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A Serpent comes at me, running as they fire shots, forcing me to retreat into the warehouse. Inside it’s dimly lit, the only light streaming in through cracks in the grimy, boarded-up windows. The dirty concrete floor is covered in a layer of dust, making me cough as I push a stack of tires over in my wake.
The man following me trips and stumbles over the tires, crashing to the ground. I throw myself at him, wrestling for control of his gun and when I get it, I smack him in the face with it before doubling back around to the pallets outside again.
He doesn’t follow me, so I consider that a win. I need to be strategic about this, and smart. I’m not as good a fighter as Dominic, and I don’t have the gun skills that Bastian has. If I’m going to fight, I’m going to have to play dirty.
“You can’t hide forever, little boy!” A crowing voice taunts as they take aim at my head. I barely duck behind the wooden stack in time as a bullet goes flying past me, burying itself into the brick wall of the plant’s warehouse.
“Listen,” I call out. “You need to aim a little to the left next time. You’ll get there!” I’m taunting him, psychologically playing with him to keep him off-balance.
“Shut up!” he screams, shooting again. This time I’m prepared so when I tuck and roll, I’m out of the way of the bullet that lands right where I was hiding.
Serpents and Blades alike are falling left and right around us as we continue the fight. I run low to the ground towards an abandoned half-finished car as more bullets spray the air above my head, the acrid scent of gunsmoke hanging heavy in the air.
Someone screeches out, “I’ll kill you!” and when I whirl around, Sal and I come face to face, guns pointed at each other. We lower our weapons immediately.
“Serpent to your four o’clock,” Sal hisses. I duck as he fires off a shot, taking the approaching Serpent out at the knee.
“Good shot,” I compliment him, feeling sweat trickle down my back in the sun. He nods and we turn back-to-back, an unspoken agreement to watch out for each other as we use the same hiding place for leverage.
“How do they have so many members now?” Sal yells over the noise of the fight. “They were run out of town when I was a teenager, they had nothing left!”
“I have no idea!” I yell back. “We’ve been wondering the same thing!”
I shoot at another approaching Serpent, missing him by a few inches. He continues approaching and I know I’m going to run out of ammo if I don’t reload soon so I shove the gun in my waistband, pulling out a set of brass knuckles from my pocket and slipping them on. My heart pounds, adrenaline fueling it as I stand up.
“I’ve gotta go,” I tell Sal. “I need more ammo.”
“Be safe out there,” he says, giving me a curt nod as I start making my way through the makeshift battlefield.
Racing past rows of half-finished cars, I weave between stacks of wooden pallets as I try to get back to the Firebird, screams of the dead and dying echoing around me.
Dom is currently wrestling with a Serpent on the ground as I fly past, beating the man’s face with the butt of his gun. I pushmy anxieties to the side, reminding myself that Dominic is a great fighter and that I don’t need to worry about him.
A Serpent flies out from around the side of the building, smacking me in the side with a baseball bat. I let out a grunt of pain and double over. He tries to attack me again but this time I grab the top of the bat as he swings and wrench it away. He goes running and I throw the bat to the side, continuing on towards the car.
Finally, I reach the Firebird but a Serpent pops out from behind a nearby bike, making me jump. He screeches and rushes at me but I throw a punch, landing it straight in his face. The brass knuckles make a crunch as they connect, the man falling down as blood begins to pour from his nose.
He screams and thrashes and I fall on top of him, beating him until he goes limp. Pulling back, I wipe my face, smearing blood across it as I stagger off of him and limp towards the car. I need a second to breathe after that hit to my ribcage.
Panting hard, I load more bullets into my gun and turn around, ready to fight some more when I realize that Bastian and Diego are grappling together nearby, Diego trying to pull the trigger on his gun to shoot Bastian in the stomach.
Blood pounds in my ears as I rush over and stand above them, aiming my gun at Diego’s head.
“You move and I shoot!” I tell him. Dominic races over with his own gun and joins us.
“It’s over, Diego!” he yells.
Diego throws another punch at Bastian, who blocks it, twisting his arm behind his back. He forces Diego to his knees, and Dom and I keep our guns trained on the Serpent’s leader.
“Drop the weapon!” Dominic thunders. Diego holds his hand out, letting the gun dangle from his grip before it clatters to the ground.
All around us, the fighting starts to slow to a stop as the Serpents realize their leader is on his knees in front of us.
“Kill him,” Bastian says, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He wipes his brow, a sneer on his face. “Go ahead, Dom. Shoot the bastard.”
“Wait!” Diego yells. “I have information!”
“We’re not interested,” I scoff.
