It was almost peaceful, the stillness. No one moved or dared even to breathe. The previous chaos and the clamor of battle, gunshots, and explosions had been overwhelming in its intensity, yet for a brief moment everything was muted and tranquil. A faint ringing noise in my ears and the thumping of my heartbeat kept time as everything else appeared to move in slow motion.

I closed my eyes. I breathed deeply, slowing my pulse.

My eyes opened. The peace didn’t end so much as it exploded into motion. Someone shouted, and my damaged hearing was invaded once again by the booming cracks of gunshots. Time moved once more.

The wave of creatures was not as large as I had expected, I estimated their numbers at just over thirty. Most of the monsters were bipedal, with only a few quadrupeds rounding out the numbers. Among them were two direwolves, much like the ones I had fought earlier. I felt a cold shiver as I reflected on the memory.

The curved ramp they charged down was narrow, steep, and littered with holes and debris. This caused several of the creatures to stumble or jostle each other as they tried to push past. At no point during the battle on the Ravenel bridge had I witnessed such poor coordination from these creatures. Even the irregular terrain didn’t explain it. They weren’t working together and seemed to be running in a blind panic.

It was an opportunity that I immediately seized. Operating on sheer instinct, I used Eldritch Mimicry to copy the Tanglefoot spell. I’d yet to use the spell in a real battle, as it required contact with the earth. The smoky illusions created by Eldritch Mimicry, however, had no such restrictions. It would be weaker than the real thing, but I didn’t need to entangle them, merely tripping them up for a fraction of a second would create openings for my allies to exploit.

The air was still thick with energy, it had an almost greasy feeling to it. It was like a web of tendrils made of black, oily tar floating in the air connecting and flowing through everything. I was able to capture and contort these tendrils, shaping them into the form I wanted.

Thin vines snaked up from the ground beneath the charging monsters. Each vine was as thick as a thumb, and roughly as long as I was tall. They were smoky black and tinged with red, like embers burning in charcoal. Long curved barbs grew from each vine, drawing blood as they constricted and pulled at the limbs of the creatures caught in their grasp.

The monsters charged through them as easily as if they were tissue.

I had reached the limit of the spell, but I wasn’t finished. I used the spell as the base, it was a template to give shape to what I wanted. A shortcut that saved me from having to perfectly visualize it in my mind. I then took control, feeding power into each tendril. They grew larger. Thorns bit deeper. Vines held limbs longer and tighter.

Most of the creatures continued to charge, unhindered except for a few shallow cuts. One of the wolves lost an eye but kept moving forward, barely slowed. A few of the bipedal creatures, however, were not as lucky, crashing down into the pavement halting their charge and slowing those behind them. Vines quickly entangling them as thorns bit into their flesh – sinking deeper the more they struggled.

I turned back towards those that had made it through. I had stopped only four, but I had succeeded in breaking the charge. The creatures were now more staggered, coming in groups rather than all together.

Catayla took out the closest enemies with quick bursts from her rifle. I saw several of the bridge guards firing into the crowd of monsters, while Worthy and the woman with the giant club ran out to meet the charge.

Tiller’s revolver began a quick dance, the crash of gunfire tapping out at a measured pace. Each shot striking an eye, a head, or an exposed throat.

Worthy had somehow unsheathed both of his swords and was dancing around a large green-skinned humanoid. He cut at the creature’s back, before dropping into a roll to slash at its ankles. The creature roared. A kick sent Worthy flying into the metal frame of an old car.

As worthy slumped to the ground, a club smashed into the creature’s head. A barrage of rifle fire pierced its torso and limbs. It fell dead. A tall blond woman stood over it still pounding her club into its head.

I cast spells. As enemies would get too close I would blind them with Venom Spray. Their flesh would sizzle even as the neurotoxin slowed their movements and weakened limbs. As the closer enemies were cut down I switched my focus towards sniping the slower enemies with Arcane Missiles.

It was over too soon, the violence ending suddenly. I continued to look around me expected danger but finding none.

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“That’s….” I jumped at the sound of something approaching from behind.

Tiller caught my punch, casually deflecting it. His block had started before I had even known I was going to attack.

“It’s over,” Tiller said. “We’ve won, or at least something that resembles winning.”

I heard his words. But my body couldn’t process the truth as quickly as my mind. Adrenaline continued to pump through my veins. I could feel my blood as it was pumped through my veins. My hands shook, and it was difficult to catch my breath.

“How many…” I gasped out. “Did everyone make it?”

“No,” said Tiller. “One of the guards that came with Worthy didn’t make it. Four of the guards assigned to the bridge were taken out as well.”

I looked over at Worthy. He had gained consciousness but was still lying where he had fallen. Next to him knelt the tall blonde woman with the oversized club. In her arms she cradled a man. The way she carried him made him look small, childlike. His eyes had been closed, and his arms and legs dangled uselessly to the side. I had never even asked his name.

I looked through the rest of the survivors looking for familiar faces. The man who had literally pulled me from the wolves was missing. His tall lean frame and eye catching red and silver fire axe were now gone - likely bent and broken, lying under hundreds of tons of rubble.

“Is Rachel..” I asked, not needing to say anymore.

“I’m okay,” she said. She was sitting in the dirt a dozen meters behind me. Her black leather jacket and crisp blue jeans were now torn and stained. She looked tired. Her stare was empty, and she refused to make eye contact.

I hobbled over to her. “Rachel, I’m glad you were here. I’m not sure we could have made it without you. Thank you.”

“Wasn’t enough. We barely made it out of there. If I hadn’t hesitated, maybe… I just.”

“Not fair,” said Tiller. “Trained soldiers sometimes break the first time they see combat. The only way to really know how you’ll react is to be there. All the training in the world doesn’t mean a thing without real experience. The fact that you got back up, you fought.” He shook his head a few times, before he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

“It’s rare as hell,” he continued. “To face that kind of fear, have it overtake you and yet still somehow find the strength to get back in the fight? You’re a fucking hero, Rachel.”

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed and her mouth slightly open.

“If no one else,” I said. “You saved me. I… almost lost myself for a moment. You brought me back, you allowed me to make a choice I couldn’t make alone.”

She looked over at me and made eye contact for the first time since the battle had begun. She smiled slightly, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

That was all we got from her before she turned her eyes downward, lost in contemplation.

“You two surprised me,” said Catayla. Her ninja entrances didn’t even surprise me anymore. “All of you did.”

“Humanity may not be the biggest or the meanest,” said Tiller. “But we adapt. We learn to shape our environments and can thrive in almost any extreme.”

“So, what do we do now?” I asked.

“The mission should still be our primary objective. The only way to know what is going on is to make contact with my superiors. They’ll have the intel, and the weapons, we need to survive.”

“So how do we get across?” I asked.

Tiller looked at me with a grin. “Finn, I like you but you’re an idiot. I just watched you create a three-meter-high palisade that stretched across four traffic lanes. You don’t think you can make a boat big enough for five people?”

“I…” I didn’t know what to say. I looked out over the river, wondering what might lurk underneath.

“He’s right,” said Catayla. “Your new power will prove useful. Perhaps you could tell us how you did that?”

“I…” I hesitated once more. “I’ve got a new class.”

“No shit!” said Tiller.

Catayla didn’t say a word, just watched me silently for a few moments. Her face was a blank mask.

“Man, you’re going to have to give me all the details. Right now, though, we need to make a plan. Decide who’s going with us, send word back to New Charleston, let them know about the bridge.”

“We’ll stick with our remaining five,” said Catayla. “The other guards should head back and reinforce the rest of your people. Once these men and woman have rested they’ll likely be among the strongest warriors you have.”

“Hell yeah,” said Tiller. “I’m up to level seventeen already. It’s fucking amazing. How about you Finn. You must have been swimming in XP during that battle on the bridge.”

“Uh, Not really,” I said. “All that experience from the bridge went… elsewhere. I’ve gained three levels. I’m level six.”

“Six?” said Tiller. “That can’t be right, man. I was sure you were a higher level than me.”

“How about you, Cat?” Catayla just ignored Tiller’s question as she turned to walk towards the rest of the group.

“And you Rach…” Tiller started to ask.

“I’m not going,” said Rachel. “I can’t go. It’s terrifying. What’s out there is fucking insane, I just can’t do it.”

“I know you can,” said Tiller. “I just saw you…”

“She’s right,” I said. “I’m the one who said we needed her, and we don’t anymore.” I pointed across the river at the rolling mist that was slowly creeping towards us.

“With my new class, I can protect us from that on my own. We don’t need her. Besides, her power is amplified in large groups. She’ll be much more valuable helping to protect the survivors.”

Rachel looked up at me and smiled. “Thank you,” she said.

“Alright,” said Tiller. “So, it’s what, just the four of us?”

“We can probably ask for a volunteer, or two, but if we take too many I’m not sure I can make a boat big enough. We also need to worry about drawing attention.”

The sound of gunshots interrupted our conversation. Looking up I could see a twisted abomination beginning to make its way down the exit ramp of the bridge.

It was a floating sphere as large as the cab of a semi. Hundreds of eyes and dozens of tentacles were spread out over its body. Its skin was thick and wrinkled like folded leather. A thin coat of hair and mucus were layered over its body. Half of the creature was a scarred mess of charred flesh and burst eyes. Many of its tentacles had been severed or hung limply at its side. It didn’t move, merely floated there slightly bobbing.

A truly tortured sight.

“Hold on,” I yelled.

“It’s with me.”