Heavy raindrops spttered across her face as the chase carried on. The outside world fading into the periphery as tonight’s perpetrator attempted her escape.

  In other circumstances, a rainy night on the rooftop of a warehouse with the distant neon lights of the city as background would have been quite the scenery. Katherine would have relished spending some time in a pce like this, just her, her thoughts and with some luck, a cute boy under her arm. Enjoying the view for a few hours.

  But duty called. So it was not meant to be. Besides, although she didn’t feel bothered at all by the rain, it was unlikely that she’d find a partner willing to brave the current weather conditions.

  Her prey was in sight, yet still far out of reach. Clearly, she was another gifted like herself, given how the gap between them wasn’t closing as it would with a mundane. That, or she was cd in some pretty high tech military exoskeleton or the like. But st she’d seen, those things seemed more about brute strength than speed and agility. And even then, couldn’t match the weakest of the gifted.

  No, this woman was like her. Unburdened by visible constraints as she moved.

  So, either she failed at securing her target, or the item in question was small. Katherine deduced, as today’s call was most likely reted to robbery, secluded pce as this was.

  Whatever the case, this gifted was either a reckless novice or a professional with a clear goal.

  A bad omen either way.

  “Ixshel here, in pursuit of a suspected gifted vilin. Identity unknown. We’re away from inhabited areas and at this hour the likelihood of civilians working on the warehouses is minimal. I’ll engage upon contact.” She reyed through her earpiece to anyone at the organization that happened to be listening.

  Minutes earlier, the automatic arm from one of the local companies had alerted all authorities of a potential robbery taking pce. So being the nearest hero, she accepted the call without hesitation.

  Besides, she’d been bored out of her mind until that arm. And catching a gifted criminal by herself would surely make her look good in the eyes of the agency.

  Her target veered right, a couple of seconds ter, Katherine, better known for her hero name ‘Ixshel’, followed suit. The distance between them shrinking with every heartbeat.

  Almost got you bitch! I can already smell your fear!

  The thrill of the chase fueled her adrenaline, a smile creeping onto her face as the old brick warehouses of the industrial district blurred past. The smell of rain, old rusty pipes and oil stains washed away in iridescent streams moved to the back of her head as she became ser focused on the objective in front of her.

  She could begin to discern the silhouette of the unfortunate soul who’d committed a crime under her watch.

  Her prey wore a long brown overcoat, obscuring any distinctive characteristics that may aid in strategizing an attack. Not that Katherine was overly worried about that. Petty thieves that fled at sight weren’t usually formidable. Those with power normally liked to funt it and let everyone around them know who the bigger bitch was.

  She steadied her pace and focused on the back of her now visibly bulky objective.

  Then, in a fsh, her leg muscles bulged, threatening to tear her costume had it not been made of estic fabric. The concrete beneath her feet cracked as she leapt forward in a primal show of strength and agility. Her hands extended as her cws tried to find purchase on the vilin’s overcoat.

  With surprising speed, the suspected thief turned her head in her direction, an expression of cold disinterest adorning her features. Just before she halted her sprint as if glued to the ground. The floor under her feet screeched as if someone scratched nails on a chalkboard in front of a megaphone.

  Mid air, Katherine could only cringe at the piercing sound. Then the blow came.

  What the…

  Only her enhanced reflexes saved her, Katherine managed to use her right arm to cover her head from a hit that otherwise would have been lethal. The st thing she saw before the sickening crunch of her own bone was a fully scaled fist, missing her face by a hair after being set off course by sacrificing her own appendage.

  She lost her bance, her momentum making her roll several meters on the floor past her opponent, only worsening her arm’s condition, now bent at a very unnatural angle.

  Then, the pain hit.

  Oh shit! It hurts so much!!! What was that!?

  She tried to rise, but as soon as her wobbly legs attempted to do so, a brutal punch to her stomach took the air out of her lungs and sent her crashing through the brick wall of the closest warehouse.

  “Should've minded your own business, kitten.” A raspy voice taunted from outside the fresh hole on the wall.

  Fighting for breath, Katherine struggled to remain conscious. The pain she felt was indescribable.

  In all her years as a hero, she’d had her fair share of fights, she’d even lost a couple here and there. But she’d never encountered such strength.

  This is really bad, I need backup.

  Whoever this bitch was, she was way beyond her league. For the first time since she was a rookie, Ixshel would need to call for some heavy reinforcements.

  She reached for her earpiece with her functioning hand, but as she tried to speak, only a gurgling sound escaped her throat, coughing blood soon after.

  Katherine took a deep breath, centering herself, and tried again, slower this time.

  “T-This is… Ixsh… Cough! Ixshel! Ple…”

  Her attacker disappeared from the outside, moving at terrifying speeds that would have been a challenge for Katherine to follow even at her best. The cold gaze of her opponent appeared only inches from Ixshel’s, her genus evident now.

  A pangolin? Seriously? I expected some mythical beast or something.

  Her assaint grabbed the device from her ear, which is to say, she grabbed the whole ear, and pulled it clean from her skull. Crushing both cartige and comm device in one swift motion.

  Blood stained the warehouse’s floor as Katherine screamed in pain. “Fucking bitch! My ear! Aghhh!!!”

  The pangolin looked at her with disinterest. “Can’t have you calling in for help, sorry not sorry.” She shrugged, “now, no witnesses.”

  Katherine felt her adrenaline rush fading as the gravity of the situation settled in.

  Oh shit… I think I’m gonna die…

  Her legs wouldn’t respond to her survival instincts, screaming at them to flee the scene. As her so-called ‘prey’ extended her own cws, a grim sense of acceptance enveloped her.

  One she squashed with extreme prejudice the moment it crossed her mind.

  Fuck you, legs! Katherine Baltazar was no quitter! And she sure as hell was not gonna die quietly!

  Ignoring the burning pain on her stomach, arm and skull, Ixshel roared defiantly at her soon to be assassin.

  The pangolin seemed momentarily taken aback, giving Katherine the chance to leap back in the attempt to put some distance between them.

  Her left hand cws extended as her right arm hung uselessly at her side, blood pumping freely with each heartbeat from where her ear used to be, flowing through her forehead and obstructing her vision, Ixshel did not impose much at the moment.

  No matter, I’m bringing at least some piece of this bitch with me tonight. She thought, resolute on her final stand.

  For the moment though, she stood still. Not daring to lose the pangolin from her sight for even a second, as she’d already demonstrated to be deceptively quick. Besides, every second she stalled meant that someone may come to check on why she was not answering.

  Her opponent's cold, professional eyes met hers. “You know, this doesn’t need to be more painful for you, girl. I know this may sound a little cliche, but if you don't resist I promise a quick end.”

  Katherine’s pride urged her to attack, but reason prevailed. “Oh? How generous of you!” she taunted with feigned sweetness. “Why don't you tell me your name before that? You know, most cultures consider it rude to murder someone without proper introductions.”

  I just need more time, keep her talking for some minutes, grab whatever information you can. You can do this Kat!

  Her counterpart showed the faintest sign of disappointment on her face. “Seems it’s going to be the hard way…”

  Prepared this time, Katherine was ready for the assault, which isn’t to say that dodging the killing blow that almost separated her head from her shoulders was easy. It just meant that she got to live for another few seconds.

  Leaping backwards again, she did her best to keep her distance from the bulking attacker by moving in erratic ways, hiding behind old wooden boxes and any clutter left in the old warehouse.

  Sadly, her opponent was starting to close in on her, making her desperate attempts all the more painful to her already battered body.

  How the tables turn, She thought cynically. Look who's the prey now, huh.

  She dodged, jumped and rolled as much as her legs allowed, each movement becoming more strenuous than the st until her luck finally ran short.

  A deceivingly strong swipe from the pangolin’s tail sent Katherine crashing on a pile of wooden boxes, turning them to splinters in an instant.

  Breathing heavily through the pain of some new bruises and probably a couple of freshly broken ribs, Ixshel looked at the building’s ceiling, lying on her back on the cold concrete floor.

  Is this really all I can do? The end of my story? I guess there are worse ways to go than in combat, but I really wanted to lose my V card before that, heh.

  She smiled as her mind started to py tricks on her eyes.

  Probably a concussion. I’m really fucked up, aren’t I?

  From an open window to her right, a pinkish purple mist was entering the building.

  “Time to finish this, I have to get back soon or the boss is gonna chew me alive.” Her assaint casually commented as she closed the distance towards the pile of broken wood that made up Katherine’s current resting pce.

  With droopy eyes, she saw the pangolin raising her cw above her head, preparing to strike the killing blow.

  While Katherine was having an internal debate about attempting a st roar of defiance before her doom, a distorted voice was heard over the heavy rain assaulting the outside world.

  “Well, I’ll be damned! The first people I find are some chimera girls beating the crap out of each other. Must be my lucky day!”

  Out of nowhere, a strange figure appeared in Katherine's peripheral vision, calmly walking towards them.

  What she saw when turning her head left her both fbbergasted and confused.

  The person in question was wearing a purple uniform of some kind, a hooded robe with strange golden inscriptions all over it, their face half masked.

  Wait a minute… Her blood ran cold as the realization nded on her.

  Is that… a boy? A BOY!? What is he doing here! Run, you fool! Katherine tried to shout at the suicidal guy to run for his life while he could, but her voice failed her.

  With roaring now out of the question and the addition of a civilian, a man no less, to the equation, Ixshel scrambled to come up with a pn. She made eye contact with the guy, trying to at least attempt to convey a plea for him to run.

  She looked at him pleadingly, pointing to the window behind him with her eyes in a st effort to make the fool see reason.

  Males didn’t have superpowers. They couldn't even fight a weak giftless girl!

  I’m begging you, please run! Her mind screamed.

  “I see,” he nodded, meeting her gaze.

  Just when Katherine was starting to feel a glimmer of hope that the boy would try to escape, her assaint, who until now remained as surprised as herself, broke the silence with a sigh.

  A grim realization froze her blood for a second time. There’s no way he can outrun this bitch…

  “Fuck me sideways, this job keeps getting worse.” The vilin compined dramatically, “killing a hero is one thing, but a cutie? Fuck, I’ll need a raise after this.” She looked back at Katherine as she raised her cws again as a guillotine about to strike at her neck, “I’ll deal with you after I’m done with her, baby.” She licked her lips, not even bothering to look at the mysterious man. “I promise to not make it hurt.”

  The pangolin cw descended with enough strength to behead an elephant, and Katherine closed her eyes, bracing for death.

  Ding!

  Instead of… well whatever was heard when one was beheaded, she heard the faint ring of a bell, dissonant and distant, as if coming from impossibly far, yet just by her side at the same time. She then felt something hard hit her face, followed by the angry screams of her opponent.

  Ixshel moved her fingers tentatively and did a quick mental checkup of the rest of her body. Battered, but still connected to her head.

  Why am I not dead? She wondered.

  Daring herself to slowly open her eyes one at a time, Katherine was welcomed by the most bizarre scene.

  The pangolin girl was writhing, away from her, grabbing her face with one hand and cursing profusely. Blood dripping between her fingers.

  Katherine raised her good hand towards her own neck, still unsure of what was going on. “Wha… What happened?” Her raspy voice managed to grumble almost inaudibly, to no one in particur.

  Her hand moved up to her face, where she found the responsibles for the impact’s she felt a couple of seconds ago. Some of the pangolin’s bloodied scales were now sticking to Katherine’s face. She lifted one up between her fingers to study it and found it as hard as steel.

  She seemed as sturdy as a tank, what could have possibly…

  Ixshel had no time to think it over as a face suddenly appeared in front of her, studying her with the same intensity she had had for the object in her hand.

  Katherine dropped the disgusting thing and focused as best as she could on the person kneeling in front of her.

  From up close, he looked young. Probably younger than her, but not by much. Early to mid twenties I’d say, she guessed. However, the disguise he wore didn’t let much information leak. His hood made it difficult to make out his hair color, and the mask covered half of his face. Even his smell was confusing, as if masked by something. Changing constantly.

  Of what she could make out of his physical appearance, he was olive skinned. Not pale, but not quite dark.

  His eyes however, they were visible, but for some reason, she could not make out their color either.

  They shifted like an aurora, marked by an expression of concern that made something stir inside Katherine’s battered head.

  He’s beautiful. She realized, I could look at those eyes forever. Her adrenaline-addled brain concluded.

  Mesmerized, she didn’t hear him the first time he called for her.

  Huh? She thought. Blinking the trance out.

  “Huh?” She grumbled at the boy kneeling at her side.

  He waved a grooved hand in front of her face, “I asked you if you’re ok. Tell me, how many fingers do you see?” He inquired, his voice still distorted by some force, showing her three of his fingers in front of her eyes.

  Katherine cleared her throat as best as she could and answered, “three, three fingers… who are you?”

  The wanna be hero in front of her stood up after hearing her answer, smiling and nodding to himself. “Alright! I’ll make sure that you’re taken somewhere safe. I would have called for backup and some healers, but for some reason my communication spells don't seem to be able to reach anyone from the Order.”

  Katherine was astonished. The what? What the hell is an order? What does he mean with spells?

  He pointed back with his thumb at the pangolin girl as she stumbled back on her feet, visibly dazed. “I’ll have to take care of her first though, so hold up for a little bit okay? I’m pretty sure she won’t just let us go our merry ways with an apology, right?” He ughed to himself.

  Oh shit! That’s right! I wave to warn him to run now that my voice is back!

  Before she could put her thought into words, she gaped as the boy in front of her just disappeared in a puff of pinkish smoke. Only to materialize himself inches away from the pangolin woman, who looked just as surprised, if not more, than Kaherine herself.

  The voice tone of the mysterious male changed to something more impersonal, almost professional, as he addressed the vilin in front of him. “I’m gonna give you one, and only one chance to give up peacefully. I saw what you just tried to do, and I’ll have you know, I’m not a big fan of cold blood murderers.”

  What followed was something that Katherine wouldn’t have believed if she hadn’t seen it. And even then, it was mind-boggling.

  The pangolin didn’t hesitate even for a second, as she unched herself forward at speeds that made her previous attempts against Katherine look like a child’s py. Spinning mid air and swinging her tail at the poor human boy.

  Only for him to disappear again right before it could connect. The force of the impact cracking the concrete floor where he stood a fraction of a second earlier. Another puff of color appeared at the right side of the pangolin, and as soon as he materialized, he twisted himself in the air with the grace of an olympic acrobat, nding a brutal kick to the side of the Pangolin’s head that sent her rolling on the ground.

  A different sounding bell rang just before the kick connected, Katherine noticed. Trying to make sense of what she was witnessing.

  Her assaint was undeterred though, even though Katherine could now see that the right side of the criminal’s face missed the scales that now decorated her own cheeks, and her right eye was clearly injured, as it seemed bloodied and tightly shut.

  Uh, he attacked her from her blind spot. Clever boy.

  The pangolin lunged again at breakneck speeds, the cold professionalism form before long gone as she swinged at the boy with reckless abandon.

  Over and over he disappeared or dodged right before the impact could eviscerate him, retaliating with a strike of his own. And over and over that faint bell resonated between the wrecked warehouse’s walls.

  “Damn girl, you’re tougher than an overcooked steak!” The mysterious male taunted the increasingly frustrated pangolin woman as he dodged another one of her attacks.

  “Why wont you just stay still, you little pest!?” His attacker grumbled, annoyed more than injured by the constant barrage of punches and kicks inflicted by the purple dressed man.

  After another quite impressive acrobatic backflip to distance himself from the pangolin, he nded on the floor with barely any sound, delicate as an autumn leaf.

  Katherine was so enraptured by the immacute demonstration of body contortions and martial prowess that she almost missed it when he murmured, apparently to himself, “careful what you wish for…” As more of that mysterious mist started materializing around him, twisting and twirling as if it had a conscience of its own.

  If the pangolin heard it, she didn’t give any sign of caring, as she unched herself again, murderous intent in her eyes. She swiped with both cws at the same time in the shape of an X. But this time the boy didn’t seem to pn on dodging or using that strange teleportation of his. As he looked unblinking at her soon to be executioner.

  “No!” Katherine screamed. She'd been trying to push herself up during the fight, having only partial success. Her wobbly legs supporting her only enough to have a better view of the murder happening before her eyes.

  The same bell she heard the first time filled her ears.

  And for the hundredth time in the night, she was left speechless.

  What should have been a direct hit, didn’t seem to have affected her rescuer at all, as he looked almost pitifully at the stunned vilin.

  Her cws were covered in crimson blood that started to pool around her. More of her scales decorated the increasingly tainted floor. And two deep gashes adorned her chest, from her colrbone to her stomach. “Wha…” Was all the stunned woman managed to say.

  Not wasting a second, the boy mercilessly kicked her in the middle of the freshly inflicted wounds, sending her flying to the ground many feets away, nding on her back in a scream of agony.

  In the pangolin’s bitch defence, she recovered remarkably fast. Twisting herself on the ground and getting on her feet ready to continue the fight. Now with pure rage in her blood injected eye as she looked less like a person and more like a ravenous animal. “I dont know what the fuck you just did you little shit! But I’m gonna rip you to pieces for it!” She spat at the unblinking male.

  For his part, Katherine noticed that the boy looked different from a moment ago. His eyes were more focused and his breathing more…

  Labored? He didn’t seem tired at all until now. What is going on? Katherine pondered as the fighters measured each other.

  The combat started again in a fsh of movement. The pangolin sprinting towards one of the craters left on the ground, grabbing a piece of the loose concrete and unching herself at her opponent as she’d done so many times before. However, this time she threw the projectile at him with surprising accuracy before twisting herself and changing her direction to the right.

  Taken by surprise, the boy didn’t have time to dodge the piece of debris coming his way, so he teleported right before it impacted him, only to be faced with the imposing form of the pangolin, with her own attack ready. She spinned on herself, letting the mass of her tail move in the direction of the boy. Eyes wide by the prediction of his teleportation destination, he materialized more of that mist in front of him right before the tail would impact him straight on the face.

  In the meanwhile, the pangolin pressed her legs against her chest and her arms around her head in a sort of fetal position that left only her thick back scales exposed, just before her attack could connect.

  A fraction of a second ter, the bell rang again and the now ball shaped woman was sent flying backwards. Only this time without any apparent injury.

  On the other side, the boy appeared from the mist looking worse for wear. With no visible injuries, but panting heavily.

  “Knew it!” Said the ball of scales from the ground, twisting herself back into the shape of a person, her face splitting into a shit eating grin. “That little trick of yours is quite impressive, boy. That’s how you got me the first time, isn’t it?” She started circling him predatorily. Now full of confidence on her hunt.

  “So not only can you move around that pink mist of yours, but with enough of it, you can reflect damage back to the attacker. Can’t say that I’ve ever heard of a gifted with such an ability, much less a male. I bet you’d be priced really good on the bck market.” She snickered sardonically. “Sadly for you though, I’m way too pissed to let you live.”

  The boy looked defiantly at her between heavy breaths, “Gifted? I’ve no idea what you’re on about. But even if you understand how I fight, that doesn’t change the fact that you can't hit me. So how about you run away before one of your own attacks kills you?”

  Her sickening grin only widened. “And why would I do that, cutie? If it's obvious that using that mist of yours leaves you quite exhausted. I wonder what would happen if you had to use it in a less convenient scenario.” She started circling him again, getting between Katherine and her rescuer. “Say for example, the middle of a windy storm…”

  It took Katherine a fraction of a second to understand the implication of what the vilin had just said. But it was a fraction of a second too te for her tired legs to react.

  Gotta move! She thought, however, the bulking shape of the pangolin was upon her in an instant, grabbing her from her head and jumping towards one of the windows of the warehouse. Her neck protested at the dangerous levels of tension it was being exposed to, but the pangolin didn’t seem to have the intent of killing her at the moment anymore.

  “No! You coward! get back here!” The male roared as he chased behind them a moment ter.

  The cold raindrops that passed unnoticed for Katherine earlier, now soothed her aching muscles in an unexpected retrieve from the previous events. Which felt nice. Being thrown like a sack of potatoes to what appeared to be a parking lot outside of the warehouse, however, did not.

  Not a second ter, the boy jumped from the window in another impressive demonstration of acrobatic mastery, nding with a roll.

  With renewed confidence, the pangolin proceeded to ignore Katherine once again as she continued with her previous strategy of barraging attacks against the objective she now considered of higher priority.

  For his part, the mysterious boy managed surprisingly well on the defensive, dodging her attacks by millimeters, his movements an exotic combination of dance with martial arts, but having to abandon both his teleportation and his own attacks.

  The bulking woman ughed maniacally from her newfound advantage point, “now that’s more like it! Your mother must have been a rabbit with how much you like to jump, however…” Her swipes were becoming more methodical, none of the previous frenzy present as she studied the way he contorted himself mid-air.

  “A rabbit’s paw can only help you so much…” The moment the boy’s feet touched the ground after dodging the st attack, the pangolin’s tail quickly swiped right, pulling the proverbial rug from under the male’s feet as he lost bance.

  Taken aback by the sudden demonstration of tactical prowess, the boy’s eyes bulged slightly in surprise as he fell. However his opponent was undeterred, not even giving him the chance to recover his bance before throwing a brutal kick at his stomach.

  Katherine watched in horror as her saviour was sent flying backwards, hitting the ground in a spat of wet purple fabric. Unmoving.

  Time seemed to slow down for Katherine. No, for Ixshel. The supposed heroine that wanted to reach the top of the charts one day. To make a name for herself and prove the world what she was capable of.

  Yet here she was, impotent, on the ground. Looking at a boy that unched himself in her rescue, about to be vivisected by the maniac she herself failed to defeat. All because of her own hubris, refusing to call for backup the moment she realised her opponent was a gifted.

  Her pride was gonna cost this boy… This hero, his life!

  Ixshel could feel something break inside of her. Her shame and regret combined with her growing hatred towards that pangolin bitch, and the need to protect the boy in front of her, resulted in a primal rage that turned her vision red.

  Gone was the pain she felt seconds ago, the fear, the doubts. Her body felt hot, burning with the primal conviction of her ingrained duty.

  I will not let him die. No matter the cost!

  Ixshel herself would have been surprised by the speed in which she covered the distance between herself and the pangolin, if it weren't for the blinding rage that flowed through her veins. All of her hair standing on end as her muscles bulged harder than ever before. The fabric of her costume reached its breaking point, tearing with every movement.

  The vilin in question, though, had no issue being surprised by the coming attack, as she’d probably assumed Ixshel to be already defeated.

  Her mistake.

  With blinding speed, the jaguar heroine unched a brutal kick at the center mass of her opponent. Her own bones shook from the impact, but if there was any pain, Ixshel didn’t even register it. As her animalistic fury pushed her forward.

  The pangolin hadn’t even had time to register the fact that she was flying backwards before Ixshel lunged forwards, the air whistling as she moved so fast that even the raindrops looked suspended in the air from her perspective.

  With each step, the jaguar could feel cracking at her feet. Was it the ground giving up to her paws? Was it her own bones exploding due to the extreme pressure? She couldn’t care less.

  Moving at those impossible speeds, she positioned herself behind the still flying pangolin. Delivering another monstrous kick towards the vilin’s back. Again, more cracking. Was it her own leg? The pangolin’s scales? Her spine? Ixshel didn’t care.

  I’m not letting him die!

  Before the inertia of the kick could send the armored viliness flying towards the still unmoving male, Ixshel grabbed her by the tail using both her hands.

  Wasn’t one of my arms broken? Her rational mind wandered from the passenger seat, being instantly silenced by the ravenous indifference of her fury.

  “YOU!” Ixshel half screamed, half roared, before smming the stunned woman against the concrete floor, the impact hitting so hard that it could be confused as a thundercp in the distance.

  “WON'T!” Another sm, another boom.

  “HURT!” Were those steel hard scales on the pangolin tail cutting her hands? Again, she didn’t care.

  “HIM!” The blood covering her fingers made her lose her grip on the sharp appendage. Sending the stunned criminal flying away from both Ixshel and her saviour.

  She started walking towards the mangled pile of scales on the ground. To Ixshel surprise, it stirred. Slowly turning her head towards the heroine.

  Gone was the confident expression that had decorated the pangolin’s face since the beginning. In its pce, a frightened, wounded prey looked back at Ixshel from her spot on the ground.

  Though bitch. The heroine marveled at the resilience of the woman in front of her.

  But this had to come to an end. So Ixshel tried to step forward. Only to find out that her body didn’t respond.

  Whatever fueled her explosive rage moments ago was now apparently running on fumes.

  Yet even if her body could not respond to her orders, she pced all the hate still running through her system into a murderous gaze directed at the now frightened pangolin. Who squirmed backwards, trying to put distance between herself and the predator looming over. Unaware of her inability to move her body.

  They stood there, in a silent stalemate for seconds that felt like hours. Only the rain daring to emit a sound. Until the familiar screaming of a siren Katherine recognized as a special police unit broke the tense stare contest between the gifted women.

  Backup was on its way. She’d made it.

  Katherine couldn’t help it, she looked in the direction of the unconscious boy as the weight of the night finally caught up with her. The risk of the pangolin attempting something again taking second pce to the man’s safety.

  He was still there, unmoving. Her heart broke at the image. All she wanted to do at the moment was to go to his side and make sure that he was fine. But her body wouldn’t bulge.

  A weak grunt made her turn her head back towards her opponent, who was miraculously standing up on shaky legs.

  The pangolin started limping away from the scene at a comically slow pace.

  Katherine would have ordered her to stop, if she had the strength. Sadly, she only managed to fall backwards instead. Her body finally giving up on her.

  The st things she noticed before fading to the sweet numbness of unconsciousness were the rain letting up and the sound of the siren getting closer, almost loud enough to cover a faint bell in the distance. Almost.