I expected Grim’s shadow to lurch away from the geyser like a frightened cat. To my surprise, he didn’t.
For a split second, I believed we were mistaken and that I had just thrown myself in front of him without any way to fight back. The water erupted from the fire hydrant shot up, disappearing into the shadow, just like everything he consumed.
Grim’s speed suddenly increased, but his movement was different than before. While a good portion of his smoke-like body surged towards me, the part of him that made contact with the water struggled to keep up. Those parts of him began to drip like ink, splashing the street below.
Unfortunately, that was all the time I could spare. If I didn’t move now, I’d never get the chance.
The engine roared, and I turned left, speeding down the street.
“He’s on me! Following the first route!”
Buildings whipped past me as my speed climbed. I wouldn’t say my driving was stellar or even good, but it helped that I was driving a Mechatech bike designed for this. The tires and build of the vehicle annihilated any small debris in my way, and we’d deliberately planned the route with lots of long straights so I could see obstacles like destroyed cars well before they became a problem.
“Focus up kid. He’s on you now. If you mess up, nobodies going to be brave enough to save you.”
“Not gonna fuck this up,” I replied. Despite my situation, I felt confident. I could see Grim in my rearview. He was faster than most people suspected, just like Alice had said. Once we revealed his weakness, he’d tunnel vision for the kill. “This bastard is going down tonight, I don’t care if it’s into ECU custody or a body bag!”
I revved the engine and roared into another street.
My chest was thumping, and my blood felt like liquid fire. If this went how we expected, I’d arrive at the end of the first route in fifty-six seconds.
First turn.
I could see it up ahead on the right, getting closer by the second. The building on the right corner was partially collapsed, in flames, and smoking. The building on the opposite side of the street was in better condition, and it looked like there were people inside – Cain thugs.
If they had weapons, they didn’t look like they intended to use them on me.
As I closed in on the turn, I hit the brakes and leaned right while keeping an eye on my side mirrors. Grim couldn’t have been more than twenty or thirty meters behind me. I glided into the street, taking an audaciously wide arc. I almost clipped the curb but recovered quickly by yanking the throttle down.
I lurched forward as Grim’s shadow swerved into the street to give chase.
Three more turns!
I caught a glimmer up ahead. One of Mia’s statues knelt over another fire hydrant, waiting for me to pass by. I zoomed past, and a moment later, there was a loud pop and a whoosh of water as the statue ripped the fire hydrant out of the ground.
That removed the last potential problem with the plan. Alice hadn’t been sure how Grim perceived his surroundings, and there was a chance that whatever method he used could have prevented Mia’s statues from moving. Well, how he did so didn't matter anymore; Mia was able to help.
Second turn.
I ripped into the next street on my route and found it occupied. There was a skirmish between some of The Cains and Pandora. I recognized Chiller, but the super he was fighting was a mystery. She was some girl with six arms, bouncing around the street to avoid his rays of frost.
As I thundered towards them, I tried to maneuver out of the way, but she heard me coming. She leaped out of the way of another ice blast and landed on the front of my bike. My heart exploded as I tried to steady the bike from the sudden additional weight. I began to wobble, and I half expected to crash.
“Get off!” I lashed out angrily, my extendable blade shooting out of its sheath. The steel plunged into her thigh, splattering my visor with blood. The super screamed and clamped two of her arms onto my helmet for stability.
I ripped out my blade and slashed again.
One of her arms fell off, and she disappeared from my bike with a high-pitched squeal. The winds ripped her away, and I saw her tumbling across the pavement, leaving behind an ugly smear of red in my mirrors. I didn’t even get time to see if she was alive before Grim’s shadow swallowed her whole.
I regained control of my bike and sped up. I didn’t recognize the Super, so chances are she had been new. Hell, I had no idea if she was even part of the Cains or not. She could have been since she was fighting Chiller.
I wiped the blood off my visor and tried to steady my breathing.
168 BPM.
I caught the little number on my visor out of the corner of my eye. I had never seen my heart rate that high before.
“Speed up! He’s gaining on you!” The urgency in The Old Man’s voice had me bordering on panic.
I grunted and pulled down on the throttle. That hiccup had cost me precious distance. It was hard to believe that Grim was this fast. I recalled managing to get away from him on foot while carrying Mia. He had been slow because he lost momentum when he collided with the ECU’s light barrier. Even then, he almost caught me.
According to Alice, Grim had been more concerned with the Bunker and his special projects than killing me. To him, I was just an inconsequential bystander that happened to be there. He either hadn’t perceived Mia in my arms, didn’t care, or didn’t realize she was one of the test subjects Splicer was working on. If Grim wanted to kill me, he could have.
Now, he had the perfect opportunity.
Third turn.
It was chaos.
I spotted Lich and Dreamweaver supporting ECU soldiers against Cain and Pandora fighters. They were trying to minimize the casualties by getting both sides to stop, but ultimately, it seemed all they were doing was adding fuel to the fire. It was a three-way battle, and I was on a collision course.
“I thought you said my routes would be clear, Alice!”
“The fights are always moving and I can’t see the future, Upgrade. Every other way has too much debris, this route is still your best bet!”
A few seconds later, I was barreling through them.
I flattened a dozen skeletal soldiers Lich had conjured into bone dust before a light flash banged me. Gold Rush was appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye, looking to be in a fierce exchange with Dreamweaver’s projections. Constructs that looked to be bluish-purple fireflies attacked Gold Rush and the offending parties. I saw various animals, shapes of inanimate objects, and flowing trails of color erupting out of Dreamweaver, who stood within a protective shield of a similar nature.
I needed to give her a wide berth, or I’d crash into her projections.
Bullets pinged off me as I swerved, but it wasn’t long before the fighting turned to panicked screams.
With Grim on my tail, none wanted to be in his path. Cain and Pandora's fighters retreated, throwing themselves from whatever cover into the nearest alleyway to avoid the oncoming shadow. Dreamweaver pulled all ECU soldiers to her with tendrils of glowing lights before retreating upward into the sky. Whatever she constructed was big, and it lifted them all to safety. Lich, unfortunately, was left behind. But as I sped by him, he appeared entirely calm.
Whatever became of him, I wasn’t able to see.
At the end of the street, I caught sight of another of Mia’s statues next to a fire hydrant. There was my next checkpoint.
I passed her, and another whooshing sound of water erupted behind me. I checked my mirrors to find that Grim had entirely evaded that attempt. It looked like he’d clued into what we were doing, which gave me a sinking feeling that the first plan was a bust. There was no chance I could lead him to the harbor’s edge without him realizing.
I saw my last turn coming up.
As I pulled into this one, I spotted the harbor up ahead. I gunned for it, keeping an eye on Grim as he followed. Blood thundered in my ears as I got closer. I couldn’t believe it. Was he actually going to fall for it? Had we all given him too much credit and assumed he’d figure out what I was doing?
I hit the brakes and skidded across the tarmac before stopping at the edge. All that separated me and the harbor’s ocean was a sidewalk, a railing, and jagged rocks. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to see when I gazed out across the water – uncertain what effect Anomaly would have on a body of water this large.
A colossal whirlpool at the center of the harbor had formed. It was so big that it capsized and dragged in almost every docked boat. Even one of the larger cargo ships was struggling to stay upright.
Nothing Abby and her mum can’t fix.
I would have marveled at the sight longer if I had the time, but unfortunately, I didn’t. I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at the water, readying my signal for Anomaly to strike. I turned and watched as Grim closed the distance, his deathly shadow covering the ground between us. This was the moment of truth – I was placing my life in Anomaly’s hands.
Just as I began to squeeze the trigger, Grim’s shadow surged upward into the sky, looping a few times before coming to a halt. He hovered a good fifty meters away as if to observe me.
He came no closer. Instead, after a few short moments, I watched in dismay as his shadow cloud began to inch backward.
“He didn’t fall for it,” The Old Man’s voice came through. “Figures, that would’ve been too easy.”
“I fucking know,” I growled, reholstering my pistol. I scowled as Grim continued to drift away. Despite the chase halting, I felt like I could feel his attention lock onto me. He was going to wait for me to move away from the ocean. “Plan B then.”
“Damn! Oh well. We figured he’d see through this one. Still, can’t fault us for trying,” Alice chirped on the other end. “Repositioning! Give me a few seconds.”
I waited, not daring to take my eyes off Grim.
Our stalemate had drawn a large amount of attention, and from the sounds of it, it seemed the fighting had momentarily paused. I spotted Comet’s sparkling trail against the blackened backdrop of the smoky sky. She kept her distance, but I was surprised to see her out here. If the Rookies were out here, then the ECU really wanted all hands on deck.
She wasn’t the only flier in the sky. There were several aerial ECU transports that lingered a fair distance away as well – likely being informed that landing anywhere in the war zone was suicide.
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Although it was harder to see, my visor picked up Domination gliding close to Comet. Sparrow was also observing. There were likely more – many more – watching. I had no doubt a lot of Pandora had also taken a keen interest in what I was doing, seeing as I had Grim’s sole focus.
All eyes on me, indeed.
I hadn’t thought about what Francis had said. I was too focused on keeping myself alive. Now that I could see how much attention was really on me, I couldn’t deny the anxiety that bubbled in my chest.
“I’m here,” Alice radioed through. “You need to draw his attention away from the harbor, otherwise he’s going to figure out what we’re doing. Then we really are screwed.”
“This plan…” I murmured. I had hoped Grim would be stupid enough to fall for our first attempt to down him. Plan A was relatively simple and minimized damage to the city. It was the ideal outcome but banked on Grim being careless. Plan B was not nearly as courteous and involved copious amounts of damage to Bayside. “A lot of people are going to get hurt.”
“That’s a given,” Francis replied wearily. “Sometimes, there are no good choices.”
“It’s our best shot,” Alice said. “Come on, Upgrade. Let’s end this.”
I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself.
Round two.
The engine roared as I took off again. Grim’s cloud picked up speed to keep up with me. He wasn’t about to let me back inland without a fight.
I sped along the harbor-side road, eyeing Grim and my new route. The first turn would be coming up, and I needed to get ahead of him. My bike had superior speed, and I was managing to edge ahead. I felt a smirk cross my lips as Grim began to slow down as I was well and truly moving out of his territory.
We had to make him think I was trying to run away.
That’s my cue.
I swerved and pulled down hard on the throttle. I picked up speed rapidly as I began the second route. A couple hundred meters down the road, I spotted another of Mia’s statues lying in wait. I zeroed in on it and surpassed 140 kilometers an hour.
“First beacon activated!” Alice’s voice came through.
I was about to respond with a confirmation when the statue popped the hydrant earlier than I had expected. I wasn’t sure why until I looked up, only to see an inky black cloud diving towards me.
The Old Man’s voice came through suddenly.
“UPGRADE!”
Instinct compelled me to swerve closer to the gushing water as Grim’s shadow crashed down. I was going too fast to change direction or slow down. All I could do was speed up.
So I did.
I held my breath and hoped it would be over quickly.
I thundered forward, and the gushing water drenched me before the shadow swallowed me.
It was over in a fraction of a second.
Light streamed back into my visor, and my brain rebooted itself. It took me a few critical seconds to recompose myself.
I’m alive—
Critical warnings flashed across my visor.
“Warning, core systems critically damaged. Suit integrity: 14%”
The automated system diagnostic snapped my focus back into place, and I released the breath I had been holding. I was still alive, and right now, nothing else mattered.
[Charges: 25/25]
[Type]
* Multi-purpose Armored Combat Suit
[Durability 14/100 Repair Unavailable - Incompatible Components.]
Incompatible? Fuck… I’m wearing the suit.
Considering how quickly Grim was known to kill, I shouldn’t be surprised. Only a moment’s exposure almost destroyed my suit. If I’d had any part of my body exposed, he would have leaked in and killed me.
I was brought out of my thoughts when my bike’s tires popped, and the underside of the motorbike grounded against the tarmac, leaving a trail of fire and sparks behind. I was thrown from my seat and sent tumbling down the street. My suit protected most of the damage, but I felt each painful impact.
Adrenaline had me scrambling back to my feet. As far as I could tell, I hadn’t broken anything, which felt like the second miracle to happen in under a minute. My armor, however, was in dire condition. Bits of it were flaking and peeling off, and the material looked decayed. It had barely protected me from the crash.
“Upgrade, what the hell happened?” Alice demanded. “Talk to me!”
I pushed myself off the tarmac. I was about to respond when I saw that the microphone in my helmet was nonfunctional. I could still hear the transmissions, but I couldn’t talk back. It wasn’t like I had time to respond anyway. I needed to get moving.
Thankfully, the bike was only a few meters away. I rushed over and placed a hand on its side.
[Charges: 25/25]
[Type]
* Kriegsmaschine Bike V6
[Durability 4/100 Repair Available - Cost 3]
It was a mess.
Most of the Temberite armor had disintegrated. The engine and other critical parts of the machine looked like swiss cheese, and pulling the throttle down yielded no response.
In a panic, I looked behind me to see if Grim was about to kill me. Fortunately, his gambit to kill me had cost him more than it had cost me. His shadow had covered the geyser like a blanket and slowed him down tremendously. He looked like tar and was moving about as fast as molten lava. His shadow dragged itself along the ground, slowly picking up speed as it left ruined concrete behind.
He was still gunning for me.
“He got hit,” the old man replied, stunned. “Grim dived at him. He’s… well I’ll be damned, he’s still in one piece!”
“Get out of there!” Alice all but screamed. “Go, go NOW!”
Paying the three charges, I repaired the bike and climbed back onto the seat. My body was aching as I pulled back down on the throttle and took off again. As I regained speed, I looked back to see the shadow rising from the ground, separating itself from the water weighing it down. I could almost see Grim’s desperation to catch up.
“He’s on the move again. Alice, get to the second beacon!”
I was alive. My heart was still beating, and my brain was firing on all cylinders. I was going to make it out of this. We would beat Grim into the ground, and I’d be home before breakfast. I wasn’t going to die, not tonight. After that brush with death, nothing was going to stop me.
I was a fair distance away when Grim finally managed to pull himself free. His shadow surged into the sky and raced after me. I watched it get closer as I leveled out my speed. I needed to stay slow enough that I didn’t lose him entirely – but right now – I wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
I followed the route, passing several of Mia’s statues. She tried to do her part to pop more fire hydrants, but Grim was well and truly aware of that strategy by now. None of the geysers reached high enough to strike the main body of his shadowy cloud.
“Second and third beacons are active,” Alice reported. “Come on, big guy. Follow the sonar. Get your ass moving!”
“Anomaly’s moving. Let’s hope he can navigate those drains against the current’s flow.”
“He can!” Alice replied with absolute certainty. “He’s just gotta follow the beacons.”
“There’s very little margin for error. Are you prepared for the exit plan?” The Old Man asked.
The final plan wasn’t a plan. It was a retreat strategy.
I was to keep driving out of the city. Eventually, Grim would give up and fall back to his territory. Alice would visit my mom’s place and get her to safety. Anomaly and Mia would meet us at the eastern highway. Then we discuss our next move – most likely, we’d leave the city.
It’s not going to come to that. This is going to work.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” Alice said. “Fourth and fifth beacons are online!”
“Get to the last two and fast. Upgrade’s approximately forty seconds out!”
Indeed I was. There were only three turns between me and the end of the second route. It would be there that we’d find out if our efforts bore any fruit.
Turning into the next street, I was dismayed to find an overturned bus blocking the end of it. It was ablaze, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. To make matters worse, there didn’t seem to be a gap big enough for me to squeeze through. I couldn’t even turn around now because Grim was hot on my heels. If I gave him any sort of ground, he’d catch up.
I’d have to make my own path.
Activating the bike's weapons, I fired everything available to me. Bullets and missiles plowed through the metal ahead of me and shredded it to pieces. A wall of smoke and dust obscured my path, but that wouldn’t stop me.
I accelerated through the wrecked vehicle. It was a bit bumpy, and the tires took a lot of abuse from the uneven ground, but once again, I had to remind myself that this machine was Mechatech. It was built for this kind of thing – and I was right. It soldiered on and carried me at speed through the rest of the street to the next turn.
“Sixth beacon online! Heading to the final one now.”
“Upgrade’s fifteen seconds out!”
“Where’s Anomaly?”
“Not far behind.”
There was a rumbling in the ground below me. For a moment, it was hard to tell if that was the engine of the bike or the ground itself.
I made the last turn and saw Alice at the far end of the street, kneeling at the four-way intersection.
“Last one’s online!”
Just in time!
I went full throttle and thundered toward the intersection. There was a flash of pink color, and Alice was gone, eager to get out of the way. Grim wasn’t far behind me but was now losing ground as my speed climbed. I passed 150 kilometers an hour and was getting close to 160 when I careened through the intersection.
I had done it. My part was finished.
“Hit it!” Alice cried.
The last beacon activated.
The ground beneath me vibrated violently, forcing me to slow down so I didn’t crash again. I looked behind me to see Grim passing over the intersection, none the wiser. The tarmac cracked and split, and seawater shot out. I saw the shadow take notice and try to speed up, but Grim wasn’t fast enough.
The fissure blew like a volcano. There was a loud bang, and seawater swallowed the shadow whole. I couldn’t see Anomaly, but he was inside, pushing out more water. It was a tsunami right between Cain and Pandora territory.
I watched it surge toward me. Not wanting to get consumed by the flood, I pulled the throttle to the max and continued down the street. I could hear the destruction behind me as the sea water ripped through the streets.
I made a sharp turn into another street that steeped into a hill. Once I arrived at the apex, I slowed and parked the bike. The water climbed surprisingly high but didn’t get more than a quarter way up. Still, the water damage alone from this would be catastrophic.
It was a price worth paying.
I found the nearest building and climbed to the roof, having to take the long way because my grapple was damaged.
Climbing over the edge, I surveyed the damage. The water continued pouring from the fissure and showed no signs of stopping.
Grim’s shadow, however, had been pulled under. I could barely see him from where I stood. His shadow had sunk like a rock beneath the seawater, thrashing to reach the surface. Its struggles grew weaker by the second. It wouldn’t be long before he disappeared entirely or reverted to his human form.
I retrieved my sniper from my back, and after spending three charges to repair the damage Grim had done, I set myself up on the ledge.
Either way, I’m going to make sure he’s finished.