Virtually Existent

Chapter 05 - The Ladies Man

Eli picked up Red Hair's dropped flash grenade, attatched one of the flash grenade pickups to his chest, and activated the second. He threw one of the devices out onto the street and covered his eyes with an elbow to protect himself when it detonated. Immediately afterwards he sprinted towards the sniper's nest.

Eli had nearly reached the building when he looked up to see the sniper's silhouette bringing their rifle to a shoulder. They'd recovered much faster than Eli had expected and it was only his quick thinking that kept him in the game. He ripped the pin from his other flash grenade and brought the device up above his head before shielding his eyes once more. 

A scream echoed out over the city from atop the tower, and Eli looked up to see a rifle falling downwards. He slid on his belly to catch the rifle before it crashed into the ground, taking it with him as he kicked in the glass doors which had been barricaded with an office desk.

Eli looked over the rifle as he walked into the office building finding it to be a simple bolt action that didn't even have a scope. Pulling the bolt back, Eli took a second to examine the tiny bullet before throwing it into a waste paper basket. He wasn't any good with bolt action rifles, and even if he had been that kind of bullet wasn't going to kill anyone unless he shot them in the eye.

He continued much more carefully now, knowing that the sniper was an acomplished marksman and could well be waiting for him weilding another gun they were just as accurate with. As he reached the top floor his attention was well and truly focused on the end of the hallways in case the sniper was looking for him as he was them. Eli considered each doorway as somewhere he could immediately duck inside and lure the shooter close for a killing strike using his knife in a pinch.

The thoughts of the sniper themselves appearing left no room for his mind to percieve the trap. Eli's foot came to the ground with a little less force than usual, and out of pure instinct he jumped back. Something flew across his vision, barely missing his head proper before drilling into the opposite wall. Eli carefully looked at either wall pulling the projectile free before stabbing his blade repeatedly into the hole in the wall it had originated from. The sniper had made a trap from the items around the office, using rubber bands and paper clips to form a powerful trap that would launch a highly sharpened pencil covered in the crushed metal bands. With the number of rubber bands the sniper used that pencil could have easily gone right through Eli. 

He pressed on, ducking carefully under the opening in the wall and discovering a hatch just above him obscured by shadow. Eli popped it up with the tip of his knife, stepping back shocked as a machete cleaved through the opening the very moment it opened in the hopes of relieving him of a hand.

Inspiration struck, and Eli dragged a desk out into the hallway as the first step of his plan. He popped the hatch up with his knife again, this time hooking the durable blade through the handle. The machete came to a violent stop as it swung through again, staying in place from it's weilders shock for just long enough that Eli could move his free arm up to the crossing of sharpened steel and grip the blunt side of the intruding weapon. He pulled it back with enough force that it dug into the floor below when it landed. Eli rolled the last flash grenade around in his hand as he considered using it for his entry, wondering if it was worth risking heading up without it so that he could use it later. He sighed, pulling the pin out of his last flash grenade before popping the hatch up once more. The sniper probably had another gun.

The telltale bang told Eli it was time to move, and he immediately threw open the hatch and pulled himself up onto the roof. The sniper staggered back and forth, waving a submachine gun around dangerously. Eli stepped forwards and twisted it from her confused grip before unceremoniously shoving her down on the rooftop.

Instantly he was reminded of Jennifer as he saw her, a girl that couldn't be out of her teens with a very skinny form in comparison to other females that he had seen enter the tournament. She had dark hair with distinctive red highlights, spiked at all kinds of random angles. Unlike Jennifer, this girl was clearly determined to win though, with two pickups on her chest and holsters for each of her weapons strapped tightly onto her body. She clearly knew what she was doing.

Eli quickly checked the submachine gun's ammunition before turning it on it's past owner but not firing. "You underhanded bastard," she muttered as she rubbed her aching eyes. "Oh that's rich coming from you," Eli snapped back. "Well fight fair, then. Go on."

Eli tossed the SMG aside and cracked his knuckles, willing to play along with her for now at least "Fair enough." She clumbsily found her feet, entering what she probably thought was a fighting stance to approach Eli. They circled one another, Eli considering what style he should use on her while she was likely preparing for the inevitable pain.

Eli smiled to himself and jumped towards her, jabbing out lazily with his left arm. To his complete surprised she took it and slammed her knee repeatedly into Eli's groin before rolling him over her back and slamming him onto the roof harshly. "Holy fuck that hurt..." 

Eli laid half dazed on the ground as the girl circled him. "That's where I know you from. You're Eli," she announced. Eli groaned and slowly sat himself up to look at her "Yeah. Do you always introduce yourself like that?" The girl stopped to look at him seriously "Only to murderers and my father... Why didn't you run?" 

Eli laughed heartily "You blew my ear off, I wanted to thank you for halving the cost of my earring expenses!" Stopping for a moment Eli feigned thought "What else? Oh that's right, you were shooting at me!"

"I've already stopped shooting at you," she girl stated as Eli got back onto his feet shakily. Half way through dusting his shirt off the girl straight out kissed him, grasping Eli's head and pressing her lips onto his suddenly. She held him there for a solid half minute before backing away with flushed cheeks and a slight smile "I always wondered what that would feel like. I guess I was right." Eli stood there still stunned from the sudden affection. "Lex," she said. "What?"

"My name is Lex," she told Eli before tossing a pickup at him. Eli caught it and looked at the title, "Full Heal", for just a moment before he looked up to see she had vanished. He jogged over to the side of the roof and looked down to see Lex waving back up at him probably having descended from a nearby drain pipe. She checked her SMG and sprinted off into an alley out of sight before Eli could even raise his hand to wave back. After all of that Eli had gotten a single pickup, an unexpected kiss, and a whole lot of pain for his effort. It took a couple of seconds for Eli to catch his breath and then he was ready to move on.