lets go again

previously on this very bleak novel :

" Hurry! I wanna eat some ice cream! April darted forward to the door of the classroom and said," hurryyyy you slow poke!". The two moved to the market lane near the Academy.

.....

"..... two skewers for 10 slivers. Two skewers for 10 silvers."

"...hurry till the offers last. This is the last batches."

"Oh! Oh! These look so appetizing, don't they, Ashton?" April then zoomed in on one and blurted, "Dad would never let me eat those at home. I'm gonna buy some to eat."

"And it was for a pretty good reason, too. You should remember the day after you had that thing."

"Annnd you should remember to stop being a PARTY POOPPER. Come on, Ashton! Live a bit." said April, paying the vendor for the skewers she got.

The pair went ahead, with April still talking to a walking statue named Ashton. With getting no reply from her partner, she finally stopped and turned her head. Once she saw an alert expression on Ashton's face, she understood that something was wrong.

Ashton, sensing that April got aware, simply put one arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. "Do you trust me?"

"I ..I..I mean .... i"

"DO YOU TRUST ME?"

Taking a deep breath, April replied," Yes."

"Then listen to me carefully." And pulled April near to whisper something in her ear. April moved her head back a little and smiled sweetly at Ashton. They rounded off at the corner and disappeared from the sight of the two people who were following them since they left the school.

The stalking pair got flustered, having lost sight of them, and sped up after them. After turning round the corner, they could see none of the targets. Looking at each other in the eyes, they nodded and took out the weapon they were hiding on themselves. Cautiously moving ahead, one step at a time. They scanned their surroundings.

All the while they kept having the feeling of dread washing over them, making them very alert but also afraid. While the pair were scanning the area ahead, what they failed to see was Ashton hiding on the branch above the pair, observing every move made by them.

Ashton, on full alert, calculated every move to ensure full productivity. And hoping that April got the message and was now in a safe area, away from the chaos which will ensue now. April, who was running away from the area, recalled what Ashton had told her to do.

"I'll say this once. Listen to me carefully. Ok? you see the corner up ahead yea? I want you to run toward home as soon as we turn around it. And tell your father that there is some trash to be collected in the school back alley. Can you do this much for me, April?"

" Bu...but what is happening, Ashton? Why are you acting this way?" whispered April. " Nothing serious. I'm telling you, just trust me, ok?" And Ashton squeezed her shoulder a bit to assure her.

" Now look at me and give that beautiful smile of yours."Ashton asked. Complying with what Ashton told her, April smiled back. Although her eyes gave away her actual emotion of dread. "On my mark, GO!" April ran towards her father's office hoping that in the meantime Ashton would remain safe.

Ashton, still hiding in the tree, was monitoring the pair to find out the arsenal the pair had on them. ' A crossbow, ordinary. One on each of them. Check." Ashton picked up a stone and threw in the opposite direction from its hiding place. The pair got startled but gained back composure quickly.

A hand signal from one of them and the other scouted the front, with the other covering his back. 'Good coordination. it looks like this will be a tough situation .'

'Slight bulge on the sides.....dagger or knives.... looks multiple. Difficult to counter in a narrow space. Removal necessary.' Ash silently memorized all the weapons the enemy had on themselves and tried to organize a plan.

'Dagger priority, still don't know their powers, or are they powerless? No, no ... the one who sends them would not be so careless to send a powerless against us. Need to know their powers.'

[Concentrate]. It mapped a mental image of their energies in Ash's mind slowly.

'Faster ..Faster'

"You check ahead. I'll look on the left." The man ahead nodded and chanted something. a purple swirl found in his hand.

'Done!! found it. purple poison...danger. eliminate first. Man in coat Red fire lethal.Ok...now I hope April reaches there in time otherwise.....'

Just as the man in the coat passed the tree, Ash dropped on him and tried to snatch away his crossbow. In the tussle, the man dropped the crossbow and his companion rushed back after hearing the noise.

The man cast a fireball at Ashton, which was dodged by Ashton. The fallen man recovered quickly and pulled out his knives. Ashton, still not showing the cards, tried to strike them.

"Kid, you better stop and come with us quietly. We promise not to hurt you.", the man in coat said.

"Much." added the other man.

Seeing that Ashton didn't give them any response, they got angry and said, "Your loss, kid. Don't blame me for being ruthless."

Both men had switched to their knives and were rushing forward to attack Ashton. Ashton, seeing this, also rushed ahead. This move stunned the men slightly, which gave Ash a minor advantage.

'A chance!'

A vibration in the air appeared, then it cut the hand of the man with purple swirl off from the wrist. The man was shocked and the other one exclaimed, " Swordsman!"

The man in the coat once again casted Fireball on his dagger and threw it towards Ashton.

'Ahhhhhhhh!' It hit Ashton on the shoulder, missing the chest cavity slightly. The magic on the knife burned the area around the wound and a burned smell wafted in the air. Sizzling sound came from the wound and it kept hindering Ashton from moving properly.

Ashton tried to touch the wound, "..... hiss"

"Had you not tried to fight us... tch..... also injuring my friend there, not a good move kid"

The man in the coat kept his eyes on Ash and went around to check on his fallen friend. " Hey! Hey! get up. We are not done yet." but the man had fainted from the shock already.

"Tch Useless shit.... huh?? where is the girl?.... shit dammit. Boss will be so much damn angry." In the commotion, they had forgotten to see if the girl was there or not.

The man was angry and moved towards Ashton hastily, which was a fatal move on his part. Ashton muttered, " Siphon." The man suddenly stopped, feeling a slight pain in this chest. One step, two steps... he fell down, clutching his chest.

"Wha... what the hell... this can't be happening?? You little shit! What did you do to me? HUH!!!" His nose bleeds, followed by his eyes. After coughing up blood, he died with disbelief on his face.

Ashton on the knees was clutching at the wound and looked till the end with a blank and exhausted expression. 'Siphon', as the name suggested, it takes away the life source of the recipient but also takes a heavy toll on the caster. The caster uses part of the life force to heal themselves some is used to increase the limit storage of oneself and excess energy dissipates.

Ashton, knowing that there is a time limit now after the usage of 'Siphon', tried to stand up and find some place to hide. "Fuck.... Fuck this shit. I have to find a place soon. I can't let anyone know about this and connect this to my past. FUCK!"

Ashton dragged themselves to the end of the street behind a box to hide from the crowd. No one could see in one glance, visible only if one came intending to find something in the alley. Exhausted, Ashton leaned on the wall and tried to regulate the breathing to conserve the energy.

Ashton spit out some blood and huffed aloud, "Shit! April better get her father soon or I'm fucked!" then fainted on the spot.