The New Ajin

Chapter Eleven

When faced with the fight or flight option, I found myself choosing the latter. My feet responded before anything else. My legs started sprinting. It's rather strange for me to run like this. I am a fighter after all. But at the moment, this seems like the most reasonable thing to do.

I run down the street and hear footsteps chasing after me. Up ahead I see the lights of Tokyo. Maybe if I make it there, they wont be able to find me.

Three miles to Tokyo. But how can I outrun people for three miles? "Stop!" One of them shouts.

The footsteps and shouts get louder. Is it time to use the black ghost? "Black ghost," I beg, "it's time to fight."

I stop in my tracks and get in my fighting position. Left foot staggered more than the right, slight bend at the knees, and raised hands to shield my face.

The black ghost appears next to me and mimics my stance. The black ghost is facing forward. I see about ten men in front of me but since it's so dark, I'm not really sure. I don't even know if they have weapons. I hear a gun shot and shield my face with my hands. For the split of a second, I shut my eyes. When I look up, the black ghost is in front of me, with the bullet in its chest.

I shake off this blanket of fear I had put on myself and charge forward with the black ghost shielding me. This is stupid. More than stupid. Who runs into the men with guns? But I guess when you can't die, you really have nothing to lose.

When we get closer to the men, the black ghost football tackles the closest one, leaving me exposed. The black ghost starts to pound the man in the face. I whip my body around in time to see a large man rushing towards me. When he gets close enough,  I get a good image of his face. I've seen that face before, but where?

All his momentum is going in one direction,  towards me. I grab his wrist with one hand and his tricep on the same arm with my other hand, twist my body, and throw him over me. He lands hard on his back and I move on to the next man. I hear another gun shot and right away feel a sharp pain in my stomach.

I curse out and grit my teeth together. The only other time I was shot was when I died. And that was fast, I didn't feel any pain.  All I felt was the aftermath. This is present pain. And it hurts like hell. My hand presses on the hole in my stomach and the black ghost appears next to me, answering my mental plea to it.

I hear more rounds of gun fire, but feel nothing. The black ghost is again shielding me. What am I going to do? I've never been in a fight against so many men with guns. I look at the black ghost. I don't know how long he can stay here. I need to end this fight fast.

Am I going to have to kill them?

Shīrudo, which I've just decided to name the black ghost right this moment, is shielding me as I run towards the huddled men with guns. I know they're shooting at me. But I don't feel anything more than the bullet sitting in my stomach.

Shīrudo grabs one of the men and yanks his handheld gun out of his hand. The black ghost then drops the gun as he right hooks the guy, grabs his head, and knees him right in the face. I scurry to the gun and raise it at the man.

I've never killed a man using a gun. Somehow, I feel as if it's different than using Shīrudo. I point the gun at the man who's holding his bleeding nose on the ground and he glares up at me. This man looks familiar as well. I move along, leaving him there on the floor.

I feel another pain in my lower back. How was I shot from behind? I turn around with the gun raised and with out thinking, shoot the first living thing I see. The man's head is thrown back and he lands in the ground.

"Ren!" One of the men scream.

Ren. Was. Alive.

Key word is "was". And I am the one who killed him, unless he's an ajin, too. I look at the men. That's why they look familiar. They are all fighters.

I turn around and start running away from the men, and towards the bright lights of Tokyo that are still two miles away.

Shīrudo runs behind me, shielding me from the mens rage filled bullets.