Horde (Enclave Series) (21 page)

In time, the smoke drew enemies to us. That, too, was part of the plan.

A Freak hunting party stalked into the clearing just before dawn, probably expecting to catch a trapper unaware. They stopped, all twenty of them, to stare at the unattended fire. This was a risk, but they already
had
fire, thanks to our outpost, and they’d demonstrated no problems protecting the flame for long periods, which showed cognition of the consequences should it go out. The way they were developing—and with what Dr. Wilson had said about their collective memory—it wouldn’t surprise me if they figured out how to start one on their own ere long.

One of them snarled at the rest, then gestured.
He’s giving orders.
Then the Freaks fanned out, sniffing around the clearing. But before they could figure out we were up above, I signaled Tully, and the attack commenced. She loosed a bolt from her perch, spearing the leader through the throat. The hit was clean until the beast clawed the metal out of its neck, then blood sprayed everywhere. His soldiers reacted with less panic than I’d expected, but without his leadership, they needed to be more focused in order to take out opponents with a battle plan and superior placement.

From beside her, Spence shot two more. Using shooting irons was a risk. If there were more in the vicinity, they’d hear the noise and come to aid their brethren, but the alternative was putting the rest of us on the ground before we softened them up. From what Stalker said, the horde was east of Salvation, not west. Once they found Gaspard, they’d probably harry that area for a while, not that it would do them any good. The way that town was situated, unless the beasts could approach by sea or find a way over that massive wall, then the only way they could hurt the people within would be to starve them out.

That left us with seventeen Freaks to kill. I nodded my approval to Tegan, who still had my rifle. She inched forward on the platform, braced, and fired. Though her aim wasn’t all that good, the higher vantage helped. I suspected she hadn’t intended to shoot one through the back, but it worked. The monster cried out in rage and spun, snarling a challenge. Not a fatal shot. She unloaded again, this time catching the Freak in the chest, and that ended it. From her exultant expression, it felt good to assert her strength. I didn’t undervalue her healing skills, but defensive ability made a person feel powerful, and she needed that.

Tully reloaded and killed another one, Spence accounted for two more. That was what I had been waiting for—slightly better odds. The men needed a decisive victory to restore the morale we’d lost wandering around and begging for help. I gave the signal to leap down and began the next stage of the battle. As one, we attacked from above. To me, the others were a blur of fists and blades. I had my knives out before the first Freak reached me. It lunged and I replied with a lightning slice of my wrist.

It felt good to cut its throat.

Another took its place. The clearing was a mass of snarls and lashing claws, snapping fangs. Fade fought his way to my side and took his position at my back. We fought as we always had, like one person, and the beauty of our coordinated movements felt like sparking. Stalker was a whirlwind of graceful savagery; everywhere he moved, the beasts went down. Tegan’s gun went quiet, and I suspected she didn’t trust herself to fire while we were fighting. I respected her for knowing her limitations, even as one of Tully’s bolts slammed into the monster I was battling.

As I took on another, I glanced over at Thornton, who stunned a beast with his weighted fist and Morrow ran it through. They were efficient together, brute force coupled with finesse. Morrow saw me looking and winked, then he whirled back into the fight. Behind me, Fade fought with his whole body—elbows, shoulders, knees—while deftly avoiding their snapping jaws. I blocked a feint in my direction, then tried a new maneuver; I launched a kick, and when the Freak leapt back to avoid it, I disemboweled it on a low, forward rush.

Our plan turned into a chaotic melee with Freaks moving wildly. Some lashed out at whomever was nearby; others fled. Tully and Spence dropped the last two as they bounded toward the edge of the clearing. I was breathing hard but euphoric. This definitely counted as a victory. All around me, the men were celebrating.

“It’s only one fight,” I said, “but this is where it begins.”

They responded by stomping their feet and hooting. Tegan moved through, checking us out. Apart from Tully and Spence, we all had minor scrapes, bruises, and claw marks, but nothing serious, no wounds that required much medical attention. We’d needed to prove our ability like this; it would bolster our resolve through the tough times, and I had no doubt those were looming on the horizon.

I went on, “Let’s get these bodies out of here. They’ll soon be stinking up the place.”

“What should we do with them?” Spence asked.

After considering how they had tormented us and ultimately destroyed Salvation, the answer came to me. My heart felt cold as ice as I replied, “Drag them past the edge of the forest. Take their heads. Then burn the rest.”

“What’re we doing with the heads?” Thornton demanded.

Stalker answered for me, an approving light in his eyes. “I suspect we’re planting them on stakes in a perimeter around our territory.”

“That’s exactly right.”

Morrow frowned. “That seems barbaric.”

“It is. It’s also a warning they’ll understand because it’s one they issued to us.”

By their expressions, a few didn’t like this, especially Morrow and Tegan, but I was done playing. The Freaks knew precisely what this meant—and that was the point. If they respected our boundary posting, then we’d get bored and have to change our strategy. If they did not—and I both hoped for and expected an enraged challenge—then things would get interesting.

Alongside the others, I helped with the hauling. Stalker kept a sharp eye on the terrain around us, as this was a dangerous point. We were off guard, dealing with the aftermath of the battle. Plus, we stood in an open field while stacking the headless Freak corpses in preparation for burning. Tegan gathered dry grass and other kindling in order to speed the bonfire along and Thornton donated a splash of liquor he’d picked up in one of our many stops. Once lit, the monsters made a fearful stink with a column of smoke pluming up like a signal fire.

And that was when the second wave appeared.

They swarmed from the south, and Fade’s warning shout gave us enough time for Spence to fire off a few rounds and Tully to unload two bolts before they hit us. I drew my blades, dancing back enough that I had room to move. It would be the worst luck and the ultimate irony if I fell over a Freak corpse and got clawed to death for my clumsiness.

They came too quick for me to get a count, and that fast I was fighting for my life. Four of them.
Where’s Fade?
I blocked with my right forearm, slicing two talons with my left so they hung from a spider spool of muscle and skin, dangling, dangling. Another slash cut through entirely and left stumps of bloody bone jutting from the maimed hand. The other three reacted as one; and I couldn’t block all of their blows. I flipped backward, arms extended for balance, but didn’t land clean since the grass was damp with blood. My feet slipped, thus yielding the advantage to my enemies.

Fortunately, I recovered fast enough to avoid everything but two swipes of their collective claws. Blood bubbled in the runnels they left in my flesh, but I spiked my daggers into the first one’s chest, then tore it wide open. Freaks tended to be predictable in their attacks. Over the years, I’d learned how they fought: swipe, swipe, snap with teeth. If they sank them into you, however, they locked their jaws. I rolled away from a snarling attack, using the damp ground to carry me out of range.

Before they could reach me, I rolled to my feet, ignoring the pain in my arms. What were a few more scars? Around me, I caught a glimpse of Fade, fighting to reach me, and Stalker, who was killing like it was his favorite thing in the world. I heard grunts from Thornton and nothing at all from Morrow. Spence was conserving his ammo, favoring knife and boot, while Tully shot from behind him. The chaos of killing was beautiful in a way, and I contributed to it by opening another’s veins as it ran at me. Blood spurted from its wounds, not fetid, just salt, copper, and that strong, meaty tang.

When the last monster fell, there were thirty of them on the ground, and we were all standing. More cheers sounded, as we’d just put down fifty Freaks.
Not a bad day’s work.
I was exhausted and drenched in blood, most of it not my own, but as I wiped my eyes, I knew the precious glow of satisfaction. The others looked as if they felt the same with the possible exception of Morrow. I couldn’t read him at all. The man was talented with a blade, but he didn’t show a warrior’s pride.

“Take these heads too,” I said. “Then add them to the pile.”

It took us the rest of the day to complete the burning and further into the night to post all the warning pickets around our base. A grisly job—Morrow and Tegan opted to remain at camp. By the time we returned, I was starving, filthy, and exhausted, but also hopeful. This was why the men had followed me from their homes. They didn’t care about the scale; they only wanted to kill Freaks. In some cases they wanted retribution. Others needed to feel like they were making the world a little safer. As for Morrow, I had no idea what he was doing here, but by firelight, he scribbled some notes in a book that he kept in his pocket.

There was a brook not far away, so Fade and I took some jugs to haul water for drinking and bathing. I didn’t think there would be more trouble—I suspected we’d cleared all the Freaks in the immediate area—but I was still on my guard as we pulled the full containers back toward camp. In the moonlight Fade looked as tired as I felt.

“How long are we staying?” he asked.

“Until they stop coming or we’re dead.”

“You think they’re capable of learning to fear us?”

“I hope so. I don’t know what else to do. When the horde marches this way, there will be no resisting them, unless you live in a place like Gaspard.”

“And most settlements aren’t so well positioned,” Fade said softly.

That bothered me. I saw Otterburn’s future for all unprotected towns, and I didn’t believe the Freaks would honor that bargain forever. That was a ploy to make the humans feel safe in the custody of monsters. To my mind, it was a way to get those residents used to the idea of bending at the knee—of being subjugated. I recalled the pens where the Freaks had kept humans—and how they’d treated Fade—which told me all I needed to know about their true intentions.

In this part of the forest, it was so dark, only slivers of moonlight trickling through the canopy, but for me, that was enough to make out the shapes of trees and the fans of the leaves, others with limbs full of prickling needles. I heard the distant bubble of the brook and the quiet chirrup of insects. The air smelled of sap and sweetness, crushed herbs and the slight musk of animal waste. Sour notes bled through from the distant fire, a smoky char full of burning bones.

I wished the flames could drive away the monsters forever, but it didn’t work like that, and according to Edmund, wishing was only a thing you did when you looked up at the stars. From here, I couldn’t see them—and for a few seconds I yearned for the relative innocence of when I’d imagined the lights came from a city set high above us. Things had been much simpler then, my quest smaller. We’d found safety in Salvation, but it didn’t last. There could be peace only if we forced it down their throats and choked them with it.

I stopped, bowing my head. “It’s insidious.”

Fade put down his jug; he was carrying instead of hauling it, as he was stronger than I was. Though he was better, I didn’t expect him to reach for me. I had grown accustomed to standing alone, no strong arms or warm body to lean on, so for a few seconds, I froze, like I was the one with a problem being touched. Then I melted against him, eyes closing.

“It is,” he agreed.

“Right now, I feel so small.”

His lips grazed the top of my head. “I believe you can do this. I’ve lived through all of your impossible stories and I know them to be true. So if anyone can change the world, it’s you.”

Questions

In the days that followed, I clung to those words.

The battles came fast and fierce, so that our bonfire on the edge of the forest burned all the time. Eventually we piled stones to keep it from spreading to the grass and then the trees. While we meant to warn our enemies, there was no value in burning down the woods.

In between the fighting, we built more. A roof went up across the branches, as we’d planned, and we widened the platforms so we could sleep up there too. At first it felt precarious and I hardly got any rest at all. But I’d had problems when we first came Topside, too. In time, I adapted. Everyone did.

Tully and Spence worked with Thornton in digging pits, then lining them with sharpened stakes. For obvious reasons, we all memorized the danger zones and avoided them. Farther out, Stalker and his scouts added snares and trip lines. Most often, we caught our dinner in the snares, but occasionally they trapped a lone Freak. The snarls gave away the location, so each time, one of us ran to kill the thing before it chewed through the line.

We had been in the forest for about a month, as far as I could tell, when Tegan approached. Her steps were light if uneven on the wooden perch. She had gotten nimble at climbing, and it was improving her confidence. She no longer skittered away from any of the men or failed to meet their eyes. Sometimes she even joined in the roughhousing with Spence and Morrow. I noticed Stalker studying her, but it wasn’t the look he used to give me, more like he was considering the terrible things he’d done and wishing he could change them.

She sat down beside me and let her legs dangle. Others were on watch. Morrow and Stalker were facing off in the clearing below. The Winterville scouts had taken off a few minutes before to check the perimeter traps and see if any of our severed heads had been removed. Sometimes the Freaks crept up and took them away, but they were cautious about attacking the camp now. We’d taught them wariness, at least. In time, it might become more.