that only the little scraps of fabric let me know where they are, but it’s enough for me to make out a semblance of their features. Even if I couldn’t though, I don’t need to see their faces to know who’s who. I can feel it in my bones, almost as comforting as being able to hide in plain sight.
“Hardly. I don’t need to prove my worth to anyone, and neither do you.”
About two steps from finding the nearest bar and drinking until I can’t hear myself think, I try to take a slow breath in through my nose, calming my sprinting heartbeat. Yet all I manage to do is snort rainwater and end up sputtering, swiping at my face with my free hand.
Then what do you want?
“The same thing as you, little dragon. To be free.”
Kahl swings me around quickly and fires off three shots in rapid succession. “If the storm gets that close, we’ll move indoors, with or without Cai’s approval.”
It takes me a minute to make sense of his statement, so caught up in my own head that I already forgot we were talking about death by lightning. I don’t bother warning him, just start firing when a red dot appears around the corner of the building. A few shots go wide, but one pegs him smack center in the forehead; the paint a brilliant, glowing white in the dark. He stumbles back, cursing as he slips and falls onto his ass in a puddle. A huge, jizz-like blob marks my first victim and I grin, feeding off of the chaotic energy.
“They never got to the rules,” it dawns on me, amused as I realize it wouldn’t matter to them either way. “Soren went on a tirade then just started the game.”
Shots ring out around us and rather than panic at being surrounded, I embrace the code my mates live by. Hastily passing my gun to Kinsley, I tug the blue marker off my arm and stuff it in my pocket, taking my gun back a few seconds later.
He fakes a dramatic gasp. “Are youcheating,angel?”
Jogging away from the spot so we aren’t sitting ducks, a smile plays at the corner of my lips. “Can’t cheat if no rules were established. No one said they had to remain visible or worn the entire game, or even where.”
“Damn, you’re beautiful when you talk loopholes,” he responds, chuckling.
The three of them follow my lead, removing the glowing markers that give them away and stuffing them in the pockets of their jeans. We stay crouched, weaving our way between buildings and firing until the hopper on my gun is empty. Kahl tosses me a refill canister and the three of them cover me while I reload, firing several times while I keep my head down and hurry. There’s another crash of thunder, the sound loud enough that the ground practically shakes beneath my feet. The rain comes even heavier than before, covering us in sheets, and I’m immensely grateful for Kaiden’s coat keeping me relatively dry. At least, compared to the three of them, though they hardly seem to mind.
“Why the fuck isn’t this coming off, Veles?” a man demands as I pass the empty canister to Kins, furiously scrubbing at the white splash on his cheek.
Kahl grins, feigning innocence. “Scrub harder, Dave. It’s just paint, jeeze.”
I narrow my eyes at him, but wait until Dave moves on before asking. “Glue or dye?”
Smirking, Kahl chuckles, “A bit of both. Laced with squirrel pheromones. Here’s to hoping the rain doesn’t wash the scent completely off because of the adhesive, but we didn’t account for a storm when making it.”
Grinning, we keep moving, taking several people out along the way. The muscles in my thighs start to burn, encumbered by the added weight. I’m used to the rush of adrenaline for short spurts, weighed down by nothing more than the clothes on my back. But the soaked, heavy jacket and gun added with the ‘on again, off again’ state we’re in, confusing my fight or flight instincts, are a bit of an adjustment.
It’s positively thrilling.
This isn’t running, it’s strategy. They’re just as much my prey as I’m theirs, putting us on even ground. Though admittedly, I have an advantage. Years of captivity underground forced my eyes to adjust to the darkness, unlike the men here. Based off of the shadowed silhouettes’ slow, fractured movements, most people are feeling their way around between memory and touch, firing randomly in the direction of the opposite teams’ color. Yet even without the occasional flash of lightning, the glow of their armbands is enough to let me make out the landscape, keeping me from tripping on the sidewalk or crashing into anything.
Raising my gun, I set my sights on a tiny blip across the street, rising to my full height now that I don’t need to worry about being seen. They might notice our footsteps or get lucky firing into the dark, but I’ve memorized the music by now. Waiting for the next dip in sound to pass, the slow melody giving ample opportunity to hear everything happening around me, I keep him locked in my sights.
With the next thump of bass rattling the glass of every building on the street, I take a step forward and to the side, stalking after him. He whisper-shouts for his friends, though his plea is swallowed on the next gust of wind. I feel the guys at my back, know without looking that they’re close despite me not saying a word as I changed direction.
Following the impulse driving me closer, I wait until I’m only feet away from the man, watching as he runs his free hand along the brick wall of the small building. I’m mindful of each footstep, careful not to splash any more than necessary as I stalk even closer, only stopping when the barrel of my gun is pressed against his kidney.
I give no warning before firing, no gloating taunts to give him time to react. He jolts forward with a curse, barely catching himself from face planting into a puddle.
“What the hell?!” he snarls, pissed off.
Crouching, I cock my head to the side, scrutinizing him. This man that I don’t even know, yet I was so scared of him discovering me, lies on the ground, never once hearing me coming until it was too late. If I had swapped this for my real gun, he’d be dead before he ever knew he was being hunted.
You need to be the monster other monsters fear.
That’s all they are; men fighting against one another to see who will claw their way to the top. The only weakness humans talk about is their hoarding instincts and exploiting it, but we were so overwhelmed by their strength that we missed the glaring fact staring us in the face.
