Hunter

XXIII

The woman sent them on their way, their bag full of supplies. She gave them directions to a 'friend's place', and wished them luck. They had both taken quick showers, pulling on clean clothes. Aric pulled a hoodie over his head, slipping on his jeans.
Jade hurried, pulling her curly hair into a ponytail. She tugged the sleeves of her black jacket up, following Aric out. She stumbled over something, cursing the crescent moon over her head. She waited for the quick stab of pain from her thigh, before remembering that the woman had healed it.
Aric focused on the advice she gave to him. He needs to hear himself talk about it. Talk about his family.
Jade glanced back at the house as they walked away.
"How long will it even take for us to get to that 'friend's house?"
He sighed, pulling at a chunk of his hair. "On foot..... Probably a day and a half."
Jade muttered under her breath, walking faster so she was next to him. "Sometimes, I feel like we're in some post-apocalyptic version of this city."
Aric rubbed his chin, pursing his lips. "Well, think of this world in layers. We're in the 'monster' layer, so to speak. The world moves a little differently, and it seems like everything's slowed down. Essentially, it's us who are moving slowly. We're not part of this world, so we interact with it differently."
He paused, rubbing his chin again. "That's the way I think if it, at least."
Jade thought about that for a minute. "So say I ran a race. In this 'layer', I'd be slower than I would be in our layer?"
Aric nodded. "Yeah. That's the idea anyway."
They stayed quiet for a bit, the only sound being their breathing and the sound of gravel exploding under their feet.
Then Aric stopped, an idea bouncing around his head.
"Hey, my bands can give me weapons, right? So why can't they give me something to move faster?"
Jade grinned. "Try it out!"
He nodded, concentrating. He slipped the bands off his wrist, placing them on the ground.
He backed up a few feet, reaching his hand out. "Gimme a motorcycle or something."
Jade stared at the bands, standing next to him.
They glowed like silver, elongating.
In a few seconds, a sleek, silver and black motorcycle stood in front of them.
Two helmets sat on the seat.
Jade grinned, rubbing her hands together excitedly.
She pulled a helmet over her head, holding the other to Aric.
"C'mon hunterboy, I'm driving."

Aric had to admit, Jade could drive the motorcycle like nobody's business.
She sped through the city, the few people walking on the sidewalks hardly noticing them.
The time passed quickly, and they had almost made it to the 'friend's' house.
Aric leaned forward, positioning his lips next to Jade's ear. "Where'd you learn to drive a motorcycle?"
He could feel Jade shrug from beneath his arms. "When your mom's a cop, you kinda pick up some things. And you might wanna hold on tighter, we're jumping a tunnel."
"Oh- WAIT WHAT?!"
Jade laughed musically, her ponytail whipping him in the face. They flew over a closed off road, racing back on to the ground. His eyes widened, and he tightened his grip on Jade's waist. Aric hadn't even noticed that they were on a bridge.
Jade giggled. "Is the Hunter afraid?"
He scoffed. "No. Of course not. I just don't like heights, that's all."
He could feel her grin widen. "Well, then I guess you won't mind this."
She sped up, jumping on to a railing. She climbed up, landing on to the road, speeding past some Stop, no trespassing signs.
Aric focused on his feet, hooked onto the cycle behind Jade's. He focused on her curly hair, that smelled like cinnamon thanks to the gypsy woman's shampoo. Aric took a deep breath, reaching a hand to pull his hair away from his face.
She finally skidded to a stop, and her hands drifted down to her waist, gripping Aric's. "Look."
He lifted his head, turning around Jade's body. His eyes widened as he took in the scene from the edge of an in-progress building.
The city was breathtaking, moonlight streaming down from the waning crescent. It lit up the city like blue fire, bouncing off the mirrored sides of buildings.
The street lamps and the lights from windows shone like stars, turning the surrounding area blue and dark purple.
Aric sucked in a breath, slipping off the cycle.
"Hunting doesn't give you this kind of view, does it?" Jade smiled at him, her brown eyes glittering.
He smiled back, stepping back. "How'd you even know about this place?"
She shrugged. "Instinct. And I saw some construction stuff here."
"Hey, can you get off the motorcycle for a sec?"
Jade smiled, confused. "Ok....." She slid off, and Aric stepped forward. The motorcycle shrunk back into his wrist bands, and he slipped the metal back on.
"Aric......?"
He walked to the edge, facing her and smiled widely, the one crooked canine glimmering like a fang.
Then he jumped.