CHAPTER 13

“Is it done?” Alex asked.

Carly nodded, and then they looked up at the sky. Calling it dusk was generous.

It was night.

“I think it’s too dangerous to travel to the hotel,” Alex said immediately. “Three blocks might not seem far, but?”

“Fortify the basement?” Daniel suggested. Part of him would be worried about the building above them collapsing, but if it didn’t the garage area was defensible. He remembered the things he had seen prowling at night, and trying to huddle in a nearby house was not sensible.

“As good as anything. How about upstairs?” Alex asked.

Daniel looked up at the enormous hole. “I’m not sure the queen can control a hundred percent of the flies…”

“Not camp up there. I mean the kids.”

“They’ll have to survive by themselves.” Daniel said after a moment. “We can’t clear the flies in the dark.”

“We can try that house.” Richard pointed at a nearby almost intact building. “There is no reason to camp under a condemned structure.”

Alex studied the house and then the tower. “I think the basement is safer.”

“Bullshit.” Richard told him.

“It’s better protected against monster threats.” Alex countered. “You’re worried about it falling down.”

“Obviously.”

“I don’t think it will.” Alex said. “It wasn’t shaking when we were in it and Daniel’s queen trap didn’t cause anything to fall and we all heard how hard that hit. I think structurally it’s probably sound.”

Ivey’s eyes went unfocused as she read on an internal screen. She nodded at some unspoken question and then opened her eyes. “I’m with Alex. It’s structural stable. And we won’t all fit in that building.” Ivey waved at the house. “Plus, there’s no wind tonight.”

“How do you know?” Richard interrupted. “This is Melbourne. Anything could be coming. Plus, who knows what this new physics is doing at a macro-level.”

“I have a spell.” Ivey said flatly. “It tells me there will be no wind tonight.” It was a bald face lie, but no one disputed it.

That firm knowledge had come from the interface. He was sure of it.

“So, it’s not structurally sound.” Richard said, pouncing on the unspoken bit of the conversation.

“Obviously.” Ivey said with a smile and waved at it. “But providing there are no major storms it will last to winter.”

“Three months.” Richard summarised.

Ivey shrugged. “We only need it to survive the night.”

“Basement.” Alex declared authoritatively. He snapped commands and two fighters moved to carry the queen. By the strain on its face, that silver colour was not some coloured carapace, instead it had actual weight. They were close to the entrance to the garage, so it was a simple matter to get them all down into the space. They were greeted with the stench of animal and blood. If they hadn’t already cleared the monsters from within, it would have been quite intimidating.

Now that they were safely in the garage lights bloomed throughout.

“No lights.” Richard snapped while looking anxiously at the ceiling. It was clear he was worried about the entire thing collapsing and despite Ivey’s certainty Daniel was not confident but recognised spending the night here was the best of the poor options they had available.

The globes of energy blinked off one after another as the people who had cast them reacted.

Daniel sealed the door by growing vines through the metal grate to strengthen the metal and groups of warriors teamed up to move cars into a more defensive position, protecting the entrance way. A couple were even slid up to right next to the roller door to provide extra security.

They worked in almost complete darkness. Tiny fairy lights guiding them and the brighter lights of Alex’s team doing a sweep of the garage to ensure there were no devil dogs still out there. There was always the risk that a female or hurt one had stayed back during that final charge and if it had, it would be mostly healed by now.

Alex returned after about five minutes. “This place is relatively secure. In addition to the fire stair and elevator, there’s a secondary exit that I’m presuming is for the bins or something. Daniel, I was wondering if you could seal it.”

Around a third of the fighters, accompanied Daniel to the unsecured entrance. At one point there had been a metal gate that had secured the slightly larger than two-metre-wide pathway that was enough for a car to fit though. While technically wide enough the ramp was split half being wheelchair friendly and the rest being a metre, stretch of concrete and then a step, which repeated all the way up.

The previous gate had suffered through the transition. First, it was more heavily corroded than the garage exit and it had been further savaged by the devil dogs. Half of it still hung on the wall and the other bits were scattered downwards like something had broken from outside in.

Daniel assessed it for a moment. The ramp coiled up and exited at the street with everything beyond the gate being exposed to the night sky. “We need to fill the entrance with as much metal and crap, and then I’ll weave plants through it.”

The group with them nodded and those with the stronger strength attribute including Daniel went back to gather materials. Their first target was a small electric car whose entire underneath had been melted by the batteries malfunctioning. The car formed the start of the barricade and after that it was expanded by moving items from a storage area someone had converted their car park into.

Once the pile reached head height, Daniel stopped accompanying the salvage teams and focused on his own magic. There was sufficient wooden debris in the mix that he had a lot to work with. The wood broke, shifted, twisted and then linked up with itself. Loops and coils bound the growing mound of mess together.

A quarter of an hour later, the exit was secured. Two men were left to guard it and when he got back to the others, he saw the garage roller door had been similarly reinforced. He approved of the extra work. The roller door was not to be trusted. The other gates’ destruction made it clear that metal gate by itself would not restrict alpha monsters.

“Do you want me to reinforce it with plants?”

Alex glanced at him and snorted. “I wish, but not just yet. Carly wants you to go up with her and contact a group upstairs.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“It’s not.” Carly interrupted Daniel indignantly. “With Iris we’ll be safe.”

“Carly guarantees she can protect against the flies, but I can’t comment on how structurally sound it is.” Alex told him.

“So can we do it?” Daniel asked. “I’m not a structural engineer.”

“None of us are.” Alex told him. “But I was thinking about the ladder you used to trap the queen. You could extend that with Carly’s help.”

“Iris’s” the teenage girl clarified unhelpfully.

Daniel stroked his stubble. “Create an evacuation stairwell to get them out.”

“I don’t want to be the person,” Ivey said finally. “But we’re in the basement. Isn’t it more sensible to wait till we’re out? No reason to risk extra people being caught if it collapsed.”

Daniel was sure everyone else was very aware that Ivey had been the primary voice that had encouraged them to shelter the night down here. If she was worried about people poking around in the building upstairs, the risk was not exaggerated.

“We don’t know if the people are safe.” Tamara said, entering the conversation. “The flies might still be attacking them.”

“They aren’t.” Carly guaranteed.

“I’m torn,” Alex admitted. “We’re on the clock to save them. If Daniel can safely get up tonight, he should.”

“It is too dangerous.” Ivey counted. “Doing it in the morning is more sensible.”

“I don’t think they’ll be alive then.” Carly repeated. Everyone else ignored her, but Daniel studied the teenager. That had been an awfully certain statement.

“No.” Alex argued. “The risk can be managed. Daniel just needs to go slowly.”

The group debated in passionate whispers aware that while the security they had put in place was solid; they were no longer in the safe hotel. Creatures could attack them from the street. While they argued amongst themselves, Daniel considered his own position. The simple truth was that he was willing to take a personal risk to save the kids, but he was not sure if that certainty of conviction extended to risking another’s life.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Daniel listened to the two battle lines. Alex wanted to risk a cautious scouting party immediately. Ivey, Richard and half a dozen others took the position that the smart thing to do was to wait until morning and clear the garage first.

“No.” Alex said in exasperation. “Doing nothing has actual risks. If there’s thirty people up there and they have to run across to the other side of the building to avoid the flies that’s a risk too. Or even if the flies are knocking out internal walls to get to them. The faster we stabilize the situation the fewer dangerous variables we have.”

Squark!

The noise was devastatingly loud and everyone’s eyes turned as one to the garage entrance. Something was outside it.

Daniel from the previous night recognised the hunting call of the creatures that had destroyed the bus size monster and carried it away.

Though then it had been over a kilometre from him … This one was outside.

Everyone’s weapons rose into defensive position and magic crackled up and down the groups as people reacted. Almost like they had been instructed a semi-circle formed facing inwards toward the garage door.

No one said a thing. Except for the slight crackle of flames, everything was silent.

“It knows we’re here.” Alex said quietly, but with absolutely certainly. “Hopefully it leaves.”

Click.

The new sound came from the emergency exit stairs upward in the opposite direction. It was the familiar click of the fire door shutting.

“What was that?” Alex demanded his voice like all of them no more than a whisper. They could see the fire stairs from here and Brian was leaning against it unconcerned.

“I don’t know.” Ivey said cautiously her eyes flicking between the fire stairs and the enemy they knew was out there stalking them beyond the garage door.

“Carly,” Tamara said suddenly. “Where’s Carly?” There was no answer, and everyone looked between the stairs and the threat from outside the garage. “She was adament about saving the kids.” Tamara repeated.

The unspoken words was that she had not been involved in the debate and they had been arguing in circles for more than a few minutes.

“She’s going up herself.” Alex said in abrupt understanding..

“She can’t be stupid.” Ivey exclaimed. “We were debating for Daniel to go because he was the only one who can realistically circumvent some of the structural instability issues.”

“She’s fifteen.” Tamara pointed out. “And you guys were arguing in circles.”

Alex’s eyes switched between the fire door and the garage. “We can’t afford to follow.”

Squark.

It was like the monster had wanted to put an exclamation mark at the end of Alex’s conclusion. Almost unbidden electricity to started to pool in his weapon and no one told him to pull it back this time. It was weird that the noise scared him more than the devil dogs.

“What are we facing?”

“Alex,” Richard said. “Not even I can tell that from its call.”

“Pack hunter.” Daniel told them. “Tamara and I watched them take down something last night.”

“On the street?”

“Yes. Like wolves.”

“Good,” Alex said, sounding satisfied. “At least we’ve got a chokepoint.”

They knew Carly was being stupid and going upstairs with only her new pet queen as protection, but there was nothing they could do about it.

That was something to worry about later.

If they survived this.

Daniel still remembered watching these monsters hunt a prey which was far bigger than all the humans gathered here, at least by mass.

For now, collectively, they watched the barricade they had set up with wide-eyes while they wondered if the monsters were going to attack.

While several cars had been wrestled into position, this entrance was not reinforced by his plants and if something as powerful as a devil dog wanted to get in the barricades would give way.

Boom!

Daniel physically jumped at the sound of the collision. The two car roller door crumbled in the centre opening up a large gap. The car that had been resting against it rocked back a quarter of a metre.

“What the fuck?” Alex cursed.

They watched the hasty barricade they had created, waiting for the next strike to happen.

Thump!

This time, the central car slid down the slope and a shape came through the gap in the roller door. Daniel only got the briefest of glimpses, but he noted hard shiny natural armour, four legs to stand on, which transitioned into an upright torso and further arms. It was almost like a dwarf sized cockroach that could stand upright.

Daniel’s arm went over his shut eyes. “Lightning!” From experience, he knew what this was doing. He created the conditions to maximise his efficiency, a link between him and his target, then he energised everything.

The world went pink.

Boom!

Daniel stumbled backwards a step as he weathered the explosion.

He opened his eyes with bright shapes danced across them, reducing his vision despite the protective arm. He squinted through the tears and focused on the hole that the monster had created up. He tensed, expecting strange monsters to be flooding through the gap. Moments before he had covered his eyes, he had seen the creature which he was sure was just the vanguard had climbed to the top of the piled junk and had been prepared to charge them.

He couldn’t see the body. There was no imminent threat. No swarming enemies attacking them.

“It ran.” Richard told him. “It was a Croldlic.”

Still blinking away tears Daniel waited. The electricity artefact on his club started to regather charge. He had not used everything in his first attack, so the process reacted quickly. Already, the cost of his next lightning spell was being reduced.

His ears were ringing from the noise.

Then healing struck him. There was a click and he could hear again.

“Exclusively nocturnal. Pack hunters, which individually are as strong as a typical devil dogs. But there are more of them and they’re semi-sapient, so they fight smarter than the devils ever do. We’re fucking screwed. Silver flies with a queen, devil dogs, croldlic’s this place is doomed. I don’t understand how so many dangerous things can be in a single place.”

“Later Richard.” Alex ordered.

Outside there was frantic squawking.

Thump.

An intact section of the roller door near the wall crumpled but held. Richard said they were as strong as a devil dog. Their ability to fight back depended on holding the choke point and that there wouldn’t be too many of them.

Squark.

The noise cut over the rest of the sounds like a drill sergeant silencing the whispers of the massed soldiers.

Silence deadened and then after a moment the squawks began again but this time they were receding as the monsters staged some form of retreat.

Everyone looked at each other.

“Lights forward.” Alex ordered. “Put them under the roller door. We’ve been discovered so secrecy is pointless, so we should try to blind anything coming to attack us. Team one on guard, team two and Daniel reinforce the barricade while everyone gathers materials to help them.”

“What about Carly?” Daniel asked.

“She made her choice.” Alex said harshly. “Do you want me to send people after her? That’ll leave us exposed here.”

“No.” Daniel conceded.

“But Daniel,” Alex said more gently. “She’s a smart girl. She’ll be okay and the croldlics won’t enter an area defended by the flies.”

Neither of them looked at Richard to see if he would confirm that statement or not. It was best to assume the best.

Everyone knew how Daniel worked and they were already hurrying to bring over scraps of wood to combine with the barrier. They were salvaging whatever they could find from the storage spaces and tossing it onto the pile. He wished Trudy was here to support. With her providing soil, the process would be significantly faster.

“Would ice help?” Tamara asked apparently reading the direction of his thoughts.

“Probably.”

Tamara raised her hands to cast the spell.

“No,” Alex ordered. “Preserve the mana. Those bastards could be back at any time. And Daniel only uses your regeneration. Don’t let your mana drop. We need to be ready for them to come back. We assume they’re smart and capable of tactics till proven elsewhere.”

Another car was moved close to the barricade. Ten fighters all with enhanced strength were man handling it into position. With a series of grunts and curses, they lifted it above their heads and launched it to slide on top of the pile. In the end, it had almost been easy for them. A feat that would have been near impossible pre-event and they had made it look simple.

The car did its job and sealed the approach the monster that had almost got over their barricade had been using.

Daniel stopped worrying about everyone else and went to work. He tried to keep things simple and applied his limited power to where it could do the most benefit. Wood twisted between cars and then hardened effectively bonding them together. The people working with him saw what he was doing and wood was shoved in to act as connecting material. Others moved materials to fill gaps and soon the previous disparate bit and pieces were all linked.

Now if someone hit the barricade instead of the car sliding out and creating space to move, they would only shift the entire plug.

Slowly, Daniel relaxed. The work they had done went beyond structural stability and the croldlics hadn’t returned. Now that plants curled through the plug, he would have more degrees of freedom to counterattack against them. That was wood that he could use to distract and hurt the monsters if they came back.

He dropped his magic, stretched extravagantly, and looked around.

Team one surrounded him and Carly…

“Carly?” Daniel asked in surprise. “I thought you had…” he trailed off, not sure what to say. Of course she had come back. It was not like leaving the garage was a guaranteed death.

“What? You thought I would run?”

“Easy,” Daniel said, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. “I was worried something might have killed you or conversely, if you made it upstairs that you might get trapped there.”

She shook her head. “I did. I mean I tried, but even with Iris’s help the floor was swaying too much.” More than one head looked up at that careless comment. “I couldn’t make it. I’m not sure there is a way up.” She bit her lip and sent a concerned look upwards.

Everyone was looking at him. “What?” he asked suspiciously. It seemed like while he had been busy constructing the barricade they had debated the next steps.

“We don’t know if the group upstairs will last the night.” Tamara told him.

“Was there a morse code message?”

Tamara shook her head. “Unfortunately, there’s no line of sight from here back to the hotel. Everyone back there are probably worried sick about us.”

“And scared.” Alex said. “If we don’t return, I don’t fancy the hotel’s survival even with the advantage of the entire complex being cleared of Alpha monsters.”

“They’re concerned for good reason.” Daniel glanced knowingly at the barricade they had constructed to hold off the croldlics. The streets were no safer than the tower. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised, but the beasts out here were at least dangerous as those he had eliminated from the hotel.

“We don’t think they will survive the night.” Tamara repeated meaningfully. She looked at Carly.

“Iris.” Carly started and Daniel tensed. The queen had ten very noticeable giant flies lying near it. Catching where his eyes, the teenager patted the queen’s head and then one of the flies next to her. “They’re safe. Iris has absolute control over anything within five metres and then, as you saw with the collapsing floors she can leave instructions on how they should act once they leave her range. These ten flies will never hurt another human again.”

“The queen, before Carly tamed her directed fifty flies to clear out the top levels.” Tamara interrupted.

“Can’t Iris change that.”

Carly shook her head. “No. She’d need to get within five metres of every fly that she gave the orders to.”

“And the stairs are broken.” Tamara continued.

“And she can’t fly.” Carly patted the broken wing.

“We’ll just have to hope they survive till morning.” Daniel said. He was exhausted and didn’t want this responsibility.

“Or…” Carly said. “We could use what you built to capture the queen.”

No, Priscilla chimed in his mind with images of the squawking creatures taken down that mini-sized monster.

“No!” Daniel said firmly, agreeing completely with the mouse’s assessment.

“But.”

“There is no way I’m going out there…” He pointed. “Did you see how hard they hit?”

Smug satisfaction radiated out from Priscilla she had told him no and he had listened. That made her happy.

Of course I listen.

But… she metaphorically stamped her feet, reminding him of the moment that they were bringing Finigan into their group. He hadn’t listened to her then.

Listen, doesn’t mean mindlessly obey.

Should.

Daniel barely caught the involuntary grin in response to the banter. It would not be appropriate in the current situation.

“We weren’t going to suggest that.” Tamara told him. “Instead, I was thinking you could link a conduit to what you built. Shift the components close to the stairwell and then grow up from there. Maybe create an elevator to rescue people.” She looked hopeful.

Daniel hesitated. “That’s.”

“Possible.” Tamara asked hopefully.

He sagged and admitted defeat. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll get to work.”