CHAPTER 2.

I was mentally psyched about the raid event taking place tonight. The other members of my party were probably grinding exp and skill levelling in preparation. And as the party's tank, I should hurry home and do the same.

I was looking forward to silly banter and bragging from my party over my gaming headset; just sitting in front of my TV with the controller in hand, my character caving in some poor skeleton's head.

I closed the shop around ten thirty, and headed home on foot, the shop was only a twenty minutes walk from my place.

As I mused on the various strategies I was planning on using and what abilities and upgrades I would get if my party was successful during the raid, I felt the air leave my lungs as what felt like a small person slammed into my middle.

I really should have been paying more attention to my surroundings, especially at this time of the day.

"What the fuck?" I staggered slightly, my arms closing around the person now clinging to my middle, half in an attempt to stabilize myself and the other, to stop them from doing anymore damage. I looked down at my assailant, only to see the heart-shaped face of a young girl with slavic features clinging to me, fear draining all the colour from her beautiful face.

"Please help me, they're going to kill me". I was stunned for a few moments and unable to speak for a few moments. Of all the people that I imagined attacking me in the dark, on my route home, someone with her innocent features did not even come close to making the list.

My brain was still trying to catch up to my strange situation, so after a few seconds of gaping with what I'm sure was a lost look on my face, I stupidly asked. " Who?"

A bullet whizzed past my head, and I barely noticed. It was after the second round hit the pole of the street light next to me, that my instincts finally snapped me out of my dazed state and I crouched on instincts forged from growing up in gang territory.

I looked towards the direction I thought the bullet came from and saw two men with guns raised rushing towards us.

The girl tugged at my hand to get my attention and I suddenly remembered this was in a shootout and I was crouched still like a training dummy in a shooting range, just waiting to get hit.

Shaking my head, I let her drag me in the direction of the nearest alleyway in hopes of losing the two men, but as we ran, I began to gather my wits, picking up speed and nearly leaving the soft looking girl behind. I need to get the fuck out of here, but the girl was having trouble keeping up with my pace and our pursuers were closing in on us. More shots rang out, the bullets nearly hitting either of us once or twice. It was only thanks to the lack of working street lights in this part of town that was affecting our pursuers' aim.

I felt the girl falter and looked back to see she was on her last legs. From. her unsteady gait and from her ragged breathing, I could tell she had been running for a while before she encountered me.

Quickly, I pulled her through various twists and turns in hopes of losing the two men. These were my streets and I knew them like the back of my hand, plus it helped to have an eidetic memory; I had the entire street mapped out in my head. I knew every corner that led to a deadends or which street blocks were deserted or without street lights.

As we ran, I looked at the empty streets and wondered where everyone went.

How had I not noticed that the streets were deserted? Why were the streets deserted?

Something was picking at the back of my mind, something was off about the empty streets but I was too terrified to give this new mystery the necessary attention it deserves.

After a couple of twists and turns, I looked back and saw that we had finally lost our pursuers. I stopped running, resting on the nearest building to catch my breath. My lungs felt like they were on fire, buti gasped in relief at our close call, trying my utmost best to stuff my lungs with air.

"That! Was! a close one,"I said; panting and out of breath. I turned to the young girl and was about to ask her how she ended up being pursued by those unsavory characters when I felt a slight prick on the base of my neck,

I looked down shocked to see a syringe in her hand, the plunger pushed down. I was stunned briefly before my shock turned to anger.

"What the fuck did you juice me with?" I said and I grabbed her by the throat, trying to choke the life out of her for assaulting me, but she just stood, without a hint of emotion on her innocent, seemingly perfect face, clearly unaffected by my attempts to harm her.

I slumped still holding on to her neck, slowly losing feeling in my fingers. I tried to at least take the bitch with me but it was like my arms were made of jello and her neck steel.

I slumped to the ground, not believing I'd fallen for a damsel in distress scam". I looked at her and asked "Why?", but I received no answers as darkness claimed me.