"Warning: I'd be surprised if we made it back without getting hit," I muttered, my eyes scanning the streets.
"Why?" Ax asked, tightening his grip around me. "What's going on?"
"Because he left, and he wouldn't have unless he smelled another source of power. I've been drained by them four times now and have run away countless times; they never back down. Not ever."
"There's no change in weather," Ax pointed out, trying to peer out the window, practically hugging me in the process. It didn't escape my notice how well I fit in his arms.
"What if there are more?"
"Whatever happens, you stay in the car. Drive away as soon as any of them spot you, okay? Don't stop for anything." I knew if I had to worry about more of them, I was already at a disadvantage.
"But you're bleeding. You can't fight like this." Ax grabbed my hand, lifting it to get a better look at my torso. I wasn't keen on his attention to my breasts, so I quickly pulled my hand away.
"I'm fine. Turn left here." I pointed toward the street where I'd seen the mindless thingie turn. "Go slower."
The street was crowded, but I was used to searching for mindless thingies and confident I could spot them. As Luca slowed the car, my nerves twisted tighter with every face I scanned.
"We can search better on foot," Luca suggested.
"No, no, no! You stay in the car, remember? If they feel you too, it's going to get a lot messier."
"Stop the car, Luca," Ax said, his tone leaving no room for argument. Luca complied immediately.
"Go. We'll be right here, waiting." At least he was being reasonable.
Without another word, I jumped out of the car. The sun bore down on me, forcing me to cross to the other side of the street for a better view. Each passing second without finding that goddamn son of a bitch made me more anxious. My instincts urged me to turn back, to forget everything that had happened since last night and go home. But something pushed me forward.
Reaching the end of the street, I hesitated, unsure which way to turn. Left seemed logical, where I could follow the shade. The pizza I'd eaten earlier threatened to rise in my throat, and I clenched my fists to stave off nausea. With every step, hope seeped away, and I feared I wouldn't find whoever I was looking for. *Was I wrong?* Perhaps I'd misinterpreted the situation. Maybe he had really been scared of me. As much as my ego liked that idea, it just didn't make sense.
Then I saw a homeless man with a scraggly beard and a neon green tank top sprinting out of an alley, cardboard boxes clutched to his chest. Something twisted in my gut; I knew that was where I needed to go. The mindless thingies loved closed spaces—empty spaces. They felt safer away from prying eyes, wanting to keep their activities secret, and I couldn't blame them. Maybe they weren't mindless after all.
I readied myself, fingers outstretched, poised to catch my swords as soon as I straightened my arms and they slipped from my sleeves. The alley was cleaner than most, likely due to the fast food joint at the corner, which had a back door leading directly there. That's when I spotted him: the back of the mindless thingie's head as he strode forward, right by the door. And behind that freshly painted black dumpster, someone was hiding.
Taking a deep breath, I took a step forward and nearly had a heart attack when I sensed a presence behind me. I spun around, thinking it was another mindless thingie, but it was Ax.
"Dammit, what the hell are you doing?" I hissed, struggling to keep my voice down.
"What's he after?" Ax nodded at the mindless thingie, who'd stopped in front of the dumpster. Someone was behind it, and he knew it.
"Stay here!" I ordered Ax, reaching for one of the Eagles tucked in my waistband. If there really was someone behind that dumpster, the mindless thingie would be too distracted to notice me pointing a gun at him. We needed to get out of here fast before more joined the party.
I crept forward as silently as I could, watching him grab the side of the dumpster. He pulled it back effortlessly, and a scream pierced the air, loud and clear.
I began to run.
The mindless thingie stood between me and the girl on the ground, blocking my view of his face. I waited until he began to draw out her power, then, just three feet away, I fired. My arm didn't shake. I didn't even blink. I pulled the trigger four times in rapid succession, feeling a rush of satisfaction as he fell to the ground, face-first, as if all his strings had been cut.
Ax was already running toward the girl, scooping her into his arms as he turned back to me. "Let's go."
Decapitating the guy with four bullets was a solid plan, but I didn't want to waste another second. One more person for them to hunt now, and I felt like we were a beacon, shining bright for all the mindless thingies in the city to see. The sooner we got off the streets, the better.
I sprinted after Ax back to the car, dizzy from scanning every person who passed us, terrified of what I might suddenly find. Ax placed the girl on Grover's lap, and I squeezed in beside him, half on his lap again. But now, a bad feeling settled in my gut, one that prevented me from enjoying the fact that I'd shot that asshole before he could really hurt this girl. And I was even more afraid to find out what that feeling meant.