In Death's Grip

In Death's Grip: Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Keep going!" Tony shouts as another huge explosion shakes the ground.

"Taylor can barely walk!" Haven yells back at him.

We're running from building to building. Cover is scarce since Nikolai's army has brought out their secret weapon, a fully functioning tank.

"Fine then," My dad says as he walks toward Taylor, "I'll carry him!"

He picks up Taylor's weakened body with just his left arm. He slings him over his shoulder and puts away his rifle. He holds him with his left hand and pulls out his pistol with his right. He keeps moving on.

The tank fires another shot near us. It shakes the whole house that we're hiding in.

"We need to get that beast of a vehicle on our side," Jonny says.

"And how do you propose we do that?" I ask.

Jonny looks around the room.

"Well, the way I see it, they don't know where we're hiding. We have the element of surprise. We could send our best man out there to overtake them while they're not looking."

"And who exactly is our best man Jonny?" I ask.

"I am. Well, I'm your best woman," Haven answers.

She looks at Tony and then at Nathan. She's daring them both to challenge her. Nathan wants to say something but he chooses not to go against Haven.

Tony says, "I'm done doubting you. If you're confident you can do it, then don't waste anymore time."

She nods in understanding. She draws her twin blades and sneaks out the back door. I hope she can succeed.

"Where do you think Zach is being held?" Cho asks.

"Most likely he's still in his prison. We're already on the way there so we need to keep on track," Tony answers.

We start to head for the back door to move on but a member of Nikolai's army stumbles in. I aim my sword at him. Nathan does what he can to aim his silenced rifle but he's in a lot of pain.

We ready ourselves for a fight against a human but we realize the hunk of meat missing from his neck. The lurkers got him. He falls to the floor, dead.

Six biters barge in through the door. One of them goes for Cho but she puts her machete in its head.

Two of the undead creatures aim their sights on Nathan. I manage to run my sword through one of their skulls but not the other. The wound that Hank gave me hurts immensely. I have to lay down on the dirty floor of the abandoned home.

Nathan sends a few poorly aimed bullets toward the skin-eater. The almost silent shots hit the monster's chest, shoulder, and then finally the brain. It slumps forward onto the floor next to him.

Jonny hacks and slashes at the other three and kills them easily. The immediate threat is gone for now.

"Keaton, are you okay?" Jonny asks with much worry in his voice.

"Not really," I say, in pain, "It hurts really badly."

"I'm gonna take a look at it."

He moves toward me and unhooks my riot gear. The short sword somehow managed to cut right through the Kevlar and pierced my skin.

"The blade broke the skin but only hit fat. None of your internal organs are damaged. We won't be able to do anything about this until we get to Amy."

He hooks back my armor and steps toward the door. He peeks out the exit that the walkers came in through.

"We have to keep going," Tony says, "We don't need to stay in one place with that tank out there."

"I see two options," Jonny starts, "Either we stay here and wait on Haven to get back or..."

"Or?" Tony says questioningly.

"Or we meet up with Felix's forces. I can see them from here beginning to advance on Demitri. It's your call Tony."

He runs forward out the door, his pistol at the ready and Taylor's barely conscious body still slung over his shoulder. Jonny follows after him. Cho and I work together to help Nathan walk.

We make it to were Felix is preparing a large group of his troops for an attack. He sees us and motions for us to get to cover. He hasn't noticed Hank's absence yet.

"Tony, I've managed to pin down a portion of Demitri's forces. Get ready to join the fight because we need all the help we can get."

"Alright, Jonny you help Nathan and Taylor. I'm going over there with Felix," my dad tells him.

"Got it, Tony," he says.

Felix takes my father and pulls him aside for a second. He calls over to his troops to keep suppressive fire on Demitri.

I'm barely able to hear their conversation over the noise of gunfire.

"Where is Hank?" I hear Felix ask, a bit desperate.

"I'm sorry Felix. He didn't make it."

Felix is devastated. He didn't see the true side of Hank that we all did. All he saw was a man that saved him and gave him sanctuary. Hank was his mentor and we killed him. He can never know.

Tony explains further, "He went too far ahead and got surrounded. They killed him but we avenged him. There's nothing we can do. I'm so sorry Felix."

"No," he says, "There is something we can do. We can finish what he started. Men and women of Charleston, attack!"

He rushes straight into the fray with his small knife in hand. He's got several throwing knives with him as well.

His red hair is like a flash of light as he runs through all of the enemies. He goes face to face with Demitri who has a wicked looking weapon.

His weapon is a double sided machete. He seems that he's welded together the handles of two different swords and made them one.

Felix swiftly strikes several times at his opponent. Demitri is fast enough to dodge most of them but he gets a few cuts on several parts of his body.

Demitri moves out of the way of another strike and brings his foot into Felix's stomach. He falls back in pain but recovers quickly.

At this moment, the tank is rolling toward us. It's long barrel is aimed at Felix's troops. This could be the end. We're going to die.

Just when I think the tank is about to fire at us, it turns and aims at Nikolai's army. The humongous vehicle fires into them and kills several on impact.

Haven hops out of the tank and jumps right into the thick of the fight, like always.

"Retreat!" Demitri shouts to his forces.

"No!" Felix cries.

Demitri runs away for cover. Felix attempts to hit him with a throwing knife. The knife flies through the air and lands in a wood post, a split second after Demitri turns the corner.

"No! He can't get away!" Felix screams as he tries to chase after his enemy.

Tony grabs him and holds him in place. Felix struggles to get out but it's no use. My father is much stronger than him.

"He's a problem for another day, my friend," Tony says.

After a few moments of silence, Felix agrees. It's time to declare our victory.

Jonny stands on top of the tank and pulls out a flare gun. The plan was that if we won, a green flare would be shot up in the sky. If we lost, a red one would signal retreat.

He shoots a green flare for all to see. The day is ours.

"Hey! Are you Keaton?" A young man asks me.

"Yeah. Why do you wanna know?"

"My name is Ice. I think a friend wants to see you."

I see a weakened, beaten, bloodied, and tattered old friend slowly making his way toward me. It's Zach. He is free at last.