I collide heavily with the concrete and let out a loud hiss as pain jolts through my chest and arms. Forcing myself onto my hands and knees, I glance up, my body stiffening to see a shadowed figure looking over me in the moonlight. I scramble to my feet, my hand reaching down to my hip where my gun is. Except, my fingers find only an empty holster. 

I frown, confused, then remember I hadn't had the chance to do the strap backup after using it earlier on a Rogue son of a bitch. Groaning at the memory, I sway onto my feet, glancing about the darkened area and spotting my weapon laying discarded not far from where I fell. Thankfully, it seems whoever is looking at me through the darkness is polite enough to wait until I'm ready, before doing whatever it is they plan to do whilst looking so threatening. I can barely make out the shape of them, but it seems to definitely be a man; a tall one, not as tall as me but still tall.

We stand opposite each other, neither making a sound and I'm unsure what to do next. My breath clouds into white smoke as it hits the cold air and I ball my fists at my sides. I make to step forward, but my path is suddenly blocked by the appearance of three more people, hidden by the night's darkness. 

Heavily outnumbered and completely confused, I force myself to move, diving for my gun. 

I grab it, spin on my heel, and point it at the group of shadowed figures before me, the sounds of fighting still echoing from behind a nearby car. None of the figures seem to pay me much attention, which I am somewhat thankful for. Instead, they seem to be focused on the fight continuing out of sight, behind the car. 

Taking a sharp breath, the sudden cold hits my lungs and shocks me from my confusion and anxiety over the situation. 

I take a step forward and bravely or stupidly yelled out to them...

"Hey! Come on now, feeling kinda lonely here, don't leave me out of the action."

The heads of the three figures snap around to face me and I flinch at the eerily quick motion. 

"Who the hell is he?" one of them asks. 

"I don't know, but I like his style," another replies, a flicker of amusement in their tone, apparently caused by my statement. 

The car beside us suddenly rocks slightly, the two people behind finally surfacing. The tallest of the two slams the other onto the hood of the car, and I frown as the metal buckles beneath the heavy impact. 

"All right, enough!" I yell, surprised at the commanding tone to my voice considering the situation. 

The figure holding the man down glances up at me upon hearing me speak, but as soon as they do, their captive cracks his fist against their jaw. The captor stumbles back from the impact and I have to blink rapidly as the man flashes past me in a blur so fast it can't be real! 

"Don't let him go!" The figure calls out. 

The group tense, obviously about to run after the speeding figure. But, I move forward and come to stand before them, my gun still raised. 

"We really going to do this, huh?" 

Then I suddenly realize...

Four? I now see just how out-manned I am, and my breathing speeds a little. I can barely see them through the dark, not even able to make out their genders or specific features. Still, I have my gun. I tighten my fingers around the hilt of the weapon, finger hovering over the trigger. I was going to walk out of here or die trying and if that was the case, I would take as many of them with me as I could.

"So, who wants the first bullet?"

There is a heavy silence, broken only by my heavy breathing and the slight breeze that echoes through the night. 

"He's bluffing," one of them suddenly says. "Let's just knock him out and split." 

There's a quick shift of movement from the corner of my eye as one of them steps closer. I turn to them with a sharp breath and shoot!

The crack of the gun is like lightning as it pierces through the quiet. I grit my teeth as the recoil sends a spasm pulsing up my arm and into my shoulder, my body still battered from my fall earlier chasing Rogue. Though, I manage to keep my balance. 

And, by some miracle, so does the person I shot. 

For a moment I wonder if I hit them at all, but they suddenly give a small grunt and grab at their right shoulder. 

They should have been on the floor with a shot at such close range!

"What the..." There's multiple intakes of breath followed by laughter of disbelief.

"Still don't believe me? Who's next?" I ask raising my gun again and squaring my shoulders.

A metallic BANG! makes me swing around, only to find it's 2 cats fighting and knocking over a trash can. I turn back to face the group... but they've vanished. 

How could they be gone? I didn't even hear footsteps. What the hell?! Did I imagine everything? Did I just simply fall and hit my head?

Adrenaline courses through my body, but I know in the morning I am going to hurt like never before, a dull ache throbbing at my side proving my point. Proving that something did happen. With a loud sigh, I reholster my gun, drag a sweaty, dirty hand down my face and take a few more moments to try and get my thoughts together before going on my way.

What. In. The. Hell. Happened?!