The moment the group hit the open desert; they poured on the speed. Reece wanted to make up for lost time but didn’t want to rush into a trap. Once they were twenty kilometers out, they slowed down and rode single file. Once they were within sight of the great red pyramid, Reece pulled over and the rest of the convoy followed suit. There was a grouping of buildings to the north of the pyramid, a sign in Egyptian letters marked it as government-owned.

“Is there anything out there?” asked Reece over his shoulder.

Ciera pulled out her rifle and handed it to Karina. The lilitu girl took it and bounded up to the top of a nearby dune. Karina used her superb eyesight, enhanced by the rifle’s scope to scan the buildings for movement. Five seconds later, she lowered the rifle.

“Yep,” she quipped. “There are people there, and they look like they are part of the Order.”

“That was fast,” remarked Pasha. “You’re good, girl.”

“I’m not that good,” replied Karina. “They are all over the place. Dozens of humans, if not more. Very few undead, oddly. Oh, and I’m not a girl. I’m over three thousand years old, thank you very much.”

“Well,” exclaimed Pasha after being chastised. “Don’t let me get your granny panties in a bunch.”

Everyone burst out laughing except for Reece and Karina. She was giving him a hard stare while he heroically fought to keep a straight face. He couldn’t contain it any longer and joined in the laughter. Finally, Karina cracked a smile.

“Okay, okay,” she surrendered. “That was funny. I’ll give you that.”

The laughter helped break the tension; both from the battle at the bridge and the battle to come. Once they calmed back down, the group immediately got to work on developing a plan of attack. They couldn’t risk exploring the pyramid with an entire force of the Order so close by. While the group talked amongst themselves, figuring out the best tactics to employ, Reece noticed Karina had withdrawn from the conversation. Placing his hand on her shoulder he led her away from the rest of the group. She looked at him, head cocked to the side inquiringly.

“I can tell something’s bothering you,” he said. “What’s up?”

She narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw before seeing something in his eyes. Her eyes instantly dropped, and her face relaxed into a frown. “Fine, it’s no big deal. Just that when Pasha called me granny, it reminded me that I’ll never be a granny...a grandmother because I can never be a mother. It’s not his fault, he doesn’t even know. Like I said, not a big deal and I’ll get over it. Don’t say anything. I don’t want people walking around me on eggshells. I’ll be super pissed at you if they do.”

“Okay,” replied Reece, holding his hands up in surrender. “I won’t say a word. But I want you to know that I’m here for you. You know that, right? And who knows, maybe Ciera and Naeva will let you play mom. I know it’s not the same thing, but it’s something.”

“Yeah,” agreed Karina. “You’re right. That would be nice. Now, kiss me, and let’s see if the group has our battle strategy all figured out yet.”

Reece smiled and leaned down. Karina grabbed him around the neck and pulled him down the rest of the way until their lips met. She kissed him with her red eyes open, snaking her tongue into his mouth with a passion brought on by the need to move past her feelings on other less-pleasant matters. At least that’s what he thought it was. Regardless, he kissed her back with a passion to match her own. She was a tiny spitfire and he loved her fiercely. Finally, they broke apart and joined the rest of the group, ignoring the raised eyebrows and half-hidden grins.

“So, what do we have?” asked Reece, eager to move the conversation along.

Aika proceeded to explain the plan in depth, listing everyone’s role. Once they all agreed to the plan and understood their part, the group had only to wait until daybreak. Fortunately for their nerves, it was arriving soon. The Egyptian night sky had already started to lighten.

For the first time since the dream, Reece was starting to feel less apprehensive about the mission. He was also finally feeling confident that they were close to success. They had a plan and would be implementing it momentarily. They spent the next few minutes preparing for the upcoming battle. Half an hour later, they were ready as the sun crested the dunes. Reece watched as Pasha, Masika, and Nephi approached the group of stone buildings on their Sand Skimmers. Aika sat behind Pasha, and Karina sat behind Masika. Nephi drove alone. Per the plan, the sun was to their backs, providing cover.

“I hate waiting,” growled Bjorn, the big man kneeling next to him.

Reece had to agree. Watching others put their lives on the line while he sat back and watched was bugging him to no end. Even Ciera and Angel had moved out nearly twenty minutes ago to circle the small “town”. It was just him and Bjorn now.

“Just another couple of minutes,” said Reece, hoping to mollify the much larger man. They both sighed, showing their shared impatience at the plan and situation. That caused them to look at each other and chuckle. They were both men of action and waiting didn’t suit them. Still, it was a good plan, and they would play their parts.

A couple of minutes later, the three Sand Skimmers had reached the outskirts of the buildings, and Reece and Bjorn could finally make their way forward. They took pains to remain hidden behind outcroppings, dunes, and whatever else they could find. It was slow going and by the time they were only halfway, gunfire rang out. Fear and curiosity got the better of him, so Reece peaked his head around a large rock at the top of a sandy ditch they were following. Everything was sandy where they were. What Reece saw made him worry.

It appeared that Karina’s “dozens of Order members” was an understatement. While they continuously poured out of the buildings, Reece couldn’t fathom where they were hiding them all. There had to be a couple hundred and they had Pasha pinned down with gunfire as he ducked behind his Sand Skimmer.

Aika and Karina were moving like vipers, jumping into melee range, striking, then flitting around the corner of a building before coming around the other side to do it to someone else. The two worked well together, probably due to the maker’s bond between the lilitu and the vampire. They seemed to anticipate each other’s attacks and move accordingly, easily decimating the numerous human enemies that were desperately trying to score a hit on either girl. However, it wasn’t for a lack of trying by the Order’s people. Dozens of guns, ranging from pistols to fully automatic rifles were aimed in their direction. Several Order members fell from friendly fire as some of their comrades started to lose their composure and began firing indiscriminately.

Fighting on the other side of the compound, the twins simply ignored the steady hail of bullets. Their ebony skin deflected all attacks. They weren’t as fast as the vampire or lilitu, but they were devastating as they swung their spears back and forth in wide arcs, cutting through the Order’s followers like scythes through wheat. Reece’s worry soon turned to pride and confidence in the capabilities of his friends and companions.

Ducking back down, Reece and Bjorn continued to creep closer until there were no more dunes to hide behind. Peeking out again, it seemed like their companions had this side of the buildings cleared out. Shrugging to Bjorn, Reece sprinted out and continued running towards the congregation of buildings. Bjorn quickly followed the bigger man pumping his legs to catch up. It wasn’t long before some of the shots that were ringing out in the distance turned their way and the zip of bullets whizzed past, some hitting the sand at their feet and causing little blasts of dusty sand to puff into the air around them.

That ended quickly, as the gunmen started getting sniped from behind and were forced to turn and hunker down, several of their members already dead or dying in the sand. Reece smiled, knowing it was Ciera and Angel taking potshots at any of the Order’s soldiers trying to hide from the frontal onslaught of Karina, Nephi, Masika, and Aika. Pasha, for her part, spotted Reece and waved him and Bjorn over to the Sand Skimmer she was hiding behind once they were close enough. Sprinting across the open desert road, the two of them slid into position beside Pasha, while bullets started zipping around them once more. The Order wasn’t out of the fight just yet.

Reece peered around the side of the vehicle and scanned the area. He immediately noticed that what they had thought were humans, were most likely the newer, more intelligent zombies. In fact, they didn’t seem much like zombies at all. Most of the bodies strewn about the sandy ground didn’t have blood pools like one would expect from a living breathing person. He hadn’t thought of it at the bridge, but obviously, the Order had made some progress in developing the worker class they so desperately wanted for their selfish and greedy new way of life. Reece would go to Hades and back before he let that happen. People had a right to live with a little dignity.

Once he had finished surveying the battle, he needed to see inside the buildings. An idea struck him, so he decided to give it a try. He reached out with his mind and was able to locate the enemy forces. The town was filled with the weak minds of zombies and other horrors, plus a couple of dozen stronger minds – probably foot soldiers of the Order. He had expected that. However, he was picking up many more. He was right, there was still an army of them and most had minds of their own, some very powerful, and they were beneath the town. He suddenly realized, this was a ruse meant to draw them in and the ambush was about to be sprung upon them. The color drained from his face as he turned to Pasha.

“This is a trap!” Reece exclaimed. “We’re about to be overwhelmed. There are hundreds of them and they’re under the buildings, probably in caves or tunnels. We need to retreat, now!”

Pasha gazed hard at Reece before lunging in and kissing him hard on the lips. Her kiss became passionate - frantic even - before she let go. Reece unconsciously kissed back, but his mind was reeling.

“What the fuck was that for?” he demanded, roughly wiping the wetness from his lips. He had to admit to himself that the kiss was nice, but it was uncalled for and out of character for Pasha. Reece glanced over to Bjorn who just smiled and shrugged.

“Oh, just in case we don’t make it out of this one,” replied Pasha without batting an eye. “Do you trust me?”

“A minute ago, yeah,” Reece flippantly answered before his tone sobered up. “Okay, fine, what did you have in mind?”

“Just relax and trust that I know what I’m doing. I’ve got a plan, okay?” answered Pasha.

“I’d be more relaxed with some firepower,” replied Reece. “Tell me why we didn’t bring the Phoenix again?”

“You remember the missile batteries by the bridge, right?” patronized Pasha. “They undoubtedly have those things set up everywhere. We would have been blown out of the sky before we even got close.”

“Fine,” replied Reece. “I just feel so helpless.”

“Yeah,” said Pasha, giving Reece a half-smile. “That’s because you basically are.”

“Bitch,” chuckled Reece, shaking his head at the plucky phoenix.

“Ahh, you say the sweetest things,” replied Pasha, giving him a sarcastic smile while she batted her eyes. “You really know how to get a woman going. Now, when they come, I need you to turn and run like a banshee. Bjorn, you cover him and back off as well, okay?”

“You got it,” said the big man as he transformed into his massive hybrid bear form and pulled the equally massive sword from his back. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he growled past his sharp teeth.

“Oh, I always know what I’m doing,” replied Pasha as she pulled a pair of automatic pistols complete with banana clips from the Sand Skimmer. “I just don’t always know if it’s going to work.”

The pair’s snappy banter was rudely interrupted when an explosion rocked the Sand Skimmer they were hiding behind. Reece took a quick peek and saw half a dozen zombie troops. Though rotted and clearly dead, their mannerisms gave away a more sophisticated intelligence. To make matters worse, they were all armed with grenade launchers. The zombie troopers started spreading out as they made their way toward the vehicle. A vehicle that was Reece, Bjorn, and Pasha’s only cover. Behind the grenade launcher squad, more zombies and Order troops were pouring out of several buildings.

Aika and Karina had their hands full and were in full battle mode. Reece didn’t have time to marvel at their combat prowess. He, Pasha, and Bjorn were about to have a really bad day as numerous zombies were rapidly closing in on their location. Thinking quickly, Reece stood up and stared across at the six heavily armed Z’s. He shrugged off Bjorn’s attempt to pull him back down. The zombies stopped in unison, their rotting brains trying to react to Reece’s suicidal move.

“Fuck it,” he whispered under his breath.

Concentrating on the one on the far right, Reece attacked its mind, fighting it for control. Apparently, this zombie didn’t have enough smarts to fight back because he had it without a fight. The other zombies raised their grenade launchers, aiming them at Reece. The moment he knew the zombie was under his control, he sent it a simple mental command. Just as the other zombies prepared to fire, the zombie turned and fired its grenade at the center zombie in the group.

Reece ducked back behind the Sand Skimmer, a pair of grenades whistling through the spot where Reece had just been. Pasha and Bjorn had been watching and ducked as well. The explosion rocked the Sand Skimmer as hot air and sand flew over Reece and his two companions. A second later, the two other grenades landed juts on the other side of the closest dune behind the trio before exploding harmlessly, throwing nothing but sand in every direction. The smell of charred meat soon followed as the three of them peeked back over the top of the Skimmer. All that was left of the zombies were a couple of pairs of blackened boots and a few damaged grenade launchers.

With the immediate threat dealt with, Reece stared past the remains of the undead grenadiers to watch Aika and Karina work. The zombies they were facing now were a few evolutionary steps above the ones they had been used to facing. These were like the zombies from the bridge. They were fast, cunning, and were using weapons and tactics.

“Perhaps zombies weren’t the right word,” thought Reece, digging into his brain for a better name. “These seem more like...”

“… ghouls,” he finished, completing his thought out loud.

“What?” asked Pasha, cocking her head.

“These things don’t act like zombies,” answered Reece. “So, I’m calling them ghouls. It’ll make it easier to differentiate them in any future skirmishes.”

“Okay,” replied Pasha while the two of them continued to watch the battle play out.

“In that case... ghouls incoming!” growled Bjorn, swinging his massive sword back over his shoulder, preparing for the imminent attack.