MAMI SHALLOW’S RESIDENCE — CENTRE CITY

  Johnny’s eyes snap open.He lies in a quiet room. A bed beneath him.

  The air smells faintly of lavender and old paper.

  He rolls out of the covers.

  His boots hit the floor with a heavy thud.

  A groan escapes him as he straightens.

  His muscles scream. Every inch of his body feels like lead.

  Voices echo from outside the door.

  Mami and Daisy sit at a desk nearby. Mami’s gaze is hard.

  Her fist folds into a tight knot on the wood.

  “She's still unconscious,” Mami says. Her voice is low, vibrating with suppressed anger.

  Her fist slams into the desk.

  Crack.

  “I shouldn't have sent her and Salion to that battle."

  “She’s in a coma,” Daisy replies softly.

  “She’s breathing. But her mind is somewhere else.”

  The door bursts open.

  Johnny stands in the doorway, swaying.

  Both women turn.

  “He’s awake,” Daisy says.

  Johnny glares at them, breath hitching.

  "Why am I here?”

  Mami rises slowly and walks toward him. Her footsteps make no sound.

  Johnny’s hand blurs.

  His gun lifts and points straight at her chest.

  “Who are you?”

  Mami moves.

  Her palm flashes faster than Johnny’s eyes can track.

  Smack.

  The strike slams into the side of his head.

  The world spins.

  Johnny crashes to the floor.

  “How dare you be ungrateful!”

  Mami crouches over him, looming like a shadow.

  “Listen, pal. From now on… you stay here.”

  Johnny doesn’t wait.

  He throws a punch from the ground.

  Mami catches his wrist mid-swing.

  She twists.

  Snap.

  Her hand slides up and grips his neck.

  She squeezes.

  “Seems like you need to learn how to be grateful.”

  Johnny’s throat burns.

  Air refuses to enter his lungs.

  Who is this woman? Her power… it’s different.

  His vision trembles.

  Mami releases him. Johnny drops into the dirt, coughing violently.

  Daisy stands beside Mami, her head tilted with curious interest.

  “We’re all hunting Silas,” Daisy says.

  "Let’s do it together. You don’t have to carry all the weight alone, Johnny. Jullian was a friend to us too.”

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Johnny pushes himself to his feet, wiping dust from his chin.

  “I stamped my goodbyes to family reunions a long time ago. We might have the same goal… but I’m not joining you.”

  “Then fight me,” Mami says.

  Her lips curl into a challenge.

  “If you win, I’ll let you go.”

  Johnny narrows his eyes.

  “What if I lose?”

  “Then your soul belongs to me.”

  Daisy laughs, a light silver sound.

  “Are you that desperate for a husband, Mami?”

  Mami glances at her.

  “A husband? That’s not desperation. That’s a contract.”

  Her eyes slide back to Johnny.

  “He will be mine forever. Body and soul.”

  Johnny frowns.

  Can I win?

  He shifts his stance.

  I better give it my best shot.

  Mami plants her hands on her waist.

  “Alright. Come at me.”

  Johnny raises his gun.

  Seconds pass.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  She doesn’t move.

  Johnny measures the distance.

  She thinks I’m weak.

  “What are you waiting for?” Mami asks.

  “Shoot.”

  Suddenly—

  She moves.

  A punch cuts through the air.

  The wind behind it roars like a physical force.

  Before Johnny can blink—

  Boom.

  The strike slams him into the wall.

  He crashes down.

  His gun clatters into the dirt.

  Johnny forces himself up again.

  He grabs the weapon and fires.

  The bullet leaves the barrel—

  Then suddenly veers sideways, as if shoved by an invisible hand.

  Johnny’s eyes widen.

  “Huh."

  Mami is suddenly in his face.

  Her palm smashes into his cheek.

  The impact sends him spinning through the air before he crashes into the ground again.

  Too fast.

  Johnny rises again, breathing harder now.

  A strange wind coils around his ankles before fading.

  Mami’s foot swings toward him in a high arc.

  Johnny jumps backward.

  In the next instant—

  Mami is behind him.

  She pats the top of his head like scolding a child.

  Johnny collapses to his knees.

  “You see why you’re not ready?” Mami asks.

  “You don’t even know how powerful you are.”

  Johnny wipes blood from his lip.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You fool,” Mami says calmly.

  “You’re an Amplifier.”

  Johnny freezes. "What are you talking about? I don't believe you."

  “You just never give your perception the chance to take control.”

  Mami clenches her fist.

  “Less talking. Action explains it better.”

  Poof.

  She appears in front of him.

  Her punch drives toward his stomach.

  Johnny’s eyes widen.

  Fast.

  Too fast.

  He tries to move—

  Another punch.

  The impact sends him crashing into the floorboards.

  Air explodes from his lungs.

  “That’s the problem,” Mami says.

  “You rely only on instinct.You never try to perceive. That’s why you can't track my speed.”

  Johnny struggles upright.

  Sweat drips down his face.

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Let me show you.”

  Her punch comes again.

  Impact.

  Johnny’s face takes the blow.

  He falls again.

  Mami crouches beside him.

  “Do not track my palm alone.”

  Her voice softens slightly.

  “Track the wind that follows it. The smell. The sound.”

  A pause.

  “These are the things that awaken perception.”

  She offers her hand.

  Johnny hesitates—then grabs it.

  She pulls him up.

  Daisy steps forward, eyes wide.

  “An Amplifier?I never expected that.”

  Mami smiles slightly.

  She gestures toward Johnny.

  “Receivers might manipulate many legend-class weapons… but amplifiers are creators."

  Johnny’s fists tighten. He snarls. His hands on the dirt, head facing down.

  That can’t be right. He thinks.

  I've been a fighter, a survivor, my whole life. Now she's telling me I'm something more.

  His sweat drops onto the floor.

  Is it a trick? Is she trying to mess with me?

  Mami’s eyes sharpen.

  “Now get up.You’re mine now.”

  Johnny throws a punch immediately.

  A reflex born from wounded pride.

  Before he even understands what happened—

  He’s back on the ground.

  “You don’t disrespect your own,” Mami says.

  “We’re a team now.Whether you like it or not. You lost.”

  Daisy leans closer to Johnny, smiling warmly.

  “You and I will fight together.”

  Her eyes close in a gentle smile.

  “I’m really glad I get to work with Jullian’s uncle.”

  Johnny blinks.

  That smile…

  It’s genuine.

  Innocence still lives in her eyes.

  He slowly rises again.

  Maybe… I’m the one misjudging everything.

  A faint ripple disturbs the air.

  Johnny’s head turns first.

  The air distorts again—

  Nina materializes in the center of the room.

  Mami’s body tenses instantly. She steps forward, ready to strike.

  “Stop,” Johnny says quickly.

  “She’s with me.”

  Mami halts.

  Nina rushes toward Johnny.

  Her eyes search his face.

  “What happened? Why are you here?” Johnny asks.

  “My group was disbanded,” Nina says quietly.

  Her voice trembles.

  “I have nowhere to go.”

  She steps closer.

  “I want to stay with you.”

  Mami exhales loudly.

  “Great. I guess I’m turning this place into an orphanage.”

  Johnny frowns.

  “You can survive somewhere else. Not with me.”

  “No!” Nina shouts.

  She reaches forward and gently touches Johnny’s cheek.

  “I’m tired of you rejecting me. Let’s go back to the way things were.”

  Johnny turns his face away.

  “You’re not worth anything to me. I don’t want these reunions.”

  The words strike like knives.

  Nina flinches.

  Mami’s palm smacks the back of Johnny’s head.

  He drops to the floor again.

  “You shouldn’t treat someone who cares this much like that.”

  Johnny tries to stand.

  His legs collapse beneath him.

  Pain screams through his bones.

  What’s happening to me?

  Mami smiles faintly.

  “You’ll stay down for a moment. You’re the arrogant type. You refuse to see the people who care about you.”

  She folds her arms.

  “I own you now. There’s nothing you can do.”

  The air ripples again.

  This time, the temperature in the room shifts.

  Johnny slowly looks up.

  Two figures materialize from the distortion.

  The Alligator.

  And Sonia.

  Mami tilts her head.

  “Another homeless people?”

  Sonia says nothing.

  She moves.

  Her sword flashes forward in a silver blur aimed at Mami.

  Daisy reacts instantly.

  Her One-Biskae flashes forward.

  Clang.

  Steel collides.

  The air between them vibrates violently.

  Daisy’s body begins to burn with black aura.

  The One-Biskae hums with a deep, hungry resonance.

  Sonia’s eyes widen.

  What is this overwhelming aura?

  Sonia leaps back, creating distance.

  The room falls into tense silence.

  Both sides stand ready.

  The next move could start a war.