“Force field.” He winks at me. “And now here comes the pain.”
The Krops begin to writhe on the ground, whimpering. Is it really going to be that easy? Of course it’s not. They don’t stay down for long. As I watch, openmouthed, Mel steps up and moves her hands. A row of plastic seats attached to the wall to my left spring free and fly through the air. They break into sharp jagged pieces and rain down on the Krops. A yelp tells me the wounds they’re making are painful but not life threatening. They’re just another distraction.
The Krops gather in a circle, facing us. The team begin to spread out, facing them. I grab Sunday’s hand.
“Wait. You said if we moved, we were dead.”
“I should have been more specific. If we moved without showing the Krops we’re a force to be reckoned with we’d have been dead. They’re fast, they’re mean, but they’re not stupid. They have a sense of self-preservation. They’re looking for an opening, a weakness.”
“Yes,” Rye interjects. “So, you stay back, Sailor.”
Oh, here we go again, the whole I’m weak thing. It’s a running observation that I am getting awfully tired of.
Grace pulls away from the circle, moving so fast she’s merely a blur. She moves so quickly I don’t see her hands moving. I just see a flash of silver and then a streak of red appears on the chest of one of the Krops. It growls, a low, angry sound that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. As I watch, the cut heals itself, gone as though it was never there.
“I don’t get it. How do we kill something that can heal itself so quickly?”
“We don’t do anything, Sailor. You stay there and let us take care of it.” Rye glowers.
He moves so he’s blocking my path. I roll my eyes.
“Sunday? A sensible answer?”
He shakes his head.
“I have no idea. Krops are a relatively new creature, and while we’ve heard of them and what they’re capable of, we don’t actually know how to kill them. My guess is it has to be a brain shot to actually kill them, but that’s all it is. A guess.”
A buzzing sound distracts me from the magnitude of his words. Blue lightning streaks from Ya-Ya’s hands, lighting up the bus station for a moment. Piles of rubble cling to the edges of the room and masses of graffiti cover the walls.
The lightning connects with the Krops, wrapping itself around their bodies. Loud yelps fill the air once more and the smell of singeing fur assaults my nostrils. The lightning dances through their bodies, and for a moment, their skin becomes transparent. I can see their skeletons, their ugly, knobbly, twisted bones. And then the lightning peters out and the Krops are still standing.
They have burnt patches on their skin where clumps of fur are missing, but they’re all still standing.
“Aziza, no,” Sunday shouts as Aziza raises her palms.
Aziza glances at him, frowning.
“You burn them up and we all burn with them,” Sunday says.
I wait for Aziza’s cutting comeback, but none comes and she lowers her hands. Jinx shoots out another force field, pinning the Krops to the ground in pain once more. I see my chance. It’s clear for all of their powers, the team aren’t getting anywhere with the creatures. They are built to withstand magic, but surely, they can’t withstand a blade. If Sunday is right, then a blade to the brain will kill them.
I reach into the waistband of my jeans and pull out a knife. I dodge around Rye and before he can react, I reach the Krop. I raise the knife above my head and with a screech, I plunge my knife down into its open eye, pushing it in right up to the handle, being sure to pierce its brain.
Dark green sludge bursts from its eye, splattering my T-shirt, and I retch at the smell of rot it brings with it. The Krop makes a howling sound that makes me want to cover my ears, and then it is silenced. Its body twitches a few times and then it goes still.
The room is dead silent around me as the three remaining Krops get to their feet and run down a narrow hallway, their tails between their legs.
Rye comes toward me, his face full of thunder. The enormity of what I’ve just done, the realization that the other three Krops could have torn me to pieces within seconds hits me and I feel my body start to shake. I set my jaw, ignoring the tremors that pass through me.
“What the fuck, Sailor?” Rye says. “I told you to stay behind me.”
His voice is shaking with anger. His fists are balled at his sides. I can’t even look at his face. To avoid having to look at him, I put one foot against the dead Krop and pull my knife out of its eye. I wipe the thick green slime from it down my jeans leg, forcing myself to appear casual, like the very sight of it doesn’t make me want to run away and never look back.
“And I told you. I don’t necessarily follow the rules.”
I look around at the rest of the team.
“Should we see what’s behind door number one?” I ask.
Rye isn’t going to let me off that easily. He grabs me by my upper arms and holds me in place until I am forced to look up at him. His face is like thunder and my breath catches in my throat when I see the fire burning in his eyes.
“How did you know Jinx’s force field wouldn’t hurt you?” he demands.
Good point.
I really didn’t think any of it through. I saw a chance and I took it. I can’t admit that though. Instead, I shrug, which isn’t easy considering Rye’s
