Ninguen and Cerridwen were crossing the crowded, narrow streets, with strangers glancing at them as they passed by. Earlier the Celestian girl had kept her distance, but getting deeper into the maze between skyscrapers, she stuck close to the Kehrian woman. Her new companion, who was in her own world the whole time, seemed like a better option than wandering alone without any weapon and with a dead battery on the display. Cerridwen observed her surroundings as they traversed the streets and prepared an escape plan in case Ninguen’s intentions turned villainous.

“An exit is on the other side,” said the Kehrian woman. “Can you handle it?”

Cerridwen gazed into the dark tunnel as far as the sight could go. It was almost vacant, only a few simple tents cast their shadows on the walls. Instead of piles of rubbish, just some empty boxes and cans lay on the ground. A narrow stream dripped off the road and disappeared in between the bars covering the drain, plopping softly.

“I think so,” she replied without conviction.

She walked closer and spotted some movement out of the corner of her eyes. The Celestian girl could not identify it, but she knew instinctively that she ought to retreat. She sprang backwards, avoiding a thick needle by millimetres that stabbed the wall like a tiny arrow.

Ninguen looked behind and wiggled her ears. Grabbing Cerridwen’s hand, she darted into the tunnel. Five metres away from the entrance, a masked individual cut off their escape. He raised his gun, but the Kehrian woman jumped sideways, dragging the frozen Cerridwen behind a container and hunkered down. She narrowed her eyes on hearing the sound of the metal bullets ricocheting the walls of the tunnel.

Why are they using needles? she wondered. She needed a plan. She looked up. A drain was set on the ceiling with bars covering it, and a rusted ladder was attached to the wall.

“Go up!” the Kehrian woman commanded, but Cerridwen did not react, she just kept gazing straight ahead. Ninguen had no time for discussions. She slapped her. The Celestian girl shook her head as Ninguen repeated, “Go up, quick!”

Cerridwen hopped directly on to the fourth rung and started climbing. Her heart thumped so hard as if it was going to burst out of her chest. Her sweaty hands too did not make her escape easy. She pushed the grate out at the top and rushed into the middle of the arched tunnel ceiling. She held herself still, bending over to catch her breath. Several shots echoed again. Feeling dizzy, she turned her head.

Ninguen jumped out of the hatch with a gun in her hand and raced to the Celestian girl.

“To the higher floors!” she shouted.

Cerridwen looked up at the building. Six metres above her head hung a terrace overgrown by tiny trees. A rotund pipe, adjacent to the wall, extended from the roof to the ground. The Celestian girl ran to it as another shot reverberated in the tunnel. She gripped the ladder attached to the pipe.

“Faster,” commanded Ninguen, hanging two rungs below her.

Cerridwen reached the terrace level, but she still was a metre away from its rail. She glanced down and clenched her fingers around the rungs with all her might. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clung to the ladder and without Ninguen, she would have remained there. The Kehrian woman climbed up and prodded Cerridwen’s flank.

“What the…” growled the Celestian girl, regaining the sensation in her limbs.

“Just jump!”

Cerridwen had a long way to go to reach the firm concrete below, and all her instincts were telling her that the jump was pure madness. From the other side, the people hunting her seemed to be a far worse option. She sprang from the rung, with hands extended, and covered the distance, high above the tunnel ceiling. She landed safely, gripping the rail. She had hung eight metres above the floor. Taking a deep breath, she bent her knees to cross the balustrade and ran straight ahead and hid amongst the trees.

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The Kehrian woman spotted a masked individual passing through the hatch, the same who had cut off her way. Gripping the ladder with one hand, Ninguen brought her gun out and fired twice in the direction of the pursuer. The enemy avoided her bullets and repaid with a shot that missed her head by millimetres. Impulsively trying to cover herself, she dropped her weapon. Without looking down, Ninguen hurdled over the rail and landed on the terrace. Dodging the bullets, she rushed into the thick shrubbery.

The Celestian girl hid under the drooping branches of the blooming tree. Outspread, red flowers surrounded her from all sides and provided her a relative sense of safety, but she kept herself absolute still. She quivered when other shots echoed nearby. She held her breath until she got dizzy. In between the branches, outlined by the dark blue sky, she saw a slender person, who disappeared into the thicket of leaves in a split second.

Cerridwen stared at the open area through the branches hoping that she would not see another one of her assailants, running towards her. She had no idea how long she had been waiting, but every second appeared to be insufferably long. She listened for the slightest rustle, but the only sound breaking the silence was a murmur of water flowing through the pipes. She focused her senses even deeper until the rustling of the leaves reached her ears, an indicator of someone approaching. She stiffened when she felt a touch on her arm.

All her muscles tensed as if they were about to tear apart. Thoughts fled, only a single command was stuck in her head.

Run!

She darted ahead but lost her balance when the person sneaking behind her back pulled on her sleeve. Falling down, she got the sensation of something sharp sinking into her knee. She took a deep breath to scream with all her force, but a cold hand smelling like rust covered her mouth. She heard a barely audible whisper, “Quiet.”

Cerridwen turned her head. Instead of the masked kidnapper, Ninguen crouched behind her. The Celestian girl stopped thrashing around, and the Kehrian woman let her go. They retreated deeper into the shrubbery, right under the wall.

An armed assailant jumped over the rail. His face was hidden under a balaclava and dark goggles. He halted at the terrace corner to get a view of the entire garden and his fleeing targets. A moment later, a door opened. A stocky, horned creature in a thick coat entered the terrace.

“Did you catch them?” he asked in a voice distorted by the mask.

“Almost…” replied the person standing near the rail.

The Ifrit growled. Pointing the gun straight ahead, he came close to the blooming shrub.

“Careful,” whispered the second kidnapper, “I saw only two, but there may be more of them.”

“So stop gawping and come here,” hissed the Ifrit, and his companion stepped ahead. “Azhi will be pissed off if we don’t catch her.”

Cerridwen felt a tremor run through her spine as if death itself had brushed against her with its bony fingers. She looked at the Kehrian woman. Ninguen pointed to the open door and raised five fingers, then four, and when she reached one, she dashed forwards, creeping along the wall, without brushing against it or touching any twig. Petrified, Cerridwen felt like a mummy, but she made herself follow Ninguen. She felt an intense desire to turn her head to see what her pursuers were doing, but she knew that every unwary move could attract their attention.

Ninguen reached the door. She stopped behind a bush and wiggled her ears. Relying on only her sense of hearing, she figured out that the enemies moved slowly but chaotically. One of them was raking aside branches, and the second was following him, shuffling his feet on the lawn. The Kehrian woman bent down to gather momentum then scurried like a bullet.

Cerridwen followed her, and together they ran into the building. Hearing unintelligible, muffled hollers, they rushed through the corridor then turned to the stairwell and began running down but in the middle of their sprint, they heard someone’s steps on the lower floors.

The person was fast approaching them, but Ninguen did not intend to look. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her ears back. She ducked under a bullet and sprang from the highest footstep, trying to kick the man. The enemy fell against the rail, and the Kehrian woman landed next to him. She got up and leapt three steps up before the Celestian fired again. Ninguen bent down, gripped the assailant’s gun and wrenched it. He shot a few times at the ground but did not drop the weapon. The Kehrian woman kicked him in his calf, and the masked man fell on his knees. She repeated the attack, hitting him in the back of his neck. The assailant plummeted down the stairs. She picked up his weapon and shot his head to be sure that he would not stand up again. Ninguen turned to Cerridwen, her face covered with shiny sweat drops.

For all those three seconds, the Celestian girl observed the entire incident, dumbfounded. She knew the combat and defence techniques but until now had practised them only at home. Though she remembered all the ploys and tricks, at the moment of total dread, her mind became empty, devoid of any thoughts.

The Kehrian woman shook her out of her numbness.

“Follow me.”