Long time no see...

Twilight Chapter 7

Echo stumbled out of the woods, her wounds dripping crimson. Every part of her body ached. She hadn't the strength to continue as a shadow anymore and it was too much effort as it was just to walk straight. But she knew she had to find a place to hide and recuperate. It wouldn't be hard for the police to track her from the blood trail she left on the powdery snow. She picked up her head and observed her surroundings with her one eye that wasn't swollen shut.

A small grim looking town stood before her. A single street lay with shabby buildings on either side, visibly unoccupied. Not even the smallest trace of smoke arose from any of the chimneys. She had come upon a ghost town. They weren't uncommon in the Colorado Mountains. Many people migrated with the coming of freezing winters. It had gotten too hard to thrive in such dead weather with diminishing availability of food and proper shelter, as well as energy and manpower to maintain heat. Rarely did they ever come back to the shacks they had once occupied.

A sudden racket made Echo jump. To her right came a sound similar to that of a dying beast- mixed with a mechanical banging. She looked to see a group of four men jump out of one of the windows of a dilapidated cabin and hit the ground running, their rugged boots stirring up the untouched snow. They carried the contents of the cabin with them- a cooking pot, a rifle, a kettle, and a blanket. They were thieves.

The men were scared, she could tell, and didn't even bother using any of their weapons they had with them- two pistols, a shotgun, an axe. Obviously they were running for their lives, and it wasn't hard to see why. Out of the same window came a young man, no older than 20, wielding a fearsome contraption.

A motorized sword was the only explanation that could come close to describing it- about eight feet tall and a foot-and-a-half wide, with a chamber in the back that held a rusted turbine and chain. The turbine began to spin with a horrendous sound of clanging and a loud humming that resounded almost to a scream as the man held a tight grip on the vibrating sword. Echo looked at it more closely and was amazed. The engine was attached to his right shoulder- his arm consisted of a metal skeleton which clung onto the handle of the actual blade while the engine worked on its own.

She looked on no less than 5 yards away as the corroded blade seemed to heat up and lines of electricity came from the base, gathering at the tip of the blade. Then, with a tremendous blast, it fired a ball of pure energy at the group of scattering men, sending a nearby shanty into flames.

What in the-

It was one of the most bizarre things Echo had seen, which was saying a lot. The man seemed to be in pain as his shirtless body was bruised and cut, and after sending the last shot out of the sword, he stumbled a bit but remained standing in a slumped position. Four others accompanied him: two girls who looked about Echo’s age, a younger boy who was probably no older than fifteen, and boy who stood alongside the man with the sword, about two years younger than him.

Echo gasped. That man must be another jail experiment- a tattoo of the Colorado prison was visible on his rippling bicep. That made sense. She should have known.

Maybe he knew of Lark...

Looking at the girl to his right, she saw a familiar face. Sokora! She was one of Edward's friends who had mentioned seeing someone who closely resembled Lark in one of the prisons. Echo couldn't believe it. Holding a bloody cough that threatened to escape her mouth, she stumbled forward with difficulty, but with newfound strength in hope of finding Lark once again.

The group of men was beginning to retaliate- having found a bazooka in one of the buildings. It wasn’t rare to find weapons of destruction in one’s household, given how twisted society had become in that day and age.

They rushed forward, standing across the street, and loaded it clumsily. The one who held it looked like he was about to drop it as he aimed it at the cabin porch on which the delinquents stood. Echo set her first foot on the porch when he pressed the button to fire.

The younger boy was the first to notice her. His eyes widened as he saw her approach and the missile was fired. She seemed to be in a daze, not even noticing the oncoming rocket. Her eyes were fixed on Sokora, who ducked a moment before the rocket hit. Almost there...

The boy lunged over and pushed with all his might, hurling his body against Echo’s, against her cracked ribs and bruised body.

Her painful scream was lost in the chaos of the explosion and everything was set ablaze. Splinters were flung in every direction, some aflame, becoming miniature meteors as they ignited in the dry air. Seeing this as a victory, the thieves decided to run for it.

Echo lay in the snow with the boy on top of her. His hair was dusted with ash, and his face had been sprayed with splinters, but he had protected her from the fire. He got up and dusted himself off briefly before extending a hand to help her.

”What were you thinking? Didn’t you see that bazooka aimed at us?” He asked breathlessly.

Echo wasn’t paying attention. She was again noticing Sokora, who was beginning to sit up about eight yards away. The girl beside her seemed dazed, slowly moving and holding her ankle painfully. Echo stood up, ignoring the boy and began to walk toward the one who might finally be able to give her the answer to where Lark was.

The smoke was unbearable. Echo’s eye was watering horribly, and her vision was getting blurry as it was. She was getting closer. She needed to get the girl’s attention at least...

Echo could feel her strength leaving her. Her throat felt like it was constricting with all of the smoke she breathed in, polluting her lungs. But for the most part she didn’t notice. With her last step, relief washed over her as the girl looked up at the bounty hunter, a puzzled expression on her face.

The slightest trace of a smile passed upon Echo’s lips before speaking her name. “So…ko…”

It was too much to support her aching body. She couldn’t even finish her name before her knees gave way and she fell face first, landing in the stinging snow in front of where Sokora sat. She shrieked at Echo’s bloody sight, but soon was overcome with pity for the stranger.

Her face looked as it someone had raked it with a red hot pitchfork, and her body was in equally bad condition. Blood leaked from her shoulder which was tied with a makeshift bandage, as well as many other wounds. Her clothes were torn, and no doubt she didn’t have enough layers to provide proper warmth for the Colorado winter.

After helping Tundra stand, she called Cale, the boy, over.

“Help me carry her.” He nodded. Each of them took one of Echo’s arms and began to walk toward Leyre, who was helping his brother, the one with the sword, Neil. He was having difficulty due to the giant contraption attatched to his brother’s body.

“Where should we go?” Asked Cale. Leyre was a bit surprised at seeing Echo, but he didn’t hesitate. He pointed West, a direction diagonally going through the ghosttown. “Follow me.” He said, supporting Neil. “We’ll go through the back alleys. We don’t have much daylight left.” He looked towards the sky at the setting sun. “Hurry. The sun will set soon.”

The tribe did as instructed, led by Leyre, and hurried through the city in search of a quiet place to stay.

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DEFINATLEY not my best, but I wanted to put another chapter up. I guess I wasn’t feeling it today… This whole story is going to be revised at some point down the road, though, anyway.