Rachel and Zack moved through the night, searching for any signs of Kaine. They had made it several blocks away from the Alpha House, and saw not a glimpse of their attacker. An uncomfortable silence lurked between them.

Zack glanced over at Rachel. She seemed largely unhurt by Kaine’s previous assault. Still, the dried blood on her forehead was concerning, and–

“Don’t do that,” Rachel glanced at him.

“What?” Zack said.

“Worry about me,” Rachel said bluntly. “I’m fine.”

“Bu-” Zack started.

“It looks worse than it is,” Rachel said.

Zack knew better than to argue with Rachel about it, so he dropped the argument.

“Maybe he just gave up,” Rachel said, changing the subject.

“I doubt it,” Zack replied. “We have the Magnometer. And besides, he said he was going to kill us.”

“Which means only one thing,” Rachel caught Zack’s gaze.

“That he’s going to kill us?” Zack raised an eyebrow.

“That he’s trying to lead us into a trap,” Rachel said.

Zack realized this to be true. The further they moved away from the Alpha House, the further they moved away from witnesses, even if most of those witnesses would be hostile to them. There were several blocks between them and Zack’s apartment, and the area in between was largely evacuated.

In short, it was the perfect place to spring an ambush.

Zack looked to Rachel, trying his best to communicate his feelings without talking. They used to be so good at this. From the day they first met, Zack and Rachel had this bond which only grew with time. But two years of trauma and grief had changed all that. Zack had walled himself off from everyone to protect him, but if he wanted to beat Kaine and survive the night, he’d have to bring those walls down once more.

Rachel, for her part, seemed to understand enough. He couldn’t be sure how much. She nodded at him, giving him a small smile that lit a warmth deep within his stomach. The pair turned and began making their way through the empty streets.

Zack knew their opponent had an edge. In addition to being covered head-to-toe in tactical body armor, Kaine just had to wait them out. Sooner or later, they would let their guard down, he would strike, and then it would be over.

Rachel and Zack, however, had an advantage Kaine didn’t know about: their bond. As strained and broken as their relationship was, the pair still could use their connection against Kaine. By syncing their movements, the two could move through the streets as a unit, with Zack keeping an eye out for Kaine while Rachel used her telepathy to find any sign of Kaine’s mind before he struck.

After two more blocks of walking, Zack spotted a shadow, moving silently among the rubble on the rooftops above. He turned to Rachel, doing his best to communicate his thoughts without speaking them. She responded with a barely perceptible nod. The two kept their pace through the streets, not wanting to give their attacker any sign they had already spotted him.

Midway through another step, Zack suddenly felt a shifting wall of muscle and Kevlar between him and Rachel. He immediately moved back, narrowly missing Kaine’s left jab in the process. Kaine had teleported in between them, rapidly turning his attention to Rachel. But Rachel knew she would be the likely target in any attack. Instead, she simply dropped down, avoiding Kaine’s attack for the time being.

Zack moved quickly. Kaine had taken his focus off of him to target Rachel, whose quick maneuver had bought her a few seconds. That was all Zack needed as he leapt into the air, spinning around to deliver a roundhouse kick to Kaine’s bulbous neck. In their last fight, he had judged Kaine’s neck-guard to be the weakest part of his armor, and he had chosen to exploit this weakness yet again.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The attack worked perfectly. Kaine coughed violently from the blow as he staggered back, reeling. This blow set up Rachel’s counterattack as she raised her foot in a sharp high kick to Kaine’s face. The big man, who hadn’t even recovered from Zack’s roundhouse kick, doubled back, with stars in his eyes. He thrashed at the two of them blindly, but Rachel dodged his first attack while Zack blocked the other.

Rachel and Zack moved in for the attack. They knew they wouldn’t get a second chance at this. The second Kaine regained his senses, he would vanish once more, recover, and then start his attack anew.

And the next time, they might not be as lucky.

Rachel followed up her high-kick with a judo chop to the neck. It wasn’t nearly as damaging as Zack’s round–house, but judging from the painful gurgling sound Kaine spurted out, it still had an effect. Zack delivered a powerful right hook to Kaine’s face which sent the big man, now wheezing, staggering back. Rachel dropped down once more to trip the large man. The textbook maneuver had the desired effect, as Kaine topped over with a clattering thud.

Zack immediately climbed onto Kaine and began pummeling the large man with all his might. until Kaine’s face now resembled a squashed tomato. Zack didn’t stop. He kept throwing blows into Kaine’s bloodied face.

“Zack, stop!” Rachel urged, her hand catching Zack’s.

Zack turned to her, as if suddenly aware of her presence once more. He sheepishly stood up.

“He’s out,” Rachel said, stating the obvious. The pair had beaten their attacker unconscious.

The two didn’t say anything. Zack wanted to, but he felt the walls of his mind returning to their natural state. Rachel seemed to sense this, and similarly drew away.

“What do we do with him now?” she said, changing the subject.

Zack looked at their fallen enemy.

“Huh,” he said. “You know, I never thought that far ahead.”

“Big surprise,” Rachel replied.

They couldn’t just leave him as he was. Kaine wouldn’t be too happy when he woke up, and while they had beaten their enemy, they hadn’t incapacitated him in any meaningful way. He would regain consciousness, sooner or later, and once he did, he would try again.

“We’ll call campus security,” Rachel said, removing her phone. “I’ll say he attacked me. I have the bruises to prove it.”

“And then what?” Zack said, gesturing to the fallen Kaine.

“And then I defended myself,” Rachel put her hands on her hips. “I’m a Saber’s TA. They’re not going to question that.”

It made sense. Zack had seen Rachel in action. She handled herself well in the fight. She had come a long way since their sidekick days.

Rachel crossed her arms and regarded Zack for a moment.

“Should I turn over the Magnometer?” she said.

Zack shook his head.

“I’ll turn in the Magnometer to Shaw,” Zack said.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

Zack shrugged and looked away.

“I just want this over,” he said. He wasn’t exactly lying when he said he’d turn over the Magnometer to Shaw. He would do it…as Knightbrand. Shaw wouldn’t question it too much.

And this whole nightmare would be over.

Rachel called the campus police shortly after. After getting off the phone, she turned to him.

“Perry…Blake…” she said. “Do you think…Kaine….”

Zack shook his head. “I don’t know.”

He heard sirens in the distance getting closer and closer.

“You go,” Rachel said. “I got this. Besides, you shouldn’t be around when they question me.”

Zack nodded.

“I’m sure they’re okay,” Zack said.

“Call me the moment you knew,” Rachel said.

“I will,” Zack said. “And Rachel…”

Rachel meant his gaze. There was so much he wanted to say to her right now. But sirens continued to wail through the night, growing ever closer.

“You did good tonight,” he said.

“Yeah,” Rachel smiled. “We did.”

We did.

It would have to be enough. Zack nodded at her before running into the night. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.