"Things Gone Wrong"

"I want your hands in the air and slowly turn behind," a voice commanded, the sound of a gun reloading echoing through the night. Kal and Eadric raised their hands and started turning around. A soldier with a scarred face was standing in front with his rifle pointed at them.

"Take off the silhouette from your face," the man said.

They were a few meters apart, so running out of the gun's range was not an option. An eerie silence broke out between them, with nothing but the slow thumping of heartbeats and slow breathing filling the air.

"Eadric, listen to me carefully," Kal's voice rang in Eadric's head. This was the ability of a heartseer. They could read thoughts and transmit their voice into a person's head.

"I will distract him while taking off my silhouette. I want you to take that opportunity to attack him," Kal transmitted his voice, "There won't be a second chance so make it count." Kal transmitted his plan in Eadric's mind.

They were in a dark alleyway with only the moon lighting it up scarcely.

Kal slowly raised his hand, feeling the rough fabric of the cloth covering his face. He kept his gaze on the guard, reading his every thought and movement. In one swift motion, he pulled off the cloth and hurled it toward the soldier, obscuring his vision.

In that split second, when the vision of the guard was obscured, Eadric moved with a feral intensity sliding behind the guard. His whole body was engulfed in a ferocious violet aura. With a swift hand moment, he brandished his hand knife that they had sneaked past into the city and attacked the back of his neck, fully intending to kill him in a single attack.

The knife slashed through the air moments away from striking the target, however, his opponent was nothing to scoff at. Sensing Eadric behind his back, he instinctually ducked to dodge the attack but it cut open the side of his face.

The guard instantly distanced themselves and aimed his gun to fire. But without giving him a moment Kal was already onto him, his body enforced with 'Psionyx'.

'He is aiming for my heart,' he could read the opponent's thoughts.

The soldier pulled the trigger with the hammer of the gun cocked and a bullet left the chamber. A shot rang throughout the silent night. Kal sidestepped and pierced his knife into the guard's hand, tearing his flesh and dismembering two of his fingers, rendering him unarmed. Blood came flowing out of the grotesque wound, splashing on the ground below and staining it crimson.

"Ahh!!" the soldier let out a painful groan echoing in the alley. He fell to his knees and pressed his wound to stop the blood from pouring out. He was completely helpless in the face of his impending death.

"Please, don't kill me!" the soldier pleaded, "I have a wife and a son waiting for me back home." He took a photo from inside his pocket with his bloody hands and showed it to Kal.

"Let me go! Please, I will do anything you say!" Tears were falling from his eyes and his body was trembling in fear. Kal came close to him, with the blood-stained knife in his hand. His face neither showed empathy nor guilt, just a blank expression devoid of any emotion. He flicked his finger and the pained expression on the soldier's face eased down. It was another ability of a heartseer, to control one's senses.

"I am sorry!" he slashed open the soldier's throat and blood splashed on his face, making his face twitch. The soldier fell to the ground holding his throat, but it wasn't because he was feeling pain. Rather, it was more of an instinctual reaction.

"Let's go, more soldiers will be here soon," Kal said to him. The gunfire had alerted the nearby soldiers and they were already on the move. Sounds of soldiers' heavy footsteps and flashing of lights in search of the culprits had awakened the whole city.

All the alleys through which they were supposed to stealthily move were being searched by soldiers. Kal and Eadric had only one option left and it was the most risky one. They spotted a set of sewage pipes that led up to the rooftops of one of the nearby houses. Kal and Eadric scrambled up the sewage pipes, their hands slipping on the damp metal, and emerged onto the rooftop,

The rooftops were a maze of chimneys, skylights, and shingles, with only the occasional clothesline or drainpipe to guide them. The night air was cool and crisp, and the moon cast an eerie glow over the city. They could hear the city watch searching for them below.

"We need to keep moving," Kal said, his voice low.

Eadric nodded, and the two men began to leap from rooftop to rooftop. But their luck ran out when they reached a particularly wide gap between two buildings. He spotted a chimney stack a few buildings away and nodded toward it. Eadric followed closely behind as they sprinted toward the edge of the roof.

Without breaking stride, Kal launched himself into the air, his body twisting and turning as he soared over the gap. He landed on the opposite roof with a soft thud, then turned to help Eadric. The moment Eadric leaped towards him, a bullet hit the spot where he was supposed to stick his foot. His foot slipped on a loose shingle, and he stumbled in mid-air and fell from the rooftop.

"Eadric!" Kal shouted.

Luckily, Eadric grabbed hold of a clothesline that was strung across the alleyway. The line snapped under his weight, but it slowed his fall just enough for him to crash into a stack of crates, breaking his fall.

Eadric coughed up a mouthful of blood, trying to get up. But before he could catch his breath, the soldiers were already on him. A hail of bullets whizzed past him and one of them hit Kal, who was trying to climb down. Although their clothes were enhanced and bulletproof, it was still painful.

"Meet me at the taverns in the east. We have an emergency escape route there," Kal channeled his words to him and went in the direction of soldiers that were coming toward Eadric, to buy him some time to escape.

"Father!"

"Run, I can't hold them for long!"

"But-"

"Just go, you fool," Eadric pleas were interjected by Kal's stern instructions, and the only thing he could do was comply.