by Joshua Laack
Chapter 41
That was how Johari and Andrew ended up on the hilltop, the wind in their hair and death waiting before them. Andrew could see the dark blurs moving down in the trees at the bottom of the hill. As far as he could tell, they hadn't been spotted yet and they stepped back from the tip of the hill to keep it that way.
Although Andrew could catch nothing but glimpses here and there, he knew that the hill behind him was also filled with figures waiting for battle. Andrew hoped that they didn't die following his plans, but he knew that was a hope in vain.
Andrew still wasn't even sure what could kill an immortal. He assumed that if something were strong enough they could be ripped apart, but was that enough? Hopefully he could do enough to save her before he found out.
“Are we ready?” Tabitha's sudden appearance at his side surprised him, but Andrew did nothing to show it. He just nodded.
“As ready as we can be.” She nodded back and vanished down the hillside. She had insisted on being a part of this fight and Andrew was not about to argue with her. She was a powerful fighter and they needed every one they could get.
It hadn't even been a day since the council meeting, so there hadn't been much time to call in more reinforcements, though everyone nearby had received the summons to fight. Behind him were maybe five hundred Blood and from what scouts could determine, there were thousands upon thousands of demons. There wasn't much hope against those odds, but Andrew would fight to the last as would all there with him. What other choice did they have?
Andrew raised his left fist, right hand still gripping Johari's hand like he never intended to let go, which wasn't far from the truth. As impossible as it seemed, the stillness behind him became even more pronounced with that signal. His fist dropped and quiet movement began to flow around both sides of the hill. After waiting a moment to let the pieces of my attack flow into position, Johari and Andrew returned to the top of the hill.
This time they made no attempt to hide their presence. They were spotted by some of the outlying demons who bellowed and began to run in their direction. A deeper voice boomed out from among the trees and the running demons tumbled to a halt and began to run back the other way. Someone was in charge there and Andrew didn't like that idea at all.
Johari had filled him in a little bit on some of the previous demon battles and most had been just hordes of them attacking with little in the way of leadership or form. The plan of attack had been based upon the premise that they would be disorganized. They would have to keep an eye on that.
“Cowards!” He laughed at the retreating demons. A quick squeeze and Johari joined in the mocking. About six of them broke off from their hasty retreat and turned back around, ignoring the fresh commands from the trees to return. The six ran up the hill, dodging and weaving in and among the trees. Along the way, there were several thuds as if they were running into those trees. The one who made it through didn't seem to recognize that it was now alone.
In the distance, more thuds and cries could be heard echoing the sounds of similar attacks all around the flanks of the demon horde. Andrew stopped listening to those sounds as the demon in front of them approached. He and Johari parted hands and circled the monster.
Andrew waited for her strike from the front and timed his to match from the back. Their fists struck, one in front and one in back where Andrew supposed the things heart would be if it had one. Sparks burst from Andrew's hand and he felt others coming from Johari's side. Those sparks tore through the skin that was like dried leather and their hands met on the inside which was more like rotten meat. Their other fists came from opposite sides of its head while it was still in shock about the hole in its chest. The strike ripped the head off of the trembling shoulders and one less demon remained.
In spite of the attacks all around, instead of engaging in the attack, the central core of the demon army pulled in even tighter and ignored the small losses around the edge. That was not at all what Andrew had hoped for.
After a few moments, several scouts came running up to report. Out of all the small groups set up to harry the outliers, only one Blood had been injured and he would be fine. Andrew learned then that a torn Blood limb can be reattached or will even regrow given enough time. With only that one injury, thirty eight demons had been dispatched. It was a positive start, but it was not even close to enough.
Andrew forced an upbeat smile and sent the scouts back to start the second round of attacks. Again he waited a moment for them to run to positions and then stepped forward so the demons could see him.
“You weaklings didn't even scratch us, but we tore you limb from limb! I didn't expect to be fighting such pathetic little things!” Andrew's voice boomed out across the field of demons and similar insults from others around the ring echoed through through the trees. The answering chorus of bellows from the black crowd before us rumbled through the little valley. A group of nearly a hundred demons broke off on Andrew and Johari's side of the ring, ignoring the orders from within to hold. The orders sounded angrier than the first time. Something wasn't happy with it's soldiers.
As the hundred or so wove their way up the hill, about ten disappeared along the way, but most made it to the top. Andrew threw up his fist and twenty Blood appeared from the trees and merged with them into a solid group. Together, they charged into the oncoming crowd, not focusing on destroying, but dividing and knocking back. A second run and then a third separated and confused the demons who expected to fight, not chase creatures who just kept moving.
They ran to the center and then scattered in all directions in groups of four or five, each group picking a demon and forcing it to move with them. As they moved, the groups each attacked the accompanying demon and destroyed it. Those not attacking the demon in the group focused on keeping others away. As each demon was destroyed, the group turned and ran in a new direction, choosing another demon. In Andrew's group, he chose to remain on the outside as he was fast enough to make sure that none but the one they wanted got close. Many times, his fist or foot sent a demon flying back.
The result was spectacular. The demons were demoralized and confused. They didn't know which group to attack or what to expect next. They ended up running around in circles, chasing after whichever group was closest, often to end up as the next one chosen and destroyed.
To be honest, it was a little sad how easy the score of immortals dispatched almost a hundred demons. The only other time Andrew had encountered a demon in it's physical form was when he was still human and his memories were a little fuzzy about that day. If his memory was accurate though, the demon on the side of the road had been much more difficult to face than this. Johari confirmed his thoughts as they dispatched the last.
“These are just the idiots who can't reason enough to follow orders. The real fight yet remains.” Andrew nodded his understanding, but couldn't help but feel a little proud at the success of the tactic. Even the dumbest demon can still cause problems in a fight. It was better to eliminate as many as possible now.
The reports from the other groups trickled in and it was even better than last time. No one had been injured and between all twenty groups, each ranging between twenty and thirty Blood, over two thousand demons had been dispatched. The bad news was that this hadn't shrunk the group in the center as much as Andrew would have liked. How many of these monsters were left? Did they have any chance no matter how many they killed?
Andrew shook his head to clear the questions that had no bearing on what must be done. On to the next plan. He let out a shrill whistle and then waited a moment for the groups to gather what had been brought along. He didn't know where Tabitha had found them or why they had been laid aside, but he was glad that they had.
Another shrill whistle and five hundred hand grenades launched together at the center of the mass. The explosions were magnificent and as Andrew watched the resulting chaos, it did exactly what he was expecting. The explosions killed a few of the demons who were struck just right, but better yet, some
of the less intelligent fools in their midst panicked and fought to get away from the unexpected blasts. They did more damage in their panic than Andrew could have asked for.
The outer ring of demons felt the inner rings pushing and the blasts. Not knowing what was happening, they moved out away from the crowd, and right into waiting groups of Blood who began to once again pick off lone demons. A bellow of orders in what Andrew could only assume was the demon's tongue once again brought order to the group.
The whole episode took about ten minutes and Andrew estimated another thousand or so demons dead. From the sound of the voice giving orders, this day wasn't going as planned. He let out a double whistle just as the demon general bellowed a command.
The demons, almost as one giant organism, rushed forward in Andrew's direction. Of course, in response to his whistles, the path in which they rushed was empty of Blood. The whole group had pulled back and now rushed in behind to pick off stragglers.
The remaining monsters were neither as weak nor as dumb as some of the earlier ones. Almost before he could see what was happening, large numbers turned and fell upon Blood who had gotten used to the easier kills. Almost a score fell before Andrew yelled for retreat. Of the score down, about ten were left on the field as those still standing dragged the others with them.
Andrew rushed to meet the retreating group. They had eight downed immortals with them and upon evaluation of their bodies, he was told that only four would survive. Andrew discovered then that it was the heart that was the vital piece. It was what contained the life altering blood and pushed it out to the rest of the body. The four who would not survive had theirs crushed and torn out.
After just a moment to regroup, Andrew began the next phase of his plan. They formed into tight fists of ten bodies each. The first fist would slam into the line of demons, focused on one particular demon. Two more fists would make quick strikes on either side of the first giving them all the chance to retreat. Then, two more fists waited back to block any demons who chose to follow the retreat. Andrew discovered with his speed that he could grab one demon and throw it back behind him to be destroyed by the waiting fists. Other groups saw what he was doing and were soon following suit as they were able. This worked much better than the original idea.
Over the next several minutes, another Blood was killed, but they killed at least fifty of the demons. It was a good thing Andrew's soldiers were much harder to wear out than humans because there wasn't time to rest. They continued to strike, but something didn't seem right. The demons in front of them didn't seem to be doing anything different to stop the attacks. He pulled back in his group and looked around. His heart sank. Moving in behind them were a large number of demons. They had been circled and now they were the center mass instead of the demons.
The noose pulled in tighter and tighter. Andrew grabbed Johari's hand and squeezed.
“I love you Johari.” She squeezed back and grinned up at him.
“I love you too you big oaf. Now let's beat the crap out of these demons and go home.” For whatever reason, even though he knew she was just being optimistic for his sake, he did feel better. He straightened where he stood and prepared to meet what came his way.
“Groups of three,” Andrew called to the air in front of him. The fists split and reformed into triangles of three that spread out to give each group room to fight. After that, it was just a mess.