EX//MACHINA: EXORDIUM

Chapter XXI - Fox on the run

As a bullet grazed Amy's arm, she realized there was no way of winning this confrontation with that level of cover. Circling around the car wouldn't work forever, and hiding behind trees was the same as asking to be killed. The only option left was to run away until she found somewhere better to fight. For that, Amy had a plan, but it was a risky one.

— That's the last warning, kid, leave. Now.

— I've seen enough to know that you'll just shoot me after I leave. — Amy answered while getting ready to throw her knife. — I'm not that stupid.

— I don't have any reason to shoot you, damn it, listen to me.

For a second, Amy was tempted to listen to her and try to reason. The thing is: she was sure everyone that died like that had the same thoughts. She wasn't going to join that list, not like that. If that woman came after her even after she ran away, then she would be the one looking for a fight. Decided, she focused her senses on listening, waiting for the exact moment to strike.

— I'm sure you don't.

Amy answered to make the woman think she was unguarded, then came the long step. Predicting her foe's movements, Amy threw her knife with extreme precision. What she didn't expect, though, was the woman's impressive reflexes. She moved away at the last second, avoiding being hit in the middle of her chest, instead being pierced in the shoulder. That was good enough for Amy, using that moment to approach quickly and push the woman's weapon away.

What came after was a quick maneuver: pull her knife back and run away. Her foe was slightly faster, grabbing Amy's hand while she was trying to retrieve her blade. Then came a strong punch, hitting the girl right in the middle of her face. Amy was caught by surprise with the amount of force that hit her, instantly being thrown backwards, falling to the ground on her back. Her nose wasn't broken, but it came very close.

The redhead was about to get closer, so Amy used her recently caught weapon, shooting her in the unhurt shoulder. She was sure she could have finished that right then and there, but her aim was unsteady after that hit. Reacting quickly, the woman jumped to get cover on the other side of the car.

— What the- how did you...

Oh, yes, her "recently caught weapon" was the woman's own pistol, which she was able to swipe out of the holster in a quick move after being hit. Besides, she was able to pull back the knife as well. That was the ideal outcome, even if it gave her a severe headache and made her too dizzy to think straight. What she was absolutely sure about, though, was her need to run away. She could stay and try to finish her foe, but that wasn't necessary, she didn't want to kill anyone.

— Don't... come... after me... — Amy threatened while getting up and retreating with her gun pointed at the location she thought her foe was. — That's the last warning, lady.

Her next step was to just run away, turning around to shoot once she saw the woman trying to get her rifle back, making her retreat once more. It would be nice to actually hit something, Amy thought, but her vision was still doubled because of the punch. Whenever Amy decided there was no more merit to wasting bullets on slowing her enemy down, she just turned and ran as fast as she could, trying to follow the same direction she was going in before.

If everything went right, the haven would be close, but she knew better than to expect that. After running for ten minutes straight, the girl saw a cabin from afar. She recognized it as an old hunting spot, torn down even before the county was swarmed by creatures. There were two obvious options: the first one was to continue, even if slower, and try to find her objective. It would be the best option, but it was too dangerous, as she could still be a day from it, and she didn't know how determined the woman from before was.