(Reverence 6, 59 / 7:04PM)

  (David and Iris)

  He looked everywhere.

  Up, down, left, right, he scoured his eyes like a crazed hawk. Through the fog, through the smoke, his lungs built up the remnants of ash that were trapped within the metallic device. Wanting to cough, he pced his right hand on his chest, letting his fingers cw and scrape his jacket.

  Besides David, a woman with dark purple hair coughed out chunks of saliva from her mouth, as the taste of gunpowder plowed through the gums of her teeth. Unable to sway away the fog with her hands, she kept her eyes low, her head tilted down.

  (David) Come on out! You can’t be hiding far—

  With little time to think, he covered his right hand with his fist, his knuckles pointing opposite him. In the span of a millisecond, he felt his bones begin to creak and crack like pop rocks, leading his feet to loosen within the ground. Instead of tumbling back, he kept his body and feet straight. Sliding across the wooden floor, he kept his creaked right hand over his face.

  Halfway through his slide, the smoke that bnketed the bar gave away, as if a rapid gust of wind erased the remains of the fog. Everyone’s ears began to pop, the pressure within the room rapidly altering to the sudden change of air.

  And their visibility returned to normal, their surroundings all appearing in front of them. Even for David and Iris, with David gliding through the wood, he stopped once his back hit the edge of the cocktail table.

  (David) Gabriel…

  Lowering his right hand, he let it hover over his waist, his eyes gunning down on the tall bck-haired man wearing a tuxedo.

  Standing in the center of the bar, everyone, including the civilians and drunkards, held their breaths at the sight of the spartan. Slowly, the men and waitresses began exiting the door, leaving Iris and David to be the only ones remaining in the bar.

  Hearing the door open and close repeatedly, every person that left, was another pound against his chest. But whose?

  (Spartan Gabriel) I may not be as strong as you … but …

  He began tapping his right foot on the piece of plyboard, the tip of his office shoe softly cracking the wooden floor. His eyes remained on both David and Iris, he pced both of his hands into his tuxedo’s pockets, all the while straightening his back and neck.

  As well as his calves and thighs.

  (Spartan Gabriel) I’ve always been the more observant one.

  With the foot he was tapping the plyboard, he stomped on the bottom edge of it, leading the wooden piece of floor to jump up. Using his left foot, he kicked the center of the wooden board straight to David, scalding the air with splinters.

  Widening his eyes, David lunged to the ground.

  Evading the plyboard that enacted like a missile, Gabriel stomped onto another piece of floor, sending another plyboard to jump out. Doing the same thing, he sprung his left foot like a slinky and shot the piece of floor like a bullet.

  Being on the defensive, David lunged again, while bringing out his pistol from the inside of his jacket.

  (David’s thoughts) Got to injure him, but how?

  But since he was occupied in dodging Gabriel’s missile-like plyboards, he couldn’t exactly aim his gun and shoot. Dodging another piece of wood, the bottom of it barely grazed the top of his head, as it shot straight through the bar wall.

  With just Gabriel’s strength, he was able to tremble the entire building.

  From the peripheral vision of his right eye, Gabriel caught a glimpse of Iris barreling toward him. Noticing she wielded a spiked rolling pin, he turned his attention to the woman. Stomping on the floor again, and kicking the wooden tile, it sped and thrusted toward her like a bullet.

  (Iris’s thoughts) Fool.

  Using her spiked rolling spin, she extended her right hand out, as both the wooden ply board and her weapon made contact. Splitting the piece of wood in half, she soared all of her strength into her toes, as she flew through the air simir to the speed of his kicks.

  Pulling back and thrusting her arm and hand at the same time, Gabriel jumped back, thrusting his left hand toward her wrist. In return, Iris plunged her right foot, making him use up his other hand. Pushing the air with their strength, the wind they created rippled the wooden walls of the bar establishment, leaving their bones to tremble and quiver.

  Holding her in pce, he was vulnerable.

  (David’s thoughts) Just stay still.

  His lungs already empty, he pulled the trigger, leaving the barrel to be scalded by the five pieces of metal lead.

  Every ounce of hair, from his head down to his toes, perked up simir to how a cat-human senses danger. Turning his head to the direction of the gunshots, his eyes widened, as most of them looked to be heading to his chest and stomach.

  Even though his hands were busy, his feet weren’t.

  With his left foot, he stomped and jumped a piece of the wooden floor, before bulging and gleaming his biceps and shoulders. Having his body weight anchor onto the tips of his right toes, he twirled his body around, doing it fast enough for Iris to blink.

  (Iris’s thoughts) Huh?

  As soon as she had herself pced right near the wooden ply board, the five bullets pierced through the wood like cotton.

  Which led her to be in the crossfire.

  Two out of the five bullets plunged into her. Her shoulder and stomach were penetrated, and blood oozed out from her gunshot wounds, leading her to tumble to the floor in pain.

  Already letting go of Iris, he turned his attention to David, his eyes beginning to strain red. Since he saw Gabriel use Iris as a dummy, his finger moved itself to the side of his gun, lowering the weapon down to his waist.

  (David) Gabriel …

  Constraining the words like an old engine, he tilted his head down an inch, as his eyelids murked a hideous bck. Holstering his gun onto his hip, he took a step back, as the bottom of his heels squeezed the bottom of the floor.

  Twisting and turning, the wood creaked, leading the frail oak to scream.

  Before he thrust his entire body off of the ground. Speeding through the air—no, he had already reached Gabriel.

  (Spartan Gabriel) Oh, shit—

  He was too slow.

  Unfast enough to cover his face, the st thing his eyes took in was a pale fist. Too slow to lunge, too slow to dodge, his heels were only a millimeter from the ground, barely enough for him to thrust his body around.

  At long st, David’s knuckles made contact with his nose, leading him to widen his eyes evermore.

  (David) Divine Sb.

  Which caused the entirety of the room to shake once, with bottles of wine and whiskey to fall off from the cabinets. From the walls to the floors to the chairs and barstools, everything shook violently.

  Gabriel flew out of the bar, his body bursting through the wooden wall like paper.

  His tuxedo and suit rippling through the air, he arched his head up, with blood pouring out from his cracked nose. Spreading his arms and hands out wide, he let the motion of David’s punch push him far away from the bar.

  And into the non busy street.

  Rolling through the cobblestone pavement, his head spun not just physically but mentally. Seeing stars, he was able to stop once his back hit a metal pole, causing the piece of infrastructure to crack.

  Pulling his eyeballs back to their eye sockets, his vision blurred heavily, as he barely saw what was in front of him.

  (Spartan Gabriel’s thoughts) Gotta … get up …

  His legs and feet id out, and he had his hands gripping the pavement which softened his bottom. While his nose bled, his blood trying to molest and assault his lips and mouth, he pressured the ground with his pale palms.

  Slowly, he pushed himself up from the ground, using the pole as his guidance. Hunching his back, his lungs wheezed air repeatedly and scornfully from his throat.

  Unwanting to wipe away the gushing blood from his nose, he arched his head back, his face pale and sweating like an oyster.

  (Spartan Gabriel) You hit me pretty good…

  (David) That wasn’t my strongest.

  David looked around him, noticing no civilians or pedestrians walking or painting their attention onto the commotion. The street he walked on resembled that of a ghost town, with only the howling desert wind whistling against his ears.

  Stopping three to four meters away from Gabriel, his eyes continued to strain red, his frown putrid and cold. Cracking one or two of his fingers in each hand, David had them lowered onto his knees.

  (David) Do you want to know the reason why I came here?

  David let his head tilt up an inch, leading the setting sun to glow on the right side of his body. Shimmering within the dying sunlight, David’s eyes were fully seen, as Gabriel’s vision had already returned to normal.

  (David) Try to guess.

  Gabriel coughed out three times, his hoarse lungs conjuring out specks of blood from his teeth and gums. Littering the floor with his saliva, he finally raised his right sleeve to clean his lips, staining his tuxedo with his liquids.

  Lowering his hand, he walked toward David, and a little limp to his step was seen. He wasn’t dragging his legs, but he couldn’t walk straight.

  (Spartan Gabriel) You’re trying … to stop me right? If you are … then it’s no use.

  He stood only a meter in front of David, his back and body hunched forward. Having his left hand clutched his right shoulder, blood still oozed from his nose, but his nose wasn’t shattered. No, it looked to be a simple fracture, because when Gabriel raised his right hand…

  He pinched the top of his nose and pced the bone back into pce.

  Being able to smell again, an influx of scent and smell invaded his nostrils like a country finding oil on private nd. Lowering his fingers, he took a step back, as he spread both of his hands out.

  While also spreading out both of his legs and feet apart, straightening out his back.

  (Spartan Gabriel) I knew you were going to stop me, so I requested some help.

  David felt every pore of his skin goose.

  As if he was being watched—no, he was. Letting his eyes scan the many buildings and rooftops around him, he quickly took note of some of the edges having abnormal stone pcements. Knowing it was fedora hats, he clenched down every ounce of his teeth, biting his mors down like it was candy.

  He then trailed his eyes to many of the open windows, seeing dark shadows all hidden within the pitch-bck cauldrons. Worst of all, most of these windows gleamed off a tint of metal, meaning…

  (David’s thoughts) He really wants to stop me…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  He was outpyed.

  Groups, battalions; every agent within Gabriel’s grasp had David surrounded. Letting the old district of the city be occupied by agents, and making every civilian evacuate upon orders of the government, Gabriel was on the verge of calling a checkmate.

  Still having his hands extended, along with his feet and legs, Gabriel’s lips pushed up to the bottom of his ears. Devilishly smiling, he jerked his head to the right to give off a cocky face.

  (Spartan Gabriel) Do you see the difference? Of how we both fight?

  David pced both of his hands inside his jacket, his eyes peered at the cobblestone ground. His cowboy hat blocked Gabriel from catching a glimpse of his face, the man-bun spartan let his hands drop to his sides, as he let out a huff of air from his mouth.

  Putting himself in a normal stance, he continued to have his devilish smirk, as the desert wind continued to whistle louder in the te evening.

  (Spartan Gabriel) Now don’t give me that look. What do you think was going to happen? I can’t let you go scot-free, it’s my job you know?

  Gabriel took a long step forward, tilting his body which made his weight arch to his foot. In return, it caused his left foot to step quickly, as it put his body into bance.

  After his irregur step, he began to walk normally, as his right nostril bled out softly. Pushing down his smirk, he pced his face back to a normal smile, closing his eyes all the while he pushed down his cheeks.

  (Spartan Gabriel) Face it, David. You dug your own grave. I don’t want to kill you…

  He stood right in front of David.

  The sun shimmering the st of its evening sunlight, it only pictured an Oscar-worthy scene.

  A cowboy has his head tilted down, with his hat casting its own shadow along his face. And in front of him, his brother in arm, stood with both of his hands pced firmly within his tuxedo’s pockets. All the while the sun showed on the opposite side of the camera, leading to the angle showing the dark side of their clothes and body.

  (Spartan Gabriel) Make the running stop, and let us do our jobs…

  He frowned.

  His knuckles crackled against each other, as no air pushed in or out into his nostrils or mouth. Unable to hear the sounds of his heart beating, it was loudened by the whistling wind, smming against their eardrums like a metallic whistle.

  As a low voice cleaved through the air.

  (David) I forged my path too…

  The howling of winds stopped.

  Ignoring the many crosshairs his head tickled against, he managed to break the desert wind with just the lowness of his voice. His feet glued to the floor, his clothes remaining still within himself, he continued to stare deep into the cobblestone floor.

  (David) The kids that I trained, teens whose souls were crushed on that day … I was the one who gave them the closest resembnce to a father figure…

  David tilted his head toward Gabriel, his eyes and cheeks pushed down. Letting the world turn white, Gabriel let his eyes widen slightly at the cold frown David pstered onto himself.

  A frown so cold, Gabriel took a step back.

  (David) You may be my brother … but like hell you’re going to take them away from me …

  Giving him his answer, Gabriel curled his fingers into his palms, his nails trenching into his skin which poured forth blood. Instead of letting it drop to the floor, he thrust his palm forward, making the blood sptter to…

  David dodged it.

  As the cowboy pulled out his pistol, Gabriel raised his right hand, balling it into a fist as if he was trying to deter someone’s attention.

  (Spartan Gabriel) Attack—

  He felt a cold icicle slime down his back.

  Moving his head to the right, his left ear felt the edge of a spiked rolling bde, leaving the tip of his ear to puncture out a simple cut. Lunging back, he raised his arms, but the woman wasn’t aiming at Gabriel.

  No, she raised her weapon high, her gre and frown causing the hidden agents within every building to gulp. Still having hot lead burrowed deep in her shoulder and stomach, she bit the inside of her cheeks, directing the pain.

  As she yelled.

  (Iris) Come and get me!

  And just like that, every agent which had their crosshairs on David turned their attention onto Iris.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  Bullets scorned the desert air.

  Piercing through it like sunlight, it flew and soared toward a woman who ran and pushed her legs. Her destination, which was toward the city center, turned treacherous, once bullet hole after bullet hole stabbed within the cobblestone ground in front of her.

  Lunging left and right, avoiding and dodging every bullet from the surrounding rooftops and open windows, she tightened her body.

  Allowing every muscle from head to toe to squeeze, she held her breath, once a flood of agents poured in front of her. All of them wielding handguns and firearms, ranged from either a simple desert eagle to a carbine.

  (Agent #1) Stop!

  The agent in the middle, being in front of a battalion of more than 20 agents, pointed his desert eagle to the sprinting Iris. His finger on the trigger, he had his right foot in front, and his left foot back.

  Iris only narrowed her eyes evermore, letting her spiked rolling pin lower to her waist and thigh. Biting down on her mors, she hunched her body, making her body seem aerodynamic.

  (Agent #1) Damn it … Fire!

  Pulling their triggers, a monsoon of bullets plowed toward Iris, leaving her to nestle inside of the agent’s crosshairs. Being their target, she closed her eyes, before…

  She leaped twenty feet up in the air.

  Soaring like an eagle, she opened her eyes and looked down at the wide-mouthed agents, their guns still aimed from where they originally tried to shoot her. Since the te evening was turning into early night, she couldn’t cast a shadow on them, but her gre was enough to give them shivers.

  Landing on both soles of her feet, she resumed her sprint, which only caused the battalion of agents to turn around.

  And fire once more.

  (Iris’s thoughts) Desperate bunch are they?

  Lunging to her right, she took a little detour to an alley to avoid the lightning of bullets. As her body was barely covered, a scream of brick and stone scraped her eardrums, making it seem she took cover in the knick of time.

  Despite her throat and nostrils wheezing and huffing out air sporadically, she didn’t sweat, nor did she feel her lungs or heart exploding. For a middle-aged woman who had soft wrinkles within her cheeks and foreheads, her body was like iron.

  Her heels scraping against the white pavement ground, she saw the other end of the alley, which would lead to another street she could use for her destination.

  (Iris’s thoughts) Just hope there are no agents—

  A group of shadowy figures began to take form.

  The more her eyes widened slightly, the more her vision traced the tuxedo suits and bck fedoras they usually wore. Camping on the other end of the alley like trolls, they drew out their weapons and pushed out the air from their lungs.

  Leaving their lungs to empty.

  Pulling their triggers, another wave of bullets blistened. The walls around her being only a meter apart in width, she could either jump or slide down, or…

  She lifted herself from the ground, being ten feet up while tilting her body at a 60-degree angle. Focusing all of her body weight to the tips of her toes, and extending her hand out to graze the other brick wall, she—

  Wall sprinted to avoid the bullets.

  (Agent #2) Holy … shit…

  Before her wall sprint, she moved her spiked rolling pin to her left hand, having it behind her back as she ran. Losing her momentum, she let herself succumb to gravity, leaving her no choice but to pce her feet onto the stone pavement again.

  But by the time she set her feet back on solid ground, she was already a meter in front of the agents.

  No choice but to lunge back, they were too slow for Iris. Without blinking, their chests burst free. In just a single ssh of her weapon, she put the group of agents into an injured sleep.

  Passing through the crashed and tumbled agents, she found herself on another main street, but…

  (Iris’s thoughts) I suppose I ain’t so lucky…

  All around her, another battalion of agents surrounded her in all directions. North, south, east, and west; she couldn’t jump or wall sprint her way out of this mess.

  Letting her thumb rub the wooden weapon she wielded, she pointed the tip of it up toward the heavens. Casting her gaze to the North, she stared at the agents who were in her way, her gre and frown freezing the young men’s souls like ice coolers.

  (Iris) You call yourselves men yet you can’t take down a single woman? If you want to take me…

  The group of 40 or more agents, in unison, moved their fingers to the side of their guns. Keeping their aim at the woman, their hands and knuckles trembled and shivered, because overall…

  Their pride in being men, macho men, was at stake.

  Unable to take down a woman, a middle-aged woman, would not fly within their standards. Their faces were painted red, their lips churning down to form grilling frowns, and even their rifles and guns trembled upon their anger.

  (Iris) Don’t be rash and use your fists.

  Half of the agents holstered their weapons, while the other half dropped them to the ground.

  Letting their hands-free from metal, they used only the blessing of what God gave them. Hands, fingers, knuckles, they hunched their backs as they readied their stances. Before they all ran together, like a mob, to the woman who had already pced her rolling pin back into its pce.