Darin scanned the barren horizon. Not a single tower, not a building, not a whisper of life. Her stomach knotted, pulse spiking, hands clenching the edge of her pack.
She opened her mouth to call, "Brothe–"
...
An engine roar tore through the silence, gravel rattled, air vibrating with their approach.
Dust blurred the horizon. Kangwoo and Darin stood in the center of the cracked road, their motorcycle tipped on its stand. The sound came from the west, a straight mile of empty asphalt.
"Get down."
Kangwoo ripped off his helmet and drew a metal bat from the bag.
Three bikers tore through the dust, tires spitting gravel, helmets glinting in the sunlight.
On the back of each jacket, a jagged emblem flashed, a wolf's jaw split clean down the middle, fangs pointing outward like broken blades.
Their weapons raised, coming at high speed.
"I SAID GET DOWN!"
Kangwoo flung his helmet low and hard across the asphalt. The lead biker saw it, but it was too late. His front wheel clipped the helmet, snapping sideways. The handlebars wrenched in the rider's grip. The bike fishtailed hard, overcorrected,
Then dropped.
Metal screamed against asphalt as the rider slammed down and slid across the cracked road in a spray of sparks.
Darin stumbled backward toward the motorcycle, the machine now a half-toppled barricade, as the second rider swerved in, leaned forward, metal pipe lifted high, ready to swing.
Kangwoo planted his feet, body coiled, hands gripping the bat tight. He immediately pivoted on his back foot, into a messy follow-through of a slugger, then swung with every ounce of strength.
CLANG!
The impact reverberated through his arms. Both he and the rider lurched off-balance. The thug's helmet dented unnaturally under the bat's force. Shock ripped up his arm. The rider's head snapped sideways. The bike veered off-line and blasted past Kangwoo before sliding out. The rider hit a heartbeat later, tumbling hard across gravel. The bat tore from Kangwoo's hands the instant it hit asphalt. He hit the road hard, the breath blasting out of his lungs in a dry choke. Pain detonated through his shoulder, like something had half-torn loose inside it.
Behind him, Darin pressed against the half-toppled bike.
The third biker roared straight at her, crowbar already raised. He yanked the handlebars and slammed the brakes as he closed the distance. The rear tire locked, screaming against asphalt as the bike slewed sideways in a violent skid.
He swung as he slid.
The crowbar arched down like a scythe– And she ducked, too late.
CLANG!
The blow glanced off her helmet instead of crushing straight through. The shell fractured in a sharp spiderweb crack. The force crushed the padding tight against her skull, rattling her teeth. Her heel slipped on loose gravel and she fell backward hard. Gravel tore at her arms. Her ankle twisted beneath her. The sky flipped sideways. A hot metallic taste flooded her mouth.
"DARIN!" Kangwoo shouted for her.
"Brother…" she breathed.
The biker overcorrected from the swing. The bike dropped out from under him mid-slide, metal grinding against the road as he half-fell, half-rolled with it. He hit hard, shoulder first, but kept hold of the crowbar.
He staggered once, boots slipping in loose gravel, then surged toward Darin in three heavy strides. Dust swirled around him, engine still whining behind where the bike lay on its side.
The crowbar rose again, sunlight gleaming off it as he advanced toward her.
Behind him, Kangwoo dragged himself up in a broken breath. His shoulder burned deep and wrong. His arm shook when he tried to push himself up. It nearly gave out.
He forced one knee under him.
Boots crunched over gravel
Darin tried to turn her head. The world narrowed to a thin tunnel. Kangwoo's pale, terrified face was the last thing she saw before everything collapsed into black.
Kangwoo's gaze flicked to his metal bat, now far from his reach. Then quickly turned back to Darin. The biker had already lifted his crowbar, aiming at the unconscious Darin.
Darin… Hang on!