Chapter 11: Hunter & Prey
Henrick’s face stiffens as Selene cackles crazily, bending over at the waist as she laughs with tears streaming from her eyes. "What does it matter anyway? I didn’t care about anyone else in that camp!" she shouts, the ground shaking as magical energy coats her body. Father David gasps at her admission and clutches his cross, even as his face contorts in fury.
The soldier meanwhile stares blankly as he places a hand over the pocket that holds the potato chips bag. "What’s with you anyway? You haven’t had shoes on this whole time, and you’re always scowling." Selene starts as she circles Henrick, a desperate gleam in her eyes. "I wonder what happened to that little runt, Elly? I bet she made pretty good food for those fucking monsters!!!" she continues in a manic scream as she strikes at his jaw.
The blow lands, but does nothing more than turns Henrick’s face to the side. Selene spits on the ground and punches his ribs, smiling as she hears the cracking of bone. Her smile falls, however, as she cradles her fist and staggers back at the intense pain.
Without warning, Henrick lunges forward and lands a brutal headbutt, sending Selene flying through the weakened wall. She rolls onto the street as blood flows down her broken nose, making her breaths shallow and weak. "Is that all you’ve g-aahhhh!!" she wheezes, but is interrupted as a brick slams into her forehead.
A knee follows almost immediately as Henrick lands on top of Selene with all of his weight, shattering her orbital bone with a meaty CRUNCH. He’s unable to continue the beating, however, as Selene stabs into his side with a magical blade and pushes him off with a kick to the chest.
Henrick staggers back at the sudden attacks and looks to the blade stabbed deep into his flesh. "You move, and I’ll detonate that blade, heh." Selene says almost mockingly as she laboriously rises from the floor.
Undeterred, the soldier rips the blade out before Selene can gather herself and throws it, missing Selene’s face by inches. She watches as Henrick’s face remains impassive as he stalks towards her, lethal intent evident in the way he walks. A primal fear, suddenly overtakes Selene’s mind as Henrick’s stare bores into her very soul.
With a burst of magical energy, she takes off, running through the ruined streets of Manhattan. She passes a group of mutated monsters and runs past them, drawing their attention. Looking behind her, she sees only the monsters giving chase. A chill runs through her spine as she realises that Henrick is nowhere to be seen.
Selene passes through and in between broken buildings. She ducks under collapsed bridges and leaps over ravines that have opened up on the streets. She desperately runs, so fast in fact, that she outruns all the monstrosities chasing after her. The skies seem to darken even more than they already were as she stops to catch her breath.
The streets are silent. So silent that it’s disturbing. Then she hears it. The faint buzz of an electrical current steadily increasing in volume. Selene looks around in fear as she presses herself flat against the wall of a building, hoping that the wall behind her would give her some measure of support.