NPC by Jeremy Robinson

Author:Jeremy Robinson [Robinson, Jeremy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B08998T92N
Publisher: Breakneck Media
Published: 2020-06-28T16:00:00+00:00

29

SAMAEL

I thought we had the element of surprise, but then the pastor lingered at the door for thirty seconds. Somehow, he knew. Noticed something was off. Underestimating a real person is dangerous. We fled through the damn window and circled around the house. Element of surprise, regained. For a moment, I felt pride in my underlings. They had the pastor and the detective at their mercy. I was about to enter.

In control.

Dominant.

He would hear what I had to say, and he would understand…or at the very least be curious.

But Buddy and Kait weren’t prepared for a pastor who could fight, and who was willing to risk his life so brazenly. I should have told them about his past. I realize that now. He’s seen battle. Faced down Taliban fighters. Dragged the bodies of his fallen brothers to rescue choppers.

Most people would freeze up with a shotgun in the face, but Ezekiel did the opposite—and the detective encouraged him. In a fair fight, Buddy and Kait don’t stand a chance.

That’s why I turned off their pain receptors. Short of death or broken limbs, they won’t even know they’ve been injured. It’s also why I decided to join the fray. I’m not a fighter, but I’m big, and strong, and intimidating.

Also, I have a shotgun.

I just can’t shoot it. I want them alive.

So, I charge through the living room, cock the weapon back, and swing the butt at Ezekiel’s forehead. One solid hit and he’ll be out.

There’s a flicker of realization on his face, just before the strike lands.

He moves faster than I can adjust for, leaning just out of range. I overextend and stumble. He doesn’t even have to touch me. The laws of physics do the work for him, sprawling me forward, between Ezekiel and Buddy.

I collide with both women, separating them like bowling pins.

Kait sprawls into the kitchen, losing the shotgun as she falls. The detective crashes into the open window. Nearly falls through, but she catches herself.

The wall breaks my fall, most of the impact being absorbed by my shoulder and the now-dented drywall.

The detective grunts, pulling herself back in. Locks her eyes on mine, before flicking to the shotgun still in my hands. She launches toward me, just as a now pain-free Buddy tackles Ezekiel, unpracticed fists flailing. He’s not going to deliver a haymaker that ends the fight in a single blow, but he’s also not going to stop.

A punch connects with my chin, knocking my head to the side. I feel it, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s like a gentle pat on the cheek. The detective follows up with twin blows to the gut that would likely have put me on the ground, but the roiling agony and air sucking spasms never happen. As far as my brain is concerned, my body is just fine.

But she’s not trying to take me down, she’s trying to take my weapon!

She’s got her finger around the trigger! She twists the weapon up toward my face.

The weapon fires as I lean back, shattering the light fixture.

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