Cloudless Night in Neon WInter

Rain beat down, creating an ever growing torrent of water escaping from the sky. Alyx looked at Cole, and when she realized that he was not in the least bit cowed by the water, she beckoned him onward. "Let me show you my favorite part of the city."

After the mouthwatering food that Alyx had shown him, Cole was ready to follow any of her recommendations. The Red Melon was that good.

The downpour caused the streets to be less busy, and as the pair moved along the sidewalk, Cole noticed less and less people. Alyx was leading Cole to another unfamiliar part of the city. The buildings seemingly shrunk as the pair approached, no longer touching the heavens.

Bright unnatural illuminations still danced across the buildings' roofs, but they were not as domineering as the tall skyscrapers, or as attention grabbing as the shorter shops. After a few minutes, Cole realized they had not passed another human in a while. He looked towards Alyx, her hair was plastered to her head by the rain, and her makeup had been washed off of her face. This would be a good place to get rid of him.

Cole looked at Alyx again, her sharp grin calming the random thought. Even though he didn't know Alyx very well, he could not imagine her hurting him. In the heavy rain, she appeared like an entirely normal person, not an investigator assigned to a brutal murder.

"We are almost there." Alyx broke into a run, unbothered that the rain was soaking through her clothes, the night was still rather warm. Cole was not expecting Alyx to start running, and it took him a few moments to hastily break into a sprint of his own to catch up to her.

As they were running, a tall building came into view. It stood out because it did not have any lights crawling up its sides. It was like the company building in that way, but where the company building was seamless, the building in front of them hosted broken windows and crumbling walls.

"That's our destination. The building is abandoned and you can get the most incredible view from the roof." Alyx suddenly stopped, and Cole did his best to follow suit, skidding forward and falling on his back.

Alyx walked over and leaned down towards Cole. "Oopsie daisy, maybe you need some practice running." Cole wanted to rebuff Alyx's words, but his eyes were drawn to her thin lips as they approached.

"Oh I didn't notice that before." Alyx caught sight of Cole's gold necklace reflecting the lime green light of a nearby building. "My mom gave it to me when I left home." Cole couldn't remember the last time he had called home. Usually his parents initiated the call, but it had been a while.

Cole's thoughts were broken, Alyx was even nearer, she had leaned in to inspect the necklace. Cole was suddenly very aware of their closeness and he froze, trying to understand what Alyx was doing. She still had a faint teasing smile, indicating that she was not going to let him forget how he had fallen.

Alyx stiffened, and Cole saw her smile freeze. A breath later Alyx lunged forward, pushing Cole flat onto the ground.

*Bang.* A loud sound echoed through the air. Cole wondered if the noise came from his heartbeat, as he realized that Alyx was lying on top of him forcing him to the pavement.

That thought was quickly dashed from his mind, when his brain finally recognized the sound. A gunshot. As Cole was coming to his senses, Alyx rolled off of him, jumping to her feet. Her face no longer housed a smile, instead featuring a deadly seriousness. With surprising force for her small figure, she pulled Cole to his feet, dragging him towards the shadow of a building.

As they ran towards the building, Alyx shed her shawl, revealing a thick metal cuff on her forearm. When Cole tried to figure out why she had hidden her jewelry, Alyx randomly shoved him to the side. Cole was about to exclaim in surprise, when he felt a projectile flash past his face, burying itself into the ground.

Regaining his footing, he picked up his speed, feeling a wave of fear rush through his body. Looking towards Alyx, Cole felt his heartbeat calm slightly. "Keep going." Alyx shouted, the comforting rain now seemed deafening. Alyx turned towards where the bullet had come from, the cuff on her forearm coming alive. It slithered down her arm like a silver serpent, and as it reached her hand, its form shifted again. 

*Bang. Bang.* The gun in Alyx's hand roared into the stormy night. It was still the same reflective silver of the cuff, but it was no longer decoration, it was an imposing piece of weaponry.

There were no more shots from their assailant before they reached the building, yet Cole did not feel safe as he ducked into a nearby alley. "Climb." Alyx shouted, glancing over her shoulder. Cole jumped, reaching for a piece of piping. He quickly reached a thin metal staircase on the side of the building, and turned back to help Alyx. She leaped past him, after launching herself up the wall with a swift kick. 

"We need to get to the roof. I don't know where they are or their numbers." Alyx sprinted up the staircase, and Cole followed suit. *Clang. Clang.* Their shoes rang out against the metal under their feet, and Cole saw a figure out of the corner of his eye.

Entering the alley, was a person that looked like a shadow. The figure was wearing dark clothing that rejected light. It refused to reflect the brilliant shine of the city, and it was only because of the way the rain avoided the person that Cole noticed the assailant.

Cole hurried forward as the figure reached to their side and freed a weapon. *Bang. Bang. Bang.* A barrage of three shots rang out, clanging dangerously into the metal around Cole.

"We need to jump." The stairs curved around the building, but once he heard Alyx's words, Cole spotted their target. Across the thin alley was another building, but it had a broken window that had the tantalizing call of cover. "You first." Alyx pushed Cole towards the rail, as her gun sounded in her hands, causing their attacker to duck behind a bin in the alley.

Cole felt the slick metal under his feet, but he did not pause to think, allowing his adrenaline to drive him forward. Without slowing, he stepped forward, feeling his boot contact the thin metal rail. An instant later he launched himself into the air. The world seemed to spin for a moment, before Cole crashed into a ledge just below the window. 

*Bang. Bang.* Alyx's gun kept the figure from peeking out, and Cole ignored the pain in his stomach, pulled himself into the window. As he rolled onto the floor, he called out to Alyx. "I made it."

Alyx fired another shot, before backing up to get a running start. She lunged forward with frenzied movement, leaping off of the rail. It bent under the force of her leap, and Cole felt his breath catch in his throat.

With the absence of gunfire, the figure stepped out from behind the cover, raising a gun. "Alyx." Cole let out a panicked shout, and time seemed to slow in that moment. Alyx twisted in the air, illuminated by a ray of pink light that reflected off of the rain around her. She bent backward, and a bullet ripped past her face. Her white dress flashed blue, from a distant light, as she twisted her torso, leveling her gun. The rain pushed her hair to her face, and her body was contorted in an unnatural angle, but to Cole she looked like a vengeful angel soaring through the air.

The figure in the alley did not manage to move before Alyx's gun suddenly fired. Screaming in defiance at the sound of the rain battering the city. Alyx only fired a single time and Cole held his breath, as he watched the figure in the alley slump over. The shot had come only an instant after Alyx shifted her body in midair, and Cole suddenly realized she would no longer make the jump.

Hooking a foot around something in the room, Cole lunged out of the window reaching towards Alyx with both arms. She saw Cole's movement, and tried to twist her body again to grab his hand. Her hand brushed his fingertips.

Cole suddenly couldn't see, his heart dropping as he felt himself fail to grab Alyx. Without thinking, his body thrust itself farther out the window, reaching down.

*Smack.* Cole looked down as he felt something in his grip. His fingers were wrapped tightly around one of Alyx's ankles. As she had reached forward, she had tumbled towards the ground when Cole failed to grab her, leaving a brief moment where he had managed to latch onto her ankle. Quickly Cole reached out with his other hand, gripping Alyx with all his might.

Cole groaned as he slowly began to pull her up. He couldn't hear anything as he focused all his might on dragging Alyx into the room, and he missed her warning shout as another figure entered the alley.

Cole abruptly felt a sharp pain pierce his shoulder, but he ignored it, Alyx's life was in his hands. 

*Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.* Cole did not hear Alyx's gun, but her body swung as she hung upside down, firing her gun in a panic. Her bullets sprayed across the alley, and the figure ducked out of the alley behind a building. 

As Alyx continued to fire without stopping, Cole managed to haul her into the room. She slumped tiredly onto the ground, and the first thing that Cole noticed was the fanatical smile peeking from her visage.

Her eyes were wide, slightly glazed over, and the smile across her face seemed unbidden. The grin quickly vanished as she looked at Cole, and a bolt of worry filled her eyes, as she focused on his shoulder.

Cole looked down, feeling lightheaded as he saw a gaping wound on his shoulder. He had felt the pain, but in his focus to save Alyx, he only just realized he had been shot. His arm suddenly felt stiff, but Cole gritted his teeth and looked away from the injury. They had no time to waste and he did not want to faint.

"We can't stop now. We need to get away." Cole stood as he spoke. Alyx rolled to her feet, ripping a piece of her dress, fastening around the bullet hole. It did little to stop the bleeding, but Cole still appreciated the gesture. The pair began to rush towards the roof without another word.