to recover.
“Found a closet to hide her in,” said Thane. “I’m doubling back. I’ll distract them; you get out of here.”
Holt barked his response. “Don’t be an idiot. They’re not even following you yet. Get some distance and we might all get out of here before they get their act together.” But Thane was Thane. He’d lost a lot of loved ones, like most. For many people, this sparked a survival instinct, making them increasingly cautious as the years went by and friend after friend joined the dead. The Vichies took this attitude to extremes, willing to lick boots and dutifully act as toadies if it meant even a few more moments were added to their own lives. In Thane, the loss just turned to anger. He actively stoked it. His wounds were emotional, but he was constantly poking at them, nursing his grudges and refusing to allow time to gradually erode the misery of his memories. Holt doubted that Thane would ever let them go. It made him a more dangerous soldier, but also a more reckless one.
Holt could see him now, coming back out of the building through a gash in its side near a collapsed wall. This wasn’t about distraction. Thane had the taste of blood in his mouth, and you couldn’t just slip the bit back in and expect obedience. He drew the flaming sword he’d retrieved, called out to the two angels, and adopted a fighter’s stance.
They looked at him, scoffing, and not entirely sure if what they were seeing was serious. “Poor Abraxos,” said the younger looking one. “Driven down into the muck by the Maker, only to die in perhaps the most humiliating way possible. Slain by this little yelping thing with its foul temper. But at least in dying, he set us onto a diversion from the day’s dreariness. There’s something to be said for that.”
Thane’s war face was on, and he didn’t flinch. “I killed him. Now I’m gonna kill you. Then I’m gonna kill every one of your friends, one by one.” He moved towards them, but his steps were more cautious than his words. The angels waved their swords as he approached, teasing him. In all likelihood, either could have finished him off in a few seconds. But they prolonged their play, standing by the body and waiting for him to make the first move. He stopped a few meters away, eyeing them and hoping that the standoff was giving the others enough time to flee. Boundless confidence and blind rage had gotten him this far, but he wasn’t a fool. This wasn’t a winning fight, but you had to at least throw a punch.
“Thane. Duck.” It took a moment for the command from the radio to register and for his thoughts to click. Thane looked up, locking his eyes on a familiar window in one of the buildings above. Then he turned, and ran.
“What a curious creature. All claws and snarls one moment, and panicked hysteria the next.” The older-looking angel watched Thane rushing away, bemused at his sudden loss of confidence. Then a thump and a crackle came from above them. They had just enough time to turn to see something roaring towards them, and then it was inferno all around. They were blown outward, the younger one into a pile of debris and the older one through the windshield of one of the city’s many abandoned vehicles.
Holt put down the missile launcher and picked up his walkie-talkie. “They’re stunned, but they won’t be that way for long. Get Faye and get your ass into a sewer before they’re up. Risk her again to play games and I’ll kill you myself.” The gloves were off, and it was iron underneath. He turned to Dax, who flinched and dropped his eyes. Dax was smart enough to know when it was time to do as he was told. “Get what we need, what we can’t live without. Then let’s go. Now.”
Dax scrambled around, grabbing his laptop and various other assorted sundries and shoving them into a backpack. The room was a mess. It’d been that way when they arrived, but camping out there for this long had left it covered in trash, the old
“Found a closet to hide her in,” said Thane. “I’m doubling back. I’ll distract them; you get out of here.”
Holt barked his response. “Don’t be an idiot. They’re not even following you yet. Get some distance and we might all get out of here before they get their act together.” But Thane was Thane. He’d lost a lot of loved ones, like most. For many people, this sparked a survival instinct, making them increasingly cautious as the years went by and friend after friend joined the dead. The Vichies took this attitude to extremes, willing to lick boots and dutifully act as toadies if it meant even a few more moments were added to their own lives. In Thane, the loss just turned to anger. He actively stoked it. His wounds were emotional, but he was constantly poking at them, nursing his grudges and refusing to allow time to gradually erode the misery of his memories. Holt doubted that Thane would ever let them go. It made him a more dangerous soldier, but also a more reckless one.
Holt could see him now, coming back out of the building through a gash in its side near a collapsed wall. This wasn’t about distraction. Thane had the taste of blood in his mouth, and you couldn’t just slip the bit back in and expect obedience. He drew the flaming sword he’d retrieved, called out to the two angels, and adopted a fighter’s stance.
They looked at him, scoffing, and not entirely sure if what they were seeing was serious. “Poor Abraxos,” said the younger looking one. “Driven down into the muck by the Maker, only to die in perhaps the most humiliating way possible. Slain by this little yelping thing with its foul temper. But at least in dying, he set us onto a diversion from the day’s dreariness. There’s something to be said for that.”
Thane’s war face was on, and he didn’t flinch. “I killed him. Now I’m gonna kill you. Then I’m gonna kill every one of your friends, one by one.” He moved towards them, but his steps were more cautious than his words. The angels waved their swords as he approached, teasing him. In all likelihood, either could have finished him off in a few seconds. But they prolonged their play, standing by the body and waiting for him to make the first move. He stopped a few meters away, eyeing them and hoping that the standoff was giving the others enough time to flee. Boundless confidence and blind rage had gotten him this far, but he wasn’t a fool. This wasn’t a winning fight, but you had to at least throw a punch.
“Thane. Duck.” It took a moment for the command from the radio to register and for his thoughts to click. Thane looked up, locking his eyes on a familiar window in one of the buildings above. Then he turned, and ran.
“What a curious creature. All claws and snarls one moment, and panicked hysteria the next.” The older-looking angel watched Thane rushing away, bemused at his sudden loss of confidence. Then a thump and a crackle came from above them. They had just enough time to turn to see something roaring towards them, and then it was inferno all around. They were blown outward, the younger one into a pile of debris and the older one through the windshield of one of the city’s many abandoned vehicles.
Holt put down the missile launcher and picked up his walkie-talkie. “They’re stunned, but they won’t be that way for long. Get Faye and get your ass into a sewer before they’re up. Risk her again to play games and I’ll kill you myself.” The gloves were off, and it was iron underneath. He turned to Dax, who flinched and dropped his eyes. Dax was smart enough to know when it was time to do as he was told. “Get what we need, what we can’t live without. Then let’s go. Now.”
Dax scrambled around, grabbing his laptop and various other assorted sundries and shoving them into a backpack. The room was a mess. It’d been that way when they arrived, but camping out there for this long had left it covered in trash, the old
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