I pulled the bottom of my shirt up to wipe my mouth, needing to be fully rid of anything on my face before trying a last ditch effort to sound strong.
"I'm not scared," I lied, sounding steadier and more convincing this time.
"You just smell disgusting. Do you quit bathing when you're immortal?"
He snarled at me, somewhat growling. Then he cracked his neck and his smile returned as the sinister gleam in his eyes deepened.
"I'll take care of that. I'll just make it to where you never have to breathe again." He leapt through the air toward me. Dirt splattered beneath his feet as he impacted it with his monstrous force. I didn't flinch. I didn't move. It wouldn't have done me any good anyway. I would never be able to stop him. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing pure fear in my eyes any longer.
Painful as it was, I calmly accepted my fate and gracefully awaited death.
Suddenly, I saw a flash out of the corner of my left eye. The flash flew in front of me, and in an instant, the creepy man was flying through the air.
I gasped in pure astonishment as Tallis dusted his hands off in a casual manner. Then he put himself directly between me and the putrid fiend.
He cut his eyes at the skeletal man he had surprised. "Well, she does have a point. Your scent is far more appalling than the usual maggots I encounter."
Without any warning, Tallis turned to me and pushed me hard, knocking me thirty-feet backwards into the water. The water engulfed me instantly, drenching me as thoroughly as my confusion. I didn't have time to collect air before I was thrown in, so I was frantically clawing my way back to the surface.
When the air finally reached me, I was gasping and coughing. Ignoring the burning of the water in my eyes, I stared in disbelief, still trying to wrap my mind around Tallis really being here. I shrieked loudly as I saw another man appear. Tallis must have smelled him. That's why he launched me backwards.
The new monster knocked Tallis into a tree. A harsh crack made it sound like his back broke, which forced a squeal through my lips. I clamped my hands over my mouth to keep me from making another sound.
Tallis got up and shook himself off, acting as though he had merely stumbled. The two men attacked him simultaneously. The tears gushed from my eyes as I watched helplessly. I couldn't do anything but witness the brutal double team. This was my fault. If he died… I would beg for death to take me as well.
They pinned him down and the larger man started to put his hands on him.
There was only one thing I could do. Distract them. Draw them to me and save his life.
"You want me! Take me!" I screamed, praying for a miracle.
The bigger brute quickly took the bait and he started to charge at me, but the skinnier one tripped him up, refusing to share me. Tallis seized his opportunity and quickly leapt to his feet. He hit them both with a blast to draw their attention back to him.
They raced him again. He ducked in the gap between them and they blew past. Then he ran up, grabbed the new guy's arm, and it exploded into ash. The scrawny man charged him as the ashy, one-armed man screamed in agony.
The hissing man suddenly shot out energy. It looked like streaks of lightning. Before it could hit Tallis, someone had jumped in front of it. I quickly realized that it was Everett, and my trapped breath finally came out in an exhale.
The lightning bounced off his chest like it had hit a rubber wall. Then I saw more energy bolts of lightning coming from behind Tallis. The bolts struck the man in the chest, blasting him backwards about fifty or sixty feet. Now I could see that the bolts had originated from Jay. He was dashing toward us, hands out and ready to strike again.
Everett slid in front of the ashy one-armed man when the fiend tried to grab Jay. Everett fell to his knees, his eyes becoming void of any life. I paled at the sight. A drainer.
The ashy man was a drainer, and apparently, invincibles weren't invincible to everything. I heard Jay yell something and then a giant blast of electrical currents zapped into the ashy man. He shook ferociously and then collapsed. He wasn't getting up this time.
Tallis was still facing off with my attacker, as Jay went to Everett.
"I've got it, Jay. Go help Tallis," Aster said, appearing as suddenly as they all had.
No! She's pregnant. She shouldn't be here! What have I done?
Another ma
n joined the party now. He was tall, really tall, and outlandishly wide. The hulking man charged, like a raging bull seeing red, directly at Tallis. I scrambled back in the water, trying to think of something to do. Tallis couldn't even see him coming because his back was turned. He was still throwing shots of explosions at my original attacker.
I screamed and winced when the hulking man was within inches of Tallis. Then a blaze of fire swept between the man and Tallis.
I sighed in relief when I saw Ash was there. She pulled a line of fire that seemed to originate from the earth as she taunted the hulking man. "Let's see what cha' got, big boy."
She walked away from Tallis, drawing the man's attention to her. He grunted and snarled as he charged again. She suddenly leapt straight up and disappeared into the air, and a gale wind so strong whizzed in and wrapped the man around a tree.