Owen pressed his back against the cold stone, breathing slow and shallow. Sand scratched his palms as he shifted just enough to peek around the rock. Blair crouched beside him, halberd held low, blade angled, muscles coiled like a loaded spring. Her eyes were locked forward, sharp and hungry.
"Before you do anything," Owen whispered, calm but firm, "let us leave at least one alive. We need answers. What they are, where they came from, how many more like them are out here."
Blair did not look at him. She just nodded once. "Yeah, Roger boss. I will try not to redecorate the desert with both of them."
The motorcycle engine howled closer, sand spraying as the four armed men gunned straight toward the rock. Their laughter carried over the wind, harsh and confident. Owen felt his heart rate spike but forced himself to stay still.
The motorcycle roared past the edge of the rock.
Blair exploded into motion.
She stepped out and swung her halberd in a wide, brutal arc. The driver barely had time to react. Instinct kicked in and he raised two of his arms to block. The halberd smashed into them with a wet, cracking impact. Bone shattered. One arm came off at the elbow in a spray of blood. The blade bit into his chest armor and stopped, screeching against metal.
The force sent both four armed men flying off the motorcycle. They hit the ground hard, tumbling through sand and rock. The bike skidded away and flipped, engine screaming before dying.
The driver rolled, clutching the stump where his arm had been. He screamed, high and raw, voice breaking into curses. "You fucking bitch! My arm. My fucking arm!"
The second man scrambled to his feet, shaking off dust, eyes already scanning for threats. Before he could move, the sand around them burst.
Four three foot tall insects erupted from the ground, chittering and screeching as they lunged.
"Well," Owen muttered under his breath, "that complicates things."
The uninjured four armed man did not hesitate. He reached over his shoulder with two hands and pulled free a heavy metal weapon, something between a cleaver and a machete. "I'll deal with the bugs first," he snapped. "Then the humans."
He charged the insects, moving slow but powerful. The first insect leapt and he split it in half, ichor spraying across the sand. Another clamped onto his leg and he crushed it underfoot, grinding until it stopped moving.
The driver staggered to his feet, blood pouring down his side. His remaining three arms trembled with fury. He locked eyes on Blair.
"You," he snarled. "I am going to enjoy breaking you, breaking your body and mind!"
Blair planted her feet and glanced back at Owen. "Stay back, boss." she said loudly. "These two are worse than the bugs. Insects are dumb. These bastards think."
Owen nodded and stepped farther behind the rock, gripping his machete tight. "I will watch your back."
The driver drew a short sword with one hand. As he straightened, his gaze traveled over Blair slowly. His breathing changed. He laughed, a low, ugly sound.
"Well damn, even if we came from a different race." he said. "You are the prettiest thing I have seen in this shitty ass world. Such a waste to kill you quickly. I am going to enjoy playing with you in bed before you die."
Blair's smile vanished. "You talk too much for someone bleeding out."
He lunged.
Despite his strength, his movements were sluggish. Blair sidestepped easily and slammed the butt of her halberd into his ribs. She felt the armor give slightly. He grunted but swung back, blade whistling past her face.
"Hold still," he growled. "I do not want to scar your pretty face and your delicious body too much."
She ducked and swept his legs. He stumbled but stayed upright, endurance burning fast. He roared and charged again, rage overriding pain.
Blair met him head on. The halberd flashed, carving deep into his thigh. Blood sprayed. He screamed and slammed into her anyway, sheer mass knocking her back several steps. She hit the ground hard, air driven from her lungs.
Owen's breath caught. "Blair."
"I am absolutely fine, boss." she snapped, rolling away as the sword slammed down where her head had been.
She sprang up and kicked him in the knee. It bent wrong. He collapsed to one knee, howling, spit flying as he cursed her in a language Owen did not recognize.
Blair grabbed his wrist and twisted. Bone popped. He dropped the sword. She drove her knee into his face, crunching his nose flat. Teeth flew.
"Should have kept your mouth shut," she said, breathing hard.
He flailed with his remaining arms, catching her shoulder. Pain flared as his fingers dug in. She grunted and smashed the tip of her halberd into his forehead. His skull cracked. He reeled, vision swimming.
He laughed anyway, blood bubbling from his mouth. "I still want you, bitch."
Blair's eyes went cold.
She stepped in close, ignoring the pain, and jammed two fingers into his eyes. He screamed as she drove them deep, pushing until they burst. She opened and grabbed his mouth's lower jaw with her free hand and pulled.
There was a wet, tearing sound.
His jaw ripped free from his skull. Blood poured. His scream became a gurgle and then nothing. His body twitched and collapsed in a heap.
The uninjured four armed man turned just in time to see it. He froze, staring in horror at his partner's ruined corpse.
Blair straightened, blood dripping from her hands, chest rising and falling.
The survivor screamed and charged.