Single post in Shadow Collectors

Quietly flicking her flashlight off and giving her eyes a moment to readjust to the darkness, Shannon gently pressed her fingertips against the container next to her and dragged them along its cool side while cautiously creeping toward its corner. She quietly slipped the flashlight back into its pouch. There still wasn’t any other sound. Maybe an off-balanced container had finally settled. A sudden loud thud deterred her reasoning. It was nearby. Shannon grew still as a statue, lips fastened tight and lungs imprisoning air. Just ahead, a light flickered from around the corner of the container next to her. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Her right hand tensed at her waist, anxiously hovering over the holstered 9mm handgun. Shannon suddenly realized that she, oddly, didn’t hear any other sounds… not even the slightest footstep. Someone was trying to mask their presence, and they must have just arrived. No way would they have ignored the doorway to the alley scraping the ground. But how could she accurately track them while staying out of sight and searching for the right container? Another thud sounded, this time coming from a ways behind her. For someone who could move about so silently, they sure didn’t mind making noise when they wanted. But why? Shannon’s brow wrinkled. The noise couldn’t have been accidental, right? And if it wasn’t accidental… Shannon’s eyes widened. She immediately yanked her fingers away from the crate. No more than a second later, a third, identical thud sounded from deeper in the warehouse. Her suspicions were right! That sound wasn’t accidental. It was the sound of a hunter using his own ability to search the containers. Shannon knelt down and rolled up the sleeve covering her left arm. She couldn’t afford to be stealthy anymore… not if she wanted to prove herself ready. With her fingertips inches from the floor, she hesitated. She exhaled slowly. As soon as she pressed her palm against the concrete ground, she knew the hunter would immediately find her. But it was better than losing the item. That’s what she told herself anyway. Planting her left hand against the floor, Shannon winced as a sai-shaped symbol on the back of her hand began to glow a deep blue color. A loud, screeching caw cried out. The hunter’s light flashed back in her direction, but the end of the container hid her. However, the light did fixate on splintering blue lines that extended across the floor from her in every direction like cracks in glass. As they stretched further, the symbol glowed brighter, and its deep blue glow shifted shades lighter. Footsteps. Heavy footsteps… raced in her direction. Stealth was completely out the window now. Shannon yanked the handgun from her side and aimed toward the corner of the container that now had glowing lines crawling up its side. The hunter’s light disappeared. Shannon used her best judgment to measure the sound of footsteps… and squeezed the trigger. With a loud bang, the gun recoiled in her hand. The bullet ricocheted off something. Did she nail her target? Her gun hand trembled. It was difficult to keep aiming upward into the darkness with one hand glued to the ground. The splintering lines had reached several containers now but no resonation. What’s worse, her rune’s glow was rapidly draining its blue hue. If she didn’t find the right container before it turned white, she’d be a sitting duck… even more so than she already was. Shannon blinked. While watching the lines continue to stretch across every surface the floor came in contact with, she suddenly realized neither of them had made contact with the hunter. The footsteps had also gone silent. Unfortunately, she grasped this a second too late.