Crossover Escape: Gotta be more than Lucky to survive

1.20 Cold clutches

Luca flipped through the course while he determined his attack method. He couldn’t use flips and kicks like he’d done in the hive cause that might lead  to questions. Still he didn’t need to. Someone that liked to come in close to grapple how could Luca disappoint him. Unlike like the team matches the solo really was just a one-on-one fight. Crusher proved that he was aware of his strengths choosing to wait in the open area between the red climbing wall and the centre swinging poles.

Luca emerged from the poles and tiled his head as he looked at crusher. After a moment Luca raised a hand a gestured are you coming, or shall I? Crusher’s expression darkened at the casual action clearly, he took it as Luca being overconfident and provoking him. That hadn’t actually been Luca’s intention, but a provoked opponent was one who left openings and Luca particularly excelled at exploiting opportunities.

Crusher charged and Luca grasped the outstretched arm and bent and the waist. Using Crusher’s momentum Luca tossed him over his back and onto the ground. Luca stepped back twice and waited for crusher to get back up. He charged again and Luca tossed him again. The third time Crusher moved slower coming in wit ha hard swing Luca ducked and dived behind his back. Luca rotated the dive. As Crusher spun around Luca stretched and hooked his feet around his throat while he twisted his hips Luca pushed off with his arms pulling Crusher to the ground as he regained his feet. Before Crusher could recover Luca tossed a dagger hard at the red fence and sprung onto it and then over the wall. Luca crossed the red end line before Crusher even made it to the pit. Luca wandered back through and retrieved his dagger before heading back to the team.

The following match was Zeno’s team against Derek’s team. Luca watched with interest as in the trio Zeno brough his team to a group fight and then used an opportunity to slip past leaving two to hold three while he raced to the end. Then in the duos Derek’s pair used a similar method making one hold two look easy so that they could snatch a win.

Derek waited at the red end while Zero at the blue. When the buzzer marked the start of the match the pair were off, they hit the centre area and without pause rushed at each other. The fight was fierce and rough. No finesse they just struck out at each other hard with fists and feet. It actually seemed like they were irreconcilable enemies. A strike from Derek brushes past Zeno’s neck and Zeno kicks hard into Derek’s side.

Shouts sounded from both teams in encouragement but as Zeno turned and dodged aside Luca spotted blood dripping down his neck. It wasn’t the first sight of blood on the course, but it was the first time it wasn’t from a blade or a strike to a nose. Luca couldn’t determine what had caused the cut which was disturbingly familiar.

Luca turned to Ghost to ask if he’d noticed the cause and then shivered as the sunshine he’d been lying in darkened. Luca looked up to check the size of the cloud. The gathered clouds dimmed the light and brought a slight chill to the air.

A different sort of shout snapped Luca’s attention back around as a shower of wood splinters scattered across the field when the red wall is destroyed. People scattered as Zeno and Derek ducked for cover. Luca rolled to the side trying to see what had destroyed the wall. Unfortunately as the day had worn on the shadows had lengthened on that side of the filed and the teams that had remained at the field had all shifted to Luca’s side of the field. No from the opposite side to where the attack came from Luca could find no sign of the source.

Another scream sounded from behind them and Luca turned again just in time to see lady being dragged into the brush. “Ghost up.” Luca shouted as he lunged forward. Ghost didn’t question just turned and cupped his hands. Luca stepped into the palms and pushed off the throw to land solidly in the trees. As if she’d red his mind Rӓv turned on the thermal vision on the glasses. Using the shadows to manage his footing Luca chased after the visible heat trail.

The continued silence from Lady concerned Luca but he chased noting with relief that the rest of his team followed closely behind. A flicker of movement just ahead and Luck draw and threw his knife in one fluid motion. A bestial scream responded as Luca passed the next tree and reached the heat signal. Dropping to the ground Luca check for a pulse and sighed with relief to find one. A crash through the brush behind him. Luca pulled his second dagger free and spun to face the source as Zeno came through with Tails and Rӓv hard on his heels.

As Zeno picked Lady up Luca looked at her shredded back. He knew that there were going to be issues with his contest, but he’d thought that it would be after the contest started not before. Holly appeared from around a tree with Ghost amongst the branches as they moved backwards. Luca wanted to be back in the open. Luca still hadn’t seen what had grabbed Lady and there was no other heat signals around but that was not comforting him at this point.

A snarl from behind sounded and Luca dove forward behind a tree. A grunted curse in a familiar voice preceded Holly’s worried voice. “What, why?” Luca straightened and then grimaced at the sight of his knife sticking out of Ghost’s right shoulder.

Luca moved closer and asked, “Ghost can you still go.”

“Da, barely a tickle.” Luca ignored the tightness to the tone and nodded.

“Then let’s get the hell out of here.” Luca reached up and touched his glasses turning the thermal off since it wasn’t helping find the attacker. It was better having his own eyes to see clearly. At the same time Luca set the butterflies loose. He kept a close watch on the motion detector sensors. When one flickered to the right Luca shouted, “dive.” His team followed through with ease while Zeno was a bit slower to react earning a s***h across his arm for the deficiency.

They hustled out of the woods and straight back to the dorm room. When they reached the cafeteria, they found the other participants gathered in groups. Zeno took Lady straight up stairs with his team gathered around. They prevented the WIC staff from approaching as they went while Rӓv took Ghost after them with Holly following behind. Luca stayed and scanned his eyes over the others. There were a lot of people being looked over by medical staff. It was however the people that weren’t there that concerned Luca. He could see the rest of Red’s team but not red himself. The two women where being seen to by medical staff and the other two held ice backs to heads and arms.

Similarly Desmond had his group gathered around but Crusher was conspicuously absent. Mr Important Suit came in and offered reassuring platitudes but no explanations as to the source of the attack. Luca moved around the group asking what happened. However it was an endless repetition of ‘I didn’t see anything,’ ‘the next thing I knew they were gone,’ ‘there was no sound they just vanished,’ ‘just sudden pain no source.’

Desmond had the most to offer. “When you went after Lady a hiss sounded from amongst the course and then a flash snapped past and grabbed Crusher. When we tried to chase something was tossed out and cut at our legs. It felt like a blade but there was nothing there in the end.”

Luca nodded and explained what had happened on there end. He left out the lack of thermal sight not wanting to explain the glasses since he still wasn’t sure who could be trusted. This attack didn’t feel like the Faceless Masks or the Black Mufflers but that didn’t mean those groups were no longer a concern.

Luca returned to the room with Tails still shadowing him. As they entered the suit Luca nodded at Tails. “No one moves alone,” Luca said without preamble as he stepped into the main room. People nodded all around the room and even Ghost offered no objection despite grimace he gave. Rӓv nodded to Luca to indicate that the room was safe.

[Lucky: This place is getting to close to deadly at this point it might be that people are just missing but the state of Lady when we reached her suggests that they are less alive than I’d like to hope.]

[Tails: The fact that we can’t nail down the cause makes it impossible to plan a counter offensive.]

[Rӓv: If this is what its like pre match what is the match going to be like?]

[Lucky: I don’t know I want to know if WIC will keep to the schedule to take us to investigate the sight tomorrow.]

[Rӓv: If they don’t after this there going to have to give a fancy explanation.]

[Tails: I think they try and hold the pace; I caught a few words from the personal around the area, it feels like the WIC people are even more eager for this competition to happen than the participants.]