Alone • Liam Dunbar

Forty-Five

Braeden calls for me but I ignore her.

I scan the expanse of the courtyard, searching for Kate. She had stuck to the shadows of the city as began to pick off the Calaveras one by one. She was familiar with the ruins here and used them to her advantage to act like an apparition, blipping in and out of view. 

In her absence, the Calaveras tried to corral her Berserker. 

They used their trucks as makeshift blockades, pushing the creature into a corner. It wasn't going as planned, though, and the large monster easily slipped through the gaps in the vehicles. It searched for its next target, its undead gaze falling on Parrish and Chris as they had been laying a suppressive fire over it. 

The moment the beast charged at the two men, I sprint in their direction, too. 

I swiftly slide onto the hood of Parrish's SUV, standing on it to be at an equal height to the Berserker. I hold down on the trigger of my gun, stopping it in its tracks. My shoulder burns as the stock of my gun repeatedly vibrated into it with each shot, but I swallow the sensation down and don't ease up.

The creature staggers and waves its arms around wildly, trying to swat away flies rather than bullets. It no longer cares about Chris and Parrish and turns, taking off in the opposite direction to free itself from my pestering. A few hunters chase after it, appearing like ants next to a giant. 

Parrish and Chris stare up at me, the former appearing stunned at my presence.

I jump down from his car, coming to stand beside him and Chris. 

"Deputy," I greet him, resting the stock of my gun on my hip. He wipes his face clean of surprise and gestures toward my weapon. 

"Do you have a permit for that?" He asks, and I try to force an amused smirk, but humor is hard to fake as I still wear Derek's blood on my hands.

"What's the plan?" Chris interjects. 

He leans heavily on a nearby pillar. I take in his form, finding his clothes are covered in his blood. He gives a slight shake of his head, telling me not to dwell on it. 

"We have to keep her above ground. Stiles and the others are in the Church tunnels trying to find Scott and Kira. The last thing they need is another Berserker on them," I say. 

"Another?" Chris echoes. 

"She has two, but only one has been with her," I explain. 

Chris nods, but still seems apprehensive. 

"Why aren't you with them?" he asks, referring to my friends. 

I bow my head, glaring at the blood on my hands. 

"She killed Derek," I say. Chris moves to speak, probably wanting to offer words of comfort that would do nothing to change what happened, but he's interrupted by a fearsome scream from the other side of the courtyard.

Cyrus uses a wide slab of discarded wood as a shield against the punches of the Berserker. Splinters fall around him as the beast shatters the wood with its spike. He's backed into a corner of two fallen buildings, both of the walls he's pinned between too high for him to escape over. 

He and I may not have seen eye to eye, but that didn't mean I believed he was worthy of a death like that. 

I lower my gun onto the ground before taking off in his direction, able to move fast without the weight of my gun holding me down. Chris and Parrish call for me to stop but their voices are drowned out by Cyrus' pleas for help. When I reach the Berserker, I use the protruding spine of its armor to climb onto its back. It tries to throw me off but I wrap my legs around its waist to remain attached.