A few minutes later,
Two shots could be heard on the empty street, and the only two lamps that still illuminated the street in front of the barracks building became pieces of broken glass covering the ground in front of the lamp poles.
One second later, a smoke grenade was thrown onto the street, making the typical noise of gas leaking while obscuring even more the front side of the barracks.
"Ok, the easier part is done," said a thin old man, looking at the dark street. "Will that kid really be able to jump that high?" asked him, looking at a man by his side. Both were waiting for the moment that Mark jumped across the street so they could start the next part of the plan.
Barely he asked that, and he heard the noise of someone running above the roof of the house they were in, and glimpsing out of the window, the thin old man saw another smoke grenade had been thrown high and the shadow of a man crossing the sky, his figure seen only because of the moon that stood behind him.
"Now!" shouted the old man, and everyone inside the building rushed out to the street.
...
Jumping across the street, Mark activated his eye ability and for the first time in his life, he felt as if he was flying. The distortion that his ability caused in his perception of time made him feel as if he was truly floating instead of jumping.
Looking down, Mark could see the principal balcony of the barracks building filled with soldiers. Two soldiers were pointing their guns at him now, while the others ten-ish were looking at the street, still not knowing that their reaper came from the air.
Still with his ability activated, Mark used all the strength in his body to move the sword and aim at the soldier right below him, it was hard, but Mark had become stronger and faster than before, but the feeling was still as if he was trying to walk against the current of a river. It was sluggish, hard, and he had to muster all his strength to move the sword just a few centimeters.
~thump~
His ability deactivated, and Mark fell on the balcony, hacking the neck of a soldier out of his body.
The head of that soldier was yet to hit the floor, and the other soldier that was aiming at him hit a shot on Mark's chest.
Mark looked down at his own chest, and saw blood flowing out of the wound made by the bullet, but Mark saw the bullet stuck in his flesh less than an inch below his skin.
Mark smirked and looked up, in the soldier's direction that shot him, and fear could be seen in the soldier's eyes. After all, the soldier was expecting Mark to be dead now, and not smiling at him.
With his hands shaking and taking a few steps behind, the soldier pressed the trigger of his pistol again, but not a single shot hit Mark this time, his aim was not right and the distance made him miss all the shots, but with the shots and commotion everyone around in the balcony turned their heads at Mark, not only their heads but their guns too. But Before they could shoot him down, Mark jumped high and disappeared from the balcony, leaving a M67 grenade as a departing gift.
~boom~
The balcony shook with the explosion, sending legs and arms everywhere, while Mark landed on the roof of the building.
This time, Mark didn't catch anyone by surprise and a shot hit him on the shoulder, forcing Mark to roll over the roof.
After rolling a few steps, Mark hid behind a chimney and shouted aloud, "Why don't you just surrender?"
"We could say the same to you," shouted one of the snipers, and Mark could pinpoint that his voice was coming from his right side, so he guessed the other sniper was on his left, both behind chimneys similar to the one that Mark was hiding behind.
Mark put his hand over the wounded left shoulder and could feel that the bullet only stopped because it hit his shoulder bones.
'My body is becoming stronger, but it still can't stop a bullet from a sniper rifle,' concluded Mark, seeing the difference between receiving a shot from a pistol and the one from the sniper.
True be told he was surprised too that he was still alive after taking a shot in the chest by a pistol, he knew he was stronger and faster, but he didn't realize his body was becoming sturdier too.
Mark shook the useless thoughts from his mind. It was not time to ponder over how stronger he had become, or how his body was improving. It was time to focus on the mission.
'Should I gamble now?' asked himself Mark, while holding his bleeding shoulder. He was expecting to catch the snipers by surprise, but both seemed prepared for him, as if they knew that Mark would come for them. They were good, and Mark guessed they were probably the best snippers on the base.
'You better be there somewhere, girl, don't fail me now,' he said in his mind, remembering how the girl always used to cover him when he did the craziest missions. Jane was the best sniper that Mark knew, and he had seen a plenty of them in this one year of apocalypse.
~sigh~
Mark sighed heavily while removing his bloodied hand from his shoulder, but he was not sighing because of pain, no, unfortunately, he learned how to endure pain in this last month, he still felt the pain, but it was as if something had been turned off inside him, as if the pain was always there to start.
Mark was sighing because he hated to trust people, hated to put his life in the hands of others, but realizing that the people on the street were doing the same for him and how hypocritical was his thoughts, Mark grabbed the sword with his bloodied hands, prepared himself mentally, and rushed out from behind the chimney.