The whole room turned into an Quintin Tarantino movie. Fist flying, blood spraying, catchy music playing in the background, just a good old classic bar fight.
As Hazuki was engaged in a tussle with one of the brutes, her foot accidentally hit a propane lantern placed precariously on a wooden table. It teetered for a moment before gravity claimed it, causing the lantern to fall and shatter on the tavern's stone floor. A bluish flame sputtered and started to spread along the trail of spilled fuel, hissing and sparking, threatening to engulf the wooden floorboards in an inferno.
At the same time, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a towering raider sneaking up behind Kaya. He was armed with a stool, raising it high above his head, the grinning madness in his eyes horrifyingly clear.
Adrenaline surged through me. Time seemed to stretch, every detail magnified. The light reflecting off the polished wooden stool, the malicious intent etched on the raider's face, the fierce yet oblivious determination in Kaya's eyes as she fended off another assailant - it was all crystal clear.
Without a second thought, I lunged towards Kaya, shoving her out of the stool's trajectory. The impact didn't come to her but instead landed squarely on me, the force of the blow knocking me to the cold, hard ground. A sharp pain seared through my back, my breath hitched, my vision momentarily blurred.
Meanwhile, Hazuki, quick to act, had swung around at the commotion. She took in the scene in an instant - Kaya on the ground, me writhing in pain, and the raider momentarily gloating over his successful blow. Her eyes narrowed, her grip on her makeshift weapon tightened, and then she was in motion.
With a furious battle cry, she lunged towards the raider, her broken chair leg leading the way. The raider barely had time to react as Hazuki plunged the jagged end into his side. He screamed, the sound filling the tavern, the sight of his pain startling his comrades into silence.
His knees buckled and he collapsed onto the floor, clutching at the impromptu weapon sticking out of his side. Hazuki, panting, stood over him.
By now, the fire had begun to consume the tavern. What started as a small flame flickering on a trail of oil had grown into a monstrous inferno, lashing out in all directions and eating up everything in its path. The air was thick with smoke, painting the entire scene in a hazy, fiery glow. Shadows danced manically on the walls, creating an eerie backdrop to the ongoing mayhem.
"Cassidy!" I called out over the roar of the flames, pointing at the pit where the raider leader lay as a feast for the two undead creatures. It was a horrific sight, but it was also where Cassidy's twin pistols lay, glinting ominously in the flickering light.
"That mofo took my gun!" Cassidy snarled, anger flashing in her eyes. She eyed the pit for a moment, sizing up the situation before deciding on a course of action. In one fluid movement, she grabbed a broken bottle lying nearby and hurled herself into the pit, a scream tearing from her throat as she met the gruesome scene head-on.
The sight was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Cassidy moved with a deadly grace, each strike calculated and precise. She spun around, the broken bottle slashing through the air, a blade of glass and fury. She plunged it into the nearest zombie's skull, puncturing its rotting brain, before quickly withdrawing and swiping at the second one.
For a split second, the tavern was silent except for the roar of the fire and the groans of the undead. Then, with a final, sickening crunch, the second zombie dropped. Cassidy had made it through the pit unscathed.
Covered in gore and panting heavily, she stooped down to retrieve her pistols and the key from the zombified raider leader. As she held her 'babies' in her hands once more, a triumphant grin spread across her face. She spared a final glance at the undead raider, a grim satisfaction in her eyes, before she clambered out of the pit.
"Alright," she panted, twirling her pistols with a familiar ease. "I got my babies back." There was a certain glint in her eyes, a hint of the fire that was burning around us.
"And the key." she tossed the keys of endeavor into the air before catching it with a wink and a wide grin on her face.
"What are you girls waiting for? Let's gtfo of here!" Cass said, as she casually walked out of the burning tavern, leaving us with no choice but to follow.
Q: Have you ever watched a Quintin Tarantino movie before?