Run and Hide (1)

Jack twisted on his heel just in time to see a dark silhouette descending from the hole above—falling fast, with a glint of steel ready to tear through him—!

"What the—?!"

His survival instinct kicked in at the last second and he quickly threw himself to the side—!

CRASH—!

The shadow landed hard—! Right where he'd just stood!

A burst of dust and debris exploded outward from the heavy impact—!

"Ugh—!"

He hit the ground, rolled, and scrambled to his feet...!

"...W-what... what the fuck...?!"

His chest rose and fell, breath quick and sharp, his eyes locked on the settling dust cloud...!

Then... the dust finally cleared; his eyes widened—!

The man standing in the middle of a small crater.

The man that had been the bane of his suffering.

He was... the leader of the debt collectors.

"Found you~."

Jack instantly froze on the spot—mouth agape, eyes wide in both fear and disbelief as he witnessed the visage of his tormentor...!

"W-What...?!" he managed to mutter out in shock. "H-How the hell did you find me...?!"

Hearing Jack's trembling voice, the debt collector leader chuckled darkly, a wicked grin stretched across his face.

"Oh, come on. Did you really think you could sneak around and not be seen?"

He began to approach slowly, footsteps crunching over the debris.

"We've got eyes everywhere, Conrad. One of my personal 'eyes' spotted you heading to the west of town, and now here I am—finding your sorry ass hiding inside this rotting train station—of all places you could be right now."

"Damn it...!"

Jack took a cautious step back—the presence of the debt collector leader was suffocating...!

"Trying to hide from us, huh? Pfft... pathetic," the debt collector leader sneered as he leisurely stepped closer.

'...what?'

"There's no point locking yourself up in some forgotten dump like this—because no matter where you go, we'll find you."

However, Jack remained silent as he continued stepping back away from his tormentor's advance... with one single thought crossing his mind—

'...he doesn't know about the exit?'

Jack had thought his escape plan was compromised, but... it seemed the debt collector didn't know that he was here to 'escape' through the breach in the wall...

Meaning that he and the rest of his debt collector cronies didn't even know it existed in the first place—and that conclusion brought some semblance of hope in Jack...!

However—

"Now be smart about this—JUST give yourself in nicely... and maybe I'll just sell you off to some wrinkly old perverts instead of the organ farm."

This debt collector bastard would not let him off so easily.

Jack's fists clenched... as he prepared himself for what could be his one last chance at survival.

"...Not happening."

"...Still think you have a choice?" the man sneered in amusement. "Let me be clear with you: you never had a choice."

Then... with a smug look, he raised his hand—revealing a golden shimmer that shone in the darkness of the night—!

"...No fucking way...?!"

On the debt collector's own a hand was a golden card...

An M-Card.

Eyes widen in shock; Jack couldn't believe his eyes.

His tormentor, the debt collector's leader, was holding on to an M-Card...!

"You like it? Fresh from the oven~," he fiddled with the golden card like it was a simple playing card. "I bought it just this morning after we beat your sorry ass—Oh! And thanks for your 'small' contribution too~."

Jack could only glare back at the grinning debt collector, grimly understanding the implication behind those mocking words.

However, the debt collector did not mind the somewhat murderous glare from Jack.

On the contrary, he was reveling in it...!

With a dramatic flick of his hand, the M-Card in the debt collector's hand glowed for a moment—

And in the next instant, a sharp glint of steel extended into his grip—a sleek, silver katana!

"I also bought this beauty from the shop. Ain't she gorgeous~?"

Jack's eyes narrowed further, his danger sense flaring up sharply, but... he forced himself to stay calm.

"...Pretty sure it's illegal to use an M-Card's power on non-holders, you know?"

He tried to stall for time as he continued stepping back, quietly racking his brain for an escape plan.

But a quick glance behind him revealed his answer—

The exit gate at the far end of the station's opposite wing...! The glowing EXIT sign above it was one of the few lights still flickering with life—almost like a beacon of hope in this rotting place...!

But when his eyes snapped back to his tormentor—another wicked grin had already spread across the bastard's face.

"Hehe... hehehe... Hahaha! HAHAHA!!!"

That grin twisted into full-blown maniacal laughter—!

"I didn't know you were a damn comedian too—aside from being a debt-ridden failure. Maybe I should sell you to the circus instead?"

"..."

"And I know full well about that dumb, useless rule—but who's gonna enforce it?"

The debt collector playfully swung around the katana in his hand.

"I can just chuck your corpse into the dumpster and nobody would bat an eye. In fact—! You being here, in this abandoned site, is already a great dumping spot! Ahahaha~!"

Jack's glare hardened with every taunting word this debt collector kept spouting.

"You really are an idiot for even choosing this place to hide... so at the very least..." his smile twisted into a wide, savage grin, "try to make yourself entertaining for me!!!"

The debt collector lunged—!

"Shit—!"

Jack turned and bolted away—! He quickly ran toward a nearby derailed train for cover—!

But his assailant was already on his tail!

Another foreboding danger sense triggered in his mind as he managed to glance back to see that the debt collector had raised his katana high in the air—ready for a deadly strike!

"You think you can outrun me?!"

With a desperate twist, Jack managed to sidestep away from the attack—!

The screech of metal echoed behind him as the katana slashed through the rusted train's outer plating like pape—r!

"Shit—! A-agh! Damn it—!"

Jack stumbled on his feet, clutching his ribs as pain surged through him—!

"Why now of all times?!"

He was still recovering, and this sudden burst of motion had reopened his wounds...!

However, his assailant didn't care—

"Run faster, rat~!"