To Beckon- you said this was one of your favorite chapters. Hopefully this does not disappoint.

Know what one of the hardest things about writing fanfiction is? When it seems like no one is reading your stories, kinda makes the time spent feel like a waste.

Also on a more personal note- I recently beat the game on the Akumu mode... Holy crap, man was not meant to endure such a thing.

Now without further ado...

Enjoy.

Luck was a funny thing. One moment it was your best friend, the next your worst nightmare. This was more like the latter.

Kidman again found herself running as fast as she possible could. That large creature, Heresy, was right behind her. Thankfully she had managed to snatch the keys for the bus before it started chasing her. She would have preferred a smaller, faster vehicle, but beggars could not be choosers. It certainly would beat the hell out of running and being eaten alive.

"Shit!" Kidman almost tripped as she ran up the stairs of the bus in her haste. Thankfully instead of falling on her face, she fell perfectly into the driver's seat. Shoving the keys into the ignition, she tried to start the large vehicle.

"What are you doing?!"

It was not until she heard the shout behind her that she noticed she was not alone on the bus.

Sebastian and Joseph were already onboard before she was.

Were this any other time she would be feeling that same horrible sinking, feeling in her stomach being around Sebastian after having shot him, but the massive creature bursting out of the ground where the bus had been moments before put a hold on that feeling rather quickly.

"Answer me Kid..." Sebastian had his sentence cut off when Kidman slammed her foot on the gas. The two male detectives were shoved off their feet by the sudden movement.

Long spider-like limbs broke through the surface of the ground like spikes. Kidman had managed to drive the bus onto the road before the thing had a chance to grab them.

Kidman look in the mirror over her shoulder just in time to se Heresy rip itself from the ground and to begin to give chase.

She did not know that Sebastian and Joseph were on the bus when she snatched the keys. It was simply the first available vehicle. Now that they were moving though, she was infinitely grateful that they were there. Otherwise they would have been left on foot back at the garage with Heresy.

Kidman had accidentally pulled the two men out of danger.

Unfortunately, even on the surface rather than beneath it, Heresy was still abnormally fast despite its size. The thing caught up with them after less than a minute.

The long limbs broke through the roof of the bus, Sebastian and Joseph barely managing to dodge the appendages. With a mighty pull, Heresy ripped most of the roof, except for the front portion over the driver's seat where Kidman was, free and tossed it away like a piece of paper trash.

Kidman gasped out quietly. "Oh no."

Kidman was in the driver seat, her foot stomping on the gas. The bus did not move though, it was being held in place by Heresy. The moment the thing let go they had to get out of here fast. Since she was in the driver seat that left Sebastian and Joseph to deal with Heresy before it killed all three of them.

Sebastian stepped forward, his entire posture screaming with defiance. "Damned if I'm going to die here."

Her seat was thankfully out of reach of Heresy's long legs but she was still worried about the other two detectives. If Heresy wanted to get to her or Joseph it was going to have one hell of a fight trying to get through Sebastian.

That was if Sebastian still wanted to protect her... she did shoot him after all. There was no way he still had the same attitude toward her. This was more than likely just him protecting himself and Joseph.

For some reason the thought of Sebastian treating her differently had a painful feeling in the pit of Kidman's stomach.

The female detective looked into the mirror just in time to see a huge leg swipe from the side.

Straight towards Sebastian.

The older detective did not see it coming.

"Watch out! Right!" Just then someone screamed. It took Kidman a few heartbeats to realize the scream was hers.

Sebastian saw the attack coming a second too late. He attempted to dodge but was still caught by a grazing blow and thrown to the floor of the bus. Joseph moved to help him but had to dive aside to avoid another attack.

Kidman was already half out of her seat the moment Sebastian hit the ground. She only made it two steps when Sebastian lifted that strange crossbow of his up toward Heresy. The shot he fired struck the hulking monster in the dead center of its twisted face. The bolt began beeping loudly on impact. It was a sound Kidman recognized back from when she was in the water tank.

The projectile exploded with enough force to knock Heresy back and off of the bus.

"Go, go, go!" Someone was yelling to her.

Kidman was already back in the seat, her foot slamming down on the gas. Heresy instantly gave chase but this time they were able to gain some speed to keep ahead of the creature.

Unfortunately it was still extremely fast, it was already catching up to them. If they did not do something soon it would grab onto the bus again. They would be back to square one.

"Turn there!" Sebastian yelled as he pointed to a nearby alley.

Kidman did not speak a word, instead she veered the bus in a heavy right turn into the alley.

Heresy might be fast, but it was incapable of making sharp turns moving at its current speed. When the bus turned the creature was still running toward them, it tried to make the same turn but instead it skid across the ground and slammed into a nearby building hard.

Kidman saw their mistake the moment the bus pulled into the alley. It was a dead end, on one side they had Heresy outside while the other was blocked by a wrecked tanker truck. It was too large to crash the bus through, that is if they were lucky enough for the tanker to be empty. It would be insane if they survived Heresy and everything so far just to die because they crashed into a tanker full of fuel.

Kidman hoped, but highly doubted, Heresy was killed on impact. At the very least it was injured, if it came around the corner they would be in serious trouble.

Sebastian and Joseph held their weapons trained on where they came from but thankfully Heresy was nowhere in sight. They lost it or it was dead, Kidman was happy with either outcome.

"I don't know how long we'll be safe here..." Kidman slumped back in the seat. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. That was way too close of a call.

In an attempt to calm herself down, Kidman stood up and stepped away from the driver's seat. Taking a look around she got a better look at the alleyway. What she saw unnerved her, this was a perfect spot for an ambush...

She caught sight of the falling crate slightly too late. It would have struck her in the head if Sebastian had not grabbed her arm and pulled her aside at the last moment.

Perhaps his attitude toward her was not as changed as she thought.

"Now what?" Sebastian groaned as he cocked his shotgun.

The trio looked at the same spot when a growl was heard. A haunted had stepped up to the ledge above them. A molotov cocktail in hand.

The haunted never got a chance to throw the weapons before Kidman lifted her gun and fired. The bullet hit the glass bottle, making it explode and douse the holder in flames just as another haunted came up behind it. Both went up like a bonfire.

For the next several minutes more haunted came to the ledge. Between the three of them, the creatures were easily dispatched.

"Sebastian, they're above us!" Joseph motioned to the other ledge directly above them. More had arrived from a different direction. Kidman saw many of these were carrying rifles, both bolt actions and automatics.

"Get to cover! They're shooting from above." Joseph called out after the first bullet missed him by a mere foot. If one of them were to be shot by a rifle it would cause some serious problems.

Kidman saw more coming from the initial direction. "Enemy to the right!"

"There's too many!" Kidman screamed. They were being swarmed from all sides, if this kept up much longer they were going to be out of ammunition and at the haunted's mercy.

"Don't get rattled." Sebastian reassured both of them as another haunted tried to board the bus from the side directly behind Kidman. The monster attempted to grab her but never got the chance. Before it was even within reach, Sebastian struck with a vicious left hook.

Kidman could hear the sound of bones breaking on impact. She sincerely hoped it was not Sebastian's hand she heard.

Kidman dove to the front of the bus to dodge another shot. When she returned to her feet she saw more coming from the front of the bus on ground level. "Enemy up front!"

"Leave these ones to me." Joseph was already moving to the front and opening fire.

The first haunted he hit dropped its lit stick of dynamite. The small stick rolled away from the haunted right below the wrecked tanker. In the blink of an eye it exploded, setting off the tanker as well. Just as Kidman had suspected, it was full of something. The resulting explosion blew the entire way open.

Giving them an opening to move on.

The moment the way was clear, Kidman was back in the seat with her foot on the gas.

She breathed a soft sigh of relief as she pulled them back onto the road.

"That was a close one." Joseph's one comment summed up what had to be the thoughts of everyone there.

Joseph went to stand behind her, his hand on the back of Kidman's seat. "Keep us to the left up here."

The Asian detective was a little closer to her than she would have expected him to be. Did he not know she shot Sebastian? Why was he not avoiding her like the plague?

To her grand surprise, Sebastian moved up directly behind her seat and was looking forward over her shoulder. She could see the older detective in the bus mirror.

He was standing beside her as if nothing had ever happened.

As if she had never shot him.

The blood on the side of his shirt, with the bandage she could barely see under the garment, said otherwise.

Maybe he did understand that not only did she not want to shoot him, she had not intended to. She had acted on reflex when he briefly became a haunted.

So far both men had brief time as a haunted but seemed no worse for the wear. Joseph occasionally coughed heavily, he did his best to hide the blood but she could still see it. Sebastian had thus far seemed completely unaffected by the brief transformation. His willpower might be strong enough to resist the change again.

A very familiar and most unwelcome noise startled all three of the detectives. They did not even have a chance to react before Heresy dropped down from a building above, landing directly on the back of their bus.

Once again they were locked in place with the bulk of Heresy's form holding them down.

Just like before, Sebastian and Joseph engaged while Kidman tried to get the bus free. Also like earlier it was stuck fast. At this point she would settle for ramming the bastard and splattering him all across the road if she could.

Eventually, the beast recoiled again and was pushed back.

"Get this thing moving!" Sebastian yelled but Kidman's foot had already floored the gas pedal before he got the words out.

Kidman tried to keep them ahead of the creature but it was closing faster than a gazelle in an open field.

Forcing the bus into a sharp turn, Kidman tried to get some distance on the thing. In the process, Sebastian was thrown to the floor of the bus.

Heresy managed to get close enough to grab onto the bus but this time he did not make it on all the way. They were still able to move but were slowing down.

Heresy lifted a huge leg and was ready to crush Sebastian.

Kidman looked all over the road searching for something to use. A nearby tunnel proved to be exactly what she needed.

Just as Heresy lifted the leg, Kidman stomped as hard as she could on the pedal toward the tunnel. She was not about to let that thing get Sebastian.

Not while she was still alive.

The massive beast never got to bring its leg down. Kidman drove the bus into the tunnel while Heresy was still clinging to the back. It had been so distracted by the closeness of its kill that it failed to see the danger.

The bus easily passed into the tunnel but Heresy was not so fortunate.

The top of the tunnel killed Heresy on impact. Its remains splattering all over the pavement. Kidman smiled slightly to herself. Wishes did come true it seemed. She both killed it and saved Sebastian.

Driving out of the tunnel, Kidman looked all over the road. For now it seemed they were out of the woods. Baring a surprise gunshot from a sniper, there was really nothing else they had left to worry about at the moment.

"Where are we heading, Joseph?" Sebastian had moved over to one of the seats and sat down with a soft thud.

Kidman wondered for a brief moment why he did not ask her that question but she figured it out pretty fast. She was not trustworthy, she shot him and by now he had to have figured out she was keeping information from him.

"I've got a theory." Joseph began. "We seem to be moved around an awful lot. Almost as if by someone's will."

Kidman rolled her eyes slightly at that. Ruvik had been using them like human pieces in a monopoly game this entire time.

"So it's nearly imposable to get any sense of the geography around here but the light, Beacon Mental Hospital, it's always in the distance."

In the mirror, Kidman saw Joseph fumbling with his journal. "This thing you found me hooked up to." He now held the book out for Sebastian to see. "I've seen it in more than one place."

"Yeah... so have I. It seems like it's the same exact one but it's hard to be sure."

They were talking about the STEM terminals. Kidman was sure of it.

"The thing that I've noticed is that each time I run across one, I seem to be closer to the lighthouse. It could be a coincidence but like I said it seems there is some intelligence behind it."

"So you figure we ought to cut to the chase and just head straight for the hospital?" Sebastian seemed to think that was the right idea. That was where the main STEM hub was.

"Exactly." Joseph responded.

"Nice work detective," Sebastian praised Joseph.

"The right side looked like it lead more directly toward the hospital." Joseph stood and moved over to her seat again.

A second later a loud shot rang out.

Followed by a cry of pain behind her.

Kidman's head turned so fast that she almost lost control of the bus. She needed to see that Sebastian was alright.

"Joseph! NO!" Sebastian was at the Asian man's side instantly.

Kidman was about to say something but the older man must have read her mind.

"Just get us out of here!" Sebastian called out, one of his hands on Joseph's side where he had been hit.

Kidman caught the flashing lights from the corner of her eye.

"There's an ambulance there." Kidman pointed across the road over several wrecked cars where the familiar red and white vehicle sat.

Kidman pulled the bus to a stop. "There might be some kind of first aid."

She was already out of her seat the moment the bus stopped. "I'll go." Kidman had already moved to draw her gun, reaching for the device to open the door with her other hand.

"No, I'll do it. Don't let any of them onboard." Sebastian was already off the bus before she could say a word in protest. That was just like Sebastian, anything to protect his partners he would do himself. There would be no swaying him even if she had caught up to him.

Sebastian instantly began to duck and weave between the cars in his path. Kidman could see multiple haunted skulking among the wreckage. Sebastian knew what he was doing though, he was already partway through. Several haunted dead in his wake before they were even aware of him.

Kidman kneeled down beside Joseph to apply pressure to his side. This would be the second time in a little over in an hour that she had one of her partner's blood on her hands. The feel of the warm, sticky fluid in her hands was not as sickening to her this time since she was not responsible.

"Seb...?" Joseph's voice was quiet, weak, and filled with agony. The bullet had hit close to his stomach, one of the worst places to get hit. It Sebastian did not hurry, they were going to lose him.

"It's me, Kidman. Sebastian will be right back. He went to check out an ambulance." Kidman reassured her partner. Last thing he needed was thinking Sebastian was dead or something.

Joseph groaned. "Let me guess... army of those freaks between him and it?"

Joseph was extremely worried, Kidman could sense it in the way he spoke. The man was more concerned about Sebastian than he was himself. Kidman sighed, that was Joseph and Sebastian for you.

The injured man was laying on his side in the bus seat, while Kidman sat on the floor of the bus. This way the haunted could not see them just by looking at the bus.

Out of nowhere, Kidman heard the sound of another engine. She risked a look up but instantly ducked back down cursing loudly.

"W...what is it?" Joseph hissed out.

The loud crackle of a machine gun rang out before she could answer.

Kidman took another look. The jeep that drove by now had its back facing them so they were out of its line of sight. That was not the problem, the real issue was where the gun was shooting.

Right in the direction Sebastian had gone.

Kidman had no clue how the hell he was supposed to get around this thing. It was too heavily armored to shoot the gunner or to blow up the vehicle itself. They would need a rocket launcher or something to do so.

While Kidman was trying to figure out how Sebastian would get through, the man in question made his move. Kidman expected him to do some smart or crafty plan, maybe he found something while he was making his way to the ambulance. Instead, Sebastian used quite possibly the simplest and most insane plan she had ever seen.

Sebastian charged the machinegun like a raging bull.

Kidman's eyes shot open in alarm. The man was going to get himself killed!

Somehow, Sebastian actually made it to the jeep. Since the gun could not be turned toward him, the gunner got off and tried to light a stick of dynamite. A single shotgun blast from Sebastian put an end to that attempt. Without breaking stride, Sebastian jumped on top of a wrecked car beside the jeep. Then dived onto the bed of the jeep.

The haunted who surrounded the jeep never even knew what hit them when Sebastian turned the gun on them. They were shredded into hamburger within moments. Sebastian continued firing the heavy gun into the horde that had appeared from the side. When they were dead, he then opened fire into the cars that the jeep had knocked into his way when it arrived.

As soon as the way was clear, Sebastian was running toward the bus at full sprint.

Kidman could only watch in amazement. This man was unbelievable, was there anything that could really stop him when he fought for one of his partners?

Kidman opened the door when he got close. He was immediately on his knees beside Joseph applying whatever it was he found while Kidman closed the door and climbed back into the driver's seat.

"Shit!" Sebastian growled out behind her. Kidman turned to see many more haunted coming toward the bus. "Let's get out of here fast."

Kidman did not need to be told twice. "I'm going to push through!"

Stomping on the gas again, Kidman plowed through several parked cars in her path. "It's going to get a little rough!" More haunted appeared on the road ahead of her. Not wanting to damage their only ride further or to hurt Joseph any worse than he already was, she ducked left and right to dodge them.

As Kidman sped down the road, a solitary figure dressed in white appeared in their path. Kidman knew what the figure was. She knew that it would be imposable, but the chance to squash like a bug the bastard responsible for all of this was too tempting.

Before she could even get close, the bus began to lift from the ground. It continued moving though no matter how much she pushed on the gas. Now they were completely in the air.

The bus sailed harmlessly passed Ruvik and crashed into a nearby apartment building. Shortly after impact, Sebastian and Joseph were thrown off. Kidman managed to cling to the driver's seat.

When the bus skidded to a stop, it was hanging over the edge of the apartment building. The vehicle was barely hanging on.

Scrambling out of the seat, Kidman moved to the edge of the bus before it could fall. Luck was on her side, she managed to get out the door and fell onto a nearby fire escape. Somehow the bus still stayed in position.

Kidman breathed a soft sigh of relief as she looked around. The only way to go was down, the ways back into the building from this particular fire escape were all sealed shut. She would have to go from ground level up to find the other two.

Pulling her gun from its holster, Kidman began the descent.

Here we are, hopefully you all liked it. Now I have ideas for two more chapters but as you all know, the other two Kidman scenes do not correspond to the title very well. If you all want to read them anyway, I'll write them. Either way, let me know what you all think.