ALT I shook my head. “I will not yield, ——,” I told him, turning back to the wall of swords, debating on whether a long sword would make the fight any easier. —— was taller, broader, more skilled. Again, my speed was all I had. Terraquin’s instruction was all I had. I could be calm and collected. “Are you fucking insane, speedy? You gonna kill me?” He was closer now, his voice booming. They left us in here alone. They were hoping for blood. Something I would not allow, but —— let his anxieties take him. “I have girls, Anya. Kids. Mine. What’re you—” “I do not wish to kill you, ——!” I yelled, turning to him. He was inches away from my face, his painted red with anger. If I stepped back, I would walk straight into the swords, so I kept talking. I was digging my grave. “If one of us yields, it will be you.”

ALT One block away now. I was so close. The other two men clawed their way onto the rooftops, joining their lead as he closed in on me. All three of them were cloaked in all black leathers, with thin black chest plates made from some kind of obsidian. I looked at them for only a second more before jumping from one row of townhouses to the next, my breath catching in my throat as I landed. “Fuck,” I yelled, my ankle twisting beneath me, but I did not stop. Gods, I could not die. That would be the shittiest end to the shittiest week.