Page 16 of Justice
“Be fucking careful,” Oak, always my protector growled, “That rock almost hit her.”
It honestly was a pebble, but I appreciated that he was looking out for me. Not like I got to enjoy it long, though, because taking down one of the stone creatures only made the others furious. Their feet stomped harder onto the ground, shaking it so hard that we fumbled and fell, trying to keep our footing but not willing to stop our advances.
Balls of fire flew above our heads, nearly missing us as they collided with the ground. The heat so close, it almost seared our skins. The smoke rose around us, making us cough and choke. Tears poured from our eyes uncontrollably, the sting from the smoke burning its way over our skin, down our throats, and into our bodies.
“I can’t fucking see,” Sterling growled, and I reached a hand back, grabbing onto his arm and trailing my fingers downward until I found his, pulling him along with Oak and me.
He did the same for Ellis and Ellis for Ramsey. We formed a chain, each of us holding on to each other for dear life as we fought to breathe and see. None of us were willing to lose each other as the ground rocked under our feet, tossing us from side to side, making walking without stumbling nearly impossible.
The force of stone landing directly by me knocked me to my knees, and though Sterling couldn’t see even an inch in front of him, he jammed his weapon forward, landing a perfect blow, causing rocks to shatter in all directions. His chest heaved with exhaustion. “We need to get to a clearing. We can’t handle this blind.”
He was right. The next stone foot could crush any of us or all of us. There was no telling where it was or when it would strike. But, I could feel the ground move under my feet, my body vibrating with the movement, and I knew the next one was coming. Another round of fire hit the ground in front of us, and I pulled back, clinging to Oak and Sterling like my grip on them alone would protect us all.
“We have to go forward, Liberty.” Oak’s voice boomed over the growling, barely audible through the pounding of blood in my ears.
“There are monsters going forward!”
“There're monsters going backward too!” Ellis shouted from the back, his body barely missing the flames being flung at him.
Fuck, this was impossible. But I knew they were right. We couldn’t fight what we couldn’t see. If we got away from the flames and smoke, we could assess the situation better. See what was about to attack us, plan to do better than now. “What if we stick to the edge of the rock wall? That eliminates one direction!”
Oak stopped, and though I could hardly see him, I suspected he was looking at me. “Do you think we could make it under their feet and to the rock wall, Liberty?”
Did I? It was a far stretch, but what choice did we have? “I – I, I think we can.”
“Put more confidence in it; a lot of lives depend on it. Trust your instincts. What does your gut say?” he instructed, and I knew what he was doing. He would follow me regardless, but if I was going to lead anyone, which honestly, I was still doubting, I couldn’t double guess myself. I couldn’t just think. I needed to know.
“We can make it,” I told him. “But we need to do it now while they haven’t formed a solid line at our sides.”
“Do you think that will trap us?” Sterling asked as he squeezed my hand, letting me know he wasn’t doubting me, just trying to be sure.
“We could go three ways. As long as we move fast. If we let them get too close, then it could be risky and possibly fatal,” I explained, already tugging Sterling in the direction.
“Possibly fatal? Well, by all means, lead the way,” I heard Ramsey echo.
The act of actually getting to the wall wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Oak and Sterling took down three giant rock monsters while I stalled one long enough for one of the boys to help me. The wall was cold against my fingers when I finally ran into it, the feeling of safety and shelter overwhelming me.
When all our fingers touched the wall, the rock monsters pulled back, though fire was still being flung in every direction. It was baffling, but I suspect that was the point. If their sheer size prevented them from reaching us at our current location, then confusing us with their intent and threats was a brilliant move.
In front of us, there was a harsh growl as the wall morphed under our fingers, turning into tiny caterpillar-type bugs that nipped at our fingertips. Sterling groaned as his body jerked away, keeping his touch away from the wall. “For fuck’s sake, enough with the damn bugs!”
“Anything, in particular, you would like to request? I’m sure they are taking suggestions,” Ellis mocked.
“I plan on feeding you to the beasts first,” Sterling replied.
I sighed audibly. “You’ll do no such thing. Can you get along for once? It’s like I’m lugging around children.”
That was harsh, I know. But being around these boys and their immaturities sometimes was a bit too much. I needed a break when this was over. Maybe some girl time. A mani and pedi. Too much masculinity was beginning to fuck with me.
Sterling raised our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. “I’m your favorite child, right?”
One of the disgusting caterpillars reached for me, and I jumped back with a squeal. “I like all my children equally. Do you realize all the grime that’s on that hand you kissed?”
“I prefer not to think about it,” he mumbled as he dodged the bug reaching his direction.
Despite the biting bugs on the wall, taking this route was a wise choice. The stone creatures only went in one direction, forward. This meant once we passed their legs, they never tried to search us out. The fire-throwing monsters, well – those were still a threat. They were just throwing fire in all directions because they couldn’t see us, so we just had to move farther away.
We had just put enough distance between us that the air had finally cleared when the growls we had been hearing echoed louder. I didn’t see any monsters or beasts, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there and ready to attack. My eyes strained to look over the horizon, searching for the next threat as we followed the curve of the wall. Taking the twists and turns in stride until Oak stopped, causing us all to crash into him.