Golden Hour | Cole Stewart AU

Somewhere In The Woods

ELORA

I crouch behind the barrels, sweat trickling down the space between my face and mask and the urge to rip it off is stronger than ever but I push through the heat. The lighting is too low and I can barely make out anything around me, just vague outlines.

A figure darts towards me from behind the barrel on the other side of the room but bounces sideways as soon as I take aim. The splatter of paint against the wall rings through the room.

Another miss.

I glimpse at the shadow and at once I know that it’s Reyna. She moves again and I drop down immediately. The paint misses my shoulder by inches and my gloved hands grab for the floor before I slip too.

Reyna's breathing draws closer and I inch towards the end of the barrel, waiting for the right moment to strike. She pauses and my grip on the gun tightens as I ready myself to take aim.

In the distance, I hear a familiar squeal and the thump of footsteps against the floor. That’s another one down. I don’t wait to confirm my suspicions and move another step forward. Just as I raise my gun, Reyna takes another swipe at me. Unsurprisingly, both of us miss the shot. But the paint is so close I can almost taste it.

A bang echoes through the other room and something falls on the ground. Two angry voices break through the silence.

Reyna and I don’t even look at each other as we race out of the room. We might not be on the same team but we're running in the same direction right now.

I skid to a stop when I spot the two kids standing opposite to each other.

“Elora said no powers!” Callie sounds pissed as hell.

Carter argues, “I know you're using yours.”

“I can't stop using my brain, you idiot.” Callie pushes up her goggles. I don’t need to see her face to know that she’s scowling.

The lighting is slightly better here and my eyes take in the scene very quickly. Carter and Callie are the only ones here. Evie and Jake must have gone back up the moment they were taken out. They never wait for the game to end.

At least the twins sound okay so no casualties here. But I can see the outline of a box lying on the floor, its contents spilling out. Carter must have tried to move it with his powers to get to Callie.

“Exactly,” Carter says, “It's all fair and square-” He stops talking when he spots the two of us and raises his hand.

“Must you ignore the rules every single time?” I say dramatically and jump out of the line of fire.

“What rules?” Carter says, the grin in his voice obvious as he shoots. I move so fast that it's a miracle that I don't slide on the floor and topple over the box.

Okay, so this is how we're going to play it. I can't see Reyna anymore. Clearly, she took cover the moment she saw the twins. The entire floor reeks of the metallic smell of paint. We don’t come down here often, just in emergencies and sometimes to play games. The other option is going out of the house and playing and that's too risky in case someone sees the kids.

I spot a shadow on the other side of the room. Taking a step forward, I pull the trigger. The streak of paint shooting out from my gun finally collides with a chest. I barely relish my victory when something slides down my leg. I got Reyna but she got me too.

Bingo.

We both tilt our heads towards the twins who are the last ones standing.

“Carter,” I say warningly when I see him stick his arm out.