Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls Series, Book 3) (20 page)

The enormous army of abominations is now
less than a hundred feet from the wall and closing in on us fast.
The sounds of their footsteps shockwave around us as their feet
pound against the ground. Pointing my spear out, I prepare for
whatever is to come next while reminding myself what this is for.
It’s for them, the people standing around me, ready to die, so that
maybe, just maybe, the world can change.

I watch them get closer, hearing the rapid
acceleration of hearts around me. Thump… thump. Thump, thump,
thump.

I hold my breath and wait.

Thump… thump…

The footsteps get closer.

The people around me breathe fiercer.

The footsteps grow louder.

Suddenly, I swear there’s a pause where
everything in the world freezes.

Then, all at once, the abominations strike
into the wall like a raging earthquake. I brace myself for the
impact as the entire wall wobbles and shifts with the weight of
their enormous bodies. They howl out at the night as several people
stumble backwards, screaming as they fall to the ground below,
hitting it with a thud. One man falls forward and gets ripped to
pieces in seconds by the beasts. Someone starts to cry while the
others with spears aim and throw them at the beasts. Several
abominations stagger back as the sharp end of the spears pierces
into their chest, but it barely puts a dent in the numbers of
beasts down below. Seconds later, they start to climb up the wall,
bending and ripping the metal to pieces.

People take their knives and swords to stab
at the abominations’ chests, faces—anything they can
reach—screaming and crying out, scared out of their minds. The
abominations bite back, fangs snarling, tearing off limps, howling
at the knives and peeling off flesh as they shed their own. Humans
and abominations start falling to the ground and piling up in
numbers, their blood staining the ground below them and creating a
river.

One abomination manages to make it onto the
wall, right beside me and I whirl around with my leg out and slam
my boot into its chest. It growls, staggering with its crooked,
warped legs, but doesn’t fall. Instead, it dives towards me with
its fangs out, clamping its jaw. I swing the spear around as it
opens its mouth to devour me and the pointy end spears straight
into its mouth and exits out the other side of its jaw. I jerk it
out and blood spills over the ground as its knees give out. I kick
it to the ground, adding it to the growing pile of bodies.

I’m about to relax when another makes it to
my side between Sylas and me. I start to move for it, but stop and
watch as Sylas’s arm darts out in my direction. Before I can even
blink, he has the handle of my spear in his hand and shoves the end
into the abominations chin. Then spins around, lifts the spear
above his head and jabs it through its skull. We both stick our
feet out at the same time and kick it to the ground towards the
pile of bodies, both human and beast.

He exchanges a look with me as we breathe in
the sight and then his lips part like he’s about to say something
when someone yells out.

“Over there, towards the East part of the
wall!” a man yells, pointing in that direction. “They’re starting
to be overrun!”

Sylas glances around and then nods his head
in that direction. I follow his gaze, my eyes widening at the sight
of people fighting off the beasts, launching them back off and
slicing them when they get near the top. The abominations just keep
coming in huge clusters and the cars that create the wall are
starting to buckle below their weight.

One abomination grabs a woman by the leg,
sinking his teeth into her then bounds off the wall, taking her
with them. They disappear into the group below, a sea of drooling
beast, flesh peeling off, rotting, legs crooked, yet they’re
strong.

Sylas nudges me in the back to go and we
take off towards where they’re being overtaken, making a path along
the top of the wall while keeping our eyes on the section about to
collapse.

Another abomination jumps up onto the wall
by my side as I’m heading there and pounces on top of me, side
swiping me. Its rotting flesh slams against my face as I fall to
the ground. I can smell its putrid scent as it covers me with its
decaying body. I flip over onto my back and move to put my legs up,
but it hovers over me, snarling, and then opens its mouth to take a
bite. I manage to get my legs up and kick forcefully upward,
launching it off me. Then, I spring to my feet, looking around for
Sylas.

He’s fighting another one off behind me,
stabbing the spear into its chest. I twirl around, but trip back as
a beast in front of me charges. I put my weight down on my knees,
baring my balance, preparing my body for impact. Seconds later, our
bodies collide and we both fly back from the force. I land on my
side and it drops not too far away from me, right on the edge.
Before it can recover, I jump to my feet, rush over to it and push
it over the edge, watching it fall to the ground.

Sylas finishes off the beast he’s fighting
then tosses me the spear. I catch it effortlessly and we begin to
run again, jumping acrobatically over gaps in the wall, stabbing
abominations as they reach the top beside us. I pause for a moment,
panting and sweating as I look back over the wall. The monsters
seem endless. We’ve barely made a dent in their masses and they’re
starting to cover the top of the wall.

At the back of the crowd are the Highers,
watching it all; watching what they’ve created, watching our
numbers fade. To the side of them is Aiden, his dark eyes on me.
Just to the side of him is the man that raised me, or so I
thought.

Monarch
.

Anger boils inside of me, making me feel
like I could burst. The anger fuels my energy and I begin to move
quicker, swinging the spear around and stabbing any beast near me,
knocking one after the other to the ground. It feels like my spear
is attached to my very arms, as though I’m not even holding onto it
as I rip and tear into their flesh. They howl and nip at everything
around them. I’m not even sure what’s controlling me. Somehow, I’ve
become the perfect soldier; however I’m doing this for good. Doing
this to help mankind.

The herd of monsters begins to dwindle with
my burst of energy and violence, but just as I think things are in
our favor, I turn around, my jaw dropping. Dozens more are climbing
the walls in waves, biting and clawing at the guards as they reach
the top. Through my blind rage, I see something driving towards the
wall with catastrophic force. An abomination, but it’s different;
stronger, bigger. It stands higher than everything else, at least
twice as big as the rest with huge chunks of flesh hanging from its
body, it’s teeth razor sharp.

Before I can even react, it rams at top
speed into the wall. There’s a loud ripple and then the wall
explodes like it was struck by dynamite. People are sent flying
from the force. I’m thrown with them, unable to withstand the
force.

Time slows down as people scream and fight
around me.

Slow motion…

I can’t think…

For a moment, I think I hear Sylas yelling
at me in terror. Something’s about to happen and then seconds
later, I slam head first into the ground below.

Then everything goes dark.

Chapter 24

My eyes slowly open. Glimpses of people
running and panicking flow through my mind. Some lie on the ground,
motionless, some are screaming, others are groaning and working to
get to their feet. Fires burn from torches and reflect into my
eyes. I see the sky. It’s dark. It hurts my head to look at it.

Footsteps surround me as the abominations
begin to pour through the collapsed wall. Some of the guards and
people start to run back into the city as they fight the hordes of
monsters coming at them from all directions.

As I fade in and out of consciousness, I
grasp the reality of the situation. We’re going to be overrun. It’s
over. I think I always knew this would happen. Even when Maci was
telling me I could do it. I refuse to give up, though. I must fight
until the end.

But how can it all end if the monsters and
Highers still exist?

Mustering up the last bit of strength I
have, I snap myself out of my daze and try to get up. Pain shoots
through my shoulder at the slightest bit of movement. It’s out of
place and I need to get it back in. I hold my breath and twist my
body, grimacing as I feel a pop and it slides back into place. Warm
liquid trickles from my head, yet I can already feel my body
working to heal itself; mend my bones, bring the life back into
me.

I glance around as I sit up straight,
searching for a weapon. Just a ways in front of me, in a pile of
broken metal and glass, is a dagger. I crawl over to it and pick it
up. Then I breathe in and out, giving my body a few more minutes
before I spring back to my feet and join the fight again.

The beasts are everywhere. On the wall,
through the wall, running in through the gap in the wall. I quickly
jump on top of one of the monsters that are ripping a person to
pieces and stab it with my dagger, slicing its flesh apart. Blood
spills out as it throws its head back and howls, however it lets go
of the person in the process. I lift the dagger high above me as I
hold onto its back then drive it down just below its head, sinking
it in deep. It starts to run, but its knees give out and it falls
to the ground, yelping.

I leap off its back with the dagger in my
hand and charge at the herd of abominations barreling through the
hole, ready to continue the battle even through the wall.

I spot Sylas jumping down from the wall,
disappearing into the wave of their bodies. I want to cry out to
him, but an abomination blindsides me and knocks me to the ground.
I roll backwards and push myself upwards with my arms, launching
into a flip. It nips at my ankles as I skitter to the side then
slide the dagger through its enormous chest.

Another charges at me from the left. I spin
around, steering the dagger downward, but it knocks it out of my
hand. I grab ahold of its neck and pull it around with me as I
glide to the ground, swoop up the dagger then swing us around. I
stab it over and over again in its back. It lets out a roar,
throwing its head back, hitting me in the chin before it falls to
the ground as I stagger back from it, feeling my jaw pop out then
back into place.

I pause to recover, but then something
brushes my back. I instinctually spin around, my dagger ready to
plunge it into the attacker, but I stop myself just in time as
Sylas leans on me. He’s covered in blood and looks exhausted,
however I can see that there is still fight in him. He’s not dying
yet—we’re not dying yet. Can we even die?

Blood trickles down his side and there’s a
large gash through his shirt and flesh.

“Are you okay?” I yell out as I glance
around with the dagger out in front of me.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he says, but I feel
his lie all over him. “It’s just a little scratch. I’ll heal.”

I swallow hard, feeling the end nearing. The
wall is gone; cars are toppled on the ground in piles with bodies
around me of both the abominations and people. Some of the people
are rushing into their homes while others flee down the side of the
wall, heading to the other end of the city. A few more are heading
to the center of the city, trying to get away.

It hits me as the abominations chase them
down towards the center of the city that we need to get somewhere
where we can corner them. We need to keep them from heading further
into the city towards the lab; somewhere where we can keep them
from coming at us in all directions.

“Gather some of the Day Takers and follow
me!” I yell to Sylas and to the people still alive around me. “We
need to lead them another way!”

Sylas nods and then races off to gather them
while I gather the stronger people around me. Once we all regroup,
I take off and they follow me up the street.

“And make a lot of noise!” I shout out. When
Sylas gives me a funny look, I add, “It’ll get them to follow us
and move them away from the weak.”

He nods again and we make noise as we run
down the street swiftly. I shout, trying to get the abominations to
follow me, diverting them from going towards the lab. For the most
part, it works. Many of them follow us, although some stay
behind.

There are fires burning where people have
fallen to the ground, dropping their torches, and blood stains the
ground. Many of abominations are right on our heels, which is right
where I want them. Finally, we reach the alley that Maci took me to
earlier. I’m a little out of breath while, at the same time, my
cuts aren’t healing as quickly as they normally do.

“This is where we can hold them off without
them attacking us from other sides,” I say as we reach the alley
with the people and even the Day Takers more out of breath then
Sylas and I. “You four with spears line the width of the alley.” I
point at four people holding swords then move my finger to another
group of people. “You two go herd more in our direction.” I slide
my finger to the Day Takers. “And you stay behind me and wait for
any to get through.”

Everyone follows their orders, taking off in
different directions. Seconds later, a handful of abominations rip
around the corner, a herd of them at the others’ heels. Their eyes
bleed as they rush at us, their feet plowing at the ground. The
front row target their spears and swords towards the front of the
alley. Seconds later, the first group of abominations collides with
their weapons. Sharp points pierce their rotting flesh and they die
almost instantly, crumpling to the ground. More keep coming,
though, and then the people behind me suddenly burst around in a
panic and barrel towards the beasts.