Dark Fall

Chapter 36 - Former Home

Gravel crunched under the tires as Will pulled off the road at a secluded spot, parking the truck facing east. He wrapped an arm around Terra and they watched the sunrise paint the low clouds in bright oranges and reds. In short order, though, they both fell asleep leaning against each other.

Terra awoke later to find herself laying across the seat, her head on a rolled-up blanket. A clock showed the nap lasted just over two hours. She looked back to see Will rummaging around in the truck bed. She stepped out of the cab and stretched, arms reaching toward the sky.

Will greeted her. "Hi."

"Hi yourself."

"Want some breakfast, or I should say brunch?"

"Yeah," she answered. "But first I really need to pee."

Will pointed toward the trees. "There is a fallen log over there that might work. Go make your bladder feel gladder."

She grumbled. "You men have it so much easier in the wilderness."

Upon return, Terra found apples, flatbread with honey, and jerky laid out on a towel. They sat down together on the truck bed to eat and shared a jug of water. When finished, Terra climbed on Will's lap, straddling him. With arms around his neck, she pressed her lips to his and savored the lingering kiss, letting electric tingles flow through her core.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" Terra whispered.

"I think you may have mentioned it a few times, but I like the reminders."

She kissed him again.

After cleaning up, they took off, with Terra behind the wheel. She said, "I think we need to review the fight last night."

"It turned out well, didn't it?" Will offered.

"Yes. You disabled the Talent, but one gunman got off a shot at me before I could put him down. I blocked it easily enough, but he could have shot at you instead, or there could have been more men with guns. We need to rethink our strategy of facing a mix of Talent and armed non-Talent."

"Temporarily disabling the Talent with a Darkness cast seems reasonable enough as a first step, but those with little Talent would be unfazed. How do we handle multiple shooters?"

Terra thought for a moment. "If they are fairly close together, I can push them as a group, but the force is only effective within a relatively narrow angle. But if spread out, like last night, I have to choose which to attack first."

"Couldn't you put up a shield to block the darts, like before?"

"True. But I may not be able to protect you, and I could only stop a few shots. I can disable a gun, like we practiced, but only one at a time." Terra's expression turned grim. "Will, I need you to understand that sometimes, we will have to use deadly force. It may be kill or be killed."

He nodded. "I know which option I favor."

"It will be best if you have a gun. After you cast your Darkness, take cover and if you can, lay down some cover fire toward the gunman to your side most separated from the rest. I can launch fighting spikes at multiple targets at once and then block darts from those I may miss."

"Terra, you are vulnerable after I cast the Darkness for a few seconds until you recover."

She nodded. "I know. The Darkness should affect those with low Talent, although not nearly as much. Also, they would be confused about what to do when the Talent near them collapse. I am counting on these to delay their response enough for me to be ready."

Will shook his head. "I don't like that. Your safety is left too much to chance."

"Stealth is our ally. If I stay close such that you mask my aura, then we have the advantage of surprise, or better still, avoid the fight altogether." Terra took a deep breath. "This is important, Will. When the time comes to kill, you must not hesitate."