22

A pulped rainbow of trailing aberrant flesh surrounded the man. Blown away by the conviction of a bullet. Into the colorful mess trying o irradiate Summers’s head with conflicting emotions.

He’d killed them, she stared at the kitchen knife clutched in his hand and lodged in the neck of the creature whose open maw crushed his chest. She turned as the pain spiked.

He was crumpled at the entrance of an alley.

“Fuck,” she whispered and forced her head skywards as the discordant emotions bleed into a migraine. She tried to speak but couldn’t find any words.

“Summer, come over here,” She looked to Mensha, he stood in the alley holding a small bloodied shoe aloft.

She took a centering breath, a raised a hand to ruse her aching head. “Okay, step complete,” She walked past the man to Mensha and the child’s shoe. She stared into the maze of monolithic architecture down the alley and the small bloodied footprints that disappeared into the dark.

She glanced back, and flinched away, as her headache redoubled. An image stood in her mind. A man gave his life in defense of another or was it others?

“Now we have to find them.”

“Not now.” Mensha tapped her shoulder, “We still have a bit more to search.” He said and slipped the shoe into his bag.

“We should just go,” Summer said.

“We should just be diligent,” Mensha and glanced down the path they’d been walking. “Five ten minutes at most if we don’t find anything.”

“What could there be to find, this.” She pointed down the alley, “Is literally what we were looking for.”

“I don’t know Summer but I want to make sure.” She caught a faint apology in his eyes.

She sighed. “Fine, but over-caution is worse than rushing.”

He held her eyes the turned away. “I know, that’s why you’re the boss.” He said and walked away.

She spared a glance at the dead defender, then caught up. “We’re a team Mensha.” She said and caught his hand. “I have never nor will I ever be your boss”

“But all teams have leads.”

“But we’ve made all our decisions together.”

He hummed unconvinced.

“Haven’t we?” She frowned. “I know I’ve been pushing but, together always you know.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He shot her a darkly amused glance and sighed. “Summer if it were up to me we would still be in the mall.” He turned and she lost sight of his eyes, she squeezed his hand. “Hiding away from all of this.” His words fell away

She held her voice and swept her gaze around. It was horribly empty and despite her apparently growing light the world was cast in dark. No wind disturbed the smell of death, so settled into a invisble haze.

“It’s one of the many reasons I’m glad you’re here, I don’t think I’d have done anything on my own.”He whispered.

The scene frittered through her. “And I’d have ran into somethings stomach.” She chuckled to throw it off but the desperate notes only sent her reeling.

An arm wrapped around her, “I’m here Summer.” She swallowed a shuddering breath and returned the embrace. She stopped shaking and released the death grip that she’d brought.

“Sorry, don’t know what came over me,”

“Stress I imagine.” He said a pleasant mask covering the worry in his eyes.

She glanced away and chuckled uneasily. They continued, in her wan light and she held his hand in a carefully relaxed grip.

“If,” she turned to him, and his eyes evaded her. “If it helps, I don’t think you’ll die alone.”

She burst into chuckles. “The fuck Mensha.” Her smile brightened he stiffened awkwardly. Her laughter eased over a minute and she relaxed as much as she could. “I have every intention of dying from old age, and you’ve already promised to follow me.”

He relaxed a pleased glow in his eye. “So you’re saying I’m right.”

She huffed. “I guess I am.” She trailed a bright path.

They found no more trails, only scattered bodies, if there were any others they were lost to the city.

They returned to the dead man and skirted into the alley. Mensha stopped and she turned to find his gaze fixed to the ruined complex behind them.

She stared into his eyes, he sighed and turned away, and continued walking, his hand in hers.

They strode down the streets and Summer found a tension leaving her as she left. Like an old ache finding relief. It was soon replaced with niggling anxiety of uncertainty.

They had a direction and goal, but little way to find it. That feeling grew as the shades started to render the gloomy streets, pitch, and hid the sporadic trail of blood they followed.

Wandering the ill-fitting that composed the streets met success. Though they lost the trail more than once. However, the many alleys eventually led to a large road, though the thick crowd made determining anything difficult.

Summer found herself seated on top of a cargo truck’s trailer. surrounded by streams of faceless figures.

She glanced at the dark handprint on the truck’s bonnet. The vehicle was empty without any sign of distress, she wondered what happened to all the drivers. Her gaze wandered up and down the eight-lane highway and the constant stream of shades rendering everything a dozen meters black. Beyond the glowing spears.

She sighed and looked at Mensha, his eyes wandered but didn’t look at the scene, probably experimenting.

“Any ideas,” she said, he blinked and then focused on her,

“Beyond finding a help shadow to solve all our problems?”

“Yes, Mensha, we haven’t seen anything, beyond some bloodstains, they may not even come from the people we’re looking for.” She hissed in tired frustration. “I can do fights Mensha, and I can live with hours of searching I’m a lawyer, but this, this is ridiculous.” She thrust a hand obscuring shadows that wandered by

“Be that as it may be we are on someone’s trail, and since they’re injured enough to leave a trail we might be able to catch up with them.”He replied and stretched his legs.

“And if they die before we find them,”

“Then they die.” Her glare snapped at him, and his gaze didn’t waver, “We can do our best Summer, that’s all” Her frustration had no way to go but in.

She wracked her thoughts to find anything but found only bad ideas. A bang interrupted her. Her gaze snapped the source and fled as a surge of amusement swept her amusement away.

She chortled and turned to Mensha, “Let’s do something about that.”