Chapter 2: Coins Galore

Chapter 2: Coins Galore

As the coins sped toward Ty, he instinctively closed his eyes, bracing himself for the upcoming impact. The metallic projectiles raced closer; however, just before they could strike him, a sudden whirlwind of motion and a sharp cracking sound filled the surrounding atmosphere.

When Ty opened his eyes, he noticed that a mysterious woman was standing between him and the coin-wielding assailant.

She sported a bright blue cloak over a button-up shirt paired with standard jeans, her strong and lithe physique initially made Ty mistake her for a man due to her muscular build.

Stammered to his feet, Ty managed to utter a shaky "thanks" for her timely intervention. The woman turned to him, her face expressing a mix of concern and strained composure.

"You shouldn't be here, human!" she firmly declared, blood trickling down her forearm.

Still trying to gather his composure and comprehend this surreal encounter, Ty introduced himself, saying, "Thank you for saving me...I'm Ty, by the way."

"What do you mean, human? Aren't you one, too?" Ty repeated, confusion and curiosity apparent in his words.

"More importantly," he then continued, noticing the blood that was trickling down her arm, "Are you okay? You're covered in blood. We need to get you to a hospital."

Pulling out his phone from his pocket, Ty declared, "I'll call 911. They can help us."

However, much to his surprise, this woman cast a doubtful glance at his phone and muttered, "I'm not sure what that is, but I think it will be too tiny to help."

Meanwhile, the man they had just faced responded with a sly chuckle.

"I thought I killed you, young lady," he sneered. "I don't know who might have sent you, but you should know that this is way out of your league. I'm only assigned to collect the souls of humans tonight so you should leave before you might get yourself killed in the crosshair."

With her whip held high above her bloodied arm, the woman reprimed back defiantly, "I won't break my vows just because some rotten mercenary wants to steal more souls. You will release the ones you've taken at once!"

The sound of this man's mocking laughter filled the air while his face grew paler under a strange mist, licking a bit of blood off his wrist, he declared, "I won't mind wringing both your necks dry."

The moment he said that. his face contorted as fangs began to protrude from his mouth, and he advanced towards them, while all they could see was a blur.

Ty, shaken after witnessing the scene and struggling with his phone, desperately tried to call for help, however, all of that was of no use as the network simply displayed "no bars."

The man who was before them just a moment ago, appeared right between Ty and the woman, raising his fist to strike at Ty's chest. His eyes were bleeding a bright red, and a twisted excitement could be seen to be radiating from him.

As the fist closed in, Ty cursed, "Dammit, what are you?" However, just when it was a few centimeters away from Ty's chest, it came to a sudden halt, ensnared by the lady's whip as she commanded, "I told you, you won't be taking any more lives."

As if moving on his own, Ty instinctively shouted, "Get the hell away from me!" and delivered a fist straight to the man's face, causing his head to shift as a flurry of blood streaked from the man's cheeks.

Witnessing the sight of Kieran getting knocked down, Ty rushed over to assist her. He quickly picked her up and noticed the massive wound on her chest, her shirt was ripped and frayed at the spot the man had just punched, and she was bleeding profusely.

'COUGH!"

"I will be fine."

She coughed, her voice too weak when compared to before, however, Ty shook his head and insisted, informing her that he had called the police, in response, she simply gave him a confused glance, not sure what he was talking about.

Picking herself up, Kieran stared at the man and declared while her body shook slightly, "If I have to go all out, I will!"

Giving a full smile once again since his body had healed, he knocked off the dirt from his shoulder, cleaned his black blazer, and stated, "It's already over," saying that he brought his hand up again, showcasing each of the coins on his hand.

Disregarding his words, Kieran took a stance as a blue aura slowly started building around her, and her whip began to crackle, emitting some kind of blue energy.

Ty looked down at his watch and noticed that it had turned back on after a clicking sound, displaying that it was 10:30 PM.

Ty then heard a voice on his phone stating, "Hello, this is 911; how may I help you?"

"There's a man in the park trying to kill me! Please send help." Ty immediately asked for help.

"Which park are you in?" The line went dead as he turned his focus back on Kieran, whose eyes widened as she proclaimed, "Where is the last coin?" She seemed to have noticed that the man only held four of those coins in his hand instead of five.

Chuckling slightly, the man stated, "Observant, aren't we?"

"However, you are a little too late for that," he continued before twisting his hand until his palm faced the sky, and he pointed his index finger forward, trumpeting towards Kieran, "Checkmate, young lady."

Quickly, she screamed out to Ty, "Ty, watch out!"

Confused, Ty tried to turn around as he heard a short whistle noise behind him, however, it was too late. Time seemed to have slowed down for Ty as he felt a burning sensation piercing through his back, and soon enough, a cavity had begun opening up through his chest.

The man's coin had shot straight through Ty's chest, tearing a burning hole in its path. It sped past Kieran, who had momentarily lost her focus, and her entire world seemed to have halted.

Blood erupted from Ty's chest, staining his suit, while the phone in his trembling hand slipped, crashing onto the ground.

Clutching the gaping wound on his chest and feeling the warm, sticky blood on his hands, Ty's vision began to distort. Everything seemed to have become muffled, and all he could hear were Kieran's faint screams as she attempted to rush towards him.

During that moment of chaos, Kieran lost her focus. Taking advantage of the situation, the man lunged toward her as his hand transformed into a tendril-like extension before his right arm smashed into Kieran, throwing her onto a nearby tree.

With a vice-like grip, he seized Ty by the neck and demanded with a smirk on his face, "Where was I, again?"