The night was alive with the crackle of gunfire, the sharp sting of adrenaline burning through my veins. My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out everything but the primal instinct to move, to survive. This wasn't a game anymore - hadn't been for a long time. If we went down, it wouldn't be in chains. It would be in blood and fire.

I dove behind the thick trunk of an oak as bullets shredded the undergrowth where I'd stood seconds before. Dirt and bark exploded into the air, a cloud of debris catching in my throat. Kaleel's voice crackled through the earpiece.

"Kar, I count at least seven still standing."

Seven. Too many. Not enough.

Jean was moving fast, using the chaos to his advantage, slipping through the trees like a ghost. I lost sight of him for a second before I caught the flicker of movement - a shadow separating from the darkness. A gurgled choke. Then silence. One down.

Six.

I tightened my grip on the gun, forcing my breath to slow. Kaleel was still perched somewhere above, waiting for the right shot. I just had to buy him time.

A voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "You're surrounded. Surrender now, and we'll consider leniency."

Leniency. I almost laughed.

"Yeah?" I called back, stepping just far enough from cover for them to catch a glimpse of me. I saw the twitch of a muzzle, the slight shift of a stance. Weak points. Predictable. "You considered leniency for the last guy we found?"

Silence. Then, "You have no idea what you're up against."

I smirked. "Neither do you."

Then I moved.

I fired twice, one bullet catching an agent in the thigh, the other grazing the shoulder of another. They staggered, not down but slowed. That was all I needed. I sprinted, cutting through the trees, using the darkness as my shield. The sound of footsteps pounded behind me. Chasing. Hunting.

Wrong move.

Kaleel's rifle cracked, and another body dropped. A sharp scream echoed before cutting off abruptly. Five.

Jean reappeared at my side, eyes scanning, assessing. "They're regrouping."

I nodded, wiping sweat from my brow. "We need to split them up."

He didn't argue, just disappeared into the shadows again. That was the thing about us - we didn't need words to understand. We just move.

I looped around, flanking right, my back pressed to the damp bark of a tree. The agents were pushing forward, their flashlights bouncing wildly as they tried to find us. They were nervous. Good. Nervous people make mistakes.

A rustle to my left. I turned, gun raised - but it was Kaleel, dropping down from his perch, his expression grim.

"They called for backup."

Damn it.

"How long?"

"Fifteen minutes. Maybe less."

Jean's voice cut in through the earpiece. "Then we end it before they get here."

I glanced at Kaleel. He gave a short nod. Agreement. Resignation.

I checked my ammo. Two clips left. Enough.

We moved as one, weaving through the trees, the scent of gunpowder and earth thick in the air. The agents weren't prepared for a counterattack. They thought they had us on the run. They thought wrong.

Jean struck first, a blur of motion as he tackled one of the remaining five to the ground. A sickening crack, then silence. Four.

I took the next one, a clean shot to the chest. Three.

The remaining two finally reacted, one of them firing wildly, panic taking over. His bullet missed by a mile. Mine didn't. Two.

The last one turned to run.

Kaleel was faster.

A single, precise shot. One.

And then it was quiet. Just the sound of our breathing, the distant hum of insects, and the distant echo of approaching backup.

I wiped a streak of blood from my face and exhaled. "We need to move."

Kaleel was already ahead of me, Jean falling into step beside him. We didn't look back. There was no point. The bodies we left behind told the only story that mattered.

We weren't the hunted anymore.

We were the storm.