Page 57 of When Monsters Rise
“Fuck,”Sarqgrits out as all four beasts turn their heads to zero in on us.
Chapter27
RUE
Theair was charged with danger.Theroad an arena of death and destruction.Wecouldn’t stay on it any longer.
“Getoff the road!”Iushered the nearest people down the incline that led to the ominous woodland beyond.
“Backup!Everyoneback up now!”Bastianordered.
Iskidded to a halt by the incline, dropping low to make myself small.
Themonsters were twice the size of a watcher, and their front legs also doubled as arms, allowing them to rear up to grab at their quarry.
Mybody itched to jump into the fray and help, butI’dbe nothing but a hindrance, a distraction, cannon fodder in a fight that required the kind of raw powerIdidn’t have.
Itwas strength, and claws, and talons.
WherewasShem?
There!
Hegrappled with a huge beast solo, his hands on the hammer-like protrusions of its head.Thebeast was strong, forcingShemback across the ground in a slide that would have skinned the soles of his feet if he hadn’t had thick leathery soles.
Mypulse beat hard in my throat, blood rushing in my head.Comeon,Shem.Comeon…
Ina sudden move,Shemlet go of the beast’s head, spinning away then back to shoulder-slam its torso and shove it across the cement.Themonster lost its balance and hit the ground on its side like the bus.Shemattacked its soft underbelly, bellowing for an assist that brought two more watchers to his side.
Thecloying scent of blood filled the air.
Onedown, three to go.
Baraqeland his team succeeded in toppling a second beast, and once again they tore out its insides, and now that they had a system, it was all claws on deck.
Zaqzoomed back and forth to confuse the beasts, providing the distraction that the others needed to pin them and take them down.
Thesefuckers were big, but they weren’t smart, and their bulk also meant that once they were on their side, it was difficult for them to get back to their feet.
“Yes!”Bastiangrabbed my hand and squeezed. “They’vegot this.Onemore left.”
Hopeand triumph bloomed between us.Bastianshifted from side to side with nervous energy that would usually be expended on the battlefield.Buttoday he was a bystander like me.Unableto assist in the fight.
Butwe weren’t helpless or useless by any means.
Iturned to check on my people huddled on the edge of the woods, and a strange shudder rippled over my skin.
Ishook it off. “Weshould scout the woods while they finish off the monsters.”
Bastiannodded. “Goodcall.”We’dbarely made it down the hill on the side of the road when the eerie squawk of razor beaks echoed in the air above us.
Mystomach shot up into my chest as my gaze whipped up to the sky.Thehuge predatory birds appeared above us, coming seemingly out of thin air just like the armored creatures.
Darkmist clung to their vast prehistoric wings, entering our atmosphere in thick streams before spreading out to create a misty layer of gloom between us and the sun.
Thiscouldn’t be happening.
Itwas daytime.
