Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
A desire to rush over nearly overpowered me. They’ll be okay, they’ll be okay.
I held my breath until I grew dizzy as I tracked Lolli. When I could stand it no longer, I sucked in oxygen, expecting a stream of lethargy to finally hit. But one second passed. Two, three. Six. Still nothing happened.
Was I not really Soalian?
Panic rose, but it didn’t have a chance to flourish. I grazed a feeder as I passed him, drawing his notice. He gave chase, and my instincts kicked in. Without slowing, I spun, netted him, and resumed chasing after the high princess.
So many sights vied for my attention. So many sounds. Total chaos all around. The uninfected and the infected waged a vicious war for victory. Tonight, there would be only one winner and zero second chances. I must get this right.
Incoming! I contorted, barely missing a collision with a group of feeders. Focus.
Lolli kept running. At least the smoke thinned as we approached the field populated with berries. The seven colors of the rainbow glowed brighter and brighter within the fruit, reminding me of pritis and serving as lamps, filling the area with illumination. A majestic sight, to be sure.
The soldiers we’d come with dropped their wooden box and formed a circle around it. Two guys worked to put together large . . . drills? The others stood guard, stopping feeders from impeding their progress.
What confused me more was the fires. CURED soldiers weren’t attempting to torch the berries, as Heta had claimed, but the areas beyond them. The berries they fought to protect.
Lolli’s grunt returned my attention to her, and my eyes widened. With the whip and the sword, she was a master class of lethal elegance, destroying the feeders around her. And her speed! The emblem on her jacket blurred with the swiftness of her motions.
The coiled heat in the center of my chest unfurled. Adrenaline ripped through my veins, a searing pulse of energy I unleashed as I leaped into the fray, ready to put my plan into action. I netted feeder after feeder, faster than usual. When I ran out of ammunition, I replaced my clips with only a slight pause in my shots.
Short though it was, the pause cost us, allowing a throng to surge too close for comfort.
“Another horde,” I shouted, and Lolli shifted her focus. Together, we downed them all.
The smoke thickened, clinging to my skin and clothing. The more I fought, the faster I panted and the itchier my throat became, but at least I didn’t weaken. In fact, I only got stronger, the heat spreading, spreading, bringing renewed vitality to my limbs.
Click, click. Another clip depleted. Dang, that had been my last. No matter. I stashed the netter and the dagger, and palmed my short swords.
A feeder swiped at me with razor-sharp claws. Contact. He cut through a seam in my armor. Skin split. Bone might have cracked. Pain exploded in my arm but dulled quickly. I punted him in the abdomen. As he skidded backward, I followed, driving a blade into his torso.
His knees collapsed, and I removed his head. I hadn’t trained with the swords for long, but I’d trained hard, and instincts I hadn’t realized I’d honed guided my motions. I felled another opponent, then another.
“Glowers,” Lolli hissed, exchanging the clip in her gun for the one with green bullets.
My heart skipped a beat when she ran from the field, leaving behind the soldiers we’d come with as they continued messing with whatever they’d brought. I followed her, sticking as close as possible.
My mind blipped when over twenty of my allies appeared in the skyline. They flew through the clouds, their golden robes somehow acting as wings as they arrowed down upon the battlefield. They were at one with the wind and as majestic as the berries.
Landing with ease, they sprinted across the ground, never missing a beat. Their robes appeared liquid as the material settled in place, the light radiating from their skin shimmering through the fabric. The only weapons they brandished were swords. But then, they didn’t need anything else. As they swung, the blades caught fire.
I struggled not to stare. One day, I would learn how to create a fire-sword, and I couldn’t wait.
Feeders converged upon them en masse, even leaving behind fallen CURED soldiers in favor of attacking the glowers. Like flies drawn to light.
CURED’s forces focused on the glowers too. Gunshots exploded through the night.
The glowers ducked and dodged, expertly swinging those flaming swords.
Lolli fought her way through the throng, hacking at feeders left and right, aiming for the glowers. I pumped my arms faster, coming up behind her. When she reached the front lines, she lifted her gun.
Determined, I bumped her shoulder with my own. She stumbled as she squeezed the trigger, the green bullet grazing a glower’s side. Phew! Not a kill shot.