Birth of a Phantom part 10

Shards of window glass scattered through the air as they fell, shimmering as they reflected the celebration.

Felix reached for the dragon drone’s tail, barely grabbing onto it, tugging it down.

Maria glanced at his face, glowing with the vibrant colors that decorated the night, his hair whipping violently from the wind. As he noticed this, he gave her a reassuring grin, and her cheeks flushed red with excitement.

But as it slowed down their descent, the yellow fabric began to rip.

“No...” His eyes widened, one hand clinging to the drone, the other to Maria, who was clinging tight to him.

It tore off some more, as if to taunt him.

“Don’t do it.”

Shred.

“Bollocks!” His grin faded as the drone flew away.

He let go of the small piece in his hand and held Maria tight.

Fireworks outlined their silhouettes while their reflections behind fell alongside them.

Azure particles scattered beneath his feet as they hit the other rooftop, landing just a few meters outside the enclosed space.

Even though he steeled himself for the fall, as soon he made contact, the shock rippled through his body. A throbbing pain climbed up from the soles of his feet and up to every single fiber in his body — especially to his still-healing arm, which dripped blood.

For a moment, he was paralyzed, the gnawing numbness locking him in place. His blood vessels felt like they were about to burst at any moment. Maria’s tight grip didn’t help, either.

Time stretched before he could force himself to move again. First, a twitch in his finger, then his legs, followed by a tiny step forward.

Little by little, he began to regain control. He marched, one foot after another, until he briskly marched.

“F-Felix…” Maria opened her eyes slowly, her voice shaking.

“What?” Felix answered with jittering teeth.

She looked at him with a thumbs up, “Gnarly.”

He paused for a moment, shooting her a condescending glare, losing all sense of urgency.

But a loud thud grabbed hold of their attention. The two of them froze, their eyes slowly following where the sound had come from, staring at the freshly made hole that wasn’t there a few seconds ago.

The sense of urgency snapped back as another bullet ripped a lock out of his black hair.

His heartbeat went into overdrive, banging in his chest.

Without looking back, he ran — Sprinting across the rusty steel roof panels and headed into the concrete jungle.

More rounds flew few and far between, all shot in their general direction, leaving holes on their path. He picked up the pace whenever he heard something crack, leaving behind bright blue silhouettes with every leap.

“F-Felix… s-slow down… I can barely see where we’re… gonna be sick…” Maria’s cheeks puffed as she looked back.

“Just bear it for—” A bullet struck his shoulder from behind, and they rolled on the concrete roof.

Maria nearly tumbled over, while Felix convulsed, desperately clawing for the fresh wound near his shoulder blade. A rapid, ragged breathing hissed through his grit teeth.

Lying precariously close to the edge, her eyes shot open as another round fired, two feet shy of her head, showering her face with bits of concrete dust.

She glanced upward and caught a glimpse of the sniper, positioned on the broken window where they leapt out of. She reflexively rolled over closer to the edge, and fell on top of a balcony hanging over the building.

Startled by the hanging platform, she hurriedly reached for Felix, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him into the narrow space.

With a metal thud, they tumbled on top of the rusty old balcony below. Another shot flew over their heads, scattering more concrete dust in front of her face.

She coughed, and wiped off the dirt, glancing over to the dark-haired man beside her, who was biting his lip. But as soon as she let out a sigh of relief, a low metallic groan came from the platform they were sitting on.

Unable to support both of their weight, the rusted railings snapped, and the old balcony broke beneath them.

Felix grabbed onto her tight, shielding her from the fall.

~