“Got a better idea?”
Shouting erupted at the other end of the courtyard, and they turned to see Ted racing towards the portcullis. It was rising.
Kamiyo’s blood ran cold. “Oh, no! Someone is opening the gate. If the demons get inside, we’re done for.”
Hannah shoved Aymun. “Go! Go help Ted. Philip, we need to do this now or it’ll be too late. We stick close and smash anything that comes near. If we find open ground, we run. I only need to get to the lake alive. Don’t matter if I’m in one piece.”
Philip said he understood, which left Kamiyo with no other option but to open the door and let them actually do this. What if he opened the sally port and a stream of demons forced their way inside before he could close it again?
But if the portcullis opened, that would be a moot point. Hannah was right—they either did this or they were doomed. It was nuclear warfare or total annihilation.
“Okay, we need to do this.” Kamiyo gripped his poker tightly, trying to will himself to move.
“Then stop standing there like a baby with a shitty nappy.” Hannah shot him a pained look that indicated she would like to get going sooner rather than later.
Kamiyo shouted up at the teenagers. “Is it clear?”
They released a barrage of arrows, then shouted back down that things were as clear as they were going to be.
“Okay,” said Kamiyo. “After fifteen, I’ll open the door.”
Hannah glared at him. “Are you joking?”
“Yes, I just thought the moment needed a little levity. After three, you ready? Three… Two… One!”
Kamiyo yanked the handle on the sally port and the heavy wooden door creaked open. It was like opening a gateway to Hell.
Demons spilled over each other like locusts, slashing at the air in the hope they might spill blood, and those at the walls scrabbled at the stone, trying to climb it. They made no progress in that regard, but Kamiyo saw, with horror, that a group of the ape-like monsters were raking at an area beneath the wall—like dogs digging for a bone. Dust and chips leapt into the air as the hole they were creating grew bigger. Each time a demon ran its claws to the nub, another would take its place. It would take them hours, but eventually, they would make it through to the other side. Hannah’s mission had to be a success.
Kamiyo stood in the doorway as Philip and Hannah spilled out. Both were bloody and bruised, but each moved with purpose, as if the pain did not bother them. Their pain would have to wait.
Immediately, the demons were on them, a zombie hurrying towards them before the others. “Die,” it shouted, somewhat humorously. At least it didn’t shout ‘brains.’
Hannah pumped a round into the zombie’s face and killed it. Philip dispatched a burnt demon with his spear, sinking it into the creature’s charred Adam’s apple. Then he pulled it out and speared the next through the chest.
They had made a good start.
An area towards the far side of the steep slope was clear, so they started in that direction. They could throw themselves down it and be at the bottom in seconds. Then they would have a hundred metres to reach the lake.
Kamiyo studied the lake now and saw it glowing like it had the night he’d rescued Vamps. Something was preparing to emerge.
Hannah fired off another shot at a lunging ape, but the bullet hit its shoulder and didn’t stop it. Philip leapt in front of Hannah and impaled it on his spear, which snapped as the creature fell down on it. Philip swore as he found himself defenceless.
A zombie sprinted at Philip, seeing him without a weapon, but Hannah took it down with another rifle shot. She had claimed to have seven rounds, so already she was down to five. They hadn’t even made it to the slope yet.
Kamiyo remained in the doorway, not knowing what to do. He should close the sally port now and leave Hannah and Philip to their fate. Ted would need help with whatever was happening at the front.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon Hannah and Philip.
A demon spotted Kamiyo standing there, and the open sally port behind him, and sprinted towards him. If he didn’t close the entryway in the next three seconds, the demon would spill into the courtyard, and it would all be over.
Philip and Hannah moved slowly, back to back, while trying to cut a path towards the slope. All Philip could do was kick out, and Hannah didn’t have enough bullets to kill all the demons in front of her, so she had to resort to using her large knife.
“Damn it!” Kamiyo slammed the sally port closed. The crossbar kicked up and fell into place, locking it.
“Doctor? What the hell are you doing?” Hannah was looking at him in disbelief.”
“I’m getting you to that lake,” he shouted. He’d made a spur-of-the-moment decision, and now he had to commit to it. He swung his iron poker at the demon that had been hoping to get inside and knocked its head clean off, the iron slicing through its neck like cream cheese. He fought his way to Hannah and Philip and reached them in time to stab an ape about to leap at their backs.
Hannah was still staring at him, bug-eyed. “Doc, what the hell?”
“Just start moving.”
They travelled in a loose triangle towards the slope, demons besetting them on all sides. Kamiyo took the brunt of the attacks, knowing his weapon was most effective. The poker carved through demon flesh with a symphonic delight.
Philip watched him in awe. “How are you doing that?”
“It’s the iron,” said Kamiyo. “Aymun told me demons have a lethal reaction to it.”
Hannah frowned. “Then who was lifting the portcullis? That’s made of iron too.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Philip put a hand on both their backs and moved them towards the
