After the Walls

Chapter 12

Long grass flicks into our faces, slicing across our arms as we run. It feels like wading through water. The thick, heavy tall grass constantly blocks our path, and the sludgy, soft ground sucks our feet down. High-pitched cackles sail after us, chilling me to the bone. A couple of miles of the grassland still stretches before us. But the mountain-like trees of the forest erupt from the earth on the lip of the horizon, calling our name.

"We need to make it to the forest!" I yell, my heart pounding.

I drive my legs into the uneven ground and shove my way through the grass. But the strange people, who remind of sirens, let out shriller cackles, reminding us they are gaining up. My hand flies to my dagger.

"You guys run ahead!" I shout. "I've got this."

Ruben whips his head over his shoulder and glares. "No, Elle. It's too dangerous."

"I said go! Look after Ajax. I'll catch up."

Then I whirl around, and stop, pulling a dagger from my belt. The wind ruffles the grass like ripples in the lake as I stand within its throng. I spin the hilt of my dagger as the sirens fall silent. My breathing falls erratically from my open lips and the hairs on my arms prickle. I wait, and I wait.

Then they strike.

The first siren launches itself from the depths of the grass, screeching like some demon from hell. Its head stretched out further behind it, like an egg. Red, soulless eyes lock with my own and I gasp. A warm liquid trickles down my face. From my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. I dab it with my finger and stumble at the crimson blood staining my skin. A haze forms across my vision and my muscles tremble. I grunt, tossing the blade. It slices through the air and slams into their head. With a quick shriek, they fall to the ground. My vision returns and the blood stops dripping from all the points on my face. I yank the dagger from the siren's head, flick the gooey, purple blood from the blade and stick it back into my belt. Then I pull out my sword. As the sirens lurch at me from the folds of the grass, I swing my blade, slicing into the throats, jabbing it into their ribs, and opening their guts. Intestines and purple blood spill and splatter the grasslands and my grunts mix their death screams, billowing into the air like smoke. Finally, the last siren thuds face-first into the grass.

I heave breaths, grimacing at my clothes, covered in purple blood like one of the obscure paintings in Edward's headquarters. A putrid, rotten stench clouds me. I wish for nothing more than to wash off in the river. But I turn around, tuck my sword back into the scabbard across my back, and run. Sweat coats my face, mixing with the streaks of my own blood, and the siren blood.

Exhaustion washes through my muscles in waves as I push my way through the thicket of grass. A heaviness tugs at my eyes. But I give my head a small shake and keep moving forward until the forest welcomes me into its shadows.

"Elle!" Ruben darts out from behind an enormous tree trunk. His eyes shift back to the grasslands and his face pales. "You didn't kill them?"

"What?" I spin around, craning my neck over the grass. "I did kill them. All of them."

"Are you sure?" He points to the dozens of heads bobbing out above the grass. Even from the distance, I recognise their faces and the purple blood covering them where my blade did enter their flesh.

"What the hell?" My voice trails off as fear grazes its claws up and down my spine. "Did they just resurrect from the dead?"

Ruben shakes his head. "I don't know. But I do know we need to hide." He gestures for me to join them behind the wide tree with thick plates of reddish bark. Its trunk shoots hundreds of metres into the air before air branches splay over, creating a lush canopy, cruel to the passage of sunlight. I'm acutely aware of how dark this forest is. And the sun across the grasslands has only just begun to wane towards the mouth of the horizon.