I was out of hell. Somehow we had been brought to the top of this building.
I made my way down. The damage was bad. streets empty. Silence was heavy.
time to get out of here.
The train station wasn't far. I'd go there.
The road was empty. nothing moving. just me.
Until I saw two devil hunters up ahead. They were sitting. I couldn't go that way.
I started heading back, thinking I'd circle around, avoid them.
but a tentacle wrapped my ankle.
yanked me toward them.
It tried slamming me. I used the electricity devils power and shocked it, setting me free.
I landed on my feet.
a knife came for my head.
I grabbed the blade at the last second and sent a shock down the hilt. He dropped it.
I tried to hit him with his own knife, but I had to step back. A teenager with black hair kicked at my ribs. I was hurt, but despite it I kept up.
not sure how long that would last.
I got back on my feet.
I chose to
RUN.
I ran hard. one of the best sprints I ever had.
Two blocks down was the train station.
They chased. Of course they chased.
If I had a single drop of blood, I could have beaten them. electricity and hybrid regen would have made it easy. but I was running on fumes. they weren't superhuman—teamwork, pressure, numbers. good enough to slow me down.
no time to breathe. three minutes of trying to lose them. even if I reached the station, the train might not leave for five more. stamina was going. getting this far already hurt.
Close enough that I could see the digital sign flickering above the entrance. Close enough that I could hear the rails screaming.
I wasn't going to make it through the doors. They knew that. That's why they weren't panicking. They were angling me.
The black-haired kid cut me off again. He attacked. Fast. Clean. Efficient.
I blocked the first hit and felt my bones complain. The second one almost folded me. I shoved him back harder than I meant to, and for a second he actually slid a step. Good. So I still had something.
The older hunter came in from behind. I twisted, barely avoiding the blade, and the motion tore something in my side. Black goo came out of my wounds. Like the space under my skin didn't belong to me anymore.
I stepped back.
They stepped forward.
The train roared into the station behind them.
And that's when I realized something.
They expected me to go through them.
They didn't expect me to go around.
The train wasn't stopping long. It was one of the fast lines. Doors open for barely twenty seconds before it shoots out again.
I didn't need the station.
I just needed the train.
The black-haired hunter lunged again. This time I didn't block. I let him think I was off-balance. Let him commit. His fist drove toward my ribs.
At the last second I pivoted and grabbed his sleeve, using his momentum to sling him into the older hunter. Not a clean throw. Not graceful. Just enough to tangle them for half a second.
Half a second is forever if you're built for speed.
I ran straight past the station entrance and toward the tracks.
I heard one of them shout.
Good. That meant they didn't expect it.
The train had already started moving again. Slow at first, but picking up speed fast. Metal grinding. Wind kicking up dust and paper around me.
I jumped down onto the gravel beside the tracks and nearly blacked out from the impact. My knees almost gave out. I forced them straight.
The train was accelerating now.
This was stupid.
This was absolutely stupid.
But it was better than getting cornered.
I sprinted alongside the last car. My vision tunneled. My lungs felt like sandpaper. The train was faster than it looked. Way faster.
I reached out and missed the first handle.
I almost ate concrete.
I tried again.
Fingers caught metal.
The force nearly ripped my shoulder out. My body slammed against the side of the train and for a second I thought my grip would fail. The wind tore at my clothes. My boots scraped sparks against steel.
Behind me, one of the hunters reached the edge of the platform.
He didn't jump.
Smart.
I dragged myself up one-handed, muscles screaming. Electricity flickered under my skin—not as an attack, just reinforcement. Tiny pulses keep my muscles stiff.
I hooked a foot onto the narrow ledge and pulled.
It took everything. Real everything. The kind where your body starts shutting down and you have to argue with it.
I rolled onto the top of the last car just as the train hit full speed.
For a few seconds I just lay there flat on my back, staring up at the sky, wind slamming into me so hard it felt like it might peel my skin off.
The city blurred past.
My heart was still racing like it was trying to escape my chest.
Inside, the town was quiet.
Judas didn't say anything.
Bob didn't either.
I laughed once. It sounded rough and kind of cracked.
"That was dumb," I muttered to no one.
But it worked.
I turned my head slightly and looked back.
The station was already shrinking into the distance. The hunters were just shapes now.
They'd remember me.
I closed my eyes for a second, letting the wind cool my face, trying not to think about how much pain am in
I wasn't done.
I just needed five minutes.