Somewhere in the Between

[T-Fox*]

“Last time I took it easy someone almost got their neck opened up. So I’m done being nice and I’m not putting down my gun because I’m sortta screwed without it because my power isn’t great and you can go to hell if you don’t like it.”

He was going to open his mouth to retort, but Kiera beat him to it in every sense of the word. She was righteously pissed, and honestly no one could really blame her. However it honestly scared Ray a little bit; he had never heard her like this before.

"Look, I don't want to be the baddie here with the gun and everything. I can see you've got some trust issues... Can't really blame you there, but think about it. Surely if we were playing, then I would have already....."

And then as luck would have it, no longer did they out number and outgun the girl in front of them.

“Put, um, put the guns down! L-Leave her alone!"

This girl sounded terrified out of her mind. Not that Ray would ever take that as a sign that she was to be treated lightly. Through his time hunting he had learned first hand that a scared and cornered animal was the most likely to strike back, and it tended to do quite a bit of damage too. One of the scars on his abdomen could attest to that.

And the fact that this other female was directly behind him with a gun pressed to his skull terrified him. Things were going to hell in a handbasket, and they could only honestly go down from here.

And with an ear shattering wail eminating from behind him, they did. In every sense of the phrase, shit hit the fan. The girl that had decided it was a good idea to point a gun at the pair had used the momentary action to get Kiera into a headlock, and stick the gun directly into her head. Ray knew the moment that he saw this that the girl behind him would probably do something similar, or in her terror just shoot blindly; right into the back of his head. So with a single swift movement he dove to the left, avoiding the assumed gunshot that would never come.

However thankfully Kiera landed a hell of a blow. And as soon as Taryn recoiled, Kiera jumped on the opportunity, attempting to knock the gun from her hand. He was honestly debating taking a shot, but there was way too much of the other girl covered by Kiera. And while she was admittedly extremely small, she still posed a significant obstacle in the feat of shooting a moving target. The gun flailed in the air, and all Ray could do was sit uselessly, gun pointed at the wrestling pair. No words would come to his mouth, even though thousands flew through his mind every single second that he watched the struggle going on in front of him.

The gun crept closer and closer to Kiera.

She was losing this fight.

I have to take the shot. I have to take the shot NOW.

He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes momentarily. Picturing Taryn as a buck in the sights of his rifle rather than a fellow human being in the iron sights of a pistol, he brought the gun to aim. That's it... Out from behind... There you go!

He exhaled deeply as he squeezed the trigger.

The feat of firing a pistol in this way was significantly different from firing a rifle. There was no stock balenced in the crook of his shoulder to steady with the exhale. And he knew it. But the gesture gave him confidence at the very least, something he needed significantly more than he needed any extra aim. This was a shot that under no pressure odds said he could make. He just needed to relieve some of the pressure on him.

BANG.

The shot flew true to it's aim, grazing over the hand which held the gun which threatened the life of the only friend he would probably ever have again. Blood leaked from the wound on her hand, and he had the state of mind to let out a small smirk as he leveled the gun for a second shot; if need be.

"G... Good shot there."

Under any circumstance other than the current, he would take the compliment as gracefully as he could while still boasting a bit. He would laugh, and fire off another shot or two. But as it stood, as Kiera said the last words she would ever say without extreme amounts of pain, his face contorted into sheer horror. Not even at the cristiline spike that was forming from the hand of the girl he had just shot. Not at the fact that the powers were real.

No. He was terrified for the fact that there was no way Kiera was getting out of this alive.

"Kiera! Watch o-"

His voice cut short as the red spike that had just seemingly materialized out of nowhere was rammed through his only friend's stomach. Shock, and disbelief ran through his mind like a singular wave that quelled every single hyperactive, shouting thought that had plagued his mind since the standoff began.

The coughs that she created from the blood seeping into her lungs and the rest of her body where it should not be caused a... smoke. The smoke slowly gained a reddish tint as the life slipped from Kiera's body.

"NO! Kiera!" His eyes were almost mesmerized by the smoke as he reflexively flicked the safety on his weapon and slid it into his belt, rushing to her side; absolutely careless as to what the murderous pair he had just been dealing with did.

"R... Ray......"

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm here. Talk to me, I'm here."

Her assumption was completely right. In his despair, he had picked her up and cradled her in his lap, his arms under her neck and her legs, tears streaming down his face.

"Ray? Is that... You?"

He took a deep breath, doing everything he could not to sob.

"I'm here, it's me. It's okay..."

He couldn't bring himself to say that everything would be okay. Because honestly, it wouldn't. And he knew that.

"Got a bit careless, didn't I? But at least you're okay... Kinda inevitable though, wasn't it? Its a shame really... I was planning on asking you ought for a cup of coffee or something once we were back home."

That was enough to send him over the edge. A loud sob forced itself from his lungs as her voice faded. She was even thinking of asking him out... She... Did like him... Even after all of that.

"N-No..." He managed to choke out. "You did good. I'm still impressed with how well you fought..." Anything and everything to comfort her in her final moments. He knew she didn't have long. "A-And if it means anything, I totally would have taken you up... up on that cup of coffee." He sniffed, trying to keep his visual composure together at the very least. Hell, he didn't even know if she could see him from the smoke.

"Still... Not too late for you to make it out of here in one piece. Just promise me one thing ...Please, whatever you do, don't...... Become one of them."

"I promise I won't. Kiera, I promise I won't."

He knew she was fading fast, and there was no way to fully explain everything he wanted to say. But in reality, all the explanation in the world that he could spew out even if he had hours on hours would have boiled down to a single three word sentence. But he doubted she even had time for three words.

"I... I think I... Love you..."

He felt her body go limp in his arms. And he softly set her down, turning his head to Taryn and Kate. "You bastards... You bastards. The only reason you are not DEAD right now is because I am NOT going to dishonor a dead girl's final request! CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY, YOU FUCKING CUNT. IF YOU SEE ME AGAIN, I. WILL. KILL. YOU."
He stood and picked up both of the packs, looking back over his shoulder one last time at the body of the girl he had only known for a day and a half.

One and a half more days till he either died, or got to go home to a life that probably wouldn't accept him anymore.

((Raymond Pietrowski Jr. Continued in A Whisper in the Wind.))

[Carrion Queen]

A bit of Taryn was relieved to hear Kate’s voice behind the other girl. She hadn’t left her. Some noise from far off made her turn and saw that the girl had also turned. There was just enough of a chance to grab her. Taryn was awkwardly slung around the girl in a sort of head lock and her gun dropped. She tried her best to manage holding the gun and the girl, but it wasn’t the easiest task in the world. Her problems were soon two fold as a boney elbow made contact with her face and she dropped the gun.

Both girls dove for it, but Taryn managed to reach it first. That’s when she heard the shot. A fraction of a second later she screamed and dropped the gun. Now disarmed, she was at a disadvantage. The other girl could pick her gun back up and this time she’d pull the trigger for sure. A glint from her stinging wrist caught her eye and as if it were instinct Taryn snapped off the blood shard and jammed it into her stomach.

Slowly the girl sunk down. An unexpected consequence seemed to be that she was leaking smoke. Taryn took advantage of the distraction to pick up her gun and run back into the church. Taryn grabbed her pack, and then ran back out to Kate. She grabbed Kate by the hand and started to run past the smoke.

By the time she’d grabbed her, the smoke was clearing and she could see the boy knelt down by the girl. Despite knowing better, she looked on at the pair instead of moving. It was because of the way he told her that he loved her that made Taryn stop. He rounded on the two, vowing to kill Taryn if he saw her again.

“This isn’t because I wanted to. It’s the situation. In everyday life, she and I might have been friends and you can bet I would never have tried to hurt her, but here we are. You don’t want to be like me? Like what, a killer? Well then I might as well shoot you now to save you the time, because that’s the only way out of here. But I won’t. I’d expect you to try and kill me next time you see me. I expect it.”

She was stern, but quiet. She couldn’t let him or Kate see that she was afraid. Especially Kate.

“I….” she stopped. Her round eyes wavered and for a moment her façade cracked. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

With that she grabbed Kate’s hand and they were running once again. It seemed like they were always running.

((Taryn continued in Miseria Cantare ))

[Macha*]

Still shaking. The gun dug into her hands. Kate almost dropped it, but just managed to keep her sweating hands loosely gripped on enough to stop it from clattering to the floor. Kate took her eyes off of Taryn for a split-second, and suddenly the tables had turned. Taryn was the one holding the other girl hostage. A dramatic reversal of the prison.

This time they were in control.

Then, as quickly as the tides turned in their favour, they turned away again. A gunshot, followed by scream. It took a second to register, Kate just standing there. She had no idea what to do. The scream... it didn't sound like the goth girl? She wasn't the target? But that meant... Oh God. It clicked in Kate's head. Taryn was hurt. Taryn was hurt and that meant- Taryn was in control again now, but the goth girl's face was contorted. Pain? Oh God. She didn't- She couldn't...

Before Kate could let it sink in, Taryn and the goth girl were engulfed in a billowing cloud of red smoke, billowing out of the goth. Kate just stood, staring at the red cloud. She honestly didn't know what to do. Should she shoot? She considered it, honestly, but she didn't want to risk shooting Taryn. Kate turned, saw a flash of someone moving out of the smoke and into the church. Was it the goth girl? She'd just gotten stabbed with Taryn's blood, she couldn't run after that, right?

"T-Taryn...?" Kate called out. She knew what she was doing, right? Just going to get her bags, cause Kate left them in the church? Kate backed away from the boy as he ran into the cloud of smoke. Kate lowered her gun. She figured they couldn't see her through the smoke any more, or that they plain just didn't care enough about her to focus on her.

They had worse things on their minds right now.

Kate felt someone grab her hand, and almost screamed until she saw who it was. Taryn. No words, just pulled forwards. They ran through the smoke. Why? Kate didn't know. Probably the quickest way. It stang Kate's eyes, made them water, her vision blurring. Not that she could see anything, anyway. Not even her hand in front of her. Kate squeezed her eyes shut relying on Taryn to guide her as she was blinded, but that didn't help as the not-quite-tears streamed down her cheeks.

They stopped, Taryn letting go of Kate's hand. Were they out of the smoke now? Kate opened her eyes. Yeah, they were. Thankfully, it was starting to clear, too. Kate wiped her eyes. Taryn made a speech, about how they could've been friends if not for the circumstances. Kate believed it, she really did. They could've been friends, really. They could've. Taryn said her piece, the boy said his. Kate tossed her gun inside her back and slung it over her shoulder.

Taryn grabbed Kate's hand. Kate sighed and started running.

((Kate Black, continued in Miseria Cantare.))