The Sixth | Ekko

Chapter Twenty-Seven

There was a stretch where neither of them moved.

The wind blew through Six's cloak and ruffled her hair, strands of it getting caught in the nose of Claggor's goggles and tickling her cheeks.

Ekko was the first to initiate something, reaching up and pulling back his hood before unclasping the straps behind his mask. He dropped it from his face just in time to see Momo flip off the side of the platform before grasping the ledge with her fingers, trying to hastily climb down and make an escape.

"No—!"

His hand was on his z-drive dial before she could properly plumet, turning back time a few seconds to the point before she jumped. He watched as her flip reversed until she was standing on her feet again.

"Please—just—can we talk—"

She jumped again.

He rewinded again.

"Don't—" he pleaded, reaching out to her while keeping his feet planted in place. He didn't want to startle her away. She was already skittish just from his being there.

This time, Six noticed the glowing, clear glass cylinder strapped to his side. It had small monkey figurines inside of it, whose spinning and cymbal playing were slowing to a stop. The light emitting from it glowed along the side of his coat, bringing contrast to the graffiti bestrewn across it.

He was going back in time, she realized, to prevent her from fleeing.

Ekko still had his hand outstretched. "I just want to talk—"

Deep red splattered along the water chamber like old rust stains on metal, painting a lurid pattern across the wood.

A hole appeared in the center of Momo's forehead so abruptly that Ekko blinked and suddenly it was there. He felt something wet splat on his face and saw her go lax before falling forward, eyes beady and still.

A bullet had shot through her head, hitting the back and piercing through her cranium before exiting from the other side.

"MOMO!"

Eyes wide with horror, he used the dial on his glove to turn back time. He saw the bullet reverse, returning to its origin point from a warehouse across the canyon below them, Momo's blood and brain matter compacting back inside her head.

He ran to her and grabbed ahold of her wrist, pulling her back towards him.

The gunshot returned, but this time instead of striking her head, it hit her back.

"Fuck!"

He turned back the dial again, and this time instead of pulling her towards him, he charged her and tackled her off the water tower with a hardened cry.

The two of them plummeted towards the canyon tucked between the warehouse and the water tower.

Ekko shifted Momo's weight into his left arm while his right struggled to tear his board from his back.

Six's face was in his chest, involuntarily getting tucked into the innards of his unzipped coat. She tried prying herself off him, mind not catching up to the urgency of their situation until she heard the gunfire, which caused her efforts to cease.

Ekko pried the board from his back, but it wouldn't roar to life like he'd hoped. It was broken still. He fumbled, losing his grip on it and causing it to fall ahead of them.

He adjusted their position mid-air, fully engulfing her and spinning so that his back was facing the direction of the bombardment of bullets that peppered towards them.