First Combat

"If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again."

-Malcom X

*****

Sweat started to bead up on my neck. I'd always lived in this crappy neighborhood, but I'd never been robbed before. The sensation of having a gun pressed against my back was unique; almost like I could feel the Grim Reaper's hand wrap around my shoulder. I slowly raised my hands. I didn't say a word. My lips were trembling and my throat felt frozen shut. I felt a hand digging in my pocket. Fuck… I thought I was getting stronger, but now that I'm met with a threat outside of my stupid fucking daydreams I can't even speak a word of resistance. God damn it. I let the mugger dig out my wallet as I resented myself, hoping he'd just leave soon before my pride fell and further.

And then-

*Thump*

His hand went limp as I heard him fall behind me. Where the gun had been pressed against me still felt cold, but the weapon itself was absent. I heard it clatter to the ground with him. There was a moment of silence. And then, that silence turned into grating white noise. I didn't even turn around. I activated wind step and started to run. Something dangerous was behind me. I could feel it there. Using wind step, I jumped to the top of a building, hoping to lose whatever it was that was on my tail. I looked down.

And there, in the alleyway, was a strange, smoky figure, composed of black static that took the vague shifting form of a dog. Back where I'd been robbed, I saw the man who'd held that gun against me, and brought me into such a state of fear. His head was now gone.

The static started to move as it leaped up towards me. I ran, but it became rapidly apparent that even with wind step, this thing was faster than me. I desperately started casting minor discharge, dragging my finger across the ground as I ran creating a trail of explosive liquid. Countless lines extended from the tip of my pointer, and as the dog approached the position of the explosive, I started to detonate them.

Ǵ̸̻͋̕͝R̸̲̺̼͓̬̉̅͗̄̆H̷̘̽̅́̋͝Ṡ̵͖̤̺̘̲̊͌̄̓̏͘̕͝G̸̢̖̬̪̜̣̫͎̥͒̄͠͝H̴̭̠͑͛̓̊̆̏͒͐̉͝S̶̰͕̫͎̟̤̔͆̑͆͋͜K̵̛̜̆̆̏̽̇͝Ş̴̛̼̟͉̤̺͉̝͚̇̍̃͂B̴̝̦͍̗̹̺̿͑ͅS̸̛̯̣̳̲̗̮̦̔͊͗͗͑́̈́͝K̷̺̗̲̙̄̓́K̷͚̼̰̩͆̅͊͌̈́!̶̩̟̩̜̙̗͎̟̥̈́͆͗̽̊̈́̚͘!̶͈͐̎̓́͌̓̊͠!̴̨̰̰͝!̶̰̥̕

A foul scream emanated from the beast. But it continued to give chase unimpeded. What the fuck was this thing's weakness?! In extreme desperation I just continued the pattern of laying down explosives to slow it down as I ran away. Holes were blown into the tops of the buildings, too, causing it to occasionally fall or get stuck or trip, which allowed me to gain a bit of distance of it. Eventually, I reached the end of the stretch of buildings and jumped down to the main road. Before I could even catch my breath, I realized. I was surrounded.

"Kid! I won't say it twice! Put your hands in the air!"

What the hell was this? It was a cop. He started to approach me, his firearm locked onto my position. I started to move, but he fired a warning shot. I put my hands in the air.

"Fuck! You don't understand, we need to run!"

I'd seen what the static had done. It made that mugger's head disappear off his neck. It would do the same to us.

"You need to get the fuck out of here!"

The cop continued to approach. I didn't know how much time I had left before the static caught up. Fuck it. I don't have time for this. Using wind step, I dashed left.

BANG!

Suddenly my left leg felt numb. I couldn't run. I collapsed on the ground. God damn it… why is this old ass cop such a good shot..

"You don't get it… *cough* we need to go…"

The officer placed his knee on my back and grabbed both of my arms.

"Headless Horseman, You are under arrest on six counts of murder of the third degree, two counts of murder of the first degree, and one count of resisting arrest. You have the right to remain silent. you have the right to an…"

His words didn't reach my ears. I was too focused on the threat that had finally caught up to us.

"Look… over…"

The cop didn't listen. He just kept talking as he started to cuff my wrists. Fuck. I'm sorry, mister.

"Minor Discharge"

I touched his wrist with the tip of my pointer and severed the connection.

"AGH! YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

He fell back on his ass and clutched his severed wrist before quickly reaching for his gun. It was too late. The static was leaping towards us. I lunged behind the cop with my still functioning leg and grabbed him by his collar.

I was gonna save him. I didn't blame him for trying to arrest me after all the chaos I'd caused, setting explosions off all over. I bet he thought I killed that mugger. That's okay. I'm gonna save him.

I started to drag him with me, trying with tears in my eyes to pull us somewhere safe. And then, within a split second, he became lighter. I looked back. I was carrying a headless corpse.

Before me was the static. I grabbed the officers gun out of his holster and started to shoot. I didn't even know why I was doing it. This thing seemed invincible. It slowly approached, being barely hindered by every shot I took until-

CRACK!

The static dispersed. On the ground where it had been were fragments of what looked like black glass.

A… lucky shot? It started to rain.

"Ack-"

I clutched my leg where I'd been shot. It seemed like my adrenaline was wearing off as the pain started to kick in. Fuck. I've never felt anything like this before. I looked at the headless corpse of the officer. There was no way I could stay here. I tried to get up, but the moment I managed to stand on my good leg I collapsed right back down. I had no stamina. Little mana. I couldn't even cast wind step again. So I started to drag myself forward in the rain, with no destination, my blood and the blood of the officer I'd tried to save spreading out into the puddles being made around me. I found a manhole cover. I was too weak to lift it. Fuck. I have to lift it. I have to.

One more small spike of adrenaline allowed my body just enough strength to lift it enough to slip through. I tried to climb down the ladder, but my wet and bloody hands slipped and I broke my other leg landing in the sewer. God damn it. I still had to move.

So I crawled.

I'm cold.

I'm hungry.

I'm alone.

I wanna go home.

I started to cry. I didn't want this. I just wanted to be okay. But even if I went home, there was nobody there to help me, or make me feel any better. I was completely alone, and I had to keep moving. So I did. I crawled for hours, until my head was dizzy from blood loss and I couldn't crawl any more. And then I fell asleep.

*****

"What the hell happened here?"

An officer was standing in the rain over another's headless body.

"Sir! Another corpse was found down on sixth. Forensics identified him as a William Campbell. Repeat offender."

The man was Detective Collins. He took a puff of a long cigarette.

"It's the headless horseman."

He'd been hunting a local serial killer for months now. The victims all presented with a missing head and no sign of a struggle. The heads were never found.

"Fucking sicko. Check CCTV and get an ID. I'm going home."

"Sir! There's something else!"

Hm?

"The victim had a wallet in his hands. There was a school ID inside. Issued to a 'Calvin Sanchez'."

Detective Collins, as he got into his brown Mercedes and started the engine, replied

"Get it to evidence. Tomorrow, we hunt."

He was going to catch this bastard. It's what he did. He solved puzzles- and around here, this was the most interesting puzzle of them all. Detective Collins grinned devilishly.

"You can't run for long, Horseman."

*****

[Name: Calvin Sanchez]

[Title: Librarian Operator]

[Skills:]

[Minor Discharge /Active/ [LVL 1:

Conjures a small explosion.]

[Wind Step /Active/ [LVL 1]:

Manipulates the wind to increase the caster's agility, as well as reducing their weight.]

[Counterfeit Mana /Active/ [LVL 1]:

Upon activation, your mana will appear to be far greater in density than it really is, attracting greater quantities of mana at a much faster rate and creating a more threatening aura within your mana reservoir.]

[Interpreter (2/5) /Active/ [LVL 2]:

Learn any language recorded in the Library by hearing it spoken or seeing it written and subsequently activating the skill.]

[Book Search /Active/ [LVL MAX]:

Search the records of the Library for a specific book by title or keywords.]

[Body:

Human Body (Librarian Enhancement)

An above average earthen human body enhanced by mana. Beginner level mana reservoir. Above average musculature. Above average intelligence due to containing the power of the Library.]

[Authorities:]

[Authority of the Library Operator]

[Binds:]