Page 63 of Toy

My lips pulled back, baring my teeth in a snarl as I got up and dashed right toward him. He swung the log at my jaw. I dodged it and punched him right in the throat, making him choke and fall to his knees. As he spluttered, I snatched the wood out of his hand and smashed him in the back of the head. Blood spurted onto my clothes as he crumpled to the ground. Some of the spray went on my legs, dousing the last of the dying flames on my pants. “Thanks, man,” I said sarcastically, kicking the guy’s motionless body.

I turned and looked at the brunette girl. “Get everyone inside. All the women and children. Don’t come out until someone comes to get you. Okay?”

She nodded and dashed away. I turned back to Jolie. Part of her face was blackened with bits of soot, and her eyes were bulging. She looked shell-shocked.

I grabbed her shoulders. “You okay?”

She nodded, even though her trembling hands betrayed her stark terror. “I… I think so.”

“You didn’t get burned?”

“No, but you did.” Her voice was choked now, and tears had begun to slip down her cheeks.

I shook my head and rubbed her arms reassuringly. “I’m fine,” I said. “I need you to get it together, okay? The men are probably going to come back down here with guns any minute now.”

“I know. What should I do?”

“I need you to go inside one of the cabins and hide somewhere. Don’t come out until I come back for you.”

She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’m staying with you.”

“No fucking way. Get inside now,” I growled, tightening my grip on her arms with my good hand. “I need to keep you safe.”

“No,” she said, pushing her chin high. “You just walked through fire to save me. I’m not leaving you to deal with this alone. Let me help.”

I rubbed my brow and sighed heavily. She was being stubborn, and there simply wasn’t enough time to stand here and argue with her. “If I let you stay out here, you need to do exactly as I fucking say. Got it?” I said, narrowing my eyes.

She nodded. “I will. What can I do?”

I pointed toward the thatched cabins. “I dropped my bag over there with all my stuff. You keep watch while I go and grab it. Stay low. If you see anyone coming down the road from the mansion, don’t call out. Just run to me and let me know.”

She nodded and crouched by a wooden bench, eyes still wide and fearful as she gazed up the long mansion path. When I returned with my heavy pack a minute later, she looked back at me. “I haven’t seen anyone yet, but it’s too dark to tell. There could be guys farther up the track.”

I unzipped a side pocket on the bag and pulled out the night vision binoculars. “Use these to look up there,” I said. “Tell me what you see.”

As she peered into the darkness, I pulled out another pistol and loaded it. Then I shoved some spare clips into my back pocket. I was definitely going to need them. I’d already killed about fifteen men here so far, including Danny earlier, but that was nothing considering how many men were still out there.

“Someone’s coming,” Jolie whispered from beside me. “A bunch of guys just left the front of the mansion, and they’re heading down the path. Looks like they have guns and knives.”

“How many are there?”

“Eight.”

I loaded another pistol. “Are you still terrible at aiming these things?” I asked, holding it out to her.

She nodded meekly. “Probably.”

I smiled. “Good. I need that wild aim right about now.”

Her brows furrowed. “Why?”

“When these guys get closer to the village, they’re probably gonna split up to try and find us, unless they think they know exactly where we are already. So I need you to run over behind the fire. Don’t worry, they won’t be able to see you through it.”

Jolie nodded. “Uh-huh. What then?”

“You need to fire a few rounds in that direction,” I said, pointing to the east. “Then lie flat on the ground. They’ll think we’re definitely all the way over there, and they’ll be distracted long enough for me to pick them off from the opposite side.”

She nodded and took the gun from me. “Okay.”

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