Snatching two more magazines from the gunman’s unconscious body, the red haired youth stashed them in his pockets and started walking toward the exit on the other en the arena. Halfway through, he came to a stop and turned around with a menacing glare.
"HEY! GET YOUR ASS MOVING ALREADY!"
Flare snapped out of her daze and jumped to her feet. Though she followed after the youth, her mind mind kept going between whether she should object to his decision and force him to retreat, or if she should go along with it and chase after the fleeing criminals.
Arriving at the side open door, the red haired youth pressed his back to the wall on its lent and carefully peeked his head. No sooner had he done so than the wall beside him shattered, sparks and shards scattering in whichever direction.
The roaring of gunfire echoes from the other end of the corridor. Pulling back, the youth slowly slid down to the floor then leaned out, this time with the rifle he stole aimed and ready. The cacophony of raining bullets went on for only a few seconds, but listening to it brought terrible pain to one’s ears.
Letting the noise wake her up, Flare hastened her steps and rushed to the youths side, not noticing the puddle of dark red liquid beside the hexagon stage.
"When I give the signal, get out there and start running." He said. "Don’t slow down. I will cover for you."
Pulling back, he pressed a button on the rifle and let the spent magazine fall, inserting one in its place before it hit the floor. Glancing at her once, he turned to the exit and leaned forward as if preparing to lunge out at a moment’s notice. Flare watched him in silence then moved to do the same. Just then, the corridor went deadly silent as the thundering of gunfire suddenly stopped.
She kicked the floor before any second thoughts rose to her mind and dashed through the wide open doors. Ignoring the countless holes left behind by the shootout, her eyes took in the corridor in its entirety, looking for the gunmen who have been firing at them.
She spotted one of them peeking his head from around the corner, preparing to resume the shooting. Seeing her dashing toward him must have been quite the scare. Panicking, he forwent all caution and aimed at her only to retreat immediately when bullets hissed again, shattering the concrete behind which he was hiding.
Not giving him the chance to fire again, Flare leaped toward the wall facing the corridor and landed near the ceiling, her legs bending in preparation for another leap. Her focus was almost entirely on the gunman around the corner to her left that almost didn’t notice the seconds one crouching in the opposite direction.
As the rifles rose in the air to point at her, Flare had to make a split second reaction, but her body was on the move already. She bounced off the wall toward the first gunman, but instead of landing any blows she simply grabbed his shoulders and flipped behind him, bending her body so all of it would be hidden behind him.
The second gunman was late in taking his finger off the trigger and the storm he unleashed pierced several holes through his comrade. Though he shouted something, Flare didn’t hear any of it, her eyes widening as the ringing in her ears got louder and louder. What snapped her out of it was the roaring of more gunfire, which didn’t seem to be coming from the opposite side of the hallway.
Raising her head, she saw the red haired youth retreating toward her, the barrel of his rifle flashing as more bullets erupted out of it. He lowered his weapon momentarily then raised it again, fired a few more bullets, then turned to look at her.
For a reason she didn’t understand, the corners of his mouth curled up in a devious smile.
"Well look at that. So you can use your head after all."
Was that amusement in his voice?
The youths reaction was far removed from hers, so much that she had to check again and confirm if what happened really did happen. Before she could linger on it, however, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to her feet.
"We’re still in enemy territory." He said, his voice more serious. "Don’t get distracted."
From the looks of it, the two gunmen stayed behind to buy the others time to escape. It didn’t take long to figure out which direction they went to and soon both Flare and her hired helper were on the chase. Just as they began to pick up speed, however, several figures appeared ahead of them and another shootout began.
"This isn’t good." The youth said as he docked back into the hallways they arrived from. "Their backup arrived."
A gang’s hideout naturally had members of that gang gathered in it, and as soon as they heard the gunfire they were bound to rush over and join the fight.
"We should find another way." Flare suggested.
"No time." The youth leaned out and fired his rifle. "Use your fire. Flood the entire place."
It was another outrageous decision Flare would have argued before, but not this time. Knowing they couldn’t afford any delay, she struck her fists together and ignited the flames of her ability, condensing them around her fists.
Just as her partner leaned out to fire again, she jumped out into the hallway and rolled to her knees, raised her arms above her head then brought them down on the floor.
A small explosion echoed through the hallway as its walls rumbled. The next instant, a torrent of orange flames burst out, growing and expanding until it flooded every corner as it rushed toward the source of gunfire.
In reality, flames spread that thin weren’t capable of a lot of damage, but the enemy didn’t know that. All they saw was fire rushing toward them and so they were quick to turn around and flee for their lives. No one dared to look behind them as the orange glow grew brighter and because of that they never saw the red haired hero emerge from the flames with fists clad in incandescent orange.