She reached but space seemed to distort around her arm, expanding the distance to the gun exponentially. A hideous cackle pierced her ears as the wraiths unhinged their jaws in unison to laugh at her useless form on the asphalt.

"Fuck you all," she said. Focusing her energy, she raised her hand. Her machine gun trembled and rose as well, levitating by invisible puppet string. The pain in her skull stirred and she braced for a lot worse as she pointed at the wraiths to guide her disembodied weaponry's sights.

The gun fired. A surge of light shredded through the thick cluster of wraiths. The collective laugh turned to a screech as the wraiths disintegrated en masse, ripped into sizzling bits that drifted in the air like ash after a fire. Those spared the initial blast scattered and dispersed from the gunfire.

(Chapter 2)