As dark fell, the Mutan disappeared from sight. I gently awoke Suvan, who yawned loudly before opening her eyes. We then silently ate a meal of dried lizard meat before finishing off the last of the water-skin. It wasn’t much of a meal, and I was beginning to hunger for something else. With rations like this, I would become as thin as a knife.
“We shall have to get some water,” she commented afterward. “It’s only a little distance from here.”
“Lead the way,” I said.
Crawling out of our hole, we began walking along the outskirts of the ruins. Here I could see the towering wall of this side of the valley. The walls were widening out, making me wonder how exactly how large this valley was. The ruins were now more numerous, crowding closely together with a maze of rubble-filled streets and roads, Numerous remnants of cars could also be seen, the rusted metal pitted with time.
Suvan moved cautiously, silent as a ghost. Her eyes searched along the crooks and crannies of the debris. In the gloom of night, I saw a distant circle of flickering light ahead. Suvan also saw it, and she motioned for me to drop back behind her. We crept silently along, the empty, quiet buildings our only company. As we progressed, the light grew larger and larger. It was a roaring fire in a clearing next to a collapsed ruin. In front of that blaze was a score of huddled Mutans, resting on their haunches. We hurriedly hid behind a wrecked car.
“It's a Mutan outpost,” Suvan whispered into my ear. “They’re setup at various spots in the city.”
“But why bother?” I replied. “Who do they expect to attack them?”
She shook her head. “I do not understand most of their behavior. But we still have to get around them without being seen.”
“We can go further into the city and bypass them easily enough. Why take the risk of being so close?”
“Going into the city at night is not a wise choice,” she said harshly. “It's unsafe. There are things here that are far worse than that tentacled horror that almost ate you.”
“Then what would you have us do?”
“I will cause a distraction, and they will go after me. In the meanwhile, you can run across and meet me on the other side. There is a rusted bridge another four hundred yards further. It sits above the water that we need. It will be a suitable place for you to wait.”
She was certainly brave, but I though her idea was foolish. I said, “I appreciate your willingness to sacrifice yourself for me, but we shall make it past together.”
“You are no fighter,” she said mockingly.
“Give me that sword of yours, and I can show what I can do,” I retorted.
With a sigh, Suvan reluctantly drew out her sword and handed it over to me. In the darkness, I looked at the curved blade and felt the unfamiliar weight of steel in my hand. I was no swordsman, but I was willing to kill if it meant saving my own life. Hadn't I already killed two Mutans? I could do it again if I needed to.
“Let's move,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.
Taking her bow off her shoulder, Suvan adjusted the quiver of arrows at her waist. With a nod of her head, she began silently leading me down a ruined avenue. A few of the buildings were still standing, but the majority had fallen over, choking the street with debris. As we progressed, I saw out of the corner of my eye, the flame of Mutan fire growing brighter. Soon a low, ruined wall was all that separated us from them. From here I could hear their strange, garbled language.
Suvan moved silently like a cat. My own footsteps sounded loud as my boots slipped over the rough ground. My elbow accidentally struck the nearby wall. Suddenly, an ancient brick clattered off and fell heavily to the paved ground with a reverberating echo.
Suvan suddenly stopped. I nearly ran into her. I stood still, holding my breath. The low talk amongst the Mutan had ceased.
In the shadows, I could see Suvan slowly turn and face me. A forefinger hovered over her lips, signaling silence. I stood motionless, not even daring to breathe.
A guttural bark rang out, and I could hear the motion of feet heading in our direction. Suvan quickly tugged on my hand before taking off in a sprint. I followed suit, not caring this time if I was heard.
We burst out past the wall and into the open street. Suvan was a fast runner and was quickly gaining ground on me. Turning my head, I saw four Mutans coming from behind. Their wicked blades glinted from the weak light of the moon. I picked up my pace, running as hard as I could. In seconds it felt as if my lungs were going to burst. I had been living a comfortable life too long for this kind of adventure.
From the Mutan camp, a barrage of arrows suddenly passed over my head. Ahead, I heard Suvan give a scream. She dropped to the ground, writhing in pain.
Catching up to her, I stopped and found her lying face down with an arrow sticking out of her right calf. She was desperately trying to pull it out, but it was wedged tightly into her flesh. In the darkness, the fresh blood on the ground looked black.
That was all I saw before I turned to face our attackers. They rushed at us with their swords held high and a malicious leer pasted on their twisted, alien faces. I held my sword at the ready. With a clang of steel, they attacked me. Our swords clashed together. The force of their combined blows made me stagger back a step. One of them tried to go low, lunging his blade at my mid-section. Through sheer luck I just managed to twist away unharmed.
Taking another step back, I then lunged at the closest attacker. My blade struck the Mutan fully in the chest, the blade penetrating almost up to the hilt. With a twist of my arm, he went down with an agonizing scream. The other combatants did not even hesitate upon seeing the death of their comrade, but instead took the chance to press the attack. The air was alive with swinging blades. It took all of my strength and whatever little skill I had to keep the remaining attackers at bay. Every step I took backwards took them closer to Suvan. I couldn't allow that to happen. I took a chance and decided to attack.
With a wide arcing sweep of my blade, I caught one Mutan unaware. The blade cleaved deeply into the creature's forearm, making him drop this weapon with an ear-splitting howl. Behind me, I heard the twang of an arrow being released from Suvan's bow. The arrow sunk deeply into the throat of another attacker, leaving only one standing.
The remaining Mutan showed no concern for his compatriots. He also showed no fear when he continued to violently swing his sword at me, aiming for my head. I parried his blow and used my superior strength to push him back a step. Though weaker, he was still incredibly fast. His sword suddenly slipped downwards, breaking contact with my blade before trying to plunge upward into my breast. It was only my long reach that gave me the scant time to turn away from this fatal strike. With this move, the Mutan had left himself exposed. Since I was now too close to use the sharp end of the sword, I instead used the hilt to rap the remaining Mutan hard on the head. He immediately sprawled to the ground, unconscious.
“Mikel!” Suvan shouted out, her voice wracked with pain.
I turned and found her sitting up with bow in hand. The Mutan arrow was still stuck deeply in her leg. I immediately reached down to pull it out.
She said impatiently, “Never mind that! We have to get moving before more Mutans come our way. They won’t go far beyond the light of their bonfire. That's our only chance to escape.”
I shoved the sword into my belt and picked Suvan up. With a grunt, I draped her over my shoulder and started to trot forward. She looked lighter than she felt. We were soon lost in the darkness of the ruins.
Following Suvan’s whispered directions, we presently found ourselves standing at a narrow footbridge that was rusted dark from the years. Underneath my feet, I could hear a slow gurgle of passing water. As we crossed the ancient causeway, I looked down and saw a narrow stream, the moon shining off the moving water. The bridge led to path choked with small trees and thick weeds. We were safe for now.
Chapter 13