The S.H.A.N.E. Game (editing)

Chapter 17: Phase 2 In Action

This chapter is dedicated to @xhemmotionalx for adding my story to her reading list!! Thank you so much, I really want to fill the 'Who's Reading' tab up!! 

**

|| Erin ||

Nikki and I watch intently as the clips start playing one by one.

First, Mr. Mark is walking past the alley. The next thing we know, two black figures leap out from the sky and land behind him, suddenly yanking his arms back painfully so that even we hear a distant snap as his elbows dislocate or something. Probably worse.

They yank him into the darkness of the alley and another figure drops right in front of the camera and starts taking out bricks. He, like the other members of their little team, is wearing a mask over his head, so we can't see his face. 

Finally, he pulls out the camera (like I just did), but without disconnecting the two wires, so that the camera still picks up what's going on.

For some reason, he brings the lens close to his eye, maybe to further examine the camera, and we see a warm brown eye. I jab my finger down on PAUSE and look expectantly at Nikki, who just nods. "Warm brown eyes clicks with Shane. Play it."

"Yessiree." 

The guy leaves the camera pointed at a downwardish angle and jumps back up out of sight. His two comrades, however, don't stop beating that poor guy up. But all their punches and kicks still produce no blood or redness whatsoever.

And then suddenly, as if forced, they suddenly jump apart just in time for a bullet to shoot out of nowhere and strike the man in his shoulder. Mr. Mark gasps and collapses to the ground, blood spurting out of his open wound.

Beside me, I can hear Nikki muttering, "His first mistake. Why in the world didn't he make a noise?! Someone could've woken up and rescued him...!"

I turn my attention back to the screen.

The other two killers completely disappear out of the screen and another bullet shoots out of the sky, to embed itself in his neck. The only reason I'm not screaming my head off and trashing the scanner is because as a Jacket, I am used to this sorta thing. Duh.

Without the three killers on the screen anymore, there's nothing else happening except for blood literally pouring out of his neck and shoulder. And then two hands drop out of nowhere and readjust the camera.

And then boringness.

"That was quick," Nikki comments as we continue watching blackness again. "But a bit informative. We know that the killers are quite adept and skilled fighters and scalers. We also know that the top of buildings are where they make their entrance--"

Suddenly, bullets start raining down on us.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

**

|| Sara ||

Ping! Ping! Ping!

I watch in half-amusement as Alicia tries to jam the lock of the Walkers' front door open with a bobby pin. After five minutes, she looks up at me in exasperation. "What?"

"I think you insert it into the hole and then twist it this way and that until you hear a click. Not a 'ping' sound."

"Do your thing," she mutters and tosses the pin to me. I catch it and kneel down in front of the lock.

"Gimme a minute," I say through clenched teeth as I jimmy the lock this and that for around five minutes before hearing a distant click sound. "There we go."

I silently ease the door open until it's big enough for Alicia and I to slip through, and then check the scanner one more time. No green dots within a one-fifth kilometer radius.

"Shush," I hiss at Alicia, who says something along the lines of, "I know that."

Quickly and quietly, we sneak into the Walkers' long, straight hallway and start scouting around. Alicia and I agree to meet by the staircase, so we can search the second floor together.

I open the first door on the right, and Alicia handles the ones on the left. Sharing a quick nod and eye contact, we disappear into our own rooms.

I've entered something that looks like a piano room, with nothing but a grand piano and love seat in it. The floor is mocha-colored rug, and the walls plain white except for a couple of landscape paintings hanging on it. 

Selecting the blue light option on my scanner, I swipe it across the entire room, bathing it in bright light. After making sure no part of the room is left un-blue, I switch off the light and start walking around to inspect for prints.

One of the many upsides of the suit I'm wearing now is that part of the outer layer is made out of soft cotton that leaves absolutely no prints, so even if I'm treading the ground, it would remain completely unmarked.

First, I start eyeing the walls. The blue light I'm using has a super strong ten minute-long aftereffect, so I easily make out a couple glowing thumbprints near the doorframe. Along with those, I also see a few more fingerprints dotted across the walls, and I scan them all into my memory chip for further analysis.

After the walls, I lean down and look at the ground for footprints. The floor is basically a glowing yellow mass, with not a single space print-less. Using my scanner, I scan for footprint matches and only load one of each into my memory chip.

Stowing my scanner in my jacket pocket, I look behind paintings and under the seat cushions for anything suspicious. But no avail. This Shane Walker might be innocent after all.

**

|| Nikki || 

"Who's firing?!" Erin yells over the sound of bullets richocheting on the walls. I grab her hand and pull her behing a metal awning somewhat deeper in the darkness, but safe.

"I... think the killers are," I pant, unholstering my gun and totally regretting not bringing something more lethal than a stun gun. Then I remember that in the secret holsters I've also stored two firing pistols. Small, but doable. I pull them out and hand my stun gun to Erin.

She tosses it in her hands in anticipation. Once the bullets stop coming, I leap out of hiding and start firing where I think the bullets came from. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Stop firing and save your bullets!" Erin exclaims, elbowing me and making my last shot go wide. We lower our guns but don't holster them.

I step out into plain sight and yell up, "Who are you? Show yourselves or forever hold your shame!"

Three black figures pop into sight, their faces completely hidden by masks. The first one reveals a gun from his pocket and aims it at my head. The other one points his at Erin's.

Suddenly, before we can react, they fire in unison and we barely leap out of the way before our heads get shot. As I roll on the floor, something below the camera catches my eye. I stick an arm out and grab it before another shot rings out. 

I hear a scream.

Erin. She got shot.