Excerpt: The Flow of the World

[Taken from Chapter II]

“So, it looks like my data was correct then,” the man said cockily as he began his descent down the pile of rubbish, gun pointed right at the girl.
He was dressed in jeans, a long shirt, a blue baseball cap and a black coat. If Theo had passed him walking down the street, he didn’t think he would have thought twice about him. He just looked like a really ordinary guy.
“Imagine what reward I’ll get when I bring back the infamous-”
He stopped as the girl drew her long sword, a katana Theo supposed, and pointed it directly at the man, still a good forty meters away.
Theo saw the man grin. “So? You want to take me on then little girl?” He raised his gun slightly. “You know this is no ordinary gun, right?”
“Stay there and don’t move,” the girl said to Theo, still watching the man carefully.
Theo didn’t respond, but he was too scared to move anyway. He didn’t know much about guns, but he could tell the one the man was holding was deadly. It was only a small weapon and resembled a magnum, but it seemed that the bullet holds had been removed. Theo wasn’t sure how the man could use such a gun, but by the intent in the man’s eye, he could see he knew exactly what he was doing.
The girl, on the other hand, seemed very calm and completely composed. Theo thought if she was only putting it on, she must be a very good actress.
“Well then, you start girl,” the man said and let out a small laugh.
Theo looked back up to the girl, well he thought that was where he looked, but she wasn’t standing there anymore. Suddenly, he heard the sound of metal swiping through the air. He turned towards the sound, and where the man had been standing a minute ago, the girl now had her sword stuck into the ground.
“Too slow!” the man laughed from the top of the rubbish pile where he had started. He aimed the gun, and pulled the trigger. Expecting a loud gunshot, Theo stuck his fingers in his ears, but there didn’t seem to be any sound. Instead, Theo saw a flash of light emerge from the barrel of the gun. No bullets, no nothing.
Yet the girl dodged it as quickly as if it were a real bullet, desperately trying to get away from where the man had aimed it. Just as she had jumped and tumbled down a pile of rubbish, Theo felt the ground erupting beneath him. A small explosion erupted about where the ‘bullet’ would have hit the ground, sending rubbish flying in all directions, right where the girl had been standing a second ago.
Before he had a chance to even consider what had just happened, the girl again seemed to disappear from view, reappearing a second later right next to the man and swinging her sword again. To Theo, it seemed as if she were some how teleporting the distance. She narrowly missed the man as he seemed to struggle to get out of the way.
“The man seems to have the advantage when there’s space between them,” Theo considered the fight occurring in front of him. “But the girl seems to be a lot faster than him.”
The girl moved again, this time slicing the man in the arm. It seemed to avoid actually hitting him, but just tore the sleeve of the jacket he was wearing. Quickly recovering his footing, the man fired a shot again. The girl easily dodged it, but the ‘bullet’ still came flying straight towards Theo. Unable to see the bullet, apart from a brief flash of light, he quickly regained control of his body, he got up and ran as fast he could. A moment later, the ground exploded right next to where he had been sitting.
Apparently uncaring about his predicament, the girl and man were still attacking each other around the tip. Just as the man seemed to be getting the upper hand, he tripped slightly over something on the ground and stumbled. Seizing the opportunity, the girl took another quick slash at him. The man narrowly managed to avoid the swipe, but he went tumbling backwards down a pile, and she jumped swiftly down after him.
Theo started to panic, deciding whether or not to run while they were out of view. Choosing flight as the best course of action, he took control of his shaking legs and stood up off the ground. He glanced around before dashing back into the bushland behind him, hoping to avoid being seen among the trees. He knew he had to get away. These people didn’t even seem to be human!
“Oh ho boy! Where do you think you’re going?”
Before Theo took even two steps into the bush, the voice of the man stopped him in his tracks. He turned around slowly, to see the man standing directly behind him, gun aimed right at his head. Theo couldn’t even begin to comprehend how the man managed to see him move, let alone get to him so quickly.
“The girl may need you, but personally, I have no interest in whether you live or die.” He paused as he seemed to consider his decision. “In fact, you’re probably better off dead anyway. No offence.”
He laughed, and pulled the trigger.