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I had expected Grim’s shadow to lurch away from the geyser like a frightened cat. To my surprise, he didn’t.

For a split second, I believed that we were mistaken and that I had just thrown myself in front of him without any way to fight back. The water that erupted from the hydrant shot up and disappeared into the shadow, just like everything else that was consumed by it. Just as panic started to grip me, I noticed that he was slower – like he was being weighed down by the water.

Grim’s speed suddenly increased, but his movement was different than before. While a good portion of his smoke-like body surged towards me, the part of him that made contact with the water struggled to keep up. In fact, those parts of him began to slough off and created what looked like a trail of ink.

Unfortunately, that was all the time I could spare. If I didn’t move now, I’d never get the chance.

The engine roared and I turned left, speeding off down the street.

“He’s on me! Following the first route!”

Buildings began whipping by me as my speed climbed. I wouldn’t say my driving was great, or even good, but it helped that I was driving a Mechatech bike designed exactly for this sort of situation. The tires and build of the vehicle annihilated any small debris in my way and we’d designed the route with lots of straights so I could see larger obstacles like destroyed cars well before they became a problem.

“Focus up kid. He’s on you now. If you mess up, nobodies going to be brave enough to save you.”

“Not gonna fuck this up,” I replied. Despite my situation, I felt confident. I could see Grim in my rearview. He was fast, much faster than most people suspected – just like Alice had said. Once we revealed we knew his weakness, he’d tunnel vision for the kill. “This bastard is going down tonight, I don’t care if it’s into ECU custody or a body bag!”

I revved the engine and blitzed through another street.

My chest was thumping and my blood felt like liquid fire. If this went how we expected, I’d arrive at the end of the first route in fifty-six seconds.

First turn coming up.

I could see it up ahead on the right, getting closer by the second. The closest building on the right corner was partially collapsed, in flames, and smoking. The building on the opposite side of the street was in better condition and it looked like there were actually people inside – Cain thugs.

If they had weapons, they didn’t look like they intended to use them on me.

As I closed in on the turn, I hit the brakes and leaned to the right, all the while keeping an eye on my side mirrors. Grim couldn’t have been more than twenty or thirty meters behind me. I glided into the street, taking an audaciously wide arc. I almost clipped the curb but managed to recover quickly by yanking the throttle down.

I lurched forward as Grim’s shadow swerved into the street to give chase.

Three more turns to go.

I caught a glimmer up ahead. One of Mia’s statues knelt over another fire hydrant, waiting for me to pass by. I zoomed past and a moment later there was a loud pop and a whoosh of water as the fire hydrant was ripped out of the ground. 

That removed the last potential problem with the plan. Alice hadn’t been sure how Grim perceived his surroundings and there was a chance that whatever method he used could have prevented Mia from moving. Well, however he did so, it didn't matter anymore; Mia was able to help.

Second turn.

I ripped into the next street on my route and found that this one was occupied. There was a skirmish between some of The Cains and Pandora. I recognized Chiller, but the super he was fighting was a mystery. She was some girl with six arms, bouncing around the street trying to avoid his rays of frost.

As I thundered towards them, I tried to maneuver out of the way but she heard me coming. She leaped out of the way of another ice blast and landed on the front of my bike. My heart exploded as I tried to steady the bike from the sudden additional weight. I began to wobble and I half expected to crash. 

“Get off!” I lashed out angrily, my extendable blade shooting out of its sheath. The steel plunged into her thigh, splattering my visor with blood. The super screamed and clamped two of her arms down onto my helmet for stability.

I ripped out my blade and slashed again.

One of her arms fell off and she all but disappeared from my bike with a high-pitched squeal. The winds ripped her away and I saw her tumbling across the pavement, leaving behind an ugly smear of red in my mirrors. I didn’t even get time to see if she was alive before Grim’s shadow swallowed her whole.

I regained control of my bike and regained my speed. I didn’t recognize the girl so chances are she had been new. Hell, I had no idea if she was even part of the Cains or not. She could have been, she was fighting Chiller after all.

I wiped the blood off my visor and tried to steady my breathing.

196 BPM.

I caught the little number on my visor out of the corner of my eye. I had never seen my heart rate that high before.

“Speed up! He’s gaining on you!” The old man’s voice was filled with urgency.

I grunted and pulled down on the throttle. That hiccup had cost me seventeen kilometers an hour. It was hard to believe that Grim was this fast. I recalled managing to get away from him on foot while carrying Mia. Back then his shadow had lost a lot of its momentum when he collided with the ECU’s light barrier. Even then, he had been able to almost catch up to me with my head start.

According to Alice, the only reason he hadn’t finished me off was because he was more concerned about the Bunker being compromised. 

Now, there were no such concerns.

Third turn.

It was chaos. 

I spotted Lich and Dreamweaver supporting ECU soldiers against Cain and Pandora fighters. They were trying to minimize the casualties by getting both sides to stop, but ultimately, it seemed all they were doing was adding fuel to the fire. It was a three-way battle and I was on a collision course.

A few seconds later I was barreling through them.

I mulched at least a dozen ghostly, skeletal soldiers that had been conjured by Lich under my wheels. Then I caught a flash of bright light as Gold Rush appeared and disappeared right in front of me. A couple bullets pinged off my suit and bike, but it wasn’t long before the chaos of fighting devolved into panicked screams.

With Grim on my tail, none wanted to be in his path.

At the end of the street, I caught sight of another of Mia’s statues next to a fire hydrant.

I blitzed past her and another whooshing sound of water erupted behind me. I checked my mirrors to find that Grim had entirely evaded that attempt. It looked like he’d clued into what we were doing, which gave me a sinking feeling that the first plan was going to be a bust. There was no chance I’d be able to lead him all the way to the harbor’s edge.

“I thought you said my routes would be clear, Alice!”

“The fights are always moving and I can’t see the future, Upgrade. Every other way has too much debris, this route is still your best bet!”

I saw my last turn coming up.

As I pulled into this one, I spotted the harbor up ahead. I gunned for it, keeping an eye on Grim as he followed. Blood thundered in my ears as we got closer. I couldn’t believe it. Was he actually going to fall for it? Had we all given him too much credit and assumed he’d figure out what I was doing?

I hit the brakes and skidded across the tarmac before coming to a stop at the edge. All that lay between me and the harbor’s ocean was a sidewalk, a railing, and jagged rocks. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to see when I gazed out across the water – uncertain what effect Anomaly would have on a body of water this large.

A colossal whirlpool at the center of the harbor had formed. It was so big that it had capsized and dragged in almost everything that was docked. Even one of the larger cargo ships was struggling to stay upright.

Nothing Abby and her mum can’t fix.

I would have marveled at the sight longer if I had the time, but unfortunately, I didn’t. I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at the water, readying my signal for Anomaly to strike. I turned and watched as Grim closed the distance, his deathly shadow covering the ground between us. This was the moment of truth – I was placing my life in Anomaly’s hands. 

Just as I began to squeeze the trigger, Grim’s shadow surged upward into the sky, looping a few times before coming to a halt. He hovered a good fifty meters away as if to observe me. 

He came no closer. Instead, after a few short moments, I watched in dismay as his shadow cloud began to inch backward.

“He didn’t fall for it,” the old man’s voice came through. “Figures, that would’ve been too easy.”

“I fucking know,” I growled, reholstering my pistol. I scowled as Grim continued to drift away. Despite the chase having ended for the moment, I could almost feel his attention locked onto me. He was going to wait for me to move away from the water. “Plan B then.”

“Damn! Oh well. We figured he’d see through this one. Still, can’t fault us for trying,” Alice chirped on the other end. “Repositioning! Give me a few seconds.”

I waited, not daring to take my eyes off Grim. I wasn’t going to take the chance of looking away, in case he tried to rush me.

It seemed that our stalemate had drawn a large amount of attention. I spotted Comet’s sparkling trail against the blackened backdrop of the smoky sky. She was keeping her distance, but I was surprised to see her out here at all. If the Rookies were finally being deployed, then they really did need all hands on deck.

She wasn’t the only flier in the sky. There were several aerial ECU transports that lingered a fair distance away as well – likely being informed that landing anywhere in the war zone was almost suicide.

Although it was harder to see, my visor picked up Domination hovering close to Comet. Sparrow was watching too. There were likely more – many more – watching. I had no doubt a lot of Pandora had also taken a keen interest in what I was doing, seeing as I had Grim’s sole focus.

All eyes on me, indeed.

I hadn’t really thought about what the old man had said. I was too focused on keeping myself alive. Now that I could see how much attention was really on me, I couldn’t deny the anxiety that bubbled in my chest.

“I’m here,” Alice radioed through. “You need to draw his attention away from the harbor, otherwise he’s going to figure out what we’re doing.”

“This plan…” I murmured. I had hoped that Grim would be stupid enough to fall for our first attempt to down him. Plan A was relatively simple and minimized damage to the city, it was the ideal outcome but banked on Grim being careless. Plan B was not nearly as courteous. “A lot of people are going to get hurt.”

“That’s a given,” the old man replied wearily. “Sometimes, there are no good choices.”

“It’s our best shot,” Alice said. “Come on, Upgrade. Let’s end this.”

I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself.

Round two.

The engine roared as I took off again. Grim’s cloud picked up speed to keep up with me. He wasn’t about to let me back inland without a fight.

I sped along the harbor-side road, eyeing both Grim and my new route. The first turn would be coming up soon and I needed to get ahead of him. My bike had the superior speed and I was managing to slowly pull ahead. I felt a smirk cross my lips as Grim began to slow down as I was well and truly moving out of his territory.

We had to make him think I was trying to run away.

That’s my cue.

I swerved and pulled down hard on the throttle. I picked up speed rapidly as I began the second route. A couple hundred meters down the road, I spotted another of Mia’s statues lying in wait. I zeroed in on it and surpassed 140 kilometers an hour.

“First beacon activated!” Alice’s voice came through.

I was about to respond with a confirmation when the statue popped the hydrant earlier than I had expected. I wasn’t sure why until I looked up, only to see an inky black cloud diving towards me.

The old man’s voice came through suddenly. “Move!”

Instinct compelled me to swerve closer to the gushing water as Grim’s shadow crashed down.

I held my breath.

I sped beside the torrent of water and my vision darkened.

It was over in a fraction of a second.

Light streamed back into my visor and critical warnings flashed across the screen. I was so stunned that I was still alive that it took me a moment to recompose myself.

[Charges: 25/25]

[Type]

• Multi-purpose Armored Combat Suit

[Durability 14/100. Repair Unavailable - Incompatible Components.]

Incompatible? Fuck… I’m wearing the suit.

I shouldn’t be surprised, considering how quickly Grim was known to kill. Still, only a moment’s exposure almost destroyed my suit. If I’d had any part of my body exposed, he would have leaked in and killed me.

I was brought out of my thoughts when my bike’s tires popped and I found myself leaving a trail of fire and sparks along the pavement. I was thrown from my seat, tumbling across the street before coming to a painful stop.

Adrenaline had me scrambling back to my feet. As far as I could tell, I hadn’t broken anything which was a miracle in itself. My armor, however, was in dire condition. Bits of it were flaking and peeling off, the material looked decayed. It had barely protected me from the crash.

“Upgrade, what the hell happened?” Alice demanded. “Talk to me!”

I pushed myself off the tarmac. I was about to respond when I saw that the microphone in my helmet was nonfunctional. I could still hear their transmissions, but I couldn’t talk back. It wasn’t like I had time to respond anyway, I needed to get moving.

Thankfully, the bike was only a few meters away.

[Charges: 25/25]

[Type]

• Kriegsmaschine Bike V6

[Durability 4/100. Repair Available - Cost 3]

It was a mess. 

Most of the Temberite armor had disintegrated. The engine and other critical parts of the machine looked like swiss cheese and pulling the throttle down yielded no response.

In a panic, I looked behind me to see if Grim was about to kill me. Fortunately, his gambit to kill me had cost him more than it had cost me. His shadow had all but covered the geyser of water like a blanket and it was slowing him down. He looked like tar and was moving about as fast as molten lava. He was dragging himself along the ground, slowly picking up speed as it left ruined concrete behind.

“He got hit,” the old man replied, stunned. “Grim dived at him. He’s… well I’ll be damned, he’s still in one piece!”

“Get out of there!” Alice all but screamed. “Go, go NOW!”

Paying the three charges, I repaired the bike and climbed back onto the seat. My body was aching as I pulled back down on the throttle and took off again. As I regained speed, I looked back to see the shadow rising from the ground, separating itself from the water that was weighing it down. I could almost see its desperation to catch up.

“He’s on the move again. Alice, get to the second beacon!”

I was alive. My heart was still beating and my brain was firing on all cylinders. I was going to make it out of this. We were going to beat Grim into the ground and I’d go home before the sun would rise. I wasn’t going to die, not tonight. After that brush with death, nothing was going to stop me.

I was a fair distance away when Grim managed to finally pull himself free. His shadow flew into the sky and surged after me. I watched it get closer as I leveled out my speed. I needed to stay slow enough that I didn’t lose him entirely – but right now I wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

I followed the route, passing a number of Mia’s statues. She tried to do her part to pop more fire hydrants but Grim was well and truly aware of that strategy by now. Not a single geyser managed to reach high enough to strike the main body of his shadowy cloud.

“Second and third beacons are active,” Alice reported. “Come on, big guy. Follow the sonar. Get your ass moving!”

“Anomaly’s moving. Let’s hope he can navigate those drains against the current’s flow.”

“He can!” Alice replied with absolute certainty. “He’s just gotta follow the beacons.”

“There’s very little margin for error. Are you prepared for the exit plan?” The old man asked. There was a brief silence from Alice as I continued to follow the route. 

The final plan wasn’t really a plan. It was a retreat strategy.

I was to keep driving out of the city. Eventually, Grim would give up and fall back to his territory. Alice would visit my mom’s place and get her to safety. Anomaly and Mia would meet us at the eastern highway leading out of Bayside. Then we discuss our next move – most likely we’d leave the city.

It’s not going to come to that. This is going to work.

“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” Alice said. “Fourth and fifth beacons are online!”

“Get to the last two and fast. Upgrade’s approximately forty seconds out!”

Indeed I was. There were only three turns between me and the end of the second route. It would be there that we’d find out if our efforts bore any fruit.

Turning into the next street, I was dismayed to find a wrecked bus blocking the end of it. It was smoking with some flames lingering on different parts. To make matters worse, there didn’t seem to be a gap big enough for me to squeeze through. I couldn’t even turn around now because Grim was hot on my heels. If I gave him any sort of ground, he’d catch up.

I’d have to make my own path.

Activating the bike's weapons, I fired everything that was available to me. Bullets and missiles plowed through the metal ahead of me and shredded it to pieces. A wall of smoke and dust obscured my path, but that wasn’t going to stop me.

I accelerated through the wrecked vehicle. It was a bit bumpy and the tires took a lot of abuse from the uneven ground but once again I had to remind myself that this machine was Mechatech. It was built for this kind of thing – and I was right. It soldiered on and carried me at speed through the rest of the street to the next turn.

“Sixth beacon online! Heading to the final one now.”

“Upgrade’s fifteen seconds out!”

“Where’s Anomaly?”

“Not far behind.”

There was a rumbling in the ground below me. For a moment, it was hard to tell if that was the engine of the bike or the ground itself.

I made the last turn and saw Alice at the far end of the street, kneeling at the four-way intersection.

“Last one’s online!”

Just in time.

I went full throttle and thundered toward the intersection. There was a flash of pink and Alice was gone, eager to get out of the way. Grim wasn’t that far behind me but was now losing ground as my speed climbed higher. I passed 150 kilometers an hour and was getting close to 160 when I careened through the intersection.

I had done it. My job was done.

“Hit it!” Alice cried.

The last beacon activated.

The ground beneath me vibrated violently, forcing me to slow down so I didn’t crash again. I looked behind me to see Grim about to pass over the intersection, none the wiser. The tarmac cracked and split, and seawater poured out. I saw the shadow take notice and try to speed up but Grim wasn’t fast enough.

The fissure blew like a volcano. There was a loud bang and seawater swallowed the shadow whole. I couldn’t see Anomaly but he was in there somewhere, pushing out more water. It was a tsunami right between Cain and Pandora territory.

I watched it surge toward me. Not wanting to get consumed by the flood, I once again pulled the throttle to max and continued on down the street. I could hear the destruction behind me as the sea water ripped through the streets.

I made a sharp turn into another street that steeped into a hill and made for the top. Once I arrived at the apex, I came to a stop and parked the bike. The water climbed surprisingly high but didn’t manage to get more than a quarter way up. Still, the water damage alone from this would be catastrophic.

I found the nearest building and climbed to the roof, having to take the long way because my grapple was damaged.

Climbing over the edge, I surveyed the damage. The water just continued to pour from the fissure and it didn’t show any signs of stopping.

Grim’s shadow, however, had been pulled under. I could barely see him from where I stood. His shadow had sunk like a rock beneath the seawater, thrashing to reach the surface. Its struggles grew weaker by the second. It wouldn’t be long before he disappeared entirely, or reverted to his human form.

I retrieved my sniper from my back and after spending a full three charges to repair the damage Grim had done, I set myself up on the edge.

Either way, he’s finished.