Days of Love and Blood

turned back around to see several of the homicidals on the ground.
    I had a chance.
    My swords flew before me and I struck over and over again. For every strike I made I heard five gunshots. I pushed forward, never retreating up the hill. I ran to the right and left, moving the homicidals in the direction I wanted and killing them when I had the chance. I was hit in the back with a bat when I was almost overpowered by four at once but the hit helped me to somersault in between two attackers and catch them off balance. I turned my swords outright and caught both of their ankles in my turn. When they fell to the ground I overpowered the other two.
    It felt like hours before the gunshots faded into one or two per minute. I could no longer see out of my right eye after receiving a metal pipe in the face, but my left eye was enough to keep me going. After the last one was slaughtered by my sword, I stood at the base of the hill before the tree line and screamed.
    “Was that it?” my old friend’s voice sounded behind me.
    “Ivy,” I breathed. “Why - you shouldn’t have done that.”
    “I think it’s time you weren’t alone anymore,” she said. “And it’s time for me to take some action.”
    “We weren’t going to let you face another day by yourself,” said Solomon. He reached out and put his arm around me and I let myself fall into his weight.
    “Why didn’t you kill the dogs?” I asked as he brought me up the hill.
    “We did.”
    “They’re still barking,” I said.
    “Where is that coming from?” Solomon asked. The three of us froze and tried to still our breathing.
    “Behind the house!” I screamed. “Ronan!”
    I shoved Solomon off me and ran to the house , following the sound of barking dogs behind it. Seven homicidals surrounded one of the wooden sheds while three dogs growled and barked. Two of the killers were trying to beat down the door while three others were ripping a hole through the roof. I heard Ben’s desperate cries from within.
    I ran straight at them and screamed for their attention. My diversion worked and they gave up on their task, deciding that I would be a more favorable target. With Solomon and the others behind me, the seven were dying on the ground in less than a minute.
    “Ben!” I cried while banging on the shed door. “It’s Carson. Open the door! It’s safe.” The doors finally shifted and Ben spilled out.
    “Ronan! Ben, where’s Ronan?”
    “I - I don’t know!”
    “What do you mean, you don’t know? Where’s my son?”
    Ben cried out and fell to his knees. He sobbed with both hands covering his face. My hand came down and cracked him across the face.
    “Answer me! Where’s my son!”
    “Oh ! I don’t know! They came and he was next to me and then he wasn’t! I was so scared, so scared. I looked for him, I did! I called his name. But then they were chasing me and I had to keep running!”
    “You left my son behind?” I screamed. I took two steps back and grabbed my hair at the roots with both hands. The sound of fear left my mouth in one monstrous moan after another. “You left my baby?” I wailed involuntarily again. There was no way to control the sudden torrent of pain and ultimate terror as it poured from my heart into my throat. I gasped with audible grief, barely breathing, choking on the bile that filled my mouth. “You left a child?”
    “There were so many of them!”
    “Carson!”
    “Cooper!” I yelled. I recognized his voice instantly. “Ronan! He’s missing!”
    I trained my eyes on the sound of his voice. Cooper emerged from the tree line behind the shed carrying a bundle in his arms. The bundle had his arms wrapped around Cooper’s neck and his head on Cooper’s shoulder.
    “Ronan!” I screamed. I ran to Cooper and lifted Ronan out of his arms. I dropped to my knees and held him tighter than ever. Cooper bent down and wrapped his strong arms around both of us. His hold was strong and his heavy breath against the back of my neck strained with relief.
    “Carson, you gotta listen to me right now,” said Cooper. “I don’t mean to ruin the moment, but they’re here.” I looked up at him with my son’s head pushed firmly into my neck. “Those gunshots we heard before the pack came? Those were from our two old pals, Willie and Anand.”

Worse
    You don’t think when it happens, you just watch. There isn’t any time to be afraid or think about consequences. When people say their life flashed before their eyes I