The icy blade of an anada's hatchet grazes Edward's shoulder as he ducks awkwardly beneath the slash. Shifting his weight forward, he catches the creature in the abdomen with a taser. Twisting through the explosion of steam, he spins away from another silvery swipe. The ARMS amplifies the speed of his movements and, despite the wane of adrenaline in his body, he moves as if the battle just started.
His only goal now is to delay. Give Bella time to bring the wampus here. Give Jacob time to heal. Give Emmett a chance to maybe stop the utlunta. He can feel the thick layer of skin peeling off his soles within his water-soaked boots. The dull burn of blisters forming. He blocks the pain as, with wide eyes, he dodges the sharp blades and claws of the anadas that never seem to stop.
"I'm glad you're not dead yet," Emmett says, stealing a glance towards his team leader after kicking the utlunta away.
"I'd hate to disappoint you." The retort comes instinctively as Edward jumps backward to avoid a pair of claws appearing from the water. In the same movement he twirls to zap another watery beast into steam.
"And you," Emmett says refocusing on his adversary as he parries a double-handed swipe of the utlunta's saber-like fingers.
Tucking its shoulder, the utlunta rushes forward and hits Emmett's chest like a landslide. Whipping his arm around its neck, he brings the bottom of the hilt down across the back of its skull with a loud clink that does nothing to slow its momentum as he slams into the curved metal wall. He feels his sternum split beneath the skin, the flat of his uneven bone as the shudder runs along his ribs and into his spine.
Folding his knees under his thighs, Emmett leverages himself against the wall. Screaming from exertion he extends his legs fully and shoves the utlunta back. The craggy scratch of its feet scrapping the concrete bubbles out of the water as it slides. Its tiny eyes widen in surprise at Emmett's strength. With a a roar, it pulls its arm back, the deadly point of its finger aiming for Emmett's neck.
"Emmett!" Jacob's scream sounds distant and weak. His staggering steps ring loudly against the metal grate of the catwalk. He moves hurriedly along the narrow path before launching himself into the air. With outstretched arms he flies towards the monster. The utlunta's head hits him in the stomach as he lands on top of it. With all the strength his pain-wracked body can muster, Jacob wraps his arms around the creatures head, gripping his own wrist below its chin, and lets his inertia wrench the utlunta backwards.
The sudden tackle causes the abomination to loosen its hold on Emmett, who drops to the water. In a fury it spins, flailing its limbs like a tree protesting a storm. Grunting and stomping, it thrashes and churns the water at its feet before finally flinging Jacob off its back.
He lands in the flood creating a wave. He sucks down a mouthful of water. The ache lingering in his bones grows, encompassing every fiber as he coughs the disgusting muck out of his lungs.
The swarm of shimmering anadas the surround Edward disappear. They drop to the water in unison, a loud, choral plop the only sound. Panting and sweating, Edward stands dumbfounded as ripples of water lap against his shins. He finally feels the threads of fire lined with blood crossing along his arms and back. Turning he sees Jacob in the water near him.
An uneasy stillness fills the dark reactor. Emmett watches the utlunta pause, running a hand against its granite chest. It looks down, frantically tapping its palm. Scanning the chamber, it spots Jacob rising from the water on all fours. A rumble spilling from its mouth, it moves toward him. Its mass causes the water to ebb and flow around them like a tide.
"That's better," Emmett says. With high steps he sprints across the floor, massive splashes preceding him. The blade of his sword flashes like lightning as he jumps, swinging it around the utlunta's torso and slamming the edge below its chin. The clang echoes like a blacksmith striking the forge.
The sound pulls Edward from his bewildered reverie as he realizes the anada are truly gone. As the utlunta returns its attention to battling Emmett, Edward slides through the water to Jacob. Soaked to the bone, the wetness splashing over him no longer chills him as it runs down his uniform against his skin. He turns Jacob face up and assists him to the side of the chamber.
The clacks and clangs of Emmett's sword against the utlunta's piercing fingers mixes with the sound of the waves smacking and crashing against every surface.
"Let's try this," Emmett says, catching the utlunta's hand in his as it attempts to swipe across his throat. Rotating his sword, he jams the tip of his sword against the thinnest point where it bounces of the rock-hard skin.
"No." The utlunta rumbles the word out as its uneven rubble of a face twists into a hideous grin. It yanks its arm free turning Emmett and throwing him into a painful clench. Its skin rubs his skin raw like road burn as it shakes his body against its own. "The Defender cannot fail."
Guns, Edward thinks. He rips his rifle off his shoulder, still hanging awkwardly from its soggy sling and hands it to Jacob, who leans weakly against the wall of the reactor. The steady pop of rounds with Jacob's squeezing finger is deafening in their ears as it reverberates off the metal and water. Dropping to his knees, Edward grasp against the dark liquid. The swirl makes his crawl unsteady as he blindly feels for the comforting steel of the machine gun against his palm.
The bullets futilely beating against the utlunta's flesh is enough of a distraction for Emmett to wrench himself free. Separating himself, he thrust his sword at the creature's other wrist. The tip bounces and slides around the limb, throwing Emmett off-balance. With his arm unguarded, the utlunta brings its other finger around, slicing through the bone midway down Emmett's bicep.
A numbing surge, followed by an inferno of nerves clamoring from exposure. He hears his own wail, watches his arm plop to the water before he realizes what happened. Bright red blood pours from the stump like a pillar, turning the froth at their legs pink. Instinctively jumping back, he gasps. The current of pain coursing through him locks him in place.
With a single solid swing, the utlunta's fist sends Emmett crashing against the wall.
The side of Edward's fingers brush the hard ridges along the top of the machine gun beneath water. His teeth clench into in an angry smile as he grasp it, pulling it from the black with a violent jerk. The splash arcs over him, showering him in cool drops. He turns it, dumping a mass of water that streams from the drum of ammo attached to its side. Turning towards the utlunta, he sees the one-armed Emmett struggling to his feet.
"It's not the wrists," Emmett screams.
Above the circle of blue night peeking through the open top of the reactor begins to fade, a gradient of yellow in its place. The walls glisten as light begins to seep down from above. The breaking light sends cobbled shadows cascading across the utlunta's skin as it roars while moving in Jacob's direction. The gargantuan beast lumbers forward, its steps pounding with vengeful purpose.
The intense thump of blood coursing through Edward's ears matches the steady steam of blasts bursting from the machine gun as he pulls the trigger. The stock is pressed tight against his side, his forearm pulling it close as is hand wraps around the grip. The angry gun vibrates, shaking to escape from his grasp. A clenched jaw keeps his teeth from chattering. The strobe of fire flying from its muzzle illuminates the utlunta as it turns to the annoyance. Its beady eyes flicker in the gunfire.
It's not the wrists. Emmett's words mix with Alice's information from earlier as the ruckus of noise buzzes through Edward's body. Have to get close, Edward thinks. The utlunta draws closer, large even at a slight distance. A cramp forms in his index finger, pleading to let off the trigger. Need time. Need to get close.
The black barrel of the M249 turns gray, the tell-tale sign the weapon is overheating, as steam burst off every surface. The trigger stays down as the barrage turns the gun hot against Edward's skin. He keeps his eyes trained on the approaching monstrosity. Shadowed chips form across the utlunta's torso as bullets strike its marble skin before disappearing as the lead bounces off and falls to the water.
The loud click of the weapon's slide running under an empty link, the dull plink of the last empty shell's splash, catches Edward off-guard as the rattattatta stops. The steady hum continues to echo across his skin as the gun goes still. His face slacks. His body empty like the drum attached to the now useless machine gun.
The hollow echo of the emptying weapon reaches Bella's ears as her gut twist in on itself. The rip of pain makes her legs curl under her, a determined groan leaking from her lips. Desperately beating her wings, faster, stronger, the film of weakness runs across their surface as they push against the wind. Fighting the familiar tingle that coats her skin her face clenches. Through the squinty blur, the shadowy cylinder of the reactor looks like an iris against the curve of the distant sun.
The dark gray walls show the atrophy of rust and water and age as the warmth of pending daylight turns the humid stillness uncomfortable.
Another heavy step by the utlunta and it pulls its arms out, ready to slice across Edward in opposite directions. The large ripples run over Emmett as he falls to the water, reaching for his severed arm. A crest smacks Jacob's chest, throwing his aim off the back of the monster as he meekly holds up the weapon. He yanks back on the trigger, the gun bouncing out of his frail grip as the round pings uselessly around the chamber before bouncing into the sky.
The utlunta turns its head slightly at the blast before returning its bright onyx eyes to Edward. It twists its head on its massive shoulders quickly, the bored quake rumbling from the back of its throat. It shakes Edward's pounding heart in his ribs.
"Holy fuck!" The high-pitched shock of Vicky's voice pierces the syncopated splashes of her bound into the chamber. The deep water darkens her fur as she stands on all fours, her back arcing. Her split lip twitches as she gaps at the monster which jerks around around at the sound of her voice.
"Vicky?" the utlunta cries in surprise. The sound of her name sounds like slamming boulders. It drops its hands, forgetting Edward. "You shouldn't be here."
A storm rolls over the wampus' face as her head drops. Long fangs shine in the brightening room as Vicky lowers her chest into the water.
"You can't call me that."
Edward aims for the small of the utlunta's back as he wields his makeshift club. The ARMS whir loudly against his limbs. The electric current courses like blood through the carbon frame. The machine gun shatters on impact. Warm shards of plastic and steel flying in all directions. He hears nothing but the crack.
He feels the piercing of his skin as the utlunta immediately yanks back around. The rub of its fused knuckles are dull as it cuts through his abdominal muscles, nicks his rib, drives through his kidney, and exits out his back. A hot trickle of blood flows slowly down both sides. Over his hips. Down his legs. He counts his own heartbeats, his own breaths, as they accelerate. There's no pain. Only adrenaline. Only the pressure of the creature's finger within him as it raises him off the ground. The plops of water falling from his boots as he rises reach his ears. The hateful, deformed face of the utlunta nearing his smudges to a featureless mass of ugly gray.
"Edward!" Jacob's voice cracks in shock and pain.
"No!" Vicky screams. Droplets sparkle like stars as they jump from the water's surface into the air with Vicky's pounce. Her yowl is that of a hungry predator, ringing through the dawn. Wrapping her arms across the monster's head, she mounts its back. The futile scrapes and cracks of her claws are loud as they scratch and brake against the utlunta's skin.
The wild shakes of the ogre's attempts to shake off the wampus cause Edward's vision to swirl. Stars form in his periphery. The trickle of blood becomes a burning stream as the motions widen both wounds.
A brief wave of shadow from above darkens the reactor. With shrinking wings, Bella crests over the circular edge. The rising sun burns into her smooth cheeks as she turns human once more. A thousand terrified expletives crowd her mind. Gravity slams against her shoulders, twisting her forward. The crossed catwalk sits like a target over the shimmer of the shifting surface. It comes faster and faster toward her.
Details are hopeless now. He feels nothing. The steady rumble of the humvee encompasses Edward as the bright white sun of Afghanistan beats through bulletproof windows. He races across the quad, laughing at her swinging black hair as she sprints ahead of him to class.
Gazing upward, Jacob sees the falling Bella. In an agonizing surge, his every muscle explodes and expands. The uniform is rips and shreds at the burst of size. Black hair covers his body. His wail becomes a roar as he jumps to the catwalk. The whine of metal, straining under the load rings around them. Long arms, massive hands.
The soccer ball at his feet, Edward feints to the left. The defender lunges, allowing Edward to tap the ball ahead. The shot goes wide as the referee calls the game.
As she plummets, she sees the Jacob's black mass scampering towards her along the catwalk. His heavy feet and hands slam against the grating like uneven thunder. She turns in the air, thick waves of hair stinging her flesh as it whips against her face. The thick, course skin of Jacob's gorilla hands smack hard against her hips. A bolt of pain drives through her spine as his momentum yanks her the opposite direction.
The rhythmic creaking, muffled through his mom's bedroom door, draws Edward closer. Pressing his cheek against the floor, he looks through the crack and sees the slow swing of a shadow crossing the frame with every whine.
Clutching his arm against the still bleeding stump, Emmett splashes in the direction of the crashing gorilla. Wet skin makes the severed limb slip from its location as he staggers toward them. Jacob slams back-first on to the walkway circling the chamber. It sounds like an explosion, a reverberation of metal ripping and pulling from itself as the gangway yanks from the reactor wall. Everything shakes, the noise ringing through the entire compound.
A tidal wave of water throws Emmett to the ground, his arm sliding free. Coughing, he scrambles to his knees. "Bella," he screams. "Under the chin."
There's a knock on the door. A police officer stands there, his stoicism fading as Edward answers.
Empty, Bella's lungs plead for air as she presses herself off of Jacob's undulating chest. Her ears ring from the impact, Jacob's wheezing and Emmett's scream. 'Under the chin.' The pain in her core spreads into her shoulders, her throat. She stands, ignoring the convulsing soldier transforming at her feet. The sniper rifle is heavy in her hands. Turning to the utlunta, a chill takes her. Edward hangs like an impaled doll, flopping on the utlunta's finger.
"Bella!" Emmett screams again.
Tussling Edward's hair, his father reaches out the window the station wagon.
Her heart beats again. Bella raises the sight to her eye, the crosshairs framing Edward's limp body and the utlunta's angry face wrapped in Vicky's arms. She follows their sway, her heart's loud thump in her ears.
"Shoot it!" Emmett clamors through the water for his arm as he screams.
"I can't see under the chin," Bella shouts back. Her breath halts in terror. Her vision blurs from sweat and water and terror.
With kind, blue eyes, Edward's mother sits on the edge of his bed. The green and purple comforter she made tucked under his chin, he watches the spin of his nightlight dancing on her smiling face. She kisses his forehead with cool lips.
"Hold on," Vicky shouts. The jerks and waves of the utlunta rattle her voice. She shifts her fingers across the monster's shaking face until her broken claws dig against the utlunta's jaw. Her pawed feet press against the creature's back. With clenched teeth she pulls back and down, ripping utlunta's head up to expose its neck. "Now!"
His mother shuts the door and Edward's bedroom fades to black as he closes his eyes.
The round spins down the barrel of Bella's rifle, launching forward and striking the utlunta in the crook where both sides of the jaw meet. It drives into the rocky skin, a thumb-sized hole appearing as the bullet rebounds within its skull. A scream like the opening of the earth envelops the reactor as the utlunta goes limp and falls backwards in the water.
Vicky jumps off the monster's back as it drops, landing in the churn of water from the utlunta's impact. She leaps across the corpse to Edward, half-submerged with the creature's finger still through his gut. Regret fills her like bile as she slowly slides his lifeless body off the appendage, the sound of its removal nauseating.
Once free, she holds him against her chest as his head lolls to the side. She presses a palm against the blood-drenched puncture in his stomach, biting her lip at the stickiness coating her hand. Warmth fills her eyes as she scans the reactor, fighting back tears.
Whispering too fast to be understood, Bella kneels over Jacob amid the stalagmites of metal surrounding him. Human again, his breath is slow and labored, he doesn't open his eyes. The water rings his face like a halo. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she straightens up and looks to Emmett.
Leaning against the wall, he holds his dismembered arm between the curved surface and his torso. He focuses on his arm, chin jutting forward and brow furrowed. Sensing Bella's pleading gaze, he looks up with totally black eyes. He frowns.
"Give me a second."