Page 120 of Us Defiant Few

Everything and everyone fell beneath the wave of his terror.

She tried not to stare at the dead figures piled on the ground. Sinners and Death-Zoners alike lay on top of each other. Metal clashed, shots rang, and through the smoke and blistering rain, it was impossible to tell who was winning.

They neared the Chief, who was barely holding her ground against two Sinners. Khalani’s eyes darted around, and that’s when she finally found them.

Brock swung his blade, killing any Sinner who dared venture near him and Serene. With a defiant gleam in her gaze, Serene shot a man who lunged at Brock from behind.

Adan was several feet away, shakily using a spear as Elise charged forth with a knife in her hand, attacking like an extinct rabid animal. But she slipped on a puddle of rain and blood, her face contorting as her knee bent in the wrong angle.

Khalani ran faster.

They reached Penny, and Takeshi leaped into the fray, holding no remorse. He cut down and destroyed the Sinners with unrelenting speed as the Chief regained her footing and fought by his side.

But Khalani turned to Elise, who was struggling to stand, her legs wobbling beneath her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ansel moving toward Elise. Adan screamed her name, still fighting his opponent.

But Ansel raised his gun.

Utter panic clawed her heart, and she beat her legs against the blood-soaked road, trying to bridge the distance. When Khalani had a clear view of Ansel, she lifted her blade, briefly aiming before throwing it across the storm.

But the knife missed and sailed straight past him.

“NO!”

She raised her hand as if some unearthly force gave her the power to freeze time. But the bombastic nightmare kept playing as Ansel pulled the trigger and shot Elise in the head.

Khalani skidded to a halt, her body completely frozen as Elise collapsed to the ground, her wide eyes infinitely capturing her last moment on the surface.

The sounds faded around her. The battle receded.

She felt detached from her own body as Ansel stepped back with a demented grin plastering his face.

She didn’t hear Adan’s guttural roar as he tackled Ansel to the ground. But Ansel rammed his forehead against Adan’s and wrestled on top, mercilessly punching him. Adan tried shielding his head, but Ansel kept raining shots down, readying himself for another kill.

Khalani moved without thinking and grabbed a fallen scythe from the mud.

Her empathy for humanity had disappeared.

She moved like an out-of-control machine.

Her legs pounded against the ground, uncaring of the corpses she trampled over.

Ansel raised his gun again as she lifted her heavy weapon and brought it crashing against his back.

He screamed, his body spasming. But she held no mercy as she yanked out the weapon and plunged it through him again.

With the second hit, Ansel hunched over, the last breath leaving him. She heaved raggedly, hands shaking as Adan shoved the dead weight off him.

The last sounds of fighting slowly dissipated, but a loud sob bellowed out as Adan ran to Elise’s body. He fell to his knees, the tears on his face blending with the rain.

Khalani walked over, silent and completely numb. She dropped her weapon and crouched next to Elise, her fingers shaking, her body swaying with the rain.

Elise was the only friend she’d made in Hermes. If it weren’t for her, Khalani might have never made it out of the prison camp. She was thoughtful, kind, and loyal.

She didn’t deserve to die.

And if Khalani had been more focused, if her aim had been better, if she hadn’t convinced them to fight the Sinners, this wouldn’t have happened.

Her legs crumbled, unable to bear the weight of her regrets.