The Land of the Dead: Book Four of the Oz Chronicles Read Free Page A

wail. A girl screamed. I had no weapon. I turned to warn the others and was startled to see Ajax approaching. He bore a grim look on his face.
    “Crap!” Gordy barked. “That doesn’t sound good.”
    Ajax knuckle-walked into the middle of the road.
    “What is it?” I asked him.
    He beat his chest.
    A girl ran out of the dark horizon of the road. She was shrieking at the top of her lungs.
    Gordy joined me at the curb.
    “Who’s that?” he asked.
    “April,” I said. I don’t know how I knew it was her. I had never met her. I had only heard Archie talk about her. I suppose I just assumed it was her.
    Tyrone appeared shortly after.
    “Ty!” Gordy yelled.
    We both followed Ajax as he bolted towards them. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t a smart thing to do. His hair was up. He was running into a fight. Neither Gordy nor I had a weapon of any kind. I turned to my right and saw Kimball race by us. It wasn’t long before he was hot on the heels of his old friend Ajax.
    Gordy and I reached April and Tyrone. “You okay?”
    “Oz!” Tryone shouted. I had forgotten we hadn’t seen each other in a very long time. He hugged me. I couldn’t believe how tall he was.
    “Ty, good to see you, little man.”
    He pushed himself back. “We gotta get out of here.”
    “Why?” Gordy asked.
    A lone Myrmidon stepped out of the dark horizon. It was enormous… ten feet tall. It wore black thick armor from head to toe.
    April shrieked, “That’s why.”
    Gordy gasped. “Why do they always have to be so big?”
    “Ajax!” I yelled.
    The silverback ignored me. He raced for the Myrmidon. The giant ant-man crouched and readied itself for Ajax’s attack. I turned to Gordy. “Get them back to the store.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I don’t know yet.” I turned and chased after Ajax. As I ran, I scanned both sides of the road for something I could use as a weapon. It was amazingly clear of debris.
    Ajax had stopped twenty feet from the Myrmidon. He stood and pounded his chest. Kimball barked and growled. The Myrmidon screeched. Out of the darkness, a flash of silver and black launched itself through the air and landed on the back of the Myrmidon. Ariabod. The huge silverback knocked the ant-man to the ground and brought his large fists down on the creature’s helmeted head. The Myrmidon was unaffected. He tossed Ariabod aside like a stuffed animal and jumped to his feet. Ajax leapt forward and swept the giant’s legs out from under it before it had time to react. The ground shook when the Myrmidon hit the pavement. Ajax stood on its chest. Kimball nipped at the monster and looked for a soft spot to bite. Ariabod found his balance and joined Ajax in the fight. Together, the two gorillas thrashed the Myrmidon with their fists. Each blow was quick and fierce. They were relentless. I heard the creature’s bones break. It twitched and wheezed as it was being beaten to death. The two gorillas would not stop. They were driven by a kind of madness that frightened me. I almost felt sorry for the Myrmidon.
    It wasn’t long before the Myrmidon didn’t move on its own. It was clearly dead yet the two silverbacks continued to pound it with their fists.
    “Ajax, stop.” I said much too quietly.
    Ariabod stopped. He grunted and huffed erratically as he plodded away from the body. Ajax continued to pummel the dead Myrmidon. The creature’s bones crunched as they fractured under the stress of Ajax’s powerful blows.
    “Ajax!” I yelled.
    He turned to me. His eyes were wide open, and his fangs showed as his mouth was stretched in an awful grimace. He breathed heavily. He looked at me, but I was sure he couldn’t see me. He was gone. Lost in his rage.
    I stuck my hands up, palms down. “Easy.” Kimball had backed away at this point. He sat with his head cocked to the side, studying his old friend.
    Slowly, the grimace relaxed. Ajax climbed off the Myrmidon’s chest and was greeted by a sloppy tongue to the face from