The ghoul dragging Dawn topples to the ground, dead from a bullet to the head. Dawn squirms to see what the hell is going on. She hears gunshots and screeching ghouls. Ghouls are dropping like flies and going up in flames for some reason—and she smells burning flesh for the first time in her life. The ghoul behind the wheel of the Cadillac gets out and runs past her to join the fray.
What's going on? Where's Wesley and the imp-man?
She hears the shotgun blast again—boom! Her father is mowing down ghouls with his new toy, and more streams of fire sail through the air from his shotgun's barrel. Her father and Cat have found her and the van! How? She sees Cat—a dust-devil amongst the ghouls—is having target practice with his pistols.
"Cat!" Dawn shouts. He doesn't hear her. The ghoul-screeching and her father's shot gun are drowning her out. She squirms and rolls over onto her front, scanning for her wakizashis.
Boom! More fire, and she catches a glint from the blade of one of her swords a short distance away. If she can get to it, she can cut herself free—somehow.
Dawn has two options. She could probably get to her feet and clumsily hop to it but she'd be super-visible. Or she could just stay on the ground and move along the dirt like a caterpillar to limit her exposure. Caterpillar-style it is.
Dawn is moving along, stopping only to make sure the golden-eyed-ghouls haven't notice her. As she moves, dirt cakes on to her arms, face, and hair in the process.
Boom! Streams of fire hit a thicket of ghouls. Some of them go up in flames, others retreat.
Dawn sees Cat again. He's closer to her now, and he's battling the imp-man with his talinbong sword. She had never seen him put his prized weapon from the Filipino martial art, Kali, to use. Only his deadly stick fighting art of escrima had been used to slay. Sparks fly from the curve-bladed sword of Cat's weapon as he blocks the imp-man's cane sword.
Where's Wesley?
Out-of-breath, Dawn finally gets to her wakizashi. She reaches through the net's square holes and tries to get hold of the sword-grip. If she can grab it and angle, she might be able to cut herself free. She can't manage from the ground like this, though. After a struggle, she gets to her knees and tries to maneuver into position to cut herself free. It's not working—and she's given away her position.
A short, and stumpy male ghoul is running toward her something in its hand. Dawn couldn't tell what it was, but it was something long and flat, an object that would only knock her out since she's so important to The Master and all. Still, she didn't want to get hit by it. No way she'll get out of her binds in time to avoid being clocked over the cranium. She took in a deep breath of air. "Caaaaaaat!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
She got Cat's—and the imp-man's—attention and they both saw her. Cat broke contact with his spread-winged, cane-sword wielding enemy and ran towards Dawn. Ghouls block his path.
"I'm coming, Dawn!" Bishop shouted back. He turns his assault to the curtain of ghouls in front of him. Boom...boom...boom!
The ghoul is almost on top of Dawn, now. She falls to the ground and tries to grab her wakizashi by the hilt with her fingers. She might have a chance at cutting the ghoul, slow him down—something! The ghoul is close enough to strike her now. He swings downward. Dawn closes her eyes and braces for impact. The blow doesn't come. She hears a thunk in the dirt next to her face, followed by a louder, heavier thunk. She opens her eyes and sees the severed head of the attacking ghoul, its fat body next to it. The ghouls mouth is in a frozen grimace of pain, it's golden irises are fading, fading, gone.
YOU ARE READING
"Before Dawn"
Teen FictionSixteen-year-old Dawn Morningside isn't quite ready to hunt just yet according to her overprotective father. Dawn aims to prove him wrong and make her long-dead mother proud in the process. Unbeknownst to her father, Dawn gears up with her two Sig...
