by Gregory Loui
“You can’t reason with Gore when she’s like this,” muttered Bones from somewhere above Gore. She glanced up as her old brother pulled Debbie away. “She’s a demon. Or worse, actually, now that I think about it.”
“Shut up, you cunt,” growled Gore, flooring the accelerator as she slammed the Magnum Orcus into the Battle Ram. The impact threw Gore to the side. Blood dripping from her head, Gore just growled and pressed the Magnum Orcus further against the Battle Ram’s side. Locking the wheel in place, locking the two cars together, aiming them both towards the factories.
“Hahaha!” laughed the Battle Ram’s driver, leaning out of the side to flip Gore off. He beat a quick retreat as Bones fired a six-round rapid at his head. Sparks spraying down around him, his voice echoed from within, “You want to take me on? You think you can take on the Battle Ram?”
A massive grin splitting her face, Gore roared back, “I’m gonna jagding rip you to shreds, you piece of shit! Then I’m gonna fornicate with your skull!”
“Yeah… she gets kinda excited sometimes,” muttered Bones, before unleashing another clip into the Battle Ram. “Shit! Watch out! More boarders!”
As more bodies flopped off the Battle Ram onto the Magnum Orcus, the two beasts rushed towards an abandoned furnace stack. Gore estimated they had five hundred yards left.
“Gore! We need to disengage!” slurred Bones, falling halfway off the Magnum Orcus. Debbie caught him just in time. “We’re gonna crash into that factory!”
Four hundred yards. The Battle Ram crushed a rusted conveyor belt under its horns. The Magnum Orcus didn’t do so well, a half-broken wheel imbedding halfway into the front.
“Shut up,” Gore growled, “I can take him!”
Three hundred yards. Debbie and Bones beat on the roof of the Magnum Orcus, their pleading lost beneath the engine’s roar and pounding of blood. All but consumed by the fires from within, Gore ignored all except for the wheel.
“The Magnum Orcus can take them all on!” screamed Gore, shaking her fist at the indifferent heavens, roaring like a wylder beast.
Two hundred yards. The tower, rushing straight out of a hill of sand, rose over Gore as a dwarf-made mountain. Gore grinned and reached out for the Dragon Blood button once more. One more time.
“GORE!” screamed Debbie as she reached through the side window and grabbed Gore’s hand.
What? Gore turned and locked eyes with Debbie. Her heart froze.
“Damn it!” roared Gore, squeezing her eyes shut and jerking the wheel away.
The Magnum Orcus roared and disconnected from Battle Ram, veering to the side, gliding across the sand. Gore’s eyes opening wide, the factory tower rushed towards her in slow motion. The wall of stone grew bigger and bigger until it consumed Gore’s vision. Her foot smashed into the accelerator, her thumb into the Dragon Blood button.
Fire burst out of the Magnum Orcus’s exhaust pipes, streaming out along the sparks flying off from contact between metal and concrete as the back end of the Magnum Orcus skidded across the factory tower’s side, just missing total annihilation by a fraction of a fraction of an inch. Debbie and Bones’s screams, at first beating against Gore’s skull with terror, lifted up with joy as they realized they still lived.
But their nightmare had not ended.
For the Magnum Orcus had entered the factory grounds, a maze of concrete and barbed wire.
Out of the Blight and into the lava.
Though her rage still roared within, frustrated it had not forced her down the path of destruction, Gore grinned at the sheer challenge awaiting her, laughing, “Hold on!”
Slipping through alleyways too small for the Magnum Orcus, sparks and bits of steels flying off the car’s side, smashing through countless barricades and debris, the Magnum Orcus almost didn’t survive the journey. Then, a light shimmered in the darkness. Gore spun the wheel about. Crushing a forest of barbed wire, the Magnum Orcus flew up a ramp and landed on the center road. Ramps and scrapped vehicles peeked out of the sand, surrounding Gore.
As silence yawned, Debbie started to ask, “Do you think—”
“Don’t say it,” growled Gore while Bones flopped onto the ground beside the Magnum Orcus. She sighed, her brother stumbling onto his feet. His withered hand clutched the side of the window. “Don’t jagding say it.”
“Okay…” said Debbie, jumping down to help Bones. “I just wanted to say—”
“WE MADE IT!” screamed Bones, falling back on his ass.
Gore slapped her forehead. She hissed, “Get back on the car! Now! Before they—”
Elvish songs echoed in the distance, followed by the roar of motorcycles. Gore narrowed her eyes. Another, larger light flit between factory towers, followed a second later by a thunderous crash. The Battle Ram had survived it seemed.
“Blight… get back on the car,” snarled Gore. Debbie and Bones blinked. Gore gnashed her teeth, pointing her pistol at them. “Get back on the car! Now!”
Right on cue, a pair of Squirrels burst out of the barbed bramble, trailing fire behind them as they fired a barrage of arrows at Debbie and Bones. Dodging the arrows by mere inches, the two idiots screamed and ran for the Magnum Orcus. Meanwhile Gore leant out of the window and popped six rounds at the elves as the Squirrels whirled around the Magnum Orcus. All rounds missed.
“Blight,” snarled Gore, falling back into her seat and reloading her pistol. Two bodies thudded on the roof. She grabbed the wheel, flooring the accelerator.
The Magnum Orcus roared to life once more and rammed through the wall of fire.
Pale waves of light washed over the hood and licked at Gore’s eyes but she did not flinch as she steered the car down the central road, dodging abandoned cars and heavy machinery along the way. Arrows followed. The Squirrels laughed, jumping across the roofs of cars and broken buildings like their namesakes, staying just a few feet behind. Bones fired off a few shots, the bullets ricocheting into the night.
Then the rest of the Squirrels joined the party, chased by the Battle Ram, the menagerie of maniacs roaring down the central road behind the Magnum Orcus.
“This keeps on getting better and better,” muttered Gore as a trio of Squirrels hopped alongside the Magnum Orcus, the motorcycles skidding just above the central road. Gore’s eyes widened, recognizing what filled the Squirrels’ hands. She served to side to avoid a gout of fire. “Just better and better.
Gore’s hand snapped out and she emptied the pistol at the Squirrels.
Missed again.
The Squirrels laughed and hopped to the other side of the road, arching over the Magnum Orcus and spraying down a hail of magic fire. Gore clenched her teeth at Debbie and Bones’s screams. She glanced into the rearview mirror and sighed. Half the roof had caught on fire. Her two teammates fought in vain to extinguish the fires.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Gore tossed the pistol to the side and reached for her flare gun. She raised her last resort just as the Squirrels revved up their engine, pulling the trigger—
As Bones flopped in her path, clinging onto the roof with one hand while the other pointed the Dakka in the Squirrels’ general direction.
“Bones, out of the way,” snarled Gore, jabbing the flare gun at Bones’s head.
Her brother turned around and smiled, eyes glinting gold through a haze of smoke as he and the Dakka burped together. A moment later, three motorcycles exploded.
“Blight…” Gore raised an eyebrow. Then she shook her head and stowed the flare gun away. “Good job. I guess.”
Bones burped away, “No problem, sis. Now…”
The siblings glanced behind them at the Battle Ram. The rest of the Squirrels struggled to even put a scratch on the behemoth’s side, even though they unleashed volley upon volley of glowing arrows and fireballs at the bronze truck.
“How many do you say there are?” asked Bones, rubbing his eye with the stock of the Dakka. “I can’t see anything past my nine hands.”
“Five motorcycles,” chirped
Debbie as the dwarf crawled up over the roof. “Five elves.”
“We can take them,” growled Gore before thumbing another one of the Magnum Orcus’s buttons.
Then she glanced at Bones, who nodded and stated, “You’re thinking what I’m thinking aren’t you?”
Gore nodded.
Bones cackled, throwing his head back to the sky, almost losing his balance in the process.
“Um… what are you guys thinking?” asked Debbie through clattering teeth.
Gore smiled and snarled, “What does the empirical evidence seem to suggest? It’s jousting time!”
“What?”
The orcs’ cackles rose above the engine’s roar as Gore prepared to turn the Magnum Orcus around. Time to stand and fight. Time to be a jagding orc. She grinned, clutching the wheel, waiting for the right moment to—
Howls erupted through the night.
Eyes widening, all plans of battle fleeing her mind, Gore gulped and blinked, exchanging a look with Bones. Pale eyes veering on white met hers. They both knew what was coming.
“The Fuzz…”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Fuzz... again
“Wait, what? The police?” gasped Debbie before raising her hands high and jumping up on the roof. The Magnum Orcus groaned in protest. “Yes! We’re saved! Over here! Over—”
“Stop! Stop talking! Now! And get down before you get shot!” hissed Gore, turning off the Magnum Orcus’s headlights even though she floored the accelerator.
Debbie glanced over the edge and asked, “Wha—”
A hail of bullets interrupted Debbie, sending sparks cascading across the roof. Debbie hopped to the front, ducking low, the bullets whizzing past. Right into Gore’s line of sight.
“Shit!” gasped the dwarf before clutching her mouth. “Sorry for the language.”
“What did I just say? Now get out of my view! I need to drive!” snarled Gore as she continued to search for an opening. Somewhere to hide. Anywhere but here. She glanced in the rearview window, at the Squirrels and Iron Breakers still battling. The Magnum Orcus pulled away, leaving the battle in the distance.
“Wait!” shouted Bones, jerking his head to the right. “There! Into the parking structure!”
Gore whipped her head about, her eyes narrowing a crumbling parking structure through the factories for just an instant. She smiled.
“A little stereotypical,” muttered Gore as she whipped the wheel around, forcing the Magnum Orcus to pull a sharp right into a narrow alley. Debbie and Bones flew to the left side of the Magnum Orcus, holding onto the roof by the tip of their fingers.
As the Squirrels and Battle Ram chased after them, Gore steered the Magnum Orcus through the maze of concrete. Bullets bounced all around the Magnum Orcus while fire rushed up from below. Bones laughed and swung the Dakka about like a ripperball bat, knocking over anything he could reach, throwing it all into the pursuers’ path. Not very effective.
But A for effort.
“Uh oh! You sure you can make that?” gasped Debbie as Gore aimed the Magnum Orcus towards a gap in the walls. One too small for Gore to slip through, much less the Magnum Orcus.
“Hold on!” cackled Gore, flooring the accelerator.
The Magnum Orcus growled as she sped up.
“Forge Master!” screamed Debbie, mouth dropping onto the roof for a long moment before she slapped herself and jumped to the back of the Magnum Orcus. Not a moment too soon.
As Bones roared and smashed the Dakka into one of the walls, the Magnum Orcus plowed through the gap. Gore’s head smashed into the wheel. Her entire body flew forward as the Magnum Orcus jerked for a hundredth of a second. Then the car burst through the walls and landed into the ruins of a parking structure.
“Hahaha! Bitches!” crowed Gore, reestablishing her control over the Magnum Orcus as the car slid across the shattered concrete. She glanced back. Just in time. The walls collapsed upon the Battle Ram and Squirrels, sending their vehicles veering out of control and smashing into walls. “Now to ease into our getaway… Bones, keep Debbie silent.”
Debbie managed to say, “Wha—”
Before Bones wrapped his hand around her mouth. A moment later, he yelped.
“Shit, she bit me,” growled Bones, then his voice went up several octaves and he gasped, “She hit me…”
“Both of you! Stay quiet!” Gore sighed and mentally slapped her forehead as she continued to maneuver the Magnum Orcus as far away from the crash as possible and as quiet as possible. The Magnum Orcus’s roar fell into a whisper. Squeezing the Magnum Orcus in between two ruined cars, Gore smiled and pat the wheel. She turned off the engine.
“Why aren’t we going to go to the police?” asked Debbie, jumping off the roof to look Gore in the eye. “Aren’t they gonna help us?”
Rubbing her hands together, Gore raised an eyebrow and whispered, “First off, keep your voice down and get back onto the car. We might need to make a run for it. Second off, do you trust me?”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” growled Debbie as she jumped back onto the roof. Gore glanced over her shoulder and watched Debbie fall prone. Meanwhile, Bones kneeled next to her and reloaded the Dakka. He raised the rifle to his face.
“Do you trust me? I need you to listen to what I’m gonna say very carefully.” Gore glanced over to the crash sight, watching the Iron Breakers and Squirrels rise shaking to their feet. The cop howls neared. No more than a heartbeat away.
Gore turned back to her friend and growled, “Do you trust me?”
Looking from the crash to Gore then back again, Debbie trembled then nodded.
Rubbing her hands faster, clenching her jaw so tight her tusks hurt, Gore murmured, “I think you might have realized this but we’re on the wrong side of the law. And the cops don’t discriminate when it comes to criminal activity.”
“B-but if I go out and tell them that you guys saved me,” sputtered Debbie, eyes wider than Magnum Orcus’s wheels as the howls grew closer, the earth starting to shake. Close enough, loud enough, Gore’s bones started shaking. Though the tremors in the earth weren’t the only reason. “The police are meant to serve and protect.”
“Not us,” murmured Gore, venom in her voice.
A forbidden memory, burned into her mind by the fires of rage and loss, leapt into Gore’s mind. She flinched. Burn scars concealed by years of running from the past ached once more. A woman howled in the distance as Gore’s world crumbled around her.
“Wait, both of you, shush,” hissed Bones, raising his Dakka as the police swarmed the crash site. “They’re here. You two might wanna cover your eyes.”
Gore didn’t. For if she closed her eyes, she might see their mother once more. Before they took her. Instead Gore just narrowed her eyes and watched.
The police burst out from abandoned buildings, a pack of twenty-odd cops rushing forward with blinding speed, claws slashing through any weapons and armor the criminals possessed. Nothing could stand in their way. One Squirrel tried, launching a cop into the air with a burst of air. Only for two of the cop’s partners to fill the Squirrel full of lead. The rest fell into line not long after.
Before Gore could even blink, the Squirrels and Iron Breakers had surrendered, kneeling on the ground with their hands in the air. No resistance. The cops then began herding the criminals against the Battle Ram.
“I don’t see what’s so bad,” muttered Debbie, rising back up. “They’re treating them well. And besides, they’re just criminal scum. Why were you so—”
Gun shots interrupted Debbie as the cops executed the racers. Gore hissed and clutched the wheel, turning the Magnum Orcus back on.
“Shit. Shit. Shit,” muttered Debbie, slamming her head back down while the cops spread out from the crash site. Gore scowled. Yellow eyes cut through the darkness. “By the Forge Master, why did they shoot them? The racers were unarmed. Why did the cops shoot the criminals? Why did they shoot them?”
“You answered your own question
,” growled Gore, her foot hovering over the accelerator, her hand tapping the wheel. “They’re just criminal scum.”
“Though of course, my little sister ignores the complex socio-economic reasons behind the war between the underworld and the law enforcement, as well as failing to take into account the escalation of force between the two forces,” burped Bones as one cop started ambling their way. Gore and Debbie gave him wide-eyed looks before turning back towards the cop. He coughed, “Gore… you know the plan…”
“Yes,” murmured Gore, shaking her head. She glanced at Debbie’s confused expression and explained, “Hold onto something. As soon as Bones fires, I’m gonna floor the accelerator.”
“Wait, you’re gonna actually shoot at a cop? No. No. No. No. You can’t!” gasped Debbie, shaking her head.
“Won’t be the first time. Or the last,” hissed Gore though she had to gulp down her fears. Been a while since the old days. A while since she had killed with her own hands, and watched Bones kill far more.
People could say whatever they wanted about Gore’s brother, but Bones knew his way with weapons. Constant practice in the art of killing from a fledgling age of five only enhanced his natural talent.
“Now be quiet.”
The three teammates held their breath, waiting for the cop to spot them, wishing that he would not.
Her heartbeat beating against her skull in the silence, her hands itching for motion, Gore watched the cop stride into the parking structure, into the curling shadows. Footsteps thudded through the dust. A revolver gleamed in the pale starlight, spinning around and around. Gore’s heart skipped a beat whenever the barrel pointed towards her.
Closer and closer.
Reaching for her flare gun, Gore licked her lips, every fiber of her body screaming for her to run. She pulled back the hammer.
A small click cracked the silence.
The cop, eyes widening and ears perking, head snapping about, sniffed the air and looked at Gore. Their eyes locked. Red against gold. The lowest scum of society against the ones who kept her from rising higher. Natural enemies staring into each other’s eyes.