Broken (The Captive #5.5)(64)
The faint scent of smoke drifted to him when he reached the wood line.
***
The screams increased in intensity around her, the smoke caused her eyes to water but she finally made it to Camille's side. A driving urgency propelled her as she grabbed hold of Camille's arms. She tugged her sister to her feet and away from the motionless boy that lay at her side. Camille staggered over top of the dead boy and into her arms. Wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulders, she turned her away as even more humans approached from the woods.
Terror pulsed in her veins, pain and distress resonated through the vampires trying to escape the village. These vampires weren't fighters; these were women and children who had never experienced anything like this before. The Watchmen had jumped into the fray, but they were outnumbered at least five to one by the humans. She watched as two of them were struck down by a wave of arrows. Some village vampires tried to go at the humans but they were also struck down. Even though a few humans fell, it wasn't enough to put a dent in the growing number still pouring out of the woods.
The smoke billowing from the fires had caused the last of the day to turn to night, even with her enhanced vision she was having a difficult time seeing through the thick substance. She frantically looked around for a way to escape but there were humans closing in from behind them and from both sides of the road. Genny started to pull Camille forward in the hopes that the humans hadn't already closed off all of their chances at escape.
Sweat from the increasing heat of the fires and the horror tearing through her system caused her tunic to stick to her. It hindered her movements as she struggled to get over the bodies littering the ground. Arrows continued to fall around them. They hit the hard ground with a thud and the much softer bodies with a sickening squishy and bone crunching sound that she knew would haunt her forever.
Arturo emerged from the smoke like a sinister avenger; the scowl on his face would have been frightening if she hadn't already hit her limit for terror. "This way!" he commanded and wrapped his hand around her elbow. He ruthlessly shoved scrambling vampires out of the way as he charged through the crowd. Genny kept her arm protectively around Camille to shelter her from the encroaching flames and the whistling arrows flying past them.
A startled cry escaped Genny; her hand flew to her cheek when an arrowhead sliced across her face. Blood spilled down her cheek but the thing that caused her to choke back a scream was the arrow embedding itself into the back of the vampire before them. Camille let out a frightened cry as the vampire fell at their feet. Genny wrapped her hand around Camille's head and clasped it against her breast to block her sister from the senseless slaughter.
A loud shout erupted from the humans, before Genny had any idea of what was going on, Arturo was shoving her before him. She spun in time to see dozens of arrows whizzing toward them. Arturo stood before her with his arms thrown out to the side. Genny held Arturo's dismayed gaze as the impact of the arrows hitting his body caused him to do an odd little lurching dance that reminded her of a marionette. Genny grabbed for Arturo to try and help him but he slapped her hands away from him. He pushed her forward a couple of steps before blood exploded from his mouth and sprayed over her face.
A scream caught in her throat. She hastily wiped away the warm blood caught in her lashes and on her lips. "Run," Arturo gurgled at her.
Camille screamed as Arturo fell to the ground. He lay unmoving on the ground before them with half a dozen arrows protruding from his back. The weight of Camille's body almost dragged her down when her sister's knees gave out on her, but Genny managed to keep her upright. She spun away from the humans now rushing forward with far more courage. It took everything she had not to scream and give into the panic threatening to consume her, but she couldn't afford to lose control now. They would never survive if she did.
Genny strained to see through the smoke as she tried to ascertain where they were in the village. She wanted to take a minute to get their bearings in the thick smoke but to stop now was certain death. The power of Atticus's blood gave her a strength she hadn't known she possessed as she rushed forward with her sister cradled against her chest.
A vampire crashed into them as they neared an area of the woods that Genny rarely traversed. The trees were thick and there wasn't any civilization for miles. This area of the woods had always intrigued her but with having to steal for Felix she'd only been able to explore it half a dozen times. It would be the perfect place to escape to now, if they could just make it there alive.
Another vampire crashed into her and knocked her back but she managed to keep herself from falling over by planting her feet. She took a few more steps toward the woods before a piercing pain lanced through her calf. Glancing down, she spotted the head of the arrow that had sliced through the back of her calf and now protruded out the front of her shin.
"Genny!" Camille cried.
"Keep going!" she hissed from between her teeth.
She refused to give into the pain threatening to cripple her as she rushed forward with a limp. It should have hindered her progress but she was fueled by her adrenaline and Atticus's powerful blood in her veins. Only a few more feet and they would be deep within the shadows of the massive trees. Hope filled her when she spotted other vampires fleeing into the safety of the woods.
The whistle of more arrows being released reached her seconds before she grabbed hold of Camille and thrust her sister in front of her. The excruciating agony of two more arrows hitting her caused a grunt to escape her but the scream that she had been about to emit became trapped in her throat. One arrow had slammed into her shoulder. The force of it shoved her forward but she managed to keep herself from falling on top of Camille and pinning her sister beneath her weight.