The Reunion

by LeeAnnMor4 

Sterk stood firm amidst the screams and running citizens, planted like a black-clad mountain as the sea of terrified people broke around him. This part of the city was a seething mass of humanity, as usual, except tonight the seething mass was fleeing in panic instead of revelling in the finest debauchery Sector 7 had to offer.

He could catch glimpses of her every now and then through the press of bodies. Her pale skin reflected the flashing neon lights that lit the eternal darkness, her bright hair of blue and purple flared around her as she twisted and lunged at any unfortunate soul within her reach. And those she did reach...well, they never got back up.

The crowd finally dispersed leaving behind only the dead lying in their own blood. Sterk had full sight of her then, glorious in her terrible beauty. He watched without expression or remorse as she slowly stalked a wounded man attempting to drag himself away from the carnage, and did not flinch when her long blade plunged into the man's back, pinning him to the ground.

The luckless bastard screamed in pain and clawed at the slick pavement, futilely attempting his escape. With a flick of her wrist, another blade extended from her left forearm, eager to join its bloody twin in the back of the soon-to-be-deceased.

"Mina," her name felt strange on his lips. It had been years since Sterk had spoken it aloud.

She whipped her head around in his direction, bright hair flying, her wild eyes meeting his own. She had seen better days. The skin covering her high cheekbones was peeling away, revealing the silver of the structure beneath. Her right eye was missing, leaving only a red glow within the black socket. His eyes raked over her familiar form, taking in the rest of the damage. God, how he'd missed her.

"You look like shit," he said without a flicker of emotion.

A brilliant smile lit her face and broken laughter spilt from her cracked lips. She plunged her waiting blade into the back of the squirming man without a second glance, ending his pitiful attempt at preserving his life.

"Come on then. Let's get this over with," Sterk said tiredly. He pulled the bolt rifle (safety always off) from his back and took aim.

Mina mechanically pulled the blades from her victim, slinging the blood from them in a gruesome arc. Her smile turned from joyous to deadly as she lowered her chin menacingly and positioned herself for attack. 

"It was over when you picked up that badge," she said quietly. She crouched, ready to pounce. "Maybe you should have brought a bigger gun."

Let us take a moment to advertise our new club: Flash Fiction Fridays. If you enjoy reading flash, perhaps you'd like to try your hand at writing some? The club is very casual; each Friday, a prompt consisting of either words, image, or video is published. Members then have a week to write, and post and link to, their flash, stating whether or not they are open to critique. If they are, members are encouraged to offer their opinions, in a helpful way. Then, at the end of the week, participants and readers can come back to the chapter and vote for the one they like best. There's no formal contest, just writers sharing their love of a good story... in flash fiction format. Aspire magazine would publish a nominated piece on occasion.

You can find the club book by following the external link below.