As the new group approached, I could hear snippets of their conversation, their voices dripping with cruelty and arrogance.

"Looks like we found ourselves some easy pickings, boys," one of the newcomers drawled, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he hefted a heavy assault rifle.

"You're late," the apparent leader said, a tall man with a wild mane of black hair and a sneer that seemed permanently etched onto his face. "You missed all the fun."

"Yeah," another replied, a woman with a scar running from her temple to her jaw. "We had to take care of a Riftspawn all by ourselves. It was practically a workout."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I tried to control my anger. I couldn't stand the casual cruelty in their voices, the utter disregard for the lives they were about to destroy.

Maddie and her group had already been pushed to their limits, their bodies battered and bruised from their fight with the huge Riftspawn. But even so, they refused to back down, standing tall as they faced their new opponents.

"We don't want any trouble," Maddie said, her voice shaky but determined. Her shotgun was at the ready, though her hands shook ever so slightly. "Just let us be, and we'll go our separate ways."

"Too bad," another newcomer sneered, his grin revealing a row of sharpened teeth, before activating his Interface. "Trouble's found you."

The leader of the new group just laughed, his eyes cold and unfeeling. "You really think you have a choice, sweetheart?" he sneered. "You killed that Riftspawn, and we want the loot. So, you either hand it over, or we take it from your cold, dead hands."

"We won't give in to your threats," Luke said, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to maintain a brave front. "We fought hard for our victory, and we're not giving it up without a fight."

The woman with the scar smirked, her eyes narrowing as she took a step forward. "Then, a fight is what you'll get," she said, cracking her knuckles ominously.

Inside, I was screaming at myself to do something, anything to help Maddie and her friends. But the cold, rational part of my mind knew that it would be suicide to reveal myself now. If I stepped in, I'd be dooming myself along with them. I had to stay hidden, to survive.

As the tension in the air grew thick, the two groups stared each other down, neither side willing to back down. It was only a matter of time before the situation exploded into violence, and I felt like I was watching a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the fuse to burn down to its inevitable conclusion.

Finally, the leader of the new group broke the silence, his voice dripping with malice.

"Alright, then," he said, a twisted smile curling on his lips before activating his Interface. "Let's dance."

And with that, all hell broke loose.

----------------------------------------

The air was filled with the deafening sounds of gunfire, punctuated by the hiss and crackle of Psionic energy. The two groups danced around each other, ducking behind cover and firing off shots whenever an opening presented itself.

Maddie, despite her exhaustion, was a force to be reckoned with. Her shotgun roared like thunder, sending buckshot tearing through the air. Fire danced at her fingertips, and she sent a wave of flames barreling towards the enemy, forcing them to scatter or be consumed.

Ben was right beside her, his eyes glowing with fierce determination. He raised his hands, and the air around him shimmered as if distorted by heat.

A hail of bullets flew towards him, only to be halted in their tracks, suspended in mid-air by his energy manipulation. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the bullets flying back towards their attackers.

Luke focused his telekinesis, lifting chunks of debris from the ground and launching them like missiles at the new group.

Sarah created a frosty ballet of ice and snow, sending shards of razor-sharp ice hurtling towards the enemy.

For a short while, it seemed like Maggie’s group was holding their own, but their adversaries were relentless.

I watched as one of them, a man with a shaved head and a tattoo of a snake coiling around his arm, unleashed a wave of ear-splitting sound, shattering windows and disorienting Maddie's group.

Maddie unleashed a torrent of flames, forcing the scarred woman back. The heat was so intense I could feel it from my hiding place. Another member of the opposing group countered, blasting a gust of wind that dispersed the fire.

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Maddie dodged a wickedly sharp knife thrown by the scarred woman, the blade whistling past her head.

Luke and Sarah, their backs pressed together, worked in perfect tandem. Luke's telekinesis directed an onslaught of flying debris, forcing the enemies to take cover. Sarah's ice powers filled the gaps in their defense, using her ice shards to keep them pinned down and vulnerable.

Ben tried to create a barrier of energy around his friends, a desperate attempt to buy them some time. However, the leader of the new group finally started to make his move.

He raised his hands and the ground beneath Ben's feet began to rumble. Huge chunks of concrete and asphalt tore from the ground, smashing into the barrier and shattering it. He then slammed Ben backward into a pile of rubble, the impact shaking the ground beneath me.

Sarah hurled icicles at the leader, but he willed the ground to rise, creating an impromptu shield of dirt and rock that intercepted her projectiles.

Maddie continued her fierce duel with the scarred woman, their movements a blur of speed and precision. Maddie narrowly dodged another knife, only for the scarred woman to follow up with a brutal kick that sent Maddie sprawling. The woman's laughter rang through the air, cruel and mocking.

Meanwhile, Ben, struggling to stay on his feet, tried to hold off the earth-manipulating leader. He created another energy barrier, only for the leader to shatter it again with a barrage of jagged stone. Ben stumbled back as the leader advanced.

Luke and Sarah continued to fight back to back, but the enemy was closing in. A burly man with a mohawk grabbed Luke's arm and twisted, the sickening snap of bone echoing through the air. Luke screamed in pain, his telekinesis faltering as his focus shattered.

Sarah, her ice shards continuing to fly, turned to help her friend, but was caught off guard by a swift kick to the stomach that sent her sprawling. She tried to regain her footing, but the icy ground she had created betrayed her, and she slipped, falling hard onto her back.

Luke, his arm dangling uselessly at his side, roared in defiance as he used his telekinesis to hurl the bulky man into a nearby wall.

Trembling with rage and fear, Luke tried to use his telekinesis to hurl debris at their attackers. But his exhausted mind couldn't maintain its grip on the objects, and they fell to the ground, useless.

The bulky man with a mohawk recovered and charged at Luke, tackling him to the ground and pummeling him mercilessly.

The leader of the attackers laughed as he closed in on Ben.

Ben tried to muster the strength to form another barrier, but the leader was too fast, too relentless. He raised a massive slab of concrete and hurled it towards Ben with terrifying force. The slab collided with Ben's body, the sickening crunch of bones breaking echoing through the air. Ben was flung into the rubble, motionless.

The leader of the cruel group, having dispatched Ben, turned his attention to Maddie. He raised his hands, and a massive pillar of earth erupted from the ground, slamming into Maddie and pinning her against a wall. She screamed in pain, her fire flickering and fading.

The scarred woman approached Maddie who was barely conscious, raised her knife, and brought it down into Maddie’s chest, silencing her once and for all.

Luke, battered and bruised, tried crawling away from the mohawked brute, his fingers digging into the ground, leaving bloody trails. The brute sneered and raised his boot, aiming it at Luke's face. The crunch of bone and Luke's pained scream filled the air, chilling me to my core.

Sarah, her eyes filled with tears, tried to stand, but her legs buckled beneath her. She stared at her fallen friends and sobbed.

The leader approached her, his steps slow and deliberate, the earth rumbling beneath him with each stride. As he stood over Sarah, he deactivated his Interface revealing a twisted smile. He raised his hand and the ground beneath her began to crack.

Sarah closed her eyes, her body shaking, as she whispered a final, desperate plea. "Please..."

The ground erupted, swallowing her whole, her cry cut short.

Silence fell over the battlefield, the only sound was the cruel group's cruel laughter echoing in the air.

The attackers laughed and jeered, their eyes alight with sadistic glee as they looted the fallen, taking everything they could carry.

"Hey, check this out!" one of the attackers called out, holding up Ben's energy rifle with a sinister grin. "Not a bad find, eh? Maybe I'll keep it as a little souvenir."

The scarred woman sneered and chimed in. "Yeah, not bad. Maybe we should thank them for being such easy prey."

The laughter grew louder, the sound cutting through me like a knife.

The leader sauntered over to Maddie's body, his boots crunching on the broken glass that littered the ground. He crouched down, rifling through her pockets, and then pulled out a small, silver locket.

"Looks like our little pyro had a sweetheart," he drawled, opening the locket to reveal a picture of a young couple, their faces full of hope and love. "Too bad he couldn't protect her."

He tossed the locket aside, the precious keepsake clattering to the ground like so much worthless trash. My blood boiled, rage coursing through me at the callous disregard for the lives they had so brutally taken.

I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white, my body trembling with anger and grief. I wanted to scream in rage. But I couldn't. I had to stay hidden, to stay alive—waiting for them to leave so I could safely escape.

Another member of the group, a thin, wiry man with a vicious smile, casually tossed aside Luke’s gauntlets. "These things are useless," he scoffed. "But hey, his boots are pretty nice. I think I'll take those."

As they continued to desecrate the bodies of the fallen group, I couldn't help but compare them to the friends they had just murdered. The camaraderie and banter I had witnessed earlier had been warm and genuine, a testament to the bond they had shared. But this new group's laughter was cold and hollow, a cruel mockery that twisted my stomach into knots.

The leader straightened up, surveying the scene with a satisfied smirk. "Alright, boys and girls," he said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "We've had our fun. Let's move and find the next group of fools."