Page 89 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck

I took hold of the butcher knife that was near the cake and twisted around fast, slashing at the robed man.

He narrowly missed getting his chest slashed open.

“Arch! Is Demi okay?” Worry for my daughter held me in its grip as I faced off against the robed man.

Crashing noises came from the garage, followed by Demi screaming again.

I went at the man, doing as Arch had taught me to. This time, the knife connected, going to the hilt into his stomach. Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop him. It was as if he didn’t even feel a six-inch blade rammed into his gut.

He backhanded me, and I struck the sliding glass door, bouncing off it and hitting a kitchen cabinet before falling to the floor.

It hurt like hell, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I swept his legs out from under him. He went down as I came up. As I got to my feet, monsters like the ones Henry had made came crashing through the sliding glass door. They stepped over the robed guy like he wasn’t there as they came barreling at me.

I grabbed my phone and rushed out into the garage.

The SUV was pulled out onto the gravel driveway. Its lights were on, and the driver’s side door was standing wide open. Blood was smeared on the window of the door.

My heart nearly stopped as thoughts of the blood being Demi’s filled my head.

“Mom!” she yelled from the front yard.

I ran out to find her tucked behind Arch as he swung a sword that wasn’t his. At least, I didn’t think it was his. He tended to prefer an iron pick and iron sword to anything else. This sword looked to be steel.

When I glanced to the side, I saw the body of a robed man lying on the gravel near the open door of the vehicle. It was missing a head, which accounted for the blood.

“Rachael!”

I glanced at my hand, realizing the phone was still connected to Robin. I lifted it to tell him what was happening, that we were under attack, when stitched-together monsters came swarming in from all angles. Robed men were mixed in with them. Some of them had steel swords, just like the one Arch was wielding.

I took a step forward, my intent to run toward my daughter to help protect her, even though Arch looked to be having the time of his life beheading things. White-hot pain lanced my chest, and I found I couldn’t move forward.

Looking down, I saw the end of a sword sticking out of my chest as red blossomed on the light-yellow blouse I was wearing. My brain didn’t want to process what that meant. That someone had run me through with a sword. All my brain could do was focus on my daughter and trying to get to her.

I fell to my knees, still gripping the phone.

Demi glanced my way, and her face said it all. She let out a bloodcurdling scream and tried to run for me.

Arch thankfully caught her with one arm and jerked her behind him as he continued keeping the enemy from getting to her.

I locked gazes with him, and he nodded, understanding my unspoken plea.

Protect my daughter at all costs.

I fell forward, sliding down the sword as I did. I lay on the gravel drive, staring at my hand, the phone not far from it.

One second the phone was just out of reach, still connected to Robin, and the next, it was radiating a blinding white light. A light so bright I had to close my eyes. When it cleared, I saw designer dress shoes and tailored suit pants.

Since none of the monsters had been wearing Armani, I was confused.

As my eyelids grew heavier, someone said my name, sounding close to my ear. They also sounded a lot like Robin.

“Hang on, Rachael,” he said. “You’re not allowed to die on me. Your daughter and your niece need you.”

“R-Robin?” I managed before I lost my battle with staying awake and alert.

I’m not sure how long I was out for, but when I opened my eyes again it was to find myself in the back of the SUV. I was lying flat, and someone was bent over me, hugging me while they sobbed.

“Demi?” I asked, my voice sounding weak even to me.

---