Heinz fell into silence.

Kate tried to draw him into conversation a few times but he kept being drawn to the backs of the people in front of him. Did they know?

Shane and Adam walked together, comparing notes about using shields against the swarm. The fisherman had not made any mention of groups to Heinz but was this why he was so concerned about credits? Did Shane think they would leave him behind or was he planning on leaving them to join Mike and Dick’s group?

The tall metal sheets that three of Luke's group carried were the tops of stainless steel tables. Both Adam and Bella had been chefs before the system. They raided their restaurants for equipment to outfit their team when the severity of the situation was made clear.

The three wielded the tables with ease with their increased attributes but Heinz doubted that was always the case. The table tops were too big to be anything other than awkward. They carried knives like Louise for when the strong defence wasn’t enough.

Louise and Tara lead the group with Luke. Her increased frustration today ran through his mind. The tension and anger made a lot more sense if she was considering leaving. She'd met and recruited Luke’s seven yesterday and kept her plans secret. She must know.

Heinz was unsure about Tara. Tara had given no sign of dissatisfaction and she hadn’t been prepared for the appearance of the secret seven. But the teen knew Luke which had not been a surprise to Louise. Louise had always been protective of Tara. Was she planning on taking Tara with her when she left?

A cry of exclamation focused Heinz on Phil’s back. The man had recovered from his funk and had his notes out. He was now deep in discussion with Cian, another of the secret seven. Cian wore the same clothes as the others from his group but he carried too many cleavers and long blades. It made his outfit closer to a horror movie costume. The two were discussing the biology of various swarm which added to the effect.

Phil was his group’s system expert. If anyone from their group had spotted the end of the group system, it would have been the man who studied the system and its messages. Phil had not said anything or given any indication of leaving but he had been particularly upset with Louise's actions earlier. Did he know and chose to keep the information from the group?

Every member of his group was suspect.

So what would he do if the team broke up? Phil didn’t have another option that Heinz knew of but could he trust the man if he was keeping things from him? He knew Jack and Jamie would welcome him to their group but they hadn’t passed their third threshold yet. Neither had either of the other two groups that made up the Lizard team.

Heinz felt betrayed. He hadn’t hesitated before sharing anything he knew. He’d been honest with them all and fought at their side.

His thoughts were in turmoil for the rest of the walk.

They gathered around the kitchen counter inside their base house as Luke spread a map out across it. The twelve of them fit now that all weapons and large shields had been left in the hall.

Heinz took the chance to examine the seven new faces now that their helmets were off. All of them were of a similar age to him, ranging from mid twenties to the mid thirties that Luke seemed to be. Bella, one of the table shield bearers, was the largest and looked the youngest. She was flanked by the smaller Adam who's chubby cheeks were wide in a grin. Adam who leaned against Bella as they both chatted happily with Cian.

As he turned to Kate beside him their eyes met. She’d been taking in the appearance of his team in the same manner he had. Her brown hair was tied in a tight ponytail and she now wore a pair of black framed glasses. They shared a smile before turning back to the others. Luke’s voice led Heinz to believe he was younger but his stress lines and receding hair showed as he leant over the map.

The map was drawn in marker on top of a cream vinyl or mat full of repeating squares outlined in grey. ‘Museum’ was scratched into one of the shapes but Heinz recognised the layout of the park without that. Rectangles were drawn to symbolise the various caravans but several contained question marks.

“Louise has informed me that packs of swarm patrol the area. She identified the commander archetype and- yes Tara?”

Tara had raised her hand which shot down as they all turned to her.

“What is a commander archetype?” Tara asked with a blush starting to fill her face.

“It’s our descriptor for swarm that control others. In this case it was the reptilian swarm with the frill. You call it a-” Luke looked at Louise.

“Mane.” Louise supplied.

“Right. Along with these commander archetypes there are the shock archetypes-” Luke looked at Louise again.

“Boars.”

“And swarm capable of flight which I didn’t think possible. Given the previous forms we had encountered I had theorised-”

“Luke.” Kate interrupted.

“Right well given those parameters here’s what I believe we should do. Enter from the sou-”

“There was something else.” Shane said and crossed his arms. “We heard a pulsing moan.”

Heinz found himself nodding. Some of the swarm they had encountered had cries or calls and that whistling bellow had been unique.

“Oh.” Luke blinked before looking down at the mat. “Hmm. Until we know what it is we can’t plan for it.”

The man stopped and frowned before reaching into a bag and placing a figure down on the mat in the centre of the park. He began to move the various token and pieces around while muttering under his breath.

“The plan Luke.” Kate said loudly.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Luke drummed his fingers against the counter top before moving the pieces back into place. He began to speak.

Heinz reached for his status as he waited for the signal.

User I38-3NA5

Credits

57

Classification

Fighter-R

Energy

Threshold

390.2

700

The day hadn’t been as profitable as their previous trip, with a reduced sum of 18 credits earned. The energy yield had been better but still not quite as high as the rate from the previous day.

Tara shifted beside him nervously and Louise laid a hand on her back to soothe her.

They were crouched behind the hedgerow with Cian and Kate on the south west side of the park. The squad's focus was on watching a pack of Swarm weave through the caravans in front of them. The other squad of seven were currently taking up position by the museum building to the north. There they would plant their shields and attract the Swarm. Heinz’s squad were to attack the back of the Swarm when they were drawn in.

A loud clang rang out from the north as a sledgehammer rang against a metal sheet. The signal. Heinz and his squad rose and hopped the hedge.

The pack of 3 boars and one mane before them had frozen in place. The mane turned towards the clanging noise and with its triangular beak raised high.

Louise landed beside him with a thump and the five of them stalked forward. One of the boars turned towards them and froze before letting out a shaking roar. Heinz started to run and levelled his halberd.

The mane and other boars turned towards the new threat. The mane’s namesake unfolded from its neck and Heinz grimaced as a static hum pained his ears. The boars leaned back as one and prepared to charge.

The creatures leapt forward as Heinz reached them. He planted his left leg and tucked his halberd tight against his body, sinking forward and down to meet the charge. This close the boar had no room to manoeuvre and it ran straight into the point of his halberd. The shaft bucked against him as the forces cancelled out but Heinz’s own momentum kept him steady. The boar skewered itself on the weapon until it caught on the edge of the sign. It trashed before falling still, head utterly ruined.

Heinz screamed his victory as he stood and drove the creature back off his halberd with a kick. He had a particular hatred for the boars. The disaster at the island manor and the destruction of his paddle were too hard to forget.

Beside him Tara had embedded her axe into a boar and was trying to keep it still as Louise stabbed into it with her blades. Kate and Cian were less coordinated and were baiting the boar back and forth. The two took swipes at the creature with her pointed hammer and his blades as it struggled to catch them. Confident they had it handled he turned to the mane.

User I38-3NA5 - Fighter-R

Seed Bounty

Credits

8

Heinz frowned and the message disappeared. The mane had been crushed easily under blows from his halberd’s counterweight. Tara and Louise were recovering while Kate and Cian finished off the final boar after destroying one of its legs. A whistling bellow rang out from the direction of the museum as the last boar died.

“We need to go.” Heinz called and started to jog through the caravans.

“Heinz!”

He turned to see Tara pointing to the sky. Dark shapes were flying through the air from their right towards the museum.

“We need to cut them off.” Louise said and Kate shouted an agreement. The two of them began to shout and yell. Heinz slowed and soon all five of them were screaming insults at the skies.

The dark shapes turned and dived towards them. The squad slowed and Heinz readied himself.

“NOW.” Louise called and blades shot through the air. Two shapes fell and the other three were upon them.

Heinz swiped wide with the sign but the vamp dived underneath the blow. He felt an impact and a tug against his side before the creature thudded into the ground behind him. He turned, dropping a hand to his stomach. The vamp righted itself and raised its wings to get back into the sky. Tara drove her axe through its body and into the dirt. Heinz gave her a grateful nod as he felt the cut cloth and spiked ends of the chicken wire at his side.

A scream rang out from the museum. Heinz ignored it and looked to the others. Kate and Louise stood over a vamp but another circled above Cian. Kate turned from Cian to them and then the museum.

“Go.” She shouted.

Louise turned and ran towards Heinz and the museum. Heinz held a hand out with a grimace as she arrived. Phil and Shane could be hurt but they couldn’t leave the two by themselves.

“We wait. There could be more swarm around.”

Louise's eyes flashed but she turned and pulled a knife from her belt. Tara joined them and they watched the swarm dive at Cian. Louise arm shot forward and the vamp tumbled off course where it was finished by a blow from Kate.

Kate and Cian gave them angry looks as they ran up and passed them.

A trail of destruction led them through the caravans. Several of the mobile homes had been smashed aside as something forced its way through. The dead mucky ground was littered with shards of plastic and wood.

The source of the destruction was clear as they rounded a toilet block and took in the museum. Its underside was low to the ground, held up by four powerful limbs that joined its body high on its hunched back. The small car sized creature was surrounded by five figures who jabbed forward at it.

The creature rose high above the people surrounding it. It fell down and swiped at the table shield before it. A cry rang out as the blow sent the bearer flying. The creature bounded forward and bent to snap rounded jaws at the shield. A screech sounded as it crumpled the metal.

A whining noise drew his attention to the right. Shane stood alone facing a mane and three boars who were pulling back and preparing to charge.

“Heinz help the squad. Everyone else to Shane. We can’t let the boars attack their backs.” Louise ordered before running with Tara to help him. Kate and Cian shared a look before following.

Heinz ran to help. The creature turned from the reclaimer it had been attacking to the others. Phil and Bella joined their shields together and charged at its head to keep its attention. Luke and Trev attacked its back legs with their spears. Heinz joined them and drove his much wide halberd head into its leg at a run with a roar. He withdrew the point and thick sludge dripped from the creature’s body. Sludge covered the creature’s body from all the wounds.

“Cut at its tendons.” Luke shouted as he joined them, adapting to his presence quickly. Trev stepped back and made room for Heinz to swing his halberd. Heinz followed the order and began to swing the sign edge into the back of one of the creature's joints.

The creature moaned and its back legs folded as it raised its front above the ground and high above them. Heinz’s heart sank as sludge fell to the ground and the creature towered above them on thick muscles.

“Now!” Luke yelled and he and Trev ran under the creature. Their spears drove in between where the creature’s limbs connected to its body from underneath. The moan ended abruptly and it fell forward. Luke and Trev abandoned their spears and threw themselves out of the way.

The swarm tried to rise again but its back legs wouldn’t take its weight. Bella tossed her table shield aside and Luke, Trev and her pulled handaxes out. They fell on the grounded creature.

User I38-3NA5 - Fighter-R

Sprout Bounty

Credits

6

“Nice work.” Luke said with a pant and slapped his shoulder. Shane and Louise arrived with Tara. Heinz sat down to recover as a wave of exhaustion hit him.