I slid off of the branch.


    I was only about fifteen feet off of the ground, so it wasn’t far to fall. The fall wasn’t what concerned me. It was the snarling monster beneath me.


    I led with the blade. In close quarters like this, zombies weren’t that agile. That didn’t mean that I needed to get cocky.


    The sword plunged in between the zombie''s eyes. I planted my feet on its shoulders and rode it to the ground. Its head tried to turn to snap at my boots, but I held it in place with my sword. I pressed down, driving the point of the sword through the zombie’s skull, pinning it to the ground.


    The zombie flailed its arms, clawing at the sword through its head. I looked up, and the other zombies started moving toward me. I didn’t have enough time to pull my sword out and decapitate the zombie under me before they were within arm’s reach.


    I pushed the sword all the way into the ground so that the hilt sank into the bone. It wasn’t a permanent fix, but it would keep the zombie in place until the other two were dead.


    I looked up at where Max was still in the tree. He was staring at the ground while rocking forward. I think he finally realized how far up he was.


    “Come on!” I shouted, “Jump!”


    Max jumped off the branch and landed on his stomach. I sighed, I was going to have to do this myself.


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    I dashed forward, ducking under the left zombie and twisting behind them. I pulled out my dagger and plunged it into the right one’s neck. I smiled as I heard the spine pop as the blade slid between the vertebrae. You didn’t have to completely decapitate a zombie to stop them, you just had to sever its spine. The zombie dropped as I pulled my blade out. That left one more zombie to deal with.


    The zombie turned around and swiped at me. I danced backward, staying out of its reach. I planted my feet and prepared to move in for the kill.


    “Look out!” Max screamed.


    I turned to look at him, but all I saw was a charging zombie. It was moving too fast for me to get out of the way. I dropped to the ground and the zombie ran over me, sprawling face-first into the ground. I rolled over and kicked at the other zombie’s knee. Its leg buckled as it bent sideways. The pain wouldn’t slow it down, but the broken leg would.


    I held out my dagger as I looked for an opening. The maimed zombie rotated on its knee as I circled around. I was about to make a move when I noticed the other zombie was getting up. I needed a longer blade to deal with both of them.


    I backed up to where Max was standing with his back against a tree. If he would help, then the fight would already be over.


    I grabbed his sword from his hand. If he wasn’t going to use it, then I would.


    The fourth zombie started picking up speed. They were dangerous when they moved fast, but they could only move in one direction.


    I sidestepped and swung the sword at shoulder height. The zombie''s head rolled off as its body kept moving. It didn’t get very far before it fell.


    I walked up to the maimed zombie. With the sword, I could stay out of its reach as I swung. Then there was only the first zombie to decapitate.


    I finished it off and pulled out my sword. The blades would have to be purified, and the heart stones needed to be salvaged, but the hard part was done.


    I looked over at Max, who was heaving. He wasn’t going to be any help.