The thought of Allie never left his mind, but he was overjoyed with his recent discoveries. The rest of the group was probably worried sick about him and Allie, but he needed to explore further before heading back.
Following the creek, Dane's gaze never left the giant statue that was in front of him. The massive head, losing a battle against the elements, had fallen from its frame and became lodged in the ground, sinking even further with time and decay. Despite being broken and succumbing to nature, he recognized it immediately as Bonky — the mascot from the famous Unity World theme park.
The park had been long since abandoned nearly a hundred years prior and nature had taken residency. Trees uprooted the pavement, grass and moss spread like a virus, and rust had eaten away at the exposed metal. The park was in a serious state of disrepair; however, it would provide shelter and potentially other lifesaving resources. Having it so close to a water source was an added bonus.
As he walked closer, he caught movement from the park and figured it was Allie, but in case it wasn't, he wanted to proceed with caution.
Approaching a large sign that once stood as the theme park's grand entrance, Dane hid behind the metal structure. He poked his head out to assess the situation. He didn't see or hear anyone. After a tortuous minute lying in wait, he anxiously left his position and ran toward a collapsed booth, assuming a crouched position once again to remain out of sight.
Maintaining a low profile, Dane darted from one spot to the next, zig-zagging his way through the park until he heard a commotion.
He positioned himself behind one of the abandoned rides and was able to get a good view of the situation. From his vantage point, he saw Allie talking to someone. Intrigued, Dane watched on with a keen interest.
Just then, the man shouted a command at her and Allie released what appeared to be a gun, allowing it to fall to the ground and become lost in the tall grass. The man then struck Allie, causing her to stumble backward. Then five more men emerged, all brandishing weapons. Allie was in serious danger, but Dane knew he wouldn't be much help. He was an artist and shied away from combat any chance he got, but he had to do something.
Taking inventory of his options, he could fight or flee. Since all he had was a small foldable pocket knife, he didn't foresee fighting as a viable choice. If he were to run back to camp, Allie would surely die before backup could arrive. Even still, his squad was unarmed and therefore wouldn't offer much protection. In all likelihood, they would all succumb to the same fate.
He thought it would be best to lay low and see how the situation plays out, and hope an opportunity or an idea would present itself.
From where Dane was, he couldn't quite hear what the man was saying to Allie. He needed to get a little closer. He emerged from his spot and shuffled behind another large object, then another. The closer he became, he could see that the man was badly beaten, undoubtedly at the hands of Allie. Dane made one more move until he had positioned himself within earshot of the conversation. From what he could gather, the men were upset with Allie for killing their friend. The man standing in front of Allie held a gun and aimed it at her head.
Despite being surrounded by six men with weapons, Allie didn't seem the least bit fazed. With her hair tied back, she looked ready for war. She cracked her neck and stood defiantly in front of her opponents with a look of disdain.
Dane desperately wanted to help, but was still unsure how exactly to do that. Feeling his pockets once again, he found something else that may be of use. He removed the smooth rock that he had picked up earlier and held it firmly. He had an idea.
Peeking over a barrier, Dane threw the rock as hard as he could toward a large metal sign. The clang of the rock hitting the sign caused everyone to look.
In that instance, Allie's lighting fast reflexes sprang into action. She used a Krav Maga technique to remove the gun from the man's hand, point it at him, and fire off a round in his chest at point-blank range. The bullet blasted a hole straight through him, sending his lifeless body crashing to the ground with a thud.
She immediately took aim on the rest of the group and let off several rounds. The men scattered in every direction. Two of them were shot, but not fatally. Conserving ammo, Allie walked confidently like a hunter stalking its prey.
"Come on, you cowards!" she yelled. "Not so tough now!"
Before she could get off another round, one of the men charged forward from behind a scrap heap and tackled her to the ground. The gun she was holding became dislodged from her grip.
This was Dane's moment to act. Without hesitation, he came charging out from his hiding spot with a fury. With his mouth agape like a lion attacking a group of wildebeests, he jumped on one of the attackers and shoved the four-inch blade into the his ribs. The man had no idea what hit him.
The attack slowed the guy down, but did not stop him completely. There was a scramble and Dane was now in his first fight. Waving the bloody knife, Dane was hoping his opponent would surrender and concede defeat, but the man was determined.
In his heightened state of emotion, Dane was feeling braver than usual. He charged at the man and shoved the knife blade into his stomach repeatedly. The whole time, Dane was screaming like a savage warrior. The man fell over and began choking on his own blood. Dane focused his attention onto his next target.
With the gun no longer a threat, the men who had initially run away had since returned to fight. It was now Allie and Dane against four angry men.
"Dane, what are you doing here?" Allie asked.
"What do you mean? I'm saving you."
The four men surrounded Dane and Allie and began taunting them. As two of their friends lay dead in front of them, they had even more reason to enact revenge.
As skilled a fighter as Allie was, her energy was not where it needed to be to take on such adversaries. She had no idea where the gun went, but thought that may be a good thing. That meant the men didn't know where it was either. She wanted to take Dane's knife from him, but that would leave him completely defenseless.
The four men circled like vultures, each of them carrying deadly weapons. One of them had a baseball bat, another had a long chain, which he swung around as an act of intimidation. The other two men's weapons were even more deadly. One had a large machete and the last one held two large knives.
"So what's the plan?" Dane uttered quietly.
"Stick together. Conserve your energy. Maintain your distance. Defense before offense. And always watch your back."
"That's a lot to remember," Dane complained.
"Fine. Don't die. Is that simple enough for you?"
Dane was a master with his words and figured that was his best line of defense. "Gentlemen, let's make a deal, shall we? Our friends are on their way and they all have guns. Leave now and no one else has to die. Deal?"
"You're lying. Nobody else is coming," one of them said.
"Okay, look. I have a confession to make. I don't actually like killing, but I will if I have to. All of you have witnessed that. But I would rather not, you know? So how about we all just put down our weapons and walk away?"
All of the men gritted their teeth, snarled, and shook their heads. "It's too late for words or deals. The only thing left is for us to kill you and eat you."
"Oh, so you're cannibals? Okay, cool. Good to know. I guess that makes this a little easier then," Dane said, pulling out the gun from the back of his jeans. "You can't say I didn't warn you. I gave you all the option to walk away. You should have taken that deal when you had the chance. Toss your weapons over the fence... now!"
The men looked at each other and then begrudgingly obliged. They hurled their weapons over a large gate and into some tall weeds.
"Good. Now, who wants to die first?" Dane asked, sounding as though he had done this before. On the inside, he was terrified, but he had a good way of not showing his fear.
Choosing someone at random, Dane aimed his weapon, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger. The gun went off and kicked back, nearly falling out of his hand. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see four men still standing. He had missed.
Feeling embarrassed, Dane took aim once again, this time with his eyes open, and squeezed the trigger. Something even more embarrassing happened — the gun didn't fire. It was empty.
Click.
Click.
Click.
"What the hell?" Dane said, trying again multiple times.
Click.
Click.
Click.
"Looks like we're feasting tonight after all, boys," one of the men said, licking his lips with a sinister grin.
"Allie... what do we do now?"
"Run."