"How much longer is there to go?"
"Just a little bit more, keep pushing!"
I looked over my shoulder and saw shadows thrown against the walls as the monsters turned the corner.
Snarls echoed through the narrow alley as the hellhounds leaped over trashcans and metal scraps that Luke had thrown aside in an attempt to slow them down.
We weren't too bad either, months of running from monsters through endless hours built up stamina and endurance; we still had hours of energy left. But Luke seemed a little lost as he ran through New York's alleys, always a bit more hesitation between each turn, slowing us down.
We turned the corner only to face a dead end.
"Fuck!" Luke shouted in frustration, "This won't be the end, goddamnit!"
His blue eyes desperately scanned the alley walls then locked onto a fire escape.
"Here!" Luke shouted with glee, he held his hands together and I climbed on top of them to reach the ladder. Luke jumped and climbed up right behind me. He looked down as the barking monsters and spat. I slid open the window and we climbed into the room.
I turned around to smile at Luke only to see him held at a chokehold by some ugly looking teenage kid.
This kid looked like he was about 16-years-old. He had eyes that were sunken and traced with dark circles, ragged hair that looked like it wasn't washed for weeks, and a grin with too many gaps to count.
"Hey little lady, how about you and your buddy here hand over your equipment then get the fuck out of my territory?"
"Hell no."
Toothless took out a bronze knife and traced it around Luke's forehead, "I'm not too good at persuasion, but I think this would do."
I sighed. They always think that works; never did.
But this guy was different, he had some sort of crazy light in his eyes, they danced around as if he was enjoying watching a house burn to the ground, with screams shattering in his ears.
He pressed down on the knife and a trickle of blood slid down Luke's face to his mouth. I didn't even flinch. Toothless didn't see Luke, but Luke's tongue flicked at the drop of blood and a grin spread across his face. I smiled too and looked straight at Toothless, "Sorry loser, not today."
Toothless' eyes widened, and some blood spilled from his gaping mouth. He body fell to the concrete floor with Luke's hunting knife still stuck in his back.
Luke bantered, "Little lady."
"Shut the hell up."
I strode across the dark room and scavenged Toothless' pack; in it, was a ziplock of these weird brownie things, an orange t-shirt that had some faded print, and a pack of tissues. The brownies weren't pot brownies, I know how those look. These brownies smelled strange, something I can't explain with words other than "home." I looked over to Luke, "Why the hell does this kid have a pack of tissues in his pack?"
Luke nodded over to the floor, wads of tissue were scattered upon the floor and some adult magazines strewn around the room.
"Oh god, what a fucking perv."
Luke laughed an infectious laugh, and I laughed as well.
I swear those weren't weed brownies.