"Stay down!" I grab Felix and pull us behind the ledge.
We finally found a good position to enter the city, but a firefight erupted in front of us. We're hidden for now, just behind a small brick ledge. We haven't been discovered, and the gunfire is hiding our noise.
Felix noted a few balconies in the building ahead that I could jump and carry us both to. His plan is to take advantage of them for cover and movement. If anyone comes after us, I'll hear them coming up or down the stairs. By the time they reach our floor, we'll have our guns pointed at them.
"Seriously, can't we end up on the side next to the good guys for once?" I announce my wishful thinking. The group ahead are armed humans and demons that clearly aren't Hunters, military, or police. They're firing across the street at the good guys I mentioned—local French military.
I check Felix, but he's not freaking out. It's good that he can keep his cool, but I never wanted to expose him to a war zone like this.
"Janine, we have to get out of here. I just saw lights coming from the opposite direction. This is about to escalate. Fast."
"Hold on, that car's French military!" Unless our enemies got their hands on a French military 'PVP,' this could be our chance. The hostiles in front of us unload into the armored car, but rounds like that can't penetrate that vehicle's armor. Not at that distance.
"No, not that direction! Look, the other way!"
Another set of lights come roaring down the street. That truck is—
No. No, that can't be right. What the hell!?
The oncoming pickup truck has a mounted gunner which quickly kills the soldiers on the ground and takes aim at our would-be backup.
The deafening rain of lead shreds the approaching French soldiers' vehicle. I think the driver was shot. He tried to turn away, but spun out of control and crashed into the nearest building. The rest of the soldiers inside jump out and use the vehicle as cover, but they're pinned now.
They won't last. If I don't step in now, they're going to die, too.
"Janine, no! There's too many!"
I was saving this for an emergency, but now's a good a time as any. I grab my handgun and aim over the ledge. I got this, don't worry.
I sharpen my focus and concentrate on the barrel. I only got to test these "demon" rounds a few times with Athena and Jess, but I've got a good enough feel for it. I rest my sights just below the enemy machine gunner riding on the back of the truck. If these guys didn't notice me yet, they're about to.
The air around me glows. It feels like electricity is surging all around me. These rounds are a natural catalyst for my ability to generate heat. Just like how some demons use catalysts with explosives to amplify suicidal self destructs, my squad found a way to weaponize my useless 'talent.' Normally, I'm no better than a toaster oven.
It feels like my blood is being heated, flowing from my body and into the gun. The tension swells, ready to explode.
Because that is exactly what is about to fucking happen.
I fire. The force of the blast shoots through my wrist, and my arm flies over my head from the momentum. The detonation releases a surge of scorching light, literally frying the air in front of me into a massive, blinding projectile. It slams into the truck, flipping it. The gunner is crushed and killed instantly as the truck continues rolling.
The remaining survivors retreated immediately after my shot. They jumped behind the corner of the next building and didn't stop running.
The one downside about this gun's is that it needs time to cool down the chamber—as well as the grip, for that matter. I can't fire consecutive shots without melting my fingers off, plus it's physically exhausting. I'm still trying to catch my breath.
The world just turned sideways. I was staring at the street one second, and then suddenly I'm thrown flat against the ground. There's gunfire against the ledge and just above me. If Felix hadn't pulled me down in time, I'd have been killed by the very soldiers I just saved.
"What the hell? Didn't they see what I just did? We're on the same side!"
"No, you're not. Not to them. I don't know how you did that, but what they saw was a woman with demon red hair that started glowing, followed by whatever the hell that was."
He pulls me up, helping me regain my senses.
"Listen to me." He puts his hands on my shoulders. The look in his eyes is serious. "You're reborn, Janine. All they see is 'demon' and a target on your head."
Fuck! And we can't even speak these guys' language! This whole damn city is our enemy!
I had hoped our first encounter with friendlies would be our ticket out of here, but there's—
Shit. Felix just pulled out a grenade.