[ WP ] A stranger approaches you and points a gun to your head . `` I 'm sorry , but we will explain everything at the reset . Hopefully we 'll have a fighting chance now that we have you ... '' He pulls the trigger .

I *phased*. My surroundings blurred and as the stranger's finger twitched on the trigger I stepped forward, through the gun, through his hand, through his body. The world jerked back into motion just as the Glock's hammer fell and the muzzle barked. I kicked sharply backwards, the heel of my boots raking down his calf, the sudden unexpected impact bringing him to his knees. I turned, my hands grasping for his chin. I braced myself and in one fluid movement I had twisted his head just so, the faint click and sudden dead weight confirming my kill. He died with confusion lit clearly across his features and a thin trickle of blood dripping slowly from his left nostril. 
 
 The headaches that *phasing* brought on were getting worse. My temple throbbed, the pounding in my ears so loud that it almost felt like someone shouting at me, screaming my name over and over. I grasped at my forehead, hands shaking, red mist clouding my sight. It felt as though every vein in my body was about to burst. I opened my mouth in a rictus, soundless howl of pain. On the verge of blacking out, my vision suddenly cleared, and the throbbing died down, almost as quickly as it had started. Sweat beading on my brow, I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath. Definitely getting worse. 
 
 I glanced around. The street was quiet, but that gun shot would have attracted attention. A quick search through the stranger's pockets yielded nothing of consequence. The Glock, a spare magazine and an unmarked pen drive. No wallet, badge or discernible I.D. Black Ops then. They were closing in on me. 
 
 `` No Reset. This time.'' 
 
 I jumped, the sudden voice startling me out of the autonomous reverie I had been in. To my right, a shadow crouched in an open doorway. My heckles rose. Although the shadow was in direct sunlight, I could n't make out any features. He was blurred, almost incorporeal. My eyes seem to slide away from his form before I could register any details. 
 
 `` You're getting stronger David. But you lack control. If the Phage takes you before we can train you... better to let them Reset.'' 
 
 
 Without thinking, I raised the Glock and fired. The shadow disappeared and reappeared always staying slightly ahead of every shot, strafing left and right, each movement bringing him closer my position. The Glock clicked empty and the shadow engulfed me. 
 
 
 

