Against the Wind

G

GumiHeart

Guest
Original poster
Heavy amounts of snow rested in the ground, melted away but still trying to settle into the earth. The world had been overtaken by shadows, a large object covering the year for several years. It had thrown the world into a state of chaos and destruction, people dying from the cold and going crazy from the lack of sun. Whole societies had gone to pieces and no one had been able to do a thing about it. It was only recently that the object had uncovered the sun, and the earth became bright again. This blinded some people, but rejoice was heard all over the earth as whole cities yelled out. Though the cities were now mere towns with the amount of people that had died.

A young woman trudged across a sludgy field, her short and bright green hair flowing in the strong winds that swept the fields. Her dark green eyes searched the plains, looking out for the 'city' that was in the area. She needed rest, and the wind told her that there was a town nearby. Of course, being the trickster that it was, it didn't tell her exactly where. Her pale skin shone in the newly revealed sun, though clothing covered most of her body. She was adorned in a large hoodie, shorts, and stockings that covered her legs as well as ankle boots with steel toes. Ones that she had lost the interest of cleaning long ago. Underneath her hoodie was a black tank top, a little bit of extra protection against the fading cold on the earth.

This wasn't an ordinary girl, though. This was Ku Ryu, wanted in almost every existing civilization. She was a thief and a murderer, but what was most remembered about her was the strange way she would disappear. The wind would flow strongly around her and then she would be gone without a trace, nothing left but the chaos she had caused. This was her ability. She had control of the wind, but with the price of energy. It was this woman, Ku, that had just spotted the town the wind spoke of. She began to run, the wind flowing behind her and boosting her speed as she ran towards the city with a grin.
 
Isaac Blake couldn't believe his own stupidity.

Since the earth became cold, most of the people tried to form some kind of a society, believing that sticking together would make it easier for them to survive. On one hand, it was true - they had more people to work and hunt. On the other hand, however, forming a group meant that they were noticed rather quickly by people interested in their newly acquired goods without contributing to the work at all. That was basically something that was happening over and over, all around the area. That's where the bounty hunters - usually people connected with military before the eclipse - got the idea on how to make a living. Most of them didn't like to spend time with random people, they were too suspicious for that, and too nervous. In Isaac's case, he simply couldn't bring himself to listen to any kind of orders anymore, but that was something only he knew about.

Nevertheless, he still needed money. Without that, he wasn't able to buy food from the cities, and hunting down the mutated animals wasn't the best diet around. Even forgetting about the radiation, the taste of their meat was just horrible. That's why he ventured into this small town and kept asking for a job. They pointed him to the small barn, which they called "sheriff's ofice", and soon he was holding a piece of paper in his hand, with a small picture of a girl on it.

Isaac wasn't especially surprised when he noticed her green hair. People nowadays came in many different colours and shapes, and green hair was probably one of the less shocking things. But there was something about her, maybe the way people talked, that made him a bit uneasy. Not scared, Blake wouldn't admit being scared to anyone, but uneasy. The whole deal with gaining powers wasn't new to him, though he tried his best to avoid that. All the artifacts people found throughout the years proved to be extremely dangerous. What was so great about being able to control fire, for example, when your body burned to ashes in mere seconds after you were done making a campfire with your magic?

In this case, people didn't know the details, but Isaac listened to many stories and one thing was certain: he had to be ready for something. He started checking his supplies, counted the bullets in his weapons and took his gasmask off only to eat a can of peas. People told him wearing gasmask was pointless right now, but Isaac, paranoid as he was, kept it on most of the time. He put the paper in his pocket and stood up, gathering his things. There was no need for him to stay in the city, and running around trying to find the girl wasn't something he wanted to do as well. His best bet, for now, was to get a nice spot on one of the hills around the town, get the sniper rifle out, and wait there. There was no way to check if any other settlements got attacked not too long ago, but looking at Ku Ryu's 'résumé', he was more than sure that she was going to come here sooner or later.
 
Ku ran across the large and swamp-ish field, sometimes jumping and shooting forwards through the wind. She stopped a mere mile away from town, rubbing her hands together lightly. She jumped up into a nearby tree and worked her way to the top, standing on the tip of the tree with the help of wind. These minor things didn't take much energy, about as much energy as lifting an arm. It was the blasts of winds and the weapons of wind she made that produced such force that her energy was taken. She could only use her best attack about two times before she had to rest.

The girl took in a deep breath as she stared at the now very near town. She always thought of herself as the big bad wolf who could tear down any house, and she always wanted to have a little fun. She let out the air from the deep breath in a very loud whistle. She would always warn towns in different ways, ways that they would think the action to be strange but ignore the simple thing and move on with their lives. A whistle was common and nobody would really think differently of such a small act of breath.

Of course, what came next was always the funnest part to her. It too a bit more of energy, about as much as moving a TV down a ramp, but it was her entrance. She jumped into the air with a burst of wind and had the wind carry her until she was just above the town. She made a mental countdown and then... a scream. The first scream of fear as a person saw her. She let the wind drop her and she landed right in the center of town. More screams and people running in terror, grabbing children and try to get away.

Ku let out a sadistic laugh and then quickly began her raid, going for the hobble of a house that was a store. She burst into the place, knocking down the door and grinned, people screaming and running towards the back exit. Even the shopkeeper. Ku quickly began grabbing supplies, stuffing them into her bag and then darting out of the store. A woman in front of her had a gun, holding it shakily. Without even lifting a hand, Ku sent a sharp wind towards the woman. The woman seemed to pause, but the truth was soon revealed. The top half of the woman fell off. Ku's first kill.
 
Isaac was about to leave the town when he heard someone whistle. He looked around, but saw no one, and forgot about the whole deal seconds after. The only reason he even heard the whistle was his paranoia, alerting him about all sorts of things. But when 99% of them resulted in nothing, the man tried to keep his wits about simply by ignoring those alerts. Little did he know, this time it would actually be useful, but of course he disregarded it completely.

All of a sudden, people were out on the streets, screaming, running around, sometimes pushing one another. Someone fell down onto the ground and Isaac could almost hear the bones snapping when a stampede came over the poor fellow. He jumped out of the way, but not before someone grabbed his arm. "Do something!" It was a young man, maybe a bit younger than Isaac himself, who talked with him earlier about the job. Issac looked at him from behind his mask and pushed his hand away. That could be either luck or misfortune..

Isaac decided on the "misfortune" part when he ran towards the store, from where most of the people seemed to run away, and saw the bloody mess on the ground from the distance. He jumped behind one of the boxes that were placed around the store. He caught a glimpse of green, which wasn't a very common colour these days, and he didn't plan to look again, at least not without one of his weapons. He had the rifle, but using it here wouldn't be effective. Instead, he reached under his coat and took a simple pistol out. After taking a few deep breaths, hearing the screams all around him, he jumped to his feet, trying to aim the gun at the girl. It had to be her, and from what he could see, her powers were real as well.

Hoping that with so much going around he won't be noticed too quickly, Isaac raised his hands and fired, aiming at the girl's leg. He knew killing her here was practically impossible, but letting her bleed from a wound was the best second thing.
 
Ku's first kill only set off a trigger within her mind. She giggled when she saw the blood and she began sending small shots of wind at people, the wind shooting straight through them and killing them. After a bit, she pulled daggers from her sides and began making a bloody mess, killing everyone she saw get even a few feet from her. She didn't pause for a second, but she did stay in the area of the store she had robbed.

The girl didn't stop... until something suddenly buried itself into her leg. She went wide eyed, the sensation of pain unfamiliar to her since she had gone so long without it. She let out a small screech, having enough sense to put her daggers into their sheaths before she fell to the ground and held the part of her leg that had been shot. Large waves of wind began to shoot out from around her, panic rising within her as she stared at the bullet wound in shock. Pain shot through her leg and she didn't know what to do except verbalize her pain in screeches.

The winds around her settle down soon as she breathed heavily, both from the energy depletion from her defense mechanism and the fact that she was going into shock. She was on the ground, her legs positioned much like a mermaid's tail was normally shown, and she was holding the spot of her leg that was bleeding. One hand was holding her leg and the other was pressed to the wound, panic soaring in her mind as she saw the thick red substance come out from the wound.
 
Isaac didn't stay to look, but from the sudden screeches, filled with pain, he knew the bullet found its way into the flesh. That was hardly a success, considering the girl's powers and how brutal they were. Isaac wasn't new to the sight of blood and yet the mess the green-haired girl caused within mere seconds made his stomach hurt a little. The man took a deep breath and stood up slowly, looking briefly at the silhouette on the ground, covered in red. He managed to take a quick look before a blast of wind hit him right in the face. There was a loud sound and one of the mask's eyes cracked. The second blast hit him in the torso and arms. It felt like going head to head with a bull. Isaac had no choice but to take cover again, noticing that the wind cut through his clothes and skin. The blood was slowly soaking his sleeve.

Cursing under his breath, he crawled behind the store, letting the blasts hit the building. He had no time to lose, the girl could get over her wound anytime, and finding her - Isaac could tell - was going to be a pain in the ass. He walked around the store, showing up on the other side of it, out of the girl's vision. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the artifact he collected before he even accepted the job. It was a simple thing, as Blake didn't believe in magic that much, but it was supposed to dim the powers of the person who was keeping it. For Isaac it meant a terrible headache, and he could only hope that for the girl it would meant something else. Holding the artifact in his left hand, he kept the gun pointed at the girl with his right hand. Moving slowly towards her, ready to fire anytime, he noticed a man standing nearby, staring at Isaac's ticket to being rich.

"Shit!" Isaac growled quietly. He should've known that people would want to take matters into their own hands now that their attacker was so vulnerable. And usually he wouldn't have anything against it, but right now killing the girl here would only make him a very small amount of money. The town wasn't too big, and people were rather poor. If he could only transport her to one of the bigger cities, or even the so called capital, they would shower him with coins. Isaac stared at the man as he picked up a huge rock from the ground and started running towards the girl. He aimed his guns at him, but waited a while to see whether the girl would react. He fired only seconds before the man was able to throw the rock, and jumped right next to the lying figure.

"Don't even try with your magic mumbo-jumbo again, got it?" he gasped, pointing the gun at her head. He knew that if she was to attack him, he woudln't probably manage to shoot, but he was hoping she was still rather confused. Isaac looked at the wound, shoving her hands away. It was bleeding heavily, but taking care of it right now was impossible. Instead, he started bandaging it, doing a terrible job with only one hand to use, but still managing to slow the bleeding and placing the artifact under the wraps. He grabbed her arm when she was done and pulled her up, ignoring the fact that her leg had to hurt. Isaac turned the girl so that her back was in front of him, and pressed the gun to the back of her head. "We can stay and say "hi" to everyone, or leave now. I'm giving you a choice, so don't fuck it up by something as stupid as attacking me."
 
Ku Ryu's winds had died down but she still screeched in pain and held her leg with her hand pressed hard against the wound. Blood dripped down from her leg to the ground and she was shivering violently, her whole body shaking in pain and shock. She saw a figure getting closer and she looked up, seeing a man running towards her with a large rock. Her eyes grew wide and she let out a loud screech this time one of fear, and she awaited the fresh pain. But it never came. She had closed her eyes, but now she opened them and saw the man dead on the ground with just a hole in him, the same kind of hole that she had gotten on her leg.

A figure landed next to her and she looked up with her still wide eyes, the gun pointed at her head. She had gone from very fearsome to very fearful, knowing the object pointed at her head was the one that made the pain in her leg and the hole in the man. She flinched and let out a small squeal when he hands were pushed away from the wound and she looked to them seeing they were covered by the thick red substance that was her blood. She looked to the man who now had a gun pointed at her head his other hand wrapping the wound and stopping the bleeding visibly. She saw him also put something under the wrapping, but she didn't get to see what it was.

She was forced to her feed and she flinched a bit, whimpering quietly as she was turned away from him with the gun pressed to the back of her head. She winced and shakily began walking, limping because of the pain in her leg that had been shot. She moved along slowly, heading towards the visible exit of the town. She didn't want a bleeding hole in the back of her head. Her brain was in there and she'd be dead in a second.
 
Isaac's paranoia was seriously kicking in. He heard so much about the girl - she was wanted in nearly every town that existed - and yet it all was going very easy. Too easy for his liking, though on the other hand he was glad. Fighting with her would quite possibly end in him being cut in half, just like the woman he saw before on the ground. No, the girl was dangerous. The reason he managed to get her like that was the shock from the wound, and nothing else. He breathed heavily, keeping one of his hands on the girl's shoulder, pushing her slightly towards the exit. Most of the people were still hiding, though they were a few that decided to peek out of their houses and saw Isaac with the green-haired girl. From what he could see, they didn't have any weapons, so it was best to ignore them.

He made her walk quite a distance before finally telling her to stop. With her leg like that there was no way of reaching any city soon, and Isaac sure as hell wasn't going to carry the girl. He pushed her down onto the ground and walked around, his gun still pointed at her. After taking his backpack and reaching into it, he looked up at his, for the lack of a better word, prisoner. "Someone doesn't like to see her own blood?" he asked, taking a piece of rope out of his bag and proceeding to tie the girl's hands with it. At least he didn't have to worry about her excaping, unless, of course, she managed to use her powers. He lowered the gun slowly, aware that it could be the last thing he would ever do, and sat down on a rock nearby. His sleeve was wet from blood and his arm hurted like hell. The cut was clean, thankfully. "Quite a mess you did there.." he said, examining his wound. "And yet the amount of money they pay for you is just terrible."

He had some bandages left, and using them now seemed like a good idea. Even doing so, Isaac tried to keep an eye at the girl. The people from the town that they left behind were going to follow them, and Blake had to decide whether to leave the girl to die, grab the money and continue his travel, or to bring her with him. Thing was, he had no patience and if dealing with her meant constant struggle, he was better off without her. He stared at her when he was done with his cut and sighed. "Murderous, freaky and deaf, I see."
 
She limped along in front of him as she was pushed along by the slight push he put on her shoulders, her hand on her leg where she had been shot. She felt weak and the uncomfortable object under the bandage was definitely no help. Her breaths came out in small pants and her chest rose and fell quickly, her eyes showing she was still in shock as she sometimes looked to her bloody hand. The red substance was so strange to her. She'd never seen her own blood ever since she'd found that little relic that had given her the wind powers she had now. It had been one of many, but the wind one as well as a red one had practically called for her. But she was weak and could only carry one, so she had picked the green relic.

Ku flinched a bit when she was told to stop and she squeaked as she was pushed to her knees, looking up at him with watery eyes. She put her hand back to the wound, the bandage soaked with blood. He still had his gun pointed at him. The object that could make holes in her skin. She winced as she was taunted, just a bit of her sense returning to her when he tied her hands together. She pulled at her hands a bit, shivering and scratching at the rope with her nails. She tried to figure out in her mind why she couldn't even do her small cuts of wind. He sat down on a rock nearby and she leaned forwards, her chest to the ground as she tried to pulled out of the ropes from the different angle. It wouldn't work and she soon gave up, sitting up and quietly sniffling.

She seemed to perk up a bit when she heard his insults and she looked over at him, tilting her head a bit. She spoke, her voice somehow soft. "Deaf? I'm not deaf. I can hear you just fine. And the only reason I'm freaky is because I snatched a relic from a whole cave of relics..." She let out a sigh and looked down. "Why couldn't I get the red one?" It was as if she weren't tied up, as if she wasn't being held hostage. She didn't stutter, her eyes didn't hold anymore fear, and her hands were clenched into fists. Her mind was clearing up.
 
Isaac kept observing the girl's attempts at destroying the rope, but did nothing to stop her. For now it seemed he was fairly safe - and if the girl was to try and run away, he'd kill her. Dragging her body to the city would slow him down, of course, but he would still get his payment, though maybe not as much as he was hoping to get, bringing her there alive. He pointed his gun at her, just in case. "I figured that much out. People don't usually fly" he snarled, waving the gun a little. "But I couldn't care less for your story. And I think people from the cities you've attacked aren't interested in it, too." He shrugged. Relic or no relic, the girl was crazy. Artifacts were rare, but there were people carrying them around and not every one of them changed into a murderer just because he or she could. Although Isaac didn't have too much against killing people, especially in these hard times, there was no excuse for the girl to go on a killing spree.

But he was impressed, he had to admit. He wouldn't say to his hostage, obviously, because reminding her of her powers would probably end badly for him, but her skills - even if controlled mostly by the artifact - were something. If he wouldn't shoot her, who knows how many people would die? It didn't seem as if she was going to stop anytime soon, and she certainly didn't hesitate when attacking. Having her around and using her to do things for him would be useful, but it was too risky at the moment. He didn't dare to think she'd willingly cooperate, even with the promise of being able to kill more people. He shook his head. He needed to focus.

He gestured at her wound. "How's the leg?" he asked. She had to walk all by herself and Blake didn't want her to slow them down so much. Maybe he'd buy an artifact of some sort, he knew some of them helped with the healing, but on the other hand, getting hte girl to feel better wasn't the most important thing. And besides, artifacts were pricey. She had to deal with the pain for now. "To be honest, I didn't think capturing you would be so easy" he huffed, taking off his gasmask after a moment of work. It was partially ruined and he growled, breathing ever so slightly not to take in too much unfiltered air. He showed the mask to the girl. "You'll be repaying me for that, freak." Isaac scoffed, his eyes glaring coldly at the girl.
 
Gumi looked up at him with teary eyes and then quickly looked away, rubbing away the coming tears on her shoulders. She then turned away from him, using her legs to do so, and looked down with quiet sniffles. "I know you don't care about me or whatever... you just want that big reward over in Casino City..." The apocalypse hadn't done anything good for the earth, people using primitive naming when building up cities. A person could pretty much tell what a city did or was by the name. The capital was Capital City, and although they would pay a high price, it would be the richest town that paid the most. Casino City.

The girl's head was clearing, and so she was even gaining a bit of her attitude back. When she heard his question about her leg, her voice was quiet. "As good as when you shot it...." She rubbed away whatever tears were left and she turned back to him, looking to the large red spot on the bandage and then to a bag on her belt. She looked over at him and shook her head a bit. "It wasn't easy for you... you had to go through my defensive winds." She scratched lightly at the rope while looking to the gas mask. "That's useless, you know. I'm not paying for some useless item."

It was then that she gained a smidget of her power back. A small cutting wind cut through the rope and her hands were freed. He may had expected her to go after him, but she didn't. She reached down, pulling a fresh, still-in-plastic bandage roll. She pulled away the plastic wrapping and then reached down to the bandage he'd put on her. She quickly unwrapped it, catching the relic before it hit the ground and tossing it to him, and then began to tightly wrap her wound in silence. She half expected to be shot for freeing herself.
 
Isaac paid no attention to little, quiet sniffles. Sure, the girl looked as innocent as a lamb, and he would probably fall for it any other time, but right now, after seeing what she did in the town, the man wasn't going to let her fool him. Instead, he examined his gas mask, feeling anger crawling in his chest. It was important to him for many different reasons, and now it was broken. Being so used to it, Blake started to wonder whether getting into the trouble of capturing the girl was worth any of it, even with the high price he would get for the green haired lady. Growling, he put the mask away and almost murdered the girl with just his look when she said it was useless.

"I'm not asking you about your goddamn opinion, miss, I'm having you pay for it no matter what you think about it." He huffed again, furrowing his eyebrows. His eyes, one of different colour than another, were focused on the girl in front of him. And even so, he couldn't do anything when she somehow managed to get some of her power back. Not too much, it would seem, but enough to cut through the rope and let her hands free. Almost swallowing his own tongue, Isaac grabbed his gun and pointed it at her, jumping right next to her body on the ground. It seemed all she wanted to do was to take care of her wound, but as the relic that he slipped in between the flesh and the bandages bounced from his arm, Blake knew he was in trouble. Not give her a moment to think, scare the living shit out of her - that was the plan.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" he screamed at her from the top of his lungs, pressing the gun to her temple. "Do you think I'm fucking joking?! This isn't a picnic!" With his free hand, he pulled her hand away from the wound and growled loudly. "Something hit your head? Do you even know in what kind of situation you're in, freak? Don't-" Isaac cocked the weapon. The noise was loud right now. "-make me do this. Now, give me the relic that gives you the power." His voice is cold, steady and his look is exactly the same. "Now."
 
Gumi flinched when he pulled out his gun and she cut the bandage, securing it into place. She was hardly bleeding, but it was a deep and painful cut. She was glad dirt hadn't gotten into it too much. She looked up at him when he jumped next to her, keeping her hand on the bandage and hoping it wasn't something he'd pull off of her. She wanted and needed to stay alive. And she would do so in any way possible. She knew she would have to run from this man soon enough, but not now.

The girl winced when the placed the gun to her head and pulled her hand from the bandage, looking up at him with a bit of fear in her glare. She was over the shock and her bloodlust. She was just a woman with an attitude now. "Me? A freak? You're the one who wears a gas mask all the time and treats it like it's the most precious metal in the world." She flinched again when she heard him cock the gun and she was surprised by his next request... no, his next demand.

She glared up at him before pulling a string lightly from around her neck, a large and rough-cut green jewel coming from the inside of her shirt. She had learned that relics could be shaped and hold just as much power, being that they would still have all of their magic. She pulled it from around her neck and looked away, holding it out to him. Maybe she'd be able to escape to the safe haven of relics if he thought she was safe, or at least that was her thought process.
 
Isaac pressed his lips together when she spoke about the gasmask. This was something he didn't want anyone commenting on; after all, he will be the last one to have a laugh when all these people die. Still trying to take small breaths, the man presses the gun against Gumi's head a bit harder. She seemed to cooperate, which comforted and worried him at the same time. The paranoia kicked in - was she planning something? Was there another relic? The man swallowed, but kept his face straight.. Even though he was the one with the gun, it felt like he was more nervous than her.

He grabbed the relic with his free hand and examined it briefly. He didn't know much about those, seeing as he never wanted to have one on his own. But the green jewel seemed pricey enough, and with the powers it gave to the one who kept it close, Isaac instantly loved the artifact. Now he could sell both the girl and the relic - he would get his money, she would get, well, probably a bullet to the head, and the relic would get a new owner, hopefully someone with more common sense than Gumi. All would be well.

"Good girl! Get up. We're going. The sooner I have you off my back, the better. Got a name?" he asked, standing up and after hiding the artifact in one of his pockets, grabbing Gumi's arm and pulling her up as well. He took a few steps away, eyes never leaving the girl's frame, and took his backpack off of the ground, shoving the gasmask into it. With the glass broken, he could barely see anything through it, not to mention breathe through it with the little cuts on all of it. Hopefully the money from the relic trade would leave him with enough cash to buy another one or repair this.
 
Gumi watched the relic go into his pocket and she could see that he already had a plan for it. She assumed by the way he acted that he would just sell it off to some other maniac. And all she had to do was escape as soon as she could and get to the paradise of relics and grab the red one she had wanted. She certainly had a plan, and she would execute it as soon as she could get away from him.

The remaining aura of the wind relic disappeared from her and she soon began coughing violently, holding an arm over her mouth. She was pulled up by him and she shook her head, speaking between coughs. "Not a name you deserve." Her coughs softened just barely but quickly became rough again and she spoke to herself between the coughs. "Damn... I never realized that relic... helped these weak lungs so much..." She was referring to her condition, the true reason she'd had picked the air relic. Her lungs were weaker than most anyone's and the horrible air had only been making them worse. The fresh air she kept around herself had kept her alive in a way.

She looked to him when he walked over to his back, closing her eyes as she coughed. She walked towards him, stumbling a bit along the way before she was standing beside him, her arm over her mouth to shield her coughing. "Just... start moving... I ought to get to the city before I give out if we're fast enough..." She quietly laughed, a weezing laughter. "Who knows, they might not even have to kill me. I'll drop before they can even get a bullet in my heart." She knew he was sending her to be killed in the city, but she would escape before then. But she wouldn't give any hint of it, she would just joke about her own death by suffocation.
 
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