Kaedin Marsh

I gather my hunting weapons: a traditional bow and some knives, and jog across town to the hangar. Quenin isn't there yet, so I ready our mag-lev bikes and wait. She comes running through the hanger doors, pushing up the sleeves of her black jacket, which still has a few bloodstains that probably didn't come out. We mount our bikes and slowly float out of the hangar and through the streets. Once we clear the Shield, Quenin speeds up, and Quicksilver's engine hums softly as she shoots ahead of me. I speed up and chase her through the trees, weaving around hanging branches and over burned tree scraps.

When I reach her, I bump her bike with mine. Quenin increases her speed, even more, bumping the front of my bike with the rear of hers just enough to send me reeling to the side. I swerve to avoid the pine tree on my left and regain control of the bike. Quenin disappears around a tree ahead of me and I lose sight of her. I speed up and round a thick oak tree, nearly crashing into Quenin. The front point of my bike lowers and the back raises into the air as I slam on the brakes. I lean back to stay in the seat. Quenin is laughing at me again. Figures.

"Slick," is all she says.

We dismount from our bikes but leave them on. These days, who knows when we'll have to make a quick escape.

The two of us gather our hunting weapons. Like me, Quenin also has her guns. I buckle the belt with my holsters and guns around my waist, give Quenin a thumbs-up, and she leads me away from the open bike area and into the trees.

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I strap my game bag and hunting weapons to the back of my bike and climb onto it, leaving my guns strapped around my waist. Hunting wasn't great. Even though Quenin and I had gone much farther into the woods than usual, few animals worthy of being killed had been around. Most were still far away because of the fighting. The two of us speed back to the city.

As we near it, I hear shouts and screams of people and the buzzing and banging of guns. I look over at Quenin. The two of us speed up, and I draw one of my guns while keeping my other hand on the steering. As we burst from the cover of the trees, the two of us stop our bikes and observe the scene in front of us. Five silver-plated warships hover in the sky, with two more on the ground. Zhahurans and Earth humans fall to the ground, never to get up again. Bullets and bolts of energy fly through the air and explosions shake the ground. Smoke rises from the carcasses of fallen vehicles and makes my eyes water.

I look at Quenin. "Well, I'll see you later, I guess."

She looks back and nods. "Don't die, or I'll kill you."

The two of us start our engines and speed in different directions.