The road I’m on turns into an on-ramp to the highway above. Before I can continue, my path is blocked by a Looper and Dead Mark fighting. I crouch behind a vehicle and wait it out. The person from my unit tries to loop, but I notice her wristband is broken. She begins to run away, but doesn’t get far when the Dead Mark shoots her in the back with his arrow, piercing her heart. The rain begins to pour on us as he makes his way over to her body, checking to make sure she’s dead. Normally the body would disappear after death, but the girl stays in her spot. I keep my eyes on the Dead Mark as he turns and starts to head up the ramp. The vehicle I’m hiding next to disappears, causing me to fall forward onto my face. I must have made a noise since the Dead Mark turns in my direction. I turn off my shield and loop just as he readies his bow. I land on the ramp several yards behind him. He aims at me and fires, but I loop again moving only a few feet away. His arrow misses, which causes him to scowl.
He runs up the ramp to get a closer shot when the ground begins to rumble. Between several holes in the ramp, I catch glimpses of a Nius prowling around. Another small quake jostles us, knocking the Dead Mark and myself to the ground. Perhaps the explosives this Nius has isn’t strong enough to bring down the structure, so he’s doing it piece by piece. The Dead Mark gets back on his feet, aims his arrow at me, and fires. I loop towards the top of the ramp as another explosion goes off, this time leveling the ramp. Both the Dead Mark and Nius are crushed by the chunks of concrete and rebar. I don’t bother to look to see if they’re dead, my wristband confirms it. Only seven of us remain. I’m half tempted to open up the map of the Dead Zone, but since Hammond stated that our units are watching, I don’t want to give away the fact that I have it. Also, I’m not sure this is even the real Dead Zone.
I walk down the highway. The rain soaks through my clothes causing me to shiver as the temperature begins to drop. The highway stops when sections of the bridge used to cross old railroad tracks several stories below are missing. I loop myself across, one section at a time, but after I make it to the other side and begin to step forward I’m abruptly stopped. My body hits an invisible barrier. I try to loop around it, but even my abilities are non-existent on this side of the bridge.
“Having issues?” Drake shouts to me from his side of the bridge.
“I could just stay here,” I say. “You can’t cross those gaps and no one can get behind me, so I’m actually in a pretty safe spot.”
“You know the Keepers won’t let you just stand there and watch the rest of us die. They’ll loop you somewhere that isn’t safe.”
I know he has a point, but I try not to let it get to me. I walk until I’m at the edge of my section of bridge, then look down. A jump from this height would kill me. I’m hoping I’ve stepped far enough away from the barrier to loop, so I give it a try and focus on the section of bridge in front of me. My feet slip on small particles of debris mixed with water as I land, causing me to fall. I try and grab onto the concrete or one of the several rebar jetting out of the bridge, but they’re too slippery. I loop again as I fall and project myself behind Drake. It’s a risky move, but one he shouldn’t be anticipating.
I’m wrong. His weapon slices my arm as I land. I quickly put up my shield to deflect his other blows. I swing at him with my Kopis, but his shield looks to be designed to fend off my weapon. The temperature continues to drop and the rain turns to snow. The puddles at our feet turn to ice. The sudden decline in weather is having an effect on both of us. Our movements become sluggish. Pain radiates from my side as another wound opens, fresh blood trickling down. Fortunately for me, the Rapid attacks Drake, and I close my shield and loop further down the highway, away from the melee.
The snow starts to stick, covering everything in a pure white blanket. Blood drips from my wounds, leaving a trail. It won’t take long for the others to find me. My wristband chimes. Five is now the count with a Rapid being killed, but it doesn’t tell me if it’s Drake or the other one. I’m surprised that night hasn’t settled in yet, but with the Keepers in control of the environment I doubt darkness will ever come if they don’t want it to.
I follow the road past the onramp and towards smaller buildings that look to have once been houses. Many have been blown clear off their foundations, while others have collapsed roofs, or are just burned shells. I need to find a place to hide so I can check my injuries. I choose a partially collapsed house, its yellow shutters the only truly distinguishable feature. I walk into what once must have been the kitchen and collapse to the floor. The slash mark on my arm has already stopped bleeding, but the wound to my side won’t stop. I scramble across the tile so I can get to the cabinets. I rummage through them, looking for anything that’ll help stem the bleeding.
I finally find a greasy towel shoved behind some rusted pots. I place the fabric against the wound and scream from the pain. If my blood didn’t lead everyone to me, my
