A New Age, of old strength and allies (ONC 2023)

2. Who are you...

This time a guy with wavy hair, the colour of pale wheat, stood with his back to me, his wiry lean build blocking the chance of any kind of shot.

Is this divine intervention or the luck of the ungrateful.

Sighing, I continued to watch, prepared and patient. It looked like this may take a while, something that I’d been through countless times before. Although, the urge to shoot the interloper with a tranquilliser dart was strong. Yet as I kept a firm grip on the rifle and an alert aim, the stranger casually turned around.

Slowly, but without the slightest hesitation, he peered straight up into the rafters and looked right at me. His green eyes, the colour of new spring growth. There within his gaze was an undeniable playfulness, as he winked at me in amusement. He stared as though we were the only two people around, completely ignoring my target and the undulating bodies that surrounded him.

Irritated at the small kernel of curiosity that had begun to unfurl within me, I narrowed my eyes.

How did he know that I was here?

By the way that he stared, it was obvious that he could see me clearly. As we continued to watch one another, he tilted his head to the side before glancing back at my target, and then at me once again. Raising an eyebrow, he crossed his arms and dropped his chin with a look of daring, a sexy challenge clear in his eyes.

A dare to do it?

If he thought that I wouldn’t take the shot because he was deliberately standing there, then I’d be pleased to prove him wrong.

What a shame I’ve only got tracking darts...

As I adjusted the rifle just slightly, I focused. My active augs helping me to realign the shot, my target a shade taller than the stranger. As I aimed, my finger poised, he smiled, his face I noticed gently chiseled, now expressed a touch of excitement.

After a last breath out, I squeezed the trigger. With a rapt anticipation, I watched as the dart cut through the air, heading straight for the bold but mischievous stranger. Unable to look away, I realised that he was still looking directly at me, even as he gracefully spun away to the side. Looking to the left, I caught the dart seamlessly finding its target in every sense of the word, as the numbing agent upon the tip ensured a smooth transition.

Begrudgingly impressed with the boldness of the stranger, my eyes found him once again – but to my surprise, he wasn’t alone. Standing beside him, with a straight face and a careless confidence, was the bartender from earlier. I narrowed my eyes as I slid the rifle back into my belt. For a few moments, the three of us just watched one another. My nostrils flaring in irritation before I eventually turned away. Ignoring the sharper pains in my hands and knees, I crawled at a more insistent pace back along the metal spines, until I finally reached the framework running along the wall.

Smooth and precise, I worked my way down, fighting the urge to move more and more quickly. I was three steps away from jumping to the floor, when grasping hands grabbed me from around the waist, attempting to lift me. Immediately, I used my legs to push back, yet the person behind me didn’t falter. Instead, they recovered their footing before dropping me down and spinning me around. Not resisting, I followed the movement until the last moment, when I brought a sharp elbow up to their temple.

The blow caused them to stagger momentarily, before the sound of their laughter left me frozen. With a hardened glance, I peered up and was faced with the familiar amused green eyes of the bold stranger.

Things just got interesting.

“That was pretty good, it was certainly worth the rush to get up here in time,” he said, still filled with humour.