Chapter 4

The stranger snapped up at the sound and whirled his entire body, facing us. I felt the blood drain from my face when I saw his. The hood was pulled down enough to block the top half of his face but that didn't stop his eyes from glowing a violent shade of red. I could see a cap peeking out from under the hood. His teeth were pulled back in a snarl and I could see streaks of what looked like blood near his mouth. He made a show of licking his teeth and the area around his mouth clean of the blood. It might've been just the snow or the moonlight but the skin that showed looked bone white. He let out a low guttural sound that made me flinch. Ruby let out a low grumble and snarled at him.

Alex moved faster than any of us. He stepped forward, aimed, and started emptying a clip at him. The stranger darted to the side and started moving towards us in a zigzagging motion, compelling Alex to try to follow with his gun. The semiautomatic was spitting out bullets in a fairly quick pace but the stranger managed to keep from being hit. The gun emptied at the most inappropriate time and the stranger surged towards us. He gripped one side of Alex with both hands and pushed him towards the wall. Alex hit it with a thud and fell to the ground with a grunt.

My turn. The stranger was within arm's reach. I gripped the dagger with my left hand in a backhand and swung it in a sweeping motion towards his neck. He leaned his head backwards, far enough to dodge and I took the opportunity to kick him in the groin. Take my word for it, hit any guy in the groin and you get the advantage. I know it was a cheap shot and normally I wouldn't do it in a fair fight. But there's something about your enemy being able to run past bullets that makes it seem moot. It was then that I realized something. This thing, whatever it is, did not have any balls. Literally. She was a girl monster. She let out a short yelp from surprise. I only thing that probably accomplished was pissing her off. She gripped my leg before I could lower it and pulled, sending me sprawling to the ground.

From beneath her, I could tell that she definitely had feminine features. Her face was smooth and heart-shaped and I could see small tufts of brown hair peeking from her cap in ringlets that meant she probably had long enough hair. She glared at me with blood red eyes and bared teeth and I suddenly remembered there were three of us.

"Dinah, run!" I managed to shout. Dinah let out a short whimper.

The female stranger snapped her head towards the sound and glowered. I took the opportunity to twist my legs in a motion that swept hers from under her just as she was about to move them. It threw her off balance enough to fall on her face in the snow next to me. She tried to get her feet under her but I managed to twist her arm to breaking point and pinned her down. I looked up and saw Dinah with her hands clapped over her mouth.

"Dinah, listen: run and get help. N-!" I was cut off abruptly as the stranger twisted her arms a bit and somehow managed to pin me down with her on top. She locked her hands around my wrists and let out a feral snarl. Aside from the faint hint of blood, her breath had the faint scent of honeysuckle or something. She was also way stronger than me or else I would've managed to hold her steady. I tried to move my legs but she had them pinned as well. My dagger was within arm's reach. If only I could move my arms. She was close enough for me to notice tears in her hoody where the bullets must have grazed.

Arms entangled the stranger's throat and she gasped in surprise. Dinah threw herself onto her and held on steadily trying to get her off of me. The stranger released her grip on my arms and pried Dinah's off. It took her less than a second to remove Dinah's arms from its vise and throw her away like she was a dirty rag.

I took the opportunity Dinah gave to swipe the dagger and try another backhand swing. The dagger lashed at her forearm, tearing through her clothing and probably managed only a shallow cut. Despite how little I managed to damage her, she shrieked in pain and gripped the area where I wounded her. I noticed a faint light and lifted the dagger to see the sigils carved into it, glowing a steady gold light. It felt warm in my hand as I realized that it was slowly melting the thin coat of snow on it and my forearm.

I noticed another flash of light. This time it was a faint silver blue light that struck the stranger and flung her backwards. The light landed at my feet and I realized it was Ruby. Her fur wasn't really glowing and seemed to only be reflecting the light from the moon. Still, though, her fur shone incandescently as she crouched, her ears flat and snarling, before the girl who was gathering her feet from under her.