Ebony Scales

Joy dropped her magazine, not caring that it was lost to the night, slapping a fresh full magazine in and slapping a round home. With a quick flick of her thumb, Joy shifted the rifle to full automatic mode, sighting the sidecar cycle, knowing she had a moment before the other rider could reload his pistol. The icy coldness dropped over her again, and a flash of old memory from some movie flashed through her mind. She aimed low, anticipating the rifle barrel would rise, and squeezed the trigger. The stream of rounds caught the sidecar cycle in a sweeping diagonal, stitching across the gunner before catching the driver in the right shoulder and arm, spinning him off into the dirt. Longwei closed on the other cyclist and swept him aside with a flick of his tail, sending him screaming off into the night before crashing into trees or shrubbery.

The last cyclist, seeing his compatriots destroyed, dropped back, clamping on his brakes and dropping back, turning and fleeing before Longwei and Joy could attack again. Longwei pulled to the front of the convoy, leading them for another five kilometers before slowing down, calling them to a halt. Joy hopped off, and Longwei changed to his human form, both of them running over to Billy’s truck. He had put the vehicle in park, but the engine stayed running. Other than a few bullet holes in the side panels, everything looked okay to them.

“I need an update on everyone, quickly,” Longwei said, as the three of them started off down the now shortened caravan of twenty one vehicles, the twenty that Billy had brought along with the two buses Longwei and Joy had bought.

Coming to the next truck, Joy saw that nobody was injured and she moved on, running from truck to truck. Most of the injuries were minor, although there were a few bullet wounds that were already getting treatment. At the third to last truck she stopped, the horror of the scene piercing the cold veil that had dropped over her emotions.

The driver of the truck, one of the Christians, was holding a child in his lap, his tear streaked face screaming his pain into the night. Joy could see it was one of the two Christian children, the little girl who Joy had learned was named Ai. She hadn’t been hit by a bullet, but instead a shard of glass. The other passenger, who Joy thought was her mother, had tried to protect her daughter as the last murderous spray of bullets from the single rider had torn her apart. A single shard of glass had gotten through though, slicing her jugular vein even as her father tried to keep the truck on the road, her life blood spraying the inside of the cab and painting it blackish red.

Now, the father held his precious daughter, whose faint struggles stopped and her body relaxed in death even as Joy arrived. She stood, unsure what to do, as Longwei and Billy arrived, Billy kneeling to console the man as best he could. Others arrived, carrying the bodies to another truck, while the father was led to one of the buses. There was no time for mourning, the convoy had to move on.

Billy and Longwei conferred in the darkness, Billy nodding sadly. Joy helped wipe up what blood she could from the cab, while another Christian took over driving duties. The truck carried needed food and supplies, it couldn’t be abandoned.

In less than five minutes, the whole thing was done. Billy called all the drivers together, and was back on the road towards the new village. Tomorrow, in daylight, they would find time to evaluate the damage, and to start the mourning.

“Is there anything else we could have done?” Joy asked Longwei, as they watched the convoy disappear into the night.

“No,” Longwei replied. “But we have to get back. If they would attack the convoy, they could attack the village. I only pray that the Army gets here before that.”

*****

The next day, the mood in the village was somber as news of the attack spread. The few Christians left mourned at the loss of their friends, while the villagers settled into grim determination to get things ready for their own escape. A morning radio conference with Billy revealed the full extent of the damage. Besides the truck which had been destroyed before Longwei and Joy could help, two other vehicles sustained damage that required their replacement, Billy choosing to purchase replacements over repair. It bit deeply into the money they had left, but it was unavoidable.

The deeper cost was in the dead and wounded. Due to shock, attacks, and wounds, a total of ten people had died, three in the destroyed truck, the truck driver’s daughter and wife, and five others whose wounds couldn’t be stopped in time. Their bodies were wrapped carefully in tarps to be buried when they arrived at the new village.

Joy found herself afterwards sitting in the garden of the temple, crying her eyes raw. She had put on a brave face in front of the rest of the village when the news was released, but couldn’t face the idea of continuing to falsely pretend like she was super-humanly strong any longer. Her cheek burned, the stitches the doctor put in pulling painfully with every motion of her mouth. The wound was covered in a long strip of gauze, and Joy knew the scar would be ugly when it came off.

It didn’t matter however. As she knelt in the grass, her eyes burning, all she could see was the sight of the little girl Ai, her father cradling her body as she breathed her last. Great sobs shuddered through her body and she wailed, her stomach convulsing and the little breakfast she had been able to get down spewing onto the grass between her knees.

After what felt like an eternity, the tears dried up, and Joy felt hollowed out, empty. Climbing to her feet, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand, turning to go inside. Maybe, with enough water, she could get the foul taste out of her mouth.

Inside the quiet temple, she found Longwei, checking his own wound. His belly was covered in a bright red rash, the damage coming from his running over two motorcycles the night before, and moving at top speed over rough terrain for so long. Even thick dragon hide couldn’t be treated to harshly.

“Are you ready?” Joy asked him, burying her feelings deep again. She knew that deep in the Pandora’s Box that was her emotions, she was letting only two things remain out. First was her devotion to Longwei, and her love of him. The second was her rage. The Triad had hurt her, and hurt innocent people.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Longwei replied, pulling his shirt back down. He came over and took her hand, looking her in the eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Okay?” Joy snorted, shaking her head. “It’s going to be a long time before I’m okay again. But I can bear down, and get these people to safety. If I need to have a breakdown, I’ll do it after that.”

Longwei nodded, when a squawk from the radio caught their attention. Longwei grabbed the handset, pulling it to his ear. A grim smile broke out on his face, and he spoke softly into the microphone. He set the handset down, and nodded. “The Army will be here in one hour. The General heard about the fight, and is afraid the Triads will step up their attacks. It’s time to move.”

Joy nodded, and the two left the temple heading into the village. There was still a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in…

The end.