A Twist of Fate, Chapter 1
The figure leapt from the wall, the dark clothes masking him in the night as he set off down an alleyway at a sprint. Sounds clattered almost clumsily behind him, making him pick up his speed. His gun was in his hand, and aiming somewhat wildly over his shoulder, he fired off three rounds. Two clattered harmlessly, but the third caused a howl of outrage.
The figure swore, speeding up once again. The strong, military boots, whilst may have been supportive on the best of days did not make running any easier.
“Prince to Knight 3, where the hell are you?” One touch to his ear was all it took for the coms to be activated, and the figure found himself hemmed in as he reached the end of the alleyway. Immediately, the thing pursuing skidded to a halt, finding it hard to grip the pavement. It was at least 9foot tall, and most people would simply blink and swear they had been imaging things. It wasn’t every day a mass of stone sprinted past them. But the gargoyle was real enough, and the man tensed, his finger twitching slightly on the trigger.
In comparison, he looked pathetic in comparison. But in front of normal people, he was far from so. A comfortable 6.1, his broad shoulders gave him a muscular build. He was dressed from head to toe in dark combat gear, even a black hat hiding his usually vibrant blond hair. Only his eyes seemed to sparkle in the darkness of the night, an icy blue, penetrating and deadly. His stone opponent however, did not seem to comprehend the significance of that gaze.
Instead, it approached slowly. It was clumsy, hitting the buildings either side on nearly every other step, and its eyes were dull. It knew its prey was there though, and kept advancing. Waiting until he could see the eyes, the man whipped his gun up, releasing another few rounds. This time, they were accurate, hitting the weaker spots in the stone. But the creature kept coming.
“Shit! Knight 3, get your arse here now.” Dropping to the floor, he scrambled between the monster’s legs, backing slowly down the alleyway. He was out of ammunition. Every flicker of common sense was screaming at him to run, to get the hell away from something that shouldn’t technically exist. But his training, his mission, came first. If he ran, he knew he could lose the thing in the blink of an eye; it was what he had been raised to do. But if the creature lost his scent, there would be no telling where it would vanish too. He had to stay in its range, however stupid the plan was suddenly becoming. With quick and deft hands, he slipped the empty clip from the gun, letting it drop carelessly to the floor as the weapon jerked towards his belt. He barely even processed what he was doing as another clip was secured, the man still running as he worked.
He had reached the end of the alleyway now, and he still had received the response he was waiting for. With a groan, he once again darted past the thing, clipping it with another round as he took off back down the same alleyway. Luckily these things were as thick as they were slow, and after a few moments of confused contemplation, it also turned and began to once again block the figure in.
When he reached the end this time, he didn’t run. He had had it! Taking careful aim, he loosed off round after round. Every time, he hit it in the weak spot under its chin, causing pieces of stone to go flying off in small chunks. When the gun simply clicked, empty, the man tensed. The gargoyle regarded him for a moment, before swinging one giant claw. The building to the man’s left didn’t stand a chance as the stone crashed through it, showering the blond with pieces of brick and mortar. He threw himself to one side, arms over his head as he tried to protect himself from the debris. The dust finally cleared, allowing him to look up just in time to roll to the side in order to stop himself being crushed under a stone fist.
“Alright, alright, princess, keep ya hair on.” As the voice finally echoed back through the coms, Arthur frowned in annoyance at Gwaine’s words. But it was more the tone that had him scowling. The coms had sounded slightly tinny, as if the man was nearby.
