The air around Gia shimmered, her hands trembling not with fear—but with something sharper. Determination. Rage.
Her eyes locked on the Hunter, and for a split second, Kyle swore the faint mist swirling around them bent toward her.
Felix grunted as he held the Hunter's arm at bay, his boots digging into the gravel. "Anytime now, Princess—unless you want me to die with style!"
Gia didn't answer him. She just took a deep breath and whispered something under it—Kyle barely caught it:
"No more running."
Her fingers flexed, and a portal ripped open—not the neat, clean ovals Kyle was used to. This one was jagged, its edges rippling like water disturbed by a storm. It didn't open to another street or rooftop. Instead… it showed an abyss. A swirling void of fractured light and shadow.
The Hunter froze for the briefest instant, its sensors flickering.
Felix glanced at it, then at Gia. "Uh… that doesn't look like the 'safe exit' kind of portal—"
"It's not."
Before anyone could stop her, Gia pulled. The jagged portal lunged forward like a living thing, snapping shut on one of the Hunter's back-blades with a sound like metal being crushed. The appendage was just—gone.
Kyle's eyes widened. "You just—"
"Ripped it into somewhere it can't come back from," Gia said, her voice tight.
The Hunter adapted fast, jerking back and slashing at her with its remaining blade. Kyle didn't think—he surged forward, blood boiling into a crimson whip that cracked against the Hunter's weapon, forcing it away.
Felix took the chance to jam both knives into the creature's leg joint, sparks spitting out. "Gia—do it again!"
She did. Another jagged rift tore open, and this time she sent it snapping toward the Hunter's other back-blade. The machine twisted at the last second, losing only a chunk of its weapon instead of the whole thing. Still—it was slowing.
The Tide Turns
Kyle pressed the advantage. He channeled the burning ache in his side into his weapon, forming a massive spear of congealed blood. He launched it forward—Felix ducked just in time—and the spear pierced through the Hunter's left shoulder plate, pinning it against a shipping container.
Felix whistled low. "Remind me never to piss you off."
Kyle ignored him, stalking toward the Hunter. But before he could finish it, the thing's sensors pulsed brighter, and it did something new—its damaged frame began to split open, releasing a shockwave of distorted light.
Gia's eyes went wide. "It's going to—"
She didn't get to finish. The shockwave ripped through the yard, knocking them all back. Kyle hit the ground hard, and by the time he scrambled up, the Hunter was already retreating into the mist, its movements glitching but determined.
It wasn't dead. And now it knew even more about them.
The Aftermath
They regrouped near a derelict train car, catching their breath. Felix rubbed his jaw where he'd hit the ground. "Well… I think we just made it mad."
Kyle was still staring at Gia. "What was that?"
She avoided his gaze. "A place between places. I can't hold portals to it for long—it's dangerous."
Felix grinned despite the tension. "Dangerous is hot."
Kyle's expression darkened instantly. "Felix."
Felix raised an eyebrow, unbothered. "What? Just saying. She's got skill."
Gia rolled her eyes, but there was a faint color in her cheeks. "Both of you—focus. The Hunter's going to come back, and next time, it'll be stronger. We need somewhere it can't track us."
Kyle hesitated. "I know a place. But getting there won't be easy."
Felix smirked. "Good. Easy's boring."
A Flicker of Doubt
As they set off again through the fog, Kyle kept his distance behind the other two. Gia walked just ahead with Felix at her side, the two talking in low voices.
Kyle didn't need to hear the words—he could see the way Felix looked at her, the subtle shift in his posture when she spoke.
And for the first time, Kyle felt something unfamiliar gnawing at him.
It wasn't fear. It wasn't anger.
It was the thought that maybe… he wasn't just fighting the Hunter.
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