Ravens

Eva spun around quickly to face Nightmare, hatred etched on her face. The last person she wanted to see was Nightmare. She immediately blocked all comms from him on her DI.

Preemptively.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked. Her tone dripped with venom.

"Nothing terrible," he said. "I was just here to get my CCI, and then I saw you two."

Although his tone was nonchalant, his eyes were incredibly predatory. He stepped closer, a wicked grin plastered on his face.

"I think," he continued, "I mean, we think you ought to join us. We can have a grand old time, you two and us boys."

Eva's eyes turned cold as she looked at the people behind Nightmare.

He had a small posse behind him, roughly a dozen others. All of them men, half of whom wore lascivious grins, their intentions obvious.

But what truly got to Eva was that Nightmare and a couple others kept glancing at Miko, their eyes were unmistakably filled with hunger. Her eyes shone with a predatory gleam.

Eva had never really cared much for others, least of all strangers. So when bad things happened to random people, she never really felt bothered. Even if that person was bent and broken, and their blood gushed into the air, she would just carry on with her day.

She reasoned that she had nothing to do with those things and never got involved. All she would do was get in the way anyway.

But if anyone she loved was hurt, or even threatened, Eva didn't hesitate to turn into a demon. And these people… Those looks they gave Miko was something she felt was unforgivable, and a quiet rage swelled deep within her.

To her, people like them were weak cowards that preyed on children because that was the only way they felt empowered. She felt it was her duty to put them in their place. To show them that they had their own predators to fear.

Her hands subconsciously curled into fists as she studied every single person there, and imprinted their faces in her memory. She had her DI look up whatever data was available on all of them, because understanding your enemy was rule number one.

Eva protectively stepped in front of Miko, who curiously peeked out from behind.

"How 'bout no?" she countered.

Nightmare gave a brief chortle, derision embedded deep within. He took another step towards her and reached out a hand.

"Now, now. We're just trying to be friendly. Aren't we, boys? We just want to know you better."

The men around him muttered in agreement, and they too inched closer towards Eva and Miko. There were thirteen of them in total, most with strong, athletic physiques. Each of them carried an aura of danger, but Eva didn't back down from a single one of them.

The two of them could only watch as the group of thugs slowly tried to encircle them. She wasn’t sure if she could deal with these clowns, even if she faced them one-on-one.

But all thirteen at once? There was definitely no way in hell.

If she knew their capabilities, and had better training, and ambushed them, then maybe. Even though she was stronger and tougher than she used to be, it didn't mean that she suddenly became godly.

As all of this was happening, Eva and Miko were sending each other private messages through their DIs.

—

Eva: I'm gonna make a distraction, ok? You gotta take that opportunity and run.

Miko: What? No. What about you?

Eva: Don't worry about me. I'll figure out a way to handle them.

Miko: You obviously cannot fight them all. You are a pilot, not a soldier.

Eva: Well, I can't let them take you, that's for sure.

—

Miko was surprised at Eva's protectiveness over her. She felt truly touched by that. Technically, the two of them had just met, so Eva had no reason to shield her so adamantly.

Admittedly, they bonded pretty quickly while they were getting shot at in a lifeboat. That tends to do that. Plus they were already planning to partner up anyway...

Miko reasoned that if Eva was going to shield her like a sister, then it was her duty to do the same. If she couldn't physically protect her, then she would use the next best thing.

Obstinance.

I will only run if you do as well, she messaged Eva. I will not allow them to take you, either.

Eva was dumbstruck when she saw that message, and it warmed her heart. She was willing to sacrifice herself in order to allow Miko to get away, but never expected her to be just as stubborn.

Ok. We'll run together, Eva messaged back.

"Look," Nightmare continued, "don't you want to spend time with guys like us? You'll be our special friends, right? We'll treat you right. Both of you."

Eva sneered at him as she took a step back. Her DI had mapped out the best path for them to run, and shared the plan with Miko. She just needed the perfect opportunity to kick things off.

"No thanks. You boys can just go back to wherever you came from and go play with yourselves instead."

That comment got to Nightmare, and eradicated whatever patience he had left.

"Fine," he said with gritted teeth. "We needed a warmup, anyway.."

Nightmare then motioned towards his goons, and they all picked up the pace. They moved around her like a pack of carnivores, and tried to keep her cornered.

Eva kept backing up as they continued to advance on her, but she kept her eye on all of them. It wasn't just that she didn't want to get blindsided, but she needed to stay alert for any openings.

One of the thugs moved closer than the others, so she jumped on that chance. She ran directly for him, which threw them all into a momentary chaos.

The thug quickly got his bearings and stretched his arms wide. If they were going to run straight at him, he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to grab them both!

But he never got the chance.

Eva performed a quick feint which opened up his defenses, and caused him to plant his feet defensively. He was in a strong stance with his legs firmly rooted, which was exactly what Eva wanted. She swiftly drove her foot into his knee with all her force.

It snapped and crunched as it bent backward, and the guy doubled over as he howled in pain.

He rolled around and clutched his knee as his lower leg and foot dangled limply. His constant screaming did nothing to alleviate the excruciating pain he felt.

Eva and Miko didn't even hesitate and ran past him at full speed. The two of them ducked into the back alleys off to the side. They figured that they could lose the thugs in the narrow, mazelike alleyways behind the buildings.

Their light frames were perfectly suited to dashing around the corners, while the more heavily-built men would have more problems and struggle just to keep up.

Alarmed, Nightmare and the others ran after the two of them, and left their wounded 'friend' behind.

"You bitch!" screamed Nightmare. "That's the second guy of mine you crippled!"

Except for throwing him the finger, Eva didn't even bother to respond. She had better things to do than waste her breath on him.

If I could cripple all of them, I would!

A cunning idea immediately shot through her mind, and a devious grin formed right afterwards. She quickly adjusted their escape route through the back alleys, and shared the new plan with Miko.

Miko laughed for a moment before she muzzled herself, then nodded in agreement.

They ran down a long alley, which allowed Nightmare and a few of his goons to catch up a little. But to their surprise, Eva and Miko split up at the T-intersection ahead!

Nightmare quickly motioned for his men to also split up, but wasn't sure who he was going to chase himself.

Even if he had caught up to Eva, she was still a rather tough opponent. Whether or not he could take her on wasn't the issue. Miko was simply the easier prey, and if he caught her, Eva would probably have gone to him to save her.

He saw how protective she was of the little Japanese girl, and that was a weakness he could easily pry open and manipulate. In the end, he went after Miko and had an extra man go after Eva instead.

He beamed with pride as he thought about how clever he was.

Dumb girls, he thought. So easy to outmaneuver!

~

After she juked her pursuers for some time, Eva quickly turned another corner and ducked into a small awning, breaths heavy but even.

Shortly after, a couple of Nightmare's men ran by at an impressive speed. Clearly, they didn't see her, and were still chasing some ghost of her.

And shortly after that, another three men came running and passed on by. They were much larger, and so took much more effort to move quickly. This group was rather worn out and their breaths were labored.

A bit behind everyone else, two of Nightmare's largest men huffed and puffed as they jogged to keep up. Their faces were beet red and covered in sweat. Every breath they took was a wheezing gasp.

Put either of them in a ring, and they could last all day and dominate, but on a track? Forget it.

They both stopped and tried to catch their breath. One leaned on a wall while the other just simply sat down.

"Those... guys... got it," said one of them slowly, breaths hot and heavy between each word.

The other one couldn't even talk. He just hurriedly nodded in agreement while sweat poured down his face.

Eva then came barreling out of nowhere at great speed, and leapt at the exhausted thug sitting on the ground. His eyes went wide in shock - he could barely move and wasn't able to get out of the way in time.

She drove her knee straight into his face with astounding force and smashed his face flat! His nose made a sickening CRUNCH as it fractured into a million pieces from the impact. He fell on his back as he grasped at his bloody, mangled face, and screamed in pain.

Quick as a flash, she then threw an elbow at the leaning man's sternum with as much force as she could.

Since he was already backed-up against the wall, there was nothing he could do but take the hit full-on. His sternum made a heavy cracking sound as her strike reduced it to bony splinters. Pain immediately spread outwards from his chest, which he clutched as he fell to his knees.

Soon it became too much for him to bear; it was as though knives stabbed into him with every movement he made. He wanted to scream, but couldn't. He didn't even want to breathe.

Her attack on the both of them was too vicious, too fast, and it left them both wallowing in agony. She then ran without hesitation towards the T-intersection where she and Miko originally split, a glint of mischief in her eye.

Further down their respective alleyways, the thugs had spun around in surprise - those screams were coming from way back behind them!

Nightmare immediately realized that Eva had somehow ambushed his guys. His face turned red as he realized she probably crippled yet another one! He quickly ordered everyone to turn around and get back quickly.

If they could box her in from multiple sides with everyone, then she'd have nowhere to run. She'd be theirs, and they'd mete out the punishment she so very much deserved.

Their minds were filled with chaotic violence as they ran back to their screaming compatriots. Their devilish grins revealed the nature of their base thoughts.

But by the time they got back to the ambush spot, she was nowhere to be found. Not a single one of them ran into her... Even though they had spread out and covered extra alleyways on their way back, she had still gotten past them.

How was that even possible?!

Not only did she trick all of them, but even wounded even more of his thugs in the process! Nightmare exploded in a flurry of tantrums and screamed into the air.

"You're gonna pay, you bitch! I'm gonna hurt you more than everyone else combined! You're gonna find new levels of pain you didn't even know existed! And I'm gonna enjoy every minute of it!"

A few stories up on a roof, Miko peeked over the edge and down at Nightmare. He was yelling down every alleyway in unbridled anger, and his rants became more and more unhinged and nonsensical.

It was a sight to behold.

"You truly vexed him. That makes me quite pleased,” she said.

"It's easy beating a two-dimensional mind," replied Eva.

The two girls chuckled as they watched the buffoons gather themselves together down below.

“Hey, when you got your license, it asked you to pick a callsign,” said Eva. “What did’ja choose?”

“Raijin,” Miko replied. “After an ancient Japanese god of thunder and lightning. And yourself?”

“Freya. Goddess of love, beauty, wealth, and sex. I gotta get me lots of all that.”

The two women laughed lightly and basked in their newfound sisterhood with mirth.

“I think you and I will have great fun in this galaxy," said Raijin.

Freya replied with a sly grin and a playful nod.

They then ducked back and hopped across the rooftops, away from Nightmare and his goons.

~AUTHOR'S NOTE~

The novel series is now available to purchase on the Kindle store as an eBook or for print! Simply search for 'Ravens of Eternity' or 'Ceritus Orbis' to find it.