Chapter 10: (Kiara)

  Kiara wasn’t sure what she thought of Jade and Shogai. Jade was nice and considerate, but she didn’t like how Shogai looked down on her. Acted so much better than her, as if he couldn’t understand that sometimes people can suffer, and sometimes that leads to them having to make bad decisions. The first time she stole something, it haunted her for weeks. But she’d die if she didn’t keep it up. It was just the way the world worked. And this was far from the first time someone had grabbed her by the throat, but no one had ever done it with such bloodlust. It gave her chills.

  But she was at fault for being so petty and attacking him. In the end, she was just glad she got away. But also glad that she could help. She’d return to Harabel and act like that never happened.

  As Kiara walked off, with time slowed down, she could see something reflecting the fading sunlight. What was it? It was heading past her, almost at her own speed. Heading in the direction of Jade and Shogai.

  Kiara got closer and walked around it. Something metal? Something… sharp?

  Kiara followed the trajectory of the knife and almost stumbled over in shock. Some kind of humanoid… with armour and a bloodthirsty expression. It must have been an Aberrant, but why was it so… fast?

  Something clicked in Kiara’s head. She was faster than the Aberrant, but normally, she would just run away. But this thing… it wanted to kill Shogai and Jade. She didn’t know them all that well, but she was not going to let that happen.

  Kiara grabbed the knife out of the air and faced the monster. She’s beaten Aberrants before; she used to do it for money. But she was out of practice. She needed to be careful. One blow, and this creature would be dead.

  Kiara broke into a run. She was tired from the journey, but her stamina was good. The monster wasn’t faster than her, thank goodness, but it could react to her. The beast tried to turn away when it saw Kiara approaching, but Kiara jumped on its back and pointed the blade downwards. With all her strength, she impaled the Aberrant in the neck, and the blade ran right through it. Good - the blade was made of some unnaturally sharp material, likely the same as the armour.

  Kiara waited for the Aberrant to fall, dead, but she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and thighs. Blades sprouted from the back of the Aberrant, impaling her lower half and painting the floor in her blood. Kiara’s vision went blurry as pain ran through her. She needed to heal, fast.

  In her hesitation, the Aberrant managed to grab her with a giant hand and threw her off towards Gongadion. Kiara briefly lost consciousness, undoing her time-slowing. She hit the ground very much in real time, landing between Shogai and Jade. Kiara saw their shocked expressions and crawled away from them, propping herself up against a rock.

  What kind of monster had they angered?

  Shogai and Jade stepped in front of Kiara defensively as the creature approached them. Its neck injury had fully healed already. No Aberrant should have survived that. Yet this thing… it was smiling.

  “Made friends, have you, Shogai?” The monster said. It spoke. There was no word to describe how Kiara felt other than terror. It was as if a nightmare had begun walking. To her surprise, Shogai stood directly in front of her, protecting her.

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  “Sekara. Why did you attack her? This is between you and me.”

  Kiara held her breath. Would Sekara have ignored her if she hadn’t stepped in? Did it matter anymore? The figure pointed a finger at Kiara, a finger that had turned into a sword, and spoke.

  “Me? Attack her? She’s the one who went after me. Don’t pretend these two aren’t your friends. If they’re with you, then it’s personal.”

  Jade gave Kiara a reassuring smile. “Well, if she’s with us, then we’re defending her with our lives. Right, Shogai?”

  There was a scary moment of silence before Shogai spoke. “Yes. Yes, we are.”

  With that, Shogai rushed towards Sekara, and Jade closed her eyes, attacking an unbeatable threat.

  Shogai rushed in to bait an attack out from Sekara, but he kept his distance. Her slash missed him, and he used the opening to kick her. She didn’t budge, but she did have a look of surprise.

  “You’re faster.”

  Shogai ducked another attack, giving himself the chance to hit Sekara again. She scratched her head, as if his growth in speed was unnatural.

  Kiara then focused on her legs, still bleeding out. She was lightheaded, but still had the energy to rewind her wounds. The blood vanished, and the holes in her thighs healed over. She warily got to her feet, but a sword pierced her shoulder, pinning her to the rock. Kiara let out a cough of blood.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Sekara said as she continued her exchange of blows against Shogai, who was still miraculously dodging Sekara’s attacks. That shouldn’t have been possible. Kiara was faster than Shogai, yet she was caught off guard. What was going on?

  Kiara and Sekara recognised the problem at the same time. Their eyes both glanced at Jade. Sekara laughed as she realised what was happening.

  “I see. He’s not faster, is he? You’re the buzzing in my head that’s distracting me. That’s a dirty trick.”

  The act was up. Knowing that Jade was slowing her down, Sekara targeted her. Shogai jumped between the two, but Sekara shoved him out of the way and threw a sword at Jade. It pierced her right through the torso, and she hit the rock right next to Kiara, eyes open and terrified.

  With Jade’s focus broken, Sekara experimentally slashed at Shogai and found her reaction speeds perfectly fine. Shogai didn’t dodge in time, and one of his arms had a severe cut on it. Shogai was on the defensive now, trying his best to evade a now faster Sekara, but he was barely keeping up.

  With Sekara distracted, Kiara saw the opportunity to free herself, pulling the sword free from her shoulder and wincing as blood spurted out. She healed it quickly, and Jade noticed. She began pulling the sword from her stomach.

  “No, stop! I can only heal my own-”

  It was too late. Jade went pale. Partially from shock and partially from the unblocked stream of blood now exiting her body.

  Kiara scolded herself for her recklessness. Jade was already getting cold. What was she going to do now that she was on a timer?

  Shogai had finally been tagged. A leg had been struck this time, and Shogai let out a yell of pain. Sekara was now just walking casually, as Shogai tried to hop away.

  There was no beating her. There was no escaping her. There was no hope for them.

  But Kiara could still get away. Should she just… run?

  Sekara saw the terrified expressions of Jade and Kiara, smiling at the sight of the former’s condition.

  “Last chance, girl. Are you with them? Or are you going to live?”

  That was Kiara’s breaking point. She’d been running her whole life. And this time was no different. Eyes already filled with tears, she ran. Back to Harabel. She ran away.