"Three seconds," Zeph murmured under his breath.
The head bounty hunter, a gigantic figure with a mechanical jaw, cocked his shotgun. "Looking to die, kid? Where's your sidekick?"
Zeph lifted his arms higher. "He had a dental appointment. Vital, you know. Ever tried getting an appointment in this city?"
His comment was met with a harsh, mocking laughter from the hunters.
"Finish him," commanded the leader.
"Combat Solution Loaded," the AI chimed in. "Duck."
Without a moment's hesitation, Zeph dropped flat on his belly.
BOOM.
A shotgun blast ripped through the air, narrowly missing where his head had been just a split second ago.
Simultaneously, a shadowy figure rose behind the hunters.
It was not a man stepping out from the shadows, rather the darkness itself morphing into a man.
Kaelen appeared behind the sniper to the left. No weapon in hand, he simply laid his hand on the man's shoulder.
"Down," Kaelen whispered gently.
He gave a soft push.
Normally, a man would just fall to the ground. But the ground beneath the sniper turned unusually soft, like ink-based quicksand. He screamed as he sank into the concrete up to his waist before it hardened back again.
Snap.
Trapped in the street, fused with the pavement, the sniper howled in pain.
"What in the...?!" The leader spun around. "Fire at will!"
Bullets showered the alleyway. Kaelen didn't dodge but dissolved into smoke, swirling around bullets, then reassembled three feet to the right.
"Ghost!" a hunter shrieked, backing away. "He's a ghost!"
"I'm not a ghost," Kaelen retorted, his voice echoing from every direction. "I'm the grave."
In the midst of their panic, Zeph seized his chance to move.
"Trajectory computed. Ricochet angle: 45 degrees."
Zeph picked up an abandoned soda can and threw it with force. It bounced off a dumpster, hit a fire escape ladder, and smacked into the third hunter's temple.
DONG.
The hunter fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Great shot!" Zeph cheered, quickly getting to his feet.
Only the leader was left now. The large man with the metallic jaw. He was shaking, his eyes darting between Zeph and the shadowy figure.
"Stay back!" the leader roared, pulling a grenade from his belt. "I'll blow us all up!"
"Bad move," Zeph remarked.
"Explosive radius: 10 meters. Lethality: 100%," the AI cautioned.
"Kaelen! He's got a thermal grenade!" Zeph hollered.
Kaelen stepped into the light, his expression indifferent. He walked towards the leader.
"Pull the pin," Kaelen dared him.
"I'll do it!" the leader threatened, his finger around the ring.
Kaelen raised his hand. He tightly clenched his fist.
The shadows around the leader's hand, the one holding the grenade, abruptly solidified. They wrapped around his fingers like black tape.
"I... I can't move my hand!" the leader panicked. Despite his efforts, the grenade remained glued to his palm by the shadows, and his other hand was immobilized by dark tendrils sprouting from his own shadow.
"Fond of explosions?" Kaelen asked softly. He walked right up to the man, face to face.
"Please," the leader pleaded. "I was just doing my job."
"So am I," Kaelen responded calmly.
He placed his palm on the man's chest.
"Warning," Zeph's AI screamed. "Energy spike detected. Dark Matter buildup. Run."
"Kae, stop!" Zeph pleaded. "He's defeated!"
Kaelen ignored him. A wave of black energy surged from his hand into the man's chest.
It didn't explode. It imploded.
The leader gasped, eyes wide. Then, he simply collapsed. Dead. No blood. No wound. His heart had stopped instantly, crushed by a pressure alien to 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 casually tossed it in the air and caught it.
"One down," Kaelen declared.
Zeph stared at the lifeless body. "You killed him."
"He was going to kill us," Kaelen retorted, rummaging through the dead man's pockets. He pulled out a credit chip. "500 credits. It's something."
"Kae," Zeph approached him, sidestepping the man fused into the concrete who was now fainting from shock. "You didn't have to kill him. We could have restrained him. We could have—"
"Could have what?" Kaelen interrupted, spinning around. His eyes were wild. "Called the police? We are the outlaws now, Zeph! Wake up!"
He shoved the credits into Zeph's chest.
"This is how it is now. You figure out the probabilities. I take care of the rest."
Zeph looked at the credits, then at his friend. Kaelen's shadow stretched out behind him, long and jagged, resembling a demon with claws.
"Observation," the AI whispered, almost imperceptibly. "Subject Kaelen Thorne is being reclassified from 'Ally'."
"Don't," Zeph thought back vehemently. "He's my brother."
"Reclassifying to: 'Volatile Asset'."
"Let's go," Kaelen said, turning his back on the carnage. "We need to fence this gear."
Zeph followed, but maintained a safe distance. Just in case.