My breathe fogged in the air as I stepped onto the wet grass. It was a chilled midnight over the Waterfront Park. This was the only part of town where you could still see the night sky clearly. The stars and half moon dimly lit what would soon be a battle ground. It would be me, The Crusader, and unbeknownst to him, Sakura perched in a nearby memorial tower. Granted that Gavin didn’t kill me immediately, I would hold his attention long enough for Sakura to get her one shot in to end this quickly. That was the plan, and it would have to work.
I stood alone in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by trees on one side, and facing the tower on the other. The sounds of the city sounded distant, replaced by croaking frogs and chirping crickets. Closing my eyes , I zeroed in on their random noise. Peace was found for a moment as I meditated on the coming battle. I kept telling myself it would all go as planned. Assuring myself I would succeed, that I would live.
All at once, I began feeling like a rookie again, and began panicking as the quiet chirping and croaking slowly became an intense chaos in my mind. I felt like I was sweating, the hairs on my back and neck standing on end. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and exhaled.
“Interesting… Most interesting.” came that terrifying Irish voice from behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin in surprise and spun around with my odachi at the ready to slash my opponent. The whistle of my blade was fierce as I cut only the air.
“Wh-wha-…”
“….Like a scared rabbit.” the voice mocked me again, causing me to spin on my toes and meet the side of a gun on my cheek. I whirled back onto the ground, feeling as though my jaw had been broken. Pain rushed through the entirety of my head, causing my hand to rush up and caress the wound. “Stand and fight, you wicked mongrel.”
Gavin was now standing over me with his Colt Army pointed at my face. His expression was plain and uncaring. I saw no sympathy in his eyes, and my heart was filled by his bloodlust. Attempting to shake it off, I raised my legs up to kick him in the groin, but he leapt back effortlessly. Hopping back to my own feet, I readied myself for the fight. Gavin stood with his back to his enormous cross, now apparent to me that it was constructed of some lusterless metal. Now was the time to keep him still and set the plan into motion.
“Tell me something, Gavin. Why does a man like you need to, or even want to kill for a living?” I eyed the tower and saw Sakura aiming her rifle, a glint from the moonlight shining from the scope.
“I’ll make you a deal…” Sakura curled her finger over the trigger and steadied her aim. “If you can strike me down, I’ll tell you all you wish.” Gavin pulled his gun hand behind him and fired a round at the tower’s upper level without even looking. I heard Sakura whelp in pain, and then silence. Gavin’s eyes never left my own as he brought the smoking gun back towards me. “But only if you strike me down.”
No, no, no… I murmured mentally. My face wore an expression of despair as I looked onward at Sakura’s position, praying that she was okay. “Please God…” I thought out loud.
“God? Haha! My friend, God is not on your side this day.” Gavin raised his gun and fired at me three times, forcing me to zigzag backwards on the slippery terrain. My eyes left my feet and went to refocus on him, but he had disappeared yet again. Cross and man were out of sight. I peaked over my shoulder and then shut my eyes immediately before I could watch the heavy metal cross smash into my side. It sent me sprawling several feet, the wet grass furthering the distance I slid. I growled like an animal, my ribs throbbing in pain. It felt like I'd been hit by a truck, only worse. Before I could even open my eyes again, the sound of echoing gun shots forced my broken body to scatter away. Running low to the ground, almost galloping on my hands, I dodged the bullets from what were now double Colt Army’s in Gavin’s cold grip.
Gritting my teeth, I forced my battered body to sprint at top speed directly towards Gavin, hoping not to be shot. With my sword at the ready to cut him apart, I let out a fierce roar. Then a rush of burning pain accompanied the clatter of a gun. My right thigh pulsed in agony as I stumbled and slid at Gavin on my back. Standing or not, I would get him back for Sakura. Spinning my body as I approached his legs, I quickly slashed, but hit only air once again. Gavin was now in the air above me as I lay on the ground watching him like a confused child.
In a show of his great speed, he brought his boot down hard onto my stomach before I could slide past him. He pinned me down and pointed his Colt at my face as I layed helpless. He uttered one word.
“Amen.”
