(Reverence 4, 59 / 12:33PM)

  (The Dark Angels Group)

  Nothing but bullets grazed the air.

  All of their butts pinned onto the lumps of coal that they dwelled comfort in, their ears rang, as the metal storm continued to intensify its viscous precipitation. Their fingers gripping their guns, yet their feet loosened with the coal that they id on, the sounds of their beating hearts hammered at their sweat-stained chests.

  Luke's top of his head was barely kept covered by the coal. Looking at the group he led, all of their eyes were barely open, scrunching them since the harsh air only flinched their eyelid muscles.

  Until he looked at Luna.

  (Luke’s thoughts) What’s she doing?

  Crawling on the coal, her palms bled out with every second she pced her palm on the top of a rigid coal, leaving behind a trail of her blood. Her eyes were pinned onto Luke, and not a knick of sweat was shown on her face.

  Laying beside Luke, she pced her left hand on Luke’s arm, her eyes snted inward with a cold frown. Ignoring the couple of rogue bullets that grazed the top of their heads, both looked at each other's eyes, blood sleeving down Luke’s left sleeve that Luna pced.

  (Luna) Use your blessing!

  (Luke) B-Blessing!? You want me to stand up and use it?!

  (Luna) Just enough for me to teleport to them!

  Luke peeped his head just a couple of inches above the hill of coal, taking a split-second gnce at the raining bullets. Pulling his head back in, he gulped down a single load of saliva, caressing the mucus yer of his esophagus.

  Looking at Luna, he noticed the two missing swords that she had in her holsters. Not only that, but her leather jacket, pants, and boots were all covered in botches of pink.

  (Luke) H-How are you going to fight them?! You don’t have your swords, not even a gun?!

  (Luna) Just trust me on this!

  Her bloodied palm began to cmp down onto his arm, her dull fingernails trying to sink deep into the leather.

  Not enough for him to squeal, he looked at all of the men and women who hunkered with him, taking note of their hunched-up heads. Their faces were pale, their hands on the verge of breaking the metal of their guns, the air around them was enough to hurdle them like turtles.

  Finally, Luke turned to Luna, his eyes pushed down with his lower eyelids being encased in a milky brown.

  (Luke) Don’t get shot okay!?

  (Luna) I won’t!

  Keeping both of his fingers on the side of the gun, Luke pushed the heels of his feet to stand himself up. Closing his eyes, and ceasing his breath, he imagined himself inside of a dark pce, a pce where even the dark was nothing.

  The bullet air echoed, his pounding heart slowed, and both of his cheeks pstered with a cold sweat, he imagined himself extending his guns.

  While lunging to the left, as if his body had its own memory. Then to the right, left, then right. Lunging back and forth, he let the tip of his toes, the soles of his boots, and the lower half of his body flow effortlessly like the stream of a summer creek.

  Until his body stopped.

  Standing on the tip of his toes, he imagined himself on the edge of a building, his breathing fastening while keeping his head forward. Opening his eyes, the dark nothing that built his imagination brought him back to the world of reality.

  (Guard #1) Oh no—

  A guard, roughly a couple of inches shorter than Luke, dropped his rifle while only taking a couple of steps back.

  As a tanned woman leaped in the air, pulling back her right hand that balled into a knuckled whitened fist.

  Her eyes snted into a death gre, all her muscles bulging and gleaming in the soup-filled air, thrusting her right fist into the guard’s cheek. Sending him tumbling a few feet from where he originally stood, blood spewed out from his nose, as he y on the train floor with rolled-up eyes.

  All the guards took a step back, turning their weapons to the swordswoman with no swords.

  (Doug) Don’t kill her! Capture her! She doesn’t have any weapons!

  Half of the guards on the left side of the battalion, all pced their weapons inside of their thin brown jackets. Raising their hands up, they sprinted to the tanned woman with a tint of death in her eyes.

  Already making a stance, she soon vanished into thin air.

  Gncing all around them, they took note—

  It was too te, as two guards fell to their knees. Plopping down onto the floor, blood streamed out from the back of their heads, their eyes twitching relentlessly with their body convulsing like a fish out of water.

  (Luna) I don’t need swords for you all…

  Teleporting yet again, most of the guards gnced from the opposite side of where she was originally. Noticing her blotched pink spot leather jacket, she had already punched one guard with just her left hand, as blood began to paint her knuckles red.

  (Luna) I could just beat the shit out of you all.

  Three weapons fire from the other side of the train.

  With half of the battalion having their attention directed to the tanned woman, the other half took cover behind the metal crates yet again. One of the guards, wielding a low-caliber sniper rifle, let its scope trail to two young men.

  One of the men stood on top of the hill of coal, while the other had settled in behind the same metal crates that they all used.

  Pushing the butt of their weapons into their armpits, the guards let the recoil of their guns tremble their bodies, along with their eyes squinting down at the two men. Spraying their vicious storm yet again, they split the direction of their bullets in half, with some of the bullets about to make contact with the ginger-haired elf. Right when the hot lead made contact—

  It passed through him.

  Disintegrating like imaginary wax, another silhouette of the same figure appeared directly in the center between them and the hill of coal.

  (Doug’s thoughts) That damn elf is trolling with us!

  Standing in front of the right side of the battalion, both of his feet glued deep into the metallic floor of his train, the heels of his feet blistering from the pressure and weight of himself.

  Sweat began to trickle through his palms on the wooden trench gun.

  Having the barrel pinned onto the silhouette that stood in the center, who wielded nothing but a Thompson with both of his porcein hands, he pulled the trigger.

  In another dispy of tomfoolery, that silhouette also melted like the wind.

  And because all of their attention was being directed by both the elf and the tanned woman…

  A rain of bullets emitted from the top of the hill.

  (Guard #2) RETREAT!!

  Luke, Hope, Miles, Jack, Christian, and Pacifica; all let the recoils of their guns shake the soup-filled air.

  Despite failing to hit most of the guards, most of them ended up breaking down the metal door leading to the other train cart. Abandoning their boss, Doug’s face bristled in a crimson shade of red, with both of his cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk.

  Turning to face the group of retreating guards, he had his back facing Luke and everyone else.

  (Doug) I DIDN’T TELL YOU TO—

  Thompson's bullets riddled his entire body.

  As hot lead seeped deep into his chubby body, he let the butt of his trench gun drop down onto the floor, cracking the delicate wood along the side. Blood streaming out from the many new holes that were being bestowed onto him, he let both of his knees hit the ground, his eyes strained in a hellish red.

  Ceasing the fire, Doug didn’t turn to look at anyone but the ground. His eyes deepened in darkness, blood strolled out from his ears, eyes, mouth, and nose.

  Seeing the st guard sprint through the metal door, it closed shut, but no locking mechanism was heard.

  (Doug’s thoughts) Those damn cowards…

  Hard boots came to py to the left of him.

  Unable to turn his head, his blurred vision took note of pink botched leather boots, those same boots being fully painted in blood. Trying as hard as he could, he couldn’t look up to see the tanned woman’s face.

  In the back of him, a rge amount of footsteps ensued, causing both of his hands to softly clench despite most of his strength gone. The humid air molesting every ounce of his shredded lungs, his breathing sounded like a malfunctioning wnmower, creating a sense of disturbance for the intruders in the back.

  (Luke) Geez…

  Blocking the sun with his head, he turned to the ginger-haired elf. Seeing that his gun continued to emit a plume of smoke, Luke pced both of his uzis back into his holsters.

  And to the left of Doug, Luna had both of her hands clouded in chunks of bone and blood, her face sprinkled in leftover liquid that poured from the guards. Pushing down his face evermore, he made a clicking noise with his tongue and teeth, letting a missile of spit hit the ground as he made eye contact with Luna.

  (Luke) You didn’t have to knock them into a coma…

  (Luna) What was I supposed to do? At least I didn’t kill them.

  (Luke) I know, but please control your anger…

  Everyone turned to see the left side of the battalion of Zirardge guards all lying motionless on the floor. Their eyes gncing at the spttered blood that littered the floor, small amounts of teeth created small isnds amongst the tiny seas of blood outside the men's mouths.

  As for Luna, she stood right in front of Doug, her face completely darkened with her eyes nonchant and free from emotion. Not even the humid sun raining its desote rays on her face, both of her hands let loose to her sides.

  (Luna) I’m not pleased yet.

  Pulling back her right hand, the muscles amongst her right arm bulged as her hand opened up. Taking a step back, she thrusted her open-palm hand straight to Doug’s bloodied face, creating a sp so powerful…

  That it resembled the sound of a shotgun shot.

  The back of his eyes rolled into his skull, and Doug smmed his face onto the floor, his right ear bruising upon the impact. His left cheek being shaded in a deep red, it looked as if he stood out in the sun for twelve hours without sunscreen.

  Inhaling an abundance of air inside of his lungs, Luke let it stream out while staring into the unconscious Doug.

  (Luke) Let’s just get out of here…

  The entire group walked through the metal crates that scattered the no-roof train cart.

  Putting his hands inside his pocket, Luke saw that Sean had both of his hands on the door handle, struggling to open it as not a millimeter jerked out. Puckering both of his lips closed, Luke slowly walked to the elf, with the others following suit.

  Gncing at the group, Sean only gred at them, letting go of his right hand while keeping his left still on the handle.

  (Sean) You’re going to stop me from stealing the treasure huh?

  (Luke) You know a battalion of guards are waiting inside that cart.

  (Sean) But …

  (Luke) You’re going to say “We could do this, we have them trapped inside of there” right?

  Sean let go of the metallic handle of the metal door, his sweat-stained hands leaving behind a trail of water. Pcing his right hand into his pants pocket, he clenched both of his jaws shut while keeping his eyes downcast.

  Walking toward him, Luke let his hands-free from his jacket, letting them rest along his sides. Reaching in front of him, Luke’s pushed-down eyes made contact with Sean’s snted eyes, as he looked up at the tall elf.

  (Luke) But instead of trying to justify my case, I want to hear why you want that family treasure so much.

  He let his scrunched eyes soften, with his left hand dropping motionless to his thigh. His hands trembling, Sean’s eyes began to redden, his eyelids barely containing the water that he had stored.

  (Sean) In the end, you’re still going to say no.

  (Luke) Please just tell me, before the agents come.

  Scrunching up both of his hands, Sean clutched them together over his crotch, along with him inhaling a good chunk of soup air into his lungs. Exhaling out, his upper lip started to be caressed by the hot air from his lungs, causing Luke to churn his lips upward.

  His thumb rubbing onto his pointer finger’s knuckle, Sean stopped his fiddling before he straightened his back.

  (Sean) I was just … trying to help you guys in terms of money … everything that I did was to help you…

  Miles and Hope looked down to the ground, keeping their stares at the floor and their bodies fluttering with butterflies. As for Luna, she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, while Jack pced both of his hands on his sides.

  Christian and Pacifica both lit up faint smiles, letting out warm chuckles that began to light a warm bnket near Miles and Hope. Cpping once, Sean let the air pop travel the small area, startling everyone including both Luna and Luke.

  (Sean) If you guys want to leave, then that’s fine with me. Believe me, I’m fine with keeping all of the money by myself!

  Before Luke could even speak, the train blow-hole on the front end of the train spewed out dense smoke.

  Everyone including Sean gazed up at the whistle, Luke put both of his hands on the back of his head. Slightly bending his knees down, his eyes widened, and his fingers soon began to deepen into his light brown conditioner hair.

  (Luke’s thoughts) What’s going on!?

  Sprinting toward the front of the train, the entirety of the train soon began to push forward.

  Slowing down, everyone looked to the left and right to see the mango trees and bushes moving forward with time. Continuing with their sprint, they all climbed the metal wall that held the hill of coal, reaching the top with Luke being the first.

  But as soon as Luke could take a close look…

  (Conductor) Don’t ya dare move!

  An obese man wearing rge blue jeans and overalls stood in the very front of the train circuit board. His finger already on the trigger, his eyes pinned deep into Luke himself, while his other hand had the train lever.

  Both of his cheeks still blurred with leftover remains of coal, the conductor lit up a devilish smile. The train moving at the same pace as the average man’s walking speed, the wheels of the train swished and shot faster and faster as the barrel hinted beneath the sun’s light.

  (Conductor) Seems like today’s my lucky day.

  (Benn) Drop it.

  On the edge of the dder, a shark-human wielded a heavy machine gun with both of his coarse hands. Pinning the barrel onto the obese conductor, the man dropped his revolver to the ground, his face growing pale while staring at the beast-human.

  Walking backward, the conductor smudged his back against the wall, his breathing heavy and coarse. Putting his right hand onto his chest, a dry cough started to torment the poor man, leading him to sit down on the floor while widening his eyes in fear.

  (Conductor) You’re a … you’re a …

  (Benn) I get that a lot.

  Another person appeared right next to Benn, a boy two years younger than Luke.

  Wielding his bck tinted mauser pistol, it shook tremendously under his sweat-stained hands. Both of his brown boots squealing and clenching the metallic ground beneath him, a wry smile formed on his face, as he kept watch on the conductor.

  Instead of intimidating the obese man, it just made everyone take a step back. Christian, who pced his weapon back into his holster, immediately walked up to the teenage boy.

  (Christian) What are you doing here?! I told you to wait in the van!

  (Chris) The train was moving, so Benn and I had to get on.

  (Benn) I told you, kid, to drive the van, so that way—

  (Chris) But I don’t know how to drive.

  Silence filled the air, as the train’s wheels started to spark an ember or two from its cshing steel.

  Everyone made a deadpan face at the boy, as Christian of all people pced the bottom of his palms directly into his eyes. Keeping them there, a slow inhale of air sank into his lungs, letting it infte his lungs like hydrogen balloons.

  Releasing it back out, his entire body shook erratically, his fingers digging straight into his forehead.

  (Christian) You could’ve … told Benn … that you didn’t know how to drive … before he left …

  (Chris) So…

  (Luke) Well, there goes escaping by van.

  (Miles) I think we should just jump off right now before the train begins to move. We could still reach the van.

  Pcing his hand underneath his chin, Luke tapped it back and forth, pinning his eyes onto the engine room circuits dispyed in front of them. Dropping his hand, he began walking toward the conductor, who stood up and pced both of his hands up high as a form of surrender.

  Putting both of his hands on the rge man’s shoulders, Luke pushed up a small smile, his shy side spewing out of him.

  (Luke) Can this train go in reverse, please?

  (Conductor) It could, but why should I—

  A hand stained with blood scrunched onto the top of the conductor's oval-shaped head. Its fingers dug deep into his skull, scarring, and bleeding soon seethed from his skin, as his face tched into a more deathly pale even before seeing Benn.

  As he saw a tanned woman just emotionlessly gring at him.

  His breathing loud and coarse, tears began to roll down his chipmunk-like cheeks, smearing away the amount of coal pstered on his face His knees buckled, his legs losing the strength to support his body weight, he slowly walked to the engine lever for the train.

  Rubbing the lever back and forth, Luna’s fingers dug deeper into his head, causing unneeded blood to run down his ears and neck.

  (Conductor) Please midy … I have a family …

  (Luna) Don’t care. Listen to my pet here.

  (Conductor) W-What do you mean pet—AH!!

  Sinking her nails deeper into his skin, Luke pced his hand on her shoulder, feeling her bulging muscles tense up. Still having his wry smile, a trickle of sweat strolled down from his right temple, letting it drop onto the humidified floor.

  Christian and his siblings furrowed their brows, with the rest of the Dark Angels pcing their hands over their mouths, except for Hope who crossed her arms. Giggling escaping from their mouths, Luke tapped his foot repeatedly on the metal, while curling his fingers evermore into Luna’s jacket.

  (Luke’s thoughts) It's been a while since she st called me that…

  Feeling his strength, Luna let go of the conductor, letting him colpse onto the floor with his tailbone hitting the metal. Struggling to get up, he used his rge fat thighs to stand himself up, using the weight of his lower back which caused him to pce his hands over his butt.

  His breathing still heavy, like a malfunctioning wn-mower, he began to—

  (Vivy) Don’t you dare pull that lever, McDonald.

  On the top of the hill of coal, a turquoise-colored-haired woman carried a javelin spear made out of bleach.

  The bleach soared through the created spear, she also wielded a small shield that was also formed by her blessing. A devilish grin formed along her wrinkled yet youthful face, she dispyed her yellowish teeth that reeked of alcohol and cigar smoke.

  Her breath was so pungent, it led everyone nearest to her to take a step back.

  (Chris) Not the feminist…

  (Vivy) Who told you to speak, you male?

  (Pacifica) I guess your-your what’s called a femcel yeah? I think it’s time for another beatdown.

  Speaking in her usual cowgirl tone, she stood right in front of everyone with her hands pced on her hips. Standing right next to her, Christian wielded his Thompson rifle with both of his hands, his eyes deepening into Vivy’s.

  Nudging Chris to get behind him, he also noticed Johnny and Elizabeth who kept their distance from the commotion, with Johnny avoiding Vivy’s gaze. Pointing her javelin straight at Johnny, the tip of it began to drip down her foul liquid, turning the metal beneath her feet pink.

  (Vivy) Fucking traitors.

  (Johnny) I’m not a part of any of this … nor is Elizabeth.

  Twirling her javelin with her fingers, chunks of bleach smmed onto every inch of metal that it could find. Some of it nded right onto the tips of their boots and shoes, it stained it a hideous pink which caused Luna to tighten both of her hands.

  Wrapping his hand onto her wrist, Luke’s calm palm loosened her body, leading her to cast her eyes downward.

  As for Elizabeth, she kept her shoulder near his, leaning on him like a little wall that wouldn’t allow her to fall. His face ridden pale, he imagined himself like an invisible shadow, a shadow that wouldn’t sprout out no matter how much rays or light he tucked in.

  (Johnny’s thoughts) Just please don’t let anyone be killed O lord… grant me that one prayer…

  Meanwhile, the rest of The Dark Angels all walked near the edge of the moving train, the speed being the average for a standardized car.

  Both of his hands balled into fists, Luke stared deep into the moving muddy soil that went along with the flow of time. The trees swaying, the ndscape still, Luke took a long gnce to his left.

  Seeing the sniveling conductor having his hand wrapped around the lever, Luke turned his body so that the tip of his boots pointed toward him.

  (Luke) Is there another way to stop this train?

  (Conductor) Why would I—

  Luna began to walk toward him. This time, the conductor raised both of his hands onto his head, while the woman got held back by Luke. Grabbing her wrist, Luke cleared his throat once more, letting the wet saliva from the outside caress every ounce of his teeth.

  (Luke) Please tell us.

  (Conductor) sighs … The emergency brakes are in the third compartment of the train, but good luck trying to get in; because there’s a shit ton of our guards just waiting for you.