Anomalous

25-The Phone And My Ears Are Ringing

Everyone, and I mean everyone, freezes mid-fight.

"Is that who I think it is?" Nox asks.

I nod. "H-hello?" I ask nervously into the phone.

"Autumn! How's it going? You're behaving aren't you?" My mom answers, her voice breezy but her tone warning.

"I'm great! Things are really great here, I've made some friends," I pause and smile at them.

"I'm really learning a lot here, mom. I'm really a lot happier, and I have a much realer grip on life. You don't have to worry about me, mom," I say, trying so hard to convince her.

"That's great to hear, but just make sure that you listen to the counsellors, be nice to the other kids, and behave. No fights. Goodbye." The phone beeps, indicating the call is over.

That's real nice, that she doesn't care at all about my well being. Real nice indeed.

Not even 3 seconds later, a kako punches me square in the gut. Why don't you just kick me while I'm down?

I groan, but I stand up straight again. I act quickly, jabbing her in the jaw. She stumbles backwards into Nox, who turns around and quickly eliminates her.

The kako in front of me falls to the ground, dead.

For a moment, I feel that same wave of guilt, from the very first time I killed a night-shadow, and I'm not even the one who killed her.

I take a couple of deep breaths, staring at her body.
You can do this, Autumn. If Nox hadn't have killed her, she would've killed you.

Okay, that makes me feel a little better. Taking a minute to recover, I look around to see how everyone else is doing.

Oakley and Mercedes are fighting back to back, covering each other.

"Sorry!" Oakley cries, before wincing and smacking the kako sneaking up on Mercedes. The kako stumbles backwards, and Oakley advances.

"I'm really sorry about this," He mutters, swinging his pipe at her. She hits the ground, not dead, just wounded, and Oakley cringes.

Next to him, Mercedes fights the exact opposite.

She lunges at a kako, jabbing him with the taser. He falls, and she moves on, tasing practically everyone within a 10 metre radius, letting out war cries that would frighten Vikings.

I giggle at how absurdly opposite they are.

Suddenly, Gray appears behind me, giving me a tap on the shoulder.

"Figured you'd want this," He grins, handing me my crossbow, fully loaded.

I smile and take it, testing its weight in my hands.

Getting back to fighting, I slide across the floor just in time to shoot a kako sneaking up behind Nox. Nox gives me a little nod of thanks, and keeps fighting.

I see a kako not fighting anyone, so I head over. He quickly tries to make a grab at me, but I snag his arm and twist it behind him.

I feel that guilt again, so I look away when I shoot. Still looking away, I hear the thump of the kako's body hitting the floor.

I can't help it, I wince.

Another kako suddenly advances on me, and I get ready to shoot, when I hear someone yell, "Code N, get down!"