Futuristic Re:dux

[Jeda Teq]

!DANGER! Outer Ring - Charlotte and Sisceal

Startled by the bang of Charlotte's gun, the creature perched on top of the rubble entire body shimmered for a brief moment. It looked like a sequined leopard. As quick as it appeared in disappeared. The pile of rocks fell apart as it darted off. Only seen by the dust its feet kicked up. Shortly after a sound resembling wind chimes began to echo around the pair. It was accompanied by what could only be described as an eerie laughter, "He HE hehehe HE He he HE"

In the distance a leopard would show itself by shimmering briefly while another, invisible, one would run up on the pair only to make a sharp turn to avoid an attack. The human pair were now being hunted and the creatures were gauging their response.

 

[Axeykins]

Sisceal shut his eyes tightly as she pulled the gun on him. Bracing for the worst of it. The far too familiar bite of bullets. When instead it was met with the sound of a screech behind them the man let loose the breath he'd been holding tightly in his chest.

"Coming in here with a solo mindset doesn't mean you are prepared for what's down here. That is the most foolish thing I've ever heard. Even the most experienced of agents don't go anywhere without some form of backup ready." He shot her one last glare as yet again left him straggling behind. Deep down he wished he could get more off of his chest to her but with the sounds in the distance there was no time for that. Or to take the time wasting the adrenaline she'd tossed him. Stuffing the syringe in his pocket he steeled himself and followed after at a much faster pace only a few steps behind her. The prospect of whatever was after them now more than enough to fight through the pain and book it.

As soon as he finally caught a glimpse of it his heart began to race. His ocular enhancements lighting up as he scanned for a possible path to take to throw the creature off. "Hey! What about through there?" He caught up to her and pointed to a small jungle of twisted wires and steel beams from a mass of buildings that had been uprooted and mashed together.
Pai Chan
Jeda Teq 0stinato

 

[0stinato]

The creature was distracted, and Cody was nearby - what to do now but do as Cody said? Keep moving, where to, where would he walk that he wouldn't be jumped by anything? It'd happened three times despite his attentiveness, and now he was injured that attentiveness would be taking a fall.

To respond to Cody, he merely turned his head an inch or two and grunted. No words. He had to conserve energy for Lois. Friend, sister, Cody didn't know anything did he, but so what? Likely she was dead already - if he had encountered three lots of beasts in this short time with his augmentations being of little help, she, with nothing, had nothing.

Well, if that was the case and she was dead, that is, if he stumbled across a body in this vast expanse, he'd touch it, make sure it was her. He knew the size and shape of her breasts, the diameter of her areolas, the circumference of her waist, the bite and sting of her perfume, her foot size, the meandering of her fingertips. He'd find her and lie down next to her and he wouldn't cry and he wouldn't say a word, and he'd let himself die.

But that was pessimistic.

"It's distracted," he said to Cody. "Take me away from this. Now." Lull didn't care that the creature was in the middle of killing someone else. His only hope was the other person held out long enough that the time would allow him to move away, and make some tiny progress in finding Lois.

Jeda Teq Axeykins

 

[Jeda Teq]

!!Danger!! - Injury: Luce -
Wind swooshed across Luce's face as the narrowly missed his face. An arc of electricity hopped from the metal to his pointed nose. The sting of the spark wasn't even an afterthought as the fist of the demon crashed into his chest. The force of the hit forced the rag doll of a man to the ground. When he came to he felt intense pain in his left collar bone. The second thing he noticed was the metal fin of the deceased zamantria being swung down upon him.

Axeykins

 

[Jeda Teq]

Cody took Lull by the wrist and dragged him along quickly. He noticed the remnants of a manhole. He took four glow sticks from his pouch and handed them Lull. He also shoved his side arm into the pudgy man's hand. "Look, You're going to have to go down there by yourself. Find a spot and hunker down. I'll come find you. Then we can save your friend, but first I have to protect that other guy." Without another word Cody turned around to go face the violence that was happening to Luce.

0stinato

 

[Axeykins]

A high pitched squealing noise came from the man as he struggled to get air back into his lungs. Flopping onto the ground helplessly. The pain of his arm the only thing letting him know he was still alive. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the shine of the metal fin. Instantly knowing it was headed directly towards him.

"Please. Stop... no more...no more...I want to go home...please." He pleaded. Gripping his arm he rolled to the side and curled up into the fetal position. Trembling as a fear rocked him. He couldn't fight back against his nightmare. There was no possible way in the waking world when he couldn't even face them in his dreams.
Jeda Teq 0stinato

 

[Pai Chan]

Sisceal shut his eyes tightly as she pulled the gun on him. Bracing for the worst of it. The far too familiar bite of bullets. When instead it was met with the sound of a screech behind them the man let loose the breath he'd been holding tightly in his chest.

"Coming in here with a solo mindset doesn't mean you are prepared for what's down here. That is the most foolish thing I've ever heard. Even the most experienced of agents don't go anywhere without some form of backup ready." He shot her one last glare as yet again left him straggling behind. Deep down he wished he could get more off of his chest to her but with the sounds in the distance there was no time for that. Or to take the time wasting the adrenaline she'd tossed him. Stuffing the syringe in his pocket he steeled himself and followed after at a much faster pace only a few steps behind her. The prospect of whatever was after them now more than enough to fight through the pain and book it.

As soon as he finally caught a glimpse of it his heart began to race. His ocular enhancements lighting up as he scanned for a possible path to take to throw the creature off. "Hey! What about through there?" He caught up to her and pointed to a small jungle of twisted wires and steel beams from a mass of buildings that had been uprooted and mashed together.

Charlotte could barely make out the creatures that were darting around. They were quick and camouflaged. They seemed to have a feline-like body, which explained their agility. One seemed to come straight at them and Charlotte took a shot at it. It quickly darted off and her shot hit the ground. It was then that Sisceal pointed towards some ruins of what were once buildings that now gave a small insight of the pandemonium that struck the city. Charlotte changed her direction to head for the area while keeping an eye on their pursuers. That place would do much to aid in fending off the creatures. They wouldn't be able to move as much and while that meant the same for Charlotte and Sisceal at least they had a gun. Less room to maneuver meant less room to dodge bullets.

"There's two of them." Charlotte called out just before firing a couple more rounds behind them to force their pursuers to back off a little bit. "I can't make out details, due to their camo, but I can see them well enough to make out shapes." She saw that he was keeping up so that at least meant that she didn't have to worry about Sisceal at the moment. It'd be a shame to lose him so quickly. The mission difficulty was picking up rapidly but it is nothing more than what was already discussed by her employer. It was then that she remembered she had the camera in her hair. She really hoped the man was enjoying the show...

 

[0stinato]

At least Cody wasn't making Lull do what he didn't want. He didn't want to help out the victim, and he didn't want to be defenceless about this entire situation. All he had available to him was the ability to sucker punch down here in the dark, and even then he only had one hand.

He growled an affirmative to Cody, taking the gun and gripping it tightly in a fist. Go for the vitals, even if he couldn't see them. Lull knew how to shoot. As a dedicated - well, semi-dedicated, maybe? - manservant in this day and age, with a client who herself screwed around with guns, he knew the main ways to protect with a firearm. He knew the theory, at least. The practice was minimal. Still, if something came near him, he'd twat it with the gun. Right into the stun-points. Chin, temples, inner-elbow.

He moved slowly, not willing to disturb the creature that was currently working on the victim beneath it. His eyes were dry and his mind was concerned only with his own direction. Cody had his orders and his job to do. Round up survivors, those who'd so foolishly wandered into the crater. He was an agent, someone Lull and Ema had been avoiding at the beginning of this hell, but now he had no choice at all. Well. Not yet. Not yet.

Lull crouched, taking in the opening of the cavity before him with the handful of glowsticks. He dropped one down the manhole to gauge its depth, but also to see whether anything would... stir.

He could wait only a few seconds before deciding it was safe enough. At least in an enclosed space, it was more likely any probable death would be swift, instead of long and drawn out, as death so often was in open areas. No room to play with your prey in a hole.

Lull manoeuvred, acting quite swiftly in the situation, despite his useless left hand. A certain necessary grace came with decades of living in an overweight body, he thought. Down, down, down. Doing what Cody said, Cody's sidearm in his big paw. When he was down sufficiently, he tossed the remaining glowsticks in a sort of pattern around himself, remaining next to the one he'd dropped originally. He had a fairly good field of vision with the glowsticks, they penetrated the darkness as well as he could ask them to. Any shadow... malicious sound... impulse in his head... or even just the brotherly sense of unease, he'd not at all hesitate with Cody's sidearm.

Hesitation got you killed. Less thinking. More doing. Lull breathed, and stabilised his mind a small bit.

Jeda Teq Axeykins

 

[Jeda Teq]

Old Sewers
The smell of death and rot tickled Lull's nose. The sensors in his back picked up numerous small creatures gathered in one spot. Rats. They were gnawing away at a black mass that was hard to make out what it was. Above them were several indentions in the pipe splattered with blood; almost as if someone was trying to make a painting.

In the distance he could feel the impulse of what was unmistakably humanoid. Two of them moving together just at the edge of his senses. The still and damp air made it easier for him to sense these things.

Below him he felt a constant pulse. As if there was active power source deeper underground. Years ago, before Project Black bombed the place, there were quiet rumors of there being a secret underground facility. It was thought to be the reason the hole was initially made, but that was just an urban legend.

0stinato

 

[Jeda Teq]

!Danger! Outerring - Charlette & Sisceal
The pairs hurried footsteps kicked up the soft cool dirt, creating a soft cloud that trailed behind them. With their only source of light being their flashlights the smoke of dirt didn't do much to improve their vision. More clouds of dirt rose from the ground and wafted through the air as the leopard like creatures chased them in the dark. The clouds swirled around as they moved through the darkness.

Emerging through the fog of smoke one of the creatures burst through the smoke. Its sharp claws slashing at Sisceals hip, where he had his flash light tucked away. The only source of light in the darkness of the ruined buidling.

Axeykins Pai Chan

 

[Jeda Teq]

!!Danger!! Midring - Luce
There was a bang followed by an instant 'ding' of metal. Cody had fired his weapon shooting the humanoid monster in the wrist. The shot threw off the creature's swing and the large Zamantria fin crashed into the ground a couple feet away from Luce.

The creature, H2O, looked at Cody. An annoyed growl escaped his damaged vocals. Cody felt a chill creep up his spine just before the creature threw the fin at him. HIs reflexes sharp he rolled out of the projectiles path to avoid penetration. The fin pierced the stone wall behind him embedding itself more than halfway through.

After throwing the spear H2O grabbed the inmobile Luce by his hair and dragged him to a burnt up car. He tossed the man inside and pressed a finger to his would be lips. He then turned to face cody.

The two large cyborgs began their fight. As they exchanged blows and bullets Cody realized that there was something different about his opponet. Unlike before where he was fighting the Zamantria the thing he was facing was not eradic and wild. Instead he was concise and sharp. His attacks were extremely accurate. One wrong move and Cody knew he would surely be killed in one strike.

Axeykins

 

[Axeykins]

Petrified faces of children flashed before him, running across the screen implanted in his skull like a snuff film. A nightmare returned full force as he stared into the face of Hell on earth once more. The grungy landscape of the crater melting away to cold industrial walls burned deep into his psyche. Every single sound and sight fading from existence. Back to that moment.

There again or had he never left? Oh God, It was impossible to tell as this reality failed him. Transporting him back in time. Big, bright, youthful eye reddened and burned as he stared wide, unblinking and unyielding at Him. He could feel every touch, hear every single word clear as day. Every fiber of his being screaming at him to do what he always knew to. The only thing that ever worked.

Letting loose a bloodcurdling, high pitched cry Luce bolted from the vehicle. Blindly heading towards the doors again. Again and again. No matter how fast he went he could never seem to run fast enough.
Jeda Teq 0stinato

 

[Axeykins]

"I can at least tell they're feline? other than that I can't make out much more, my eyes aren't really built for enhanced detection in the dark." He responded. Confirming that he was at the very least attempting to keep up with her. As much as his mundane augmentations would allow. "Let's hurry. The sooner we can slow these things down the faster we can get rid of them."

He had hardly taken a step towards the metal maze when the light was fiercely snatched away from him. The detective watched in frustration as it was knocked from his belt and slid away. "Shit" He growled. What now? They couldn't go in blind, not when he couldn't see near as well as she could in the dark with purely his ocular enhancements. That would be stupidity of an astoundingly high degree. A luxury he couldn't afford to test again lest wind up either dinner or with a bullet through his skull. The cogs in his mind ground away as he went through idea after idea. They were cats right? Or at least feline like? Very fast, very agile, deadly of course, intelligent? By how they were acting there was some degree of it. Rather high but they still had to have basic instincts right? If he could throw them off for just a moment that could give them a chance at a good head start to duck for cover as planned and gain an edge. And if anything else he could at the very least get in a close range shot and do some damage. What then though? Was it even worth the risk at this point? He so desperately wanted to get out to take his daughter back but each second that ticked by stripped any hope of that away.
Dammit, damn this entire place. Death was on the horizon for him in any choice. This crater, the mafia, every bottle emptied at the end of the day. It was pathetic, but to not even try, to roll over and die was even more-so. 'Lord give me strength. or at least one Hell of a lucky break for once.'

"Watch my back for a moment. If I'm incapacitated or stuck. Uh...do as you see fit. Shoot me, let me get mauled, run. I'll follow immediately if I can." Tightening his spinal guard as much as it would go Sisceal dove for the flashlight. Soon as it was in hand he directed it under his face, hoping to make himself look bigger or more menacing or some mix of the two. Standing as tall and firmly unwavering and unafraid as he could the insane man let loose the loudest roar his throat and lungs could create.
Pai Chan Jeda Teq

 

[0stinato]

Aside from the rats that existed purely to please themselves, gorging on matter rather than anything that had a name attached, Lull felt - or, rather, saw - the shape of two separate entities in small, brain-visible outlines of blue against lit blackness.

The question was, were they hostile? If so, his being surrounded by light was definitely not a good thing. Lull quietly laid the final glow stick on the ground and moved away from the light and away from the individuals. They existed on the edge of his senses, so it was vitally important he saw them before they saw him. The glow sticks might attract a regular eye, allowing his form to slip silently into darkness. If, however, the people had any sort of night vision, he had to be equally ready for that.

Lull turned to face the direction he'd felt the impulses of the people when he was far enough away from the glow sticks that he wasn't touched by their light, and held Cody's gun behind his thigh. His fingers were holding it steady, urging him to shoot, even. His mind argued, shoot what? Them? What was the point? What might the outcome be? Two of them, one of him. Besides, if one was Lois, then what? Gun her down immediately? No, no, it was too risky. The thought of his bullet hitting her, removing her life, caused a slick veil of sweat to flash on his neck. For a second, the thought took away the pain of his hand, but that returned twofold upon his brain's recovery.

He forced a smile to his thin, tattooed lips. It was soaked through with dry pain, and he couldn't blink. His hand secured the gun. Their move.

Jeda Teq

 

[Jeda Teq]

!Danger! Outerring: Inside a collapsed building - Charlette & Sisceal

With the light shining on his face, Sisceal's irises contracted; it was more difficult to see into the darkness and dust. His yet was returned in kind with the shriek of three creatures. One of which lunged up at him slashing its razor like claws at his face. Two others ran towards the light. They went right past Charlette as if they did not see her their.

Axeykins Pai Chan

 

[Jeda Teq]

Old Sewers
"Hel..!" One of the individuals saw the light in the distance and began to call out, but the other covered their mouth. They then began to move quickly, away from it. They soon vanished out of Lull's sensory range.

Lull was left alone with the rats. After a while there wasn't much left for them to gnaw on and they departed. There was a glint of metal that reflected the soft glow of the glowsticks where the putrid mass once was. Even though the rat's ate the smell still lingered.

0stinato

 

[Axeykins]

( Pai Chan . Jeda Teq maybe?)

 

[0stinato]

Hell?

Hell?!

No - hello.

Probably supposed to be 'Hello.' Lull reckoned it was that. Unless someone was yelling out where they thought they were, in which case, Lull was inclined to agree. But the 'hello' had got cut off in the middle by a motion of kidnap. A kidnap.

Was it a kidnap? Perhaps he was being too hasty.

Lull walked foward, retrieved a couple of the glowsticks he'd scattered about. One of them he tucked in a pocket of his cargo trousers, alongside that finite box of cigarettes - why must it be finite, why? - and the other he held in front of him, with the gun. He felt going after them was the... well, the stupidest thing to do, considering he was edging away from Cody on the surface, but there was something about the actions and tone of voice that didn't exactly tell him it was dangerous.

If it was, he theorised, he'd just have to fire first.

He kept his pace consistent, and continued in the direction he'd last discovered the two. The sewers were by no means nice to walk through, but he was done with nice. He considered what his next step should be. Should he call out, "Marco!" in an attempt to have one of them reply with "Polo!" or would that be naive?

Probably stupid, he reasoned. What else might it bring? Some sort of chimera, flitting its way through sewer-water? Probably. And Lull didn't want to think about chimeras. He didn't know what a chimera even was, let alone how it might attack him.

Lull shrugged.

He fired a round behind him.

The crack echoed its way off the tunnels, bouncing and returning, and the flash lit up the grime on the wall beside him.

He spoke as soon as he felt he might be heard, "I'm not out to kill you, so don't make me," he spoke into the darkness, commanding his tenor to traverse the distance, wherever the strangers might be. "If you are trying to keep yourselves safe, I suggest you come back to me. Turn on me, I won't hesitate to kill either of you."

Jeda Teq

 

[Jeda Teq]

Hearing the high pitched wailing of Luce, H2O kneed Cody in the gut and threw him to the ground. A robotic screech came from the gangly cyborg as he turned to make his way to the burnt out pop star.

With H2O's attention diverted, Cody jumped onto his back putting the monster in a headlock. "STOP SCREAMING LIKE A BITCH AND GET OUT OF HERE IDIOT!" Cody shouted to Luce. He tightened his muscular arm as tight as he could on H20's neck, but it seemed to have done little to no effect. The demon kept pursuing Luce. Cody leaned back using his weight to pull H20 Down to the ground.

H2O the pressed his elbow to Cody's side. With the gentle sound of air compression Cody's eyes dilated. H2O Threw his fist up. A trail of blood splattered into the air revealing the jagged extended piston on the monster's elbow. He slammed his elbow down stabbing Cody yet another time. Over, and over.

Cody held back his screams of pain. The discomfort of his organs being ripped. With adrenaline pumping through he he held H2O as tightly as he could. Hoping that he could buy some time for the civilian to escape.

Axeykins

 

[Jeda Teq]

"Lull?" A soft gentle voice replied to Lulls words. It was a familiar voice to him. So familiar that he could have mistaken it for his sister. "What are you,.. no. It's..." He voice when inaudible. It sound as if the pair were talking. After a brief conversation between the two all Lull could hear was the sound of wet foot steps going in the opposite direction of him.

There was light rumble of the ground below Lull's feet. An earthquake maybe?

0stinato

 

[Axeykins]

Luce was blind to anyone and anything around him. Too stuck in his nightmare scape to see anything else but the horror that played out in his head. Barely hearing the noises around him. He just ran. Ran and ran directionless until suddenly his legs gave out.

His screams of horror turning in to cries of agony. "M....my legs?!?" He felt around frantically. Unable to feel them, seeing blood that was not there everywhere around him. His fingers digging into the mesh of metal and flesh that was still there, yet panicking as he still felt nothing.

As the battle between the behemoths went on and the star collapsed. Curious eyes stared on from the abyss. Contemplating whether to intervene now or not.
Jeda Teq

 

[0stinato]

"Lull?"

The wound in the large man's hand bled. It bled so suddenly. It bled with the force of a heartbeat.

"What are you... no. It's..."

Breath came and with it came relief and then came rage. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing except the faint pat pat of feet on moist stone. A louder set of footsteps echoed and the wound still bled and the ground shook and only then did Lull realise he was moving.

The first time blood had touched Lois' figure it had been his own - a nosebleed had befallen him as a result of having his head slammed into a wall. She had not cried. The second time blood touched Lois' figure, it had not been his own. It was their mother's, and Lois had cried instantly. But so covered in that tainted blood was Lull that it was all he could do to let Lois go but by that time he had ruined the baby's clothes. So he had undressed her and washed his hands and then he washed himself and her in the same lukewarm water. He held her against him and she hiccuped and she moved her naked legs quietly and he held her against his malnourished ribs. The blood was gone and when Lull's nose bled again from the heat of her body and the stress of the night the blood fell on her shoulder and she did not cry.

He stopped running when his lungs could take no more. He breathed and breathed heavily but still thought he knew exactly where she was.

"Lois!" he shouted her name as if it was a curse. "Why are you walking away from me? Come to me, now, or I find you!"

Stupid girl. Stupid girl. The stupid bitch! Lull's teeth snapped together and he grimaced in the darkness. He was following her and he was going to find her and if he was going down he was taking her with him. That was all there was.

Jeda Teq

 

[Jeda Teq]

The back of H2O's head cracked into Cody's skull. The soldier's grip loosened allowing H2O to break free. When he rolled off the man, H2O shoved his hand into his open wound. Grabbing whatever he could. In hand H2O held Cody's intestines. He then quickly began to pull it out like rope.

The moment Cody realized what was happening he grabbed his own organ to prevent this monster from ripping his guts out. He held on as tightly as he could, only to be yanked into the air towards this devil of a man by his own innards. The crash of metal and the crushing of bone echoed through his ears as he felt his back hit the ground in an instant. He didn't register what had just happened, but he knew something wasn't right. He couldn't feel his heartbeat and it was hard to breath. He felt as if he were drowning. Then H2O stood over him menacingly.

H2O whipped cody into the air by his intestines when he grabbed onto it. He then punched Cody in the chest. The piston in his elbow slammed down adding incredible force to H2O's already devastating punch. The force of the impact ruptured Cody's chest, broke his exoskeleton and shattered his ribs which punchered his lungs.

With a mechanical cackle H2O stood over Cody's body and grabbed the man's head with both arms. Placing his foot on Cody's caved in chest he began to lurch and jerk as he pried the head from its body. After scooping out the brain matter from the skull H2O plucked something from the neck of Cody's corpse. He then proceeded to the manhole Cody forced Lull down. Eyeing Luce's panicked form in the distance aroused him. There was more fun to be had with this one. He fell into the hole.


In the distance Lull heard a loud "thoom" in the direction he came from.
0stinato

 

[Axeykins]

Out. He needed out now. There was no other way of escape. He had to! That thing was gone but for how long. This could be his only chance! Desperately the man scrambled around the area. Digging and digging in the rubble until the familiar snap of his baton. Grasping it firmly in both hands he aimed between the eyes. Electricity making his hair stand on end. Measuring up the shot, how much force it would hit with. Enough to do the job for sure.

Arms pulled back as far as possible before plunging forward. But, nothing. Blank. Crackles of electricity kissed his forehead. The star sat still as a statue for an eternity....what was...happening?

God fucking damn did his head hurt. Luce got to his feet. Retracting the baton and shoving it into the holster at his side. Where was the fat man and company? The screen that took place of what was once his left eye lit up. Illuminating the surrounding area.
A steaming heap of flesh caught his attention soon as the light caught it. "Oh?" Curiosity filled his voice. It was fresh?! That was rare, beat up to Hell and oh... A familiar face. Er, Build. The head had been ripped clean off. What could have done that? He wondered if, it held any secrets to discover or barter for. Hmm.
Taking a swift glance around. As if to avoid persecution by some unknown force that may be watching, Luce scuttled over to fully 'examine' this fallen momentary comrade for valuable commodities. Taking no hesitation nor having any qualms as he dove in all the way up to his biceps.

Jeda Teq ( 0stinato )

 

[0stinato]

There was nothing to be done and she wasn't talking and she wasn't moving. If that was so, Lull had to go to her. She wasn't alone, but he didn't care. He began moving, at a pace between a jog and a walk, but lowered the noise he made. The emotions within him caused him to want to run and make every single step an earth-quivering punch, but he had to be careful. If Lois was being so insolent, he wasn't going to make his displeasure known immediately.

Or at least that was his plan. Until a loud and sickly echoing vibration swallowed the silence of the sewer tunnels. Following that came the spine-rippling explosion of electric impulses. The third eye inside him saw red flashes emanating from behind and, when Lull turned his head it was right there. Like it was inches from him.

He reached out a hand and touched nothing.

He turned around and upped his pace, still keeping relatively quiet. If Lull had learned anything from years on the streets, it was how to use your body to be silent. As age and weight had engulfed him though he had lost the ability slightly, but his steps made only the barest of traces. He was aiming for Lois and ignoring the red behind him. Aiming for Lois.

He kept walking until he found Lois and her companion's impulses again. Finally... alongside all the small life in the sewers, and the big life behind him that he desperately needed to get away from, there were two semi-clear figures. One walked and the other walked and he didn't know which one was her. He knew the way she walked but from so far back it wasn't easy to tell.

He would keep an eye out for her clumsy womanly gait, for the leg movements in her heels - if she was still wearing them - for the hand flick she did to get the hair out of her face. He stalked her and sweated and kept the boiling hot rage beneath his oesophagus. The urge to scream Lois' name as if he was...

Who was she with? Male or female? Lull never usually cared about a sex, but now he did. Who was it? Females were destructive, cruel and untrustworthy, and males were also destructive, cruel and untrustworthy if they were near his sister.

Lull allowed a snarl to form on his lips as he carried on, gripping the gun but keeping his finger just away from the trigger.

Axeykins Jeda Teq