Carmine

We reached the top of the stairs and saw a lot of soldiers, but what pulled my frightened glare was a tall huge hairless white sand-colored skin man that swung his big fists at Five. A man of a size I have never seen before, he was almost twice my height and had dark distant eyes.

At least Adu wielded a mace now, yet he must have stolen it.

Clashing metal echoed with a resounding pitch. Stone and wood chippings filled the carpet heaped into the corner of the room. The floor crackled from the pounding steps of a huge man as the furniture's wood cracked and metal fastings of the rolling mirror bent from the violence.

Valor fought an ugly monstrous beast, around the same height. It was hunched over with a deformed face, protruding eyes, flat nose, and no mouth. The skin was blotched with sickly gray with specks of long strand hairs growing off the long limbs.

How should I have approached this? My head fizzled with the disdain of a rising headache. Sandream waited not, as she lounged forward and sliced through a swinging arm aimed at Adu.

Janilla went into the backpack, but she drew out a book. I watched her with scrutiny and said, “Now is not the time for that.”

“I know that thing,” she said gesturing towards the monster Valor struggled to avoid.

Valor’s and Five’s attacks made no dent on their lumbering opponents. Valor’s ax chipped at the molten skin, while Five’s sword bounced off the muscular arms.

Five’s opponent moved slow, but wreaked the walls and the floor with great power. Valor’s opponent rushed forward like a rabid dog, sniping with wild slashes.

Valor ducked a punch, kicking at the beast’s leg. Valor shouted, “Is it broken!?”

Five’s eyes shone a bright red. “Working on it!” he exclaimed. He took down one soldier, while jumping over the huge man’s uppercut that sent tiles flying in our direction.

Janilla and I flattened, avoiding the wayward shards.

Valor shouted back, “Work faster!”

The chaos made it hard to pick a target with my gun. Stepping into this was suicide, so I lifted my gun and followed the huge man.

Janilla stopped flicking the pages. I fired, it hit the side of his head and cracked on impact. Shivering back in shock, I cursed under my breath. How hard was that skin?

The corner of my eye peaked me to a threat, so I spun, hitting one soldier on their knee as he came barreling towards us. He shifted to the side and fell on his good knee.

Others were coming and my muscles tensed in shock.

Move!

My heart raced and pumped life into my body, so I rolled into a staunch fighting poise as Sandream rushed into action. I attached the thread and fired an arrow at the decrepit bed. I threw the gun at Sandream, while I swung my knife into the incoming soldier’s neck.

“Pull!” I shouted as I fell over the dying soldier.

Sandream pulled what was left of the bed into the middle, which took an edge of the carpet, pulling it flat and into the center of the room. We switched places, cut the thread, shot arrows at two approaching soldiers.

This bed was my defense now as it limited the paths to me, cutting off flanking. It was already a large room, but their movements were badly restricted now as they tried negotiating their way around the bed.

Janilla smacked me on the waist. “Hit the ugly one in the neck.”

I replied, “Both of them are ugly.”

“The really ugly one. It is a Kelly Twelve, it is weak in the neck area.”

Now, that I think of it, it had a protruding neck. I wavered my eyes to Valor and he was now bleeding, but still avoided the frighteningly fast strikes of the Kelly Twelve. I aimed and fired, the Kelly swerved its head. The arrow went south and hit the destroyed bed. I groaned in annoyance.

That thing would not stand still. Okay better idea, I connected the wire to the end of the arrow and watched the battle between Valor and the Kelly Twelve.

Valor probably already knew the weakness, but the Kelly was smart and gave him no chance to get behind it. That bastard always kept its back to the wall if not another ally, while using its long arms to keep the distance between them.

I fired the arrow, it struck west of the Kelly. Valor seeing this, made a beeline for the side.

I saw a spear come towards me. Sandream kicked it wide and sliced the neck of the soldier, dropping him.

There were more soldiers now and they pushed Sandream back to the entry of the stairway. I disconnected the thread and held it tight.

“Load it!” I said. Janilla loaded the gun and returned it to me.

A soldier sidestepped Sandream, I fired a shot square in his chest. He collapsed and fell over spewing blood. I pulled the thread and moved it towards the Kelly.

The Kelly bounced its head against it, Valor swung up, the Kelly slapped his dismal attempt away, but Valor swept the left leg with the back of his and pushed.

The Kelly’s head was severed when it dropped through the thread.

I cut the wire on the first arrow. The soldiers spread out, pushed Adu and Valor into one corner, while Five fought by himself in the opposing corner.

“Any weakness with that one?” I pointed at the big man.

Janilla said through gasps, “Gamma Base T-two, internal damage. Hitting the outside will not work.”

I got that, but how? We needed to deal with that opening, Five.

Understood Mother.

Five rushed to the open window of the bedroom, the Gamma followed in tow.

The Gamma swung down, Five stepped back and allowed the huge arms to crush into the wall, collapsing the entrance and taking two extra soldiers with it.

The Gamma rushed me.

I spun and flipped over to the side avoiding the flying uppercut. He seemed to freeze as if he relished the uppercut. Five took that time to jump onto the man’s back.

The Gamma reached behind it trying to grab Five. Five swerved, and moved to the next side.

Janilla and I backed away to the wall with Sandream in front. One soldier tried to jump over the caved-in roof board of the bed. Sandream's right arm ducked under the incoming sword, slicing through their armor and spilling a spray of blood that dropped on me.

Urgh!

Two soldiers charged forward, and I fired at one soldier, then pulled the thread, tripping the other soldier behind him. They toppled over when the two collided.

Adu kicked over a soldier trying to flank me, killed another, sliced through the third, and skewered the one he kicked over in the neck.

The Gamma swung at me, I ducked and slid through his legs, hitting the heaped-up curves of the debris-filled carpet. Five stabbed it in its eyes. It went ballistic, Valor went for the legs with swirling ax slices.

Sandream finished those scraps and now we were left with the Gamma, that raged after Valor, Five was now on his head.

Sandream and Adu went to the blocked door which was being peeled back by soldiers. I fired, but my arrows only bounced and broke against the Gamma's muscles, even in the weak spots.

The Gamma stopped. Valor hesitated, then slowly tiptoed around its left. Watching the Gamma, I knew he was trying to sense our locations since it lost its sight.

A crack emanated, so Adu jumped back as a soldier's hand tried to grasp at him. The Gamma turned and charged at Adu’s and Sandream’s back. I rushed forward and ripped them out of the way.

The Gamma went ballistic again, a flurry of waving arms. He slashed the floor, walls, splintered rock and wood chased our escape. Adu ran wide dropping the mace, while Sandream and I ran to the window.

The Gamma crushed through the middle shattering what was left of the bed. Five’s eyes got brighter now as he held on. Gamma spun and flurried against the air.

How were we going to get rid of this guy? I looked at Sandream. She was pale, had a bad gash along her jaw with blood smeared across her robes. It was then I saw the blood drops. Trickling down from her right ankle, she was bleeding, badly.

I was about to speak, but Sandream interceded with a tense whisper, “Now is not the time for pity. If you have an idea, now would be a good time to divulge one.”

I replied under my breath, “When I am the dumb one?” I looked through the window and saw light cutting in between the darkness of the clouds. The prison around us was breaking. “You have any way to cause internal damage?”

Sandream shook her head. “Something heavy to hit him with…maybe?”

Mace? My thoughts echoed in everyone's minds.

The mace was right next to his foot. Passing around my thoughts, the gang heard the mad idea. Sandream and Valor rushed forward. The Gamma heard them coming, he spun his arms wildly.

Sandream got swatted. Valor ducked, grabbed the mace, threw it up at Five. Five immediately began to work on the big man’s head.

I ran to Sandream’s side, skating across the huddled carpet. Sandream leaned up with a struggle, I grasped her shoulders, while Janilla dropped behind her. Five was finally thrown off.

The Gamma sped towards us, shifting the carpet further, and lifted its clasped hand ready to pummel us.

My heart jumped into my throat, but I lifted my gun in desperate defiance.

“Five now!” Valor’s voice shouted.

Janilla's ear-shattering scream faded as the Gamma dropped onto his knee from Five pulling the carpet from under it.

Valor jumped in front of me and twirled with the mace slamming into the side of the big man’s head.

The Gamma doubled back groaning. It stiffened, falling backward into the window. Light beamed through into the room. Free, I saw the backdrop of the bailey, the bright sun at the top of the sky, and horrid screams below us.

There existed a way to bring what was in the shadows into the light.

Five walked up to us, eyes going back to their normal black hue.

Valor breathed out hasty breathes as he and Five shook hands and nodded at each other.

My body relaxed. We lived, for now. We all looked at each other and felt good. I patted Sandream’s face and smiled. She had that dumb blank stare.

That probably was going to be the best I would ever get from her.

Sandream spat blood out and said, “I cannot move my legs.” I frowned then her head swung back in a swoon, shaking me to my core.

"Sandream!" I stiffened as I wrapped my arms around her back and leaned forward, allowing her a slow descent to the cracked floor.