Staggering to my feet, the sound of Ali fighting on the other side of the ridge sharpened my senses again and urged me to continue. I spotted the hilt of my knife and quickly grabbed it with a numb, tingling hand. Thinking I needed to protect Stephanie, I mounted the ridge with the intent of helping Ali kill the rest of the dead-brains.
What I saw stunned me back to numbness.
At least seven more dead-brains lay dead or dying, scattered along Ali's path, and she was fighting further down the hill. Any thought of helping her flew away, and my feet stayed rooted where I stood. My jaw dropped as I watched her, admiration and amazement growing inside me.
Ali had managed to throw off her packs and held both her blades now, the bowie knife in her right and the dagger in her left. She was meeting the frenzied and confused dead-brains head on, not letting them slip past her. In the time it had taken me to kill one, she was already working on her eighth.
There were only three left that had caught the frenzy, and they were some distance away. Ali strode toward them, her hands tightly gripping the hilts of her blades with the tips pointed behind her. I watched in amazement at how easily she took out the first one that drew close.
The dead-brain ran straight toward her, confused, just like the one I had fought was confused at first. When it couldn't find what it wanted in her, it aimed to veer past, but Ali didn't allow it. She neatly and quickly swung back into its path, punching the dagger into its shoulder with her left hand and driving the bowie knife deep into its eye-socket with the other. Ali planted her foot against its hip and kicked the convulsing body away.
Without a pause, she whirled to face the last two that were nearly upon her.
These two ran side by side, and Ali quickly got into position between them, forcing them to split to either side of her. In a smooth motion that made my eyes go even wider, she twirled both weapons in the palms of her hands, catching the hilts so the blades faced forward, and spread her arms out wide. The result was a simultaneous punch of steel into the chests of the dead-brains as they passed her.
The one on her right, the one that had been hit with the bowie knife, collapsed to its knees. The other only stumbled a few steps before regaining its footing and attempted to move forward again. Ali didn't allow it to escape. She pulled both blades free and spun directly in its path. Before it could readjust, Ali slashed out with the bowie knife and gashed its neck open. Its head was thrown back at the impact, and I swear I could see bone. Then it crumpled over backward, dead.
Ali calmly walked up behind the last living dead-brain, who hadn't regained its feet. It was on its knees, struggling to stand, and I thought maybe it had lost the urgency of the frenzy. In one powerful, concise movement, Ali drove the blade of her bowie knife through the back of its neck. It fell forward on its face, shuddered, and was still.
Ali almost calmly pulled her blade free and straightened, surveying the massacre she had wrought on the dead-brains. She had left no survivors.
Stephanie sobbed behind me, but I was too amazed to attempt to hush her. Ali was making her way up the hill, grabbing both her packs as she approached, and I was taken back to the first time I had ever seen her. Her short red hair shone brightly in the morning sun, and her green eyes gleamed when she glanced up at me. She was alive and vibrant, more alive than anything I'd seen in a long, long time, and she was my hero.
~ ~ ~ ~
The adrenaline drained away, pulling my strength along with it, and my knees buckled under me. I slumped to the ground before Ali made it up the hill. My vision blurred, but I still saw Ali's eyebrows draw together in concern as she hurried to me.
"You okay?" She was breathless. I wanted to tell her we were all right, but I couldn't get the words out. My mouth had gone dry.
Her attention focused beyond me, and she rushed past to check on Stephanie, probably fearing the worst.
For a moment, my eyes couldn't follow her. I didn't want to look behind me. I didn't want to see the body of the dead-brain I had killed, but I needed to make sure Stephanie was okay. Forcing my rubbery legs to obey, I somehow made it to my feet and stumbled after Ali.
Stephanie was covered completely by the packs. She had never pulled hers off, and had grabbed both of mine to hold in front of her for protection. She was shaking and crying beneath them, afraid to look out. I had stopped the dead-brain from even touching her. She wasn't hurt, but she was terrified.
Ali tried to move one of the packs, but Stephanie squealed and jerked it back.
"It's okay." Ali said and glanced around nervously, making sure there were no dead-brains left in earshot. Stephanie continued to whimper but begrudgingly released her grip on the pack. It was then that I saw blood had sprayed across the packs and her blanket from the fight. I grimaced.
"Stephanie," Ali continued. Her voice was a bit harsher than before. I realized she was losing patience with Stephanie's cries. "You have to be quiet."
Stephanie's red-rimmed eyes fixed on her from over the pack. She let out a hiccupping sob, took a deep breath, and then mashed her lips together. The snot rattled in her nose somewhat loudly as she breathed, but Stephanie nodded her understanding.
"Good." Ali heaved a deep sigh and looked down at her bloody hands. "I don't understand how they can tell the difference in us, but they can. I could be screaming my head off and they would just watch. If they heard even a whisper from you..."
Ali's voice trailed off. She rubbed her hands against her pants, trying to wipe the blood away, but it only smeared. I glanced down at the gore that covered me and knew there was no way I could get clean short of jumping into a river. I knelt, grabbing a fistful of loose dirt and rubbed my hands together. It was a trick Seth taught me long ago and it helped to contain the drying, sticky blood.
An eyebrow arched as Ali watched me, but then she grabbed her own handful while she looked at the open land around us. Dead-brains littered the valley. Even though they were out of range of the frenzy call, more than a few had been attracted by the noise and were headed our way.
"We might have a problem." I croaked, my dry throat not wanting to get the words out.
"I know." Ali said, turning her attention back to Stephanie. She stood and extended both of her grimy hands to her. "Up."
Stephanie looked as if she might cry, but then reluctantly pushed the packs away and grasped Ali's hands. She was badly shaken, and it took an obvious effort for her to stand. Once she was up, I grabbed her arms to steady her, and Ali replaced her blanket over her shoulders. Stephanie instantly clutched it tight against her throat, and a small whimper escaped her as she spotted the dead-brains in the distance.
"Listen to me." Ali said, interrupting any other sound she could make. She grabbed both of Stephanie's shoulders and roughly spun her, forcing their eyes to meet. "We've only got one shot to get you to Vegas. No second chances."
Stephanie kept her lips mashed together as tears welled in her eyes. I cringed inside, wanting to comfort Stephanie but knew she needed to hear this. The harshness in Ali's voice didn't relent when she continued speaking. "You have to help us protect you. Be quiet, be still, and do what we tell you to when we tell you to do it. Got it?"
The tears spilled over as Stephanie nodded fiercely, but despite everything Ali said, a small croak escaped her.
"That's the last one." Ali said with finality, backing away a step. Again, Stephanie nodded. This time she remained silent. She dropped her eyes to the dirt and stood motionless as Ali grabbed one of my packs and tossed it to me. When her eyes met mine, I saw the anxiety and fear that she hid from Stephanie. It sent a chill through me, knowing she was just as scared as I was. I swallowed it down and shrugged on the pack.
"Here, Joss." Ali said as she bent over and unbuckled her dagger sheath from her thigh. "You need something bigger than that whittling knife."
I looked down at the small knife that looked so useless in my hand. Wiping it clean against my pant leg, I sheathed it and dropped it back in my pocket. When Ali held out th
e harness to me, I was reluctant to take it.
"Won't you need it?" I said, feeling foolish almost instantly. Her bowie knife was bigger than the dagger, but she had fought with them both so well, using them equally in a beautiful, bloody dance.
"You need it for now. We'll find something else soon." She glanced back at the dead-brains that were slowly approaching. They were steadily closing the distance and would be in earshot within a few minutes. "We need to move. Now."
I buckled the harness on as Ali grabbed Stephanie's arm and began to guide her down the hill. They were slow, maybe so as not to attract any more attention than we already had, and I was able to catch up quickly once I had my gear situated again.
Ali glanced at me as I drew near, her brow furrowed with worry. If we continued in the direction she had pointed, we would cross paths with a small crowd of dead-brains. I matched her troubled frown with one of my own, hoping she had a plan. She nodded toward Stephanie and spoke quietly. "Stay with her."
My frown deepened as I reached for Stephanie's hand, but she turned into me before I could touch her, surprising me as she latched her hand around my upper arm and pressed her forehead against it. She squeezed her eyes shut, leaving me with the responsibility of leading her. I looked to Ali, feeling the situation was spiraling out of control.
"There." Ali said, pointing toward a building that had just become visible on the horizon. It was some distance away from us in the valley, and it looked out of place sitting in the middle of nowhere. A flutter of hope shot through me, and I glanced back at Ali. Her nod was firm, decisive, and then she broke away.
Instantly dismayed, I watched her go, the brief hope fading as she left me to protect Stephanie on my own. Panic threatened to grip me, but her plan suddenly dawned on me as I watched her. She was heading straight to the closest dead-brain, knife already in hand.
I leaned close to Stephanie, and though I didn't think she would, I urged her not to look. She nodded against me, and her grasp on my arm momentarily tightened. She didn't need to see this.
But I couldn't look away. I tried to tell myself that I watched so I could protect Stephanie if I needed to, but a small morbid part of me cheered every time another dead-brain fell to Ali's blade. Her motions were smooth and practiced. I wondered how many she had killed over the years to make it look so effortless.
Each one that Ali approached turned to her, seeming almost curious, but they were unable to comprehend the death that came with her. She dispatched them one by one with the same well-practiced motion. The long blade of her knife stabbed into the soft underside of their chins and drove up into their brains. It was gruesome but simple. I tried to picture myself completing that same motion with the dagger, and I shuddered.
I kept us moving, and Stephanie trusted me completely, never pulling her head away from my arm. I aimed us toward the distant building as Ali cleared the way before us, keeping our pace slow so we wouldn't attract attention. It would have been easier on Ali if the dead-brains were grouped together, but they were scattered. That left her running in long, zig-zagging patterns in front of us to get to her next target. She had to be exhausted, but she never slowed.
Each step brought us closer to our target, but the dead-brains were converging on us. The path that Ali had to take from one to the next was growing further and further apart. Checking behind us, we picked up about twenty followers that were easily keeping pace. If they frenzied now, Stephanie didn't have a chance. The building in the distance was growing larger, but not in running distance if we needed to get away. My mouth went dry again.
"Have to try something else!" Ali shouted. Stephanie's hand around my arm briefly turned into a sharp claw as she tensed, but she relaxed it a second later. I frowned at Ali, wondering what else she could do but didn't dare respond. Any noise I made would only pull unwanted attention.
Ali was facing us, looking past us to the following dead-brains and she began to shout in earnest, waving her bloody knife in the air. "Over here, you stupid freaks! I got something for ya!"
She let out a series of whoops and yells, and I looked back to see the dead-brains focus on Ali.
"Keep going. I think I have their attention now." Ali shouted at us, but it was as much to draw the dead-brains' attention as it was to tell us to keep moving. Her plan was working. All of the dead-brains were completely focused on her, and I allowed myself a sigh of relief. I gently patted Stephanie's hand and felt her nod against me.
Once Ali had a few followers, she started her carnage once more. Her main focus was on clearing a path in front of us, but after each kill, she looked back our way, always keeping close tabs on the dead-brains that followed. When I could, I picked up our pace to increase the distance, but I also had to guide Stephanie around the bodies that littered our path. That caused us to lose ground, and the dead-brains kept on coming.
Ali was relentless, never slowing in her gory job, and after about fifteen more minutes of ruthless killing, she had worked her way through all the nearby dead-brains. The ones behind us followed, but the gap between us grew. As long as they didn't frenzy, we would eventually out pace them, hopefully to the point they lost interest.
Ali took advantage of the lull to jog back to us, covered in sweat and blood. The whole scene was grisly and stomach-wrenching, and I hoped Stephanie didn't choose this time to look up.
"How you doing?" I asked, and only got a shrug from her in response. Being this close to her, the exhaustion was clear. She was drained. I tried to sound encouraging. "We're almost there."
"Yeah." The word came out as she heavily exhaled, and she sucked in a deep breath to continue. "But we don't know what we're walking into. Give me time to scout when we get closer."
I nodded and didn't prod her for more. The silence seemed safer as we walked on, and I looked hopefully at the building ahead and blinked in surprise. There were two buildings! One almost hidden behind the first, but I could see it clearly now. That also helped to boost my spirits.
With the immediate threat of the dead-brains pushed back momentarily, I began to notice our surroundings. We were no longer walking on hard clay, but dead grass that looked out of place for this landscape. Looking around earnestly, I saw a pole sticking out of the ground not too far away with a tattered and faded flag hanging limply from the top. Old as it was, the number seven was clear against the white background.
A golf course!
A sense of bitter nostalgia flooded through me as memories of my father watching golf on television crept to the surface. It felt strange, remembering how golf had been so commonplace back in the old world. Dad had taken me to a course a few times, but those memories were foggy. I was too young to really enjoy or learn the sport, but the golf cart was a different story. That was the highlight of those boring trips.
My mind was caught up in those memories until Ali finally broke through, huffing loudly as she spoke. "You got this?"
Ali had shrugged off one of her packs and was handing it out to me. I grabbed it quickly as she started off to dispatch the dead-brains that were closing in, and I let the foggy memories fade. The buildings were so close now, almost in running distance, and there seemed to be a suspicious lack of dead-brains surrounding those buildings. Maybe we would catch a lucky break, and the buildings would be empty.
They were sheds, probably designed for course maintenance. Further back, against the other side of the valley wall, I could see bigger, grander structures, and assumed those were the main buildings for the golfers. Was it called a clubhouse? I couldn't remember for sure, but that seemed right.
"We're almost there." I whispered to Stephanie and squeezed her hand in reassurance, confident we would reach our target now. I got another nod, and her hand moved to her face, brushing at her checks quickly before she replaced it. My elation died away as I slowly realized that even if we made it to these buildings, we would eventually have to move on. The path away would be just as difficult as the one we were walking, and a crushing weight began to push
down on me.
How can we protect her?
Ali stopped to look back at me and motioned to the buildings, letting me know where she was headed. As she drew further away, the unsettling feeling inside me grew. I increased our pace and Stephanie's grip on my arm tightened again. This time, her fingers remained clenched, but she kept her feet moving and her head down.
When I heard her sniffle, my head instinctively shot around to check all the remaining dead-brains, but none were in earshot that could have possibly heard the small sound. I also noticed some of our followers had gotten bored and turned to wander in other directions. They were close enough to answer a frenzy call, but I tried to tell myself there was no reason for that to happen. It didn't do much to calm my nerves.
Ali disappeared behind the closest building, and it took a few seconds to figure out I was involuntarily holding my breath. Exhaling slowly, I focused on my breathing so I wouldn't disturb Stephanie any more than necessary. I counted the seconds until Ali appeared from the other side of the building, holding up the flat of her hand to me.
Wait, it said. Then she was off again, disappearing around the second building.
I slowed us down, walking Stephanie around another body. The lure of the buildings and the promise of safety looming so close had me wanting to rush in. Time stretched out as Ali stayed hidden from view, and my body broke out in a nervous sweat. I wondered how long I should wait before calling out to check on her, but then she appeared again.
"Thank God." I breathed, and Stephanie shifted against my arm, slowly raising her head to peek out with one eye. She must have caught a glimpse of something she didn't like because she quickly buried her face again, and her feet stalled. I decided to wait for Ali, not wanting to press the situation.
Ali jogged back to us, her eyes studying Stephanie as she approached. "It looks clear." She said breathlessly. "Both buildings are locked, so I need to check inside, but I think you're safe to move up. I'll take care of these guys."
Ali motioned to the persistent followers and continued past us. Stephanie pulled her head away slowly, blinking rapidly from the glare of the sun. Once she was able to focus, she looked at me cautiously with red-rimmed eyes. I tried to give her an encouraging smile and took a step to pull her along with me. She followed obediently and actually chanced a look around. I felt her tense, and her hand clawed at me again when she saw the bodies, but she didn't make a sound. Her gaze turned toward the building in front of us, and that's where it stayed.
The Phoenix Curse (Book 3): After Page 5