The Dead Scout's Handbook of Afterlife Survival

Chapter 49: The Dam Breaks

A wind funnel, unlike what even Randall himself had managed to conjure, exploded from above, parting the clouds and opening a portal to the sapphire, winter sky. The funnel rotated, and pummeled War as he sank to his knees, unable to stand in the storm beating every inch of him. The earth cracked as the water in the floors froze and expanded. Frost covered War's armor, now creaking as the wind screamed downward. Ice shattered and swirled around War's figure, pinning him face down to the earth. With a final burst, the blast dissipated as the ice, frost, and snow spiraled out from the center silently.

War struggled to a stand, wobbling as his joints squeaked akin to an old, tin toy in need of a spray of oil. Then the plates hit him. He fell back from the strikes, trying to correct his balance as he hobbled to the outer rim of the charred circle from Cayden's first barrage. Despite his stiff posture, creaking armor, and the dozen hits Rebecca landed on him at once, and not a single pock marred his body still.

"How the hell are we supposed to break that thing?"

"I d-didn't mention," Sam squeaked from the ground beside her. "If you qu-quench metal... it g-gets more b-b-brittle, b-but it also g-gets harder. It's not like metal is going to turn to glass."

"What?" Cayden asked.

"You n-n-need to hit him ha-ha-harder. If you can d-dent it once, he's a g-g-gon, he's dead."

War staggered forward, as Cayden blasted a flame over the metal in front of him, extending a hundred yards in a circle around the clinking giant, covering every surface with soot and fogging it with steam. He spiraled the flames out further and further until the fire started flickering, then dimming, then it choked out. In solidarity with the fire itself, Cayden found his legs weakening and his vision waving. He collapsed to his chest with a cough, barely mustering the strength to raise his head and gaze upon the battlefield.

If War were to escape, he would need to creak and stumble his way the length of a football field at least. Yet, this didn't dissuade him. Rather than take the shortest path to the nearest reflective surface, War forged ahead, to the narrow supporting pylon propping up the transport building. He stumbled up to it, twisted his hips and delivered an earth rumbling punch to its center. The entire town rumbled and, from high above, a railing rattled down.

Rebecca sent the wall of a nearby house at War's flank. Whirling to meet it, he grabbed the corner of the metal sheet with one shaky arm and tossed it aside. Almost losing his balance, he twisted, throwing a clumsy backhand slap at the support. The elastic pinging of snapping cables bounced off the walls around them as the bridge above sank and groaned. With a chest shaking pop and subsequent crack, the bridge crashed down in a tumultuous cry of bending and scratching steel.

Cayden tried to stand and couldn't muster the strength at this point to rise to an infant's crawl. Jessica and Martha scrambled behind the fallen bridge and continued the futile, albeit heartfelt, hailstorm of litter. Rebecca pelted War to and fro with parts of the collapsed houses as Sam reached both arms feebly upward and only managed to send out a few sparks before holding himself upright proved too much to bear. Even Samantha splattered War with jets of water.

War sent another fist into the pylon with an echoing boom. It swayed as a deep groan flooded the town. War raised both fists clasped together.

With a sweep of her arm and a gasp, Rebecca swung the entire, fallen bridge into War's ribs. He stumbled then stood again, undamaged and preparing for a two-handed sweeping strike. The platform careened into War's opposite side. Again, he stumbled and staggered to his feet.

Rebecca sent the bridge once more into War's hip. He stopped it with both hands, and raising the enormous metal slab, his plated body jerked and twitched into a batter's stand. He rotated his torso and prepared to swing the bridge right through the little support the transport building pylon had left in it. Rebecca dropped her arms to her sides, Martha and Jessica looked on. Samantha sank to her haunches and Cayden lay motionless. They all watched in silence.