by Ky Tyrand
There were so many loose that she wondered if there were any at all still corralled in the cove.
The answer was yes.
Though she couldn’t see them from her spot, their groans could be heard near the rocks below. Getting louder.
They could smell her.
It meant that she had nowhere to go.
Lexi felt the strange tingling sensation again. She didn’t understand it, but it made her look to the east. Something was over there.
God, I wish I had my glasses!
The girl tore out the telescope, cursing the focal point for being so small when she wanted to scan the entire area.
The groans were getting louder all around her.
She caught a glint of something. A reflection on the rocks at the far end of the cove. She tried to zoom in on it.
Wait … is that?
Lexi’s heart leapt. It can’t be.
She thought she must be imagining things. The girl was certain that she would never see it again. But there was no doubt.
Lexi was looking at the Imperative Rod.
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The rod was sitting on a rocky shelf, high above the beach at the other end of Pirate Cove.
How did it get way up there?
It was hard to judge the height, but Lexi knew that it was far too high for her to reach from the sand. And there was nothing for her to climb there.
The waves must have thrown it up there during high tide. And could just as easily wash it away when the tide returned.
If she had enough time, Lexi could build something, or knock it down somehow. But not with so many zombies trapped in the cove. Lexi could tell that there were dozens of them below, just waiting to gobble her up.
And there were more behind her, dangerously close to climbing up onto the rocks.
In fact, one was already getting traction on the slope. Lexi reached for more darts.
There was only one left.
Holy crap!
What was she supposed to do?
Could she work her way down the peninsula somehow, maybe find a place where she could get down to the beach and make a break for it?
There were zombies everywhere.
She only had seconds to decide.
Even if she got away, Lexi knew that there would be no place for her to hide from this horde.
She looked to the east.
That was where her Imperative Rod was.
That was the direction she was going.
The back of the cove was nothing but a cliff, towering up a hundred feet or more. But it wasn’t very smooth. There were rough areas that jutted out, handholds and footholds, even a ledge of sorts.
The first zombie made it up onto the rocks.
Lexi shook off her backpack, took a gulp of water from her water bottle, and then swung it at him. The bamboo, still half full, exploded the instant that it hit, battering the zombie hard enough to send him toppling off the rocks in a splash of water.
But there were more right behind him – everywhere around her, having a much easier time climbing onto the rocks than Lexi expected.
Tucking the last dart into her belt, diagonally across her bleeding torso, Lexi took to the ledge chased by a trail of groaning monsters.
With her heart racing out of control, Lexi shimmied out onto the narrowest of ledges, with nothing but a fifteen foot drop between herself and dozens of hungry mouths.
She was barely away from the ridge when the first of the rock-climbing pirate zombies reached her, swiping madly at her with his clawed hand.
It hit the exact same spot on her arm that one of his buddies had previously cut open, making her scream out in pain. The only saving grace was that the monster seemed so intent on killing her that it was oblivious to its own danger. The reaching swipe was enough to send him off balance, plummeting onto the horde below.
Lexi tried to ignore her pains and press on, thankful that she’d gained some strength over the past few days.
The falling zombie was a pleasant sign of things to come, for the next one didn’t even have a chance to slash at her before walking right off the ledge.
The girl was too terrified to chuckle at the situation.
Proving that not all of the monsters were stupid, some of them stopped at the ledge and tried to reason out how to get to her. But it didn’t seem to matter. Even if they understood the danger, the zombies behind them kept pushing forward, knocking them over the edge as they tried to get at Lexi.
One by one they went over, landing in a heap of claws and flopping limbs. The stack got so high that the last creatures to fall only dropped a few feet and rolled down the pile, picking themselves up when they reached the bottom.
Lexi kept going, trying not to think about what was going on beneath her. She could see every last one of the zombies now. At least a couple dozen of them, if not more. And all of the ones that had fallen were still moving and getting up.
She was almost halfway there. If Lexi’s strength held up, she might be able to pull this off.
Her strength had to hold up. There was no other choice.
The only problem was: the farther she got, the harder the rocks were to traverse. It didn’t make it any easier that there was a cove full of angry monsters underneath, ready to devour her the moment she slipped.
Lexi was getting closer, but the handholds were farther apart, and smaller than before. The ledge was wide enough in places, but disappeared in others, causing her to stretch in ways that sent adrenaline shooting through her body.
She felt off balance, like she would fall with the next movement.
With every movement.
The wound on her stomach burned something fierce.
So did the gouge on her arm, but at least her vest wasn’t clinging to that one.
Her fingertips hurt almost as badly. And they were beginning to bleed.
But she was almost there. So close.
Close enough to see the Imperative Rod without any glasses, or telescope, or gaps between fingers.
If Lexi could just get her hands on that device, she would … well, she didn’t know. But the girl knew that it was a game changer.
She was getting excited. Lexi could see herself holding the energy weapon – lighting it up and cutting these monsters down.
The zombies cheered her on from below, groaning their encouragement.
She was only a few feet away.
But the rock face was getting smoother. Too smooth.
Lexi’s heart was thumping a mile a minute as she looked the rock up and down.
There was nowhere for her feet.
Nowhere for her hands.
Just a smooth wall.
She couldn’t go any farther.
Lexi could not believe her misfortune. How could she have gotten so close, only to have her hopes torn from her heart and flushed down the toilet?
“No!” she argued, “No, no, NO! You stupid, stupid cliff!”
How could this be happening?
The rod was only a few feet away. But it might as well be a thousand miles.
Well, what am I supposed to do now?
Lexi was so let down that she just wanted to give up.
The only problem was: that would mean getting eaten.
Scratch that. Don’t want to get eaten.
The thought of falling into the mouths of all those zombies quelled any temptation to jump for it. It was too far, and Lexi knew it.
She looked back the way she came. It was a good distance, but the zombies that had been chasing her had all fallen back into Pirate Cove. There would be fewer to face on the other side of the peninsula now.
If her strength could hold up.
But getting the rod, it was … Imperative.
Lexi took a deep breath.
It’s not that far.
She looked down.
Nothing but sand and zombies.
You got this.
She could make it. She could do it.
Lexi pushed off th
e rock face with everything she had, stretching out like Supergirl flying through the sky.
For an instant, Lexi was certain she was going to make it – that her hand would close around the alien device, and her feet would take purchase on the outcroppings that jutted from the rock face – until gravity took over and her flight pattern took a downward trajectory.
She felt the Imperative Rod on the tip of her fingers, but couldn’t grip it. The device moved, barely hanging onto the ledge.
But it was not enough.
Lexi slammed into the jagged rock.
Nothing was underneath her.
She felt herself falling. She was going down.
But the Imperative Rod was not going with her.
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You’re connected to them!
Parma’s voice echoed through Lexi’s head as her eyes blinked open and she saw the zombies approaching.
Ignoring the pain throughout her entire body, Lexi scrambled to her feet.
The dart – it was still in her belt.
Lucky she hadn’t impaled herself with it.
It slid into her hand, but would do her little good against this many of zombies.
The girl looked up at the Imperative Rod.
It was loose. Barely hanging there. It just needed some encouragement…
Lexi took a chance.
She threw the dart, hoping to knock the alien weapon down from its perch. It hit perfectly. The shaft teetered.
But it didn’t fall.
And neither did the dart.
It somehow spun itself up onto the ledge beside the rod.
Lexi watched it in disbelief, her heart plummeting to the sand. What were the odds on that happening? It seemed impossible.
God hates me.
There was barely more than the wind keeping the Imperative Rod from her. Lexi could feel the energy within the device, buzzing above her.
But it was no good to her.
She looked down at the approaching crowd of white-eyed pirate zombies, sliding the dagger out of the sheath on her thigh. It was her last weapon, and was about to get a workout.
It had a couple dozen trees to plant.
She was trying to determine which monster to fight first. Which is closest?
They were all coming at her at once.
It was hard to concentrate knowing that she was about to die. Not to mention with Parma screaming in her ear. ‘You’re connected to them!’
What does that mean?
The Imperative Rod teetered on the ledge above her. Even without her glasses, she could see it. She could feel it. Like it was in her hand. The buzzing. The energy. A connection – Lexi suddenly understood what Parma meant … a link of energy between herself and the alien device.
Strands of energy that connected it to her. She could feel them – pull on them.
The rod tipped. Slid.
Suddenly it was in her hand.
Where it was meant to be.
Blue light shot out of the end.
The smell of ozone filled the air, and the sounds of groaning zombies faded into the hum of the energy in Lexi’s hands.
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Lexi wasn’t sure exactly what happened after that.
The haze of blinding light was all around her – chopping, stabbing.
She remembered walking forward, straight into the throng of monsters. Facing them head on.
Clawed hands were no threat to her when they were lying on the ground; and long teeth meant to bite into flesh didn’t fare so well against the beam of pure plasma.
Lexi was calm, moving with the flow of the blade, letting the dynamic events play out smoothly and efficiently.
Her mind was everywhere and nowhere all at once.
She kept advancing as the hum of energy gave way to the sounds of bones crackling; growing into woody roots and branches.
Soon Lexi realized that she was at the end of the beach, with the lava rock peninsula looming above, and dozens of gnarled trees taking root in the sand behind her.
There wasn’t a zombie in sight.
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Lexi actually used one of the freshly planted zombie trees to help her climb out of Pirate Cove.
From there, she hopped down off the lava rock peninsula to take care of the few remaining pirate zombies that hadn’t chased her back into the cove. There may be more roaming the jungle, but Lexi was no longer concerned about them. Not with the Imperative Rod back in her possession.
She wasn’t even afraid of the dragon.
When the girl saw a shadow in the sky, she opened the spyglass case, hoping to find the device still in one piece. Lexi thought she might have landed on it when she fell. By some miracle, it was still fine, and she put it to her eye.
Lexi hoped that the shadow was a flying saucer that had come to retrieve her and take her back home. But she had no idea how she would hold her breath long enough for the trip back.
Nope. It was just the dragon, circling the valley as it always did.
When Lexi pulled the telescope from her eye and looked back down, Parma was standing in front of her.
Remembering what had happened the last time she saw her friend, Lexi wondered if she should be drawing the plasma out of her weapon.
But this time, Parma didn’t move or speak.
She just stood there, smiling, and holding something out for her friend to see.
It was the Imperative Box.
Lexi wondered if it was the real thing, and if Parma wanted her to take it. But the moment Lexi stepped toward her, Parma was gone.
It was still impossible to see her best friend without starting to cry. But Lexi thought she understood what Parma was trying to tell her. The Imperative Box was the key to finding her way home.
You’re connected to them.
The girl frowned. She couldn’t sense the box like she did the energy in the Imperative Rod. She didn’t know where to find it.
But she knew who had it last.
A sly grin spread across Lexi Robinson’s face as she pointed her Imperative Rod up at the dragon in the sky.
“Get ready Smaug,” she warned, “You’re next.”
The End … for now?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story! I had a blast writing this one, and truly hope you enjoyed it. I would love to hear your feedback. If you would like to get in touch, I can be contacted at [email protected]
Other stories include
Princess of the Gods and Mark of the Gods
With sincere gratitude,
Ky Tyrand
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