Page 119 of Monsters within Men
On the other side of the huddle, something was happening.
“I told you tolookat me,” Aoife snapped, her voice laced with fury and disbelief as she shook her head at Florence. “After what we got up to last night, you could at least show me some fecking respect.”
Florence’s face was blank, but her rifle shook.
In a very, very, quiet voice, Luo said, “I’m going to give us one shot.”
“What?” whispered Vitt.
Luo shook his head. “I can snap my tie. I think. If I pull my bionic hard enough. But I’ll probably dislodge my other shoulder doing so. Or maybe break my wrist.”
A tiny glimmer of hope lit up Frankie’s eyes. “And then what?”
“I’m going to shuffle over there to do it.” Luo nodded to his right. “I’ll grab Austin’s rifle and start shooting. It’s not gonna be pretty. People will die. I’ll try to get his dagger at the same time and throw it at Vitt. I hear she’s got mad skills with her mouth.” He winked.
Zeke chuckled weakly, desperate to release some of the tension built up inside him. His head throbbed. His heart hurt. But he was determined to do his very best in whatever happened next. Even if it meant throwing himself in the line of fire to protect his team.
Vitt passed the message down the line in a hasty whisper, Squad C thankfully distracted by Aoife’s continued verbal assault of Florence.
“Are we ready?” Luo asked.
Zeke looked at Frankie, at Vitt, Habib and all the others. His family. One he never he knew he wanted, but now would do anything for.
“Brothers in arms, family for life,” Zeke said, nodding his chin downwards at his dog tags.
“And sisters,” Frankie hissed, nudging him.
He looked away from Luo as he began the process of ripping the zip tie—and likely his own body—free, partly to not make it obvious, but mostly as he didn’t want to see the pain on Luo’s face. How was he even meant to shoot Squad C with a broken arm, anyway?
Low grunts told him everything he needed to know. Around him, the others shuffled, covering up Luo’s noise.
“I can’t do this,” came a distraught cry from the other side of the huddle. Florence.
“What?” Moss spat, looking at her as if she were an insolent child.
“This is wrong,” Florence said, her voice shaking. Everyone’s eyes were on her as she reached for her dagger, unsheathing it and cutting Aoife’s bonds in one swift movement.
Bang.
Wisps of smoke filled the air.
Florence’s body fell to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
Luo jumping up from the ground was the last thing Zeke saw before all hell broke loose. Tobias’s angry shouts filled the air, almost as loud as the violent pattering of bullets. A glint of metal flashed as a knife landed near Zeke’s lap. At once, Vitt gripped the dagger with her teeth and Habib threw his hands backwards onto it, cutting his wrist in the process. Zeke tore his eyes away from the blood dripping down his arm. Habib snatched up the dagger and freed Vitt and Savannah within milliseconds.
Moss’s crumpled body—a hole in the centre of his forehead—fell to the ground, his rifle tumbling with it. Savannah lunged for the rifle and began to fire. How she knew where to aim in this carnage was anyone’s guess; everyone was now on their feet and bodies screamed as they pushed into one another.
Around them, weak bursts of sunlight dappled the attic as bullets burst through the roof. Frankie, still bound like Zeke, pushed him out of the fray, towards Noah and Lowenna. But where was Tobias?
“They’re here!” Lowenna screamed, and it took seconds for Zeke to realise who she meant. Because they may have been battling Squad C, but they were also in type territory. Specifically, their fridge.
“Guard the ladder!” Noah commanded, but was anyone even listening? “They’re coming up that way too!”
Zeke’s eyes darted across the attic. A sea of bodies littered the floor, including one with a shiny metal arm. He bit down on his lip to focus himself.
Vitt and Savannah ran past them, carrying Moss’s body. Zeke gasped as they threw it off the edge. The sound of hungry, delighted types rose from the ground floor.
Genius.
