Page 57 of North

I dropped and rolled under it. The tail slammed into the car with a crunch of metal.

That tail was powerful. One hit, and I’d be a mess of broken bones.

I jumped onto one of the cars, firing down at the pair of monsters. Snarls and growls filled the air. I yanked a grenade off my belt, then tossed it as I leaped off the car.

Boom.

I looked over my shoulder. One monster was down, moving weakly.

The other swiveled and ran straight at me.

Shit.

There was another car in front of me. A van. Its side door was open.

I dove inside, and scrambled through the back of the vehicle.

Bang.

The monster hit the van like a bomb blast and the side crumpled in. I slid out the back door.

The monster rounded the van and roared at me.

I yanked my knife out of the sheath on my thigh, and jammed it into the monster’s eye. It howled.

Where was Jess?Dodging the snarling creature while it was preoccupied, I sprinted into the street. I spotted her, still firing on her monster.

I ran over, then heard noises behind me. In the distance, my creature was shaking its head, my knife still stuck in its eye.

I reached Jess and we pressed our backs together.

“One down,” I told her. “And one very unhappy.”

“Their skin is too hard,” she fired again. “But their underbelly is soft.”

Great. I didn’t really want to get under one of these.

“Distract my monster,” she said.

Right. I ran to the side, and waved my arms. Jess’ monster turned to face me, its red eyes locking on me.

That’s it. I had no idea what she was planning, but I trusted her.

The monster stalked toward me, its powerful body creeping closer. I raised my carbine and opened fire. Laser hit the armor plating with no effect. It still kept coming.

I backed up.

A snarl came from behind me and I looked over my shoulder. My monster was perched on a car, watching me with a hungry gaze from its uninjured eye.

My heart kicked. “Whatever you have planned, Jess, now’s the time.”

The first monster leaped into the air at me.

At that moment, Jess sprinted in from the side, sliding feet first on the ground like a baseball player into home base.

She fired up at the monster.

I had a clear view of the softer, yellow underbelly. The laser fire ripped into it.

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