novelraw Chapter 368: Not Human
Chapter 368: Not Human
The first shot came from the Saint Eaters’ side.
Alexei saw the muzzle flash on the left, near a truck door. He turned his rifle before the sound finished. The round from their side went wide and struck the wall behind him. Brick dust fell, but not a single speck touched them.
His shot, on the other hand, did not miss.
The man who had fired dropped straight down. That broke the line, turning what might have been a semblance of order into nothing but chaos.
Engines revved harder. Boots hit pavement. Men began to spread from behind bikes and trucks. The street, which had been still, turned into moving targets.
"Left," Alexei grunted, already moving.
Lachlan nodded his head, his body acting almost instinctively.
Lightning crawled over his forearms in short bursts, not for show but to prime his muscles. He ran toward the wider space between two bikes to keep them from circling.
Zubair stepped past Sera.
His right hand was on fire. Heat rolled off his palm causing the air around him to shimmer. However, he did not let it go yet. He was waiting for the perfect moment.
Rourke swore and pointed forward. "Take the crates! Drop the woman!"
Alexei snorted at that statement. They had no crates with them, but that didn’t mean that the idiots didn’t move anyway.
After all, orders were orders.
Alexei could appreciate that.
But Sera, on the other hand, walked straight toward them, completely unafraid.
Alexei tracked targets. Three in front. Two on the right with shotguns. One on the diner roof. He shot the one on the roof first. The body slid down the slope and dropped to the awning.
Psycho hummed in his head. More on the far trucks. Watch the tail.
He shifted right. Two Saint Eaters tried to flank along the storefronts. Alexei dropped on one knee, fired twice, and both men went down. He did not wait to see if they stayed down. He was already looking for the next threat.
Engines behind the first row of bikes roared. More riders tried to push through to run them down. Zubair finally lifted his hand.
The fire left him in a straight line. No swirl, no show. It ran along the pavement and up the front tires of the first three bikes. Rubber burned. Fuel lines caught. Men jumped away, shouting. One bike fell on its side and blocked two more behind it.
That slowed the press of bodies. But there were still too many of them for Alexei’s comfort.
"Hold the center," Zubair said, his voice still even.
Alexei heard him clearly over the gunfire. He shifted to the right side of the group to keep their flank open.
Sera was already in the center.
A Saint Eater charged her with a machete. She caught his wrist, pulled him forward, and broke his neck.
She did it in one movement. She did not stop. Another man lunged at her from behind. She kicked backward, hit his knee, and he fell. She stepped on his throat. She was not frantic, she was worried. In fact, it almost looked like she was bored.
The men around her saw it, but that didn’t stop them. Some kept coming. Some slowed. But there was always movement.
"They’re hesitating," Alexei pointed out.
"Then hit them harder," Lachlan called back.
Lachlan slammed his fist into the hood of the nearest truck.
Lightning discharged. The battery blew. The hood buckled and the men behind it ducked. Lachlan grabbed the closest Saint Eater by the vest and threw him into two others. He was grinning, but his eyes were sharp.
He knew they were vastly outnumbered, but it didn’t bother him at all.
Elias stayed behind Sera, slightly to the rear.
He fired controlled shots at any man who tried to shoot past the front line. One bullet clipped Elias’ shoulder. He turned, shot the man who hit him, and went back to scanning. His other hand pressed on the wound. Blood soaked his sleeve before it started slowing down.
"I’m fine," Elias said. "Keep them off me."
Alexei flicked his fingers. Ice spread across the pavement in a narrow strip toward the left.
A bike tried to speed through to reach their side. The tires hit the ice and lost grip. The bike slid. The rider fell and rolled. Lachlan finished him with a kick.
More trucks from the back of the formation tried to push up. There were more than Alexei had counted at first. At least six rows. Each row had men in the beds holding rifles.
"High beds," Alexei announced. "We need cover."
"There is no cover," Zubair replied. "So we make it."
He raised both hands.
Fire climbed from the ground and formed a low wall in front of the closest row of bikes. The heat hit Alexei’s face. The Saint Eaters behind it swore and backed up. Some fired through it, but their aim went off. The wall did not last long, but it broke their rhythm.
Rourke saw that and grew angry. He stepped around his own men, gun up, heading straight for Zubair.
"Take the leader!" Rourke shouted.
Four Saint Eaters moved with him. They had heavier gear. Better vests. They were Harrow’s favorites.
Alexei turned his rifle to help Zubair, but three men on the right used that opening to rush Sera. Psycho hissed in his skull. Center first.
He turned back and fired twice.
The two of the men going for Sera fell. The third reached her. He tried to stab her in the side, but she caught his arm, punched him in the face, and bit into his throat.
She did not stop to explain. Blood ran down her chin. Her eyes were black.
The men around her saw that and stopped again.
"She’s not human," one of them screamed, stumbling back in fear.
Sera turned her head toward him. "Look at you... so smart and yet so dumb at the same time."