Two days of travel had passed since their initial meeting in the crumbling church, and Ellie could only stare at the drastic change in the landscape. Where there had once been trees, a dirt road, hills, and other natural landmarks, there was now only what seemed to be miles upon miles of mud. There were no more bugs flitting out of the way, and no birds. It was almost like she and her friends were about to cross into some strange new world, cleanly divided by an invisible line that saw the dirt road vanish into the vast abyss of mud. The sight alone was enough for her to almost begin to question why Mr. Mavier thought this was the best place to beat up the heroes, but one look backwards at his stoic expression was enough to make Ellie’s concerns dry up in her mouth.

That, and the arrival of a couple dozen wiry gray demons with, as Ellie recognized after a few minutes of confused staring, Mr. Dimitre at the head. She smiled softly. It was always nice to see another one of Mr. Tim’s and big brother Bert’s friends after long days on the road. Not that she had done much walking; her big bro Galler’s shoulders were a vast improvement over the road that she could not pass up. Now she just had to work on her own plan, a way that Ellie could help out big bro Galler in the fight, because of course the lunk and his strange, silent friends had insisted on joining Mr. Mavier’s forces. So, in the face of it all, Ellie considered her options.

Supplies: One big knife Mr. Dimitre gave me (note to self – do not tell big bro about it, he might take it away), some of the broken glass from that church, and a spoon Mr. Tim gave me when we met.

….

Yeah that’s not much, I know I know. Shut up you stupid Ellie. What would Mr. Bert do?

….

He would take the knife and jam it in the heroes where the sun don’t shine.

Ellie put her grubby hand to her chin in thought, her other hand kept occupied by teasing a frayed part of her poncho.

Not sure I’m strong enough to do that. A quick glance at her own thin arms verified that fact.

Maybe I could throw the glass at someone? I almost cut my hand up just picking the darn stuff up. That sounds fun. I could be Ellie the glass thrower! All would fear me!

And then, a devilish thought entered her brain. A thought, one that Ellie proudly labeled as something that would make Mr. Tim smile with glee. Immediately she dashed over to Mr. Maiver, jumping up and down in front of him to get his attention while pointing at the material she needed to put her totally amazing plan in action.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mavier was not sure why the small human had dashed in front of him while he was reviewing supplies with Dimitre. She jumped up and down, unable to even reach the height of his waist with her tallest jumps, all the while pointing at what he eventually realized was a pouch that he kept papers in.

Raising his eyebrow, he pointed at the pouch, and then pointed at Ellie. “Do you want this, little one?”

Not a single word answered him, but Ellie vigorously shook her head up and down to signal that yes, she really wanted that pouch. Mavier sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he emptied the pouch of its contents and handed it to her, watching her dash off back to Galler’s side.

Despite his many years of brutal training and his mental defenses, he, Lord Mavier, was rendered powerless in front of puppy-dog eyes.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ellie pumped her tiny fist in victory as she examined her prize.

Yup, that looks big enough. And should have a wide enough opening. Now I just have to get it ready, she thought, as she gently grabbed the shards of glass from her little pile of supplies and wincing as it added yet another small cut to the growing collection on her palms.

Bit by bit Ellie filled the pouch with the glass, only stopping when it was half full. Then, after carefully pulling the drawstring close, she took the top of the bag in her hand and slung it against the ground like a hammer.

However, even though a few of the biggest pieces sounded like they had broken in some places, Ellie’s face fell as the bulk of the glass proved too sturdy for her to damage.

Alright. Plan B it is. She decided with a face full of resolve. If she wasn’t strong enough to break it down, then she would call in the nuclear option.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“You want me to do what with that bag?” Galler questioned from where he rested his legs on a sturdy rock, his few remaining forces arrayed in a motionless vigil around him.

A bony hand patted his knee and Galler sighed in exasperation. “Okay then, Poncho. Not sure where you’re going with this, but if it’ll make you happy…”

Galler gestured towards where he was pretty sure the girl was with his scarred hands, feeling the rough texture of cloth as she placed some sort of drawstring pouch in his hand.

“Okay, here goes.” He muttered as he clenched his hands in a fist around the bag, hearing the crunch of glass shards breaking into pieces followed swiftly with the burning sensation of several new cuts being added to his hands. A few minutes passed as he continued with the motions, until no more noises emanated from the bag and he handed it back to the kid.

“Alright, I think this is as small as I can get that glass. You have fun with that, Poncho, but please be careful. I don’t think we have many spare bandages for any large glass cuts laying around.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ellie gave Galler’s stocky frame a quick hug as she retreated with the bag full of crushed glass. Almost there, I think. She had felt the bag as soon as big bro had handed it back, and it seemed like the glass was in much smaller pieces, though not as small as she wanted it. A good start, though. Ellie thought to herself as she jogged back to the treeline to look for something to finish the job.

No, not that one.

Nope too small.

Nope too big! I can’t lift that one.

Ellie observed every inch of her surroundings, looking for the perfect one, until finally, she spied with her little eye a rock that was not too small, or too big, but was just the right size. Ellie looked back and forth, watching for any creatures that would take offense to her taking their perfect-sized rock, and then hefted it up with both hands.

A one, and a two, and heave!

A thud and the crunch of brittle glass filled her ears as Ellie threw a rock as big as her head onto the bag full of glass once, twice, and then a third time until she could hear no more crunching sounds. Then, Ellie hefted the rock to the side and examined the final product: a bag full of glass the size of pebbles, each one gleaming with wicked-sharp edges.

I wonder if I ask Mr. Mavier nicely, will he hold one of those stupid heroes down while I force feed them this?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Just out of sight, Galler flinched, swearing as he tried to find out where all that bloodlust was coming from.