Game of Higher Hands - Not Safe Yet

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I hit the ground hard.

The metal in my hand is gone.

The creature is still there.

But something is wrong with it now.

Its body is shaking.

Like a broken screen trying to load the same image again and again.

“Now,” I say.

I don’t wait.

I move fast.

Too fast for most people.

I jump forward and hit its chest.

Right where I marked it.

There is no sound.

That is the strange part.

No scream.

No crash.

Just a small break in the air.

Like reality itself is cracking.

Then the creature stops.

Its body freezes.

For one second.

Two seconds.

Then it falls apart.

Not blood.

Not flesh.

Just pieces of light and dust.

Like it was never fully real.

I stand there.

Breathing.

“…So it was a bad copy,” I say.

I wipe my hand.

“Confirmed.”

Behind me, Mei is still on the ground.

She slowly sits up.

She looks at the empty space where the creature was.

Then at me.

“You did it…”

I shrug.

“I guessed.”

“That was not a guess.”

“It was a confident guess.”

She looks tired.

But alive.

That is good.

Alive is always better than the other option.

Even I understand that.

We leave the square.

The structure behind us is still open.

But we don’t stay.

No reason to.

If something dangerous is already dead, staying nearby is just bad planning.

The city feels different now.

Less pressure.

Like something heavy has been removed.

Mei notices it too.

“Is it over?” she asks.

I look around.

“No.”

She frowns.

“You don't sound sure.”

“I am sure.”

“Then why no relief?”

I think about it.

“Because this place doesn’t do ‘over’.”

We walk for a while.

No enemies.

No movement.

Just broken streets and dead silence again.

Mei relaxes slowly.

Not fully.

But enough.

At some point, she speaks.

“You saved me… more than once.”

I don’t look at her.

“I didn’t count.”

“You don't count things?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Waste of memory.”

She is quiet for a moment.

Then she says:

“You are strange.”

I nod.

“I know.”

We reach a higher road.

From here, we can see part of the dead city again.

The sky looks worse than before.

More grey.

More unstable.

Mei sits down on a broken step.

I stand.

She looks up at me.

“You are going to keep going deeper, right?”

I think.

“Yes.”

She nods slowly.

“I thought so.”

Then she adds:

“I will follow.”

I finally look at her.

“You shouldn't.”

“Why?”

“You slow me down.”

She doesn’t argue.

Not this time.

Instead she says:

“But you still helped me.”

I shrug.

“That was not planned.”

She smiles a little.

Small.

Not strong.

But real.

“That is what makes it real,” she says.

I don’t understand that sentence.

So I ignore it.

We rest for a short time.

Not long.

In places like this, long rest is stupid.

But even I can admit:

My body needs a break.

After a while, we move again.

We find an old road leading toward a lower district.

Mei walks slightly behind me again.

Same distance as before.

Careful.

Controlled.

I notice something.

She is looking at the ground more than the world.

Like she is memorizing it.

Or trying to remember it.

I don’t ask.

Not my problem.

Then we hear it.

A sound.

Far away.

Like metal dropping.

Then shouting.

Human voices.

Mei immediately reacts.

“People?”

I nod.

“Maybe.”

We move closer.

Between broken buildings, we see them.

A group.

Not soldiers.

Not survivors.

Something in between.

Armed people.

Messy uniforms.

Dirty gear.

They are dragging something.

Or someone.

Mei tenses.

“Who are they?”

I look.

“I don’t care yet.”

We stay hidden.

Watching.

The group stops near a broken truck.

They throw something inside.

A body.

Maybe alive.

Maybe not.

Hard to tell from here.

Mei whispers.

“That’s not normal.”

I answer quietly.

“Nothing here is normal.”

One of the men looks around.

I pull Mei down slightly.

She freezes.

But she doesn’t pull away.

After a moment, they leave.

Taking the truck with them.

Disappearing into another street.

Silence returns.

Mei exhales slowly.

“That was… dangerous.”

I nod.

“Yes.”

Then I start walking again.

She follows.

But her steps are slower now.

Not because she is tired.

Because she is thinking.

After a while, she speaks again.

“If we meet people like that… what do we do?”

I answer immediately.

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether they try to kill us.”

She looks at me.

“That’s your plan?”

“It’s a good plan.”

She doesn’t agree.

But she doesn’t argue either.

We continue deeper.

The city becomes darker.

Not visually.

Structurally.

Like something is blocking light itself.

I feel something again.

My ability reacts slightly.

Not strong.

But present.

Something is still here.

Watching.

Or waiting.

Mei suddenly stops.

I stop too.

“What now?” I ask.

She looks ahead.

“I heard something.”

I listen.

Nothing.

Then I hear it too.

Footsteps.

Behind us.

We turn.

No one.

Mei’s voice drops.

“I swear I heard it.”

I nod.

“I believe you.”

She looks at me.

“You do?”

“Sometimes.”

We stand still for a few seconds.

Nothing moves.

Then—

A sound again.

Closer.

I sigh.

“Okay. We are not alone anymore.”

Mei tightens her hands.

“Is it the same thing as before?”

I think.

“No.”

“That’s worse?”

“Yes.”

We prepare to move.

But before we can—

The ground under Mei shifts.

Just slightly.

A crack opens.

Fast.

“Mei!” I grab her arm.

Too late.

The ground collapses.

She falls.

“Jax—!”

Her voice disappears with the fall.

I jump immediately.

But the opening is already closing.

Like the world is swallowing her.

I land at the edge.

Dust.

Silence.

No trace.

I stare down.

“…This is annoying,” I say quietly.

No emotion.

No panic.

Just calculation.

But for the first time—

I pause longer than normal.

Then I stand up.

“I guess I have to find another way.”

I turn away from the hole.

And keep walking.

Not because I don’t care.

Not because it is easy.

But because in this world—

Stopping means you also disappear.5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFtSdVok71

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