Baji Belmir

The town was quiet. A dead town without a soul on sight. Unreasonably so. Still, Baji wasn't bothered. He knew they were there, waiting, watching, for the exact right time. And yet, Baji drove forward, ever deeper into the heart of the town.

The boy behind this shouldn't have had this much control in such a short amount of time, not without help and assistance. So, something was helping him.

Or someone. Some sort of artifact that enabled the boy to learn from it for months or something sapient without the benevolence. Too many conjectures without reasonable concrete proof.

What mattered was the necromancer boy who allowed them to pass through, which required control beyond just a few months, or even years to master. It took decades to achieve even something like this. It unsettled him that the undead, usually so quick to shamble toward anything living, would be so still and watchful.

The boy was waiting for us.

Still, it was actually comforting. It brought them that much closer toward their target and all the more to prepare. He could already hear the hiss of pressurized helmet close in around El, and the rest of his team. The form fitted power armor was like a second skin, allowing them all to propel themselves with greater speed and strength. Better chances of survival were a good thing, Baji thought.

Sensors indicated his team as friendlies in blue, while plenty of unfriendly in the hundreds all surrounded them in red. What few blue scattered about showed him that there were still some civilians left. They were hiding well; he just hoped they didn't do anything stupid to attract attention.

"Soft telepathic communications only," Baji sent out the message in his mind, instantly received soft pings inside his helmet. "Any thoughts?"

"It's a fucking ambush." Alicia practically vibrated with anticipation. "The necromancer knew the government would send someone. He's waiting for us."

"So, we make a trap of our own." El, as ever, relayed exactly what he was thinking. The orc turned to face the backseat of Baji's. "Got anything special for us to send the boy a gift?"

"Sure." Baji smiled grimly. "I rigged the car with carved runes of explosion and wired it to a few non-magical bombs underneath. Enough to blow a small part of this town into rubble."

He could practically feel everyone's faces age a few years.

"You are so goddamn lucky I can't throttle you right now, you dumb fucking cunt!" Alicia, as always, was very expressive with her emotions.

"Ah, I need a drink. A specially made drink by the dwarves. They'll help...," El drifted off, suddenly very tense when once hundreds of zombies around them hadn't even managed to faze him. A bomb underneath his seat might do just that, Baji supposed.

"An interesting proposition." As cool as ice, Nim hummed. "And how, pray tell, shall we send such a gift to our enemies without being within the vicinity of the blast?"

"A teleportation matrix," Baji explained. Their relieved glares were enough to make him crack a smile. "It should land us near the building the necromancer's holed up in."

"So, let's get their attention, then!" Alicia popped her rifle out the door. A hundred sun-infused bullets popped out from her rifle in thirty seconds. A hundred bullets, Baji knew, found a home in every undead skull. "Come get some, you sons-of-bitches! Mommy's home!"

El popped his massive rifle, with a bullet the size of .90 inches and weighing a staggering 10 ounces. Every bullet was enchanted and carved with runes of the incendiary kind. A single bullet could carve a hole through an armored tank, and a rifle that could pop out dozens in seconds left buildings in rubbles. The recoil alone would have broken a normal man's shoulders.

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Baji was just glad all the rifles were enchanted with muffled silence, thanks to Nim. He did not wish to have the symptoms of being shell shocked.

Already, the undead was shambling toward them, and fast. Baji stepped on the gas peddle, crushing one underneath his wheels, and turning a corner street. And when he looked behind him in the rearview mirror, hundreds, perhaps thousands were coming after them.

Then, the undead started falling from the tops of the buildings and onto their path.

"Oh fuck!" Alicia popped a head off of one who managed to land on the hood of their car. He was just glad he removed all the windows in the jeep. "Fuck! Anytime now, Baji!"

"Not yet." Nim calmly replied. "We need to get all their attention. All the more effective, I think."

"You haven't even done anything!" Alicia glared at the half-elf. "Do something!"

Nim sighed. "Very well."

Magic gathered around her, the air felt heavier. Baji was no magus, but even he could feel the thick sensation of pure, incredible magic from the woman.

What she did next baffled Alicia, and El, but made Baji's smile wider. A small thin string made of plasma of hot ionized gas attached itself to both sides of the building. They drove away, leaving the long pitiful looking glowing string.

"What th-," Alicia started, then looked back. Nim smile was enchanting.

In an instant, thousands of undead carved themselves in half against the white-hot incandescent string.

El whistled in appreciation. "A simple spell utilized to incredible effectiveness. Remind me never to take your pudding."

"Incoming!" Alicia pointed ahead, as thousands more rushed toward them from the front.

"I suppose now is the time," Baji glanced at Nim. "Shields, please."

The half-elf nodded, and instantly a shield of triple-layered ice white bloomed around the jeep. It was effective, in simplicity and required little magical strength. But still, that was all they needed.

Thousands of undead smashed into the jeep, and Baji stepped on the peddle. Hard. They went deeper as more undead smashed into the icy shield, cracking it places.

"Baji!"

"Alright, we're deep enough." Baji pulled out a crystal cube. Hands gripped his shoulders tightly. "Now!"

When they appeared again, miles away on top of a roof, Baji took out his detonator and pressed the big red shiny button. Even from here, he could make out the mini-nuke going off. They were far enough away to appreciate fireworks. Thankfully, no radiation would be emitted, and there were no civilians around to come to harm.

"Damn. Warn me next time you do something that risky, Baji." El sighed.

Ignoring him, he turned to the target's location.

"There. The intelligence suggests the necromancer is behind those walls, underground." Baji pointed toward the mayor's office. A quaint little white domed building, with a statue of great human warlord centuries past, stood on the front yard.

Baji grabbed his own rifle, which was nothing special. El and Alicia reloaded. Then, they jumped over the roof and landed from a four-story building.

The double doors gave away to an empty building, as the team fanned out, with raised weapons. Baji noted the bloodstains all around the interior, scattered papers, destroyed furniture, and caved in walls.

"Let's just get the job done and over with," Alicia grumbled. "I got a kid waiting for me, and he could be a real bitch about it."

Baji smiled.