Annihilation
Set to the tune of: Prodigy - Mindfields
The beat of the city flows powerfully through the metropolitan mall. Throbbing and thronging with people, the setting sun of the summer afternoon sets aflame the waning sky without as the massive structure mightily rounds the curves of post-modern architecture. It is an emotion that goes unseen by many, but not unfelt, not entirely. Deep in the human subconscious, the rhythm connects with every man, woman, and child nearby, every shopper and browser, every gamer and mallrat, resonating from the high-end clothing stores and PET shops to the hole-in-the-wall video arcades and mini-eateries, from the Food Court to the Grand Court to the open air Courtyard and beyond.
David exhales and tilts his head back, sending a plume of smoke straight up into the golden-red sky. He hasn't seen the No Smoking signs littering the Courtyard, but he wouldn't have cared, regardless. He flicks his cancer stick to the brick walkway and pulls the black ten-gallon across his eyes. Almost time to get started.
Vidal steps back and hides, gunfire roaring around him. When the time is right, he leaps forward onto the pedal, trigger twitching, gun blazing away. He doesn't see the red flash until it's too late. Dead. He fingers his pocket for more tokens, but is stopped short when someone pulls him away from the Time Crisis 3 machine. David touches a finger to his nose silently and walks away. Vidal sighs and fingers the other, smaller gun deep in a side pocket. Almost time.
Carlos and Moe sit at the table, surrounded by Food Court patrons, debating the finer points of life when they notice David give them the signal from a distance and disappear into the crowd. They nod to each other and rise to follow him.
Sam, Cyros, and Jonathan join the growing band shortly thereafter, several of them fidgeting nervously with brimming enthusiasm for what's to come. The group of seven enters the Grand Court at the assigned time. Several feet off the ground, the artificial waterfall emits a roar powerful enough to drown out even the early evening's crowd, people milling about in all directions oblivious to the cascading deep orange sunlight reflecting off the myriad skylights above.
The seven boys get ready for anything. Nothing happens. Silent, they gaze around, glancing blankly at one another for a few moments before David gives the signal to split up. They nod and separate. David looks around nervously, growing more agitated the longer nothing happens. A newspaper ruffles, and he jumps. You notice the strangest things above a roaring waterfall. He glances briefly in the direction of the ruffling, then breathes a heavy sigh and moves onward. He stops. He could've sworn—
A crash like thunder shatters the roaring silence, and David instinctively drops to the floor, simultaneously throwing his hands over his head. Tatters of newspaper flutter angrily to either side as the smoking barrel of a handgun leers before Jeremy.
"Damn, missed."
David tucks and rolls around a large stone pillar, drawing his own two black handguns and flicking off the safeties. He peers around his barrier and notices five other figures in the ensuing madding crowd stand forth. At the same time, in six other parts of the mall, the six other Net Guardians draw their weapons and stand ready. Drawing a breath, the cowboy spins from behind the pillar and throws his arms out, guns wielded lethally before him. David and Jeremy lock eyes and fire. It is begun.
