Gadreel ran down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. As the wind blew by his ears, his thoughts couldn’t help but jump back to what just happened back in that alley.
What just happened back there was a really close call. A squad of his pursuers was ready for an ambush, and their plan almost worked. He was already exhausted and weakened from what has happened throughout the day, and his senses were dangerously dull. Honestly, if one of the ambushers didn't hide her tracks in time and alerted him of what was going on, he might’ve been brought down right then and there.
But the same woman that saved his life, the one that he thought was no more than an amateur, somehow survived his attack. Gadreel wasn’t exactly the most powerful one of his kind, but there was a reason he was still alive right now. He was no pushover. That woman made no attempt to resist or dodge at all. She should’ve died just like the rest of her squad!
Instead, she was still chasing behind him like a loyal hound behind a burglar. No matter how fast he ran, she just wouldn’t back off!
At this point, Gadreel was on his last leg, figuratively. He could feel exhaustion creeping over his body and soul alike, trying to convince him to slow down and take a break. But he pushed through these temptations and kept on moving. He couldn’t afford to rest!
Suddenly, he heard the woman back there calling out to him.
“Hey! Wait a second! Hear me out!” She yelled loudly as she tried to catch her breath. “I just want to ask you a few questions! I mean you no harm!”
Bullshit! Gadreel scoffed inside as he picked up his speed. Do I look stupid to you? He has never personally seen the woman, but she was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and given how powerful she was...she was definitely one of the secret weapons of his pursuers! Plus, she was wearing the black uniform! Stop and he would be dead!
And just like that, the pair ran and ran…
Katie back there had no idea what was going on. Who were the chasers? Who was the one being chased? She had absolutely no idea what was going on even as she ran down the sidewalk like a maniac, but guess what? She didn't care! She was having fun and that was all that mattered!
The pair continued this wild goose chase. Gadreel was gradually slowing down with every passing minute, but Katie, with the boosts from her self mutilation, moved faster and faster.
Suddenly, an arrow came out of nowhere, going straight for the man Katie was chasing after. The man reacted quickly and dodged to the side, causing the arrow to be buried in the cement ground so deep that half of it was underground. Yet that wasn’t the end of the attacks. Two more arrows came out of nowhere. This time, both landed on Gadreel, exploding in bright white light and punching deep wounds through his body. The man collapsed to the ground without another sound.
Ok...now what? Katie slowed down as she came to a stop in front of the grounded man. Much like previously, she had no idea what to do. Save this guy? Kill him? Investigate the mysterious faction these people were from? Nah...that was why she simply stood by and went along as two men in black emerged from the shadows, their bows still raised.
One of them turned to Katie as his brother kept his weapon trained on Gadreel.
“Well done at keeping him occupied and distracted, sister.” He thanked Katie. “At long last, we have finally brought the traitor to heel! Castillos will be pleased!”
“Hmmm...yep! You’re welcome, bro...brother!” Katie did her best to put up an act despite still not having any damn idea what was going on. Honestly, she really wondered how long it would take before these people realized she wasn’t one of them.
The man nodded unsuspectingly as he turned back to Gadreel. Katie’s tone was a little too casual for their kind, and he didn't remember seeing her before, but this had to be one of them, right? Given how casual and confident was, his mind never even deviated to the possibility that she might be an imposter.
Yes, he knew a trick that could verify her identity, but that would be too costly in terms of his power, and given the current situation of him and his kind, he needed every fragment of power he could get.
With that in mind, he turned to his comrade.
“Is he dead?”
“One shot in the heart and another in the chest. His corporeal form is fried and his halo is certainly extinguished.” The man replied confidently. “He’s gone.”
“Good!” The first man noted as he gave Gadreel a kick to the side. “That’s what all traitors deserve! Notify...”
Just as he turned back to face Katie and the other man, Gadreel’s eyes suddenly snapped open fiercely, and the man thought to be dead grabbed onto the first man from behind and slit his throat with a dagger. A brief explosion of light blinded Katie’s eyes, and when she opened her eyes again, Gadreel was already pulling his dagger out of the second man’s chest.
“Ok…” Katie used this opportunity to raise her voice. As much as she loved running, they have been doing that for way too long! “Listen to me...no! No! Don’t run! God damn it! What are you? A rabbit!”
And so the wild goose chase continued.
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Finally, twenty minutes later, after three more failed attempts to intercept Gadreel, the man was forced into an abandoned factory many miles away from the parking lot where Katie first joined the chase. And Katie wasn’t alone either. She was joined by a handful of other men and women in black...the interesting thing was, as they pursued, she quickly became the one leading the charge. After all, every once in a while, Gadreel would turn around and fire a few needles at his pursuers, and Katie was the only one who didn't have to dodge.
Just like that, Katie casually became the leader of this pursuit. She still had no idea what the hell was happening, but that didn't stop her from playing along. Going undercover and casually becoming the head of the party she was undercover at was an experience she never had before.
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In the end, Gadreel made a mistake. He entered a factory that only had a single exit, and when he tried to run, that single exit was already blocked.
All the pursuers converged to this location, and soon, Gadreel was cornered by a dozen enemies, all of whom armed with all sorts of weapons. Even Katie drew her Knife just to mix in with the crowd.
When the situation became clear, an awkward silence filled the building as the pursuers looked to each other and wondered what to do next. Usually, this was the part where the commander would go up and exchange a few words with the captive or simply lead the assault to capture him. But all three commanders of this mission were killed by Gadreel ages ago. They were still able to coordinate the chase with their psychic connections, but the fact was they were leaderless for the moment.
Soon, all of them turned to Katie. This sister of theirs fearlessly led the pursuit, so she should be the acting leader now, right?
“Ah…” Katie looked around, and when she saw all eyes were on her, she was speechless. What was she even doing here...she took a step forward before realizing she had nothing to say.
What could she ask? What’s your name? What’s going on here? Why do these people want you dead? Who even are these people? Who am I? Who do you think I am? That would really mess things up, and so, under the eyes of everyone else, she took a step back.
Gadreel raised his eyebrows. This felt weird...after all, his kind wasn’t the humorous type, and there was no way this woman was toying with him. Confused, he raised his voice.
“Who are you? Someone as powerful as you...how come I have never heard of you?”
Katie tapped her chin awkwardly. Well...I have just been here for a few days and most people I knew back in New York are dead. I’ll be surprised if you have heard of me. “Yeah...well, I like to keep a low profile, so...”
Now the others in the factory were growing suspicious as well. They weren’t stupid...at least not that stupid. In the chaos of the pursuit, they put their confusions to rest, but now, even the slowest one among them could tell something was off with this woman.
“Who is the commander of this mission?” One woman challenged, her crossbow slightly raising to take aim at Katie.
“You don’t know who our commander is?” Katie snapped to the woman like she had gone mad. “How dare you!”
“No...I am concerned that you don’t know who our commander is!” The woman retaliated.
“In that case,” Katie nodded as if she was satisfied with the response. “I am glad I’m able to put your concerns to rest.”
“Very well...wait!”
The woman’s mind was pretty much broken by Katie’s logic when a man beside her suddenly lit up his eyes and scanned Katie from top to bottom. When he was done, he looked horrified and furious at the same time.
“She is not one of us! She is toying with us!”
That piece of information alone was enough to send everyone in the room into action. Before Katie knew it, half of them had their weapons turned on her while the rest kept an eye on Gadreel, who still had absolutely no clue what was happening. Wait...so the girl that chased him across the city wasn’t sent to kill him? But...why?
“Oh come on!” Staring at an uncomfortable number of weapons, the brunette growled and tossed her arms up into the air. “How about we get back to dealing with this...this traitor? Take him out first and then we can talk! Get your priorities straight, ladies and gentlemen! I’m harmless...I promise!”
The men didn't answer. Instead, behind Katie, an archer sent an arrow flying right into Katie’s back. Before she knew it, the arrow was buried into her body. A tiny tip even poked out from the front of her chest.
And that was just the beginning. Bright energy exploded from the arrow. This time, it never tried to reach inside Katie like Gadreel’s power did. It simply exploded right then and there, with the blaring energy reducing Katie’s entire chest to a giant hole.
A few of the men and women around Katie relaxed. They have seen their fair share of supernatural beings, but none of those beings could take a hit like this and still act as if nothing happened. After all...the girl’s insides were now outside! She must be as dead as a rock!
And then Katie’s flesh grew right back, and the men and women found themselves a little more concerned about the situation than before.
“What the…” One of the men couldn’t help but whisper in disbelief. This is impossible! Even their kind couldn’t just heal from a wound like this...at least not anymore.
“Look...why do we always have to resort to violence?” As she healed, Katie sighed as if she was disappointed by the way life was nowadays. “Can’t we just all sit down around the table and talk things out like normal, civil people? No?” She suddenly tilted her head. “That’s too bad...”
The next second, she raised her Knife. A layer of brown branches formed around her skin, acting as make-shift armor. Underneath her skin, branches made their way across her body, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“You force my hands!” She finally declared, barely able to contain her own laughter at the irony in her own declaration.
The others looked at each other in confusion. Force your hands? We don’t even know you! You got yourself into this! But before they could say anything else, Katie launched herself forward at one of the men, and all exchange of words became meaningless.
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Ten minutes later, Katie pulled her Knife out of the chest of the last man and watched as his body collapsed onto the ground.
The fighting wasn’t easy, and these men and women were definitely anything but pushovers. Any one of them rivaled the best Tribesmen in the Seven Tribes, and the Katie now wasn’t the Katie that was fresh out of the torture chambers of the Iron Maiden.
Thankfully, some of the boosts she received for the past week remained with her. As she carved through these opponents, her tactic was as straightforward and brutal as always. Choose one opponent, keep stabbing him regardless of what’s happening around her, and when he’s dead, move onto someone else. The rest of her foes could slash her insides open and she would still be jamming her blade into their comrade’s throat.
She was unstoppable.
Of course, she wasn’t alone. As she was busy killing, a few of these men tried to call for help, but even as their eyes lit up in bright white light, they were tackled by Gadreel, the man they have been chasing across the city. Gadreel still had no damn idea who Katie was or why she was fighting his pursuers, but he seized upon this opportunity to hunt down the rest of them.
Finally, the factory is silent again. Katie stood back up, patiently waited two seconds for her left arm to grow back, and then turned and confronted the man she somehow ended up saving.
From hunter to savior...Katie was the very definition of unpredictable.
“So...mind telling me what’s going on here? Who are you and who are these losers?” She gently kicked one of the bodies. Yes, gently, because it was so important to respect the dead!
Gadreel looked around the factory. He was in no position to continue the wild goose chase that first led the two here. And all the bodies of those sent to hunt him, scattered across the factory, were enough to show Katie was more than just a psychopath. No...she was a deadly psychopath, and fighting her would be a terrible way to end his life.
With these thoughts in mind, Gadreel started explaining.
“Both I and the ones chasing me...we’re all Angels…”
And then, Katie started laughing.