Something seemed to register. Her eyelids fluttered and opened. It only took one look for me to know that Gabriella was back with me.
“Come on,” I said dragging her to her feet.
Slap!
I turned to see Delagio backhand Tim across the face. A trickle of blood ran from his nose. My friend seemed in a fair amount of pain, but appeared to have come to his senses. Gabriella gathered up her dress and together we all sprinted for the fire exit. I ran straight at it, barging with all my strength. The door burst open, sending the creature on it flying. It landed on its back with an indignant squeal. I fell to the ground, soaking my suit. It was Gabriella’s turn to pick me up. I chanced a look around and saw with a wave of disgust that the entire gym was covered in Depraved. They all breathed in unison, which made it seem as if the building itself had come alive. One by one, they turned and saw us, thick black eyes widening. They let out excited shrieks and dropped off the building, landing with wet splashes on the ground.
Delagio and I grabbed Tim and hoisted him between us. We all ran as fast as we could. The swarm of Depraved chased after us, scuttling along the walls and leaping like demented frogs. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, they’re getting closer,” whimpered Tim. We sprinted around the front of the school. That was when I saw what could only have been a dream. A line of Guardians fronted by Scarlett.
They were armed to the teeth and aiming towards us. For a split second I thought we’d been tricked again. But then I felt a bullet whip past my head. I turned to see a Depraved crumple and roll along the ground. It was clambered over by its kin.
We broke through the barrier. The night was filled with the sounds of gunshots and the anguished screams of the Depraved. We reached the front entrance, where dozens of Alliance cars and bikes were scattered about. We set Tim down on his feet. There was a bag by one of the motorbikes. Delagio picked it up and flung it to me. I caught it one-handed and unzipped it. Inside were the Crimson Twins and a Kapre belt, loaded with guns. “I’m sorry, about Rachel,” I said, pulling the swords out of the bag. Gabriella fastened the belt around her waist. “Don’t worry ‘bout that now.” I pointed at Tim. “I need you to get him to safety.” Delagio nodded. “What are you gonna do?”
“I have the swords now. I’m going to lure The Sorrow away from here. I don’t want any more innocent people to die because of me.” Delagio’s eyes went wide. “Alex, that’s suicide!” “It’s here because of me. I have to try.” Gabriella threw me a set of bike keys. “Not without me you’re not.”
I went to argue, but could tell from her face it would be pointless. Instead I handed her one of the Crimson Twins. She used its sharp blade to cut the bottom part of her dress away, so that it now stopped above the knee. She dropped the material and slid the sword into a makeshift holder on the side of the bike. I ran to it — a sleek black Kawasaki — and used the keys to start it. Gabriella hugged her arms around my middle. I was reminded briefly of when she’d driven me to the underground station. I’d felt so weak and confused.
Things had come so far since then.
I looked over at Tim. He was staring at me with a dazed expression. “If I make it out of this alive, we’ll have a chat,” I promised.
He gave a slow nod.
I turned to Delagio. He gave a solemn tip of his hat. “Good luck,” he said. Then he piled Tim into a jeep. Jumped into the driver’s seat and roared off.
From somewhere amongst the roar of battle, I heard the shriek of the Sorrow’s demented steed.
“Go!” shouted Gabriella.
I twisted the accelerator and the bike squealed into action. I doubled back to where the Chosen were locked in combat with the depraved.
“Come on you ugly bastards,” I hollered. “We’re the ones you want!”
Their heads snapped to our direction. Scarlett looked up from the carcass of a fallen Depraved. “Alex what are you doing?” she yelled.
“Look after Mikey,” I shouted back. Kicking the bike around, I accelerated through the main gates. The Depraved broke away from the fight, jumping into trees and over school buildings in a desperate attempt to catch us. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the deformed Unicorn jump the school wall. The Sorrow rode on top, the thick chains clutched between its gauntlets. I pulled the accelerator as far as it would go.
We swerved in and out of traffic. Angry drivers smashed their horns and rolled down their windows to shout abuse. The shouts turned to screams when they saw what was following us. The Sorrow overtook its soulless followers, vaulting over one car and landing on the roof of another. The metal caved in and the driver spilled out of the door, running for cover. The panic was contagious, spreading from person to person. Cars collided with one another, people scrambled into restaurants and bars, trampling each other and knocking bouncers down as they went. The thump of the nightclubs bass was drowned out by the sound of pure fear. The only consolation was that The Sorrow and the Depraved were so focused on us, they ignored everyone else.
“We need to take them somewhere unpopulated!” Gabriella shouted above the roar of the engine, hooves and screams.
I veered off down a quieter street, heading away from town. I turned to see The Sorrow and Depraved still close behind. There were only about ten cars length between us and the nightmare that followed. And it was gaining on us fast. I felt Gabriella’s arms slide from around my waist. I turned to see her swivel around in the seat. “Keep steady!” she shouted. “What are you doing?” “Trying to even the odds a little!”
The bike shuddered as she started to pull the gun triggers. There were squeals and the unmistakeable sounds of bodies collapsing. The gun blasts seemed endless, again and again the sound filled my ears followed by the feral screeches as the Depraved fell.
“Bend!” I shouted over my shoulder. I heard the clatter as Gabriella dropped one of the guns into a side well. She wrapped an arm backwards around me, knotting my shirt material in her fist. We hit the sharp turn low, power sliding in the slick road, so close to the ground we could touch it. The turn opened up onto a cross road. We rocketed out — tyres squealing — and missed a bus by a few inches. The driver had a look of pure shock as he swerved out of our way. I turned and watched as he ploughed into a group of Depraved, sucking them under his wheels and spitting parts of them out the back.
The Sorrow didn’t stop. It snapped the rusted chains and forced the Unicorn to vault onto the roof and gallop its length. When it jumped off, the bus had lost a third of its height.
“Faster!” yelled Gabriella above the gunshots. “They’re getting too close!”
I looked down and saw that the throttle handle was tight in my white knuckles. The speedometer was pointing towards a space beyond the numbers.
“We’re at top speed!”
“Damn.” She carried on pumping the triggers and then I heard the guns click. She swore loudly and threw them away. She leaned down and retrieved one of the Crimson Twins from the side holster. “Plan B,” she shouted. “Slow down.” “Are you mad?” “Trust me.” I let the throttle slip a bit. The speedometer sunk downwards. The Depraved caught up with us. They tore alongside the weaving bike, pink jaws open and salivating.
One pounced for us. I jerked the bike to the right. Gabriella swiped downwards, severing its head with a single blow. The two parts bounced separately along the road for a few more yards. Another tried its luck and was similarly dispatched. A third somehow appeared in front of us. It dived directly at me. I swerved the bike to the left and without thinking, ducked down and retrieved the second sword from the holster. I stuck it out to the side. The Crimson Twin unseamed the Depraved from the jaw downwards, sending its innards splashing over the road. Several other Depraved slipped in the gore.