Someone's stalking us.
I open my eyes and mouth "behind us" to Mika. Mika nods and slowly reaches for her crowbar, and I discreetly unsheathe my knife and adjust my grip on my baton so I'm holding it by the secondary horizontal handle, the main striking portion sticking out under my arm.
A man leaps out from behind a building, wielding an ice pick, raising it above his head. He is wearing a gas mask, as well as a coat and a pair of blue-gray jeans. As he swings the axe down, I swing with my baton, successfully deflecting the strike, stumbling in the process. Damn it, this will be hard with just one leg.
The man stumbles backwards as well, seeming to not have expected to be parried, but quickly leaps forward once more. He jabs at me quickly with the ice axe, and I block the first few, but his third jab I miss. A huge sharp pain shoots through my body as the axe stabs the side of my torso, the cold metal coming in contact with my warm flesh under my skin. Thankfully, the man didn't swing the axe hard enough for it to penetrate too far, but the wound it made still fucking hurt.
I stumble back in pain, clenching my side with my knife hand, biting my lip. I try to ready my baton, but suddenly Mika jumps in from the side, hitting the man's left shoulder. He groans in pain, blood trickling down his shoulder, which seemingly has been dislocated. He clenches his fists and kicks Mika down with ease, his foot on her chest, shouting at her, "you little shit..!" Mika yelps in pain as the man applies more pressure to her chest, and I am almost certain I heard a crack. The man raises his ice axe, and after the snapping sound Mika's cries grow louder, and she shouts at me, "Soren, you idiot! Don't just stand there, help me!!"
I snap out of whatever trance was keeping me from acting, and I launch myself forward, colliding with the man, sending us both to the ground. I had chickened out and didn't strike him with a weapon, my pacifism still holding strong control over me. The man exclaims, surprised by the sudden blow, but quickly pushes me off of him, for I'm not that strong or heavy myself. "Jesus, you kids are such a pain!," the man says, pulling himself up on his feet, seething in frustration. "You're gonna pay dearly for messing with me this much, you little shits!" I shakily bring myself to my feet, and I peak at Mika, who's clenching her chest, having crawled back a bit, still on the ground. Looks like I'm on my own here.
The man stands up fully as well, gripping his ice axe, shouting, "I'm past wanting your shit, I want your fucking lives!!" I ready my baton, still afraid to strike first. The man swings at me, which I mostly dodge, the ice axe grazing my cheek, scraping some skin off my face since the blade wasn't very sharp. Blood begins to seep out of the wound, my cheek stinging from the uncleaned blade having breached my skin. I hesitate before swinging back with my baton, the metal rod colliding with the side of his torso. The blow was rather weak, and the man notices, and even though I can't see his face I can tell he's confused. He paused for a moment, and then realizes, laughing maniacally. "Oh, wait! You're just a fuckin' pussy! Either that or you just swing like a baby, ahaha! Ohh, your days are numbered, kid," the man says menacingly as he walks forward, no more fear or uncertainty in his step.
I hop backwards away from him, starting to panic. Now that he realizes that I'm not actually a threat to him, he's got the advantage. He's stronger than me and can overpower me, and he knows that now. Only after a few feet I trip on some rubble, and I lose my balance, falling onto my back. The man laughs dangerously as he raises his axe, aiming it at my bowels. I crawl back half a foot before I realize I can't escape him, and I raise my arms over my head instinctively, even though I know it won't protect me. I hear Mika shout for me, but the adrenaline and fear flowing through my body numbs her voice as I prepare for the impending stabbing pain of the axe cutting into my chest.
Suddenly, the sound of a gun firing blasts through the air, and the pain never comes. After a few seconds I lower my arms and open my eyes to see the man with only half his head. The body begins to fall, and I quickly roll over to avoid the collision. Some of the man's blood has splattered on my face, and I quickly wipe it off.
I use the baton to push myself up off the ground, and Mika comes running towards me. "Soren! Are you alright? What happened??" I look up to see Mika staring at me with a worried expression, a face that seems to be pleading that I'm safe. Wait, this is Mika?? She's never acted like she truly cared for me before. Regardless, I reply, "Y-yes, I'm okay, just a few scratches, and that wasn't you who shot him?" "Of course it wasn't me! If I had a gun, I would've told you about it, idiot!" Ah, seems like the classic Mika is back.
I reply once more. "W-well, if it wasn't you, and since it definitely wasn't me, who shot him..?" A voice rings out from behind us, which causes both me and Mika to jump slightly. "You ladies alright? Well, I know you're not a lady, it was just a reference to...y'know what, never mind. You two alright?"
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...
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"Echo playback finished."
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