"Ren, you have two choices," the man's voice echoed through the cold, narrow alley. "Either join us, or be erased forever."
Ren's mind went numb. "But why me? I... I still have things I need to do... I just—" Ren couldn't even finish his sentence when suddenly—
BANG!
A gunshot shattered the silence. For a split second, Ren thought it was over. He felt a sudden, invisible force take over his body. Dante lunged forward, shoving Ren out of the line of fire just as the bullet whizzed past.
"What... what was that?" Ren's voice was trembling. His heart was hammering so hard against his ribs he could hear it in his ears.
"Run! Move it!" Dante screamed. "We're under attack!"
Before they could even catch their breath, a wave of men swarmed into the garage. There were at least forty of them, all wearing clinical white T-shirts with caps and masks hiding their faces. It was a terrifying sight. Some held pistols, others rifles, and a few even carried bazookas.
Ren's eyes were wide with terror. "Monster-san! Who are these people? What do they want with you?"
"Kid, for the last time, stop calling me 'Monster.' I'm Carlos!" the big man growled, though his eyes never left the attackers.
Just then, a grenade arched through the air toward them. Without a second thought, Carlos threw his massive frame in front of the others to act as a shield.
BOOM.
The explosion sent a cloud of dust and heat everywhere. Carlos took the brunt of it, coming away with only a few scratches, while the other two remained untouched. Dante quickly reached into a hidden compartment in the wall, pulling out a crate of guns and tossing them toward the others.
"Alright Ren, today is your test," Dante said, his face hardening.
"What? No!" Ren pushed the weapon away, his voice breaking. "I don't want to kill anyone! I'm already broken from losing Haru... I don't want to be the reason another mother loses her son!" The memory of Haru's face flashed before his eyes, making his throat tight.
Dante looked at him, his gaze softening for just a second before the chaos pulled him back. "We don't like this either, kid, but right now it's us or them! Get out of here now, and I'll explain everything at the base."
"The base? But isn't this the base?" Ren shouted over the deafening sound of gunfire.
"No, this was just a decoy!" Dante yelled back.
They scrambled toward the back exit, but a bazooka round whistled through the air, missing Ren by an inch and slamming into the ceiling above the door. The entire roof groaned and collapsed, burying their only way out under a mountain of concrete and metal.
"What do we do now?" Ren screamed, panic finally taking over.
"Just watch," Dante said, gesturing to Carlos. "Carlos, bring her in!"
Carlos pulled a remote from his pocket and slammed a button. A second later, the side wall exploded inward as a sleek, jet-black bulletproof car with tinted windows and massive boosters roared into the room. Ren stood there, paralyzed by the sight of it.
"Get in! We need to leave!" Dante urged.
Ren ran toward the car, but another blast knocked him off his feet. He hit the ground hard, pain exploding through every limb. His body felt like it was breaking. Suddenly, a masked man stood over him, aiming a rifle straight at his head.
Ren felt a surge of desperation. He gathered every bit of mental energy he had left and dived into the gunman's mind. He wanted to force the man to turn the gun on himself. But suddenly, Ren's vision blurred. A bright red signal flashed in his mind: [LIMIT REACHED].
The connection snapped. Ren felt all his strength drain away. He collapsed onto the cold floor, slipping into unconsciousness. Dante didn't waste a heartbeat; he took out the gunman, scooped Ren up, and threw him into the backseat. Carlos floored the accelerator as a hail of bullets rained down on the car.
As they dived into the car, a stray bullet grazed the back of Dante's hand. Blood started to soak into his sleeve, but he didn't even flinch. As they sped away, Carlos flipped one final switch.
The entire decoy base vanished in a massive roar of TNT. Through the thick black smoke, a series of small explosions formed a symbol in the sky that read: "NO MORE".
Dante looked back at the smoke, his jaw tight and his eyes burning with a rare, quiet fury. "Shit," he whispered.
[TO BE CONTINUED]....