"Kiba!" I called, bringing my blade down and slicing a rugged member in half. A few yards away, he held fingers in his mouth. His golden eyes locked on to me. With a jerk of the head he tossed away the dismembered hand and raced toward me. Before the guy to my left could shoot me Kiba pounced and latched onto his shoulder, his fangs tearing flesh. Blood exploded out of his skin like splattered paint. He yelled, then fell to my feet with Kiba on top of him. I whirled to attack the two charging at me, their knives swishing back and worth in a pathetic attempt to cut me. I leapt up and twirled, kicking my feet and separating their heads from their necks. When I landed, I paused and turned my head. Behind me, the rest of them were cowering in a huddle. Their dopey switchblades glimmered in their shaking hands. I faced them fully, Kiba at my side. He ceased growling. A moment of silence passed. They didn't know what to do, run or fight. But they were scared. Kiba could sense it. He barked, then made to chase after them, stopping after they'd run away and wouldn't look back.
I looked around me with a blank face. The small alley, crammed between the bar and the inn, was painted with large splashes of red. Green dumpsters lined the brick sides, black topped, definitely large enough to store a dozen or so bodies. I made to pick one up and drag it over. Kiba barked sharply, nodding to the crimson stains. The cops would be here soon; how would we clean up the blood in time? Hiding the bodies in dumpsters was a long shot anyway. I forgot that's where they usually checked first. Abandoning the project, I followed Kiba up a nearby fire-escape. Sirens had already become audible. My heart slammed against my chest. It was telling me to go faster. We'd reached the roof. The sound of heavy wings beating blew dust up from the concrete. Kiba's eyes widened when a circle of light shone down on us.
"Hands up!" a male voice droned through the speaker, "You are under arrest!"
I blinked, trying so hard not to laugh at myself, "For what?"
They didn't find me as funny. Tubes extended from the belly of the copter. My smile melted away. Ear-shattering shots rang through the night, drowning out the usual racket of streetcars and pedestrians. Kiba was at my heels as I dashed to the edge and leapt to the roof of Chupacabra's. In an instant I found a skylight and opened it, Kiba jumping in first, landing in the dark, dank storage room on top of a pile of cardboard boxes. He landed nimbly on his feet, padding to the door. I leaned into the opening and a surging pain surged through my lower back. Blood began rapidly oozing down my front. The boxes were hard against my abdomen. They were opened by my stumble, and the empty glass bottles inside shattered, piercing my skin and drawing blood. My vision had began blurring and going dark at the edges. Scratched, bruised, and shot, I opened the door.
Chupacabra's was thankfully closed. Not empty, but closed. The bartender had taken leave, and all the usual customers and employees had left, save one. She gasped more at my condition than my sudden appearance. Her skin, more than exposed by her black leather bikini, seemed to have streaks of color on it from the neon signs in the window. I could barely make out her face, or what she was saying to me, but I could see the blue and red lights from outside. The blaring horn throbbed in between my ears.
"Come out with your hands up! We know you're in there!"
Kiba growled next to me. I placed a hand on his scruff to calm him, but ended up using him as support. He was taken off guard and yelped as I fell. A loud drum shook my brain. More voices, probably only a few, sounded like thousands of people shouting at me through amps. Kiba heaved himself out and began barking, at who I don't know, and then stopped immediately. I heard something like, "bad puppy", then I felt hands on me. They lifted me into the air, and though I had arms securely around me, eventually a cushion pressed into my back, I didn't know gravity anymore. All I could feel was the sensation of falling.
I opened my eyes and screamed.
