Page 23 of Shadow's Chosen

She snorted. But then seemed to look guilty for laughing. "It suits you."

He took that as a compliment. "Eat. Rest. If you can walk tomorrow without stumbling over yourself, then we will go."

She gave him a dirty look and closed her eyes. Then, after a pause, she unclipped her gun and rested it on her lap, gripping it tight, eyeing him again with clear distrust. "Just in case," she said and closed her eyes once more, pretending to sleep.

Nine

The rest of the day had passed by slowly and the night had been excruciatingly long. Elise fell in and out of sleep several times, waking up periodically to eat one of the tasteless bars from her bag or to find another part of the building to use as a bathroom before once more trying to fall back asleep. Sometimes the hunter Nezka was there when she woke up, sometimes he wasn't. Every time she awakened, her heart would jump in her chest and her gun would instinctively rise, but when she found him nowhere near her, she calmed considerably. She knew she was going to have to learn to trust him. She knew she didn't have much of a choice. Still, she eyed him every so often in the dark, pretending to be asleep, watching as his back was turned, as he looked over something on his wrist band or while he inspected the gun he had likely stolen along with all the other items. She should probably be upset by that fact. Soldiers didn't steal from citizens. But in this instance, she couldn't bring herself to worry or care. There were more important things to think about.

At one point, she caught him with a pair of blades she had yet to see on his person, hidden in some pocket of his armored suit. He trained with them, using one of the broken pillars to spar with. The blades sliced through the metal and concrete like butter, and Elise found herself shivering at the thought of him using them on someone, cutting through muscle and bone like it was nothing. She noted how swift and agile he moved, how his limbs shot out and struck as quick as a viper, how he stepped and circled with ease. When he seemed bored of that, he started through the blades, aiming at random targets, making his mark every time without fail. He was good, she couldn't deny that. She wondered in one of her half-sleep states who had trained him, where he was from. Eventually, she fell asleep again, the sounds of his blades drumming in her head as she fell from reality and into nothingness. Then the dreams came—the crashing of waves, her sister smiling, a drogin dead on the ground, twin fires blazing in the dark, a blade cutting her open—and she'd wake again with a start, her gun aimed at nothing.

When dawn finally came, Elise was up and feeling groggy but still much better than the day before. The headache had subsided, and she didn't get dizzy when she stood or walked. She was no longer dehydrated or in need of food for energy and was deeply confident she was better and ready to move on.

"What the hell do you mean one more day?" Elise said as Nezka seemingly ignored her while reorganizing the things in his bag. "I said I'm fine."

He looked up and studied her from where he crouched and didn't appear convinced. "Just because you can stand and walk without issue doesn't mean you are better."

"Let's have a test then." She holstered her gun and walked several feet away before stopping and turning back. "Come at me, and you will see."

The alien stared at her then turned away to let out a low hiss of laughter.

"I'm serious!"

He stopped laughing then slowly stood and twisted around. "All right. Follow me."

She did so hesitantly. They made their way out of the building to another right across. Elise gazed above at the bridges and towers overhead as they walked, noticing bits of debris and garbage falling every so often, smashing down on the streets below. Disgusted, she followed Nezka into the next building that stretched long like a warehouse. Near its center was a wall half broken at the top. Nezka stopped just at the entrance and tapped something into the screen of his wrist band. "You've got thirty seconds. Run across, climb over the wall, and return in that time and we will go."

Elise opened her mouth then closed it. Arguing seemed pointless. Thirty seconds was a short amount of time and certainly didn't seem like enough to make it to the end and back. She was about to say how unfair that was when suddenly she thought of her father. "Don't whine at me. Just do it," he would say. And if she ever complained, he only made the training harder until she completed it. This was no different.

"Fine." Elise took position.

"When the timer goes, begin. Ready?" He lifted his band, and Elise bent her knees, her eyes zoning in on the broken wall.

As soon as she heard the sharp ring from his band, Elise kicked off with all her strength and sprinted like her life was at stake. No, not her life, her team’s. She made it to the wall and dashed up it, climbing over then jumping down the other side. She rushed for the end then, pushing off the wall to give her momentum, she quickly turned and made for the other side. She climbed up the broken wall, hopped down and charged forward without slowing, sliding only as she came to the entrance.

She hadn't heard the timer go off, so she looked to the hunter for clarification as she huffed, leaning against the wall. "Well?"

He looked down at her, studying her carefully. "You seem greatly out of breath."

"Did I make it or not?"

Nezka watched her a moment longer then tapped once at his band. "You succeeded."

Elise smiled as she wiped sweat from her brow. She was a little lightheaded, but she wasn't about to tell him that. "There then," she said, still breathless. "Let's get going." She saw his mouth curve ever so slightly before she left and made her way back to their building to start packing their things. That run, she knew, had made her sweat under her armor and suit, but she didn't have time to think of a bath. She just wanted to get out of this place and closer to where her people were waiting.

They readied their bags and checked their gear. Elise noticed with disappointment that her gun's charge was already less than half full, and she had one charging clip left, the others lost to her in the attack. She would have to make do until she could find another gun. They had enough provisions to last them at least a couple days but who knew how long it may take them to reach the energy deposit at this point. Now that they had no vehicle to take them and were forced on foot, what should have only taken a day would now possibly take days maybe even a week, and that was only if they weren't stopped several times along the way. Elise knew better than to think they wouldn't run into trouble. She was expecting it. Even if the tram tunnels were unoccupied, at some point they would have to leave them. And then there was getting into the stronghold of this gang they called the Red Blades. Planning that could take time. Elise was just thankful they were finally setting out. Every day they wasted was a day that could be her team's last.

Elise secured her bag over her shoulder and kept her gun on ready-fire. She looked to Nezka, who waited close by with his bag across his back and gun at his side, watching her for any sign of weakness. When he didn't seem to find any in her (or decided now was too late to question her about it), he moved across the room and headed for the exit. "Stay close and do as I say. If I tell you to run, run. If I say hide, hide. Don't try to be a hero and shoot every threat you see. Think you can do that?" he said.

"Yes, I can follow orders. I was trained for that, you know," she said from behind him, glaring at his back.

"We'll see." She didn't see his face but knew he was probably smirking or something. He stopped just before the doorway to look around. When he deemed the area clear, he stepped out and moved quickly across the road with Elise following close by his side.

***

They ran into a small gang of drogin not long after they left. Thankfully, Nezka had noticed the group in time before being seen, and they hid themselves in another building nearby as the drogin ran around, barking and hollering and shooting their guns off for no particular reason. They seemed to be getting around on some kind of vehicle made out of used parts. It reminded Elise of the dune buggies her family had out at their second home in the desert, only this one was much more misshapen and had lights underneath for whatever reason, maybe just for show. It also had writing on its side, but she couldn't make out the words. Perhaps the name of their gang. They disappeared as quickly as they came, but Elise knew they were only the beginning.

The closer they got to the station that led to the tramway, the more drogin and otherkin they saw. Every time they encountered someone, they hid and waited till they passed, watching them carefully, hands at their weapons. Most seemed harmless if a bit unhinged. It was later that Elise realized that they were mostly just bums, scrapping around for parts to sell. One lone man looked like a mangy cat, his fur all knotted, some even missing. He looked like the same species as one of the hunters on Nezka's team. Nezka told her he was called a lygin.

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