Desires of Men ~SEQUEL TO THE LIFE I LIVE~

Duel

Shachi directed the barrel of his gun to the redheaded girl, watching her curiously. She stood in the middle of a lavishly decorate sitting room, taking long drags of her cigarette. Blowing out the smoke, she sighed heavily.

"And here I thought I could avoid a damn fight. Why am I always dragged into these shitty situations? Bastard pirates..." She muttered, tossing the used cigarette butt onto the floor beside her. Shachi gulped, keeping his weapon up.

"Who are you?" Shachi asked, hoping to recognize her name and maybe figure out her strength. She sighed at the question, as if even asking was a bother.

"Nicki."

She was identical to Kat, but with different eyes. Her demeanor was nothing like that of her sister either; replacing Kat's cheerful and innocent disposition was a cold hatred of everything and everyone around her. As if everything that existed spited her.

"I can't let you leave." Shachi said, cocking the gun confidently. She didn't appear to have any sort of weapon on her. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she removed something, and Shachi tensed up. It was only a box of cigarettes and a lighter, however, and she lit one before putting them back.

"Damn. Fine then. Die quickly so I can get on my way." Blowing out the smoke once more, she closed her eyes.

Something was wrong. Shachi frowned, eyeing the girl who only stood there with closed eyes. What was she doing. He started moving left, still pointing the gun to her. Suddenly, her lids snapped open, staring directly into his.

"Mirage." She said, before slowly beginning to fade away. His eyes widened, unable to fully comprehend what was happening. Instantly, he pulled the trigger where she was standing, but the bullet lodged itself into the wall, hitting no one.

"Wha-" He started, glancing around the room in a hurry. What was going on? The walls seemed to shift and sway, but he couldn't ever be sure of the movement. He heard footsteps, but no matter where he looked she was nowhere to be found.

He backed up several steps, back hitting the wall. The sound of footsteps echoed along the walls, making it hard to pinpoint exactly where they originated. Then, the white walls began to change color, fading into sky blues before mixing into greens and yellows and reds. His mind was mesmerized, amazed of the strange occurrences he witnessed.

A sharp object plunged through his chest, bringing his mind back into the moment. "Urgh!" He cried, kicking in front of him to ward away whatever had attacked him. It connected with something invisible, and whatever it was was pushed back into one of the sofas. Looking down, he saw a small dagger protruding from his chest.

Gritting his teeth, his hand gripped the handle and yanked the weapon straight out. Blood began to stain his uniform, forming a circle of red underneath.

"Hmm...you're tougher than I thought." Nicki said, her voice coming from nowhere in particular. "Why can't I ever get the easy ones?" She bemoaned.

"Sorry to disappoint you." He quipped back, cocking the gun again. Slowly making his way along the wall, he bit back a grunt of pain as the heat in his chest grew. He'd sustained worse injuries, this was nothing he couldn't handle.

"Don't get cocky, asshole." She cursed, and he thought that maybe her overuse of swear words was just who she was. The room began to change again, this time the floor seemed to liquify beneath his feet. Gasping, the white tiles suddenly turned into a river of lava.

'Get on the sofas!' He screamed internally, and he jumped onto the furniture to escape the deadly ground.

The thick red liquid flowed clockwise around the center of the room, trapping him on the sofa. He had plenty of ammo, extra clips in his pockets, and so he fired two experimental shots into the room in random directions, hoping to hit the woman.