Chapter 20: Heartache

Sigyn used supplies from the WacDonald's to make everyone grilled cheeseburgers that night. For breakfast she cooked breakfast sandwiches with sausage, powdered eggs, and cheese nestled between two buns made of pancakes with chunks of maple syrup in them. It was more than enough to give everyone the energy they needed to get back on the road. The panicked tracks Zeke had left in the night were easy enough to follow. He had made it to the road then turned right, taking him in the direction the party was heading.

"At least the hail's mostly melted," Rebecka said as she walked ahead of the cart, helping Sigyn move sticks out of the way.

"The mud isn't too bad either. Baby seems to be having an easy time of things today," Dyr noted while he drove the wagon.

"Mo mo mo." Mokie hopped along just off the path.

"I don't think the little one likes getting his feet wet," Rifa said with a delighted smile.

"Of course not, he's way too cultured to soil his dainty lil peets," Rebecka replied with a laugh.

"What are 'dainty lil peets?'" Dyr asked.

"It's a cutesy term for 'feet,'" Sigyn called back.

Dyr smiled. "Oh, well, then Sigyn. You have dainty lil peets."

"I do not!"

Everyone laughed, including Sigyn after a moment. For the first time since the trip began everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. They had finally started a day at a decent time and weren't encountering any obstacles blocking their path that Sigyn and Rebecka couldn't move. True, it was mostly Sigyn who moved the downed trees, but Rebecka did what she could to help when possible.

"Zeke got pretty far, huh?" Rebecka asked while they took a lunch break. She had an applesauce pouch and spare breakfast sandwich Sigyn had cooked in the morning. She had even grabbed some of the wax paper wrappers to put the food in, which came in handy while eating.

"It seems he did. He must have run through the night," Rifa replied. She gave Rebecka's meal a bit of a scowl. "I don't know how you can eat another one of those in one day. They were so sweet, my teeth still hurt from this morning."

Rebecka held up her sandwich with one hand and laughed. "Where I'm from everything's this nasty. It's great. You should see the Double Hat Double from Burger Hat. Pretty sure they put crack in the buns. Damn things are addictive as hel."

***

They were able to travel another two hours before the road began to dip up and down with low rolling hills as the trees thinned out. It was still a forest, but nowhere near as dense as what they had traveled through so far. It was still thick enough to prevent them from taking Baby and the cart off road, especially given the less than level terrain. Which meant the wall made of large metal shipping containers and makeshift gate composed of a double axle pickup truck covered in welded metal plates blocking the road was a significant problem.

"This is bad," Rebecka said.

"You have no idea," Sigyn snorted. She shook her head like a bug was buzzing her snout.

Rebecka looked up at the dragon then turned around to Rifa who sat on the cart. "Is there any way around this area to get to the next town? I don't remember seeing one on the map but you're more familiar with things."

"No. Just beyond this area is Broadfield. It's a farming region past the forest on the Cisel River. The hills throughout the forest in this area get more steep before the land flattens out. It would be impossible to get the cart over them."

"Shit."

"No, Shitterton would have been to the North," Rifa replied.

Rebecka looked at her. "You're joking. There's not really a town called 'Shitterton,' right?"

She shrugged. "There is. It's to the North. We could double back to the fork in the road..."

"There's a Shitterton on Earth too," Sigyn replied with a growl while pressing her eyes shut. "But none of that matters. Beyond this wall is a Mall-Mart. There are a lot of people inside and past it. Our real problem isn't the hills or even this wall. Someone's coming out of that Mall-Mart, and she's pissed."

"Now, that has got to be a Canadian brand."

Rebecka didn't need to ask how Sigyn knew all of that. It was easy enough to see she had been reading the minds of everyone past the wall. The fact that doing so seemed to cause her distress was concerning, though.

"You okay, Sigyn?" Rebecka asked when the dragon woman didn't react to her joke about not know what a Mall-Mart was.

She nodded and waved her hand. "I'm fine."

"You say that a lot when you're not."

Sigyn growled at her.

"Let's just turn around," Rebecka said.

A glowing pink creature suddenly flew over the wall. It circled through the tree branches above the party. The light it emitted made it hard to focus on the shape, leaving afterimages in Rebecka's eyes as the animal flitted back and forth. She could just barely make out a long fluffy tail and bat-like wings before it fluttered back to the wall to hover around a figure standing two stories up on a storage container. The person turned toward the glowing creature.

"It's them alright! They're the ones who buried their comrades by that little river, Melee!" The glowing animal said cheerfully.

"What?" Rebecka asked.

Melee scowled down at the party. She wore a mismatched pair of worn leather boots, old faded black jeans, a dark skirt, and chipped armor reminiscent of the people who had attacked the party before the little desert. Her mint green cuirass and shoulder plates matched her short and curly hair. Her green eyes glowed as she frowned.

"You won't hurt Zeke or anyone in this village. They're all under my protection," Melee said loudly, her voice echoing off the storage containers.

Rebecka put her hands up, careful to keep them away from the shotgun slung around her chest. "We don't want to hurt Zeke or anyone else! We're just trying to get to the river."

"The words of a liar and cannibal," Melee called back.

"What?"

Sigyn snorted with a wince. "She's not alone."

"Your fur-folk friend is correct," Melee said.

Along the wall people with bows popped up. Some were human, others elves, while still more had a variety of animal ears and tails. Each stood ready with a long bow, ready to fire.

"Oh, shit. Okay, so, we'll just turn around," Rebecka said.

"If you think I'm foolish enough to allow you to leave this place you've never encountered a Wandering Witch before," Melee said.

Rebecka didn't have a chance to process that statement. The first of many arrows was already in the air, heading straight for her. The steep angle meant that when it struck her just below her collarbone it pierced her heart, missing her gun. She managed to turn her head to her left as five more arrows struck her body and neck. Rifa had used a magic shield to protect Baby, the wagon, and Dyr. A ring of arrows littered the ground around them.

"You assholes!" Sigyn bellowed as she threw arrows she had torn from her body to the dirt.

Rebecka should be dead, but she could barely feel she'd been hurt at all. The multiple shafts stuck through her made it impossible to move anymore than she already had.

"Did Mokie get hurt?" Rifa asked.

"That little shit flew up into the trees," Sigyn said.

"Oh, gods. Rebecka!" Dyr shouted.

She managed to hold up her left arm, giving a thumbs up. Sure, it looked terrible, but she highly doubted Aettartangi would let a few arrows to its Host stop its mission. It was probably why she wasn't feeling any pain, but then again, maybe her brain just hadn't gotten the memo that she was already dead?

You there, Aetty?

It certainly felt like the axe was paying attention.

"I see, you're still alive. I should have known," Melee said from her perch high above.

Yeah, I'd have a witty comeback if I wasn't a human porcupine right now with two pierced lungs, Rebecka thought.

She knew that one isn't supposed to pull an arrow out if they've been hit by one. It's a sure-fire way to bleed out and die. But there was no way she was going to be able to move if she didn't do something about them.

Clearing obstacles lodged in Host, Aettartangi said.

Good to have you back, Aetty.

The axe didn't reply as portions of each arrow that were not in Rebecka fell away as the rest were eaten by the blade. She could move again and also breathe. Every wound and even the holes in her clothing were quickly stitched shut.

Melee glanced up to the flying creature near her. "Fray, I need to transform. Let's rock!"

"You got it, Melee!"

Severe warning: Magic detected. Seek shelter immediately, Aettartangi said.

"What?" Rebecka asked as her skin crawled.

The glowing animal became brighter as it circled the woman on the storage containers. Rebecka had trouble processing what she was seeing as the woman lifted into the air, her clothing transforming into a pristine black bodysuit with green skirt and armor as her hair relaxed to become silky smooth and straight. A long sword appeared in her hand as she alighted on the storage container with one of her no longer mismatched armored boots. A heart shaped bow stuck out behind her matching the heart shaped hasps on her shoulders and similarly shaped knee armor. The woman held the sword in front of her at an angle as the glowing creature took back up to the air.

"Fray, that red animal must be her Standard. Track it down or we have no hope of defeating her," Melee ordered.

"Sure thing!" Fray called before zooming off into the trees.

Rebecka turned to Sigyn. "Can you get everyone out of here?"

The dragon woman pulled the last of the arrows from her hide and nodded silently.

"Good. You have to run."

"What about you?" Sigyn asked.

"We'll be fine," Rebecka said.

"I said there would be no escape," Melee said firmly.

Dyr hurried onto the cart next to Rifa, the light glow of the protection magic still surrounding them.

"Hold on, one second, this is just a misunderstanding!" Rebecka called up to her.

Melee's sword vanished as she crossed both her arms above her head, glittering green and white lights gathering around her. All the people with bows did their best to give her room. Rebecka's skin began to crawl even more as a wave of nausea washed over her.

Severe warning: Magic detected. RUN, REBECKA!

"GO GO GO!" Rebecka shouted.

Sigyn leapt toward the cart, transforming as she did. Her clothing reduced to shreds as she grew into her giant dragon form. She scooped Baby up in one great clawed hand, and the wagon, complete with startled knights, in the other. She beat her giant wings hard enough to turn up dirt and mud as she launched herself into the air.

"Not so fast!" Melee shouted. "HEARTACHE RAIN!"

Countless heart shaped blades of darkness, lined by glowing green light, formed around Melee. There was no time for Rebecka to run before the first hit her with searing pain, cutting through her lower legs and neck. Once again, she couldn't move, but managed to catch sight of Sigyn's tail as it fell to the muddy ground out of the corner of her eye. Then everything seemed to slide away from her.

The last thing Rebecka thought as she saw the raven on the back of her jacket was, I just had my head cut off by a magical girl?