From that moment on, I didn’t stop. I kept firing round after round, continuously releasing and reloading the magazines in my gun. My mind was clear, concentrating only on where I needed to strike. I had pretty much drowned out any sound around me, focusing only on my duty.
The weight on my body lightened as I continued to use up my magazines. My belt and left strap were already empty and there wasn’t much left on my right strap.
I faintly remember hearing commands being issued through my earpiece, none directed at me. Two of the towers had been moved over to rifles and shotguns. Anyone out of ammo had come down and continued with a sword.
Dropping an empty magazine from my gun, I reached for another one. I fumbled around until I found one and loaded it. I glanced over at my right strap to see that I had just loaded my last magazine.
Until then, most of the enemy soldiers had ignored me. They were concentrated on our warriors with swords coming at them on ground level. I was also wearing my dark brown shirt and pants, somewhat blending in with a tree right behind me. The clouds had covered up the sun, taking away most of the natural light. The rain continued, the intensity increasing with each passing minute.
Two enemy soldiers came right by my platform, spotting me immediately. They both went to jump onto my platform, but I pulled the trigger, putting a bullet in each soldier. As I watched them fall back, a noise came from the right of me.
Before I had fully turned, an enemy soldier barreled down on me, screaming at the top of his lungs. I stared into his wild eyes, no sense of human empathy or compassion behind them. He looked ruthless and disconnected from any emotion besides determination.
He drew back his sword, thrusting his arm into the air. Taking hold of my shirt, he let out another yell. I put my gun between the two of us and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I was out of ammo.
As I watched his sword come toward me, I let go of my gun and threw my arms at his face, pushing back with all my might. I kept pushing until his helmet came off, crashing onto the ground. I squirmed my body the best I could, trying to get away, but it was useless. He was much stronger than me.
When his sword was only inches from me, lightning rippled through the sky, the flash reflecting off his sword. It threw him off for only a second, but during that moment an arrow hit him in the forehead. His body came down on top of me, knocking the breath from my body.
“Em, are you okay?” Dante asked through my earpiece.
I struggled for words. “I. Can’t. Breathe.” I tried to push him off me, but he was too big. My hands kept sliding off his wet armor, making it hard to get a good grip.
The next thing I knew, he was being pulled off me. I was so relieved until I noticed it was an enemy who had pulled him off. He licked his lips and threw his fellow soldier’s body to the ground. I unsheathed my sword as he came at me.
Turning my body to the side, I fell off my platform, his sword barely missing me. I got to my feet as fast as I could and drew back my sword. As the soldier jumped off my platform, I drove my sword through his throat, blood squirting all over me.
I yanked my sword out and ran my hand over my face. When I looked at my hand, it was covered in rain and blood. I did everything I could to hold back the bile that came up my throat.
Stunned by what had just happened, it took me a second to register Dante’s voice. “Emmie! Behind you!”
I turned around just as an enemy soldier thrust his sword at me. His sword connected with me, cutting a long gash down my arm. I clenched my teeth and tried not to scream as he came at me again. Holding my sword up, I blocked his strike from hitting me, the force sending a vibration through my arm, startling me.
I dodged a few more thrusts until I slipped on the wet ground and fell. As I lay on the ground, I noticed a small opening on the side between his armor. I gripped my handle with both hands and drove my sword into his side.
Pulling my sword out of the dead soldier, I looked over just in time to see another soldier coming at me. He was twice as big as the one I had just killed. “You have got to be kidding me.” There was no way I could take that guy. So, I stumbled to my feet, turned around, and ran.
“Run faster, Em!” Dante yelled. “I’m almost there.” I saw him running toward me, now off his tower.
When Dante reached me, he put his arm out in front of me, pushing me back and away from the enemy soldier. He and the enemy went at it, their swords ringing as they connected. I stayed behind Dante until I saw the perfect opening. Dante and the enemy both had their arms raised in the air, their swords locked together, both of them pushing. I took my sword and drove it through the gap in the armor of the soldier. He fell back sputtering for breath, the life leaving his eyes.
“Thanks,” Dante said as another soldier came at him. We continued to fight side by side, working together to destroy the enemy. My arms were getting tired, my left arm growing weak from the slash it took.
Dante and I continued to push forward, falling deep into the enemy soldiers. I could tell they were getting tired, I’m sure the weight of all their armor taking an effect.
“Towers are cleared,” President Brown said. “Everyone’s down below, fighting.”
Some of our residents were struggling to find dead soldiers so they could take their swords. I prayed they would find one before they were killed themselves.
The adrenaline that I had taken me this far into the battle started to fade. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could last. My body wasn’t ready for a battle like this. None of ours were.
It felt like we’d killed so many enemies, but when I looked down the canyon, I could still see hundreds and hundreds more. Another enemy came at me and it took every ounce of strength I had to drive my sword into his side. Once I’d figured out there was a gap in their armor, I continued to aim for that spot on each enemy.
Dante and I had been separated a little while earlier. I tried desperately to look for him but couldn’t spot him anywhere.
As I turned around, my foot slipped on the muddy ground and I fell. Before I could get back up, one of our residents fell on top of me. Their lifeless eyes stared into mine and I screamed.
“Em, behind you,” Dante said.
I wasn’t sure where Dante was, but he must’ve been close by. I turned my head around and saw an enemy only a few feet away. I struggled to get my fellow warrior off me, making me lose my grip on my sword. As I reached out for my sword, I looked over my shoulder to see the enemy right behind me.
Mere moments later, the enemy fell to the ground, a sword impaling him through his side. Mack pulled his sword back out and came over, pushing our warrior off me. He held out his hand and helped me up.
“Emmie, that doesn’t look good,” Mack said, holding onto my left arm. “We need to get this treated.”
Before I could say a word, Mack’s eyes grew wide and blood poured out of his mouth. I looked down to see a sword protruding from his chest. As the sword pulled back out, Mack slowly fell face forward to the ground.
Bending down, I picked up my sword, screaming as I went straight for the soldier who’d stabbed Mack. I had both hands around the hilt as our swords collided with one another. I swung at the enemy over and over, but he continued to block my wild swings. Dodging a thrust from him, I turned my body around until I was behind him. I kicked him as hard as I could in the back of the legs, sending him to the ground.
The soldier was on his stomach, so he moved to get onto his hands and knees. Before he could stand back up, I kicked him in the side. He immediately curled onto his side, revealing the opening in his armor. I held up my sword with both hands and drove it down, screaming the whole time.
Once I was certain the soldier was dead, I ran over to Mack, who lay on the ground, blood covering his chest and mouth. I knelt next to him and put his head in my lap. More soldiers came toward me, but Dante, Maya, and Santiago were all there, fighting them off.
He was barely breathing as I held onto him. I bent down, resting my forehea
d on his. “Mack.”
“Emmie.” Mack’s voice was barely audible. “Em, I’m so proud …” He wheezed. “Proud of you.”
I pulled back and looked into his eyes, wiping the rain off his forehead and cheeks. “Oh, Mack. Please don’t leave me.”
Mack took his hand and put it on my cheek. “Win this. For me.”
“I will, Mack.” My tears were flowing, blending in with the rain. “I promise.”
“You.” Mack gasped for breath. “You can do this.”
I watched as the life slipped out of him and his hand fell to the ground.
We made it to Juniper in a little less than eight hours. Bruce kept saying how much faster it would’ve been on the way to New Haven if they’d had a motor vehicle. It’d taken them a week to walk.
There was a spot on the foot of the mountain that we picked to hide the jeep. Juniper was up the mountain, so we figured the best way up without announcing our presence was to hike. We left the guns in the jeep, only taking swords with us. The noise from a gun would surely catch attention from the city.
I debated for a while whether I should take the rocket launcher with me. Its weight would slow me down and using it would make our presence known. In the end, I decided to carry it with me just in case something happened.
Bruce took us up a less-traveled path. It was a hard hike because of it, but there wouldn’t be anyone in the vicinity. The area was tightly packed with trees, helping our concealment. As we drew closer to the city, the smell of ash and smoke filled the air. Smoke billowed up from the fires.
When we were almost there, Bruce slowed us down, motioning for me to keep quiet. We crept slowly through the trees, watching our steps to avoid creating too much noise. Bruce stopped us a few yards out from the entrance we needed to take.
Huge rocks and boulders covered up most of the entrance. I could see a small opening on the right-hand side where someone small, like Bruce, could crawl through. I pulled out my binoculars, searching the area. There was no one nearby.
Near the entrance of the city, I spotted a huge mound. A few men were carrying out stuff from the city and throwing it in the pile. I focused my binoculars on the mound, trying to make out what was in it. My quick intake of breath made me cough. Bruce put his finger over his mouth, telling me to zip it. I nodded my head toward the mound and handed Bruce my binoculars.
He glanced at me sideways, then pulled the binoculars up to his eyes. He adjusted them to fit his face and pointed them where I told him to. “Holy …” Bruce cut off, dropping the binoculars from his hands. He stood and went behind a tree nearby, releasing all the food from his body.
I couldn’t imagine what Bruce was thinking. The mound was all the dead bodies from their battle, and they were throwing them in a pile like garbage. They must have killed so many people and done so much damage to the city to still be cleaning up over a week later.
I gave Bruce some time to finish what he was doing and process everything he saw. When he came back, I put my hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I know that must be hard to see.”
He just nodded, wiping some tears from his eyes. I suddenly regretted showing him. I kept forgetting he was only fourteen.
Bruce wiped his mouth and then nodded his head at the entrance to the cave. “I’m going in. I want to get this over with.”
I reached into my bag I had carried up with me and carefully took out the bottle containing the virus. “Just drop all of it in the main water source.” I tapped my earpiece. “You can reach me at any time.”
Nodding, Bruce put his earpiece in. He handed me his sword. “I can’t fit in with that.”
He took a deep breath and went toward the entrance, creeping over in a squatting position. When he reached the boulders, he climbed to the opening and crawled his way in.
A few moments later, Bruce’s voice sounded through my earpiece. “I’m in.”
Then it went silent for a good five minutes. I tapped my foot impatiently on the ground, hoping everything was okay.
“Bruce,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“I’m still here,” Bruce said. “I’m just being careful where I walk and going slow. This flashlight isn’t exactly bright. Oh, I see the opening to the water container just up ahead.” Silence again. “Alright, I’m right above it with the vial in my hands. I’m taking off the lid, hoping I don’t spill any on me, and … done.” I heard a small clink. “Uh, you didn’t want the vial back, right? Because I just dropped it in, too.”
I smiled. “No, we don’t need it. It’s probably better left here than coming back with us.”
“True.” Bruce took a deep breath. “Well then. That was easy. I’m coming back.”
I stood up straight, adjusting the rocket launcher on my back. Using my binoculars, I checked the entrance to the city again. They were pouring something on the sides of the mound, but I couldn’t tell what it was. At least they were still preoccupied, and no one had noticed us yet.
“Wait,” Bruce said. “I hear something.”
“What is it?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. I think it sounded like banging. Give me a minute. I want to look around.”
“Just be quick. We need to get out of here while we still can.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Bruce said. There were a few minutes of silence. “I can’t see anything, but I can definitely hear something. I see a small opening in one of the walls here. I’m going to look in. Uh, it’s too dark, let me get my flashlight. Okay, looking in and … oh.”
“What?” I asked. “What’s there?” He was silent. “Bruce? What’s going on?”
I could barely hear his voice. “We were wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not just bad people left,” he said, his voice a little more audible.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. How do you know?”
“Because I’m looking at a cell full of prisoners. People I know. Old palace guards and maids. Kids I went to school with. They’re still alive. They’ve been keeping them prisoner down here.” He swore. “I don’t believe this. I had no idea.”
“How could you have known?” I asked. “It doesn’t matter right now. We need to think of a way to get them out of there.”
“How?” Bruce asked, his voice defeated. “I can barely fit through the opening into here, so no one bigger than me will make it through. And they’re in a locked cell behind a mountain wall.”
I touched my rocket launcher and shook my head. That wouldn’t work. It would just cause more damage. “Can you create a bigger opening? Are any of the rocks loose?”
“Uh,” Bruce said. “Yeah, a little. Let me work at it and see if I can get an opening big enough for me.”
“Good,” I said. “I’ll work on creating a larger opening out here.” I took off my rocket launcher and set it down. Very softly I walked toward the entrance, watching where I stepped. Once I made it there, I felt around to see if I could loosen any of the rocks. Some could be moved but taking them out would create another collapse.
Taking hold of a rock, I pulled myself up, climbing toward the top. If I could create an opening up there, it might work.
“I’m making progress,” Bruce said. “I think this might work. If I just …” He went silent. I waited a while until he spoke again, his voice a whisper. “There’s a guard in there. I just spotted him. It doesn’t seem like he’s heard me yet.”
“Keep at it, Bruce. Just be careful. We can’t leave all those prisoners there to die.” I reached the top and moved some rocks around, trying not to drop any. I needed to carefully rearrange them to create an opening and not cause a collapse. The sound of falling rocks would be heard.
It took me a while, but I finally created an opening I could fit through. I scooted my body through the hole, climbing down the rocks once I was inside. I turned on my flashlight and walked, taking the lightest steps I could.
“Bruce?” I kept my voice low. “I’m inside.”
/>
“Good,” Bruce said. “I’m almost done here. Just keep walking down the main path. Take a right when you get to the water container.”
It was freezing inside the cave. I clamped my jaw together so my chin wouldn’t chatter. After a few minutes, I saw the water container sitting in the middle of a large opening in the cave. I made a right, shining my light down the path. Bruce stood a little way down. Pointing my flashlight on the ground, I walked toward him.
When I got to him, I noticed he’d made a pretty big opening, enough to even get me through. I patted him on the shoulder and nodded. Smiling at me, he brushed off his hands.
He leaned in close to my ear. “Please tell me you brought a sword with you.”
I turned so he could see my left side where my sword was sheathed. I took it out and handed it to Bruce.
He looked at the opening. “I’m going to take out the guard.” He quietly went through the hole, holding my sword at his side.
When I peered in the opening, I saw a large cell holding at least a couple hundred prisoners. Some of them were lying down and I couldn’t tell if they were still alive. The ones who saw us kept quiet, not wanting to warn the guard.
Bruce snuck up behind the guard, placed his hand over the guard’s mouth, and drove the sword through his back. He kept his hand over the guard’s mouth as he lowered him to the ground. Taking out the sword, he nodded to me.
Grabbing a hold of the sides of the opening, I picked myself up and swung my feet through until they landed on the other side. I straightened myself and joined Bruce.
There was a door opened near where we were standing, so we both peered out. There was a long hallway to the left, but no one was there.
I bent down next to the guard, feeling around his belt and pockets until I found a set of keys in his chest pocket. I went over to the cell door and started trying all the keys.
Reckoning (New Haven Book 2) Page 18