Battle

It didn’t take long for Luke to notice something wrong. He held San.

“San?” the cyborg asked.

“Shhh!” Luke whispered. He took a look around. Why did they have to be alone now? He wished Tracy was here.

Luke paused. It was faint but he could hear it. He pulled San to his body.

“Okay, San,” he whispered. “Listen to me.”

“San?” she asked. Luke covered her mouth.

“Shhh, shhh,” Luke whispered. He looked out into the woods. The boy didn’t like this. But what choice did he have? Soft footsteps chose for him. Luke pulled San close to his body. He took a breath. Okay.

One… Two… Three!

The boy dragged San with him off the trail.

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They took off into the woods. This was probably a bad idea. However, Luke had to think on his feet. He and San took off running inside. He held her by his side. Luke kept his focus around them.

By now there were two, three, four… Wait… Was that five?

Bang!

Luke yelped as he jumped. “What the hell?!”

“San?” the cyborg asked.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Duck!” Luke yelled. He shoved San to the ground. There was barking in the distance. The boy’s stomach dropped.

“Don’t tell me…” he muttered to himself.

“My, my, my,” a woman’s voice said. Luke paused and looked up. A pair of red boots stood in front of him. Against his better judgment, Luke looked up. A woman in jeans and a leather jacket stood over him. She licked her lips.

“What do we have here?” the woman asked. Luke wouldn’t let go of San.

“Who are you?! What’s going on?!” he shouted. The woman knelt down to him. A large red hat hid her face. She patted him on the head.

“Found you,” the woman whispered. Luke growled.

“Don’t touch me!” he yelled. He tried to move away from her.

“Tsk-tsk,” the woman said. “Don’t be like that.” She pointed her index finger at him.

“Nothing personal. Really,” she said.

Bang!

Everything went black.

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Luke awoke hours later to find Tracy, Mitsuko, the Kikaiders, and Masaru standing over him.

“You okay?” Tracy asked.

“No,” Luke said. He quickly looked around. The boy started to panic.

“Where’s San?!” he shouted. Luke jumped to his feet.

“San! San! San!” he shouted. Those with feelings looked rather grim.

“She’s gone,” Mitsuko said. Luke turned his head.

“What?” he asked. It took a moment to sink in.

“They took her,” Tracy added. Luke’s eyes widened as he sank to his knees.

“No…” he murmured. Tears filled his eyes. Tracy put her hand on his shoulder. Luke looked up.

“We will get her back,” Tracy said. The boy just stared up at her with big eyes. The other nodded. Luke bowed his head.

“Thank you, guys,” he said. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tracy said. “Let’s just do this.”

“Right!” everyone said. And off they went.

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