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~ Marlene ~
Marlene took a sip of water and gave Oscar an appraising look. She hadn't expected the man to give her so much grief about... well anything, really. Reid had been staring at the ground for 15 minutes now. She needed an answer, and needed it soon. Oscar had actually stopped her from walking over, and sent Louis over with a granola bar in her place. His standing up to her was so surprising that she actually stopped and listened to him. But she was getting over it.
"Marlene, I know that look. He's breaking - and he might not break if you just give him a few extra minutes."
"He's got more in him. I've been doing this for a long time, Oscar. I know how far to push people." She started to turn to walk back towards Reid.
"What's gonna happen when he shuts down in the middle of a fight? Huh? He dies, maybe one of us, too. But that's fine if you finish your mission, right?"
Marlene made a mental note as she wheeled around on him. "You are out. Of. Line. We do not have any more time for sympathy, Oscar. None of us have the luxury of dealing with things right now. You think things are hard? They're going to get worse. All of this," She waved an arm at the forest, "is just a ramp to more violence. More danger. More death. You think you know it because you've splashed in the kiddie pool? This is deep water. People are going to swim, or they're going to sink. I know what swimmers look like, Oscar. You are one, and Reid is too. Now, this -" she pointed between herself and Oscar, "is done. Over. You fucking stow it and do your job."
She'd assumed too much of Oscar, she realized. He had grit and some military experience, sure - but he was still young. He still assumed his experiences made him an expert. She hoped he would live long enough to experience the humility of knowing how wrong he was. Dark days would be waiting for them all. She needed as many people as possible that could make it through. Reid would be one of them. She could feel it in her bones.
Sure, he was an idiot. He'd spilled a long series of secrets and insane stories as soon as she asked him to. But he was an honest idiot, and she could work with that. More, anyone that had survived what he did was already doing better than the average person. If she could just mold him a little, he would make for a perfect addition to her forces. Having Sara and Susan with them would give him motivation to stay fighting, and she'd already worked herself up in their discussion so he would see her as his family's savior.
She just needed to give him the right sorts of pushes so he didn't actually go off the deep end. There was a brutality in the way he fought that hinted at a bit of mindless rage. As long as she could guide him away from that, he could be perfect.
She was on her way back to Reid when the screeches began.
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+ Reid +
Reid grabbed his sword off the sled and jumped to his feet before Louis had gotten the spear off his back. He looked towards the one outline he could see through the trees. It was one of the large salamanders, and it was walking their way. Leaves crunched nearby, signaling the return of Marlene and Oscar. They both had spears drawn. Marlene surveyed the area, then barked out orders.
"I see three beasts. Louis and Oscar, stay here and defend if any of them reach you. I'll take the one to the south. Reid - I need you to handle the close one to the East."
Louis and Oscar called out that they understood. Reid nodded.
"Reid?!"
"Uh, yeah!" He yelled, realizing that she hadn't been looking at him. He wasn't used to communicating like this, and felt very out of his element with a group of fellow combatants around him. He gave a glance down at his boots.
One more fight. He thought. Just hold together.
The salamander stopped and rested a hand on a tree. The aquamarine claws easily sank into the wood. Orange eyes stared at him.
Waiting wasn't going to do any good, so Reid advanced. He jogged out to meet the creature, sparing looks to his left and right as he went to ensure he didn't get surrounded by some unseen enemy. When he was twenty feet from the salamander, it let out a shriek and flicked its claw through the tree. Splinters of wood sailed through the air like buckshot and peppered Reid's arms when he raised them to block.
Then the salamander was on him. It used the opening attack as a distraction to close the distance, and swiped down at him. Reid managed to get his sword up just in time to block - and winced when he saw a small chip where the claws connected.
The salamander's free arm came around from the side, and Reid had to dodge back to avoid taking a hit. The salamander followed, lunging forward with its jaws open. The thing's neck was long enough to reach him, and fast enough to hit. Off balance, Reid swung his left arm in an ugly uppercut as jaws closed in.
His bare fist tore through the salamander's chin, and a nauseating amount of drool coated his hand before it reached the top of its mouth. His momentum carried, and he smashed through its skull near one of its nostrils.
The beast tried to rear back, but Reid opened his fist and grabbed the top of its skull with his fingers. It screeched, bumping its chin into the inside of Reid's elbow. Reid could see clear down its throat.
Reid rotated his sword and took off one of its arms before the claws could reach him. The other stabbed into the side of his chest. Pain burned, and he felt fluid entering one of his lungs. The beast tore at him, shaking its arm as claw split flesh and scraped against his ribs. He ignored the pain and the claws. He didn't need to take that arm - he was already controlling its head.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
His sword slammed up into the salamander, releasing a small torrent of blood as he cut through the back of its tongue, and into its brain. Once he felt resistance, he swept his blade sideways. The salamander flopped limp in his grip. One down.
He carefully removed the claws from his side - man, getting stabbed in your upper ribs really fucking hurt - and then let go of its head.
Shouting reached him. He turned, and saw one of the other salamanders barreling towards him. Maybe that screech from the dead salamander had been a cry for help. He dismissed a kill notification and flexed his wrist. The salamander bounced off a tree it was running too fast to avoid. It seemed angry. Eager. Reid readied himself. Come on. I've got more than enough left for you.
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~ Marlene ~
Marlene watched her Salamander. It was slowly advancing, keeping her in its line of sight. She gripped her claw-spear in both hands and tried to predict the salamander's range. Oscar and Louis were also getting ready. Any moment now, the salamanders would start their attack and rush in. She hoped they would come out on top. A screech and a yell erupted through the trees from Reid's direction. She heard rustling, and turned to see the salamander that had been sizing up Oscar and Louis was running towards Reid. Her target froze, eyeing the same direction.
Ding! Kill salamanders level 10 or higher (2/3)...
Holy hell. They'd barely started and Reid already took one of the things down. She looked in his direction. Even at a distance, she could see a hole through the dead salamander's head. Reid's arm was dripping with gore. As the salamander neared him, Louis shouted out a warning. He sidestepped a lunge and kicked the thing into a tree. She heard bones break.
"Oscar and Louis - on me. Reid has that fight."
Their salamander noticed the trio advancing, and dug a set of claws into a tree before tearing it out. Shards of wood and bark flew, slamming into each of them. Louis had a hand over a shoulder wound, and Oscar was clutching his leg. Marlene had taken a fragment to the ear, and was now missing most of her thin earlobe from the damaging shot.
She ran forward - keen to engage the creature rather than letting it get off another ranged attack. Louis charged in behind her. Oscar limped forward at his own speed.
Her first thrust was at its abdomen, but it dodged out of the way and curled itself in on her weapon. It snapped between the salamander's jaws.
Marlene dropped the remains of her spear and pulled her pistol from its holster. Louis managed a stab into the salamander's arm. The creature screeched and reared back, throwing Louis to the ground as he tried to keep his weapon held. Marlene leveled her arms and fired three rounds at the salamander's head.
The first and second both bounced off of the salamander's skull. The third was low - she'd overcorrected her aim. It punched a hole through the side of the salamander's neck that flowed freely with blood. Oscar was there a moment later, driving his spear into one of its rear legs.
The salamander let out a pained roar and spun.
Its tail split the air and took Oscar in the arm. It snapped with a sickening crunch, and the impact sent him spiraling through the air until he slammed into a tree. His limp body hit the ground and splayed out on the forest floor, leaking blood.
The salamander tore the spear free from its leg, then bit through the one on its arm.
One man down, possibly dead. The other wounded. This was insane. The difficulty ramp she'd been expecting was instead a sheer wall that they'd run straight into. She fired another round at the salamander to grab its attention, backing away as she did. She needed it away from Oscar and Louis.
She let off more rounds, this time aiming for its legs. If it was too hard to outright kill, she could at least slow it down.
The salamander staggered as the shots impacted, spraying the forest floor with bits of blood and tissue. But it didn't stop.
It advanced through the gunfire. Marlene pulled the trigger three times on an empty magazine before she realized she needed to reload. Fear gripped her. She hadn't let fear get the better of her in over a decade. She grabbed her second magazine and slammed it into place as the enemy closed in. Light reflected off its claws. She raised her weapon and fired into its groin.
The beast shrieked and flailed out with both arms as it fell forward - towards her.
The blow came quickly. A flailing, unintentional thing. She was hit in the face with the top of the creature's hand. The back and point of two claws slid against her cheek and over her forehead, leaving lines of hot pain, and blood that tinged her vision. Marlene felt her leg snap as she impacted a tree, and shuddered in pain when her body hit the ground. Her vision swam, distorting the notifications popped up in front of her.
Kill Salamanders level 10 or higher (3/3) completed! Bonus xp awarded for high performance. Difficulty automatically increased based on performance.
**New Quest Assigned**
Defeat the Crimson Titan (0/1) (47:59:58)
**WARNING!**
Two-day timer automatically applied to quest. If the quest is not completed within the allotted timeframe, a beacon defense quest will automatically begin.
Reid roared into view as Marlene's vision waned. She was dizzy, and fought to stay conscious. She watched him body slam the salamander into a tree. He stabbed it through the gut, then headbutted the thing. The beast had nearly wiped out her team, and Reid was dominating it with ease. He kept yelling as he ripped both arms off with his bare hands, and pummeled the salamander's torso with a flurry of blows.
It might have been the blood, but she could've sworn Reid's eyes were burning red.
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+ Reid +
Reid finished the second salamander worse for wear. His legs had multiple stab wounds, and his chest was raked with a series of bright red gashes. He was panting and exhausted when he saw the outcome of the other's fight with the third salamander. The first people he'd seen in days were wounded and broken on the ground. The woman who had kept his family safe had blood flowing freely from a nasty head wound. And the salamander was going in for the kill.
The anger had been bubbling in him. Simmering since he was able to rise above its waves. He had held himself in control - finished multiple fights without drawing on that well. But his body was hurting, and the power was there.
Reid let the rage boil and froth, and threw himself into the tide.
#
When he regained his senses, Reid was standing in front of half a salamander pinned to a tree. It wiggled a pair of mostly-regrown arms at him. His body was wrecked and tired, and he saw his knuckle bones peeking through torn skin on his hands. But he'd made it in time to keep the others alive. Oscar was still prone, and Louis was wrapping gauze around Marlene's head.
Reid pulled his sword from the tree and let the salamander flop to the ground. It started to crawl towards Marlene, and Louis looked up at it for a moment before he focused back on tending her wounds.
Reid lifted a leg, and slammed his boot down on the salamander's head. Bone crunched, but it kept moving. He brought a foot down again, this time rewarded with a wet squelch. The salamander had stopped, but it was still twitching. The third stomp cracked the skull wide open and sent gore out in a small circle.
Reid smiled, then stumbled back into the nearest tree and slid down the bark. He looked at his boots.
Both boots were covered in a new layer of of blood. An eyelet ring had popped itself loose, but was still dangling off his shoelace. A shard of skull poked out the side of one sole. They were worn, and tired.
But they held.