Chapter XX

Rowan did not hesitate to leap to her feet and attack when the Runners sprang into action. In a rather grisly action, she grabbed hold of the head of the nearest Domineer and snapped his neck with all her strength. She picked up his sword and dove right into the fight with Kota and the others by her side.

By themselves, the Domineers did not stand a chance against Rowan, let alone the rest of the Runners. They knew it, too, and Rowan intended to exploit their weaknesses. She took them one by one, fighting with the ferocity she learned from Alex as well as using her natural harmonious movements to confuse her adversaries. The Runners had completely breached the outpost, and now it seemed they had taken control of it with ease. Rowan killed several opponents who had foolishly engaged her before she heard a threatening voice behind her.

“YOU BITCH!” the outpost’s leader shouted. Rowan turned around to see him approaching her with his own sword in hand. He hissed as he wound up his arm and prepared to thrust his blade directly at her. “I will end you!”

With little effort, Rowan redirected the path of his thrust and snatched hold of his sword arm as she pulled him toward her. “Do you think so?” she mocked him.

The Domineer let out a cry of frustration and the two of them became locked in a duel as the chaos continued to erupt within the campsite. Rowan’s adversary was tough, but she was faster. He grew angrier with every swing of his sword that failed to hit its mark as Rowan danced around him.

“ENOUGH!” In a movement that surprised even Rowan, the Domineer swung his leg and tripped her. Rowan fell hard as she was instantly swept off her feet, hitting her head on the ground. She was dazed for a brief second, but as soon as she looked up, to her horror, she saw him raise his sword and prepare to bring down on her.

“Rowan!” Kota cried out. He made a quick charge at the Domineer. He turned around just in time to see Kota leaping at him, and managed to duck and heave his attacker directly over him. Rowan immediately seized her chance as she snatched her sword and made a swift slash at the back of his knee.

Crying out in pain, the Domineer dropped to his knees, clutching at his wound. Rowan stood to her feet and, without hesitating, she placed the sharp edge of her blade against his throat. Just then, to her surprise, the Domineer grew a smile across his face.

“What’s so funny?” Rowan growled.

“You think you’ve won?” the Domineer sneered. “You’re about to have another thing coming!”

At that moment, both Rowan and Kota shifted their heads toward the far end of the outpost opposite which they had entered. The gate leading out had been closed, but everyone fighting within the campsite had stopped as their attention was drawn to the sound of someone attempting to break it down. As soon as the gate was breached, the last remaining Domineers among the chaos seized their opportunity to flee, and the Runners watched in horror as a whole other swarm of them rushed into the outpost.

“Oh, no!” Kota gasped helplessly. The fleeing Domineers were heading straight for their reinforcements. Rowan’s victim immediately rolled away from her blade, grunting in pain as he scrambled to follow them.

As the Domineer charge drew closer, the Runners shouted their battle cries and met their attackers head on. Rowan watched in terror as most of the remnants of the Runners were massacred almost immediately by the sheer number of their enemies. It did not take long for the Domineers to turn their attention on the last of the Runners, and eventually, to her as well. Rowan gripped her sword tightly, breathing heavily and anxiously as she waited for the devastating fight to come her way.

Suddenly, just before they reached her, a single figure sprinted in from the side and swung the blade on his arm across the legs of one of the Domineers, causing him to keel forward and flip onto his back. Rowan gasped in surprise. “Alex!” she exclaimed as she and Kota leapt forward to aid him.

The Domineers were swarming the area faster than they could kill them. Alex had completely lost track of the rest of his team. His entire focus was set on repelling each adversary as they approached him. He had dropped his gun, which had been emptied, and picked up from the ground the first sword he could find.

Rowan and Kota were quick to join him in the chaos. It was impossible to know just how much longer they could fight before they either became too exhausted to go on, or until they were completely overwhelmed. “What are we going to do!?” Kota cried out over the noise of the skirmish. “We have to retreat!”

“We can’t!” Alex exclaimed, grunting as he skewered yet another opponent. “They’ve cut off our escape and trapped us inside. They knew we would come!”

Upon hearing his sentiment, Rowan suddenly grew an expression of dismay. No sense of valor would make her believe otherwise that this was a battle they simply could not win. Alex turned to her and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. “Rowan, listen to me!” he said gravely. “I don’t think we can get out of this, but you have to try!”

“What?” Rowan gasped with wide eyes.

Kota understood exactly what Alex was saying. “Go, Rowan! Hurry! We’ll cover you!”

Rowan glanced back and forth between the two of them and shook her head grimly. “No…” she muttered as she felt a strong uprise in the cold winds, and her attention was drawn up toward the clouds painted red by the sun.

“Rowan!” Alex shouted, a single tear beginning to form in his eye. “You know what’s gonna happen. We’re not walking away from this one, but you need to get back to the Citadel! I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you!”

Alex and Kota prepared to head off into the chaos to certain death, but Rowan suddenly grabbed hold of him and turned him back around to face her. She stared at him with a harsh but passionate gaze. “I will die by your side before I ever leave you!”

Alex’s jaw fell. He was left speechless by her words. He was not sure if she really understood the severity of their situation. None of that mattered to him right now. As he stared back into her eyes, he noticed that they appeared to him once again as beautiful and captivating as the glistening radiance of emeralds, and for a moment, he truly believed he would be at peace if this was the last thing he saw.

As the Domineers continued to surround them, Alex tensed his muscles, struggling to catch his breath. The wind was picking up harder with every moment that passed, and he cringed as the cold gnawed against his face. Eventually, the Domineers began to stop and look around anxiously as the howling of the wind grew louder and stronger. Alex raised his arm to keep the gusts out of his eyes. He turned to look back at Rowan, and to his astonishment, he saw an expression of genuine terror upon her face as she started slowly backing away.

“Il vah’Sel!” she exclaimed under her breath. In a matter of seconds, Rowan broke down in a fit of pure fear as she cried out, “IT’S HERE!”

The powerful gales were growing exponentially. Suddenly Alex’s attention was seized by a deafening sound like an explosion. He looked up toward the peak of the mountain towering above the outpost. To his horror, the snow blanketing the hills began to break free as it rushed down the mountainside on a collision course with the Domineers’ camp.

“Oh, my God!” Alex breathed in disbelief as the avalanche rapidly gained speed and power. He turned toward Rowan and Kota as he swiftly detached the sword from his arm. “RUN!”

Everyone among the outpost, Ravennites and Domineers alike, realized the exact same thing as the chaotic skirmish quickly turned into an all-out retreat. The Domineers had become so disoriented by the fast approaching avalanche that they were reduced to knocking and running each other over just trying to get clear of the imminent disaster. Alex had all but lost sight of what was left of his Runners. He did his best to keep his eyes on Rowan and Kota as they hurried toward the west gate of the outpost, which was still open and accessible for their escape.

The sound of the avalanche was loud enough to surpass all the panic and shouting around them. As they sprinted through the gate, Alex could see that the Domineers waiting to prevent their escape had begun to abandon their formation at the sight of the avalanche. It was perhaps the only chance they would have to slip through them, and then they could make their way back to the Runners’ camp and return to the Citadel.

There was a deafening snapping sound as the avalanche began uprooting the trees in its path nearer to the base of the slope. Distracted by the terrifying noise, Rowan gasped as she tripped and rolled into the snow. Alex and Kota both halted and whipped around. “Rowan!” Alex cried as he turned back to help her up. It only took a matter of seconds, but as the three of them recomposed themselves, they looked up to see, to their horror, the avalanche had already reached the bottom of the mountain. It completely toppled the outpost walls with its incredible force, and Alex knew that it would not take long for the falling snow to pile up and flow over the cliff. There was no way they would be able to get out of its path in time, and it seemed the rest of the Domineers knew it as well.

Trying not to panic, Alex quickly looked around and, to his disbelief, identified their one and only option. “Follow me!” he called out as he pulled Rowan to her feet. “Hurry!” With that, Rowan and Kota saw no other choice but to follow him as they ran as fast as they could - right toward the cliff.

The noise was almost ear splitting at this point. Alex took a quick, daring glance behind him to see that the piling avalanche was practically chasing them now, carrying the debris of the outpost along with it. “OH SHIT!” Alex cursed. He was completely out of breath right now, but he was somehow running faster than he thought he was capable of.

Kota narrowed his eyes as he followed closely. “Alex?!” he cried out anxiously, realizing what they were about to do.

Alex had no idea what they were going to find over the edge of the cliff. It was still a better gamble than remaining here at the mercy of the avalanche. He could only pray that he was making the right decision. As they approached the cliffside, Alex took a deep, painful inhale. “JUMP!” he shouted as he and the others took a blind leap over the edge.

To his relief, Alex realized that the cliff only dropped for about ten feet before it became little more than an angled slope. Upon hitting the ground, however, the force of their momentum caused the three of them to instantly lose their footing and tumble down the snowy incline. As he rolled, Alex could see that the slope eventually ended and dropped away into yet another cliff.

“I can’t stop!” Kota grunted. Alex tried to stop himself as well, but it was impossible without grabbing ahold of something. If they could not stop themselves now, then they would all end up tumbling off the next cliff, and he doubted they would survive the fall, wherever it would lead. On the other hand, they would still be at the mercy of the avalanche as soon as it headed over the cliff just behind them.

Rowan clawed at the snow as she slid, but to no avail. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a single sapling of a tree standing up out of the snow. In a matter of seconds, she reached out and snatched hold of it. To her surprise, it managed to withstand her force, and at the same time, she reached out to catch Alex’s left hand as he passed by her. The last thing that caught her eye was what appeared to be a small, cave-like opening in the slope just on the other side of the tree onto which she was holding for dear life.

Kota was not so fortunate as the rest of them. Alex glanced down and watched helplessly as he plunged over the cliffside, and in the very same second, he was gone. “Kota!” Alex cried out in shock.

Rowan hissed through her teeth as she tried desperately to hang onto her friend. The cut in Alex’s palm was opening up again due to the pressure Rowan was putting on it, and his blood began seeping out onto their hands. It was causing Rowan to slowly lose her grip. “Alex! I can’t hold on!” she panicked.

Alex began trying to pull himself up the slope with his other hand as much as he could, but to his terror he could see the avalanche preparing to make its run over the cliff, sending pieces of the former outpost’s walls raining down on them. “Rowan, you have to let me go!” he called up to her.

Rowan stared back down at him with eyes full of disbelief. “What? No, I won’t!”

“It’s too late!” Alex exclaimed. It was clear to both of them that he did not want to do this, but there was no other choice; either he gave himself up, or they would all be killed.

Quickly losing his grip as well, Alex felt there was only one thing left for him to do. “Rowan!” he looked her dead in the eyes, which he could see were beginning to water.

Before he could even speak, his bloody hand slipped out of her loosening grip, and he continued to plummet down the slope.

“NO!” Rowan cried. She could suddenly feel the first clumps of snow coming down on top of her. With the aid of the small tree, she swung herself over to the opening in the side of the snowy slope. It was just large enough for her to fit inside and keep clear as the avalanche fell over top of it. She would be safe in here for now, but she felt nothing but pain, shock and anguish as the last thing she saw was the sight of her closest friend going over the edge of the cliff to certain doom, and then everything went dark as the torrent of snow engulfed the mouth of the cave.