Moonlit Retribution

Chapter Seven

So, I'm just beginning to realize how confusing this story must be to you guys.  All I can say is that everything will be clarified in future chapters.  And now back to your not-so regularly scheduled program:

After hours of trudging along, the meadow gradually becomes thinner, but the trees to our left--my direct left--are still thick and will remain that way. The closer we get to the compound, the thicker they’ll get, and they’ll completely surround us at that point.

Unbidden, my gaze lingers on the ominous darkness of the forest. Beyond the first tangled limbs, it’s impossible to see anything. The canopy completely blocks the weak light of the dreary afternoon, making the endless sea of trees seem more foreboding than usual, and the creaking of the branches in the moaning wind raises the hairs on the back of my neck. It’s like every dead leaf stubbornly clinging to the dying twigs is now a cold, calculating eye that can see directly into my mind, past whatever defenses I’ve managed to build up.

I shudder and pick up the pace.

Something flickers beyond the trees and it takes every ounce of my self-control to keep from twisting around to face it and risk further harming Ríjez. He must feel me tense up or something because he stops, forcing me to do so as well, and faces the tree line.

The silence is suffocating and is only chased away by the occasional gust of wind, the creak of a branch, the anxious, barely-controlled panting that sounds like thunder in my ears. The leaves fall quiet and motionless, as if the scene has been frozen in time. No movement. No sound except the wild pulse slamming in my temples.

Somehow, this stillness is more terrifying than an outright attack.

After a few more moments of silence, Ríjez turns us back on track to hobble along once again. I write the flicker off as my lack of quality vision. The logical deduction sets my nerves at ease for a while.

Flicker. A quick displacement of shadow in more shadows. But I see it, really see it, and this time I wrench from Ríjez’s grasp and spin towards the woods, a scowl on my face. And then I do what I’ve always shouted at brainless bimbos in the movies for.

“Who’s there?” I call, and the irritation I feel gives me a solid, don’t-mess-with-me sound to my voice. I can’t even feel giddy that my voice is getting better.

The forest is no longer still. Twisting limbs are slashing against one another, leaves are dropping faster than bricks, and the wind is howling. Then everything goes silent.

I swear I live in a B movie.

“What the hell?” Ríjez mutters at my side. His grip tightens around my shoulders; he’s preparing to run for it.

Well, I’m not.

I twist out of his grasp, ignoring his command to get back to him, and stalk towards the trees. This sudden burst of anger is making me brave--or maybe just really stupid--and right now I don’t care if Godzilla is hiding out in these woods. Someone’s messing with us and they’re in for an ass-kicking.

The gun in my pocket is calling my name. I grip it, flick off the safety as the woods become steadily closer. Ten yards. Five. Ten feet. Five feet.

I’m right at the edge of the woods when a flying bundle of stealthy girl hits me square in the chest, knocking me down and crushing the air out of my lungs so that I don’t have anything to create a shout from. I think I hear Ríjez shout in the background, but I’m too busy keeping my face out of this girl’s reach. Clambering on top of me, she wrenches the gun from my hands and tosses it into the woods, then turns to me, baring her glinting, pearly white teeth.  Stunned, I can’t think of anything else to do but punch her in the jaw--wincing as my bad form results in pain in my knuckles. It has little effect, and she barely even winces. Her hands fly out and clamp mine to the ground as she digs her left knee above my right one, making me growl in pain.

Fuck this, man!

My temper erupts to the surface of my mind, boiling my blood, heating my skin, blanking my brain of conscious thought.

Baring my own teeth in a snarl, I twist beneath the girl and buck her off, tossing her a good two yards away.

Huh. That’s new.

Hissing in an animalistic manner, she daintily lands on the balls of her feet in a crouch as I right myself and stumble up. Ignoring the pain in my leg, I launch myself at the girl in a full tackle. She obviously isn’t expecting this reaction from me, and her stance turns defensive as I crash into her, knocking us both to the ground. Growling, snapping her teeth, she kicks me off with a boot to my stomach, making my ribs scream out in pain, then a swift left hook to my jaw makes me tumble off of her.

I gasp, gulping in air from the kick and feel my jaw click back into place. She barrels back into me before I can right myself, but I use the momentum of her move to twist and roll us and plant her on her back with me on top. She tries to buck me off, but my knees pin hers, and I have her arms pinned to the dirt. I raise my fist to deliver a powerful punch when Ríjez plows into me, knocking me off of the girl and closer to the woods.

“Idiot! Look out!” I shout as well as I can in my current condition, shaking my head to clear it of the fuzziness. He doesn’t spare me even a glance, instead keeping his gaze firmly placed on the girl before us. The panting chick makes no effort to attack him, of course, which sends another burst of fury through me.

Always me. Always!

I try to take a deep breath to calm myself, but, oh yeah, the bitch had kicked me right in the ribs. And she tore my stitches!

Ríjez wisely keeps himself situated between us. Alright, fine. I can be calm. I can be civil.

“Who the hell are you?” I bark croakily, wiping the blood off my split lip and shoulder. And that’s about as civil as I’m ever going to be after you try to beat the crap out of me. Ríjez doesn’t bother to chastise me for my language, which tells me that he’s either just as curious or just as infuriated. Probably a little of both. He’s just better at hiding it. Though he’s not better at hiding the fingering of his gun.

Sighing, I look over his shoulder and take my first good look at my assailant. About my height, straight, light gold hair, pale-as-vanilla skin, and coal-black eyes make an odd mix on her delicate, bruised and smudged face.  But her clothes make it even odder. She’s clad in tattered, light brown clothing that looks suspiciously like deer skin. Since I’ve never seen any deer in the area, I assume she’s either had this ensemble for as long as the epidemic has affected us, or she’s not originally from this area.

“What my companion meant to say is, could you possibly tell us who you are, miss?” Ríjez says sternly, making me roll my eyes. Always so freaking proper.

Apparently his manners are lost on the girl because she just keeps staring at us coldly, silently, her eyes like those of a snake’s: both empty and scrutinizing. Again, my hair stands on end as my skin tingles like I’ve just run my nails over an electric fence.

Not human.

As I think this totally random notion, the girl snaps her hard gaze to mine. I choke on my heart as the black of her irises slowly envelopes the entirety of her eyes, turning them a solid, gleaming black that bores with dispassionate malice into my soul.

I shake my head to clear it. That dream really must have spooked me if it’s still lingering. I’ve never had issues with hallucinations like this before.

Only, I guess this isn’t one of those hallucinations because in the next instant, Ríjez sucks in a breath, levels his 12 gauge at the girl’s head, and pulls the trigger.