Page 11 of Shadow's Chosen

"Not a bad idea," said Ronin. "The mission center is a great way to prepare too. Would also be a good way to let off steam."

Elise looked over to Adrien, who glared up at the head hunter then back at her. "Do we really want to get into this before tomorrow?"

"It's either that or risk a fight later on," said Jerico. "I say we end it here, and whoever wins wins, and let it be."

Elise looked back to the head hunter whose eyes narrowed on her. Hers narrowed back at him. "I'm in."

Four

"How the hell did this fight start anyway?" Amy asked as Elise and the others suited up in padded armor in a changing room situated to one side of the sparring area. "And don't say it was because one of them looked at you wrong."

Bruce, now taped up on parts of his face, tugged on a padded armband. "Shark boy was beating up on one of the drogin. Felt I needed to step in."

"And you honestly thought that was a good idea?" Elise asked as she flipped up her hair and tied it into a high ponytail.

Bruce shrugged. "He was being a cocky little shit about it. I figured I'd teach him a lesson."

"Yeah, well, lesson learned," Adrien said, adjusting a pad on his leg. "Now I have two beat up team members and possibly a couple more after this...whatever the hell this is that we are about to fight them in. You're lucky the drogin have amazing medical tools, or you'd be toast tomorrow. And for fuck's sake, don't let Helen see you tonight. She will lose it."

"Got it," Reese muttered as he shoved on his padded boots. "Let's just kick their ass in this one match—"

"—and be done with it," Jerico countered, eyeing him and Bruce. "Seriously, we don't need more enemies, especially ones we have to work with. Are we good?"

The others nodded, though they might not have been so happy about it. Even Elise was wary of the thought that, come tomorrow, they would be working together with this team of hunters. Side by side withhim.It left a sour taste in her mouth, but she kept her lips shut. Better to get all her anger out in this little game. Then maybe she'd wipe that nasty grin off his face.

Once the team was geared up, they headed out of the changing room and toward the far side of the sparring room where the large metal door stood. Several drogin in uniform were talking amongst themselves, and the team of hunters were there waiting.

"All right, here is how the mission arena works," said a drogin with cropped ears and slicked black hair. "Once each team enters the arena, the simulation will start. Inside, you will need to traverse the obstacle course laid out for your particular match. You will also choose one prop weapon to fight the various enemies you will face. Your goal is to get to the end of the course and take into your possession the key then activate it without taking too many hits. It must be activated before the time marker runs out. If you take too many hits, your armor will glow red, and you're done. Understood?"

"Seems simple enough," said Jerico. The others nodded in agreement. Elise caught eyes with the lead hunter again, who gave her one of his devious smiles. Another alien, one with golden skin and a body that Elise could clearly identify as female, sauntered over and pressed close to him, giving Elise a fiery glare before reaching up and biting playfully at the hunter's neck. The hunter hissed then grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her in closer. The alien female whispered something in his ear, and they each laughed. Elise's jaw clenched as she felt her face heat, but she dared not turn away.

"System ready," came a woman's voice over some unseen intercom. The door finally slid open, and they each entered.

It was immensely dark at first. Then a few lights flickered on, and Elise caught a quick glimpse of a vast arena where the floor and inner walls moved and changed. Then the lights went out, and a wave of blue washed over everything, turning the arena into a simulated copy of the city, with buildings and alleyways, roads and walls. A maze cut from a small portion of what they would find outside the training hall. When the exterior of the simulation was complete, placing them in what looked to be a central square, Elise's eyes shot around and spotted several silhouettes along walls and around buildings holding weapons, aimed and ready. A set of racks rose from the floor displaying several shooters and blades. Elise approached and took up the gun she had chosen earlier in the shooting range. Her team chose theirs as well, and when she looked over, she saw the group of aliens picking theirs. Elise noted what they took. The large lion-looking one took a heavy-duty gun like Bruce had, while the shark and amphibious one took long range weapons; the golden woman took a set of blades, and the lizard took twin handguns. Their leader, Elise observed suspiciously, took nothing.

Cocky bastard, Elise thought. But she would show him. She'd been trained at an early age to shoot and fight by her father. The alien might look intimidating and powerful, but Elise wasn't afraid. Nothing scared her, and this guy wasn't about to change that.

"You will have thirty minutes to secure and activate the key," the woman's voice said, echoing over the city. "Ready positions."

"We got this," Jerico whispered to Elise as they separated themselves from the other group to stand just before a set of alleyways. "You’re probably the fastest out of all of us, so just run for it, and I will cover you."

Elise said nothing as she took a position beside him. She kept her eyes straight ahead, gun in hand, and didn't stir, even when she thought she heard a low laugh from the other end. A loud bell sounded, and they were off.

Elise didn't hesitate. She made straight down one alleyway and immediately heard gunshots and saw the sparks of their light go off behind her. She saw one simulated drogin on the top of the wall at the end of the passage and took aim as she ran. The drogin saw her, but he wasn't quick enough, and she took him out before he could even aim his gun her way, hitting him with bright yellow light in the chest and head. His image crumbled into a thousand pieces and disappeared. Elise pushed herself into a sprint and leapt at the wall, digging her foot into its side and using the leverage to reach the top, grabbing hold of the ledge with one hand and lifting herself over. She rolled then fell to the other side. There, she was met with two more drogin, a roughed-up pair in patched clothing. She took them both out as they charged her, and she dashed past without even looking back.

When she came to the end of the alley, she had the option to go left or right. She started for the left when she saw something leap over the building from above, making her stop.

Smart.

Thinking quickly, she looked around and saw a rusted ladder to one side of the building in front of her. Putting the handle of the gun between her teeth, she started up the ladder. When she stepped over onto the roof, another rogue drogin was waiting for her.

Too close to shoot him, Elise took the gun out of her mouth and struck him with it instead. The drogin's head knocked back, and Elise kicked his legs out under him before hitting him again on the head as his back hit the ground.

Two things happened as the simulated drogin turned to dust. One: she heard someone shout in the distance and two: she caught a shadow leaping over her.

Elise rolled to the side just as a blade came down where she had been standing. The golden woman bared her teeth in a cat-like snarl as Elise shot to her feet to meet her. The alien lunged forward, and Elise just barely dodged in time, missing a cut to her stomach. The woman hissed and struck fast, but Elise kept her distance each time. She blocked a few of her blows and got out of the way of others, but Elise could tell the woman was well-trained, and her chances of taking her down were slim. She couldn't play defense forever, and time was running out.

As she leapt away once more, Elise caught sight of another drogin across the other building with his back turned. He had yet to notice them. Elise glanced at him then to the woman. She took up her gun and shot over the alien's shoulder as she leapt at Elise once more. Elise took a strike to the chest, which knocked her on her ass. Her armor pulsated, and the mark of the hit lay across her chest in a glowing red slash. The woman stood above her, smiling.

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