Tedros ran out of the gate as soon as he could. He leapt on top of a cops car, bounding off it behind the first group. The cops ran behind him, and he looked for anything, or anyone that could give him an advantage. The only thing he saw was Mateo. Him, Terrence, and Ines in a small group surrounded by three police cars, Ines herself looking like she was on the verge of fainting, even more than usual.
His alliance.
Tedros ran back, dodging underneath the cops that tried to catch him. He once again leapt on top of a car, jumping off to kick the cop in front of Ines.
"The street across doesn't seem to have anything yet, we're going."
Another cop tried grabbing Tedros, but Mateo left him on the pavement in a single punch. Terrence jumped out in front of Ines, his posture notably more nervous looking. Another cop came out, pulling a pistol out, causing him to jump back in panic, touching a police car.
In an instant the car was crushed. It looked like some kind of old movie monster had stomped on it. It was so instant, nobody could understand what just happened.
"Just run!" Mateo yelled out, picking Ines up and running over the crushed car, along with Tedros. It took Terrence a few seconds to remember how to move, but once he did he was back with them.
"Did you think anyone was in those cars?" Terrence asked. He looked down at his hands. The ones that killed Darren. The one with a power he didn't even understand. Tedros made light pillars, Mateo could summon energy around his fists, and Ines could bring whatever she got blood on to life. And sometimes, he touched things and they fell in a heap?
"It doesn't matter, we just gotta run!" Tedros replied, stepping back and looking around the corner. A police car was approaching, so he quickly ran in the centre, placing three points down and letting the pillar erupt. A screeching sound was heard on the other end, and Tedros ran in the opposite direction, the other three following.
Terrence needed to figure out what his powers were.
They were in the centre of the city now, with the only life being whatever rodents they ran past. They were in a narrow street, so if any police were to arrive, they wouldn't be in their vehicles. And that was good. Unprompted, Ines was the first to sit down.
"You okay, Ines?" Mateo asked as he reached for his water bottle. In the panic, he left his bag back in school, and it seemed everyone except Tedros was on the same page.
"I'm fine." Ines said with a weak nod and weaker attempt at a smile. She wasn't fine. There were times were she struggled to stay awake or stand up when she didn't take her supplements, which seemed to be in her bag back at school. She was nodding off, Terrence quickly sitting down next to her in an attempt to provide a pillow, making sure not to touch her.
"So we just wait here?" Tedros asked, glancing through the alleyways. He was clearly restless, looking for something.
"Well, I'm waiting here." Mateo sighed.
"Okay, this is gonna sound crazy, but hear me out." Tedros started. "At least one of the gods has to be in the city, right? Working with the government to organize whatever's happening? So if we find and kill them, we can end the game early."
"Are you sure?" Mateo asked.
"Very." Tedros replied. "But they'll probably be in a base of some kind, and that's a fight waiting to happen. So if someone here wants to stay with Ines, I understand."
Terrence raised a hand. He'd stay. Tedros nodded, and sprinted into an alleyway expecting Mateo to follow, only to bump into the air. And the air in front of him was wavy. The gods were listening in on them, and this evil scheme was just one of many attempts to torment them.
"Hello, everyone."
Tedros looked up, and Halford was standing on a rooftop, glancing down at them with his hands behind his back.
"What's your name again?" Tedros asked.
"It's Halford." He replied, squinting slightly at him.
"Well, Halford. Am I right about killing you ending the game?"
"You are now." Halford nodded as he took a phone out. It was a very basic brick of a phone, but he eventually punched a number in and whispered something that couldn't be heard.
"I've informed the police that four players are here. And I'll make a deal. In the event you kill me, or any other gods now patrolling the area, the game ends. We'll get the police away from you by any means necessary."
"I accept your challenge." Tedros replied. Terrence looked at Mateo, hoping for some kind of pushback, but Mateo stood behind him, his gauntlets already summoned. Ines wearily stood up as well, looking at Halford. She wasn't sure how to get a fighting pose going, but she did lock eyes with Halford, trying to look intimidating to him. He sneered back.
"Now then, let's try a new move." He said calmly. The shield around them vanished, and a second one replaced it instantly. But something felt off about it. The expansion didn't seem to finish.
Halford closed his eyes and clenched his fist. The shield condensed into his hand, and he quickly threw it downwards. He opened his hand, and the shield expanded. Terrence and Tedros were both next to the shield, and went flying into the wall when the expansion started. Tedros hit the wall, back first. Shock reverberated through his body, and for a brief second, he couldn't hear a thing. But as if with brute willpower, he forced his legs to work again. The barrier was condensed once more, and Tedros leapt to the top of the barrier as it flew back into Halford's palm. He quickly kicked himself off it, landing a shoe straight into Halford's face. He stumbled back, allowing Tedros to grab his shirt and quickly throw him off the building. Mateo stood below him, his gauntlets summoned, landing a straight punch to his back. He cried out in pain, rolling off the fist onto the ground, before slowly scrambling back up.
His eyes widened in what appeared to be genuine terror when Terrence began walking towards him, quickly forming a barrier in his hands and firing it forward. Terrence ducked underneath, hearing a yelp of pain behind him.
Mateo looked on on horror as Ines clutched her bleeding shoulder. She stumbled forward in an attempt to regain some sort of balance, but fell onto the ground. Blood was beginning to leak from her shoulders, which she dipped her fingers in.
"Be ready to fight." She whispered to herself.
She flicked the blood forward. The droplets got onto nothing but some rocks, but the rocks quickly emerged from the ground, crude arms and legs emerging with them, slowly beginning to talk amongst themselves.
"So what's da plan?" One rock asked, with the gruff accent of a cartoon gangster.
"Dere's a guy who makes shields, and da boss wants him to stop bothering her." A second rock replied.
"It's da guy at the back." A third rock replied. "Get em, boys!"
Halford looked in contempt at the half-dozen angry rocks moved towards him, kicking one towards Terrence. Two boosted a third one straight into his leg, causing him to yell out in pain. Mateo gave chase, causing Halford to just run out of the middle of the street, stopping just as the tanks finally arrived. He climbed into one just before the three left the block, lead by Ines. There was a tank at each side of them, on an otherwise nearly empty street. What few people were there were quick to run off. Ines once again dipped her finger in exposed blood.
"You want to die."
She flicked the blood on the tank, and it stopped moving.
"What am I doing?" It asked, in a meek voice. "Am I just meant to be a machine to kill? I thought I'd defend people who needed it, but this?"
The tank wept for a few seconds before seeming to shut down. But as they turned to the other tank, a small set of explosions set off in front of them. Mateo didn't think to question it, just grabbing Ines in a bridal carry and running the opposite direction. Terrence followed, and both hoped Tedros would make the most of what just happened.
But as they were running off, Ines noticed a lone man still standing in the street. His back turned, but he had tanned skin, that much she was sure of. And his outfit was a plain black t-shirt and equally dark jeans.
It was Ramon. It had to be.