Two days later
"I'm going to the market, guys! Is there anything y'all want?" I shouted back into the house, unlocking the door so I could leave.
"Can I have some raspberries? I ate the ones from Thursday already," Val shouted back. I sighed with a smile.
"Val, that was three days ago, but whatever. Yeah, I'll get them for you." I said. "Bye guys!"
"Don't get killed, sis!" Holden shouted. I grinned.
"No promises, bro!" I locked the door and started walking. The air was starting to get chillier, as fall was steadily approaching. I tightened my scarf around my neck as I walked up the steep hill.
When I was in the store, I got three packs of raspberries, one pack of blueberries, and one pack of blackberries, in addition to all the other groceries we would need for the next two weeks. It was expensive, but for once I felt comfortable enough to buy all the food we needed, with our large werewolf appetites, and get a little extra for Val.
I started the walk back to my house, feeling cheery. Everything was going well. I had scraped it into the top 100 with a lucky battle, and now we finally had enough money to keep us reliably fed and clothed.
I heard muttering in an alleyway next to me, but I didn't think much of it... until I heard the quiet patter of footsteps trailing behind me. I started to walk a tiny bit faster, and so did the footsteps. I started panicking. Why would anyone follow me? I started jogging down the hill, more thankful that it was here now than when I had been walking up the side of it thirty minutes ago. Then, I slipped on a patch of ice, and fell down with a thump. The weather must have been colder than I thought it was, if there was already ice on the ground.
I felt strong hands grab my arms, and haul me back into the alleyway, where I became face-to-face with a young woman. She gave off dangerous vibes, and not just because of her leather jacket and combat boots. Her thick black hair was cropped short at her jaw, and by the way she was glaring at me, I could tell that she wasn't friendly. Not even close.
"I don't suppose there's a chance you just wanted to say hello, right," I said, arching my eyebrow and letting a trace of a smirk slide onto my face.
"We all saw what you did, love. Your face is all over the web," she said smugly, holding up her shiny new holocaster. "See, you look like you might become a threat. And now, I can't have that. So, I hate you. No hard feelings for what I'm about to do, right?" And with that, she lunged at me, her fist cracking hard against my jaw and making my cheek sting with pain.
Her goons were still holding me down, and I shook them off with a growl. This girl was gonna go down. And I was going to do it. She lunged at me, but this time I dodged to the slide and let her charge the wall. She barely stopped in time, and whirled around to face me. I lifted an eyebrow. She shifted into her wolf, a tawny brown one with amber eyes, and then jumped, her paw swipe aiming towards my head and face. I deflected the blow, and when she tried it again, I made my move.
When she leaped at me, I ducked under her body and ran towards the other wall of the narrow alley. I used my speed and strength, and my slender yet powerful frame, to my advantage. I ran to the wall, jumped onto it, took a step, and then leaped off while spinning around in midair and shifting, giving Anahi control. We landed on the girl's wolf with a crunch, and she let out a whimper of pain and shifted back. I did the same.
I got up, dusting off my clothes and readjusting my scarf. "I'm sorry I had to do that. If it were up to me I would have left you alone," I said, and she coughed.
"I never- I never told you my name, did I?" I shook my head in silence. "Aleea. My name i-is Aleea." She let out another cough that wracked her whole frame, and then her breathing cane to a shuddering halt as he pulse slowed to a stop. Her skin became cold and clammy, and I turned away from the body as I picked up my groceries. No one was in sight, not even Aleea's goons, so I started to head home. My holocaster dinged in my back pocket, and I pulled the dented thing out.
My eyes almost popped out of my sockets. There, in my bank account, was enough to feed and clothe us for a whole year, and pay for the second-semester school tuition for Val. We had barely scraped by the money for the online course, but now we wouldn't have to worry!
My eyes drifted to the score, and I swear, if I had been drinking something, I would have spit it out of my mouth fast.
Kaylee Janix
Rank 46
Defeated(highest ranking): Max, Aleea
I was above fifty. Val was gonna lose her mind.