It was a trap!

  How could I have been so stupid? Obviously, it was a trap. That's why the rest of the Estate was empty. That's why these goons had been dealing out in the open with clear sightlines everywhere. That's why the other two had disappeared. They must have spotted me. In my arrogance, I really thought I'd become the avenger of the night, that I couldn't be seen. Hell, they could have had cameras up for all I knew, or drones that spotted me on the approach. Well, I didn't have time to think about it now. To be honest, I might not have much time left to think about anything ever again.

  I quickly put distance between myself and the knife-wielding goon who was grinning malevolently at me. There had to be at least ten more thugs pouring out of three different boarded-up shop fronts, all wielding weapons and all baying for blood. This was planned and coordinated. They quickly cut off my escape routes, spreading in a circle around me. But I noticed they weren't quick to attack and they kept glancing at one another. None of them wanted to be the first to come at me.

  I gritted my teeth, my nostrils flaring in panic under my balaclava as I kept backing up, trying to figure out my next move. But the reality was that I didn't have one. No amount of tactics or gadgets could fend off this many armed men. The only option I had now was to run. Without thinking, I pulled out my last Chalk Bomb and hurled it in the face of the leering goon. It exploded in a cloud of dust, obscuring me from the men. I pulled down my goggles and loaded up my Wrist Rocket. I heard the men yelling.

  "Don't let him get away! Keep him surrounded! It's just dust; it can't do anything to you!” I heard someone screaming.

  “Don't just stand there!”

  “Move!”

  “Where is he?"

  I heard different voices shouting and yelling at each other, and weapons clinking and clanging. I turned to the goon closest to me who was sputtering and coughing, his mouth full of chalk. I uppercutted him, catching him square in the cheekbone and sent him flying out of the dust, twitching and convulsing. Then I spun and threw a handful of Bang Rocks into the mass of goons. They were all so close together I didn't really have to aim. Two men fell, two more stumbled and gasped as the Bang Rocks almost knocked them off their feet. I saw some of them panic, and I realized I didn't have to take out all of them; I just had to create a space for myself.

  I whipped out my Wrist Rocket and fired, this time at the man standing directly in front of the mouth of an alley, hitting him square in the chest. Then I took off running at him, vaulting over the low wall as he fell.

  The goons moved in on me like waves collapsing into each other. Two hit me at the same time with bats, one across the back and one in the stomach. The carapace took care of the one in the stomach, but my flesh and spine absorbed the one across the top of my back. I stumbled forward but kept on my feet. I lashed out with my hand and caught a man with a soft backhand, enough to graze him with the Zap Knucks, and sent him yelping backwards. Then another hit me from the side just as I broke free of three of them and sprinted down the alleyway.

  "Don't let him get away!" I heard someone yell.

  "It's our asses on the line if we do! Get him!" another shouted.

  I sprinted down the dark alleyway and heard boots thundering after me. I didn't dare risk a look over my shoulder, but there had to be at least eight, maybe nine, chasing after me, and there was nowhere for me to go. Then two more appeared at the end of the alleyway wielding pipes. I skidded to a halt as the one on the right swung at my face. Flinching, I raised my hands to protect my face, only for the goon to change the angle of his swing. The heavy metal pipe thudded into my chest. The carapace took the brunt of the blow but it still jarred my ribs. I wheezed, just about getting my forearm brace up in time to protect my head from the second blow. It felt like I'd broken my wrist again as it jarred all along my arm and elbow. I lashed out with a quick jab at the first man, popping him in the forehead and sending enough volts into him to drop him. Then I pushed past the second man as the rest gained on me. I felt two more heavy blows hit me, one across the shoulder and one across the back of my thighs.

  I cleared the alleyway and sprinted down one of the back roads of Mulberry Estate, one hand clutching my hood, trying to keep it plastered down over my head as I ran. I could hear them screaming and whooping as they chased me.

  Where was I going to go?

  Someone grabbed me from behind, tearing my hood back and almost throttling me. I whipped around, knuckles first, and landed an awkward back fist that zapped the man. Then I raised my left hand and caught a pole as it came towards me on the Magnet Rune, yanking it out of the surprised goon's hand and swinging it back at him, hitting him across the arm and shoulder.

  Then the rest were there again, like a pack of hounds. I threw the pole at them, turned, and sprinted to my left, crossing the street and narrowly avoiding being hit by a car. I heard the car screech and bang its horn as the goons that were closest to me collided with it. I heard the thuds of bodies on metal and then more yelling and crying out. I risked a look over my shoulder, and saw two thugs laid on the road while the rest leapt over the car. I had to get to the rooftops; that was my only chance.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I was breathing heavily and didn't know where to go. I'd lost my sense of direction in the ubiquitous yellow bricks of the Estate. I needed to get off the main road. There were cameras everywhere, and the police would be coming soon enough. I yanked my hood back onto my head and sprinted down another back alley, splashing through puddles and grime, looking for a fire escape. I spotted one but it was too high to grab from street level. Taking a deep breath, I whipped out my Grapple Cord, latched onto it, and began to pull myself up hand over hand.

  I was too slow, though, and the lead goons were back on me. One of them struck me with his bat in the thigh so hard I thought he broke my femur. Hands clawed and grabbed at my boots, trying to pull me back down. I kept pulling myself up, hand over hand when I felt a heavy weight around my ankle. I looked down and realised one of the goons had grabbed hold of my boot and was dangling from it. I didn't have the strength to hold both of us, and my hands slipped. It was only the Grapple Cord wrapped around my wrist that kept me from falling all the way to the ground, but it jerked my shoulder and elbow painfully. I swore I heard a pop in my shoulder joint and the Cord went taut.

  I dangled there like a pi?ata as they took swings at me. One hit me in the lower back; two more hit me in the knees and the shin. I kicked at them, and saw the rest of the pack gaining. I couldn't just hang there like a damn target, waiting to be butchered by these goons. So I did the only thing I could: I released the enchantment on the Grapple Cord. I plummeted to the hard concrete below. Fortunately, I landed on two of the thugs, squashing them and breaking my own fall. But now I was on the ground, and with these sorts of thugs, being on the ground was the last place you wanted to be. Immediately, I felt boots hitting me from every angle, stomping on me, kicks skimming the back of my skull and face, bats being swung at me. I struck out with my Zap Knucks, stinging and zapping ankles, knees, and shins, until I had space to fight back to my feet. Desperately, I swung my fists just trying to drive them back.

  I broke free just enough to get the mob in front of me instead of all around me. My breathing was ragged and I felt blood oozing down my face, soaking into my balaclava. I wrenched Grandad’s bat from its sheath and held it in front of me. The goons hesitated. Then one of them pushed another towards me. He stumbled forward and I cracked him with the bat. The Rune activated and sent him tumbling into the wall. I lashed out at two more, catching them with glancing blows and forced them backwards. I then whipped my Grapple Cord back around my wrist and lashed out with my boot, catching a fourth in the chest. But in return, his friend smashed me across the side of the head with a clenched fist, sending me flying into the wall, sparks crossing my vision.

  I blinked and ducked instinctively as a second punch came at me, then pushed out with my Zap Knucks, catching the thug in the stomach and shocking him. He screeched and fell. The next closest pair of thugs hesitated as they saw their mate rolling on the floor holding his scorched stomach. I sheathed my bat, turned, and began running again.

  Shaking my head, I tried to clear the cobwebs, but I was slowing down, and I knew it. My already injured leg was starting to go numb again, and my left arm was hanging uselessly at my side. I was sure I had dislocated something or possibly broken a bone. I pushed on, running harder, desperate to get away. I reached into my pocket, grabbed a handful of Bang Rocks, and hurled them over my shoulder, hearing the explosions behind me and the yelps of the goons as they chased. That gave me enough space to try and think again.

  “Kill him!”

  “Fuck him up!”

  “Don’t let him get away!”

  The thugs sounded almost desperate now, and as I risked another look over my shoulder, I could see their numbers had thinned considerably. There were perhaps only four or five chasing me now. There were others further back, but they seemed less determined to get close to me. Could I fight them off? Even as the thought crossed my mind, I coughed and tasted blood in my mouth. No, I couldn't risk it, I was sure they'd stabbed me at some point. But I didn't even want to stop to check for wounds; I just had to keep running.

  I stumbled down the alleyway, forcing my broken body into a canter, unable to get back to a full sprint, too exhausted to push my body any further. Then I saw the lamppost. I'd only done this a couple of times, but if there was ever a time for an emergency escape it was now. I looked to the left and saw a fire escape at the end of the alley. It was maybe a five-foot, perhaps a six-foot, distance between the top of the lamppost and the fire escape.

  I whipped my Grapple Cord out, and it spun round, catching the top of the lamppost. I ran towards it and leapt, gripping with the lamppost with Magnet Rune on my right hand. I could feel pain searing through my shoulder as I pulled myself up, hand over hand, using the Magnet Rune and the rubber on my boots to scale the lamppost.

  The goons arrived at the bottom of the lamppost, cursing and swearing, arguing with each other over who was going to follow me up. One of them threw a bat at me and it hit me across the back. I grimaced and kept going up, and then I felt the pole wobble as they began to follow, shimmying their way after me. I got to the top of the lamppost, squatted on the thin metal, releasing my Grapple Cord and used the Magnet Rune to stop me from falling off.

  I looked down and saw the goon, his eyes wide, his face pale, his teeth gnashing and bared, spittle flecking his lips as he followed me up. I took one of my last Bang Rocks from my pocket, aimed it, and threw it straight at his face. The pellet exploded, and he cried out as he fell, knocking off the second man that had been following him, and they both tumbled in a heap at the base.

  I took a deep breath, and without thinking, I leapt the distance between the lamppost and the fire escape, reaching out with both my hands, sending power through the Magnet Runes on my palm. For a horrifying moment, I thought I was going to fall short, but then the Runes powered up, and I latched onto the fire escape. My whole body jarred painfully as my shoulders bore the brunt of my weight, my legs whipped down underneath me, but the Magnet Runes held fast. I whimpered in pain, then kicked my feet, desperately pulling myself over the railing and onto the fire escape. I sprawled out and wheezed, desperately trying to breathe.

  But then I heard the goons at the bottom of the fire escape. I looked down and saw them dragging bins towards the ladder, trying to jump up and grab it to pull it down. I pulled myself to my feet and ran up the final few flights to the roof, and then I was gone into the night.

  Alive… but barely so.