The Red Nights

Back to the Battlefield, her sword in hand Natasha could feel a new load of strength running into her body and in a sense she was convinced that it was thanks to the arrival of Jamal. Even though she didn't want to admit it the bad thoughts on what could have happened to him had been keeping bugging her, she had done her best to focus on the enemies before her but it was not easy to get rid of those thoughts from her mind.

That was why even surrounded by fearful adversaries animated by the only d.e.s.i.r.e to kill them, she couldn't stop smiling joyfully. Having the chance to fight side by side with the man she admired the most was giving such wonderful emotions that she would be incapable of explaining. All the worries that had been invading her heart immediately vanished by the only sight of his face. [ Since he is here we have already won this war ] she couldn't help but think.

Besides the fact that she could feel her exhaustion diminishing, she also sensed that it became easier for her to fight. She was putting much efforts to kill the undead, it was like she was playing in a carnival.

It was only when she turned her head that she understood why, behind her, Jamal was rounding around her at an astonishing speed like a mortal tornado cutting and slashing whoever came too close to her. She noticed that he had built a range of defence around her and would allow entering only those who were no more capable of fighting and the only thing she had to do was to finish them off, thus she figured out that Jamal had elaborated that situation so that she didn't have to fight the undead personally.

" What an amazing strength and stamina " Natasha gasped. She had never witnessed such an incredible scene neither she had ever seen this savage side of his personality, his hands until the middle of his forearms were completely covered by the black blood of the undead but he gripped firmly his daggers as if they were parts of his body.

" So that's how he looks like when he gets serious " Natasha commented still amazed by his skills while continuing slaughtering the enemies coming near her.

A short time later she started to hear gunshots coming from all the direction, she rose her sight and took a glance at what was going on and soon saw that the soldiers posted on the buildings, and who until then were only providing light to help them to fight, had resumed their assault on the outlaws to offer to the three fighters, down on the battleground, some support.

Thinking about them Natasha suddenly remembered that girl named Carla who supposed to be fighting the other half of the enemies.

While still cutting off the heads of the undead one by one she would raise her head to peek at the other side of the zone and for a moment she was completely stunned by what was going on there.

" That girl... " she gasped while admiring the spectacle.

Carla was closely surrounded by the undead in a way that it should be difficult for her to fight, especially with the weapon she was carrying, a long brown staff-like very familiar with the spine she had seen earlier and that even saved her life, that staff had peaks in both extremities which made it look like a brown javelin. Nevertheless, by the way, she was fighting with it seemed like that situation was not bothering her at all, Natasha observed as she was using it with a style that combined the handling of a spear with a kind of martial art using staff.

Though the enemies would come to her at once trying to put pressure and crushed with their advantageous number at the end they would all get killed, pierced by her staff or pushed away. While fighting the outlaws, whirling elegantly around them yet thrusting them fiercely. In one swing Carla wiped everyone around like nothing. Natasha knew that the undead had brute force exceeding the forces of normal humans however, looking at how she was dealing them while they far numerous showed the difference of strength was just too obvious.

Still, that wasn't what shocked Natasha the most, it was how she looked like at that moment. Besides, her strength and her techniques Carla had another trump- card. Natasha didn't know what to think about it. Carla had her hairs going down until just beneath her b.u.t.t, Natasha just supposed that they were actually her hairs because they didn't seem it, in fact, they looked more like the back of a fuzz-pig with those hard and sharp spines set right on back they were serving her as a kind of shield against the attacks coming from behind and that she couldn't see.

[ Does that mean that she is... like me? ] Natasha wondered with a surprising excitement that it would be hard for her to explain.

As she turned around she caught the sight of Jamal for a very brief moment and like he just figured out what she was thinking. Under the strong lights of the projectors, he grinned at her like to tell that her assumptions were totally right and the woman couldn't help but to smile too. She faced the enemies before her and screamed loudly and enthusiastically as to release a bit her excitement gathered her strength and using a very short moment of hesitation of the outlaws she decided to pass at the offensive instead of totally relying on Jamal.

She moved on the battlefield, cutting through the enemies to make her path until she reached Jamal. They were both back against back when Jamal told her to tease her " can you follow the rhythm because I don't intend to wait for you? ".

" I was about to ask you the same question, since a while I saw pretty tired so I don't have a choice but to lend you hand " she replied jokingly.

Right after that, a group of undead jumped on them and the two people responded to their assault almost simultaneously. They teamed up and carried on slaughtering them in such a perfect synchronization. Natasha was no more following the back of Jamal but rather they were progressing like one man in the battlefield, whenever one of them put one step the other one would automatically put the second step, Natasha would sometimes jump over Jamal's to strike down the undead.

Their attack was so strong that the outlaws started to instinctively back up, they were no more the ones who were attacking it felt that they were preys who were getting slain. Without noticing the two of them happened to reach the zone Carla was responsible. " What are you doing here? " she shouted when she saw them opening a path to get near her.

" It just seems like you were too slow," Natasha joked while smile at her.

Carla smiled back and replied " are you kidding me, I had almost finished with them and was about to see how it's going in your side. Here you just brought to me more work ".

" Here listen, girls, the one who will slay the last undead will be spared from Lina's pie of victory " Jamal shouted.

" Huh? What does it mean? " Carla asked after she retired her staff from an undead's heart.

" Believe girl, you better win " Natasha glanced at her with a serious face and replied before she jumped ahead without any more explanation, the former didn't seek more detail either she decided to believe her words and she jumped ahead while increasing her rate of killing. The cooperation of that trio was so powerful that the army, who was still posted on the windows of the buildings, stopped firing on the undead to observe that extraordinary battle.

Though they fought very bravely and fiercely they still took some more hours to completely exterminate the enemy.

It was was only when the calm took place along with the silence that Jamal could take the time to observe the traces the combat had left. Every here and there, the bodies of the outlaws were laying on all the battlefield, so many that even become difficult to walk.

" Oh... there is one left " he made the remark after he took a glance at a body slowly moving between the piles of inanimate corpses at few meters away from them, soon it became the only standing and was facing the same with a mad expression showing that he didn't have any intention to flee and moreover it seemed that it wanted to settle things down.

" It's mine " Carla exclaimed excitedly before she started rushing towards it. Until then it was Natasha who had killed the last outlaw, though Carla knew that it was only a pure luck since she had only focused on killing as many as she could, forgetting about the rules of the bet she was determined to not let her the chance to win that time.

" No... mine... " Natasha said with a tone betraying her exhaustion, she tried to put a step forward and almost fell down after she tripped over an undead's body, hopefully, she managed to use her sword to help her not losing her balance. Jamal stopped next to her, he passed an arm around her waist to help her to stand up.

" You have fought well but look at you, you're too tired, it's obviously my win but don't worry you will totally recover once you will get a piece of the pie of victory " Carla teased her. She was jumping from one dead body to another while raising her staff ready to finish off the enemy.

" She's right, you have been fighting for much longer than us so no need to push yourself too hard ", Jamal tried to comfort her " don't worry for the pie you can still manipulate Matteo to eat it for you ".

Natasha raised her sight and gazed at Carla as she was rapidly diminishing the distance between her and the undead, in only a few seconds she would reach it and officialise her victory by planting her weapon in its heart. [ No I'm not giving up yet ] she suddenly thought. She pushed Jamal lightly, raised her katana and grabbed it like a javelin while straightening her other arm forward, " don't underestimate me " she spat up before she threw the sword accompanying it with a screamed, the katana flew in the direction of the last outlaw passed just next to Carla as she was at one meter away from it and penetrated with force through the undead's c.h.e.s.t.

•••

Carla stared in disbelief at the undead as it was falling down, when she turned her head she saw bending over as she was trying to catch her breath, she caught her sight and the woman smiled at her victoriously before she lost consciousness. Jamal quickly caught her before she fell on the ground. " That girl... " Carla sighed as she still couldn't believe it " how can it be? I thought she was totally out of strength ". She turned her head again to glance at the undead Natasha just finished off and set right on its c.h.e.s.t instead of the sharp katana was standing a wooden sword. She picked up and brought to Jamal.

" That girl is really awesome " she first told him once she got back while still holding the wooden sword.

" Yes, and very stubborn too " Jamal replied while staring at Natasha's unconscious face.

A few seconds later sunlight started to appear from behind them and slowly increased until it illuminated the entire battlefield. Jamal moved his sight to the Volga who was standing on the roof of a pick up with a rifle hanging on her side and the latter rose her fist as high as she could and started shouting her joy very loudly, the people who were in the buildings who were observing the battle like her started to scream their excitement too and soon the entire zone became very noisy.

Jamal laughed, he lifted Natasha to carry her on his arm and started to slowly walk towards the cars. He leaned his head a little and whispered on Natasha ear " we won, everybody in the city is safe and it's all thanks to you, you really did a good job ".