Highway To Armageddon (18 page)

           
“You’re probably right,” Machete says with a sigh. “I should’ve been more
careful. I’ll check the car for bugs when we get out of this mess.”

           
I like the way Machete thinks. She didn’t say ‘if’ we get out of this mess. She
said ‘when’. I’d never admit it to her, but I’m glad she’s with me. I feel like
I can take on a whole army when I have a blood-thirsty lunatic like Machete at
my side. It’s the same comforting feeling I had around Dagger.

           
By now Pitbull is up to five, and he doesn’t sound pleased that I haven’t
revealed myself yet.

           
“Six… seven… eight…”

           
Pitbull stops and turns to Yang. “I can’t believe the coward is gonna let me
carve up his girlfriend.”

           
Pitbull looks down at Boom Boom, who has started struggling again. He yanks on
her hair, snapping her head back.

           
“Such a pity. She sure is gorgeous. Oh well, screw the countdown. Let’s get to
work.”

           
Boom Boom screams, “No, stop!”

           
She reaches for Pitbull’s hand, but Yang zaps her.   

           
Pitbull places the tip of the dagger back up against Boom Boom’s right eye
socket. “Quit struggling, girlie. You’re gonna make things worse.”

           
I can’t take it anymore. I lunge forward, but Machete yanks me back down.

           
“Machete, he’s going to---”

           
Machete clamps her hand back over my mouth. “You’re ruining the plan.”

           
I shove Machete’s hand away. Before I can say anything, someone screams, “Leave
her alone, you cyborg freak!”

           
I spin around just as Arrow charges toward Pitbull, clutching one of his broken
arrows. Before he gets within striking distance, Yank intercepts him with a
savage kick to his head. Arrow collapses to his knees, clutching his temple.

           
“Machete, we need to---” I start to say, but I never finish my sentence.
Machete jumps up and extends her right arm. A small blade flies out of her hand
and hurtles toward Pitbull, spinning end over end until it finally imbeds
itself
blade-first
into Pitbull’s robotic eyeball. Orange sparks fly out
of his cracked eye socket and tendrils of electricity zap his face. Pitbull
falls to his knees, grasping his face and howling in agony.

           
Machete hops out of the brush, charges over to Yang, and slugs her in the face.

           
Yin chucks a throwing star at Machete’s head. Machete ducks at the last second,
but one of the star’s jagged points grazes her outstretched arm. Machete grabs
her bleeding wound and ducks behind a tree.

           
I whip out my blade and hurl it at Yin. Yin jumps out of the way and lands
right into a swinging log. The log is wielded by none other than Machete.
Machete wallops Yin in the face several times, causing blood to trickle out of
her nose and mouth. Yin eventually collapses to the ground.

           
Machete drops her log and stumbles over to Arrow, who is still on the ground,
groaning from his injuries.

           
I begin making my way toward Boom Boom when Yang charges at me with a sword. I
crouch down just as the blade slices through the air above my head.

           
“Holy shit!” I shout.

           
Machete tries to help me, but Pitbull grabs her by the neck. The blade is still
stuck in his malfunctioning eyeball.

           
I focus my attention back on Yang, who charges at me again with her sword,
furiously attempting to slice me in half. I jump back and duck behind a tree.
One of Yang’s swipes slices the back of my outstretched hand. Blood pours from
the cut, trickling all the way down my arm.

           
I jump back from Yang’s blade for what seems like the 1,000
^th
time
and stumble over a fallen tree branch. I fall flat on my back and bang my head
against a rock. The sky starts to spin. Yang’s snarling face hovers over me,
followed by her sword. I’m completely at Yang’s mercy, and I have a bad feeling
she doesn’t know the meaning of the word.

           
“I know Pitbull wanted to capture the three of you alive, but he’s going to
have to deal with at least one casualty.”

           
Before Yang can bring the sword crashing down over my head, a rock hits her in
the face. Yang cries out and vanishes from view.

           
By now my vision has somewhat stabilized. Arrow stumbles past me, blood oozing
from his temple. He viciously kicks Yang in the head. She slumps to the ground,
unconscious.

           
I crawl over to Boom Boom and yank the taser hooks out of her neck. Arrow and I
make brief eye contact and nod. It’s our way of saying
‘Good job’
without having to spit it out.

           
We turn our attention back to Pitbull, who still has Machete in a stranglehold.
Arrow wastes no time in dashing up to Pitbull and kicking him in the groin.
Pitbull releases his chokehold, sending Machete crashing into a pile of leaves.
Pitbull drops to his knees and clutches his privates, moaning in agony.

           
I snatch Yang’s sword off the ground and aim it at Pitbull’s chest.

           
“Give it up, you malfunctioning bucket of bolts! We’ve got you surrounded!”

           
Pitbull grabs the end of my blade with his robotic hand and snaps it in two.
His face is engulfed in a fiery mask of rage.

           
“You snot-nosed punk,” he hisses as saliva gushes through his clenched teeth.
He looks like a rabid dog. “Screw the bounty. I’m gonna flay you alive.”

           
I step back and hold up my hands. “Whoa Pitbull, I think we got off on the
wrong foot. Let’s start over!”

           
“Talk time is over, kiddo!”

           
Pitbull grabs me around the neck. His cyborg hand is so cold it burns my skin.
I gasp for air, but none enters my lungs.

           
Pitbull lifts me off the ground one-handed. The pain is more excruciating than
I could have ever imagined. It feels like I’m being strangled, hung, and set on
fire all at once. I wildly kick my feet and claw at Pitbull’s hand, but it does
no good. If anything it provokes Pitbull into tightening his chokehold.

           
Pitbull pulls me so close I can make out all the scars and pock-marks dotting
his weathered, beat-up face. “The next time I see you, kid, it’ll be in the
fiery pits of Hell.”

           
The fire around my neck increases in intensity. I’m so sapped of energy that I
can’t even muster the strength to kick my feet anymore. My eyes glaze over and
I begin my descent into unconsciousness.

           
Suddenly there’s a flurry of movement out of my peripheral vision. I also see
fire. Pitbull releases his stranglehold and I slip out of his grasp, crashing
to the forest floor. I gulp down several mouthfuls of oxygen and massage my
burning neck. Pitbull’s metallic fingers left indentations in my flesh.

           
I peer up through water-filled eyes and gasp at the sight of Pitbull engulfed
in flames. He unleashes a horrifying shriek of pure agony and dashes into the
forest, flailing his arms. It looks like he’s headed toward the river.

           
Machete stands off to the side, clutching a flaming log. She nods at me and
tosses the log back into the campfire.

           
“Thanks,” I say hoarsely.

           
“Don’t mention it.” Machete extends her scarred right hand. I grab it and allow
her to pull me to my feet. My pride only goes so far. I was seconds away from
death, and Machete saved me. She saved all of us. My opinion of her is getting
better all the time.

           
Machete clasps Arrow’s shoulder. “You alright, kiddo?”

           
Arrow touches his head wound. “I’ll live. How about you?”

           
“Ditto,” Machete says.

           
I’ve spent so many years hating Arrow and his mother that it’s almost a shock
to see them acting so caring around one another. I shake my throbbing head and
trudge over to Boom Boom, who has just started to stir. I cup her hand in
between mine and whisper, “Firecracker, you okay?”

           
Boom Boom’s eyelids flutter open. Her intense, green eyes appear pained and
confused. She finally focuses on me and cracks the slightest of smiles.

           
“I told you I hate that name.”

           
I chuckle and help her sit up. “I’m going to call you that until the day I die.
You might as well get used to it.”

           
Boom Boom groans and looks around. “What happened? Where’s Pitbull and Yin and
Yang?”

           
I’m about to tell her, but Machete barges over and says, “There’s no time for
chit-chat. The ninjas won’t be out for long, and the cyborg freak will be back
as soon as he douses his flames.”

           
“You guys set him on fire?!” Boom Boom cries.

           
“Er, yeah,” I say sheepishly, helping Boom Boom to her feet. We make our way
over to Krystal, who’s still sprawled out on the ground.

           
 Boom Boom kneels down and turns Krystal over.

           
“C’mon, Krystal, we’ve gotta go,” Boom Boom says, snapping her fingers.

           
Krystal opens her eyes and mutters, “What the hell happened?  I feel like
someone beat me with an ugly stick.”

           
It takes all my might not to say something sarcastic. The opportunities are
limitless.

           
I glance over at Machete. She has a blade nestled against Yang’s neck.

           
“Machete, what are you doing?!” I cry.

           
Machete glares at me. She almost looks feral. “What does it look like I’m
doing?”

           
Machete raises her blade, seconds from plunging it into Yang’s neck. I’m too
stunned to act. Boom Boom, however, is not. She rushes over and grabs Machete’s
wrists, just as she’s about to deliver her death strike. Machete’s blade
quivers as she struggles to break free from Boom Boom’s grasp. The only reason
it’s an even match is because Boom Boom is using two hands and leaning
backwards. Even then, Machete is still able to lower the blade several inches.

           
“Machete… stop…,” Boom Boom pleads, struggling to dislodge the blade.

           
I snap out of my daze and rush over to help. As strong as Machete is, she’s no
match for the both of us. I pry the blade out of her hand while Boom Boom keeps
a vise-like grip on her wrist.

           
Machete spins around and shoves both of us in the chest.

           
“What in the hell is the matter with you two?!”

           
“What is the matter with you?!” Boom Boom shouts back, getting in Machete’s
face. “We’re not the type of people who kill in cold-blood.”

           
“Don’t be naïve and stupid, girl. You know if we don’t kill these two broads
now they’ll just come after us again. They attacked us first, in case you’ve
forgotten.”

           
“Yin and Yang aren’t bad people, they’re just trying to support their families.
Like we all are. There are millions of people on this godforsaken planet who
deserve to die, but Yin and Yang aren’t one of them. Pitbull, maybe, but not
Yin and Yang.”

           
Machete pulls at her hair. “You damn kids are driving me crazy. You’re putting
our mission, and our lives, in jeopardy.”      

           
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to stand by and watch you murder people who can’t
defend themselves,” Boom Boom says defiantly.

           
Machete cracks her knuckles. “I guess I’ll have to take care of you first,
then.”

           
Boom Boom steps back and raises her fists, as do I. Thankfully we never come to
blows. Arrow pulls his mom aside to talk some sense into her.

           
“Maybe Red’s right, Mom,” Arrow says. “Maybe we should let them live.”

           
Machete throws up her hands in defeat. “We don’t have time for this crap. We
need to get out of here before that bucket of bolts Bulldog gets back.”

           
“You mean Pitbull,” I say.

           
Machete glares at me, prompting me to shut up. Machete turns back to Boom Boom
and makes one last threat. “I’ll let your ninja friends live
this
time.
But if they’re stupid enough to come after us again, I’m going to slit their
throats. Then I’m punching you in the face.”

           
Boom Boom gulps. “Uh, sounds good.”

           
Machete kicks Yang in the head and storms off to the car.

           
Arrow smiles. “Sorry about that, Red. My mom has anger management issues.”

           
“Really? We never noticed,” I say sarcastically.

           
Arrow ignores me and rubs Boom Boom’s shoulders. “You okay?”

           
“Yeah,” Boom Boom says, gazing into Arrow’s eyes. “Thanks for sticking up for
me.”