Renegade

Chapter four

Makoto threw a glance over his shoulder, his already thin lips narrowing further at the sight of the pursuers who were gaining on them.

Three men dressed in black and dark green with helmets pulled over their faces, hands securely wrapped around their guns. Their very big guns that were most definitely not set on stun mode; they were far past that now. A red band adorned their right biceps.

Makoto turned to look at the road in front of him, swallowing hard. If there were only three on their tails, that meant the others had broken off to try and surround them.

His fingers tightened around the smaller hand currently enveloped by his. Amanda was trying her best to keep up with his unbridled speed, her tawny brown skin flushed with exertion and hazel eyes slightly unfocused. Her springy, umber curls were whipping wildly around her face.

The Civilian Security had caught them unawares and they had only had enough time to grab their bags and dash out of the abandoned building, forced to leave some of their belongings behind.

His own jet-black locks were slapping at his cheeks as he ducked under stray branches and jumped over hidden roots. This was the exact situation he had wanted to avoid: entering the forest. There wasn't much of anything he could use to defend them from the CS in here.

His foot slipped on stray leaves and he would've gone tumbling had Amanda not wrenched him upright. Her free hand was braced against a tree trunk, breath labored. He bent over, trying to suck in some much-needed air.

Glancing back at the men closing in on them, he gave her arm a tug and they took off, his eyes scanning the ground more thoroughly this time. At this rate, they were going to get caught.

"A little help?" he asked her, voice strained.

"Okay," was her breezy answer.

"The tangible kind, Mandy!" he intoned when she did nothing.

"Okay," this time, there was a loud crack up ahead of them as a large oak splintered, branches and hefty chunks of tree trunk raining around them.

Makoto skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding the shower, and released Amanda's hand, turning to face their pursuers instead. He spread his arms around him, palms angled towards the incoming men, and the bits of wood stopped mid-air. He counted to three, then swung his right arm forward, slicing through the air in a precise motion.

Half of the wooden debris behind him went flying at the men, who were forced to jump out of the way. Makoto had been hoping for that reaction and as he swung his other arm, the rest of the projectiles were sent in the direction they were diving.

The pained yelps and grunts were all the signal he needed before he picked up Amanda's hand again and dragged her away. He knew the men would eventually be up and following, but he hoped the two of them would be far gone by then.

I should've killed them. His chest constricted at the thought, fully aware that he would probably never manage to do it.

The two of them have committed many a crime in the few months they've been on the run - theft, breaking & entering, assault on CS officials and illegal use of their abilities -, but he couldn't bring himself to cross the line of murder. Even if it was to keep the two of them safe. The thought alone was enough to have his stomach roiling.

Not to mention, what would Amanda think of him, then? He couldn't bear the thought of being hated by her. Of being abandoned. Sweet, carefree, dreamy Amanda, his best - and only - friend for as long as he could remember.