“No,” Miss Militia said firmly.

  “Would you listen?” I snapped as we waited for Dragon’s ship. “We need people, regular people, to help with this.”

  “Dragon’s craft doesn’t have the capacity,” she said, shaking her head. “As it is, we can’t take many parahumans either. What makes you think regulars will help?”

  “I…” I chewed my lip, scanning the darkening skies. “I don’t know. Gut feeling, but considering what I do know I can say confidently it’s important. I’m not saying this because I want my friends to come with me, I’m saying it because we should have every option available.”

  “We can call ahead to the New York City detachment,” she offered. “Have them deploy some tactical teams with us. But we don’t have the capacity to bring our own teams.” I clicked my tongue, irritated.

  “Fine.” I turned to my team. “You heard the lady, pack it in.”

  “God dammit,” Zeke swore. “This some bullshit, Missy.”

  “We don’t want any of you to get hurt,” Miss Militia said evenly. “I do appreciate your willingness to face danger like this. If any of you want to join the PRT, well, you might have a place there.”

  “Yeah right,” J-Dog muttered, slinging his rifle. “Good luck boss, Nadir.”

  “Thanks,” I said flatly, a sour taste growing on my tongue. “We’re gonna need it.” At this rate, I wasn’t sure all the luck in the world would help.

  “Still the same old optimist,” Clockblocker said dryly as they left. “I think we can handle it though.”

  “You think so, do you?” I asked, turning on him. “You remember how bad it was last time? This is going to be way worse.”

  “But we have way more capes too,” he countered. “As many as would deploy to an Endbringer fight.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” I said as Dragon’s ship hovered overhead and began descending. “But I’d bet my life you’re not.”

  “Hey, come on,” Joy said, putting an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve been preparing for this for over a year now. If there’s anyone we need, anyone who can turn this into a win, it’s you.”

  “Maybe,” I sighed, leaning against her briefly before pulling away. “I’ll do my best.”

  “That’s all we can ask of you,” Miss Militia said gently as Dragon’s ship touched down. The door opened and she gestured to us. “Let’s go.”

  A fair few capes were joining us aboard the ship. Besides Miss Militia, Joy, and myself, Clockblocker, Adamant, and Crucible were coming too. The flyers of New Wave were rocketing off to New York already, with Brandish along in her ball form for easier transport. Tattletale had only said her team would make their own way, offering an ETA of an hour. Less than ideal, but better to have them along at all.

  “Roomy,” Clockblocker commented as we squeezed shoulder to shoulder in the fuselage of the craft. “Real luxurious.”

  “Relax, you’re not going to catch villainy from me,” I said sarcastically.

  “Hey what kind of gun is that?” Crucible asked as we took off. I eyed him, but the question seemed genuine.

  “Called an MC51,” I said. “It’s a carbine chambered in a full-caliber rifle cartridge. Kicks like a mule, which doesn’t matter to me, but I’ve taken down Brutes with it.”

  “Slaps hard too,” Joy added. “The concussion, I mean. It feels like it’s punching you in the face, especially if you’re clearing a house.”

  “That too,” I agreed. “Guess I notice it less, with my projection and all.”

  “That’s a big little gun,” Crucible said with a note of wonder. “Uh, hey, Miss Militia, do we have any of those in inventory?”

  “Shit if you want to try it out, I’ll take you to the range,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, assuming we survive, I don’t get killed by a trigger happy hero, and somehow stay out of the ‘cage after it all.”

  “That wouldn’t be acceptable,” Miss Militia said sharply. “However, I can check the inventory for you Crucible. We may have some from the capture of Terrier or Werwolf contraband.”

  “Cool,” he said. “Sorry Amaranth.”

  “Yeah yeah,” I sighed. “Big bad villain, can’t associate with impressionable young Wards lest I lead them to the dark side.”

  “You killed a lot of people,” Adamant said gravely. “You’re a dangerous, violent criminal who found a way out of the most secure facility on the planet.”

  “And I can count the number of times I’ve fought heroes on one hand,” I retorted. “I really don’t know how to convince you people we’re not a danger unless you’re wearing a swastika.”

  “This is a good start,” Miss Militia said. “Dragon, what’s our ETA?”

  “Thirty minutes,” Dragon replied over the intercom. “We’ll be stopping in Boston to pick up a few more heroes, then straight on to New York. Word from the New York Protectorate that there have been reports from the outer suburbs of disturbances. I suspect they’ll be engaged before we arrive.”

  I pursed my lips and turned my mind to the fight ahead. God dammit, if I was just able to fly this would be a cakewalk. We needed to find Jack Slash, priority number one, but I hadn’t heard a thing about him last time. Maybe I’d died too quickly, but it wasn’t like I could sit back and wait for him to show up.

  So what then? Survival was always going to be dicey, and if I flung myself in like usual my odds plummeted further. But I didn’t know enough to hang back and take a role directing the fight either, not that I’d be allowed even if I did. I glanced at Miss Militia and frowned. There was nothing for it, I’d have to swallow my pride and just follow her, listen to absolutely everything, and ask her to tell me everything she could about what was happening.

  She wouldn’t like it, and neither did I, but if that was what it took to win this… Okay, so a scouting run. I hated to give up on this life already, but it felt like we were out for failure as it was. I’d go as far as I could, try to find out where and when Jack would appear, then go back and do it for real.

  “Once we’re on the ground we’ll have to stick together,” I said. “Miss Militia, I assume you’re taking command?”

  “I am,” she confirmed. “Are you going to follow orders?”

  “Yeah, but I need you to tell me everything you can about what’s happening,” I replied. “You’ve got a radio plugged into their net?”

  “I’ll link it when we arrive.” Miss Militia narrowed her eyes. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m hoping proximity and info will trigger my memories,” I said. It was a lie, but probably closer to the truth than I’d ever given her before. After all, proximity would trigger memories...next time. “The more I remember, the more I can tell you, the better this fight will go.”

  “It’s a reasonable hypothesis,” Dragon said. “Amaranth has demonstrated she has better recollection when exposed to stimuli. It serves to keep her under supervision as well.”

  “Alright,” Miss Militia said. “Then stay close and keep up. Dragon, do you have a spare earbud? Perhaps we can at least give her a listen-only option.”

  “I believe I can arrange that,” she replied.

  “Alright,” I said, offering a grin. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad...

  “Move out!” Miss Militia barked as the hatch opened.

  We piled out onto the snowy street, me first as always. I swept the road and moved a few meters from Dragon’s craft, taking a knee and holding my position until she rose into the sky again. Once she was airborne, Miss Militia signaled for all of us to gather. From Boston, we’d picked up Lionheart and a cape named Detonite; the only others on his team who were going were flyers it seemed, though I was pretty sure Detonite was a villain.

  “We’re moving one block over,” Miss Militia said once we’d assembled. “A team of heroes have engaged a clone of Breed, a Master who creates and directs swarms of dangerous insectoids. Amaranth, take point, I’ll be right behind you. Then Lionheart, Adamant, Detonite, Clockblocker, Crucible, and finally Nadir.”

  “Van and rearguard huh?” I scoffed and shook my head. “No offense ma’am, but we are worth more than suicide missions.”

  “You two have the most experience handling enemies at range, besides myself,” she countered. “You’re able to soak up damage, Nadir can control large areas of ground. Your placements are tactical, not personal.”

  “It’s fine,” Joy reassured me. “We’ll all be sticking together anyway, right? No abandoning each other.”

  “Right,” Miss Militia said with a sharp nod.

  “Fine,” I sighed, rolling my shoulders. “Let’s get a move on then, this shit’s heavy.”

  I took my place at the head of the column and followed Miss Militia’s directions towards the sound of fighting. I hadn’t been kidding, I was laden with enough weight that even with my hard training in the Birdcage I was struggling. But I could struggle, I was damned good at it even. Once we made contact, I’d drop my bags and engage, and things would be fine.

  Probably.

  When we arrived, the battle wasn’t in as bad a place as last time. I spotted Highline leaping from rooftop to rooftop, pursued by a dozen flying bugs. More capes were engaged on the street, and I yanked a pull-tab on the straps of my backpack to detach them and drop it to the ground. The bag of explosives followed, and I grabbed Miss Militia’s arm.

  “Breed is hiding out behind one of the houses,” I said quickly. “Permission to detach and hunt him down? I’ll come right back, swear.” She stared at me for a moment, her gaze flicking to the bugs.

  “Go,” Miss Militia said with a sharp nod. “Good luck.”

  I thanked her, then sprinted into the fray. The fighting was desperate, but blasting apart bugs left and right, and with my team behind me, we made progress. I readied a grenade, cooked it, then tossed it into a swarm of flyers as they raced towards me. The grenade popped in their midst, shredding most of them and stunning the rest enough that I made it past.

  Unfortunately, I hadn’t taken in which home Breed had been hiding behind. Well, I knew he was in a backyard, so I raced behind the houses. I clambered to the top of a tall fence so I could actually see and took a looked around, ignoring the sounds of battle. Scanning carefully, I watched for signs of movement, the reinforcements that would indicate where Breed was hiding.

  There. A flight took to the air and raced towards the battle from a yard three houses down, second from the end. With my target locked, I swung over the fence and hit the ground with a grunt, then sprinted through the neighbouring yard. I leaped, grabbed the top of the next fence, and pulled myself over smoothly, carbine clattering against my back. Another quick sprint, another fence leaped, and I came face to face with the monster.

  No hesitation. I charged forward, priming a pair of grenades. I lobbed both as I skidded to a halt, feet away from the living hive. It turned slowly towards me as the bombs landed at its feet, a bug just beginning to crown from its mouth. Then the grenades exploded and turned him into paste.

  This time, it didn’t so much as twitch after absorbing the twin blasts. Easy. I grabbed my carbine off my back and carefully slotted a round into each of the remaining bugs in the backyard, then headed back to the street to rejoin the main fight.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  It took ten minutes to clear the cul-de-sac, then another ten to do the houses again. Time we couldn’t spare, but had to spend. We couldn’t exactly leave these bugs behind for families to come home to. But then it was done, and when we gathered again at the end of the road, I found we had a lot more capes than last time.

  “Good work,” Miss Militia said with a sharp nod. “Brockton/Boston team, we’re moving one street over to continue the fight against Mannequin, Night Hag, and Miasma. Everyone else, if you’re able then follow us. If not, take the wounded and evacuate, we don’t need to risk more casualties.”

  “Miss Militia, this is Dragon,” Dragon’s voice crackled in my earbud as twin sonic booms echoed overhead. “Have spotted a large enemy force one kilometer to your south. Can you respond?”

  “Wait one,” Miss Militia replied, cocking her head and pressing a button on her radio. There was a click in my ear as my own changed frequency, slaved to hers. “Alecto, this is Miss Militia, we’ve received a request to respond to an incursion south of here. Do you still need reinforcements?”

  “Badly,” came the grim reply. “We’ll come with you if you give us a hand.”

  “Understood.” Another click. “Dragon, we need to back up another team. Send your suits in to delay them, we’ll get there as fast as we can.”

  “Very well Miss Militia.” Dragon sounded a little disappointed, but she probably understood. “I’ll do what I can. Please hurry, this may be the main attack.”

  “We will.” Miss Militia turned and made a sharp gesture with her hand. “Let’s move people, double time!”

  We charged off to the next fight, and I prayed I’d make it through this time…

  I didn’t have to wait long to find out, fortunately or not. When we got to the next street, the fighting was more desperate than last time. I saw Night Hag, or at least I assumed it was her, surrounded by a twisting, scarred landscape. I knew she could ‘infect’ ground, for lack of a better term, I just didn’t expect it to be so obvious.

  I raised my carbine and fired a burst at her, a little surprised by how easily she shattered to pieces. Unfortunately, I saw it wouldn’t be as easy as that, as she reformed just feet away out of a brick wall. Further down the street, I could see Mannequin being engaged by a team of capes, or ‘engaged’, as most of them had already fallen still, victim to his energy-draining powers.

  “Night Hag first!” Miss Militia barked. “Amaranth forward, Detonite behind me, remainder hold here and watch our backs. Go!”

  We moved forward, Miss Militia keeping one hand looped into my vest to set the pace. She ordered me to keep shooting Night Hag when she appeared, so I did. It wasn’t easy, especially once Miss Militia turned her weapon into a grenade launcher and started lobbing rounds over my head. But I managed, shattering Night Hag’s reforming body even as explosions kicked up dirt and snow around her.

  Finally we began trodding on the infected ground, or what was left after Miss Militia’s constant barrage of grenades. She ordered Detonite into action, and he worked behind us, laying hands on every patch of ground that looked remotely funny. Miss Militia pushed me forward, onward, always into the teeth of the enemy. Exactly where I belonged.

  Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, reload, shoot some more. It was a steady, constant rhythm of violence. The cacophony in my ears melded together into a noise as constant as a roaring surf. Miss Militia was still firing grenades and shattering ground and brick, stopping Night Hag from forming quickly just about anywhere.

  I was nearly out of ammo when Miss Militia finally tugged on my vest to signal a retreat. I backpedaled with her, still firing at Night Hag whenever she appeared. Finally we were back where we’d started, alongside the rest of our team, and she ordered me to cease fire.

  “Detonite,” Miss Militia said. One word, no inflection.

  The infected area, littered with craters and shards of Night Hag’s remains, lit up in a tremendous fireball. A mushroom cloud of burning debris rose high into the sky above, and splintered brick and shattered stone struck the ground around us. When the dust cleared, there was no infected terrain left, no Night Hags reforming from the ashes.

  We got her.

  “Next target,” Miss Militia barked, gesturing to Mannequin. He’d come closer, but was being harried by other heroes. They were slowing though, and not putting enough of a dent in him fast enough. “Ideas?” I pursed my lips, it was a tough one.

  “Lionheart, how good’s that sword?” I asked, looking at the knight.

  “Good enough to cut Leviathan’s hide,” Lionheart rumbled. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking we’ll have time for one, good hit,” I replied. “His energy drain doesn’t happen right away. If I can grab his arms, get you an opening, think you can take him out?”

  “I think I can manage one strike,” he said with a curt nod.

  “Can we offer any cover?” Miss Militia asked as I handed my carbine and pistol to Joy, no point risking them.

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “Nadir, give my your grenades would you?” I took the three she had left and hooked them on my vest for easy access.

  “Just make sure you’re watching for Miasma,” Lionheart said. “No telling where he’ll show up. I have filters in my helmet, but no respirators for you.”

  “I’ve got a feeling he’s past Mannequin,” I said, pointing. There were bodies behind him, not all of them felled by the axes in his hands. “Maybe it’s just his power, but I don’t think so. Not really anything we can do til we get past him.”

  “Then we should see to that,” he said, hefting his sword and leaning it slightly on his shoulder. “Shall we?”

  With a tight grin on my face, I sprinted towards Mannequin, Lionheart hot on my heels. No guarantee this was going to work, but if not...god dammit, I really didn’t want to get stuck fighting a single cape in all this. Well, if this failed, I’d just find a way to bypass this, push Miss Militia to respond to whatever Dragon spotted.

  But I could worry about that later. I hit the edge of Mannequin’s power and felt a shiver run up my spine. A yawn crept up on me, but I forced it down by staring up at the monstrous hybrid clone for an easy spike of adrenaline. Fuck he was bigger than last time I’d seen him, but no matter. I screamed like a maniac as I charged forward, drawing his attention from a still cape he’d been facing down.

  His power hit me hard. Why was I even bothering? I couldn’t do a damn thing against Mannequin, I never had before. Except I had and I could. He swung his right arm, and I caught the axe blade on my forearm, then hooked my arm around Mannequin’s and held it in place. He cocked his head and swung his other limb, and I repeated the process. My teeth chattered as he stared down at me, and I could feel my energy draining, going with the heat from my very bones.

  A roar echoed behind me as Lionheart sprang over my head, bringing his sword down in a smashing overhand blow on Mannequin’s shoulder. It tore down and through the monster’s torso, then out his crotch as the hero landed in front of me. Lionheart drew back his sword and, with a loud grunt, swung it sideways and turned two pieces of Mannequin into four.

  Ice exploded around us, smashing Lionheart and sending him careening into me. I braced just in time, stopping his brief flight without hurting either of us. I dropped Mannequin’s twitching arms and knelt next to the knight, looking him over.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Not quite,” Lionheart grunted, pushing himself up. I winced when I saw a spike of ice sticking out of his stomach. He gripped it with both hands and groaned, then huffed. “Damn, I need some help.”

  “Uhh, pretty sure you’re supposed to leave objects in the wound til you get to a hospital,” I said hesitantly.

  “Trust me,” he said. “Quick, we’re not done yet.”

  “Alright.” I put both hands on the spike of ice and held tightly.

  “On three,” Lionheart said, taking a slow breath then letting it out. “One—” He groaned as I yanked the spike straight out. “God damn you I meant it!” There was a faint hissing noise, and within seconds I saw a strange, off-white foam dripping from the hole in his armour.

  “Sorry,” I offered. “What’s that?”

  “Ah.” Lionheart patted his breastplate gently. “Biofoam, a slight tweak to the recipe for containment foam to make it bioinert, added painkillers, and antibiotics. Once it cures, in about ten minutes, I’ll be ready to fight until this is over.”

  “Damn, that’s cool,” I said, eyes widening. I looked up the street and grimaced. Nothing but bodies...and potentially Miasma. “One left. You want to try, or leave it to me?”

  “Can’t move yet,” he grunted. “You have a plan?”

  “Well I can’t see him, but if he gets hit I can.” I plucked a pair of grenades from my vest, tossing them up and down in my hands. “What’s that old saying about ‘almost’?”

  “Horseshoes and hand grenades indeed,” Lionheart said with a pained chuckle. “Best fortune.”

  I didn’t waste anymore time, running towards the place I figured Miasma would be, at least judging by the bodies. There were a couple flyers overhead, and I waved to them to get their attention. One waved back, and I turned my attention back to the streets. As I waded forward, they yelled something down to me, a warning. Miasma was here then.

  Time to get started.

  Almost casually, I plucked the pins from both grenades, then tossed them to either side of the wide street. I took the third from my vest and threw it further up the road as the other two detonated loudly, sending shrapnel pinging off my projection. Nothing yet, not even when the third exploded, so I continued walking up the road. My fourth grenade struck gold, or rather gas. I lobbed it overhand into the mouth of an empty alleyway, and when it exploded a rush of thick, green gas poured onto the street.

  “There!” I screamed to the flyers overhead, pointing to the alley.

  For maybe the first time...ever, I didn’t have someone ask stupid questions like ‘what’s in the alley’ or ‘are you sure I should blow everything up’. Instead, a scintillating white beam poured down from the heavens. The area was bathed in a brilliant glow, so bright I had to shield my eyes to avoid being blinded. When it finally cleared, I blinked spots away from my eyes as I stared into the alley. When I saw there wasn’t even a hint of gas left, I smiled.

  Job done, I jogged back towards Miss Militia and the rest of my team. Along the way, I caught up with Lionheart, slowly limping along, and offered some support. He was heavy, but it wasn’t a problem for me. A minute later we made it back, and I helped Lionheart sit before walking up to Miss Militia and tossing a casual salute.

  “Area clear,” I reported. “Ready for more?”

  “Good work,” Miss Militia said with a nod as Joy came over and returned my weapons. “Are you alright?”

  “Peachy,” I said, shrugging my carbine’s sling over my shoulder and holstering my pistol. “Low on ammo, need to reload before we go. Nadir?”

  “I grabbed your bags,” Joy said, gesturing to where they lay at the side of the road. “Already got some for myself. I can give you a hand getting it back on though.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’ll take that.”

  “Be quick,” Miss Militia said. “We don’t have time to lose.”

  I held back the acidic retort that immediately swelled. I knew that already, better than anyone here, but I didn’t have access to a magical inventory of every weapon I’d ever seen with unlimited ammunition to boot. But getting into an argument about it would just delay us further, so I sucked it up, dug into my bag, and started loading up.

  Five minutes later, I was ready to go. Miss Militia had spent the time organizing our expanded roster, getting the wounded evacuated, and contacting Dragon for directions. I half-listened, but it was just a bunch of random names, ones I probably wouldn’t be able to hold in my head; nor were they guaranteed to be accurate next time.

  Finally, we got moving again. Dragon was directing us to a place called Hyatt Park, apparently in the way of the Nine’s current path. Almost a mile away, and we jogged towards it as quick as we could while keeping our guard up. In the distance, I could see two of Dragon’s suits flitting around, blasting lighting and fire down from on high. Delaying actions to try and let us set up before they arrived.

  We had just over a dozen capes in total, besides the team we’d come in with. A hell of a force, but considering what we were up against it may as well be a house of twigs in a hurricane. Miss Militia chattered on the radio as we ran, trying to direct more and more forces towards the park. There was no telling whether they’d arrive in time, but maybe we could drag this out just long enough.

  But what would it matter if we didn’t have regulars? God dammit, I just couldn’t shake the feeling we needed people without powers alongside us. My memory was no help, though it felt like I was constantly on the verge of an answer, it stubbornly refused to offer it up. I relayed my concerns to Miss Militia, and she requested a tactical team join us at the park. That didn’t help my anxiety all that much, but there wasn’t much else I could do; this time at least…

  By the time we arrived at the wooded park, sweat was stinging my eyes despite the cold temperatures and ever-increasing snowfall. Lugging nearly my body weight in ordinance was a hell of a lot harder than I’d anticipated, and I could feel cramps stabbing painfully into my sides. The moment we arrived, I dropped both my bags and plopped down on a snow drift, trying to catch my breath before shit kicked off again.

  “You okay?” Joy asked, sounding breathless herself.

  “Tired,” I panted. “Can you put a few charges together? Want to be ready.”

  “Sure,” she said, kneeling next to me and unzipping the explosives bag. As she worked, she studied me quietly. “How many times?”

  “Round two,” I said quietly. “Didn’t get this far last time, bit it to Mannequin.”

  “And you charged in?” Her tone was accusatory.

  “It was our best shot,” I said with a shrug. “Had to move fast enough that he couldn’t exploit his power, and hit hard enough he went down right away. It worked didn’t it?” She clicked her tongue, then sighed.

  “Just wish it wasn’t always your neck,” Joy said. “I hate sitting around while you run straight into the worse shit, it makes me feel sick.”

  “Don’t worry, there’s going to be plenty to go around,” I said, my gaze drifting up to the sky. Only one of Dragon’s mechs was still fighting, close enough I knew we had just minutes. “Sorry to drag you into this.”

  “I’m here because I want to be,” she replied, putting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “Maybe I never wanted to have powers, but you can’t help that. Since I have them anyway...the least I can do is help.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” I said, shuffling over and helping her make charges. We cut the fuses short, just five to ten seconds; no need for much more. “Just...wish it was under better circumstances.”

  “Me too,” she sighed.

  “Contact!” Miss Militia yelled.

  The moment was over. We readied our weapons and I put the charges back in the bag, then slung it on my side. It was a bit hard to balance, but I needed them ready for either of us to use at a second’s notice. We ran towards the northern edge of the park where lasers were already lighting up the skies. I saw swarms of Breed bugs rising to meet the flyers, and they started evading and trying to shoot them down before they could release their acid spit.

  Dragon’s mech swept into the middle of the swarm, large poles crackling with electricity. This had been one of the ones fighting the Undersiders oh so long ago. Dozens of bugs fell, but the few survivors threw themselves against the metal body of the suit. They exploded in gobs of acid, rapidly chewing through the alloys and leaving smoking holes behind.

  My attention was forced back to the ground as a wave of clones charged through the trees. Two hulking monstrosities that must have been Crawlers roared in unison. They weren’t quite as large as the original, just taller than regular men; but both were broad and brawny, with thickly armoured scales I had no doubt were bulletproof.

  Between them ran a trio of Murder Rats, another throwback to the worst summer of my life. I grit my teeth and shouted for Joy to follow me. She was our best shot at killing them before they could compensate for her power, and I could keep her relatively safe while she closed the distance. I fired a long burst as a Murder Rat broke away from the group towards us, smashing its chest to pieces and sending it to the dirt.

  Finally we were in range. Joy yanked on my vest and pulled me a few feet behind her, then stretched out a hand. She pointed down, and the four remaining monsters were turned into a thick, red paste that painted a five-meter wide crater in the earth.

  No time to celebrate, there were more enemies approaching through the trees. More heroes arrived to back us up, and I separated from Joy so I wouldn’t get in the way of her power as I moved forward to engage. I fired at every shadow, every shade that flickered through the trees. There were a lot, a god damn lot, too many.

  A roar behind me made me whirl and fire. My burst caught a hulking, hideous man in his gut as I ducked a swing from his axe. I raised my arm to block the backswing and had just enough time to register the feeling of cold wetness on my face from snowflakes melting on it before the axe bit deep into my arm.

  I screamed, and Hatchet Face swung again.