"Three seconds," Zeph whispered to himself.
The lead bounty hunter, a massive man with a cybernetic jaw, racked his shotgun. "You got a death wish, kid? Where's your partner?"
Zeph raised his hands higher. "He had a dentist appointment. Very important. You know how hard it is to get a booking in this city?"
The hunters laughed. It was a cruel, barking sound.
"Waste him," the leader grunted.
"Combat Solution Loaded," the AI chimed. "Duck."
Zeph didn't question it. He dropped flat on his stomach instantly.
BOOM.
A shotgun blast tore through the air where his head had been a microsecond ago.
At the same moment, the shadow behind the hunters stood up.
It wasn't a man stepping out of the dark. It was the dark peeling itself off the wall to become a man.
Kaelen formed behind the sniper on the left. He didn't use a weapon. He simply placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Down," Kaelen whispered.
He pushed.
Usually, a man would fall to the ground. But the ground under the sniper turned… soft. Like quicksand made of ink. The sniper screamed as he sank into the concrete up to his waist. Then the concrete hardened again.
SNAP.
The sniper howled. He was trapped in the street, fused with the pavement.
"What the—?!" The leader spun around. "Open fire!"
Bullets sprayed the alley. Kaelen didn't dodge. He just… dissolved. He became smoke, swirling around the bullets, then reformed three feet to the right.
"Ghost!" one hunter yelled, backing away. "He's a ghost!"
"I'm not a ghost," Kaelen said, his voice echoing from everywhere at once. "I'm the grave."
While they were panicked, Zeph moved.
"Trajectory calculated. Ricochet angle: 45 degrees."
Zeph picked up a discarded soda can. He threw it hard. It bounced off a dumpster, hit a fire escape ladder, and slammed into the third hunter's temple.
DONG.
The hunter dropped like a sack of potatoes.
"Nice shot!" Zeph cheered, scrambling to his feet.
Now it was just the leader. The big man with the metal jaw. He was trembling. He looked at Zeph, then at the monster in the shadows.
"Stay back!" the leader roared, pulling a grenade from his belt. "I'll blow us all up!"
"Bad idea," Zeph said.
"Explosive radius: 10 meters. Lethality: 100%," the AI warned.
"Kaelen! He's got a thermal detonator!" Zeph yelled.
Kaelen stepped into the light. He looked bored. He walked toward the leader.
"Pull the pin," Kaelen dared him.
"I'll do it!" the leader screamed, his finger hooking the ring.
Kaelen raised his hand. He clenched his fist.
The shadows around the leader's hand—the one holding the grenade—suddenly became solid. They wrapped around his fingers like black duct tape.
"I… I can't move my hand!" the leader panicked. He tried to let go of the grenade, but the shadows held it tight to his palm. He tried to pull the pin, but his other hand was frozen by black tendrils rising from his own shadow.
"You like explosions?" Kaelen asked softly. He walked right up to the man, face to face.
"Please," the leader whimpered. "I was just doing a job."
"So am I," Kaelen said.
He placed his palm on the man's chest.
"Warning," Zeph's AI screamed. "Energy spike detected. Dark Matter buildup. Run."
"Kae, don't!" Zeph yelled. "He's beaten!"
Kaelen didn't listen. A pulse of black energy shot from his hand into the man's chest.
It didn't explode. It imploded.
The leader gasped. His eyes went wide. Then, he simply collapsed. No blood. No wound. He just fell over, dead. His heart had stopped instantly, crushed by a pressure that didn't exist in this dimension.
The grenade rolled out of his hand, unpinned but the safety lever still held down by the shadow residue.
Kaelen picked up the grenade. He tossed it casually in the air and caught it.
"One down," Kaelen said.
Zeph stared at the body. "You killed him."
"He was going to kill us," Kaelen said, searching the dead man's pockets. He pulled out a credit chip. "500 credits. Better than nothing."
"Kae," Zeph walked over, avoiding the man fused into the concrete who was now passing out from shock. "You didn't have to kill him. We could have tied him up. We could have—"
"Could have what?" Kaelen spun around. His eyes were wild. "Called the police? We are the criminals now, Zeph! Wake up!"
He shoved the credits into Zeph's chest.
"This is the world now. You calculate the odds. I finish them."
Zeph looked at the credits. Then he looked at his friend. Kaelen's shadow was stretching out behind him, long and jagged, looking like a demon with claws.
"Observation," the AI whispered, almost too quiet to hear. "Subject Kaelen Thorne is no longer listed as 'Ally'. Reclassifying..."
"Don't," Zeph thought back furiously. "He's my brother."
"Reclassifying to: 'Volatile Asset'."
"Let's go," Kaelen said, turning his back on the carnage. "We need to find a fence for this gear."
Zeph followed. But he made sure to walk a few steps behind. Just in case.