Tammy
I stare with horror at the insane Aurelian, as he plunges that Scorp barb straight into his thigh. I know how terrible death by Scorp venom is – and yet, somehow, he manages to stand right afterward. Clearly in agony, yet stronger and more resilient than ever, Forn struggles to his feet. His green veins bulge even brighter, as if they’re pumping with the same lethal poison he just plunged into his flesh.
How can this alien stand? Surely, he’s lost too much blood. First the gunshot wound, then the splinter through his calf, and then the slash across his chest.
The bullet wound was the worst of it – and I thought I’d sealed that wound, but now he’s bleeding out from his chest anew; the blood bright, green and glowing.
I bite my lip, more concerned about him than the Scorp warriors dying and twitching on the ground. I grab my satchel. I’ll have to use another charge of the sealant gun or Forn might bleed out again right now.
How is he even standing? He’s lost enough blood to fill a damn elephant.
And yet, he does stand – tall and proud, while green venomous blood drips down his chest.
Pounding thumps come from behind me, and the biggest wave of Scorp warriors we’ve encountered yet come charging towards us. I can’t tell how many there are - dozens, or perhaps hundreds. Just wave after wave of pincing claws, barbed tails, and blood red eyes; all staring at us with ravenous hunger and malevolent rage.
“Run!” I yell – but before the word even leaves my mouth, Forn and Darok snatch up the orphans and break into a sprint away from the surging wave. I can’t even protest when Hadone sweeps me up in his huge arms and throws me over his shoulder – hefting me like I’m a sack of flour.
There’s no room for embarrassment, though. Terror fills me. Slung over Hadone’s shoulder, I can clearly see the wave of Scorp warriors chasing behind us, surging forward as the Aurelians flee with their human cargo.
Hadone is sprinting faster than any human athlete ever could, and yet the Scorp are still so close behind I can see the battle wounds in their carapaces, and the blind anger in their glowing red eyes.
The nearest Scorp warrior leaps forward, and his long, barbed tail whips at me. Adrenaline pulses in my veins and it’s as if time slows. I watch as the deadly barb darts me in slow-motion, the green venom glistening from the tip.
I swing desperately with my wrench, slamming the venomous barb aside as it barely grazes my cheek, just pricking my skin as I’m rushed toward safety by the powerful strides of Hadone’s long, powerful legs.
I reach my other hand to my cheek, gasping as I feel the miraculously unmarked skin of my cheek. Mercifully, the barb didn’t draw blood. Even if these Aurelians can apparently survive the Scorp-venom – perhaps through some strange medical phenomena that explains their green, glowing veins – I know for a fact that even one drop of venom would turn me into twisted ball of screaming pain for what remained of my short, agonizing life.
The thoughts come analytically. Medically, I’m already thinking of myself as a patient. The prognosis is bleak if we don’t get out of this city, and quick.
I twist my head, trying to look ahead of us, to see if the path is clear and whether or not the bulk of the Scorp warriors are behind us.
They aren’t.
More warriors pile up ahead, blocking off the only other way out of the street.
We’re trapped!
“Tammy, look!” Stacy’s shrill voice catches my attention, and I see her pointing frantically at a building to our right. I see the ladder of a fire escape, as Hadone sets me down, drawing his war-hammer.
Forn drops Stacy and Tod, pulling his twin daggers from their sheaths and snarling in anger at the onrushing hordes.
There’s are too many Scorp - and yet the Aurelians charge fearlessly into battle the moment they set the orphans down against the ladder. Fear grabs me, and I wish I had the bravery to stay and help fight – but I know my little wrench can do nothing against those huge, disgusting monsters. My only value in combat is to be able to heal the Aurelians if they get wounded again.
I grab the ladder and start half-helping, half-throwing the four children up higher and higher, while sweat drips down my forehead and clouds my vision. The instant the four kids start climbing on their own, I start to ascend myself. I feel a wave of guilt as I abandon our Aurelian protectors, but I know that if I try to fight the Scorp, I’ll just end up another lifeless body lying on these blood-soaked city streets.
Down below, the two waves of Scorp crash against the three Aurelians; like two tidal waves of pincers and barbed tails coming together in unison.
The three warriors stand like boulders against the crashing waves, dancing in violent beauty as they weave and parry between the slashing claws and darting tails.
Their motions are incredible – the three warriors move as if they’re one being. The three of them work in total synchronicity; their blades whizzing inches from each other with lethal precision.
I turn back to the ladder and continue clambering higher and higher.
Above me, Tod screams as a rung in the old ladder breaks. He falls downwards towards the battle. I frantically grab his hand, clutching desperately to it as I pull him up to safety.
Once on top of the roof, I stare down beneath me. I’m shocked that the Aurelians are still alive. The bodies of Scorp warriors are twitching and bleeding all around them, and as soon at there’s a momentary break in the teeming wave of onrushing aliens, Darok and Hadone leap onto the ladder and start clambering up. Forn stays behind, guarding their escape from beneath them.
He’s going to be overwhelmed.
A huge Scorp leaps through the wave of claws,
