by Jamie Davis
“Good, we need to keep moving. They got away. You can bet they’re going to come back with help. We can’t afford to be here when they do.”
The sergeant headed back to the front of the column and pointed forward. Smalls nodded and jogged down the path ahead of them and around the bend.
Sarge started after her followed by Curly and Stretch. Kurt jogged forward to join up with them and he could hear Marci and Jonesey right behind him. He knew Doc and Fish brought up the rear.
So far, so good. They’d encountered their first battle as a newly reorganized unit and they’d survived.
It was the little successes like this that would help them believe they could make it all the way back to their army’s front lines. It was an important step for their survival as they kept marching.
Chapter 12
Their plan to outdistance any pursuit was dashed when they reached a crack in the earth running north and south as far as they could see. It contained a river of lava making it impassable. Kurt could tell Sarge was unsure what to do next though he hid it well enough.
Sarge stood at the edge of the lava flow and stared at it. The other troopers all sat down, backed away from the blistering heat of the molten rock flowing past. Sarge remained motionless at the precipice despite the heat.
Kurt walked up to stand next to him. Sarge spared him a sideways glance and shook his head.
“I swear this wasn’t here a week ago when the company came through heading west.”
“I believe you,” Kurt replied. “It’s here now, though. Any thoughts on whether we head north or south from here?”
Sarge glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the troopers spread out behind him covering the back trail. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
Kurt knew indecision in a military leader was worse than making the wrong decision. “Pick a direction and stick to it. They need you to show them this is nothing more than a minor blip in the plan.”
The other man nodded once, muttered a quiet thanks and turned around. “All right, that’s enough of a break. Any longer and you idiots will fall asleep on me. Grab your gear and get in line. We’re turning north.”
“Why north, Sarge?” Stretch asked.
“Because I said so, that’s why. Just for asking that stupid question, you can give Smalls a break on point.”
Stretch scowled but picked up his battle-ax and started northward, paralleling the lava flow to his right. Sarge followed, then Kurt, Marci, Jonesey and the rest. Curley watched the back trail at the end.
Marci walked up next to Kurt as they worked their way north beside the lava flow. “K.C., if we don’t get across that lava flow soon, those demons behind us will catch up. You know they went back for help after we fought them off.”
“Yeah, I know. We’re just going to have to have faith a way across will present itself. I don’t suppose you can do that bridge of air thing we used to get away from the zombies a month ago for this many people can you?”
Marci shook her head. “No way. I barely made it across that alleyway with just you.”
“I thought so, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“What can we do other than be prepared for an attack? It’s going to come sooner or later.”
Kurt didn’t have a reply. He just kept walking on in silence. Marci was right. The attack would come sooner or later.
The first warning came when Curly spotted a group of the six-legged dog demons racing behind them up the trail. There were seven of them.
“Watch to the rear,” Curly yelled. He turned and prepared to receive the charge of the creatures. Fish, Stretch, and Smalls formed up next to him creating a line to receive the creatures’ attack. Kurt stood on one end as well next to Curly with Marci to is right and Jonesey next to Marci on the far end.
The Sarge came up behind them and walked back and forth, preparing them for the coming fight. “Just let them come to us, then take them out.”
“Sarge,” Stretch said. “What if there’s more than just these?”
“Worry about what we’ve got to deal with now. We’ll worry about future problems later.”
The demons closed on the line at a full gallop. They bounded forward and bashed into the ready defenders.
Kurt swiped his glaive at the demon coming at him.
It dodged the initial attack and dove in past the glaive’s swing to crash into his chest.
Kurt’s ceramic and Kevlar body armor absorbed the blow, but the attack knocked him to the ground with the wind knocked out of him.
Marci turned to come to his aid and brought her tomahawks down in two double chops on the creature’s back.
The first attack of the pair landed a solid blow and disabled one leg, but the other skittered off the scaled hide.
Kurt struggled to push the creature off of him while keeping its snapping jaws away from his face.
Some of the spittle from the mouth of the demon dripped onto his face. It burned and sizzled as it hit his skin. He realized the creature had some sort of acid dripping from its mouth.
Kurt brought one armored knee up and managed to get it between himself and the demon. With a short, shoving kick, he pushed the demon away while rolling out from under it.”
Springing to his feet and grabbing the glaive from the ground next to him, Kurt turned just in time to meet the wounded creature with the glowing spike at the end of his weapon.
The spike pierced the creature’s scaly hide, driving in along its full half meter length. The demon screamed a final howl and died.
Marci, seeing Kurt was all right, turned to give Curley some help with his demon. She hacked down at its hind legs with her tomahawks.
Both legs collapsed beneath it as she severed the spine from the rear.
That was the break the beleaguered trooper was looking for. With a shout and a thrust of his long sword, Curley finished off the demon.
The others had all dispatched the remaining attackers.
Kurt checked the trail to the south. There was no sign of any additional pursuit. He turned back to the squad.
Stretch had a nasty cut slashed open down one arm. It bled freely but Doc was working on it. He applied a quick dressing and bandage. The rest of the squad sat on the ground, cleaning their weapons and drinking from their canteens.
Kurt thrust the spike at the end of the glaive into the scorched earth at his feet to clean some of the demon blood from it.
He pulled the spike free of the dirt and turned to Sarge. “We need to keep moving. They caught up with us fast. There’s got to be more coming up behind them.”
Sarge nodded and then glanced at the rest of the squad. “Yep. But I don’t want them to think too much about that.” He raised his voice and growled at his troopers. “All right, you laze-abouts. Get back on your feet. Come on, get moving. We’re heading north again.”
Stretch groaned as he stood up. “Aw, come on Sarge. Can’t you see we just need to rest a little bit?”
“You can all rest when you’re good and dead. Until then, your asses belong to me and nobody else. Now, let’s get moving.”
The grumbling mostly stopped though Stretch still muttered something under his breath.
Sarge pointed up the trail. “Smalls, take point. Keep your eyes open for some way to cross this lava flow. We’ll have to get over it at some point and I’d rather do it sooner than later.”
Smalls nodded. The short woman hefted her spear and jogged northward ahead of the squad.
“Fish, you take rear guard. You’ve got the best eyes and ears after Smalls. Keep them both sharp. We can’t afford to have any of the demons back there catch up with us unawares.”
“You think there’re that many more, Sarge?” Curley asked.
“We fought off that ambush and now we’ve killed the first pursuers they sent after us. So, yeah, I think more are coming. We’re not going to be here when they come, though. Let’s move it and we’ll spoil there plans to catch us.”
Kurt moved u
p to walk next to Sarge as the squad headed up the trail, following the path Smalls took. “Aside from that tall humanoid demon back at the ravine ambush, I haven’t seen anything here other than those six-legged dog demons. Are there many other kinds?”
Sarge nodded. “A bunch. The sixers, the ones we just fought, are dangerous when they hit you with numbers. They’re not too smart, though. There are a few other varieties like that. Mostly small and working in packs. It’s the ones that walk upright like us that are the smartest ones. They command the others. They are also the most fearsome in battle. Sometimes it takes two or three of us to put one down.”
“Are they as numerous in battle as the sixers and other small demons?” Kurt asked.
Sarge shook his head. “Not usually. Most of the time they hang back and send the others in as fodder to soften us up. They’d only commit to an attack if they thought it was going in their favor. That was the way it was for a while, then—well, for some reason things changed.”
“What do you mean, changed?”
“I mean, about a month ago, the tall ones showed up in greater numbers and they joined the initial attacks alongside the smaller demons. I heard the Colonel suggest that it was like someone new was in command of the demon army.” Sarge shrugged. “Maybe that was true. Whoever it was is someone that can scare the tall demons enough to join the fight with the smaller ones.”
“The new tactic worked for them, though,” Sarge continued. “As soon as the horned humanoid demons joined the fighting directly against us, we started losing ground and took a lot more casualties. That’s what broke us in the last battle. An entire company of the horned ones appeared as a unit and caved in our battle line, letting the sixers and packs of some others into our rear.”
“Did you ever get a look at the new demon leader?” Kurt asked.
“Not me. Curley said he spotted a tall, plain white demon with bat-wings at the back of the demon lines. Isn’t that right, Curley?” Sarge called over his shoulder.
“Yeah, that one was definitely in charge. He drove the others before him with a long, barbed whip.”
Kurt thought about the description of the demon in question. It sounded a lot like the one who’d disguised himself as the Cardinal back on Rendara when he and Marci rescued a pair of elderly scientists a couple months ago.
If it was the Cardinal, that meant there was a tie-in with the Chaos Crystal. He could have been the one who tried to control Marci from beyond the gate. They’d have to keep their eyes open for him if he was calling the shots here in this world.
The group continue tracking north following the trail guides Smalls left behind as she scouted ahead of them. It was near nightfall when she found the crossing they needed to get over the lava flow.
They reached a turn in the river of lava where it narrowed. Smalls sat there on an arched bridge of stone that crossed the chasm. It was only a half meter wide in most places as it went up and over the lava flow. The bridge wasn’t much, but it was a way across.
Kurt stared at it. It would take some balance and agility to cross. One slip and a person would fall straight into the lava. He shook his head. He hoped they all could make it.
Smalls had already crossed to the other side. She now waited midway across for the others. “I’ve checked the far side, Sarge. No sign of any demons over here, at least not recently.”
Sarge nodded. “Good work. Keep a lookout while we get the others across.”
He prepared to send the others over, lining them up when Smalls shouted at them from the other side. She’d jumped up to her feet and pointed south with her spear.
Kurt turned and found what she’d spotted. They’d run out of time. The demons on their trail had caught up with them. A large group of the tall, horned bipedal demons raced up from the south. A surging horde of the smaller sixer demons ran ahead of them.
“Get across, quick,” Sarge ordered. He pushed them all one at a time onto the narrow stone pathway across the lava flow.
“It’s going to be close,” Jonesey remarked.
Kurt nodded. “Marci get over there and get ready to cover us with your pistol. You’re the best shot among us. Make ‘em count.”
She pursed her lips in a grim smile. “I will.”
Marci turned and took off across the stone bridge, trotting nimbly over with no problem.
Sarge had already sent the rest of the squad over. He pointed to Jonesey and Kurt. “You two next. I’ll bring up the rear.”
Kurt shook his head. “I’ve got a few rounds in this pistol that’ll keep them off my tail if I go last. Get on over after your troopers.”
Sarge glanced once at the approaching horde of demons and turned and picked his way across after the others.
“You next, Jonesey. Get over and help Marci keep them off my ass. I’ll cross behind you.”
“Don’t get yourself killed, Kurt Carter,” the elf said. She drew her pistol and turned to cross behind the sergeant.
Kurt hefted the glaive in one hand and drew his pistol with the other. He stepped onto the stone bridge just as the first of the six-legged demons raced up to the edge of the bridge.
A shot sounded as Kurt tried to move faster as he picked his way across the narrow path atop the stone arch. Marci’s shot picked off the first of the demons trying to reach him. He was glad she was there, but knew she only had three of the magically enhanced bullets left in her magazine. Jonesey had four more, but it would be close.
Kurt kept focused on maintaining his balance and getting across the bridge. He’d reached the center of the span.
Kurt heard a screeching scream and looked back to see two of the sixers jostle each other and topple off the span just a meter behind him. Shaking a little, Kurt turned and focused on crossing. He didn’t possess the confidence in his balance Marci or Jonesey had.
Another shot rang out, then a second. Kurt heard a screeching snarl right behind him. Both Jonesey and Marci had fired.
Two more demons fell to the lava below.
Jonesey fired off one more shot, picking off another demon just behind Kurt.
It gave him the space he needed. He dropped to his butt and slid down the final few meters to the far side of the chasm.
Kurt jumped to his feet, holstering his pistol and gripping the glaive with both hands.
He swung the glaive just in time, catching the closest of the pursuing demons in the head with the glowing silver ax blade. It cleaved through the creature’s skull, making it collapse at the end of the bridge.
Another sixer scrambled over its pack mate’s body, snarling a challenge at Kurt.
Stretch and Jonesey jumped up to stand beside Kurt and took out the second beast with battle axe and sword blows.
Then it was a blur of thrust and slash, trying to make each blow count. The demons died on their blades or when they fell from the bridge into the molten rock below them in their haste to get across at the hated humans.
The group of tall, horned demons on the far side sent all the sixer demons over after the squad. The soldiers, along with Kurt and his companions killed all of them as they reached the far side of the rock bridge.
It was clear the horned demons weren’t keen on coming over themselves as long as the humans held the far side. It was a standoff.
“It’ll be dark soon. We can’t stay here throughout the night,” Kurt remarked. “There must be other crossings. They’ll eventually come around at us from the rear and trap us here.”
Sarge nodded. “We’ll have to make a run for it. We’ve killed the small ones. Those horned ones on the other side won’t be so brave coming across without their leader to whip them on.”
The sergeant pointed at Smalls. “Head east and scout a trail for us to take once it gets dark. As soon as we’re sure they can’t see us retreat from the edge, we’ll head out and take our chances on finding the rest of our forces before they find us. Our battle lines can’t be too far away now.”
“Agreed,” Kurt replied.
&nb
sp; Smalls took off as the rest of the squad sat around the end of the bridge watching the horned demons pacing on the far side. After a few minutes, one of them turned and trotted off to the south the way they’d come.
“That clinches it. That one will get reinforcements or maybe report in to that bat-winged leader. Either way, they’ll come back with enough force to come across no matter what we do.
The sergeant shouted and pointed eastward. “Get a move on. Catch up with Smalls. They’re going to be right behind us as soon as enough of them cross over.”
The squad jogged eastward after the scout. Kurt, Marci, and Jonesey took off to follow them.
Defiant howls sounded behind them as the horned ones watched them run away. Kurt knew they’d soon be after them in force.
He hoped they found the camp for which they searched soon. He didn’t relish fighting off the demons in the darkness where they had an advantage.
Chapter 13
They ran on for more than an hour until it got dark, then slowed down to a walk. Smalls came back to join the group once the sun set. She now walked at the head of the party with Kurt and Sarge.
“I spotted some campfires to the east, Sarge,” the short woman said. “They can’t be too far away. I’d bet they’re the Colonel with the rest of the army.”
“Let’s hope so,” Sarge said. “We are about to run out of time. Those demons can see in the dark pretty well and they’re going to catch up with us before too much longer.”
“Keep moving towards the campfires, then,” Kurt said. “We can’t afford to get caught out here in the dark like this. They’ll swarm us under if they catch up.”
“All right, you laze-abouts, I’ve let you stroll along like you’re on a walk in the park long enough. Time to show me what kind of troopers you are. Pick up the pace. Smalls spotted campfires just a few clicks away. Let’s see how fast we can get to them.”
A ragged cheer went up from the others at the word they might be near the rest of the army. The whole squad picked up speed, jogging forward until they crossed a broad ridge ahead of them.