Zoey had leapt towards the roof as soon as her flash bomb had went off, grateful that she had fabricated those when she set up her kit. She wasn't out of danger yet but this was a good start. As soon as she stepped onto the roof she was sprinting away, leaping onto the next roof and continuing on. She heard a bellow from the alleyway behind her and checked to see if she was in the clear. To her dismay, she saw the man in black leather appear on the roof behind her and give chase. That was the last person she wanted to face.

She increased her speed and looked ahead, trying to plan her route of escape. It was already night time, but the rooftops of the city were illuminated by the pale twin moons hanging in the sky. Zoey was moving in the opposite direction of where she had entered into the city, and was currently sprinting across the residential rooftops moving towards the outskirts of the city. She noticed that the outer city wall ahead of her seemed to be larger than the one she had entered the city through, but she did not have time to contemplate the reason.

"Don't bother running little fox, there's no escape."

A raspy whisper drifting past her ears nearly made her fall from the roof she was running on. Startled, she looked back only to find her pursuer still far behind her, but gaining ground! How had she been able to hear him? It had sounded like he was right next to her!

"Come quietly. Don't resist, the pain won't be so bad if you beg."

Another whisper past her ears made Zoey shudder in revulsion. She guessed that the man must be projecting his voice with an ability to try and throw her off balance. In response she increased her speed, flashing across the rooftops in a blur. She heard a mocking laugh from behind her and gritted her teeth. It seemed like this tagalong would not let her go easily.

She gripped her combat knife and made certain that her gun was still in her holster. She hadn't thought she would need it this early, but she may not have a choice if she wanted to escape.

The chase continued on, but Zoey felt the pressure of the man in black increasing as he gained on her. Ahead she could see the outer wall looming up into the night. She had to somehow get on top of the wall and from there she would most likely have headed out to the wilderness again. She had to find out what had alerted these people and caused them to chase her this far.

"Fun's over little fox."

Another raspy whisper came to her ears, followed instantly by her instincts screaming at her. Zoey dropped herself sideways in full sprint, her left shoulder dropping towards the roof. She saw a silver flash pass through the air where she had just been and knew instantly it must be a needle, probably coated in poison of some kind intended to incapacitate her.

She twisted her body as her shoulder hit the roof, using her momentum to fling herself into the air, spinning like a gymnast in full routine. In the middle of her spin, her hand flashed and another ball flew at the man in black who was by this time less than 20 meters behind her.

Another flash cut through the night, and the man grunted in surprise as the flash caught his left eye, partially blinding him. He had seen the ball a little too late again, only managing to cover part of his face before it went off.

Zoey landed back on her feet and took off again, reaching the foot of the outer hall she was headed towards. The man in black had stopped on a roof behind her and watched her begin to make her way up the wall in leaps and bounds while he rubbed his injured eye. This little fox was full of surprises, but it was time to end this. He grinned in anticipation and his free hand traced an arcane glyph into the air. The magical lines glowed with an eerie light as the glyph was drawn, and as soon as the final line was complete, the man in black disappeared.

Zoey made her way to the top of the wall as fast as she could, and finally swung over the top as her poncho fluttered in the wind. She crouched and looked around for anyone nearby, but found nothing. Calming herself, she looked back over the wall to see if the man was still chasing her. She had not detected him as she was climbing. Strangely, he was nowhere to be seen. Zoey wondered if he had decided to head back to his master after she flashed him.

"Hello little fox, looking for me?"

This time it was not a whisper on the wind, but his voice directly behind her! Zoey spun around only to find the man in black standing there, reaching a long bony hand towards her with a leering grin on his face. Zoey had the instinctive feeling that if that hand touched her, she would be finished! She dodged to the side and her combat knife flashed, cutting into the man's hand. Distancing herself she watched him as he looked at the cut in his hand with an amused expression. He looked at her and grinned, giving her chills.

"Looks like the little fox has teeth too."

He turned to face her, ignoring the blood dripping on the ground.

"I do like the ones that fight back... Makes if more fun."

He laughed at her, the sound was like gravel in a bucket.

Before Zoey could react, he disappeared and reappeared directly in front of her. Her left hand was grabbed, sealing her knife and his other hand grabbed her by the throat, lifting her easily off the ground. Unable to breath she struggled and kicked at him with all her strength, but he just ignored her attempts, his hand tightening around her neck as she choked. His strength was incredible as not even Zoey's superhuman strength could make him budge!

His squinting left eye watched her struggle with perverse pleasure and his face still had the creepy grin. It was clear that he was enjoying this. He was absolutely certain of his victory. Activating his talent made him an inhuman powerhouse, that even Markus's father, the strongest in the city would have to be careful when facing him directly.

Simply taking care of this little fox was child's play. Besides, watching the panic in her eyes and her pathetic struggles was pure ecstasy for him. He would have to take that mask off her face to see what she looked like, maybe have a taste before Markus defiled her. That noble prick couldn't have all the fun after all.

BANG!

A sharp sound echoed through the night.

Atop the wall, the man in black had a stupefied look on his face. His hands loosened and Zoey struggled free, dropping on the ground and backing away while coughing and gasping for air. The man looked down and was stunned to find a fist shaped hole in his side. Then he felt the pain.

He was not a stranger to pain, having been stabbed and burned before among other things. But this pain seemed to penetrate to his core. He slumped on the ground with a groan, clutching his side wondering what the hell had hit him.

Zoey on the other hand, had just gotten her breath back. Her right hand held her modified 9mm handgun and there was a wisp of magic vapor leaking from the barrel. She straightened and glared at the slumped man in front of her, chest heaving as she breathed. She had underestimated just how dangerous this world was, and would not make that mistake again. Thankfully the man's blinded left eye had not seen her hand move when she pulled the gun out from under her poncho.

She raised her handgun, fully intending to kill the man who had attacked her, when in a sudden flash of magic, he was gone.

Zoey was stunned for a moment. She had waited to long. No doubt he had some sort of item that allowed him to retreat if injured. She still had too little information about this planet, and that had almost cost her. Clearing her head for a moment, she looked back on the city one more time.

Then she turned and leapt off the wall into the gloom beyond.