Alexa's Travels: A Prelude Read Online Free PDF Page B

unarmed, they could not win. Nature’s hatred was in them, fueling their attack. When the men had to reload, Alexa was there to keep the death toll rising.
    Shots echoed continuously as the walking dead also advanced in their awful, stumbling run. The pile of corpses around the travelers grew higher.
    “Down!”
    Her shout had them all on the ground as a group of four flesh eaters tried to jump into the circle together.
    Bang… Bang… Bang… Bang!
    In rapid succession, the four zombies stumbled to the ground in sickening thumps and splatters.
    Thud!
    A fifth zombie dropped into the circle behind Alexa.
    Jacob fired from the hip, nailing the slobbering monster in the head. Its huge hand gripped at her shirt as it fell, ripping the material, but the woman paid no attention as she continued to shoot at threats coming from the caves. How many were there?
    Three dozen… No, Four. And more eyes leered at them from the dark doorways. Their only advantage was in how long it was taking the zombies to reach a ledge on the steep cliffs close enough to lunge from.
    “What the hell is that?”
    Edward’s tone was awful to hear, and Alexa followed his line of sight to where the sky was darkening rather than getting lighter.
    “A storm?”
    She shook her head, turned and fired at another furious zombie about to jump at her from a gory cliff ledge, “Worse - birds.”
    “And rats.”
    The hungry rodents had gathered around the fight while they were distracted, and now the warriors were surrounded by dozens of the plague-carrying predators. Their circle would not hold against so many.
    Alexa dug in her kit as the rest of nature’s army neared, watching her men stave off the remaining two dozen flesh-eaters with beautiful shots she would admire later. Bracing herself, Alexa pulled what she needed from the pouch and began to spin it.
    She twirled the Caller in a high, tight arc, using a powerful arm to wind it up, and the immediate sound echoed through the area like a bomb blast.
    “Whhooooooooooo…!”
    It went on and on, growing in pitch, and her men were relieved to see it having the same effect on these angry soldiers as it had in Nebraska.
    “Whheeeeeeeeeee…!”
    There was no end to it, to how high it kept going, the ear-splitting tones bouncing off the bloody cliffs in piercing waves of communication.
    The battle had frozen with the noise, all of their attackers stopping, listening with their heads cocked. Time seemed to slow as the Caller spun in an unwatchable blur, holding them all, even the circling birds.
    “Whhhiiiiiiiiii….!”
    Alexa’s arm forced it to stop - the Caller wasn’t exactly inanimate - and she slung it to the ground at her feet.
    “Whhoooo… thud!”
    The spell held a bit longer, and she threw her hands out, orange flames now dancing on their tips.
    “Would you kill me before I can teach them?”
    She spun around, the fire making a ribbon of heat that wound around her as she turned. The faster she went, the bigger the flames became. Then she stopped and even her own men shrank back from the sight of her fury.
    “I would return the favor if so!”
    The flames didn’t just surround her, they emerged from her, twining in and out of her body like a serpent, and her solid red eyes blazed.
    “I am Eve! Stand aside!”
    She threw her arms open, and a wall of flames slammed into the enemies closest to them, knocking the rats and birds into the cliffs, where they immediately began to burn. Fire hands stretched out from the demon woman, reaching for the cave doorways, and the rocks crumbled under the pressure, collapsing.
    “No more!”
    The Demon caved-in each of the doorways, flames caressing her body, and when she tuned to face the rest, there was a flurry of movement as Nature’s soldiers fled in terror.
    Faced with a true look at their leader, most survivors would have run as well. Alexa’s men had been culled from the dwindling herd of mankind for their strength, and all of them held their