FULL NOVELXO Chapter Sixteen: Marley
More and more screams echoed throughout the village. At this point, she didn’t know if the riot was just from the ghouls or the people as the shack shook from all the running. She felt like a sitting duck, Mack overthinking the same way she was as she held her bow tightly.
But then she remembered a small detail that she kept to herself. She stole her dagger from Sawyer one night on the ship while he was asleep. “Take this.”
“What?” Mack questioned, her eyes staring down at the dagger before she smirked. “That’s my girl!”
“We need a plan and fast!”
Mack groaned, gripping the knife until her knuckles had turned white. “I don’t like the way you are looking at me. All of that air has gotten to your head!”
A loud screech echoed through the store as the door burst open. two ghouls entering as Mack gasped and pulled Marely behind the desk. It didn’t cover much but they were still hidden as Marley tried to find a way out. “You sneak up to the one on your side, I’ll get mine with an arrow.”
“Girl! You are killing me, just give me a second.”
“We don’t have a second!”
“Okay! Okay! Geeze!” Mack whisper-yelled back before she groaned and eyed her target. She moved her body slowly and stuck to the shadows while Marley wished the both of them were wearing male clothing. Dresses during this situation were the worst idea.
Marley waited until Mack was only a few inches away before she stood and grabbed an arrow, her target was facing away from her as she aimed and hit the creature in its back. The Ghoul screeched, its high pitch sound alerting Mack’s ghoul as Marely grabbed another arrow and shot the screeching ghoul in the head.
Mack panicked, jumping onto her ghoul’s back and stabbing the blade right into its head as she screeched and fell with it. “How in the hell do you know how to aim like that!?”
“I had three days worth of practice,” Marley responded. “We need to get out of here.”
Mack nodded, Marley collected the two arrows in her ghoul before leaving the shack. Chaos was everywhere, people screaming, fighting and dying. As much as she hated this island and the people on it, she also didn’t want to watch them all die.
Fire was everywhere as a few houses were in flames while people ran. Ghouls were screeching and killing as Marley wished she had something more reliable than a stupid bow and a few arrows. Mack grabbed her arm and started to pull her in random directions while they kept running into people.
She kept thinking they were lost as she didn’t know where they were actually going before she felt Mack’s hand slip. There were so many people and ghouls that she couldn’t find her sister so she did the one thing she knew how and that was to run the opposite way.
Ghouls tried to grab her and broke her bow instead as she looked around for a new weapon and found a spear shoved into a dead man’s back. She didn’t get the chance to think about how she knew this blacksmith before she was suddenly thrown. Her body landed on the ground meters away from the creature who hit her as she gripped the spear and fought.
Years of practice kicked into her system as she sliced and killed her way through. Her energy ran thin as she wished she wasn’t alone. But that feeling soon went away as she ran into a ghoul, his thick black eyes glared down at her as it bared its bloody teeth, blood covered mucus came out of its mouth and dripped to the blood-covered earth as she backed up and hit another ghoul.
Four more ghouls appeared as she had nowhere to go. Six ghouls surrounded her and all she had was a flimsy stick as one jumped and tried to attack before she struck it in the face. The ghoul hissed as another one came at her and she struck that one in the face as well. All she had left in her was facial hits as she felt herself losing hope. She had no more strength left in her as one struck her across the head.
Her body fell to the ground with a grunt as she closed her eyes and waited for it to end but nothing came. Warmth surrounded her as she thought she was dead. Marley opened her eyes after a few seconds to find the ghouls burnt to a crisp. Their bodies were completely black as smoke slowly came out of the crack.
She didn’t have to look up to know who saved her as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her body and legs. Her head hurt so badly that she didn’t fight him as he carried her. Marley internally screamed in anger as she wanted to keep fighting, she wanted to keep going to help save the only home she has ever known but her body hurt, her head hurt and the thought of moving a finger hurt.
“Marley! Oh my god!”
Marley opened her eyes she didn’t realise were closed to find her sister all over her. The warmth of the mate bond was taken away as she turned her head and looked straight into his red eyes. Pain and anger swirled in those orbs of his as she could see his dragon.
The beast tried to claw itself out of his body as he snarled and shifted before her eyes. His dragon glowed in the sun as green and golden scales took over his tanned skin. Fire came out of his large mouth as he roared and flew off. She hadn’t noticed she was back on Abigail’s boat until now as she slowly stood, using Mack to lean on as she watched her mate burn down everything that was in his way.