Chapter 2:

Ben moved further away from the growing portal but kept his eyes on it as he moved. When he was as far as he could be and still keep an eye on it, he ducked behind one of the houses and dumped his guitar case on the ground. As fast as he could, he got to work getting ready for a fight.

First, he attached two throwing knife holsters, one under his arm and the other on his right thigh. Then he filled them with the dozen knives he’d brought along before putting on a ski mask. Not the most heroic look and terrible for the weather, but hopefully it would keep any random cops or other civilians from trying to drag him away. Finally, he unwrapped his battle axe from the cloth hiding it.

Ben hefted it out of the case, taking in the simple weapon. It was a full steel battle axe with little ornamentation. Just plain naked steel and a leather-wrapped grip. It was light enough for him to be agile with it but heavy enough to do a lot more damage than just a sword.

Technically, it was just meant to be used at the arcade, to chop and smash the tinkertech animatronic monsters they had over there. Unlike the ones they gave to kids, this one was very real steel and had a sharpened edge. It was meant for the realistic settings the fake monsters could be set to.

And yet it would work just as well against real monsters. Well, at least E-rank ones.

A gun would have been better, but if he was gonna do that, he might as well evacuate. Can’t earn Access without putting your life on the line.

Ben looked around the perfectly painted wall as he put the guitar case back on to see that the portal had grown again. At the same time, a hum filled the air, and the building and anything really set into the ground started to glow a light blue. That would be the Reinforcement System coming to life. A clear sign to most people to get inside and hide.

Ben ignored it and took calming breaths as he waited.

This was it. This was his chance. Any moment now…

There.

The portal, now as big as a normal door, bulged and flexed. Since it was semi-transparent, it was as if space or reality itself was warping. And out of that bulging warping mess, a figure appeared.

Ben gulped as he took it in.

It was larger than he’d hoped for. Standing on all fours, it probably reached higher than the middle of his chest and he was pretty tall for his age. It looked a bit like a badger he’d seen at the zoo. Except, this one was hairless and far larger than any badger on Earth. Its skin was also a strange bluish-gray color and its eyes glowed even under the hot summer sun.

To make matters worse, as the creature came out and began sniffing, their mouth started to open and close. Unlike something from Earth, its mouth opened four ways, almost like a grotesque flower with teeth.

Given that Incursion monsters could look like practically anything, he really drew the short straw with this thing…

Though maybe it was for the best. If it was any less disgusting, maybe he’d feel a bit bad about attacking first. Then again…

A quick memory of screams and fire and death flashed through Ben’s mind for a moment and his face hardened.

Then again, maybe not.

Ben pushed those distracting thoughts aside and instead focused back on the creature. It was completely out of the portal now, its stubby fleshy tail being the last thing out. Slowly it moved towards one of the houses and Ben waited a moment to see if anything else came out.

As he watched, the badger thing sniffed around and strangely enough the portal continued to grow. Ben frowned at that but decided to ignore it. It would stop soon. If not, then the portal should have been detected by the sensor grid earlier as it would be more than a minor E-Rank one.

Several more moments passed, and no monsters came out of the growing portal. Ben decided to take his chance. There would be no better time. Just him and a single monster. If he waited too long something else might come out.

So in one quick long practice motion, he pulled a knife from under his arm and threw it at the creature.

A furious and disturbing screech rang out through the street as his blade flew true and buried itself into the creature's side. Unlikely to truly harm it but certainly enough to piss it off.

Just what he wanted.

Ben moved out from behind the house and waved his axe at the creature. “Hey! Over here you fucking thing. Come get some!”

The badger thing whirled towards him at the sound of his voice and screeched. Then it charged.

Ben spun the moment it moved and went back to the walkway behind the house he’d been hiding behind. He wasn’t gonna risk it being a lot faster than it looked so he wanted to put something between him and it. Hopefully, the Reinforcement System would keep the house okay in case it just tried to barrel through.

Ben reached the end of walkway as he heard the thing’s claws scraping the asphalt behind him and he pulled himself over the gate that led to the backyard.

As he went over the wooden gate, he took a quick moment to look behind him and saw the thing make its way into the alley between houses. Its four petal mouth was opened in a snarl and its body bunched in preparation to pounce.

Ben quickly turned back around and jumped down on the other side of the gate. At the same time, the creature charged and after several loud thumping strides it slammed into the wooden fence. Despite the rather delicate look of the fence, it held up against the monster's bulk and Ben rushed to the other side of the yard as he heard the thing snarl and scramble over the unexpected obstacle in its way.

Ben leaped over the next fence without looking back, and the one after that in the neighbor’s yard, before rushing his way through another small alleyway between houses. Instead of continuing when he reached the other side, however, he rushed to the side and waited just out of view to the side of the alley.

Breathing heavily, Ben hefted his axe in preparation as he listened to the sounds of its snarling and scrabbling.

The thing sounded really mad as it scrambled up and down the fences. Its noises were getting closer and closer and it didn’t seem to be slowing down. Ben’s grip tightened when he heard it scramble down the last fence.

When the noises got to their peak and Ben caught a glimpse of putrid blue flesh, he swung his axe as hard as he could. He tried to finish it off in a single blow, chopping off its head.

Things didn’t go as planned.

The monster reared to the right at the last moment, throwing itself away. Instead of chopping down on its neck, he got it in the shoulder. Still, it was just an E Rank monster so the thick steel blade of his axe bit deeply into its flesh. Strange purple foul smelling blood sprayed from the thing’s wound.

As the badger thing shrieked in pain and pulled away further, Ben had to pull back hard to keep his axe. More blood spurted from the thing as it retreated and thankfully Ben managed to avoid the stuff. When it came to things from the portals, it was best not to take chances.

The monster scrambled away, slowed by its injured limb. Ben rushed after it, his heart beating hard in his chest. He couldn’t help but grin a bit. This was it!

“Woah, that’s so cool!”

A high-pitched child’s voice cut through the sound of the sirens and the monsters snarling. Ben’s eyes widened as he stopped and turned to see a kid poking their head out from behind a bush. The child stared between Ben and the monster with wide eyes.

For just a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, both Ben and the monster were motionless.

“Your costume kinda sucks but your axe is cool. Are you gonna beat the monster now?” The kid asked, their voice full of the innocence only a child who didn’t quite grasp the situation could have.

“Run!” Ben yelled at the kid. Both to hopefully spook him away and draw the creature's attention.

But the monster only gave Ben one quick look before it turned its gaze back toward the kid. They were both about equal distance from the kid and the thing had a better stride. Time seemed to slow down again as Ben saw the things muscles bunch up.

Then Ben moved.

He didn’t think. He couldn’t. There was no time.

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He couldn’t let this happen. He couldn’t let this be his fault.

Not again.

With a scream of inarticulate rage, Ben charged faster than he’d ever moved in his life. One moment he was watching a potential disaster, the next he was within reach of the blueish monster that was already rushing at the kid.

Ben chopped down with all his strength. His axe bit into more blue flesh. And a searing pain ripped into his side as something hit him in the ribs.

The world seemed to blur around him.

Then he crashed hard onto the ground, muscle memory making him tuck in his head as he bounced twice. Something crunched on the second bounce and then he was still again.

For a long moment, he couldn’t figure out what was going on as he tried to catch his breath. Pain radiated from his side. The world seemed to be spinning around him.

Then a child’s scream rang out over the sound of the sirens.

No!

Ben shook his head hard and forced himself up. Something fell from his back as he did but he couldn’t focus on that. All his attention was on the monster. It was coming towards him at a leisurely pace. Its alien face was hard to read but he couldn’t help but feel like it looked smug. There was another wound on its side now, but even as the creature approached the bleeding seemed to be slowing.

In fact, that was exactly what was happening. And the blood from the other wound on its shoulder had already stopped and was already scabbed over. This thing healed fast.

And it had goaded him into a reckless charge.

Shit.

Ben risked a brief look down at himself and winced at the sight of his own blood. He didn’t know how bad it was but he didn’t have time to address it. He had a monster to kill.

One that he had to kill.

Because he couldn’t run from this thing. Even if his wound wasn’t as bad as it looked, if he ran then the thing would just turn around and…

No.

That wasn’t happening. He was not going to let that happen! He would not be the cause of any more death!

“You want me! Come get me!” Ben screamed, hefting his axe. His side hurt but he wasn’t dead yet. And this thing wasn’t that much bigger than some of the things at the arcade he’d trained against. He’d also had a measure of its speed. He could still do this. “Come on you overgrown badger thing!”

The thing let out a growl and started to charge. Ben had noticed it was still favoring its right side and hoped with everything he had that it wasn’t feigning that. Then, moments before they clashed, he pivoted to the side and chopped out with his axe.

The monster screeched with rage again as it passed him.

With a grunt of effort, he fought to keep the axe in his hands as it tore through blue flesh. Then, when his axe was free, he quickly sidestepped to keep him behind the thing as it snarled and thrashed. The thing’s grotesque hairless stumpy tail nearly got him in the face as he did but before it could recover he lashed out again.

This time he went for the leg.

With a scream of effort, Ben chopped right through the joint, severing the limb and earning him the loudest screech yet from the creature. Then as the creature started to fall, Ben chopped it again, tearing flesh from the other leg.

And then he chopped it again. And again. And again. And again.

All the while he screamed.

When the thing was only twitching and whimpering, he took a long moment to just catch his breath. Then he moved to finish things. With no thought and no remorse, he moved to its head and chopped down a final time.

The four-petaled head thudded onto the ground.

And Ben just stared for a long moment. His breathing was still heavy. His side was hurting more. But he’d finally done it.

So why did he feel so empty inside? Shouldn’t he feel good about this? He’s finally done it. He put his life on the line and killed a monster. Now he should have… have…

Ben was startled as he realized nothing had happened after he killed the monster. No messages from the System congratulating him. No declaration of what his Class was. Nothing.

Ben wanted to scream. He wanted to rage against everything and everyone. And he was about to when he finally started to hear the sound that he’d been unknowingly ignoring.

Sobbing. Crying. The kid.

Ben spun towards where the kid had been but saw nothing. His eyes widened and he rushed over. Please be okay. Please be okay. He had to be okay!

Stumbling and dropping his axe, Ben ran around the decorative bush and almost face-planted as he was forced to a sudden halt to avoid running over the small form on the ground.

Laying there in the fetal position was the kid. They were rocking back and forth, eyes closed, tears and snot flowing as they sobbed. But there was no blood. They were okay. At least physically.

Ben opened his mouth to speak but only a harsh exhale of air came out. He swallowed some saliva and rubbed his throat before trying again. “Hey… It’s alright, kid. The monster’s gone now. Everything’s okay.”

The kid only whimpered and continued to sob.

Ben winced, looked around real quick just in case another monster was around, then knelt down. He gently patted the kid on the shoulder with his left hand, which was thankfully free of blood, and tried his best to speak softly. “Hey… It’s alright. Everything is alright now… The monster is gone… I’m sorry for shouting earlier. But everything is okay now…”

The kid’s whimpers started to quiet but they still didn’t open their eyes.

“It’s alright now. Everything is fine now. Let’s get you inside and…”

“David!” A woman's voice rang out over the sound of the sirens.

Ben’s head whipped up to see a woman running around the corner shouting.

Both relief and anxiety filled him at the sight of her. Please let this kid be David.

“Hey, over here!” Ben yelled, waving the woman over.

She spun to look at him but then her eyes widened and she recoiled.

Ben winced at that and considered what he must look like. Wearing a ski mask, ripped up clothes, with both his blood and alien blood on him… Fuck, he hoped that he wasn’t gonna catch anything from that.

“There's a kid here,” Ben said, doing his best to sound heroic and not like a villain. “I just saved him from a monster. Is this who you’re looking for?”

The woman hesitated before she found her resolve and she rushed over. Ben moved to stand and give some distance between him and her as well as the child. He just gestured at the kid.

“David!” The woman screamed the moment she saw, kneeling down next to the kid. She scooped him up in a hug and started to cry in relief. “Oh, my baby. Oh god, why did you run? Are you okay…“

The woman continued to babble on for a while, going back and forth between hugging her son and checking him over. The boy had started crying again but was hugging her tightly while sobbing apologies.

Ben looked away for a moment to give them time. For some reason, his chest felt tight. Was that a symptom of blood loss? He should probably go get some help soon…

Ben moved out from behind the bushes to give the street a quick once over.

He froze when he saw what was coming around the corner of the intersection on the other side of the street from where the woman had come from. Two more monsters. The same type as the one he’d killed.

He held his breath as he tried to slowly back away. But the motion caught one of their eyes and he met the thing's gaze.

Shit.

“Ma’am,” Ben said, quickly picking up his dropped axe and rushing back over to the woman.

She startled at his voice and recoiled at the sight of him but he ignored it.

“Ma’am. Two more monsters are coming this way. Please take your child inside that house and get to safety.”

The woman’s eyes widened in fear at that and started to stand. But she paused for a moment as she looked down at his side. “You’re hurt.”

Ben bit off a wince at that but tried to pretend like it was no big deal. “It’s fine ma’am. I’m a Hero. This is nothing.”

The words tasted like ash on his tongue. He certainly didn’t feel like a Hero at the moment and worse yet he still didn’t get access to the System. He was just a person. But the things were coming and even with the Reinforcement System, they might be able to get inside a house. He had to stop them. Or at least led them away.

“Just get inside ma’am,” Ben said, turning back around and rushing into the streets. “I’ll take care of this!”

Ben heard the woman start to move and when he was in the middle of the street he heard a door slam shut. Good. The people left it unlocked and they were as safe as they could be. He just needed to lead these two away and—

Ben's eyes widened as one of the monsters, who’d been moving towards him slowly, started to rush him. And the other was not far behind.

With the pain in his side getting worse, he did the only thing he could do.

He ran.

He ran as fast as he could, rushing down the street, and turned right at the intersection. His axe felt heavy in his arms and his vision started to blur. But he kept running.

Even if he couldn’t fight anymore. Even if he was going to die. At the very least he had to get them away from those two. At the very least he wouldn’t be the reason any innocents died. This would not be like last time.

“Shi—” Ben's curse was cut off as he tripped and then his legs gave way. His knees slammed hard against the pavement and his hand scraped against the ground as he dropped his axe and caught his fall.

Behind him, the monsters slowed and a strange sound started to fill the air. It was almost like laughter, but every bit as twisted and disgusting as these things looked. There was a ringing quality to it. Like twisted demented jackals.

Ben pushed himself up to see them almost upon him. Saliva dripped from their four-petal teeth-filled maws as a disgusting long tongue slithered out. Their open maws opened and closed slightly as that laughing sound rang out.

Ben glared with everything he had and gripped his axe in one of his bloody hands. Even if he was going to die here, he wasn’t going to stop fighting until the last moment.

Then there was a flash in the distance and suddenly it was as if a big cloud covered the sun.

Ben tried to ignore it, keeping his eyes on his impending doom.

But then he felt the ground rumble. And then he heard a roar.

A terrifying earth-shaking roar.

Ben covered his ears in pain but forced himself to find the source. When he saw it his whole body froze. His eyes widened and he started to shake.

“No,” Ben whispered at the massive form that hadn’t been there moments before. It rose over the roofs of the houses and loomed over everything, blocking the sun behind it. “No… It can’t happen again.”