In the Eye of the Button
Faith adjusted the circular black button against her gun’s scope, her eyes scanning the moonlit plain as she waited, the symbol of a plus visible in her scope through the use of the four buttonholes. A hulking mass emerged from the darkness, its figure moving faster than any human Faith had ever seen. She adjusted her scope, zeroing in on the silhouette barrelling across the plain, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she realised it was heading straight towards her. She twisted a dial making her scope click and clack as its advanced technology allowed her to see the creatures she was targeting as if she were standing right in front of it. His figure was obscured by the tattered dusty grey cape that wrapped around him and twisted in the wind as he approached. Obscuring his facial features was a thick black mask poking out from beneath the tattered cape, a faint orange glow illuminating from the technology.
“There ya are.” Faith whispered with a smirk curling across her lips.
She squeezed the trigger, the gun kicking as a bullet exploded out of the barrel and zipped towards her mark. The bullet collided with the man’s shoulder, ricocheting off in a shower of sparks before disappearing into the sand behind him; his body still progressing towards her. Faith gaped; she’s never missed a shot. Readjusting she took another shot, and another, until three of her bullets had loosed themselves from her gun, all three rebounding off him and falling lifelessly to the sand.
A curse escaped her lips as she slipped her rifle beside her body, panic beginning to grip her as she grabbed another gun from her hip strap. She placed it before her, leaning against the mound of sand she had used to position her previous gun as she subconsciously pulled the sand-covered wrap back over her shoulder to keep her hidden from view. She rolled her button in her fingers before aligning it to the scope attached haphazardly to the top of the gun. She took a deep breath, steadying her shaky hands as she aligned the perfect cross over the head of the stranger, squeezing the trigger as a bullet fired out of her barrel and across the plain. It collided with her target engulfing him with smoke and flames, momentarily illuminating the field stretched out between them. She held her breath, her eyes trained on the cloud of dust and smoke as she waited for it to clear. Terror flooded through her as his figure burst from the cloud, his pace never slowing.
“Not even a scratch.” She muttered to herself as she watched the figure grow ever closer, her hands quickly burying her weapons as she continued to watch the approaching silhouette.
Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her final hope, a small pistol that she had carried with her ever since she had begun as a bounty hunter. In her other hand the black button spun between her fingers, its black shape blurring as she flicked it this way and that. Her heart grew louder as she watched the creature pound forward, the soft rustle of sand skittering across her camouflage keeping the sound of her heaving breath company.
Bullets exploded around her sending adrenaline pumping through her as she leapt to her feet, her gun tight in her hand as she fired round after round on the approaching attacker. Each bullet glanced off him and skittered into the sand behind him, making her mouth go dry. She grimaced, her hands shaking dreadfully as she hurled the gun towards her hideout, letting it thud heavily into the sand as she ripped a knife from her belt, the button spinning wildly in her hand. The man was almost upon her, and she knew the knife wouldn’t pierce his hide let alone save her life; either way, she wasn’t going down without a fight.
She sprinted forward, closing the distance between them as the stranger lifted his gun, bullets spiralling around her as she dodged left and right, advancing on him without an injury. A smile crept onto her face as she met him in a flurry of sand, a heavy fist crashing down on his hand and making his gun go flying. He growled a low irritated grumble as he attempted to punch back, but Faith was already pulling her knife to his throat and making a precise and deep slash. His entire body shuddered, tumbling to the ground with a heavy thud and falling limp as blood began to soak into the sand below.
“Let's see wha ya secret is.” She murmured to herself as she grabbed the bottom of his mask and pulled it up, the cape coming free as she lifted the mask away.
Underneath the mask the man’s face was mingled with that of a wolf's and as she inspected the rest of his body, she found that his legs were long, muscular, and curved in the same way the hind legs of a wolf might be. She scoffed, her head shaking as she lifted the mask to her face, inspecting the inside of it to find that it contained the ability to enhance the vision of the person wearing it. She clicked her tongue, kneeling beside the man and lifting his limp arms, tugging the gloves wrapped around his hands until they came off. As she pulled the gloves from his hands, she noticed the dark fur and long claws that protruded from his fingers. Turning her attention to the gloves and inspecting them closely she recognised that they were able to improve the sensitivity and durability of the hands.
“This is low,” She hissed with exasperation. “They’re givin’ filthy hybrids awesome tech when all a boun’y hun’er like me ‘as got is ma rifle.”
With a heavy sigh she placed the mask and gloves beside her and continued to loot the hybrid, her fingers groping in pockets and unlatching strange devices as she searched for anything she could add to her inventory. Attached to his arm was a gadget that acted as a force field, protecting the user from long ranged attacks but unable to protect them from melee ones. She fiddled with it, understanding that this was what allowed the hybrid to survive her rifle shot.
Before long, she gathered up the gadgets, attaching the ones she wanted to her own outfit before returning to her hiding spot and retrieving her guns, slinging her sniper rifle over her shoulder. With a smirk she pulled the gloves over her hands, flexing them as she allowed herself to feel the change before sliding the mask over her head. It began to beep and whir the moment she pulled it on, the visor scanning her surroundings as a small pinching sensation pricked the back of her neck. She reached up, her fingers gliding over the small but sturdy cable that had attached itself to the back of her neck, making her shiver. A smile curled across her face as the forcefield flickered to life, covering her with what felt like a second skin. With a laugh she flicked her black button into the air as if it were a golden coin, the button landing in her palm before she disappeared with a flash, the sand beginning to cover the hybrid's body.