A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters - Martin Harry Greenberg [37]
“Doesn’t look that way to me,” Leis said, already pulling back the crossbow’s drawstring and notching another bolt. “That’s what you get for studying for your history of art final on Wikipedia.”
Leis turned back to the other two creatures still high overhead. The closer of the two was hitting one of the restraints holding the mobile in place, causing the structure to sway back and forth precariously.
“Stop them,” Helen shouted. “Before they destroy it!”
“That doesn’t matter,” Leis said, firing off a second shot. “All that matters is that they die.”
The bolt blurred through the air, but the mobile was swaying far too much to get a clear shot at the second monster. Instead, it smashed through one of the panes of glass and kept going, tearing a hole in one of the creature’s wings before lodging in its arm. With a screech, the monster started to fall, flapping wildly to no avail. It caught one of the metal bars along the bottom of the structure, flipping over and dangling in midair.
“Crap,” Leis said, running underneath the struggling monster. The creature’s feet flailed over her head as she jumped up and caught it by a bony ankle. The mobile pitched wildly, but the creature’s grip broke and it came free. Leis used its momentum and slammed its body straight into the floor. In an instant, it rolled like a cat trying to right itself, but Leis’ foot was quicker and she pressed her boot into its neck.
Helen looked on in horror. “Jesus, Leis, when did you become such a killing machine?”
Leis twisted her foot until the creature’s neck snapped. The winged beast thrashed once more, then lay still. “All’s fair in love and war,” she said.
Exasperated, Helen shook her head. “Leis—”
Leis cut her off. “Don’t ‘Leis’ me,” she said, but didn’t get any further.
A cacophony filled the room, and they looked up to see the mobile crash down on them. The last of the creatures rode down with it, cackling maniacally like a “Gremlins” version of “Doctor Strangelove.” There was nothing to do but cover their faces and hope for the best.
The mobile hit the floor with a thunderous crash, pinning them both underneath. Glass and metal was everywhere. The Tiffany butterflies had shattered, their once beautiful wings now jagged shards that hung from broken twists of wire. Helen’s lower half of her body was caught in the tangle and she looked over at Leis to see if she was okay while she cautiously tried to free herself.
Leis was dead center under the mess of it all and looked dazed by the impact, but a second later, she was fighting for her freedom. Pinned, Leis heaved upward and the mobile moved a little, allowing her to lift it. Getting to her knees, Leis repositioned herself to support the broken structure’s weight, then carefully stood and started to work her way out from under it. Helen was impressed by her friend’s strength, but it was a fleeting feeling amidst the chaos of the situation, especially when she saw the last creature climbing up the side of Leis’s body.
Its sharp talons were digging into Leis’ shirt, but Leis didn’t seem to notice. She looked too busy concentrating on the tangle of broken mobile all around her. Helen was too winded to even call out to her. It wasn’t until the creature dug its talons deep into the flesh on Leis’s left side and a small stream of blood began running down her shirt that she even seemed to notice. She flinched and finally looked down at the little monster hanging there with grim determination on its twisted face.
Helen knew that she herself would have been screaming by now, but not Leis. She looked both horrified and repelled, but remained quiet. She let go of the mobile, its full weight dropping onto her shoulders. She teetered under the force of the blow, but remained upright.
With ferocity on her face, Leis grabbed at the monstrosity and pulled. It was reluctant to let go, but in the end, there was no contest. Leis tore it free from her shirt, the creature writhing in her hands. She