"It's really time to go," Rick prompted, eyebrows wriggling, which obviously meant that they were out of time. "I know. Wait for one more second, Rick," With that, I turned back to Chris, then stared at him at a fair angle and distance. I was still very shocked with the similarity he held with me, the same nose, brown eyes, smirk existing always to the face, only age slightly different. If we had only been born by the same, single mother in the same Realm, we would have been twins, especially inseparable twins, though those twins are rare, yes...
"Gee," He said, voice still light and young, just as my voice 2 years ago. I wondered how to treat him when parting-since I was the older, should I act like he dad, or the brother? Or simply like a twin?
"Yep, gee," Since I couldn't decide, I used words that any father, brother, or twin could say. Chris grinned, then suddenly wore a serious face, brows furrowed together. "Just remember this, Jack. If you get murdered, your death will also kill me, wipe me out of existence, out of all the records, out of every memory in the world. Same for you with me," though his voice was straight and direct, his gaze and voice was trembling. I was simply glad that he had pulled out that topic out of the deepest corners of our hearts at last. "I know, Chris," "And what does it mean?" Though the air was dead silent-Rick was also keeping silent for our sake, for our last moment together-, I simply had to laugh. "You're not my teacher. Ok. It means to never quit, at least for each other." "Right," Chris made me look at him directly, gave me a solid nod, then looked away finally, sighing. "Shall we begin?" I also turned away for possibly the last time from Chris. "Of course. This reunion took long enough, boys," Rick grumbled, eyebrows wriggling and feet tapping on the floor now.
"I am you, Chris. We're the same, single person to the Hunters," I said, and trying not to sigh out in sorrow and a surge of emotion, let Chris go, and followed the impatient RIck out of the building, letting my shoes echo on the cement floor, willing it to be my last evidence that he wasn't alone in the world, at least in this Realm, as my last message to him.

Though Rick walked with normality on the street for the other normal people's view, as soon as we got on his Jeep, he went to insanity.
"Is the connector to Chris and me working fine?" he asked just before he made the Jeep hop up and bounce up and down, managing to make me hit my head on the low, steel frame. "Fuck, yeah, Rick. You're driving like shit," Rick snorted. "Than shall we let the Hunters get to us even before we can use out plot against them? Hey, plus, no one can drive with normality when time's out," As if to prove his words, he made an intense swing at the curve, managing to throw me off balance and squashed against the other door.
But even before I could swear more, Rick halted the car. "We're already at the point, Jack. Get off, and always stay on course, understand?" I nodded, though my head was still spinning from the drive. "Just survive, as Chris said," I heard Rick add it right before I opened the door and got off, shutting it close.
The mission was on. To be specific, our last, ultimate encounter with the Hunters. Either one said was sure to end up demolished today, and I just hoped that side would be the other side.
I now looked up at a tall, yellowish building with peeling off ads taped to every window it had, then a few sturdy-looking poles and boards, which were the reason why I had chosen this building during planning-apparently, it had been the only building with enough and sturdy footholds in this old town. A buzz crackled from the connector wedged deep into the depths of my pocket, and I flipped it out, heart-thumping if it was Chris. No, it was Rick.
"Why?" I asked, annoyed. Rick's teeth chattered on the other side of the call. "Just got the data-the Hunters are around the corner. Climb now. Sweater that you'll survive." Jesus, the Hunters were here. I bit my lip, ready to dart. "I will," I said firmly, then even before Rick could disconnect, pushed the connector into my pocket, raced to the building, then jumped onto a trash bin, the sounds ringing out and echoing, prompting the Hunters, who were probably near from me. Sweat sprang to my hands as I heard a quick slithering spring of boots and knew they were after me. Do it, man. End the chase that has continued for your entire life today. I told myself, then took a deep breath.
A second later, I grabbed the nearest window ledge and wriggled onto the platform, hands already feeling scathed by the rough cement of the ledge. Hearing their boots ringing just like mine had done on the metal trash bin, I jumbled faster and pushed my hands and legs awkwardly onto the window sill, then hopped onto the next window. Then, I found a vertical pole sticking out, probably the metal plate used to hang banners of ads in the past, and hoping it was strong enough, swung my legs hard 4 times before letting go.
I already knew I wasn't Tarzan, but never thought I would have miscalculated the jump to the window sill on the next floor.
I groaned as my knees jerked onto the cement wall below, which stretched to the ground floor, which was far away. My skin and nails scratched desperately at the sill as I clung on, and I heard the small smirks of the Hunters below me. So this was when I was going to die, when I would get shot, and fall lifeless to the ground below-and somewhere far away, Chris would also feel his life being eeked out, though no bullet had punctured his skin...
That wasn't going to happen-at least, yet.
I couldn't let it.
Somehow, thankfully, my loyal nails did their best for me before cracking, and my fingers inched forward on the cement and I swung my sore knees and legs over it, finally making it, gasping. My fingers felt as if there weren't any nails stuck in them at all, but the sensation was going to be great compared to the feeling of being bad. So trying to ignore the ache, I set off once more.
Only 3 floors away from the roof, I hopped to a nearby, small, steel balcony and took a second to search below at how things were unraveling. Jesus, the HUnters were only a few floors away from me, seen as black figures swiftly making their way to me. They didn't even miscalculate their jump and in a smooth second, were mostly on the. cement floor I had just been-only one hop away.
"Fuck. Chris, where are you?" I finally whispered into my connector as I rolled on the platform, reaching out to t a stray, sticking out brick as a foothold. I heard heavy breathing, the obvious sound of my friend pulling the turned on connector of his own from his pocket at his butt. "Center of the city. I have-let me count, 6 Hunters drooling at the sight of me. Ok, not drooling, since they're humans. They're gaping and smirking and obviously crazy. What if you?" I sighed before jumping to the next floor, breathe ragged more than Chris. "I don't know, nor care. Just don't lose this connector and-" before my teeth could stop saying the sound 'of' of the 'and', my hands froze when I heard a single whipping sound less than a second before the connector propelled itself out of my hand and onto the floor.
Now, the screen was cracked and split, and though I wanted to pick it up, I didn't have the time. Jesus, it hadn't been Chris to be warned not to lose the device-I was the one to lose it.
But as I passed the screen, just beside my feet, I saw a single bullet stuck into the depth of the screen, then checked my hand to see a tiny trail of fresh blood gleaming on my hand. "Shit, shit, shit," I murmured barely-they had almost got my hand. Frowning, I finally made it to the rooftop and let my feet hit gravel as I ran across the uneven floor, running quickly to the edge of the rooftop. No connector meant on Chris nor Rick, which made him plan a bit awkward and possible to not work on a hundred percent. This was going to be risky...
I jumped a few feet into the air when I heard a few more gunshots at the air around me as I quickened up my already fast gait as the gavel around me blew up into smaller particles and also jumped up high into the air, raining on my shoes. Think that's only what it takes to make me a coward I was years ago? Hell, no. Let me fight well this time, my friends. Let the competition be fair, nor would I give up. I have plenty of right and reason to survive and end the war, Hunters...
Finally having reached the other side, I gladly turned to them to face them full on the face and waved my hands at my own self. "Here I am finally-and don't worry, this time, everything's going to go as you wish," I yelled to them, voice somehow strong and rough at the just the fine rate as I yelped. I watched as the Hunters looked in eagerness and confusion at the sudden words of myself. But they were soon to recover and soon, propped themselves up properly before taking a run toward me.
I sighed. I had hated this part of the training, which Rick taught me as starters and was also his favorite-jumping from building to building.
But now I had to do it, for Chris, Rick's, and my own sake.
Just had to.
I used my arms as a momentum, then bent my legs at the last thrust, letting my legs go aloft, and me spinning to the other building, a lower one which had been used as a small apartment with a lemon stand parked in front of it all the time. Having learned from my last make, I made to the other side safely, no nails held as victims. Relived, I got back up on my legs and sprinted across the rooftop of the building. Just don't get any bullets in you, Jack, and the game's over, in a good way, come on, I was chanting to myself when something happened.
A strange pain jerked at my neck and I felt something like an invisible hand reach out and grab my neck, squeezing it. I stared at my neck as much as I could, but there was no Hunter even in the nearest vicinity of me, since I had gotten faster onto this roof from the jump. SOw hat was the pressure? Then, the next second, I felt a harder squeeze, then a twist, and the feeling of weakness and tragedy washed over my thoughts.
Then, something occurred to me.
It hadn't been me to die. It had been Chris.
he was dying.
"Fuck, no," I whispered as the pain grew and grew, twisting more. They were twisting his neck-I had to get to him, though the pain as unbearable.
Slowed down than the first, I gasped my way to the edge of this building, and instead of hopping to the next, reached out to climb quickly down, and disobedient to my brain as I did, neck aching as if I was being trusted for real-which Chris seemed to be getting himself, at the opposite side of the city. Faster, I growled to myself.
However, something stopped me altogether. Something too intense to exactly describe...
My neck jerked widely for a second,d then the pain resided. Gee, he fought them well, I was imagining, but I felt a strange emptiness, then the slow change in strength as I reached out to step for the next brick to land my foot on.
Chris had...
-died.
With the thought, my feet lost its foot holding, and I fell, staring up, up at the faces of the confused and victorious Hunters on the rooftop. But soon, even before I hit the ground level, I felt my thoughts also residing away, hopeless...
By the time my back hit the ground, I felt lost and have failed my whole life.