Chapter 80

Chapter 80

The words shot adrenaline through me like a spike in the heart. I couldnt feel the pain from the impact and had no idea how bad my injuries were.

All that mattered was keeping whoever it was from getting my satchel.

Just as that thought flew through my mind, the strap tightened against my chest as someone pulled at it from behind. A boot slammed into my stomach in a kick that was more soccer than any sort of martial art.

I grunted, fighting shock as my insides recoiled, wrapping myself around the leg, trying to shield myself from a slow downpour of kicks and blows.

Wait for an opening.

told me there were more than five of them. Their blows werent remotely similar in strength to the Matriarch, or either of the gnolls Id fought, but they still had the ground advantage. A nice, expansive surface of asphalt served as a backboard, ensuring every inkling of energy from their strikes rattled my body.

Fucking give it up! The man Id been clinging to tore his leg free and rose up, with the clear intention of stomping on my face.

I declined his offer.

Now.

In the split second he was off-balance with the others hesitant to get in his way, I pulled from my inventory and jammed it behind his knee-cap. He screamed and toppled.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

A stream of something dark and viscous bled from the knife and the terror in the mans scream escalated as Talia half emerged, only the top-half of her body formed as she chomped into the mans side like a carnivorous genie.

Two men and a woman rushed me at the same time. Considering the situation, I couldnt blame them. Real life isnt an action movie. In an actual brawl, the mooks arent going to line up and take turns. They were far more likely to use the numbers to their advantage and amp up the brutality.

I had to do the same.

I shrugged the coil of rope off my shoulder and threw the bundle of it up in the air. Audrey extended out horizontally and snared two men, wrapping her vines around their necks and torsos in seconds and binding them together. Exposed skin bulged out of the tether. When they struggled, Audreys thorns dug in tighter.

guided me. I swiveled beneath the womans wild lunge, only realizing after the fact that shed had a garden-variety utility knife in her hand, and drove two lightning quick punches directly into her jaw with the same hand. She spun like a top.

That should have been enough. Between the horrifying entry of the two summons and the brutality of the conflict. It wasnt. Perhaps, given the context of what was happening, and the sheer quantity of monsters these people had likely seen in the last few hours, an oversized wolf and a plant simply werent intimidating enough.

An explosion rang out, and I felt like someone had slapped me in the forehead. I staggered backwards, feeling more surprised than anything else, and blood began to run freely into my eyes.

Shot. Ive been shot.

The sluggish thought rattled in the back of my mind as I tried desperately to get a better perspective on what was happening.

Reeling, I grabbed the woman by the convenient handle of a tightly bound ponytail, yanking her over, so her body covered mine, hunting for the source of the gunfire. I pulled from my inventory and held it to her neck. As the womans organs lit up, and I roughly wiped the blood from my eyes, I got a decent view of the scene for the first time.

Five of them were on the ground. Two more waited toward the back. One with a golf club, the other with a gun. A small crowd of nearly a dozen people were farther back, expressions terrified. The one with the gun was staring off into open air, looking at nothing, and still confused at what he saw.

I reached up for the first time and touched my head. Some part of me had feared the wound was serious, and Id been afraid to check it. There were countless stories of people who were shot in the head and remained conscious until the shock and adrenaline wore out. What I found was a tender groove where some of my hair had been stripped in an extended line.

Graze.

Really should, I said. My heart, which had slowed, now hammered at the prospect. He was a User actively hampering the Lux gathering process. In a state of emergency like this, there was no question it was justified. Something about that line of thought gave me pause. Like it was too easy. I held the knife in one hand, a potion in the other. Why the hell are you and your people out here playing Mad Max?

He peered at me, brow furrowed in pain. Have you looked around?

Your Users

The man laughed in frustration, then cringed. G-gone. There werent many to begin with. As soon as shit started coming out of the ground, they left for the outskirts. Im the only one who stuck aroundOh god oh fuck that hurts. He curled up into a fetal position. I studied him. Before he folded like a wet paper bag, there was a hint of pride there, the neighborhood level of loyalism that, in my experience, tended to be stubbornly resilient.

His radio chirped, followed by a scratchy voice. Jake, half your people just ran face-first into the region wall. Whats happening

I reached over and rotated the dial for the radio mounted on his hip, until it clicked off.

With that done, I looked at my map. Balancing staying out of downtown with a time efficient route, Id more than likely have to pass through here again. There were other routes, but each presented complications.

Region nine, right? I asked.

Yes.

How many of you are up to this shit?

Most of us. The ones who arent cowering in their homes at least.

Kinda fucked up, Jake.

Try watching Users speed by with Lux for hours and tell me you wouldnt start to panic. And it aint Jake. Its Jacob.

That last part really pertinent information right now?

If youre gonna kill me, it is. I hate it when people call me Jake. His face was growing paler, jaw rotating in small, circular motions. I was losing him.

Resilience could be useful. But if this was going to work, I would need to lean hard on Suggestion. Which meant I needed a way to make him as agreeable as possible.

I have a question, Jacob. I began. And the way you answer will drastically affect our relationship in the near future.

What? He asked. No idea if that was his answer, or if the pain had grown so badly he missed what I said.

I held the potion up to his face. Just trying to get a rough estimate. On a scale of one to ten, how motivated are you to undo the mess youre clutching now?

For the first time, he stopped moaning and looked straight at me. Thats gonna be a ten.