by Noah Harris
They kept in hot pursuit, Ted's eyes not leaving Mike for fear of him ducking into the crowd, shifting, and evading them, this time for good. As he ran, Ted saw Mike's hand dip into his jacket and pull out a small, glistening, chrome item. It was the gun.
"Where's he going?" Kevin said, weaving past more members of the crowd.
"He's going to the stairs--he must be headed for the Senator's room," said Ted, in between deep pants of breath.
Mike went through another set of doors; Kevin and Ted saw stairs just beyond. They arrived at the doors soon after. Ted stopped, kicked them open, and burst through. And just as he crossed the threshold, a loud crack rang out, and a red blast of energy slammed onto the floor just to his right. Just missing Ted, it left an angled singe mark on the ground where it hit. Ted looked up, and barely caught sight of the face of Mike glowering down at him for a moment before running through another set of doors.
More cracks of energy discharge rang out in the distance as Ted and Kevin made their way up the stairs.
"Fuck!" Kevin shouted, "who's he shooting at?"
"I dunno!" said Ted, bounding up the steel stairs, his feet hitting with hollow clangs, "we better not be too late!"
After a minute of running up the stairs, they arrived at the second-floor door that Mike ran through. They stopped for a moment, surveying the brutal scene ahead. Black scorches from energy discharges lined the intricate, patterned wallpaper of the hotel hallway. A handful of suited agents lay here and there on the floor, some moaning and writhing in pain, others lying heaped against the walls, still as stones.
"Well, shit," said Ted, his head rubbing the back of his neck, "the Senator's room is just ahead; we gotta move!"
After another quick burst, they arrived at a set of wood-carved double doors, flanked on both sides by antique stands topped with colorful bouquets. One of the doors was open just a crack. Ted kicked it in, and Mike followed close behind.
In the vast, appointed luxury suite was a scene in progress. Two more agents laid sprawled, their suits burned by energy weapon shots. Mike stood in the center of the room with his gun drawn and pointed at a silver-haired, suited man who was cowering in front of the open doors of the patio. Behind him, the Portland skyline glittered under a full, silver moon. A soft breeze blew through the room.
"Help!" the man cried out, his voice wavering.
"Mike! Stop right there!" said Kevin, shouting.
Mike snapped around on his heels. His face was shifting and blurring into odd patterns; a nose appeared on his forehead and disappeared, his eyes scrolled through different shapes and colors, his skin changed from one tone to another, as though flipping through channels. His hair was wild, morphing from a buzz cut to a ponytail, to completely bald.
"I gave you a chance!" he shouted, his eyes wild, "I did you right by letting you live! And now you go and fuck with my job! For what?"
He then drew the gun with a slow movement on Kevin.
"You know what? Who cares? I'm gonna do what I should've done four hours ago."
Kevin closed his eyes and prepared for the impact of the bolt from the pistol. Instead, he heard something else entirely.
It was a snarling, followed by a ripping, and tearing. Then a whoosh of air, followed by the simultaneous thud of an impact and the cracking of bones. Then growling, and screaming. He opened his eyes.
In front of him, there was a huge beast of an animal. It had pounced on Mike and was clawing at his face with deadly swipes. It raised one paw, ready to make a final strike. Mike's face, now riddled with claw marks, continued to cycle through combinations of faces. Each one was marked with horror. His hands were around the paw of the beast that was pressed against his chest.
"Lieutenant!" shouted a voice. It was the senator.
The animal looked up at him, his paw now still, his dog-like mouth twitching in a silent snarl.
"I think you've made your point," the senator said, brushing the labels of his suit jacket.
And with that, the beast shifted back to human form, its fur sucking back into the skin, the shape shrinking and changing until it reverted to the form of Ted, now completely nude.
Wiping his face with a hand towel, the senator spoke. "You should be able to find a change of clothes in the closet. It's the least I can do."
Now blushing and covering himself, Ted ran to the closet and pulled out a pair of pants. And as his did so, the quick marching of footsteps grew louder behind them. Kevin turned around and was face-to-face with a squad of suited agents, one with the dimmed alabaster skin of a vampire.
"Get this asshole out of here," said the senator, as the men descended on Mike, pulling up from the floor.
"You know," said Mike to Kevin, his voice rough and tired, "you really have a way of making a guy regret not killing you."
Kevin looked away from Mike's glare but smirked to himself. And with that, the suited men dragged Mike from the room with his hands tied behind his back with the same type of strange energy cord that Kevin was restrained with earlier.
Now wearing a fresh suit of finely-tailored clothes, Ted stepped next to Kevin as he gazed out onto the twinkling lights of the city.
"You know," said the senator to Ted, as he prepared to exit the room, "I think you've earned a night off."
Kevin and Ted smiled at each other in response. Ted took Kevin's hand. "Shall we?" said Ted "We shall."
*
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Your friendly author, Noah Harris.