Subject 15

CHAPTER 8 - Seth

I walked down the mostly abandoned streets, only a few souls being awake at this time. The Majestic was a few blocks away from the building we were camped in, but I took my time walking – I would need to think about my plan of attack.

The gang holed up at the Majestic was one of the most ruthless groups in Dalcon. Favoring to decapitate their victims, the gang called themselves Scythe, and had most of the Old Faction under their influence. Whenever they were causing trouble, they would wear dark leather jackets, and some would wear a Mask in the image of a shaded skull. Their preferred weapon of choice was sharpened steel blades wrapped in either a cloth or leather binding for good grip.

The group I saw last night were members of Scythe, which meant that I had to speed up my timetable. From the moment I heard of them, I knew that they had to be stopped, but it wasn't until last night that I was willing to stop them. If I didn't shut them down, and soon, then the whole city would be on fire in the hunt to find the boy with wings.

I slowed my walk, nearing the front entrance to the Majestic. I peered around the corner of one of the buildings beside it and took in the odds. There were four guards in front of the Majestic, wearing the typical black jacket of Scythes, two holding pistols, while the other two held the standard steel knifes. Beretta 92FS, said my Mask's AI. Semiautomatic 9 millimeter rounds. Won't blow a hole through you like a plasma-ion rifle, but will certainly bring you down if a major organ or artery is hit.

I looked at the top of the building I was hiding behind, and started to scale the vines crawling up the sides. This building was much taller than the Majestic, but I didn't want to go all the way to the top. I silently crawled through a broken window, about two stories above the Majestic, my arms slightly tired and my side stinging. I hesitantly peered out of the other side of the building, grabbing a small rock about the size of my fist.

The four guards were more occupied in trying to keep their eyes open at such an early hour than guarding the entrance, which made me unconsciously grin. I hurled the brick over the guards' heads and down the street, the brick crashing through the rear window of a small red car, making the alarm go off.

The guards turned to the alarm, one of them firing off a shot at the car without thinking.

Itchy fingers, whispered the Demon. Go now.

I leapt off of the building through the window, my wings slowly forming as I fell. A few meters above the ground, the wings caught the wind, just as one of the guards turned back around.

I grabbed the man's throat, slamming him into the ground as I landed, his knife falling away harmlessly. He didn't make a sound as his eyes rolled back into his head, but the other guards, ignoring the blaring alarm, turned to face me, the boy with wings. "Holy shit!" cried one of them, the last one with the knife, as he took a step back.

Attack.

I leapt toward the wall of the Majestic, a metal bullet flying past me and hitting the concrete. I bounded off the wall, spinning in midair to dodge another bullet. Grab. As I quickly glided over one of the guards with guns, I grabbed his shoulders, flipping over him. As soon as my feet landed on the ground, I flung the man over my head, sending him screaming into the other guard with a gun.

I heard a roar as the guard with a knife swung low, his blade aimed right at my stomach.

Push. A simple word, but when I extended my arm, almost defensively, air rushed past me in a visible force, slamming into the guard, sending him flying into a concrete wall across the street.

I looked at my hand, as if it was the first time I had seen it, but just for a moment. "Monster!" roared the last guard, stumbling over his own feet as he shot blindly at me. A bullet ripped past my bad side, barely missing me, but the other hit my right shoulder, the metal burying itself in my flesh.

I roared as I fell to one knee, closing my eyes in pain. I felt something, something like the Demon's presence but stronger, much stronger, surging through me. I opened my eyes, but the world was still fading to black.

Release the beast.