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<span class="mu-s">“No. We need to go back.”</span> you insisted, your voice changing to sound more like Mercy's. <span class="mu-s">“Ben, Ana and Grandma Young are in there!”</span>
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-i">“Yes. And they will be too if we turn and run.”</span></span> Mercy argued.
<span class="mu-s">“Then let's set up some barricades.”</span> you said, glancing over at the Grootslang skeleton. <span class="mu-s">“Ugh! I wish I brought my mom's sword with me.”</span>
As soon as you said that, though, a bolt of cloth extended from your wrist, and immediately went rigid. You gave it a few test swings, and marveled at the way it didn't waver in the slightest!
<span class="mu-s">“Whoa! Cloth sword…”</span> you breathed. <span class="mu-s">“But can it cut through bone?”</span>
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-i">“That depends on your technique, girl.”</span></span> Mercy said. <span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-i">“Now, hurry. I cannot keep this up for long.”</span></span>
You nodded and ran over to stand in front of the Grootslang's rib cage. You held the cloth sword out in front of you, focused on your breathing, and cleared your mind. Just don't think about the zombie horde slowly creeping up on you...
Don't focus on strength. Accuracy was everything here. Mercy would compensate for the rest.
Already, you could feel her cloth fibers firming up the muscles in your arms, chest, shoulders and flanks. Once you had a clear idea of where to swing, you brought the cloth sword down in a flash, cleanly severing the large bone from its larger skeleton. You repeated this several more times, your improvised blade gliding through the tough material with surprising ease. Mercy was somehow able to read the movements of your muscles, twisting and contorting the blade to suit your purposes, all without sacrificing too much of its rigidity. This continued until you had a sizable collection of ribs and similarly sized bones.
Then, using Mercy's cloth tendrils, you gathered them all up and stabbed them into the ground, walls and ceiling of the cave entrance leading up the mountain path.
You slipped through easily, weaving a tangled web of cloth in your path, blocking off the entrance with fabric that was tough as steel, but thin enough in some place that it could easily slice through flesh if something tried to force its way through.
You made similar razor wire traps on your way up, experimenting with the elevation and placement of them. You were pretty sure that your defenses wouldn't hold forever, but you didn’t need them to. All you had to do was make sure that everyone you cared about got out alive.
You ran, climbed, and crawled your way up the steep mountain path, not at all winded thanks to Mercy's assistance. But, unfortunately, you didn’t make it back to the council chamber without running into opposition.
You ground to a halt before a female Nosferatu that was trying extremely hard not to look like a Nosferatu. You and Wilhelmina locked eyes, and you let out a low snarl.
<span class="mu-s">“Out of my way!”</span> you demanded.
(Cont.)
