Erik and the others kept running through the park, their hearts pounding in their chests. The darkness of the night made it difficult to see where they were going, but they could make out the shapes of trees and bushes around them.
They could hear the sound of their footsteps as they ran and the rustling of leaves as they pushed past the foliage.
They were sweating, panting, and were tired but didn't stop. They knew they had to keep going if they wanted to get away from Matthew's men, who were still pursuing them. Luckily the park was vast, it seemed like it would never end, but it was useful to get away from their pursuers, at least for the time being.
As they kept running, they felt the adrenaline pumping through their veins, giving them the strength to keep going. They didn't know where they were heading exactly; they knew they were trying to go to the eastern district, but it was Erik who was leading the way through the forest, and they wondered how the hell he was able to do so in that darkness.
It was clear that their friend was hiding something. That was especially clear to some of them since they saw Erik having a sudden burst of mana that he shouldn't have been able to have since his Ferebitz rank should have had an E; however, the mana output he released belonged to a D-ranked individual. The kids put these thoughts aside since they knew they had to get as far away as possible from the gang members.
That meant they had to keep running with their wounds still open. Erik was the most wounded one between them; he stopped bleeding, but he was debilitated. Moreover, despite her strength, Gwen had already been carrying Brittney for a long time and through a messy environment, and she was tired.
"I need to rest," the young woman said.
"There's a fallen tree there; let's go," Erik ordered, and soon they all moved in that direction. As they arrived, they sat and gave Gwen time to rest enough to resume their escape.
"Benedict, take Brittney; Gwen needs to rest a little bit," Erik said.
"Aye, captain," his friend replied. After five minutes and enough rest, Erik said to the others, "We must keep going. We can't let them catch us."
They nodded in agreement and started running again, this time with renewed vigor.
They went through a large open field, and they could see the city's lights in the distance. It gave them hope that they were getting closer to safety.
***
Simone turned to one of his men, a burly thug with a scar on his cheek. "Have you found anything yet?" he asked, his voice low and menacing.
They had already entered the park but were searching for traces of the kids. Simone wasn't sure why they ran here; maybe they hoped they could hide from him, but the truth was it was unlikely.
Erik wasn't wrong in his strategy, but the point was that Simone and his men were Matthew's men, and they were highly trained to do that kind of job, and finding people was their specialty.
The man shook his head. "No, boss. There's no sign of them anywhere."
Simone narrowed his eyes. "Keep looking," he ordered. "I'm sure they entered the park, and you know we can't let them get away."
The thug nodded and turned to leave, but Simone grabbed his arm. "And if you find them," he said, his grip tightening, "don't hesitate to take them down. We can't afford to anger Matthew."
The man nodded again, his expression indifferent, and hurried off to join his companions in the search. Simone watched him go, his mind racing, thinking of what he would do if they failed to catch the kids.
He couldn't let them get away—not after what he and his men did; besides, they clearly connected Matthew to the Mambas and saw his subordinates kill many people. He needed to find them, and fast.
One of Simone's men finally found some traces of the kids. Broken branches, footprints, and other signs indicated the group had passed through the area. They immediately recognized the tracks as theirs since blood was mixed with the soil, and they had been injured.
Simone examined the clues, studying the footprints carefully. He could see that the kids had been running, trying to evade them.
"They're heading east," Simone said, looking at the tracks. "We need to move quickly if we want to catch them."
Simone briefly wondered why they were going toward the east, but then he collected the dots. If tracking them inside the park was easier due to the footprints, doing so in the city was harder. However, Erik and the others had only two options, either they could go back to Erik's place, or they would hide in some abandoned or under-construction buildings. The first one was unlikely, but the second was possible.
The rest of the gang nodded in agreement as he gave his order, and they set off in pursuit, following the tracks as they wound their way through the park.
As they ran, Simone couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. He loved the chase and the thrill of the hunt, that was the reason why he joined the Mambas, and these kids made it even more interesting by putting up a good fight inside the club and a great chase outside. His hunting instincts were kicking in.
He would have loved to fight Erik since he was unusually strong for his age; unfortunately, he was tied to a fight during most of his time inside the club and barely managed to get out of the club to pursue the Red Palace students.
But he also knew that he couldn't let their guard down, as the Red Palace students proved themselves to be more dangerous than they should have been. Simone didn't want to take any chances.
As they continued to run, the tracks grew fresher and fresher, and Simone could tell they were getting closer. He signaled to his men to speed things up, and they ran forward, scanning the area for any sign of movement.
***
As they emerged from the park, Erik and the others found themselves on a busy street with people bustling about, completely unaware of their situation.
The street was lined with tall buildings, and the air was filled with the scent of street food and the sound of people going about their daily business. The neon lights flashed and flickered, casting a colorful glow over everything.
The shops were all lit up, with their wares displayed in bright windows. There were clothing stores, jewelry stores, and even a few weapon stores. The place was alive, full of people, meaning they had to navigate through the crowds of pedestrians to keep moving.
"We finally got out of that place," Benedict said.
"Yeah, man, I was starting to have panic attacks, too," Floyd replied. Erik turned to the others and spoke in a hushed tone. "We need to blend in with the crowd. Act normal; don't draw attention to ourselves."
Gwen nodded and followed Erik's lead, trying to appear casual as they walked among the throngs of people; the others did the same. They couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, knowing that they were still being pursued. They quickly went through the city's streets and blended with the crowds.
As they ran, they spotted a group of street performers attracting a large crowd. That could play to their advantage, but they had to stay away from the performers. However, Erik quickly spotted some Crystal Cross gang members.
The awakener quickly pulled his friends aside, hiding them behind a nearby vendor's cart. They watched as the gang members scanned the crowd, searching for any sign of wanted people, drug buyers, or people to kidnap. After a tense few minutes, the gang members moved on, as there was nothing else to do there.
"Let's go," Erik whispered to the group. "We can't stay in one place for too long."
The group nodded in agreement and continued down the street, keeping a low profile and avoiding any attention.
As they walked, they spotted a group of police officers patrolling the area.
"Should we ask for their help?" Martha asked. But Erik quickly dismissed the idea. "If they are here patrolling with Crystal Cross gang members around, it is clear these police officers are on their pay list."
The tension was palpable as they made their way through the bustling streets, each step taking them further away from the park and the other districts and closer to their destination.
However, their luck ended here. Walking through the crowd did severely slow them down, and since Simone and the others were faster than them, they managed to arrive on the same street they were.
"I FOUND THEM!" One of the thugs, shouted; even Erik and the others heard him.
Simone face-palmed, but he and the others quickly rushed to his side and saw the kids in the distance. Without any warning, Matthew's hunting dog and his thugs began to chase them again.
"FUCK! RUN!" Erik said.
The kids tried to run as fast as they could, but it was hard amidst a crowd of people.
The thugs wasted no time attacking as soon as they found Erik and the others. One of them had a bow-summoning power. He called his weapon forth, and began shooting mana arrows, aiming at the group.
Erik and his friends tried to dodge and weave their way through the crowd, but it was difficult with so many people around. The arrows came fast and furious, and it was only thanks to their quick reflexes that they managed to avoid getting hit. However, the passersby were not so lucky.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A woman shouted, as she saw a nearby person getting hit by an arrow.
Panic quickly spread as she did so. The person getting hit screamed in pain, and people started running in all directions, trying to escape the chaos. The sound of shattering glass could be heard as people accidentally knocked over shop displays or crashed into windows while trying to get away.
More arrows were released, hitting more innocent bystanders.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? WHO THE FUCK TAUGHT YOU TO USE AN ARROW, YOU IDIOT!" Simone shouted. The man remained silent, as he knew he was messing up.
People started shouting and crying, and the sounds of the arrows hitting the ground and buildings added to the commotion.
Erik and the others tried to move as fast as they could, avoiding the arrows and the people running around them, even using the people as human shields. Gwen called out to Erik, "We need to get out of here! We can't do nothing in the middle of this crowd!"
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