Chapter 49: Ghost
Tuesday, April 4th, 2:02 PM
Natural Bridges State Beach
The bow Mike made for Joe was difficult to hold while fully drawn, even for Joe. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long before the first targets came into view and he released his arrow.
Another scream-like sound and a loud twang heralded the missile’s flight. Sparks illuminated three people as Joe’s tungsten-tipped broadhead arrow struck the tunnel wall to their left and ricocheted behind them.
Joe’s mana filled more than halfway, despite missing his intended targets. He corrected his aim, then drew and loosed another arrow.
This time, he struck the three people he’d aimed at, though the arrow tore a ragged hole through the first man’s gut instead of his chest.
“Damn thing ain’t consistent,” Joe griped as he nocked another arrow.
The third man who was hit came hobbling out with a hole through his right thigh. The other two had collapsed just inside the tunnel’s entrance. Panicked and angry yells came from the tunnel, and Joe let another arrow fly. It impacted beside the tunnel, leaving a small crater where it disappeared into the soil.
“Practice makes permanent,” Joe muttered as he drew back and sent another arrow downrange. This one was a bull’s eye at chest height for the people he’d seen so far, and his mana filled the rest of the way up.
Joe chuckled. “Easy way to confirm kills,” he mused.
After firing one more arrow and hearing no further screams of pain, Joe grabbed his pack and moved toward the next arrow slit nearer the parking lot.
[Emmanuel is making another tunnel exit away from your line of sight, Joe. I’ll provide my own network of passages and exits with firing positions so you can appear in different locations without warning.]
“Fuckin’ hell, Dungeon. This feels like cheating,” Joe grinned.
[I fully intend to cheat. There’s no reason to give our enemies a fair chance.]
Joe snorted. “Hah. You could have been a marine with that attitude.”
[If you knew me while I was human, you wouldn’t think so.]
“Where’s my next target going to be?” Joe asked.
[The parking lot, near where I made that temporary clinic for all of you. Head down the steps to your left.]
Joe smirked as he looked left. “There aren’t any steps to my—oh. It’s freaky how you do that without making a sound.”
[Dungeons are predators, Joe. Top of the food chain.]
“That’s not gonna sit well with the powers that be,” said Joe as he descended the stairs she’d made.
[I’ll work something out with them. The resources, information, and training I can provide will be useful.]
“Just take care with what you do around the government when they arrive, and it’ll be soon with all the greenery you’ve got right below ground zero.”
[It should be fine, Joe.]
“Not if you go berserk while they’re here. Mind yourself, Ciara.”
[I’ll keep that in mind.]
“Which way, now?” Joe asked as he came to a crossroads below the beach.
[Take the tunnel to your left and climb the stairs. You’ll arrive on the cliff overlooking the parking lot from across Moore Creek, near all those damaged houses. I’ve got six camouflaged arrow slits up there for you.]
“Hah! High ground and cover. Where’d you study combat tactics?”
[I didn’t. Mike is advising me on how to help you win this fight. I’ve shaped a mock-up of the terrain for him, and he’s showing me what to do and where.]
“Tell Master Guns thanks for me,” Joe smirked as he neared the top of the stairs.
[Emmanuel is almost through to the parking lot. I think he’s low on mana, because his tunneling speed is slow.]
“Then we just need to keep him from killing anything, and he’ll be pretty useless for the time being.”
[Hopefully, yes. Um, Joe… there’s something moving along the tunnel toward the original exit. I can sense movement, but it’s hard to see what it is.]
“That doesn’t sound good.” Joe reached an arrow slit and swore under his breath when he saw he no longer had a good angle on the first tunnel entrance.
[Emmanuel is breaking through right now. Be ready. They’ve got stairs leading up in your direction.]
“At least that’s convenient.”
There you are. Joe spotted where the pavement was missing in the parking lot and nocked an arrow.
[My falcons will help from high above, and I’ve got spiders and Devilflies already working on traps to slow those people down. Don’t pursue them beyond the beach, or you’ll also get stuck in the glue traps my spiders are weaving.]
“The what?”
[Just keep to my tunnels and the beach. That cliff you’re on is also fine.]
“Roger that,” Joe replied.
The first sign of someone exiting via Emmanuel’s stairs caught Joe’s eye and he drew his bow. The first arrow went wide to the left and Joe corrected, but the person coming out ran back down the stairs.
A shot rang out, and the same person emerged again.
Joe was ready, and he let his second arrow fly.
It was a hit, but higher than Joe had aimed. With the left side of his head pulped, Joe’s target collapsed.
Familiar pinging sounds came from nearby, followed by rifle fire. Joe ducked behind cover, healing where something had grazed his ear.
“Where is that hostile fire coming from, Dungeon?” Joe asked as he ran three arrow slits to his left.
[I’m not sure, to be honest. I can’t see anyone, but—wait. Watch the sand on the beach.]
“Is there someone with active camouflage?” Joe whispered.
[I… think so. Not sure, exactly. But something is disturbing the sand. Sending my Devilflies.]
“I see it.” Joe stood further back, and loosed a shot, leading the footsteps in the sand by a couple of feet before ducking and moving to another firing position.
Sounds of impact and screaming came from the parking lot as Joe reached his next vantage point.
[Only two of my birds managed to hit them, but that’s not too bad, considering they’re two kilometers up.]
“Are they dropping stones?” Joe asked as he lined up a shot and loosed another arrow at the panicking crowd. The pinging of bullets and the sound of gunfire rang out again, but Joe had already ducked out of harm’s way.
[Tungsten spheres the size of golf balls.]
“That’s brutal. You sure you’re not half marine?” Joe snickered as he headed for another firing position and a surge of mana meant that he’d scored at least one more kill.
[My birds are headed toward Lighthouse point to grab more ammunition. That was their third attempt. The first two tries, I didn’t hit anything.]
“Two kills against enemy combatants in that situation is nothing to sneeze at, especially if you’re just learning. Just stay the course, and—”
Screams of panic and pain came from around the parking lot.
[Ah, they’ve started running into the defenses my spiders made. Wow. One had his head partially-severed after he fell against a silken line a foot off the ground.] The Dungeon sounded like a sports fan whose favorite team just won a championship game.
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“How are you—”
[That was a lot more effective. Oh, look! One of them is using his flamethrower. Hah. It’s burning the silk and igniting his allies.]
High, frantic screams reached Joe’s ears.
“How many?” Joe chuckled as he fired another arrow at the people still emerging from Emmanuel’s stairs.
[At least sixty of them are down.]
“It’s a start.” Joe fired another arrow where the footprints moved across the sand, hoping to lead them just right. He missed.
He saw the Devilflies as they closed in and orbited the footprints. The shifting footprints came to a halt and Joe drew an arrow. But sand exploded upward, and when it cleared, the Devilflies were gone. Several tiny glowing objects fell to the sand.
[Bastards!] The Dungeon yelled.
Joe caught sight of the footprints moving again.
“Damn. They’re heading for the street by the arches. I won’t be able to see whoever that is if they leave the sand,” Joe complained as he fired his arrow, but missed again. The shot pulverized a section of pavement left of where he’d aimed.
[I’m sealing my tunnels on the arches. Emmanuel must be with whoever that is. The bastard killed all forty of my Devilflies. He’s opening one of the tunnels again. You’re gonna have company, Joe.]
“Figures,” Joe grumbled.
Wait. If she could…
“Hey Ciara, I’ve got an idea.”
[Oh?]
“If you…”
[Oh, I like it. Already working on that.]
“Here’s hoping the little prick can’t sense what you’re doing from far away.” Joe fired again, catching and ending two more traitors when they exited Emmanuel’s stairway. The first man’s head exploded, showering the area with blood, hair, and gray matter. The woman behind him toppled awkwardly, her neck almost entirely severed by the kinetic force of Joe’s arrow.
[It’s ready. You’d make a fine Dungeon, Joe. You’re good at this.]
“Hey, now. I’m not looking to pick out curtains.” Joe held up his free hand between shots.
[I’d be disappointed if you were.] The Dungeon’s voice was abruptly cold.
What’s with that tone?
“Well, how’s—”
[It’s done. Be ready in case they survive.]
“Roger that.” Joe fired again, silencing another man from the One World Order with an arrow that left a hole through his chest.
My aim’s improving.
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“Mister Dunn, something’s wrong… There’s a tunnel that—”
Matt slapped Emmanuel and whispered, “Silence. I’m hunting.”
Emmanuel trembled in fear as he followed behind the invisible man, keeping a hand on Matt’s shoulder to stay hidden.
Stepping quietly behind Matt as they passed the tunnel I’d made to their left, Emmanuel stopped and stared down the passage when I released the ocean.
“What the hell?” Matt took off running ahead of Emmanuel.
“Mister Dunn!” Emmanuel stood still, his arm outstretched toward the invisible source of footsteps disappearing up the stairs.
“He left me. Mister Dunn said he would—”
Frigid ocean water slammed Emmanuel from behind, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending the panicked man face-first into the stairs ahead.
Gotcha.
With Emmanuel knocked unconscious, I worked quickly to seal off the passage I’d connected to the ocean floor, then absorbed the water and sent a Canopy Crawler down to deal with the bastard.
[Joe, that man’s about to exit the tunnel in front of you. His name is Matt Dunn.]
I didn’t expect a response, since we’d agreed I would feed him information so he could deal with the ghost of a man heading his way.
[Now.]
Joe released an arrow, but it streaked into the hardened-stone passage behind him, then clattered to a halt near Emmanuel’s unconscious body as my Canopy Crawler left two angry puncture wounds on Emmanuel’s right cheek, then skittered away.
Three rifle shots sounded, and Joe ducked behind cover with two bullets in his shoulder. Healing light shone from Joe’s location.
I’d spotted the flashes from Matt’s weapon.
[He was crouching low, Joe. Watch the sand.]
At Joe’s suggestion, I’d shifted sand from the beach to his location, so he could see where this slippery man was.
“How’s that shoulder, big man?” Matt mocked, then dashed away, his footsteps fading toward the nearby houses. My Canopy Crawler arrived just behind Matt and followed his footsteps.
“I heard healing yourself is tiring! How long can you last?” Matt called again as he left the sandy area I’d prepared.
I sent two of my Dire Widows a command to help intercept Matt, and they abandoned their work surrounding the uncertain crowd that mostly stayed hidden inside the tunnel from UCSC.
I savored the surprising rush of mana as Emmanuel died.
[He’s off the sand, Joe. Emmanuel’s dead.]
“Figures,” Joe muttered as two deformed bullets squeezed out from his shoulder and fell to the sand.
[I’ve got three spiders assisting you. They’ll lay down lines of glue. Follow my lead so you don’t get caught.]
“Fuckin’ hell,” Joe muttered.
He groaned as his shoulder finished closing up. “Takes longer to heal myself than others,” Joe complained.
[One of my spiders is on his heels and he doesn’t seem to realize it. The other two are falling behind. He’s headed for Delaware Avenue along the roads.]
“How far from me?” Joe asked as he took off running after Matt.
[Two hundred sixty meters and counting. He’s fast.]
“Fucker’s got magic like us. It figures. You got those birds around? If you hit him with one of those, their talons could mess him up pretty bad.”
[They’ve already got ammunition. I’ll bomb the crowd, then send all ten at him.]
“Stagger their attacks a few seconds apart, and come at him from different angles, Ciara. This bastard’s experienced. If you try something and he survives, he’ll be wise to it. Make sure you kill him quickly.”
[Got it. Bombing now, and the falcons will dive afterward. They’re two kilometers up.]
“Enemy’s location?” Joe asked.
[Turning east on Delaware Avenue.]
Joe stopped. “He’s headed to rejoin his people.”
I recalled my Dire Widows and had four other spiders set up extra glue traps directly in Matt’s path.
“Back to business, I guess.” Joe resumed firing arrows at the crowd who battled to escape the nigh-invisible prison my spiders were weaving through the new foliage surrounding them.
Monterey falcons released their ammunition, then spread wide through the sky as each angled into a dive, one after another, aiming just ahead of the Canopy Crawler that trailed Matt.
Matt moved quickly over a patch of muddy ground, leaving deep footprints as my Canopy Crawler struggled to follow with its pointy legs. I recalled the spider after it nearly became stuck.
After that, I lost track of Matt and had my falcons pull out of their dives to gain altitude again while Joe fired arrow after shrieking arrow.
Joe’s accuracy seemed to increase as he tore holes through chests and severed limbs from men and women ensnared by my silk as those inside the tunnel cowered in the face of his assault.
Their screams were sweet music to my core.
Fortunately, nobody else had used a flamethrower against the silk.
Matt became visible after he ran into some glue lines and slammed hard against the ground. My falcons descended as a nearby Canopy Crawler raced along its silken lines toward the fallen enemy.
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Matt’s head ached, and his vision swam. The sound of Joe’s freakish arrows continued every few seconds as Matt’s underlings screamed in terror.
It’s okay. I can win this. If I stay where my footprints don’t show, he can’t find me. I’ll wear the bastard down.
He wiped the dirt from his face and squinted as his vision returned. Matt willed his camouflage to engage, then propped himself on his hands. But his feet wouldn’t budge.
What the fuck?
Matt turned to glare at his feet, then screamed as a gigantic reddish-brown spider leaped at his face.
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Floors: 2
Minions: 240/240
Residents: 12/12
Denizens: 76636
Traps: 6/10