SAVE POINT 42
...Meanwhile...Loading 'Back On The Balcony'...90%
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Joy
Luck has never been enough for me in battle—only skill. Sheer determination, will-to-live and skill have gotten me through more rough patches than I care to count—more fenced-in corners and backed-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place moments...
And, yet, here I am facing one again.
Another rush.
Another all out.
As much as I hate it, I was born for this shit.
I grit my teeth as the wind picks up, as rain begins to torrent down, pelting my cheeks.
"I'm going in!" I scream.
From behind, Rainer grabs me by the back of my body armor, swinging my kicking feet off the ground, "Like hell you are—ooff—"
That was the sound of me kicking him squarely in the nuts; he won't try that again.
"I said," I lean near his face, grabbing his ear and growling into it, "I'm going in. It's our only chance, and you know it. Dorkus is taking way too long to destroy the second bridge, and Rosabella's still under..." My gaze flashes to the brunette girl hidden by shadows in the corner. Her eyes are still milky white. All this is taking too long. Shouldn't she have the creator magic by now? Shouldn't the nerd be able to take out the bridges faster? We'd watched him puncture a hole in the first; it's now crumbled into a pile of rubble in the dark valley below, but the second and third ones still stand. A few gutsy warriors have made it almost three quarters of the way over the bridge with their sprinting war cries and outstretched weapons before Rainer or I could take them out by bow.
What if they figure it out and a few of them try at once? What if they all rushed us? There's only Rainer, Dormouse and I...what if they just rushed a bridge and killed us all? ...If three or more make a run for it, one might get through, and I can't have that.
Callen's gone.
I need to protect us all.
...Our whole world.
Because I really can't go back to the other one—I'd rather die here.
But the big ole teddy-bear-hearted Rainer is proving harder to dissuade than I'd imagined. Even from his bent over, wincing position, he reaches for my arm. "Joy, you're hurt," he starts, his eyes brimming brown with worry.
I shake my head, tugging my arm free with gentle appreciation, "It's nothing, really."
Just stings like hell. My shoulder's on fire with that hand basically disabled. Whenever try to move it, the arrow rips through more flesh. I've had worse before. I can still best these assholes with once hand. I shake out my good hand in front of me, feeling the rain pelt further at my face.
"What if Dormouse finally takes out the bridge and you're one it?" Rainer shouts around the storm in a last-ditch effort.
I chew on my bottom lip. I've already considered that and am okay with the outcome. As long as the Game Maker's safe we still have a chance...
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it...literally," I joke sarcastically, reaching to wrench the heavy, wet strands of my pink-hair up into a high ponytail as the rain continues to douse my face, blurring my vision of the bulky man, but only strengthening my resolve.
I'm a warrior.
I've got this.
I sling my bow over my bad arm and draw a huge sword out of my belt with a swishing noise, narrowing my eyes as I look into the deluge and see nothing but hopelessness and blood up ahead. That's my bus. Time to go.
I take off at a brisk trot into the darkness, letting my hair whip out behind me—
"Joy!"
Rainer's voice again? I whip around; what does that guy want?! I glare at him through the sheeting rain. Even this close, his form is blurred by the storm.
"Thank you!" he yells back, his deep voice as sincere as they come. It—
It surprises me.
Causes a lump in my throat which I, instantly, shove downward.
"Don't thank me yet," I whisper under my breath and only loud enough for me to hear. I turn again and face the end of the first bridge and the dark horizon.
Here goes nothing.
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Swallowing, I break out into a gallop, my sword raised high in front of me. The firm, wood plank floor of the bridge clunks under every thud of my boots, matching my thundering heart. Each running step jostles my wounded shoulder so that I have to bite down on my lip to stop myself from crying out. The copper taste of blood fills my mouth but, worse, the stench of smoke fills my nostrils. My red health bar pops into view like a reminder to slow down, but I'm not heeding that shit.
My feet trot to the center of the bridge as my chin tilts up.
And I suddenly feel smaller than an ant.
Tiny.
On that bridge.
Looking up.
Because, over me, in the sky, I hear a roar—
See the swish of an enormous tail slice through a cloud bigger than a cruise ship.
And hear the whoosh and flap of leathery wings.
Dragons?
They have dragons?
We are so doomed.
A beast's sharp cry overhead cements my fears.
And heat washes over my frame even in this wet rain.
Fire.
I'm prepared. I've trained for shit like this. Breathless, I roll forward, out of the blaze. I hear the flames crackling and snapping behind me, consuming the bridge where I'd stood only seconds ago—and there goes my escape route...
Perfect...ly terrible.
Only way to go is forward—
"Argh!" A male cry. I feel air brush along the back of my neck, movement behind me? My instincts crack into immediate gear. I swirl around, bringing my sword up with all my strength.
Clang.
Metal hitting metal as my sword clashes with his even larger one.
I was right. The asshole had been aiming for a clean run through. Not on my watch.
I heave all my weight against the weapon, trying to slide my blade up towards his throat, but he's a big guy—your typical West Side brute: A-Z muscle mass covered in drenched furs, the remainder of the heavy camouflage they wear....and black eyes reflecting an ego as big as Texas. He grins at me, his eyes perusing my form.
"A little lady," he purrs, his teeth showing gaps I'd like to make larger for him, "Sure you can handle such a big sword?"
I grit my teeth. Can't they all come up with something else to ask me? The reoccurring question is more than insulting at this point...
"Sure you can?" I counter. Searching for every inch of determination in me, I reach up with my injured arm, grabbing the tip of his blade with the flat of my palm.
One shove of that arm—pain ripping through my shoulder—and my blade is free. I thrust the metal deep into his skull.
And the big man falls.
In shock.
To his knees.
They always do.
It would be a victory except that three more are racing towards me. I hurry to yank my sword out of the body—
Shit.
The world goes sideways.
Beside me, something explodes.
—Rock flying, rubble scratching at the skin of my cheeks.
—Men shouting.
—Dragons bellowing overhead.
The second bridge! The brainiac IS good for something! Now there's just one more...the one I'm standing on...
An arrow whizzes past my face, thudding into one of the three barbarians flying towards me, but the other two are clearly mine.
I lunge forward, meeting blades.
Metal crashes and zinging in my ears...
My arm burns from the effort.
Each thump of my heart matches the hit and cover of each strike. Dust swirls around my face, mixing with rain and smoke—
Damn these warriors!
"Ughhhh!" I thrust.
I cut.
Blood pools, running red on across the wood planks, but, when I look up, there are more coming.
Not just three this time—it is exactly what I was worried about.
The entire mob.
The entire army!
Racing towards me.
One against more than I can count.
Dragons hiss and bellow overhead.
Panic rushes through me as I swing a desperate look back at Rainer. The burly warrior is waving me back, "Fall back, Joy! Fall back! There's too many of them!"
And I have to agree.
My fingers scrabble for my weapon, closing around the handle.
As if I'm in slow motion, I scuttle towards the raging fire that was the path back. But there's no way through it, there's no—
A sonic boom vibrates the ground.
My ears ring—
An earthquake?
An—
"Dormouse, NO!" I hear Rainer scream, "Joy's still there!"
But the rumble always comes before the explosion.
The blast throws me.
My body catapults forward—
Heat—
Fire—
Rocks scraping against me—
Falling—
NO.
NO. I will live!
I grab for the rocks as I fall—
Any sort of ledge.
But my fingers come up empty...