Part 30 (2/2)
I stood then helped Will up. ”We'll meet them halfway, okay? We can make it that far.”
”Wait,” he said, pointing at the angel.
Her torso was burned clean through, cauterized so that her ribs showed. ”G.o.d, what did that?”
”I have a theory. Take me down to the artillery line and we'll see if I'm right.”
”Dude, you aren't going anywhere but to Klimmett to get worked on,” I told him firmly.
”I'm going to Klimmett long enough for him to patch me up. Coach Shaw can do the rest,” he said, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng. ”I'm not out, no matter what you told the colonel.”
I didn't know what to say to that. He was hurt pretty badly, and I wondered if shock had given him delusions. ”Let's get there first, see what Klimmett says.”
We made our way down the dune without a single shadow coming our way. In fact, they went out of their way to avoid us. I was spoiling for a fight, but I wasn't getting any satisfaction. The monsters had marked me as untouchable.
”Archer!” Klimmett waved, hiking as fast as he could while toting a med-kit. Lanningham and Blakeney had his back, each carrying rifles. ”Bring him here.”
I settled Will on the sand to let Klimmett check out his hand. He whistled. ”Clean cut, but we need to stop the bleeding and st.i.tch this up. Let me bind it, then we'll go down to the medic tent.”
While Klimmett was busy putting together a field dressing, I scanned the dunes. The sky had faded several more degrees; now it was the color of steel. It had gotten colder, too. The sun's rays didn't seem as warm. Could he be doing this? Could the Master dim its light to the point we'd freeze to death?
”We're ready to move,” Klimmett said. ”We can take it from here, Archer.”
I nodded to Will. ”Let them fix you up. Don't rush it.”
He glared at me. ”I'll be-”
The ground s.h.i.+fted under our feet as a dome of sand rose from the dune behind us. Staying upright became a fulltime job, and Lanningham fell to a knee. A big sinkhole opened up next to him.
The dome burst open and a roach the size of a minivan crawled out. Its mandibles clicked razor-sharp and beady eyes stared me down.
”G.o.d almighty,” Blakeney said. ”Anybody got an industrial-sized can of Raid?”
No one had a chance to answer, because the bug came after us. I took quick stock of our new nightmare. Hard sh.e.l.l, tiny head, stiff bristles on its six legs. Trying to run underneath it wouldn't be an option-those bristles would slice me open. From what I could see, its only weak spot was the eyes.
It lunged straight for me, and I skittered out of its way. Think, think. Would its sh.e.l.l crack if I stabbed it?
Shots rang out and bullets clinked off the bug's armored hide to punch into the sand at my feet. ”Hold fire!”
The beetle took that moment to rush me, pincers aimed right at my head. I tucked and rolled, but it caught me and tossed me like a sack of mulch. The sand was forgiving, but I still cartwheeled through the air and crashed down hard enough to see spots. My knife flew out of my hand and slid ten feet away.
The bug scuttled over, clicking and reeking of garbage. I struggled to push myself up, but it was fast and the sliding sand, added to my dizzy head, made me slow.
As it bent to snap me in two with its mandible, a man screamed, ”No!” and a large figure dove between me and the bug.
The monster buzzed angrily and clamped down on the Lanningham's waist. Before it yanked him up, Lanningham gasped, ”Save your sister.”
Then the monster snapped his spine. I saw the light go out in his eyes before the bug dropped him down into the sinkhole. It happened so fast the whole scene had a dreamlike quality, but I knew it was very real-and that I'd lost another friend.
Fury pushed me to crawl over to my knife and stand. My legs quivered, but I couldn't let his sacrifice go unavenged. ”Tink? I need a good angle to throw the knife. Its head is too well defended by all those pincers. Think we could fly? Anything to get on top of this thing.”
No. We can't waste the energy. You need it for later.
”Screw that! I want to kill this thing!”
”Wait!” Will staggered over to me. Before I could ask what he was doing, he swiped a finger along the cut in my arm, then smeared it on the flat of his blade. ”Duck and cover!”
”What are you-?”
Will threw his knife at the monster bug. It clipped an antenna, then bounced harmlessly off.
”What's wrong with you? We needed that!” I started forward to attack, but Will caught my wrist.
”Get down!” he said. He tugged me hard with his good hand.
”But your knife-”
Will yanked me down next to him and flung his arm over our heads. Through a gap, I saw Klimmett and Blakeney drop, too.
Just in time.
The bug let out a screech to rival a banshee, then there was a pop and green guts rained down. It slimed us completely. G.o.d, the smell was worse than the sewers in Marrakech.
I coughed and sat up. ”What did you do?”
”It's your blood,” Will said, low and urgent. ”You got blood on that angel's back earlier and melted her. Your blood on my knife exploded that bug. This is how we kill all of them.”
”My blood? I did that?”
”Why do you think most of them are avoiding you? Touch one drop and they're dead,” Will said.
I stared at the bug's carca.s.s. ”Seriously? How?”
I don't know why you're surprised. Crossing worlds has all kinds of unexpected effects and your blood is stronger than he thought. Tink cackled gleefully in my head. Oh, I like this idea. We'll lay waste to the field.
And avenge our fallen. Killing all of them sounded like a good way to even things up. ”What are you thinking?”
A smile spread across Will's pale face, one that spoke of havoc and dead monsters. ”We're going to play with artillery.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven.
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