-1Virus 24

Shadow looked away momentarily, and weighed up his options in his mind. There was nothing on the conscious level about this - nothing very considered or even coherent, just a rhythmitic thumping cycle of; kill or not? Kill or not? Kill or not? - but in his subconscious, all the cogs were turning, his insanity burning in his mind like a physical fever.

However, even his hotly churning subconscious didn't get far before he saw, in the corner of his eye, whirling movement, and a flash of silver.

Shadow turned, snake-like in his quickness, and saw both Smith and Angela lunging for him.

Reacting instantly, Shadow turned his body around so that his vulnerable chest area was not easily accessible, and held his knife out, the blade glittering dangerously.

Angela's eyes widened, and although Shadow thought it was because she hadn't expected him to be armed, it was actually because even she was surprised at the speed of his reaction. She hadn't even seen him move, precisely. One minute he was looking away, his body exposed to all and sundry, the next he was looking at her knowingly, with his knife held out before him.

Although she had noticed much within this time - it was about the space of ten seconds - she did notice Smith change the direction of his lunge to the side, moving like a liquid dream. Her eyes were fixed solely on Shadow, and her mind concentrated on nothing but her fierce desire to wipe that heads-I-win-tails-you-lose expression from his face.

Smith got there before her, but barely.

-----

Smith collided with Shadow full force, connecting with a solid thud that made Angela think fleetingly of someone she had seen jump from a tall building when she had been a Coppertop. The sound was very like them hitting the pavement.

Shadow's arm, the one holding the knife, jerked towards Smith, and cold, delicious rage filled Angela instantaneously, her fist a strained hard lump that just happened to be connected to her arm.

Finally, after what had seemed to be an eternity of years, Angela's fist connected firmly to Shadow's face.

Angela had not put any real force of her own making behind the first, there was no need for it. The laws of Momentum would help her out, and the force of her whole body behind the cocked fist would be enough.

It was.

Shadow was thrown backwards violently, tumbling Smith off to the side, who landed harmlessly on the grassy earth.

Shadow had a less lucky landing.

At the point where Shadow had been crouched, the soft and fluffy earth of the forest gave way to the much tougher terrain of a rock path that wound up slowly through sparse growth, towards a set of sinister peaks.

His head connected squarely with the unforgiving stone, and the sickening thud that had reminded Angela of suicide rang out again, but was, this time, decorated by Shadow's shriek, hitting the landscape and been thrown back to them, as if nature did not want to hear it.

The rest of his body tumbled after him, and he landed awkwardly, in a sprawl.

Angela landed a split second after him, also on the harsh ugly terrain of the rock path, but her fall was broken by her stomach rather than her head, as it was with Shadow.

She wasn't hurt, but all her breath flew out of her in a gush, and she lay there almost helplessly, gasping like a fish out of water.

Although he didn't, if Shadow had chosen that moment to regain consciousness and attack, she would have been helpless to stop him.

Smith arrived at her feet, looking concerned.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, the worry sounding very out of place in his usually blank voice.

Still with her breath coming in large unladylike whoops, Angela nodded, gesturing with her hand for him to help her up.

His grasp warm against hers, he lifted her gently.

Almost immediately she stood up, gently wavering on her feet, and went to Shadow.

He lay splayed against the rock path like a gruesome spray of blood, looking very much like his name in the cloak of the night.

She nodded imperceptibly, and after a few moments of looking, found Shadow's life near his sprawled body, a deadly silver gleam in the darkness.

She looked at Smith, her eyebrows raised, and he didn't ask questions, he nodded himself, following her when she moved towards Shadow, moving the knife deliberately so the faint scrim of moonlight flashed silver lightening up and down the blade, making it look live a living artery of metal.