To the Hills

"We can't take him," Gonzalez said.

He pulled off the net Gonzalez threw on him and knocked a charging Montag into across the street. Montag got up and shook his head. Iris stared down at him.

"I must say, this is going very well," she said.

"Regroup!" Montag shouted.

Gonzalez and Titus retreated from the behemoth.

"It looks like you should've brought back up," it said. "As fellow warriors, I am extending you an opportunity to surrender."

Montag took a quick breath. "Derik, Iris, and I will distract him. Titus and Gonzalez, you flank around to do some damage."

They exchanged nods. "Good," Titus said.

"I gave you your chance. There is nothing I can do if you are resigned to your fates. Defend yourselves!" the beast yelled as it renewed its assault.

Montag advanced to face the creature head-on. He unstrapped a bola from his belt and hurled it. The armament flew through the air and coiled around two of the beast's heads. It used one of its arms to break the rope with ease, and it used its other arm to grab Montag. Montag struggled, unable to escape the creature's iron grasp. Iris dove forward and bashed the wrist of the chimera, allowing Montag to slip away. Derik also advanced on the amalgam. The creature swept its other hand down to grab his leg.

"Ohhhhhh!" Derik let out a cry as he found himself floating in the air above the battle. He didn't have the time to think about his situation as he crashed down to the surface. He lay to catch his breath.

The creature continued to fiend off both Montag and Iris, allowing Gonzalez to snake around the side. He ran forward and sunk his ax into the back of the beast's leg.

"Ah-ha, take that!" Gonzalez said. The creature turned and looked at him with an air of mild annoyance. "Oh..." Gonzalez raised his arms to block a swift kick that left him tumbling to the earth. He lay flat with his face embedded in the sand.

Titus seized the opportunity and climbed atop the creature. One hand swung off freely as he struggled to keep his balance. He clutched the creature's shoulder with his left hand and brought down his sword as hard as he could with his right. The sword carved into the muscle with ruthless efficiency, but its stubby nature prevented it from dealing a mortal blow.

The creature winced and stumbled forward. "A bold attempt, but that won't work on me twice," it said. It grabbed onto Titus and flung him over his shoulder into the ground. As he tried to recover, it stomped down on his arm. The arm contracted with a sickening crunch. The cloth that encased it became slick with blood.

Gonzalez had recovered and renewed his attack. Derik followed beside him. "Damn!" Gonzalez said. "He was the best of us. At least he went out like a champion."

Titus softly groaned. "I don't think he is dead," Derik said.

Gonzalez pulled out a dagger and slashed their adversary. Bold, yet ultimately futile. The creature turned to respond to Gonzalez's assault when Derik kicked up some sand into the eyes of one of its heads. The momentary blindness inflicted upon it was an opportunity, one that Derik chose to take advantage of. He extended his arm out to its maximum length and buried his weapon deep inside its ox head. Derik fled, leaving the sword protruding from the head like a horn. The creature reeled back from the blow but quickly returned to battling the others.

"Wow, whatever that is, it's built like a Nokia," Derik thought.

While they had won a small victory, one look at the crumpled body of Titus was enough to convince Derik things would probably get worse before they got better. Derik glanced back to their camel. It appeared the barkeep from before had wisely taken to opportunity to flee the scene.

"This isn't going to work out well," Derik thought. "I should get out of here while I still can."

He began to tread back towards the camel. He looked back to see his companions fighting the beast. He looked back to his getaway route. He looked back to them again.

"Arggggg." Derik rubbed his head and grasped the fabric cape fastened to Titus' armor. "I guess I might as well you with me."

Derik dragged him towards the camel. Sand began to accumulate in his clothes as Derik strained. A faint path of blood mimicked their movements.

"I know you aren't doing so hot right now, but you are gonna have to help me get you up there." Derik looked up to the saddle fastened to their mount. Titus failed to respond, so Derik clutched his legs and threw him onto the animal. He tipped over, falling off the opposite side. Derik sighed. He managed to secure him to the camel on the next attempt. He got on himself. "Let's get out of here," Derik said to Titus. "Ah, never mind."

As Derik began to ride out of the town, he glanced back to see the company running up behind him. The group ran up the street, and Derik stopped for them to catch up.

"I'm glad you attended to our fallen comrade Derik," Montag said. "You truly are an upstanding member of the team."

"Very touching certainly, but can we get moving? I didn't think being turning into oatmeal would be one of your hobbies." Gonzalez said.

"Uhm, I don't think we are being followed," Iris said.

It seemed that the chimera they were fighting earlier held no interest in pursuing them. It returned to the young man Titus fought earlier that still lay on the ground, helping him get up.

"As Montag says, I was getting our friend her out of harm's way so we could fix him up." Derik deposited Titus back on the ground. Montag ripped his clothes and set to work, bandaging the arm.

"I didn't really have a plan, though, so where are we going from here?" Derik asked.

Montag spit out a rag he was holding in his mouth. "We have no choice but to keep moving forward. We should be able to make it to Melilla."

"This has escalated quickly," Gonzalez said. "Sorry for cursing us. I honestly did expect this to be easy."

Montag completed Titus' treatment and helped Derik insert him back on the camel. They resumed their trek north, down a man but up on supplies.

"Just to clarify, what happened back there, that wasn't a retreat," Montag said. "I am simply acknowledging that the safety of the team is more important than some superficial conflict. I think I am safe in saying that."