STREET BATTLE

Jacob looked up, and immediately dragged Darcy and Vironica away as the killer leapt onto the hood of the car. Before Jacob could even think about his actions, he was on his feet and running forward, jumping up onto the hood of the car and punching forward. His fist sailed forward, but the man moved his body easily, making Jacob miss his hit, trip and sprawl over the car and onto the concrete floor. He groaned in pain and looked up, barely having enough time to roll out the way as the stranger leapt down. The foot struck where Jacob's head at just been, and Jacob flipped to his feet, barely staying upright for two seconds before the stranger turned and kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling onto the ground again. "Don't!" shouted Andrew, but Chloe leapt over the car and charged toward the stranger, her face a mask of rage.

The stranger spun and kicked, yet Chloe ducked beneath his leg, rose from the concrete shot her fist forward. The stranger moved out the way. Too fast, thought Chloe as she ducked a punch he returned. The stranger was advancing frighteningly fast, punching and kicking through the air as though he were merely trying to get past her, as though fighting her was a small inconvenience. Chloe stopped herself from backing away, raised her fists, and ducked under a punch. The stranger let out a small sound, almost a snarl that was disorientated through the gasmask, and then they spun yet again. His movement was fast...faster than Chloe could believe. She managed to duck yet another kick, but then the stranger switched legs and kicked across the air. It caught Chloe by surprise as the foot slammed against the side of her head, and she hit the road, her world spinning.

The stranger let out a chuckle through their gasmask, and started approaching Chloe's form, scarcely moving on the concrete. Then, Jacob was there, quickly shooting his foot forth. The killer spun away from Jacob's leg, and then raised his hands as Jacob advanced. The two momentarily paced around one another, and then the killer withdrew a knife from beneath his coat, the tip gleaming. There was a bang, and the killer ducked as a bullet sped by, slowly rising to glare at Andrew, whom had his gun raised. The killer nodded to the rooftop of Trinity, gave a singular nod and shouted, "Now!" Movement came from above, and Jacob spun, shooting out his leg and catching the killer in the stomach. The killer stumbled back, and then people leapt off the rooftop and landed, rifles raised and aimed at Darcy, Vironica and Andrew.

"Duck!" Chloe shouted, and the three ducked as more volleys lit up the night. The three kept their backs pressed against the car as Andrew reloaded his pistol. "Here, let me," murmured Darcy, who was closest to the shooters, and Andrew nodded before quickly sliding the gun across the ground toward him. Darcy picked it from the rough asphalt, turned, raised the pistol and then fired from around the corner of the car. A gasp and groan came over the loud bangs, followed by a thud. The firing ceased. "DESTROY THEM!" came an ear-splitting screech of one of the shooters, and they all refocused their weapons onto the position where Darcy had fired. Vironica reached over, wrestled the gun from Darcy's hand, and dashed to the car opposite them. The gunmen fired at her, but she slipped away easily, diving for cover as the flashes blinded them.

Vironica looked panicked, but she held her shaking hands firmly before throwing herself into the open, pistol raised and firing. Several shots missed, although two pierced one of the men's chests. There was a squeal of pain, and another of the men hit the ground. Six remained, and they were not going down without a fight. They trained their guns on Vironica, and she ducked behind the car again as more bullets fired. The bangs lasted barely ten seconds before the guns clicked, and there was a rush to reload the rifles. Behind the men, Jacob and Chloe stood side-by-side, both of their fists raised as the killer slowly turned his head to each one and back again. He's calculating his best option, Jacob thought as he stared quizzically at the murderer. They locked eyes, and he saw the dull and otherwise deadly eyes suddenly gleam.

Then the murderer paused, his eyes focused onto Chloe before he suddenly changed direction and charged at Jacob. Jacob dove aside and kicked out, yet the killer dodged it as though he were simply dodging a ball thrown by a three-year-old. The killer spun back around, gripped Jacob's foot and twisted, hard. Jacob flipped through the air and landed with a crash onto the concrete, groaning in pain as the killer towered over him, his eyes laced with fury. Chloe jumped forward and landed her knee against the killer's stomach, making him stumble back. "Recover for a little. I'll handle this," Chloe murmured, and she ran forth. The killer snarled and ran to greet her. Chloe ducked a punch and then rose, her fist flying through the air. It smashed against the side of the killer's gasmask, but he merely shrugged it off as though it were a simple inconvenience.

Chloe turned the other way, and her fists flew through the air. She struck against the killer several more times before kicking forward, her foot striking against his gut. A grunt of pain garbled out the gasmask, and Chloe went for a second kick. The killer dodged this one, spun and backhanded her across the face, the force of it making Choe stagger to the side, blood dripping from her split lip. She looked up, and the killer jumped into the air before striking her in the face with his boot. Chloe staggered back, dazed from the sudden attack, and once again the killer advanced. Chloe faced him and stood tall, although she was too weak to move her arms to defend herself. It appeared the killer noticed this too, because he struck forward and landed a punch squaring into her face. Chloe now tripped back and landed hard, her vision clouded by tears and blood.

The killer drew his knife again, pointing it at Chloe with an odd sort of glee in his eyes. Something moved behind him, too quick to catch, but then the killer disappeared. She heard a snarl, and her eyes widened as she looked around. Jacob had tackled the killer away and was now atop him, teeth bared and a growl emerging from the back of his throat. Chloe had only heard about what happened when Jacob went berserk. She'd always assumed the rumours were false and lies, but now she was watching first-hand as Jacob clawed and scratched at the killer with his bare hands. Behind them, the other three were fighting for their lives. Vironica had tossed the gun over to Andrew, who snatched it from the air to level it over the roof of the police car and fire thrice more before dropping to the ground.

"Fuck, I'm out," he shouted as he tossed the now empty gun aside, and Darcy groaned. They had managed to kill another two, but four still remained, and they were armed with rifles. "What if," Vironica began, leaning forward too far to get her voice to the others, but a bang echoed before she could finish. Vironica hit the asphalt, unmoving and her eyes shut. Darcy let out a hoarse cry, turned and leapt over the roof of the car toward the attacks. Clearly, his move was one they had never seen coming, because there was too much panic and rush as they raised their rifles. Darcy reached one first, quickly grabbing the riffle that they held and spinning the man around to face the others. Bangs went off, and the man Darcy held stiffened as blood sprayed from his body. Darcy let the man drop as he wrestled the rifle from his lacking grip.

Darcy raised the rifle, the end seeming to sit almost comfortably on his shoulder as he fired. One fell, and the other two ducked around the corner of Trinity, both panting and rushing to reload their rifles. Darcy turned the gun in his hands, now gripping the barrel, and he dove around the corner, quickly raising it before swinging the rifle through the air. It smashed against one of the men's heads, and he dropped, hitting the floor with a sickening thud as the other raised their rifle, aimed directly at the side of Darcy's head. Without thinking, Darcy ducked, turned and rammed a large fist into the man's stomach. The man doubled over in pain, and Darcy grabbed his head before quickly smashing it down against his kneecap. The man went limp, and Darcy dropped the either unconscious or dead body. He panted but stood tall as he turned and raised the rifle to the killer before squeezing the trigger.

Nothing happened. Darcy swore under his breath and threw the gun aside. It was empty. "Darcy, need your help over here!" shouted Andrew, and Darcy ran to where Andrew knelt down beside Vironica. "She got hit…in the shoulder. The impact knocked her straight out," Andrew said, gasping for breath and panic in his eyes as he gripped onto Vironica's unmoving body. "I'll keep pressure on the wound, you call for help," Darcy muttered, and Andrew nodded before grabbing the radio by his side and quietly speaking into it. Darcy forced his weight against Vironica's shoulder, letting the blood that flowed from the wound seep into his clothes and stick to his hands. He glanced over at where the killer and Jacob fought. The two were going mental. Jacob moved back as the killer crazily slashed his knife through the air, each attack coordinated and deliberate. Something was off about this, but Darcy could not place a finger on it.

Jacob ducked another slash, rose and struck the killer across the face. The killer seemed dazed only for a second, but in that time Jacob twisted the killer's right hand and then punched his wrist, forcing the psychopath to drop the knife and let it bounce off the floor. Jacob then turned, raised his leg and landed his shin against the killer's side, both of them grunting. The killer grappled onto Jacob's shoulders, and then shoved him back. Jacob skidded back, got to his feet, and went again, his eyes full of fury as he blocked and parried another several blows before ducking under the killer's outstretched arm, reaching back to grab him by the gasmask, and then flipped him over his shoulder. The killer rolled along the rough road before coming to a stop, and as Jacob watched, he realised the gasmask had come away in the fall and was now laying on the road nearby.

The killer had his face turned, but then he looked up, and the two locked eyes once more. The killer had a slim face and was pale, much like most of the Family, although he also had several small scars that ran along his cheeks and nose. There was something else about his appearance that was terrifying. His mouth was scarred and twisted; the very lips deformed as though they had been scorched with fire. It looked as though his lips were just flabs of skin that had been glued to where his mouth was. He stared at Jacob, and Jacob stared back, feeling a dull, cold fear infect his body. Sirens were in the distance, not far away, and the killer slowly stood and snatched the gasmask. It seemed everyone else's attention was turned, and the killer took his chance to turn and flee into the dark alleys. Jacob went to follow, but suddenly fell to his knees, feeling too weak to move.

"Are you alright?" whispered Chloe as she came to Jacob's side, and Jacob slowly nodded, a feeling of throwing up passing over him. He let it pass, taking deep breaths, and slowly stood, holding his side in pain. "We have two minutes before back-up gets here. I made sure to call an ambulance as well," Andrew said as he crouched over Vironica's unconscious form. Darcy stood nearby, looking somehow calm as he stood surrounded by the men he had killed. He seemed almost at peace, even though the murders were on his hands. Andrew called something in through the radio, then looked to Jacob, Chloe and Darcy. "The three of you, get away. Run. Escape. I don't care what you do. You have to be gone before the rest arrive. If you're hauled into questioning, it will delay your searching."

Jacob raised his eyebrows in surprise, and Andrew let out a small chuckle, although that could also be from the shock of a firefight. "I know what I said…but after what just happened…I believe you. The police will be slow and have to go through investigation after investigation. Get your friends. Only all of you can figure this out." Chloe and Darcy also seemed surprised, but then Andrew gave them a stern look. They turned and headed down the streets and alleys, disappearing into the night as police cars and ambulances arrived. "We'll set up a six-block perimeter to find him!" an officer called as they passed in a police car, and Andrew groaned. He should have given the kids more fucking time. He kept pressure to Vironica's room, and then let the paramedics take over before sitting on the concrete. He looked around at the three officers who had fallen for no reason, the ones who had been slaughtered where no blood should have been shed. A singular question circled through Andrew's mind: Why?