The Wastelands

Chapter 43

Blue sped through the air, narrowly evading death numerous times. She took out one more, then another, unfazed at the sound of their dying breaths. She pulled the trigger of her small gun at the sixth man but came up empty. Only the chilling sound of the trigger clicking blankly broke the air. She tossed the gun aside like garbage and smiled with the axe tight in her grip.

It's time to play, monster. I know you're ready.

The man known as Paul, rushed at her with his arms outstretched for her throat. He ran out of ammo as well and wanted the joy of taking her down with his bare hands. The others in his group took notice and stopped firing to give the guy a chance.

She let him get close, luring him nearer with her devilish grin. At the perfect moment, she swung her axe around and chopped his right hand clean off. He screamed in pain as his hand landed somewhere on the road. She jumped in the air and spun around, landing a swift kick to the side of his jaw. When she came down, she planted the axe at the base of his neck, bringing an end to his annoying scream.

Five to go.

Four of them blocked her view of the man in charge. Harkin stood by a dark truck with Casey inches from his grasp. She stole a quick glance, feeling her heart beating calmer as their eyes met. That quick stare told the boy to stay calm and he nodded, waiting to see what she could do.

Harkin happened to catch her eyeing the boy and took it upon himself to torture her. He grabbed Casey's arm, pulling him closer before he had the chance to get away. Casey swung his fist in the air, connecting with the man's face, only angering Harkin even more. He hit him with the gun again, then wrapped his arm around his throat and pressed the barrel against his head and dragged him away from the truck.

"Come get him, darling." Harkin spat, strangling Casey against him.

Redness clogged her vision at the mention of that name and she didn't recognize the scream emanating from her throat. She ran at the men standing in her way and hacked at the first one. He never got the chance to raise his gun before she sliced his stomach open. His innards spilled onto the ground as his body twitched with his last remaining breaths. He bled out in minutes, groaning in agonizing horror.

The next one shot off a round and the bullet grazed her arm. The small wound healed quickly, catching him off guard. His eyes grew wide and the gun slipped from his fingers. She chopped down on top of his head, enjoying the earsplitting sound of his skull cracking.

Two were all that blocked her path.

She spun around at the first one and sliced at his chest. He arched his back to avoid taking the grunt of the chop, but she managed to cut a deep gash across his right shoulder. He hollered in pain and raised the gun up quickly. He fired off two rounds just as she let the axe slip through her fingers. It soared into his heart and he stammered backwards three paces, then dropped.

She recognized the pain erupting in her abdomen and another shot just below her collar bone. Both bullets lodged themselves inside her body, burning the very blood in her veins. Her hands trembled and her face contorted with a pain-filled rage. She tried using the pain to move forward but each step forced the agony to radiate through her.

Don't stop. Keep moving. Her monster's voice rose in the back of her mind.

Her feet managed to take two steps closer to the target and she took a deep breath. A strong hand gripped her left arm as the last man standing captured the prize. He pulled her closer and her inner torment rose.

"Blue!" Frank's voice rose above the chaos in her mind.

She caught his gaze just as Harkin shot in his direction. The bullet ricocheted off the tail end of the truck and Frank got out of the way just in time.