"This place is a mess," Kilroy said, surprised. "As much as I don't want to admit it, our work might be cut out for us."
The horde wasted no time attacking. Ellen summoned her shield again right away. The monsters seemed to hate its blue glow, because most of them turned their attention on her.
A myriad of awful, twisted weapons bounced off her shield and tore into the houses around her, houses she hoped were abandoned. Half the area was demolished by the time Brendon, Lindsey and Kilroy finished killing the horde.
Kilroy called out for any survivors, received no response, then took off running.
He did the same thing in the next intersection. Monsters answered his call. Six dark creatures with twisted horns and axe blades on the ends of their tails skulked out of the gaps between homes. Ellen recognized them. She'd fought several back at the mining site.
One lowered its head and charged straight at her. She watched it intently. There was nowhere to run. She'd have to wait for it to get close then dive out of the way and hope it was moving too fast to change courses.
She gasped when something hit her from the side. It was powerful, almost like a monster. It knocked her off her feet and clear out of harm's way.
It was Kilroy's gut, she saw as she fell. He flashed her a smile, then held his sword up before himself as if it were a shield. The monster crashed into it and came to an immediate stop. The impact caused its horns shatter and start spurting blood. While it recovered, Kilroy swung at it with a monstrous backswing that split the monster's head open and launched its body into the air.
Another monster was racing at him from behind. Kilroy brought his sword down on its head and flattened it against the ground. The impact created a small crater.
Ellen stared at him in awe. Memories of her first training session came back to her. Kilroy had wanted her and her friends to attack him. She had thought that exercise was strange, even dangerous, at the time, but it made sense now. The average monster was of little concern to Kilroy. Her friends probably didn't even register as a threat.
The other horned monsters didn't fare any better. Two exploded into bits of ragged meat when Lindsey's swirling rings of swords crashed into them, and the other two were reduced to their most primitive bits when Brendon hit them with a tornado of axes.
The next few intersections went by exactly the same. There were monsters all over, but zero traces of other life.
"It looks like everyone took our warning seriously," Brendon said after a while.
"We're doing all of this for nothing," Lindsey agreed. "It's better that way. It means everyone made it out of here safely."
"There's one more place I want to check, then we'll make our way back to the courtyard," Kilroy said.
Ellen's heart sped up. She'd have to make her decision very soon.
She followed Kilroy down a deserted road to a small hospital and stopped outside the entrance. While the others focused on the hospital, she kept her eyes on the top of the wall. There was no telling when the next horde would descend upon her.
"This is our final target," Kilroy said. "The sick and injured are the ones left behind the most. Hopefully there's no one in here, but..." He shook his head. "I can't believe we're almost finished."
"We made it through this, somehow," Brendon said. "Last I heard, there was eleven or twelve thousand people living in this region. We got them all evacuated, and only suffered two or three hundred deaths. Those aren't great numbers, but considering the circumstances-"
A sight above the wall caught Ellen's attention. It was a monstrous hammer, exactly like the ones that had crashed down outside her room, except it wasn't a magic weapon this time. It was the real thing.
"It's alive!" she shrieked.
The head of the monstrous hammer was the size of a small house. It rose high into the sky then crashed down on top of the wall. The impact sent a shockwave through the air that shattered every window in the area and turned a section of brick and stone larger than the hospital itself into rubble.
A cloud of dust and debris launched into the air. Ellen guarded her head with her arms. Too many stones to count hit her arms and legs and torso, bruising her all over, but she survived the storm. So did the others.
She lowered her arms in time to see a massive green shape slink passed the gap in the wall and out of sight. Each step it took caused a small tremor.
"That's something we don't want to get in a fight with," Kilroy said grimly. "Let's make this-"
Lindsey cried out in pain. It was an awful, bloodcurdling sound that ended with a dull thud. Ellen spun around and faced her.
Lindsey lay on her back, a dingy spiked mace beside her. The wounds on her cheeks, jaw and forehead made Ellen's stomach churn. Her whole face was a bloody red mess.
Brendon collapsed to his knees beside her. His lips were moving but the only sounds that came out of his mouth were quiet whimpers.
"Oh no," Kilroy muttered. "Oh no, this isn't good. This isn't good at-"
He raised his sword to block a mace that flew at him from inside the hospital, then darted after the source.
Brendon scooped Lindsey up in his arms. "You're going to be alright," he whispered, his voice shaking. "There's a hospital right here. I'll get you bandaged up, then we're leaving. We're going to make it out of here together."
"Leave me," Lindsey coughed out. "I'm bleeding too much. Bandages aren't going-"
Brendon shushed her, then turned to Ellen. "You've given us more help than we deserve, now it's time for you to leave. Find your friends and go somewhere safe. The road we used to get here should still be clear."
She wanted to run, but Ellen couldn't move. How could she leave them behind in such a sorry state? Even the smallest of monsters could overpower them right now. There was no telling what would happen if a horde found them.
Kilroy darted out of the hospital and approached her. "He's right," he said. "We can take care of ourselves. You need to worry about yourself right now. Get to the courtyard."
"I can't," Ellen said, her voice tiny. "What about you-"
"I said GO!" Kilroy shouted.
He yelled so loud it hurt her ears. Ellen turned and ran.
She looked over her shoulder as she fled. Brendon carried Lindsey inside the hospital, then Kilroy positioned himself in front of the entrance and raised his sword. She hoped they could take care of themselves as well as they'd claimed, because there was already a number of horns and spears and other awful things crawling out from behind the hospital.
"They're strong," she muttered to herself. "They're extremely strong. They can survive without me."
Another winged, raw meat looking monster with claws was lingering in the first intersection she entered. She darted at it from behind and jammed her knife into its backside. Its wings started flapping twice as hard once her knife hit; it was probably mad she had caught it off guard. She cut them both off with two quick swipes then punted its body into an alleyway.
The stab gave her back all the energy she'd used up while running around the fortress earlier. It also killed the pain caused by the falling debris.
She couldn't blame her friends or anyone else for wanting to take her knife from her, it was an invaluable weapon, but was their yearning for it the sole basis of their friendships? She hoped not.
A monster with a dark, gelatinous body slid out from the alleyway she had kicked the meaty monster into. It had eight arms, each of which carried a different weapon, and none of which she wanted any part of. She took off running.
A second one slid out from inside a shop on the road ahead. She darted sideways into a gap between two houses to avoid it. The narrow passage brought her to a road with a horned monster on her left, and on her right sat a small red monster with a dozen tiny legs sticking out from under its shell.
The small monster raised its pincers to her, but Ellen kicked it in the head before it could attack and launched it into the side of a house. The collision snapped its shell in two.
; The commotion drew the horned monster's attention to her. Ellen ran forward and slid into another narrow passage between two homes to avoid its charge. It tried running in after her, but the space was too small and its body too large. It hit the brick wall headfirst. The impact forced its horns into its head which then burst into a bloody mist.
She breathed a sigh of relief as the monster fell dead to the ground. At least monsters weren't smart.
The narrow passage led to a road free of monsters. The courtyard was in view, albeit still some distance away. She faced towards it and ran.
A heavy guilt crept into her conscious. Were Brendon and Lindsey and Kilroy still alive? She should've at least stayed behind to help clear the area. It would've increased their odds of surviving tenfold and only cost her a few minutes.
Her run slowed to a jog then a walk then she stopped altogether. Ellen looked towards the hospital. The gap in the wall beside it was full of angrily flapping wings. Those wings were going to descend upon Kilroy any moment now, or maybe they'd already finished him off and now they were waiting for a new target.
She felt sick. Not only had she left them behind to fend for themselves, but she'd never know what fate befell them, and considering the size of the swarm lurking in the sky above the hospital, she couldn't imagine that fate being a pleasant one.
"Get out of the way, Ellen!" someone shouted.
It was Ralph. He stood inside the entrance to a shop across the street from her, his mace and shield in hand. He looked terrified. Something had him frightened, and that something was coming for her.
Ellen bolted forward. A horned monster charged out of an alleyway beside her. She moved fast enough to avoid its horns but not its shoulder, which hit her hip and launched her into the air. She flipped halfway around as she fell and landed face down on the hard stone road.
Her body hurt so much she couldn't move. Even lifting her head up was a struggle. If that monster wanted to gouge her with its horns, or claw her head off, or ram her until all her bones were broken, now was its chance. There was nothing she could do to defend herself.
A battle broke out behind her. There was crashing, smashing and a great deal of snapping. It ended with a pained groan.
"Can you stand up?" Ralph asked.
"N-no," Ellen coughed out.
"Maybe that knife of yours will save you."
Ellen gasped when Ralph wrapped his arms around her waist. She was too surprised to feel any pain. Did he really intend to help her after all the time they had spent fighting?
He lifted her onto her feet and walked her over to the horned monster's still body, then he retrieved her knife and handed it to her.
"There's probably still some life in it," Ralph said. "Maybe you can suck it out."
Ellen stuck her knife into the monster. In an instant her pain vanished and all her strength returned. "Why would you help me?" she asked afterwards.
"You're a really nasty, unpleasant person," he said, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave you behind to die here. I'm not going to leave anyone behind. I've been helping people escape all day."
She had a lot of reasons to hate Ralph, but this wasn't one of them. "Thank you," Ellen said earnestly.
Ralph smiled. "Let's go. The courtyard is just ahead."
Ellen faced towards the courtyard and took off. "There's a group trapped in a hospital near that gap in the wall," she told Ralph as she ran, "and one of them is injured."
"I'll get you to the courtyard then I'll go check on them," Ralph said.
His offer to help didn't ease her guilt. The horde looming near the hospital was massive. She wanted to believe Kilroy would pull through, but she couldn't escape her doubts. They stuck with her all the way to the courtyard.
A thick crowd was gathered around the area. She found her friends near the center.
Ludendi, who looked tense at first, flushed with relief. "We thought you were dead," she said.
"We thought you both were dead," Barry said with a nervous laugh.
"I'm surprised you didn't kill each other on the way here," Trevor said plainly.
"There are bigger things going on right now," Ralph said. "Now hurry and do what you have to do. There are others I still need to help."
Ellen looked to each of her friends. Despite all the ill will she had felt towards them yesterday, right now she couldn't stand the thought of being without them.
"All of our families are willing to take you in," Trevor said. He lowered his head. "It would be nice if we could stay together, but..."
"It really stinks," Barry agreed. "We went through all that together, and now this."
"It's a shame," Ludendi said. "It's also a shame that we have to leave the fortress. This was such a nice place."
They shared a round of somber agreements, then looked to Ellen.
Ellen glanced into each of their eyes then lowered her head. How could she ever pick just one of her friends? Ludendi had always been there for her, from her most dimwitted moments to whenever she needed someone to hug her and tell her everything would be alright, plus everything in between. Barry had helped her through some of her more pitiful moments, he'd been her first true kiss, and she had no doubt she'd become much more than friends with him if she stuck with him. Trevor, who she didn't speak to as often as Ludendi or Barry, was always watching over her and the others, making sure they didn't do anything too dumb or reckless. On top of that, it was him who'd given her this opportunity.
It was an impossible choice. No matter who she picked, something important would be missing from her life.
But her friends all had something in common: they were all healthy, even Ludendi, and they had healthy families to travel with. No matter where they went, there was a very good chance they'd all survive.
Ellen raised her head. "Do you know where your families are going?"
"I heard my family say the name Endor Dimension a few times," Trevor said.
"We're going to a place called the Haas Dimension," Barry said.
"I think the one we're heading for is called the Arjex Dimension," Ludendi said. "Why?"
Ellen committed those names to memory the best she could. The Endor Dimension. The Haas Dimension. The Arjex Dimension.
"When I was searching for this dimension," she said, "all I knew was its name and I knew there was a fortress here, but I still managed to find it. Finding a small group of people in a big dimension will be even harder, but..." Her eyes watered up. There was no easy answer to their dilemma. The answer she had picked was probably the least satisfying one imaginable, at least for her friends.
"What are you saying?" Ludendi asked. "Do you want us to look for each other after we leave? We were probably going to do that anyway, but what about you?"
"I have to stay," Ellen said.
Her friends looked at her in horror.
Tears flowed down Ellen's face. This wasn't the goodbye they deserved, but it was the goodbye she had to give.
"Why would you stay in a place like this," Ludendi complained. "Did you hit your head?"
"I'm sure you enjoy living in the fortress," Trevor said, "but it's going to be gone before the end of the day. There's no reason to stay here."
"Just forget about this place," Barry urged. "You don't have to come with me, but at least don't stay here."
"Are you stupid?" Ralph asked. "Or wait, does this have something to do with that group you mentioned before?"
"It does," Ellen agreed. She looked into each of her friends' eyes again. "There's a group of people trapped in a hospital down the road, and one of them is hurt really bad. If I don't go back and help them, I don't think they're going to survive."
Her friends all watched her with sullen gazes. Even Ralph looked sad.
Ellen wiped her eyes dry. "That's why I want each of you to promise me... after you've all found someplace new to live, start looking for each other. And look for me, because I'll be looking for all of you after I leave here."
"I still need time to
heal," Ludendi said tiredly. She perked up. "But once I'm better, I'll find you, Ellen! I'll find Barry and Trevor as well! And Ralph too!"
"I still have the best eyesight here," Trevor said, "and I already helped myself to some binoculars I found in the training hall earlier. I'll probably find you first."
"I was going to look for you even if you didn't pick me," Barry said, a sly smile on his face. "But I'll look for them too, if you want."
Ellen smiled. Their friendships weren't coming to an end, they were simply going on hold for a little bit. If she could find the fortress all on her own then she could find her friends just as easily. All it would take was time.
"This place isn't lost yet," Ralph pointed out. "If your families can wait ten or twenty minutes-"
A crash interrupted him.
Ellen turned towards the fortress's front entrance. Two dark red eyes were peering in at her.
It was the monster from the cloud out in the forest. It had finally found its way into the fortress. It was even more massive than she remembered. Hundreds of thick, hoofed legs supported its bulging green body, which stretched out for miles. Its face looked like an insect's face, a twisted and deranged one with long black tusks.
A gigantic hammer, two massive scimitars and a rusty spear rose into the air above the front entrance then crashed down on top of it. In one swoop they reduced a section of wall as wide as the courtyard to rubble.
The families started fleeing into their separate rifts. The older, stronger members grabbed Ludendi, Barry and Trevor by their arms and pulled them along.
"We'll look for each other," Ludendi promised. "And you! Especially you!"
"This is just another minor setback," Trevor said. "We've survived plenty of them so far, and we'll survive this one as well."
"I'm going to get more than a kiss from you the next time we meet," Barry promised.
Ellen watched them leave. There were so many tears in her eyes she couldn't see straight. She knew the names of the dimensions they were leaving for, she just had to search. It would take time, but she had plenty of that.
"I hope your shield still works," Ralph said.
Forlorn Dimension Page 27
