Chapter 26 - Injured and alive beat dead

  We have been riding for a while now, and the forest around us was calm, like we were in a "Scout Me In" commercial. The dense forest canopy both obscured our view and shielded us from above. My shoulders dropped slightly. Staying on high alert while pushing the pedals was exhausting. The last ten minutes, I was pedalling to the painful rhythm of the blood hammering in my temples.

  "It hurts," Liv complained, rubbing her hand, where I grabbed her.

  "The flower would have hurt you more," I answered between heavy breaths.

  "You don't know that. You said ferns don't bloom. So, can you actually tell me what that thing was? Like, what would've happened if I touched it?"

  "I don't need to stick my fingers in the socket to know that I'd get tased."

  "Pfff, now you are just being silly. There was no electricity for the past four days. You would not get electre… electrocuted…" A girl struggled with a long word a little.

  "So go stick your finger in a socket, then!" I huffed in irritation.

  "You can just say you're sorry, you know. Like, it's totally normal to apologize. There's no shame in it."

  I didn't answer, rapidly getting out of breath and patience. We were starting to go uphill. Amanda must have heard my heaving, because she looked back.

  "You ok?" She asked, slowing down to ride beside me.

  "Blown a tire on a brunch."

  "We can walk."

  "That would be slow going."

  "At least uphill. Our pedalling speed is not much faster than walking right now."

  She had a point. We stopped again, and now I was the one who needed water. Liv got off the bike, too, walking on the other side of it.

  "What was that bright yellow lizard?" She asked me. "The one that crossed the road? I've never seen anything like that in the encyclopedia."

  "No idea. They showed up at the same time with everything else in this apoca…" I caught Amanda's glare and swallowed the rest of the phrase, not sure how to finish it to protect her children from the sad truth that the world we knew had ended.

  "It looked like an oversized banana slug," Liv said, after it was clear I wasn't going to end my sentence. "There's no way it's dangerous."

  "Bright animals and plants are usually the most dangerous."

  "No, they are not." She said stubbornly. "Butterflies are bright, Fuchsia flowers are bright. And banana slug is not dangerous…"

  I had no idea what a banana slug is, but this kid was overly comfortable with nature.

  "Well, the lizards are dangerous. One bit me, and I almost died."

  "You must have scared it. Did you grab it, like you grabbed me?"

  "No, I did not." I only killed its' brehteren. But I wasnt going to give this kid that ammo. "Amanda, are we close yet?"

  Amanda chukled. "We rode about a third of the way, but the rest of it is like this, up and down the hills. So maybe another three hours of walking."

  I glanced up at the sky. The sun had already drifted well past its peak. The days had been stretching longer for a while now; we should still have at least six hours of daylight left.

  "Should we take a break?" I asked.

  I was getting hungry from all the effort. Maybe after I eat, I'd be able to tune out Liv and focus on my surroundings again.

  "Mommy, please," Tim joined me.

  "Ok, sure. Let's find a spot to break for lunch."

  We walked for another stretch before spotting a small clearing just off the road.

  I hoisted the bike onto my shoulder to muffle the noise, while Liv carried her own backpack. She moved through the forest with surprising confidence, placing each step deliberately and navigating around roots.

  The glade offered decent cover from anyone who might be following us on the road, and I didn't spot any suspiciously bright plants dotting the ground.

  Amanda pulled two packs of trail mix from her backpack and divided them between the kids. I worked my way through an oat bar while she quickly downed another packet of instant oats she'd mixed with water.

  "Here," I told her, pulling out a ziplock full of powder. "We should supplement for better recovery. Keeps you full, too."

  I handed her a plastic spoon. Amanda glanced at the bag, then back at me, her eyes gleaming with mirth.

  "Oh, come on. It's a protein powder! I'm a fitness influencer, not a drug lord."

  Amanda giggled but accepted my offering, stirring it into her water. I dry-scooped mine; I was a fitness influencer, after all.

  Then Amanda looked up and went quiet. All colour drained from her face in seconds. I followed her gaze, meeting face to face with beady black eyes on a green snout.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Amanda's scream tore through the clearing as she threw herself over Tim. I activated [Leap] from where I sat, shouldering Amanda and Tim from under the goblin. We crashed sideways into the bush. Tim's whimper tugged at my heart, but I shoved the guilt down with the same practiced ease I used to swipe away Deal Hand notifications. Injured and alive beat dead.

  I spun around, getting to my feet. My hatchet was strapped uselessly to my bag, near the bikes. Where Liv still stood frozen.

  The jumping goblin's attack must have been a signal. Chittering and sharp cracks of breaking twigs erupted from the tree line. Seven hunched figures with elongated ears and black eyes burst into the clearing, brandishing hardware tools: hammers, shovels, screwdrivers clutched in gnarled hands.

  They looked like hairless apes that had gone through some twisted Hulk mutation, turning green and way too buff. These goblins looked bigger than the ones I'd fought days ago. Smarter too. Maybe it was just the visual effect of actual tools in their hands instead of crude sticks and clubs. Maybe. Hopefully.

  The goblins flooded the glade in a wave. I rushed towards Liv, spying at least two goblins aiming at her. One had a shovel and another a rubber hammer.

  The monster that jumped us first still had his target fixed on Tim. I shoved the creature out of the way, using my size advantage. It paid out to be tall for once. Long, jugged nails scraped against the fabric of my windbreaker, as the goblin tumbled backwards with a squeal.

  Liv was tugging on something in the back with shaking hands.

  The monster with the shovel was nearest to me. The shovel was close enough to a spear to hopefully bring me some advantages in this fight. Continuing my spring, I extended my arm and activated [Torch].

  The fire engulfed the back of the creature's head, setting the tiny hairs on his ears aflame. I moved my hand, setting the loincloth on fire. Like some cheap CGI, the flame stuck to the green skin wherever it landed. Liv was precariously close to where we were fighting, and with no focus to spare, I pushed for the card to end in barely ten seconds since activation.

  Gobling wailed like a siren and turned to me. I rushed to grab the shovel before it caught fire, and we played a little tug-of-war. I drove my boot into the goblin's chest, sending the snarling creature sprawling backward into the dirt.

  Liv was holding a slingshot with a big rock in the direction of her second attacker.

  A weight dropped on my back. Claws scraped over my chest, finding no purchase on the slippery fabric. I didn't have time to fight the creature, though. The slingshot wouldn't do serious enough damage.

  I took a few steps towards the hammer-armed creature, instinctively trying to shake the one from my back in the process. The hummer goblin was aiming for a strike.

  The goblin on my back climbed higher, dirty nails scraped at my neck. A nauseating stench of rotting meat and pig sty made me gag.

  I held my breath and thrust the shovel forward like a spear, catching a lunging goblin in the neck. It was really hard to miss this close to the target and with the [Spear] guiding my hand. A small stone hit his face, drawing a little blood from the bold head. My shovel lodged in its leathery flesh, dark goblin blood spurting out of its back. Liv bent down for another rock.

  Sharp pain exploded through my neck. Rancid breath hit my ear as claws dug into my cheek like fish hooks. Warm blood trickled down my collarbone, and my vision blurred.

  I pawed desperately at the creature on my shoulder. My hand found my neck, felt the edges of its mouth, then its nose. I squeezed the meaty flesh and activated [Tissue Splice]. And nothing happened. I tried again, saying the card name out loud. Nothing.

  Desperately wrapping the second palm around the creature's skull, I pressed on its eyeball with all the might I could muster through my thumb. Soft tissue gave in, like an overripe grape. The goblin shrieked and released its grip, gasping for air.

  I rammed my back into the tree, and the attacker finally fell away. Clamping my hand over the bite, I activated [Heal Wound]. The lightheadedness faded. The stinging stopped. I could focus again.

  The goblin with the shovel in his back was down and not moving, the one whose nose I tried to seal shot was somewhere behind, chittering in pain.

  Liv stood beside the bicycles, shooting pebbles at goblins. The impacts were hard enough to draw two more creatures toward her.

  I rushed to grab a hutchet from my bag.

  The other two goblins were onto Amanda and Tim. Things weren't going well on their side of the clearing. Amanda swung a stick at her attackers, trying to keep them away from a child. The monster with a large hummer swung wide, deflecting Amanda's stick away. The second goblin landed a few deep scratches across her arms and chest, tearing her hoodie to shreds.

  But I had to pull my own oxygen mask on first. The creature that had jumped me wasn't getting another chance.

  Spinning around, I focused on the gobling still clawing at its sealed nose in panic. I swung the hatchet, aiming for a clean blow on the neck. Unfortunately, the blade is buried in the guts.

  A Deal Hand notification blocked my vision, but it was obviously not from this one. The creature was still screaming and now scratching my hands. With a wet squelch and a spray of black blood, the hatchet came free.

  The blade fell again, embedding into its face. Aiming was difficult without assistance from a card.

  Another Deal Hand notification flickered to life. When I dismissed it, the sight of a cracked skull, a metal head splitting the nose and an eye in half made me want to barf. The last week of killing monsters dumped the experience enough to make it only a momentary weakness, though.

  The wooden handle slipped out of my grip when I tried to pull it out. I re-gripped, wiping my hands one by one on my pants. The dry cracking of bones and wet, black goo that pulled behind the blade would probably haunt me in my dreams.

  I turned back to Liv and another two goblins. The first one was already on her, and Liv was playing Tree Tug with it. The second one was just about to pass me.

  None of my other cards were off cooldown, so tackling the runner hatchet first seemed like the best option.

  The creature had a screwdriver. Unfortunately, he embedded it in my thigh as we collided. On the bright side, his only weapon was now stuck.

  Pressing the hatchet to his neck, I put my full weight behind it. The well-edged blade sank slowly into flesh. Air escaped his lungs in wet bubbles as blood leaked from the wound. Without momentum, fully separating the head was impossible, but within seconds, the twitching stopped.

  Already up, I ran after the monster hunting Liv. Bruises and cuts were forming rapidly across its face and body - a lot of damage for just a small slingshot.

  The thing moved slower than it's bretheren. But just as I closed in, Liv made a wrong step. A clawed hand snapped shut on her wrist, yanking her closer. The goblin raised a wrench toward the girl's head.

  My hatchet fell faster. Accounting for my poor aim, I targeted the shoulder sideways to make sure I won't hit the kid. The blade impacted the upper arm, making the monster loose it's gripp. Liv jumped away.

  I pulled my hatchet again, now aiming for the head. The initial crack was followed by a softer crunch as bone fragments collapsed inward at the base of the creature's skull. The goblin's body tumbled down like a puppet with cut strings. I dismissed a notification.

  Turning around, I spotted Amanda sitting atop a goblin, bashing its head against a stone. Another creature lay beside a tree, a stick speared through its body. A quick scan of the area revealed one more: writhing in pain, clutching its privates. Right. The one I'd torched.

  I made quick work of ending its suffering with the hutchet to the face. Another notification appeared. In a dull, blank haze, I dismissed it.

  The kids looked fine. As fine as they could, anyway. Pale and quiet, but no blood on them. Amanda, however, looked exactly how I felt. Black blood streaked her clothes, and countless red scratches ran along her hands and ribs. Her hoodie was poor armour and had been shredded into rags. She collapsed beside the dead green body, heaving.

  Limping toward her, I finally registered the screwdriver still jutting from my hip. For a moment, I considered pulling it out. But the thought of dealing with more blood, more pain, more wounds… Easier to pretend it wasn't there.