Chapter 36 - 35

For a creature with such a sharp sense of smell like myself there is not much need in knowing the place by the looks, but knowing it by the smells, and as I was being swung around by the creature I kept my nostrils wide open to know how to go back to where the cold-eyed man may be going next, where he saw things through my eyes.

And such delicious meal will have a beacon on him soon after I arrive for sure, impossible to lose him among the crowd with such dazzling odor...

I look the way I came from, at the chaos the city is in, already making a mental map and preparing to jump out when a buzzing low sound makes me crock my head and frown, stopping to look around me.

Next second bullets come flying at me, raining down my way.

I roll to the side and take cover behind a wall, but I can hear the cement and roof giving in to the many bullets rotating my way, the already weak building from the slums creaking in protest and snapping at places.

However the bullets cease as quickly as it began, smoke coming out of the nuzzle and a lowering mechanical sound with it, which makes me click my tongue and frown with what I see, looking with my own eyes to make sure I'm right.

It is one of those things again, a drone flying around with four fans, but this one, different from the other, looked sturdier, with a big eye in all four directions and a machine gun right below it, the responsible one for the bullets from a few moments ago by the grey smoke that slipped from it..

…What is your problem dude? Did it see me change perhaps? Or is it just attacking for no reason? What the hell? And with a human killing weapon at that… with normal bullets that is.

And yet beyond the first attack the drone does not move anymore, only when I try to jump away it brings its weapons up, ready to shoot, almost as if trying to trap me there and keep me in place. But what for? 

Not advancing, not letting me go, what's up with that thing?

Don't get me wrong, normal bullets like these do not hurt me, they don't have enough strength to pierce my skin though they still hurt a lot, and I figure that a blast gun on that drone would easily break it on the first shot from the coil force, but I do not intend to be careless and stay in the path of the bullet and show off my non-human characteristics just like that, especially when I do not really need to.

Though I'm starting to get annoyed with it for keeping me away from my precious prey, at least I soon find out what the flying drone is waiting for when I hear something louder and bigger shushing our way.

"Fucking finally hey? You know you weren't supposed to shot him right? That's my deal, what would I do if you ended up killing him? Well, if he died that easily I guess it would not be a worthy target I supposed…But still these machines…"

I look over to see who the guy is talking to, only to see him staring at the flying drone that does not react to his words, hovering beside him.

I take in the situation, watching the man as he stays on some sort of vehicle, it resembled a little the one I came into town, a long sit in the middle to be embraced with the legs, however this one did not touch the ground but hovers just like the drones with three big fans turned down, two smaller ones at the back and a big one at the front, plus one big sideways at the back, and beyond the shinning black armor over it the thing has a curved glass on top, probably to protect the driver from the cutting cold wind.

"Ah, I finally found you, and oh joy! No sign of Ashy here, I can have you all to myself!" The man on the hoover bike says, but his voice sounds muffled because of the black helmet he is wearing, the glass totally black reflecting my image and obscuring his face.

…I'm sorry, who are you again?

With a pss the pistons on the helmet move, opening up over his head and chin, coiling until it looks like a metal collar only to reveal a smug known face underneath.

"How is it going? Remember me? Sean Cole, ring a bell? In our brief encounter you kicked me to the ground, uhm? Will do you good to remember your killer's name you know." As he speaks he moves his finger in the air, widening his eyes and smile in a crazy grim.

"Not very talkative hey? I can respect that, so how about we get down to business? Don't disappoint me will you? Had to bribe a lot of people to get to you earlier…" At that, out of nowhere, he takes his gun out and shots at me, but with a side step I dodge, the long blast gun smoking at the tip, crevices like veins flaming up all over the weapon as the crystal charged it up, looking more sophisticated than the others I saw before, with a lower recoil for sure since he shot it with only one hand and seemed fine.

He chuckles, excited like a child, and even though I have no idea what is this guy up to and why he is suddenly attacking me, one thing that I know is that he is looking for a fight.

And I know just the way to respond to that… for a while at least since I got bigger fish to hook with my tail if you feel me…

The only problem is, how to fight with this feeble human body? I think as he starts shooting at me, and differently from the normal bullets his blast gun is able to destroy my covers with one shot, debris falling down on people below who screamed, but he could not care less as he stirs the vehicle with one hand and shoots with the other.

As we go from roof to roof at some point he stops, moves the hand that was on the vehicle, making a black bracelet and ring shine with red lights and before I could even wonder what that is the flying drone comes sushing in, following the movement from his wrists as he says to it:

"Circle around, pinch him down." The thing responds with flashing red lights on its body, flying behind and shooting me out of cover, but I knew better than to dodge to the side and get blasted by the man on the bike so instead I force the wood under my feet and, with a strong kick, make the already deteriorating wooden floor and roof to cave in with a gust of dust soaring up, perfectly executed if I had not fallen down a few more floors than I intended at first, but I am out of the roof and open space, in an enjoyable dark cramped place that makes it easier for me to trap him in, or perhaps make a run for in amidst the confusion. 

Before I can do that, however, the drone comes down the hole with me and apparently able to see very well in that smoke gives me no rest as his mechanical little eye zooms on me and moves the nuzzled of the gun to my side.

Oh joy, seems like I've found a persistent human to bother me now haven't I? I think as I start running further into the building as the wooden walls are blustered away.