Chapter 8

Jack watched in horror as Soja fell.

The plump boy had a glazed look on his face with his hand outstretched in front of him, reaching for Jack. Time seemed to slow down as he tipped slowly backwards. Jack reached out to grab him but he was too far away. He couldn’t reach him.

“SOJA!” Tanner’s yelling broke Jack out of his daze. Eyes wide with desperation, he yelled.

“SOJA! USE YOUR SKILL!”

A flicker of comprehension flashed across Soja’s eyes and his hands glowed feebly. The blue glow was much dimmer than before and jets of fog came out of his hands, but they weren’t as strong as they were an hour ago. He had barely had recovered any mana.

Little puffy white clouds came out of his hands. It pushed him forward a little, but it was nowhere near strong enough to carry him out of the stampede.

Jack reached for his hip but all he felt there was his whip sword.

“Tanner!”

Tanner was quick. He grabbed one of the many knives that were embedded in the trees beside him and had his arm pulled back to make the throw. All of this was done in one fluid motion. His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he took his aim.

Soja was falling. His eyes were rolled up in his head as he had used the last bits of his mana.

His jets had pushed him forward a little but he was headed straight for a tree. He was going to crash right into it and fall into the stampede.

Tanner’s arms flashed like lightning as he threw Knife-girl’s blade right at Soja. Jack’s heart skipped a beat as he watched the blade make for Soja’s face. It flew straight for his head and passed underneath his collar, nailing him to the tree behind him. The plump boy was hanging on the tree limply as the herd of Bison rampaged below him.

“Quick!”

“Move it!”

Jack and Tanner both rushed to Soja’s aid but a storm of knives came in from the side blocking their path.

“Scheiße!”

Glaring hatefully at the girl, Jack dove behind a tree for cover. He tried to peek from behind the tree but he had to quickly pull back when he was greeted with another knife to the face.

“Das Mistst**k!”

Cursing under his breath he fumbled around his waist for his whip sword. He brought the silvery metallic sword to his face and studied the reflection on its glossy surface.

The group behind them were still dodging the crazed wild animals. The herd of Bisondon were rampaging around them and they had to leap from tree to tree to avoid falling to their death. Several of the smaller trees were pulled out from their roots as the herd passed by. It was only Knife-girl that was intently focused on them. Her hazel eyes were cold and focused as she threw blade after blade in their direction, completely disregarding her own safety.

Tearing his eyes away from Knife-girl, Jack turned towards Soja. The plump boy was still hanging limply on the tree and the blade which had him nailed to the wood was holding strong. All the while the Bison ran roughshod over the terrain as they charged in an endless stream towards the river. One of the heavier bucks crashed headlong into the tree that Soja was hanging on. The tree shook hard and its roots creaked as the hoard passed through. There was the sound of tearing roots and the whole tree groaned as it started to sag to one side. It looked like it would topple over at any second.

“Tanner!” Jack yelled in panic seeing Soja dangling by his collar like a ragdoll. The tree was going down and it would take Soja down along with it.

Mrs. Be’s words echoed in his head.

Look after him won’t you, Jackie boy? Just look after him.

“Get to Soja. I’ll distract her.”

Soja’s tree groaned and creaked. It started to tilt more and more as it was pulled out of its roots.

Tanner looked from Jack to Soja. He finally came to a decision and his hands started glowing blue. A pill bottle appeared in his hands, which he promptly tossed to Jack.

Catching the bottle, Jack noticed the label on it. Beast Lures was written on it in big bold letters. Both bottles were in Jack’s hands now.

Pausing for a bit, Tanner said quietly. “Don’t die.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Take this too,” said Tanner as he removed the pendant from his neck and tossed it to Jack. “Just in case.”

“Just in case?” repeated Jack confused. Tanner got up with his head bent low as he prepared to charge out.

Jack’s eyes went wide when he understood. “Don’t plant red flags, asshole.”

Tanner just grinned and gave Jack a two finger salute. “I’ll see you at the waterfall.”

The tall boy leaped away from the tree and was flying through the air. A hail of knives followed him but he was too fast for Knife-girl. The one knife that did manage to get past his guard was blocked by his thick long coat.

Jack was still gritting his teeth. He yelled into the air. “You better come back, you hear? Come back in one piece.”

He leapt out of cover and found Knife-girl preparing another hail of knives aiming for Tanner. The steel whip was in his hands before he knew it, and with a resounding crack, he aimed for Knife-girl and took a swing.

Knife-girl who was distracted by Tanner’s sudden appearance hadn’t spotted Jack when he came out of his cover. She was still throwing her knives at Tanner but now she had Jack to worry about. All she saw was a flash of light when the whip made for her and she barely dodged out of its way.

The whip struck the branch that she had been standing on and wrapped around the branch like a metal snake. A sharp shrill noise of grinding metal was heard and the tree limb was sliced cleanly through.

The girl’s eyes went wide with shock seeing the severed branch. The whip was fast and insanely dangerous. It shone with a metallic luster and was more akin to a flexible blade than a whip.

Frowning with concentration, Jack swung the whip again and there was a screech of metal as the whip sword tore through the air. The metal snake followed the girl wherever she went, cutting down anything that stood in its path. Jack swung his whip again and again. It sliced through the trees like butter and the girl had to keep leaping out of the way as the branches that she had been standing on got torn to shreds.

Jack had a severe look on his face as he worked. The girl was fast. He had to get a lot closer for his blade to catch her, but that was a gambit he was not willing to take on at this point in time. The priority was to get Soja out of here. That was all that mattered right now. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Tanner reach Soja.

He swung his whip again and the flexible weapon followed Knife-girl like a snake. She barely avoided getting sliced apart and was too preoccupied with the serpent blade to notice Soja being taken away. The girl retreated and ducked behind a tree to escape Jack’s crazy sword whip.

In that split second, Jack couldn’t resist checking up on Soja. His heart was pounding in his chest as he turned expectantly towards them. Tanner had already grabbed Soja within the opening that he had given him and had the fat boy slung on his shoulders. Without missing a beat, the tall boy made his escape into a thick set of trees, disappearing from view.

Seeing his friend being safely escorted away, Jack sighed in relief and got ready to swing his whip sword again. He just had to hold Knife-girl back for just a bit longer and Tanner would have enough time to get away clean. Jack's arm came down in a practiced motion as he aimed his whip where he had last spotted Knife-girl but his flexible weapon just met still air. The girl was nowhere to be seen.

“Mutter ficker!”

He had just taken his eyes away from her for only an instant and the girl was already gone. His instincts were screaming at him to move and he immediately jumped away from the tree that he had been standing on.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

Barely a second later a barrage of knives struck where he had been last standing. The branch exploded into a shower of splinters with the force of the knives.

“Damn!” He had to jump away again as another barrage came at him out of nowhere.

Jack cursed under his breath as he desperately dodged the knives. He had lost focus for just a second and he had lost the initiative. He moved quickly as he retreated, trying to figure out where his attacker was. Jumping from tree to tree he moved in a zigzagging pattern to try and lose her but the blades never stopped coming.

Another barrage of knives followed him and Jack looked around wildly trying to spot Knife-girl but she ghosted around the trees too quickly for him to follow. Dodging the knives left and right, Jack racked his head for ideas. He needed to figure out a way to find her quickly before he ends up like a pin cushion nailed to a tree.

“Com’on,”

Jack reached in his vest and searched his pockets. There had to be something here that he could use. Groping around he found a pair of zip ties and the beast lure pills. He grabbed one scarlet red pill from the bottle. Looking at the pill in his hand Jack was about to toss it out behind him when he paused. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

He couldn’t use the pills willy nilly. The priority was still getting Soja safely out of here. The moment Knife-girl figures out that she can't catch him, she might decide to switch targets. He just had to make sure that she followed him instead of his friends.

The blades were raining down on him now. All of them were aimed for his head and he kept dodging them by the thinnest of margins. Gritting his teeth he made a run for it. He just had to make sure that she followed him and there was one sure fire way that it could be done.

He tossed the red pill behind him, aiming for the direction that Tanner had taken. The pill burst open and a cloud of red smoke quickly covered the area. The Bisondon and the surrounding spirit beast’s eyes turned scarlet smelling the smoke. They were driven by a sudden deranged frenzy as they charged towards the smoke cloud.

The entire route to Tanner was blocked by the frenzied animals. This would buy Tanner a few more precious seconds. If Knife-girl wanted to pursue Soja then she would have to travel around the beast lure. The animals would tear her to shreds if she didn't. She would have to make a choice of either following Soja and risk falling behind or go after Jack who was much closer.

“Take the bait, Zi*ke.” Jack muttered under his breath.

The trees zipped by as he increased his speed. The blades were still coming but their frequency was a lot lower. She was having trouble aiming at the speed they were moving. Looking behind him he saw a shadow flitting through the trees. Knife-girl moved away from the rapidly expanding red smoke of the beast lure and moved in the same direction that Jack was headed. It looked like she had decided to keep chasing him. Jack smiled with grim satisfaction as he led Knife-girl to a battlefield of his choosing.

The herd of Bisondon was still rampaging below their feet but their number got fewer and fewer as they went deeper into the forest. Few confused Lebara’s were following the herd downhill. The rumble of the stampede was reduced to a dull roar in the background now. Another blade whizzed past his face and Jack finally spotted the girl.

Coming to a sudden stop on top of a tree branch, Jack turned around to face his opponent. The girl landed lightly on to a branch in front of him.

They stared each other down, sizing up their opponent. The wind whistled in their ears, the forest was eerily silent this deep in the forest.

“My, My!”

Jack couldn’t see Knife girl's mouth but he could hear the mirth in her voice.

“A little noble dove separated from its nest.”

Jack stared back coldly, whip blade in hand. He remembered Soja’s unconscious form hanging from a tree. His eyes flashed dangerously and the corners of his mouth raised to form a toothy grin. He wasn’t sure if he could reign his temper in at this point. This fight might be to the bitter end. He just had to make sure to avoid getting blood on his clothes.