Chapter One
Something stirred in the shadows.
A dragon poked her head out of a darkened alleyway, the dim light of a distant streetlight illuminating her blood-red scales. She cast a shrewd glance at the surrounding space and took a step, still looking up and down the street. Once she was certain she was alone, she dashed across to another alleyway.
She squinted. It was difficult to see through the murky darkness.
The SkyWing heard voices coming close. Through the shadows, she could make out the faint outline of a dumpster, overflowing with garbage, a potential hiding spot.
There were talonsteps coming closer. She had to hide. She darted over to the dumpster and hunched down behind it, desperately trying to not make any noise. The talon steps were very close now. All of a sudden, a beam of light sliced through the darkness above her.
The guards were near enough that the SkyWing hiding in the alley could hear their breathing. Judging from the sounds, there seemed to be two of them. One of them started talking.
"Why'd you stop?"
The other guard grunted. "Thought I saw something go in here."
Her heart stopped. Oh shit.
"Well, you see anything?" the first guard said.
Guard number two didn't respond. The dragon in the alley saw the light beam wave around.
She swallowed nervously. She reached to her side, where her SMG was stashed. If push comes to shove...
The movement knocked an aluminum can loose. It hit the ground with a clink!. She tensed as the flashlight beam pointed in her direction.
"What was that?" Guard One asked rhetorically.
She did not dare to move a muscle. Maybe they won't notice it if I don't move., she thought hopefully.
"HEY! I know you're in there! Come out or else!" Guard Two barked. The SkyWing's heart sank. Or not
"WELL? I'M WAITING!" Guard Two sounded impatient. She cursed in her head and grabbed her SMG off of its magnetic holster.
Guess shit's about to hit the fan
The red dragon cocked the gun, the chk-CHK barely getting to echo before the dragon jumped out from behind the dumpster and let loose a barrage of bullets at the guards.
One of the guards fell over, presumably dead. The other guard, a SandWing, quickly recovered from the shock. They raised a pistol, and fired back against the dragon in the alley, the second shot nailing her in the shoulder.
They only got one more shot before their head erupted in a red spray. With that out of the way, she dashed out of the alley and down the street.
Better get out of here. The gunfire will undoubtedly attract more guards.
She gritted her teeth in pain. The SandWing got lucky and shot her in the shoulder. The burning only got worse as she rounded a corner. She heard yelling, and the boom of gunshots went off behind her.
Shitshitshitshit. This was supposed to be a stealth mission, dammit!
The SkyWing gave a burst of speed, and veered left, nothing more than a cherry-red blur. Once she was out of the "paparazzi's" line of sight, she ducked into yet another ally, and without hesitation, dove into a dumpster, shutting the lid on top of her.
She internally cringed when she felt something wet and sticky on her face. She wrinkled her nose at the smell, trying not to puke. Note to self: maybe think twice before jumping into a fucking DUMPSTER!?
Less than a second later, she heard voices yelling to each other, muffled by the plastic.
She heard them run right past her, the shouts going off into the distance. She waited for a few seconds, and hesitantly lifted the dumpster lid open a crack. Suckers.
The once-red dragon, now brown, heaved herself out of the makeshift hidey hole, which, for the record, stunk like hot garbage. Which wasn't far from the truth, come to think of it.
That's going to be a real pain to wash out. She thought as she gingerly pulled a greasy banana peel off her face, hissing from the pain in her shoulder.
She reached into a pocket, trying to ignore the peeling of white-nails in her arm, and pulled out the reason why she'd come here.
A data chip, thin and shiny, glinted when she held it up to the light.
She let out a sigh of relief. She had gotten it. All that was left was to get out of here and back to base. She lifted a talon to a sleek device hooked around her ear. "I got it.
A familiar voice spoke into her ear. "Good job, Scarlet. Were you seen?"
Scarlet grumbled. "Yes. One of them shot me in the shoulder. Also had to hide in a dumpster."
The voice paused. "Ew, nasty." Nasty perfectly described the sticky candy wrappers that clung to her once red scales and the smell of rotten everything that would be a bitch get rid of.
"Please make it back here without more... incidents... Blister Out" The comm went silent.
Scarlet sighed. Yet another day in the life of the shitstorm known as Fireteam Versa, the counterterrorism unit. She leaned against the brick wall of the alley, listening to the sound of her own blood drip onto the ground.
A/N: I had the computer I was writing this confiscated, and was only able to upload this by sneaking it out of the house. Don't expect more chapters for a while.