A feeling of being watched

As I was waiting for Claire, I suddenly felt something strange, as if someone was observing me. When I looked around, though, I saw no one.

Is it my imagination?

This feeling came back shortly after, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary... I had this gut feeling that someone was watching me, though... I already felt that way a few times these last few days.

Could it be one of the mobsters?

Dahlia said that she erased their memories of me, but maybe one of them left before being skinned by her.

I warily walked towards one of the alleyways a bit further away to confirm it, being cautious just in case. I didn't want to get ambushed.

Once I reached the alleyway, I stopped.

"Aurora?"

The goth girl I met twice at the bar was there, smoking a cigarette while leaning against the wall. She appeared nonchalant, but I noticed her observing me.

"Been a while. Edward, right?" She said, facing me.

"Y-yeah... What are you doing here?"

She smiled, but there was something strange with her expression. "I just wanted to see you again."

After saying that, she flicked her cigarette at me, making me move out of the way. Unfortunately, she was expecting it, it seemed, as I was met by a powerful kick to the guts with her platform boots.

I groaned in pain and took a few steps back, barely dodging another kick. The kick was fast and powerful, it would have been enough to knock off most people. It was a good thing that I learnt how to tank hits and keep my balance during my boxing practices and my various brawls.

"W-why are you attacking me?" I asked, raising my arms in a typical boxing stance.

I could run, but I felt like she was faster than me. Exposing myself would be too risky.

"Why? Because it's my job." She simply said, opening her jacket and revealing a small dagger that she unsheated and pointed at me. "I don't know what you are, but what I'm sure of is that you're not human. Not anymore, at least, not since our second encounter."

"What? What are you talking about?"

H-how does she know?!

"I didn't expect to find another monster so soon. But well, I don't mind killing one more."

On that, she rushed towards me, her speed impressive for a human. I was barely able to dodge her slashes, them cutting parts of my clothes each time. Without my enhanced reflexes, I wouldn't have been able to do anything at all. But all I was able to do was stay on the defensive, which didn't help much.

"S-stop!" I pleaded, doing my best to not get hit.

I couldn't run away, so I had only one option. I let free the spines and tried to use them to block the dagger. It took her by surprise and gave me the opportunity to grab her hand, forcing her to drop her weapon.

"Stop! I don't want to fight!"

But she wasn't done, as she kneed me between the legs. I definitely didn't expect that and let her go, stepping back in pain. With a kick to my knee, she made me fall down, her looming over me with her dagger back in her hand.

"So, I assume that you're a skinwalker... First time I'm dealing with one of your kind. I heard mature ones are hard to kill, but you're still young and mostly human, it seems."

She raised her dagger. "It's nothing personal, Edward, but monsters like you need to be exterminated."

Her eyes and voice were cold as she spoke.

"I'm... no monster..." I groaned, trying to stand up.

"That's what they all say. You may still be sane for now, but it won't last. It never lasts."

She was about to stab me when I heard a familiar voice.

"Freeze!"

Claire was standing a few meters away, holding her service gun.

"Drop your weapon." She ordered.

She was shaking slightly, it was most likely the first time she ever had to point a gun at someone.

Aurora didn't budge, not bothering to look at her. "If you shoot, you're going to be in big troubles."

"I don't care. Leave my brother alone." Claire slowly approached, firmly holding her gun.

"Tsk... This thing isn't human anymore and you still want to protect it? Do you know what its kind does to humans?" Aurora asked, pointing at me with the dagger.

"I do. And I know that Ed will never use his abilities for bad reasons. Now, I'm asking for the last time, drop your weapon."

Aurora took a step back, smiling. "Alright, if you want me to drop it so much..."

She threw the dagger at Claire, barely missing her shoulder, before dashing towards her and swiftly stealing the gun, pushing Claire away with one of her kicks. Unlike me, she didn't have the strength to stay up after being hit like this, and she was sent flying, visibly hurt.

Seeing my sister in danger, my more primal instincts kicked in. Despite the pain, I jumped on Aurora, spines erect. She tried to shoot but realised that the safety hadn't been removed, and I was able to stab her right forearm.

"Shit!"

She immediately tried to free herself before I could inject the liquid, giving me another powerful kick to the stomach and tearing her arm away, leaving a gashing wound where my spines were burrowed.

Since I wasn't able to use the healing liquid either, the wound wasn't closing, and it was a pretty gruesome sight. She was losing blood fast.

"Fuck, can't believe I fell for that..." She said, holding her arm and taking a step back. "I always disliked two-on-one fights..."

"I can heal you if you leave us alone." I stated, glaring at her.

Despite everything, I didn't want to hurt or kill anyone like this. I was trying to make the world better, but I wouldn't cross the line and kill to reach that goal.

"As if I'd trust a monster." Aurora snickered.

She was at Claire's level, who was starting to get up. Before I could react, Aurora grabbed her in a chokehold with her left arm, backing away even more. Despite the wound, she was still holding the gun with her right hand, aiming at me after removing the safety lock. I could see that she had trouble keeping her arm up, though.

"I underestimated you, and I didn't expect her to intervene, but it's okay, I can still get rid of you."

Claire was scared, but she squeezed Aurora's forearm right where the wound was, causing her immense pain and making her drop the gun. She took that opportunity to break free and threw her onto the ground, immobilising her.

I quickly came closer and stabbed Aurora again, but instead of absorbing her soul, I decided to use my new ability and injected her with the most powerful sleeping **** I could produce. Her eyes betrayed the terror that took hold in her mind, most likely believing that she was about to be skinned.

"N-no... I can't..." She fell **** before finishing her sentence.

She was deep asleep, unmoving. It was good to see how potent my abilities were.

"You can... let her go, Claire..." I was breathing heavily, the adrenaline from the fight wearing off.

I winced as I crouched, the pain from the multiple kicks I received to my stomach flaring up. I used the healing liquid on Aurora's forearm, closing the wound I made. It wouldn't help with the blood she already lost, but she wouldn't bleed any more than that. Despite having tried to kill me, I had to admit that her sleeping face was really pretty.

"W-what happened, Ed...? W-why did she attack you? And why is she suddenly asleep?" Claire asked, shivering slightly as she holstered her gun.

"It's... an ability I developed... I put her to sleep, and she won't wake up for a few more hours. I think... she was one of those hunters Dahlia mentioned... I have no idea how she learnt, but she tried to kill me because she knew I wasn't human anymore..."

At that, I saw Claire worrying even more. "What... What do we do?"

I gulped as I observed Aurora. The easiest way to deal with the situation would obviously be to skin her and alter her memories before restoring her, but I could already feel my skinwalker side encouraging me to wear her and be a woman again, the desire almost overwhelming due to how strongly I tried to repress it until now. If I did skin her, though, I believed that I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to become her...

Or I could hide and hope that she wouldn't find me. I did plan to wear a skin tomorrow, maybe it'd be enough to lose her...