Chapter 22
An expression of uncertainty crossed Pelton's face, another emotion he rarely expressed
Nara stayed perfectly still beneath Wendy.
“Hold on,” Pelton said. He put his hands up. “There are ten of us and only one of you.”
He was stalling.
“Let them loose,” Wendy said, indicating her friends with a jerk of her chin.
“Okay,” Pelton said. He gestured to one of his men, who moved toward Arie.
Wendy knew the look in his eyes. “If you hurt her, this woman dies.”
The man stopped and gave Pelton a questioning glance.
Before Pelton could answer, a bullet whizzed through the air, hitting the man in the chest. He crumpled.
A booming voice sounded. “No one moves.”
Riggs.
Wendy never thought she'd be so happy to hear his voice.
Of course after what she’d done, he might shoot her too.
“Hold them off,” Nara said to her cohorts. Wendy didn't get a chance to move before Nara twisted under her. The woman took a long slice to her cheek as she got her hands up and shoved Wendy away.
With her hands tied, and her ears still ringing from being boxed, Wendy couldn't keep her balance. She had to catch herself before she face-planted.
Nara got to her feet and ran toward the fire. She said one thing to Pelton. “Get the map out.” To the others she said, “Hold the line.”
Like a well-oiled machine, Pelton and his people dove for cover as the shooting started in earnest.
Wendy rolled over the man Riggs had shot and stole his gun.
“Wendy!” Cal yelled. “Pelton is getting away.”
Wendy took in the scene. Nara and the rest had moved behind a line of rocks Wendy hadn't even realized was a defensive barrier. They shot at Riggs, but only a few people shot back. Her eyes drifted back to Kev and the others. Because he didn't want to hit them.
Pelton ran through her friends and into the forest.
She had to get her hands free. Wendy squatted down and began to cut at the bindings on her wrists. They were, as she had suspected, plastic, and not terribly susceptible to a knife. But it was all she had, so she sawed away.
The process was excruciatingly slow, and the odd angle she had to cut from caused her to drop the blade once. She reached down to retrieve it, and a wave of heat exploded and rushed up behind her.
Her friends cried out. A wall of fire ten feet high blazed between her and the rest of the fight.
They really were willing to sacrifice everything to get Pelton and the map out.
Wendy gritted her teeth and finished with the bindings. They were so tight she cut up her arms as well, but right now it didn't matter. Pelton was not going to get away.
As soon as her hands were free, Wendy gripped her knife in one hand, and the gun in the other. She had to get Pelton. A quick sprint took her through her friends and on the trail Pelton had used.
A shot rang out, and bark exploded right next to her ear. A dozen pieces embedded themselves into her arm as she covered her face. One of Pelton's men was guarding his retreat.
She stuck her head out once, and just after another shot rang through the air, she bolted.
Small geysers of dirt erupted at her feet, and more bark flew off of trees as shots continued to fire. Wendy leaped over a large rock to find another of Pelton’s men there, waiting to ambush her.
Wendy's dad had always said life was precious and should be preserved as much as possible.
But he also said that when your life was threatened, you should defend yourself.
Wendy brought the gun up and shot the man in the chest. He fell back and hit the ground with a thump.
The cracking of twigs behind her told her someone else was after her too. Wendy kept going.
The green of Pelton's vest darted between the trees ahead.
Wendy followed.
When Pelton finally stopped, Wendy ran to catch him.
He heard her coming and glanced up. The normally jovial look in his eyes had been replaced by cold anger.
Wendy knew exactly how he felt. She stopped ten feet from him and brought the gun up. “Don't move.”
Pelton met her eyes. Her floating boots sat at his feet. “You would have been a great addition to our group.”
The sincerity of his words frightened Wendy. He meant it. Whoever this Primate was, he had Pelton wrapped around his finger. Brainwashed. Something horrible. Because this was not the man that Wendy had come to admire so much. That man, it seemed, was gone.
“Give me the map,” Wendy said.
Pelton laughed. “Not a chance.”
The pursuer finally came through the trees. Clayton—now bloodied and somewhat unsteady—attacked Wendy from behind. She kicked his gun out of his hand, but he grabbed for hers and sent it flying.
Clayton tried to entangle her and take her to the ground. She punched him in the throat, which hardly seemed to faze him.
How did these people have such a high tolerance for pain?
Clayton growled and pulled a knife from a sheath.
Wendy side-stepped and pushed him off balance. Clayton compensated, and came for her again.
The straightforward charge showed Wendy he lacked any sort of creativity, but it was also keeping Wendy busy. So Pelton could get away.
Tired of the game, Wendy put her hands up, leaving her stomach exposed. Clayton tried to impale her. Wendy waited until the last possible moment before she stepped away, knocked his knife hand down with two blocks, and then kicked him in the side of the knee. Even with her slight weight, the force of her blow sent his kneecap into the ground with a crack that echoed through the trees. Before he could do anything but howl, Wendy grabbed his head and slammed her knee into his face. He slumped to the ground.
Pelton was gone.
Wendy took Clayton's knife, and chased after Pelton. It was only then she remembered she had no shoes on, and her socks were now coated in blood from running through the forest. Each step hurt, and her damaged equilibrium caused her to stumble.
Pelton fled down into a ravine and up the other side. Wendy slowed enough to make sure he wasn't going to shoot her. Wendy's ragged breathing filled her ears, and she knew her body was close to finished.
The smell of blood sent a quick flash of the crate in the tunnels through her mind, and she shivered.
Pelton would pay.
Wendy followed Pelton's course, keeping close to the ground and peered through the trees.
Pelton was nowhere to be seen.
Which meant he was behind her.
Wendy darted through the bushes and came out on the other side, weapons ready.
But Pelton didn't come from behind, he came from the side. Wendy dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding one bullet as another grazed her shoulder.
A cry of pain escaped her lips. She'd never been shot before. It felt like someone was running a hot poker along her shoulder, searing the muscles and boiling her blood.
“I should have known you would be too stubborn to see the truth,” he said.
Wendy gritted her teeth and got to her feet, grabbing some dirt on the way up. It was the oldest trick in the book, but she’d never used it against him before so he wouldn’t be expecting it. She flung the dirt in his face.
Pelton growled and threw his hand up to clear the dust from his eyes. This gave Wendy just enough time to close the distance between them and knock the gun out of his hand. She tried to grab it, but her muscles still twitched from the pain in her shoulder, and the gun flew through the air and landed ten feet away.
Pelton jumped back. “You've learned a few new tricks.” Pride filled his voice.
Fighting with Pelton had always been fun. He was better than she was, but he only ever had to show her something once. After that she would not only remember it, but use it against him. She'd overheard him telling her dad that she was always pushing him, always forcing him to learn more.
But he
was still the better fighter.
She was faster—she had to be because of her size—but he knew more, had more experience. He also knew all her moves. After all, he had taught her almost everything.
This didn't stop her from attacking him.
He managed to pull a knife out of his belt and got it up to block just before Wendy's knife neared his throat.
Wendy punched low, forcing Pelton to jump back. He countered with a slash at her face as he kicked at her knee.
They'd been through this same dance a thousand times. Never once in those sessions had Wendy thought she would have to use all he had taught her against him.
This was her worst nightmare come true.
Pelton used his size to push Wendy back. She dodged to the side and got a kick to the ribs for her efforts.
She grunted and spun in an attempt to get around Pelton.
He saw it coming and cut her off.
They both stepped back, breathing hard. They'd exchanged punches, kicks and a few slashes. Both had taken at least a few hits.
Wendy remembered the one thing Pelton wasn't good at—talking and fighting at the same time. Kenzie had driven him crazy with her incessant chattering.
“Give me the map and I'll let you go,” Wendy said. She slashed at his face then went for his neck.
Pelton jumped back. “That look in your eye says otherwise.”
“You know I'll keep my word.”
“Forgive me if I don't trust you.” He came at her with a combination kick, which she dodged—taking the opportunity to elbow him in the shin.
“How long have you been with the Primate?” Wendy asked. She tried another slash, but Pelton grabbed her knife hand and hit the outside of it with his knuckles. The knife flew from her fingers, and Wendy backpedaled.
“Since your mom got sick.” He believed the words would hurt her. He didn't know Wendy's emotions were already so raw, another poke didn’t even register.
“How long were you planning the attack?”
“Ever since your dad proved he would never be a believer.”
Wendy had to dodge Pelton's knife, but after a few strokes, he let his guard down and she grabbed his hand and twisted until the blade fell to the ground.
Yelling sounded from behind them. Maybe Riggs was breaking through.
Pelton would run. She had to get the map from him before that happened.
Wendy changed her stance, giving Pelton an opening he couldn’t resist. He overpowered her with a punch combination, grabbed her shoulder, twisted, and caught her in a choke hold.
The hold Wendy had never been able to figure out how to escape. She punched with one arm and squirmed. With the other arm, she searched for the map.
If she found it, she could get out of the hold. She’d have to break her own arm, but it would be worth it.
“Before I kill you, I think you should see this.” Pelton turned her back toward the camp. “Your friends will be Skinny food in just a minute.”
It took Wendy a few seconds to find them. When she did, her stomach turned to stone.
Arie, Cal and Kev were still dangling from the trees. A few dozen yards away the four Skinnies were making their way toward her friends.
Wendy's heart somehow found a way to speed up.
“Let's watch, shall we?”
Wendy continued to flail. Finally, her fingers brushed a flat, hard spot in the small of Pelton's back.
The map.
Then came a flash, but not of the tunnels. Of Yan. In the combat rooms. And the hold Pelton had her in right now.
She twisted and shoved her hand through the tiny hole it made in Pelton's grip. Yan had hit his attacker in the stomach, Wendy aimed a little lower.
Pelton's grip gave just enough for Wendy to get her arm all the way up. Her fingers drove toward his eye.
No one wanted to lose an eye. Pelton pushed her away from him, giving her enough time to wiggle free. She dropped to the ground, grabbed her knife and slashed up at Pelton's head.
He moved, but not far enough. Her blade bit into his ear, nearly cutting it off.
Pelton howled.
Wendy jumped forward and slipped her hand into the back waistband of his pants, grabbing for the map.
Surprise instantly replaced the pain in Pelton's eyes as he brought one hand down and grasped the map.
Somehow the two of them managed to get hold of opposite corners. The map unfolded into a square the width of Wendy's arm span. Smaller papers flew everywhere while Pelton tried to yank it free, and Wendy held on. They both went down as the map tore roughly in half.
A scream filled the air.
Arie.
The now familiar roar filled Wendy's ears. Darkness from the tunnels closed Wendy’s vision. A Skinny grabbed one of the kids and bit into his shoulder. Wendy had thrown her other knife and hit the Skinny in the eye—the only time that move had ever worked for her. The Skinny had dropped the boy, but before he got the knife out of his skull, Wendy had sprung forward and finished the job.
She could not let her friends get eaten by the Skinnies. At that moment she saw Kev's stupid grin, Arie's radiant smile and Cal's eyes as he'd coaxed her out of that vent.
They cared about her. And somehow she'd grown to care about them.
A yell came from her left. Riggs was making his way around the wall of fire.
Pelton rose to his feet and ran to the edge of the trees.
Wendy rose to follow, but another scream from Arie—this one even more terrified than the last—rent the air.
Pelton looked as if he was doing a little dance. Wendy realized he had activated the rocket boots, and was about to get away.
His gun lay on the ground just ten feet from where she stood. Wendy dove to get it.
Wendy checked the rounds. Only four left.
Four Skinnies or one Pelton?
The world slowed.
Riggs and his men wouldn't make it in time.
The Skinnies were almost on her friends.
Pelton was going to get away.
The blood of her family and the rest of the Den cried out for revenge. Then something her dad had said came to her mind:
“Wendy, having people you trust at your back is one of the most important things you can find in this life. Friends, family, it doesn't matter. Just find them.”
He'd said that after her mother died.
Wendy turned away from Pelton, who was just rising into the air, and aimed.
She took a breath and relaxed, just like Jeff had showed her. The sights on the pistol lined up, and she pulled the trigger.
She'd been aiming for the Skinny’s head, but hit his leg instead. Still, he went down, taking one of the others with him. Maybe the other three Skinnies would see the blood and eat the injured one.
Wendy ran forward and into the ravine. The two unhindered Skinnies hadn't paused to eat their fallen friend.
Wendy fired once while running and didn't hit anything. So she stopped and aimed again, compensated for the fall of the gun, and fired. She shot twice, but only hit one of the two upright Skinnies in the head. The dead Skinny stumbled and pulled the one other down, buying her some time.
Wendy ran forward again. It was only then she realized she didn't have a knife. Just an empty gun.
Wendy reached down mid-stride and picked up a rock.
The first two Skinnies were coming to their feet.
Wendy fell on the closest one, smashing him in the head with both her weapons as hard as she could. A sickening crunch filled the air, and the Skinny crumpled to the ground.
“Look out!” Arie yelled.
Wendy spun and found an uninjured Skinny right on her.
Rage took over her body, and Wendy kicked the creature. It doubled over. Reality merged with fantasy and Wendy saw a kid die in the tunnels, another crying because the dead one was her sister. Wendy fought in her mind and in the real world, no longer able to separate the two.
All of the fear, hate and anger poure
d from her as she continued to fight. They'd killed her dad. Kenzie. All of the kids she was supposed to protect.
And Pelton had let them in.
Her mother had asked her to protect everyone. She'd failed.
Kenzie's smiling face filled her mind, then her dad's wry grin. Even her mother's sad eyes took their turn reminding Wendy how much she had failed.
The Skinnies in the tunnels kept coming, and Wendy kept fighting. The roar in her ears kept going, and she kept hitting. She saw Pelton's betrayal again and again. She saw kids die. But mostly she saw Skinnies die.
“Wendy!”
The sound of her name pushed back the dark.
“Wendy, stop!”
Light filtered into her mind. Wendy blinked and found herself on her knees. Her hands were covered in blood and gore, and before her lay a body. Or the remains of one.
One of the Skinnies.
She'd beaten him to death.
“Wendy?”
Her name again. She looked around—the world tilting and spinning as she did so—and saw two other Skinnies on the ground, unmoving. Then her eyes fell on Jeff—covered in dirt and blood—squatting next to her.
“Can you hear me?” His dark eyes held concern. His voice distorted in her mind. “You can stop. They're safe.” He pointed.
Wendy followed the gesture with her eyes and found Arie, Cal and Kev being cut down from the trees. They were alive.
A wave of relief flooded her.
Then she glanced down at the remains of the Skinny lying at her feet. At the sight, her stomach contracted, and she doubled over. Bile rose, and Wendy retched as her body tried to expel all of the horror at once.
Jeff put hand on her back. “It's okay. You're okay,” he said. “You saved them. You saved them.”
Once the vomiting stopped, Wendy shivered and uttered the same words her mother had. “I'm a monster.”
Jeff pulled Wendy into him. His arms wrapped tightly around her. “Shhh. You're not a monster.”
A tear trickled down Wendy's cheek. “Yes I am.”
“No, they're the monsters.”