CHAPTER 24: THE ATTACK

BOOM BOOM !!

The loud noise from the marble was heard round the place. Red smoke filled the air.

Winter: (coughs loudly) Are you okay?

Lyla coughs too and gets up from the ground, putting back on her glasses.

Lyla: Yeah.

Winter: Your guess was spot on. If you didn't have it--

Lyla: ( touches her head) I know...I know, we would have been dead by now.

Lyla dusts her cheerleading outfit and looks shocked.

Lyla: What the heck was that?

Winter: I don't know either.

Winter says that while pushing her black hair away from her face.

Winter and Lyla look around to see where the marble came from.

Winter: Hmm, I do feel like someone is someone is watching us.

Lyla: They are probably the ones that tried to kill us.

Winter: Yeah but, the question now is why?.

Just then, a young guy about 18 years with silky black hair in a dark cloak, emerges from the shadows. The girls instantly get defensive. On seeing this, the guy smiles warmly.

Lyla: Who are you?

Winter: Are you the one that tried to kill us?

Lyla and Winter can sense that this man is not just a cute stranger that wants direction.

Winter: Why are you smiling, you ugly creep.

Lyla: Are you the one that tried to kill us?

He doesn't answer them, but suddenly stretches out his hands and a sword appears. He points the sword at the girls. Drops of sweat bead down the girls' heads. He starts walking slowly to the girls with a straight face.

Winter: (Tensed) LYLA RUN!!

Winter and Lyla don't even take a moment to look back, they just start running to anywhere away from him. The man chases after them like a ninja. The girls run faster until they get into an alleyway. The man slows down a bit, as if he was waiting for something or someone.

IN THE ALLEYWAY

Winter and Lyla run as fast as they can into an alleyway. When they arrive there, they crouch down gasping for breath and thinking of a plan.

Lyla checks outside the alleyway and sees no one there. She comes back to Winter and says;

Lyla: I have a plan.

Winter: What is it?

Lyla: Let's split up.

Winter: Hmmm.....ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? If he catches one of us, we are toast.

Lyla: I know, yeah it sounds crazy but staying together won't be any better.

Winter: (sighs) Okay , just explain your plan.

Lyla: We would split up. if we can do that successfully, one of us would be able to distract him, while the other would go to the nearest police department.

Winter: Which is like one block from our houses.

Lyla: Yeah, exactly.

Winter: Okay, let's do this. I will distract him, you run.

Lyla: U sure?

Winter: Yeah. Don't worry, I am certain he wants something from us or else we would be dead by now. So I won't die recklessly.

Lyla then hugs Winter.

Lyla: Be safe and try not to die.

Winter: Yeah, you too.

Winter and Lyla were planning how to stay alive and outrun the man. Little did they know, that the shadows have ears too.

The man they thought they outran was on top of a building by the alleyway the girls were.

Man: They plan to split up.

Person 1: That just makes our work easier.

Soon enough, the man jumps from the building shocking the girls. Winter and Lyla put up a determined face and Winter says;

Winter: NOWW!

Lyla throws her glass powder on the floor. It breaks, creating a smokescreen. Winter tackles the man to the ground while Lyla runs out of the alleyway. The man pushes Winter off him.

Winter: (smiles) It's just two of us now.

The man just brings out his sword. Winter is scared but doesn't show it.

Winter: (moves back) That's right, I'm your target.

The man lungs at her with the sword, but she manages to duck just in time. Unfortunately, some of her black hair with silver ends wasn't lucky. Winter looked at the man as bits of her silver ends falls off. This time, she hides her glass powder inside her pompoms attached to her uniform. Winter throws it at the foot of the man. Another smokescreen is formed, she starts running away doing cartwheels and backflips on any obstacle in her way.

Winter: Thank God I'm a cheerleader.

After running aimlessly for 3 minutes, she got to an end with stacked garbage cans infront of a high iron fence. She turned back and saw him behind her. She knew what she had to do.

Winter jumped on the garbage cans going higher and higher. As she jumped over the fence, he threw something like a spear made of water at her. The spear did not miss its target, piercing the side of Winter's right leg.