With a satisfying crunch, his fist hit the jaw of the mugger, who roared out in pain. The bully had two thugs on each side of him, who rushed Blackeye at full speed. At the same time, Bricker slammed into two of them, pushing them against a wall. A high-kick from Nosedive sent blood spurting from another thug's nose. The two of them had successfully diverted the thugs’ attention for them to have a fighting chance against their older, stronger opponents.
The one Blackeye had punched came back with a hit of his own, kicking him in the crotch as another one came from behind and tried to choke him by the neck.
Blackeye struggled for a bit until the hold around his adam’s apple loosened, after which he kicked the guy in the stomach. He let go and gasped just before the other one aimed a punch so hard it knocked the wind out of Blackeye. He fell to the ground.
“Not so smart now are you, you little freak?” The obvious leader of the group jeered. Blackeye noticed that his punch had broken a bone, and his chin was swelling enormously. “Now, give us the grab. Now.”
Like a charging bull, Bricker sped towards them, picked both thugs (each screaming bloody murder) up bodily, then tossed them head first into the side of the wall. Both of them were knocked out, maybe permanently.
Nosedive’s jaw went slack in amazement, which quickly went to a furious glare.
“Did you seriously finish off four of them? COME ON BRICKER. LEAVE SOME OF THEM TO ME.” Nosedive shouted. Bricker mumbled an apology, guiltily.
“Granted, Bricker didn’t tear off pieces of them and give them more bruises than I could possibly imagine,” Blackeye remarked as he looked at the ripped-up horror show down the alley. Nosedive scowled, but Blackeye could tell that she was proud of the mangled figure she had made from her victim. Blackeye frowned at the sadistic side of Nosedive.
He turned around to the other bodies, but he only counted three of them. “Uh . . . Bricker, where’s the other one?” Blackeye asked nervously.
Bricker shrugged. “I don’t know. He probably ran. I mean, I can’t handle all of them. What did you expect?”
Blackeye took a step toward the leader and crouched down beside him. On the side of his cheek was a tattoo of a red serpent’s silhouette. He tried to keep his composure, but his face betrayed him.
“What’s wrong?” Nosedive asked.
“We need to go. Now. Quickly, up to the roofs.”
The three of them speedily hopped up the buildings, using the windows and balconies as handholds. Nosedive was the first to the top, her agility making her look like a white-haired monkey. After her, came Blackeye, sweating slightly as he reached the tiled top of the climb. Finally, came Bricker, huffing and puffing as dragged his enormous bulk up to the top.
Just as Bricker’s foot scaled the end of the wall, they started to hear voices from below.
“There’s nothing here boss.” a gruff, sandy voice said.
“I’m sure there is, boss! I mean, they couldn’t have knocked themselves senseless from a couple of beers right?” said another voice. Blackeye realized that this was the voice of one of the attackers.
“I’ve seen how tipsy you get after a pint. Don’t lie, Marcus.” The other voices laughed. Blackeye shivered. He knew that voice. They all knew that voice. That was the voice of Cairnove Kels.
Cairnove was a leader of the Blood Serpents. With flaming red hair, an excellent sense of perception, and feet faster than a hawk, she was a tough and capable fighter. But what set her out from the rest was her control over fire. She was a Pyrian. The fact that she was here at all, meant that they had just beat up a seriously important member of the snakes.
Blackeye gulped subconsciously. He checked on his friends, only to find them just as petrified as he was. If she caught them . . .
No, Blackeye. Don’t think about that.
“I swear I didn’t do it! It was a bunch of dumb kids. Couldn’t be older than 17. And there’s no way I could do all of this!” The old voice said, sounding scared to the bone.
The conversation below turned serious as Cairnove said, “Okay. We’ll send some search parties. We’ll catch these bluggers, and when we do, their pockets will be empty and their body bruised.” Cheers echoed through the alley.
“Mind you, the same applies to Marcus, if he knocked Bill, Taran, and Snat out. But whoever did that,” she implied to the barely breathing body further back. “To Zenny, is not seeing another day alive.”
There was silence, then Blackeye heard hurried footsteps searching the alleys. Blackeye breathed out a sigh of relief.
We’re safe. For now. Stealthily, they started to silently creep across the roof.
“Hey, you! Up there!”
All three of them froze solid.
“Yeah, don’t think I didn’t see you there. I saw that foot go over the roof.” Blackeye was pretty sure he was an ice cube.
“Look, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Bill probably cornered you (I know how hot-headed he is), and you fought back. I can get that. But, for what you did to Zenny, that I can’t forgive.” Cairnove called up. “I’ll give you three seconds to come down here, and fight me like you’re not the cowards you really are.”
Blackeye looked on either side of him. Both of them looked terrified out of their minds.
Crap.
“One.”
Crap. Crap crap crap crap.
“Two.”
Crap crap crappity crap CRAPPING crap crap.
“Three.”
“Run!” Bricker shouted. In an instant, they were running down the roof, just as the sickening crash and sound of wood burning came from the other side of the building.
She’s gonna burn the house down. Blackeye realized.
Quickly, they leapt to the next building, only to see Cairnove following them, hands outstretched, ready to launch a spurt of fire that would beat away the entire building before it stopped.
“Oh don’t run away darlings, it’s never as fun when you don’t put up a fight.” Cairnove cackled in mad glee.
“Faster faster faster!” Nosedive yelled. Quickly they leaped to the next building, just barely landing on the drainage pipe and already scrambling to get higher. Just after they jumped, a column of flames shot from down below, and the house immediately lit on fire.
“Come out to play, little ones! I’m not going to kill you! I’m going to do so much worse!” Cairnove screamed.
Below him, Blackeye saw civilians running away in terror at the rogue magician who was busily trying to kill them. Blackey swivelled his neck to look behind him and immediately regretted what he did. Underneath the building, the mage was hopping up the alley like a rabbit, her feet barely touching the wall before jumping up higher.
“Faster! She’s right on our tail!” Blackeye called to his friends. They jumped roof after roof, hurling over them with as much speed as they could muster, their feet flying across the roofs. But they knew Cairnove well enough by reputation that she would catch up to them soon, and they had no idea what to do after that moment came.
A spurt of fire shot out right next to Blackeye's cheek, singing his hair, and filling Blackeye with adrenaline. Nosedive shrieked, “Go down!” BLackeye had no idea what she meant but then saw her purposefully falling onto the windowsill of the next building, grabbing for any foothold. She thrust her foot into the glass pane, smashing it into a thousand small pieces, then jumped into the abandoned, glass-filled room. She waited for Blackeye and Bricker to follow her action. Blackeye nodded and repeated her gesture, with less grace, and more shards of glass up his arse. Bricker then followed their move, grabbing the drain pipe and swinging into the empty house.
They ran down the stairs as fast as their legs could take them and into the roads of the outer city. The chaos was evident, people running in every direction, livestock screaming in terror. Half a dozen houses were burning, and atop the last one was Cairnove, ready to tear all of them down to find Blackeye and his friends. Or, to find Nosedive specifically.
We need to get out of here, Blackeye thought.
Blackeye gestured for Nosedive and Bricker to follow him into an alley he knew well. Quietly, they tiptoed through it to get away from Cairnove, sounding like a madwoman as she searched for them.
They popped out the other side and ran in the direction of their abode. After a few turns and twists, Blackeye started to slow down, becoming less agitated as he got further away from the scene. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Next time, Nosedive, try not to torture the dude.” Blackeye criticized. She rolled her eyes and blushed.
“I make no promises.” She answered a little too gleefully.
When they got back to Bits, PJ, and Dustbunny Blackeye raced up the stairs to grab a honeystick and retire upon one of the sacks. After a few licks, he started to greet Bits and PJ, only for PJ to shush him and point to the rocking Bun in her arms. When he gave her a questioning look, she mouthed Bad dream. Blackeye nodded. PJ walked to another one of the sacks laid Dustbunny down upon it, and then wrapped her up with her blanket.
“I take it you did okay?” Blackeye asked. Bits rubbed his eyes and yawned.
“Yeah, it was alright,” Bits said. “What did you get from the grab?” Just then Nosedive and Bricker came through the door, Nosedive raising the sack above her head triumphantly.
“5 DECKA AND 7 JING! HA!” Nosedive answered jubilantly. “Bet you’ve never seen that much money!”
Bits looked furious. Quickly, he grabbed a sack and screamed into it at the top of his lungs. When he re-emerged, he said “Ugh. Why do I always choose the route with the least money?”
PJ smirked. “To answer you’re question, I have. You have no idea how much you can get from the snatcheries.” She said. But even her comments couldn't make Nosedive more excited.
Bricker walked towards one of the hammocks and fell face-first into its warm embrace. Within seconds he was snoring.
“Actually, you were gone for quite a while, what happened? I don’t think it takes you three hours to get to Chuck’s, does it?” Bits said thoughtfully.
That’s a fair point. Where were you?” PJ remarked.
Blackeye glanced nervously to Bricker and Nosedive, then told them. “We got caught by the Blood Serpents.”
PJ gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Bits gulped. “That’s why I don’t go to Chuck’s,” He said.
“We kicked their buts, but . . . one of them escaped, and he called more of them. And, well . . .” Nosedive trailed off.
“Cairnove came with them.” Blackeye finished.
Bits started stroking his hair immediately, and PJ's legs started shaking. “You mean, the- the Cairnove?” PJ stammered. Blackeye nodded.
“We’re dead meat if she’s looking for us.” Bits tried to say like it didn’t matter.
“We escaped and lost her, but I don’t know if she’ll stop till she finds us,” Nosedive said.
“Oh, we’re screwed,” PJ whispered, her hands ringing her wrists.
Blackye said, “Look, we don’t know for sure that she saw our faces. Our heads were turned the entire time she chased us.”
Nosedive looked like she remembered something then worriedly said, “No, wait Blackeye. She did see your face. You looked down below to see what she was doing when she was climbing up, remember?” Blackeye’s heart sank a foot into the ground and started pumping blood ten times as fast as usual.
“I guess I’ll just have to be extra careful.” He said quietly.
“Oh, gods forsake me.” PJ groaned.
“Things have been weird today. Other than that stuff, I mean. Like, don’t you remember how Chuck behaved decently? I don’t think that’s ever happened before.” Nosedive said.
“Let's go to sleep, guys, we can talk about it in the morning.” Bits suggested. Everyone was only too happy to oblige.
Blackeye took one of the hammocks and laid down, thinking about the day as he slowly fell into a deep, warm sleep.