Heinz, by virtue of being the driver, received the last watch.

The 80 minute slots were divvied out quickly with everyone eager to get to sleep. Tara got the first shift. She looked too on edge to sleep and as it would take a while for everyone to fall into a deep sleep, it was the slot where she would have the most backup.

Not that anyone mentioned either of those reasons to her.

They had found a house to use as a basecamp immediately after crossing the wall. Phil knew the road to Bandon well from his daily commute and identified possible houses for them in advance.

Given that they didn't see any Swarm on the way, they weren’t the first to visit this zone but their chosen house was untouched.

It was an old farm building near the main road. The building, which had been remodelled and extended, was on top of a small rise and had a wide open area around it. Inside the old house was cold and a little damp but there was something comforting about the thick stone walls.

Even with the last watch, it seemed all too soon when Phil woke him up with a light shake and they swapped places on the couch.

Phil had to quickly duck down as Heinz slowly manoeuvred his halberd out of the room but he managed it without any noise. He might have been the only one sleeping in the living room but sound would echo through the house with its thick walls.

Any noise would be enough to disturb the twitchy sleepers.

Shane joined him after half an hour. Giving Heinz a short nod, he settled down on the opposite side of the kitchen table. They sat in silence. Both listening out for any hint of Swarm.

“Do you have any tips for the Adrenaline augment?” Heinz whispered after a few minutes. It had been bugging him since he purchased the augment yesterday evening.

They had all gone to the system Shop yesterday but not together. They weren’t keeping secrets or anything - they all told each other what they got but the time to choose as a group was over. It had grown less beneficial and more awkward as the difference in credits they had increased.

Louise bought Breathing I. To improve her stamina she had explained. The fights were starting to leave her winded. She was the fastest but the most worn out at the end of a day.

Phil and Shane bought Healing I. Neither had enough credits to buy an augment that required a cultivator at the first threshold. Besides, after the injuries they took on the previous day, Healing I was an easy choice.

Tara bought Healing II. She didn’t elaborate on her choice but given how agitated she was, Heinz was guessing she had another fight with her parents about it.

Heinz himself had chosen pain. Or that’s how it seemed to him afterwards.

Adrenaline I and Healing I. One painful experience after another, though the pain from Adrenaline paled in comparison to the Healing augment. His decision left him with only 4 credits after buying four food cubes from Maggie.

He had considered buying Combustant I instead.

It was the only ‘investigated’ first threshold augment that he had the prerequisite augment for. But while the augment sounded like it would eventually lead to breathing fire like a dragon, it wasn’t at that point yet. He wasn’t sure he could cough/ spit flammable jelly all that far. He used a halberd/ paddle to stay away from the Swarm, not get closer.

Circulation I was the only first threshold augment without requirements but Heinz discounted it for lack of time. He was too busy to spend some of his time sitting around manipulating energy. The augment might allow him to create food cubes which would be very helpful. He could create food for the entire group. Cubes even better than Maggie’s if thresholds were as important as Jack thought.

Ultimately it came down to the fact that you could buy a lot of food cubes with 120 credits but you couldn’t buy time. Well, not without another 30 credits, Heinz corrected thinking of Rest II.

Having all of the zero threshold augments gave him a base that he could work from. Plus two augments had to be better than one.

“Hmmm.” Shane hummed and considered Heinz for a moment before a change overtook the fisherman.

Even in the silvery grey shades that Vision I cast the world in, the change was obvious. Shane’s pupils, small dots of black amongst the grey haze that made up the rest of his eye, grew and grew as Shane’s breath quickened.

Heinz stiffened. Shane had used the augment in most fights since getting it but not the training they did yesterday. Heinz rarely had time to pause and watch his group in the middle of a fight.

Being stared at as the change happened was very different to knowing it happened.

“It’s like a muscle.” Shane replied quietly and stood. He pointed towards two spots on his upper stomach. ”Tense your upper abs. Push out your lungs.”

Shane held his hands over his chest and seesawed them up and down for a few seconds. He nodded and sat back down. Lesson over.

Heinz smiled ruefully and started to try the motion. He should have expected that kind of explanation when he asked Shane.

“Everything alright Heinz?” Phil whispered ten or so minutes later.

He was watching Heinz’s face suspiciously and stalked into the room with his boathook spear at the ready.

Heinz blinked, relaxed his posture and looked at Shane and Tara behind him. He hadn’t heard anything and both of them looked mystified. Tara had joined himself and Shane only minutes before without any issue.

As he did, Phil loosened his stance and Heinz frowned upon realising why.

“I'm trying to figure out the Adrenaline augment.” Heinz explained. He can’t have looked that odd while trying to trigger it. “The other augments aren’t something you can trigger.”

Tara stiffened slightly.

“Passives.” Phil stated with a nod like that one word explained everything.

“Any advice? I’m having trouble.” Heinz asked. He’d been following Shane instructions without any luck. He was starting to get the hang of tensing the muscles Shane had pointed out but he wasn’t feeling anything new.

“Have you tried tensing your upper abdomen as you breathe deeply?” Phil asked. He pursed his lips as Heinz nodded in response. “I didn’t figure it out until the four of us got together that morning. Closing my eyes and keeping my hands on my chest helped. It allowed me to feel the movements and focus.”

Phil looked at Shane and Tara who were still slowly waking up.

“Give it a try. I’ll take over the watch.”

It was raining as they left the house.

Heinz hadn’t succeeded in activating the Adrenaline augment but he had much better control over the muscles in the area. It felt weird to try control muscles he never paid much attention to.

Zone Control - I38-Z4

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Swarm Growth

75%

Local

30%

The Swarm Growth level seemed particularly insistent in Heinz’s mind. The level seemed to pulse slightly. It was the highest that Heinz had ever seen and that was a warning in itself.

“We move slowly.” Louise instructed a circle of grim faces. No one was eager to see what horrors the Swarm had created next. “Shane, you’re watching our backs today. Let us know if your arm is hurting.”

After some grumbling from Shane, they set off.

The road was relatively undisturbed which worried Heinz more.

There were obvious signs that people had been down it recently - food wrappers thrown carelessly to the ground and scratch marks on the tarmac from a scuffle - but the hedgerows still had patches of green and life.

If the Swarm weren’t feeding on the plant life, how was the growth so high? And what were they eating instead?

The first Swarm they encountered was one they had encountered for the first time yesterday. The ‘Spider’, as Tara reluctantly named it, detected their presence first and crouched to wait behind a clump of bushes.

The group had noticed the unusual way in which branches were cut and torn in the area but no one spotted the hiding bulbous shape before it sprung through the air. It flew at Phil, front first from over the bushes. All eight limbs extended extended behind it.

The swarm was no Springer but its jump had force behind it. Phil was only able to move half his shield between him and the creature before he was knocked down.

The group was taken by surprise but no one hesitated.

Heinz darted forward and drove his halberd's spear tip into the gap between where the Swarm’s head met its torso. There was a flex of resistance from the curved panel-like carapace before the weapon penetrated up to the sign edge. The blow trapped one of the swarm's front limbs in the air.

Louise grabbed Phil and began to pull. Slowly he started to slide out from under the creature.

Heinz squatted and began to try to lift the Spider up using his halberd as a lever.

The Spider turned its head to latch onto his Halberds shaft. There was a squeal as the metal held and the edge of the sign scratched across the creature's plates. Phil groaned as some of its limbs lifted up and down to pummel into him.

Tara reached them and struck with a golf-like swing. A low swish rang out as the axe head accelerated on Tara’s already running momentum. A sickening crack pierced the air followed by a crunch as the axe was buried deep into the Swarm.

This blow was the tipping point and the Swarm lifted up. Louise pulled and Phil slid out and free.

The Swarm fell back down to the ground and sagged as it struggled to get its limbs under it.

Heinz pulled his halberd out of it with a twist and Shane reached the fight. He joined them with an overhead blow to hammer the creature down into the ground. They began to destroy each of its limbs with a hint of vindictiveness until Phil limped over and speared it in the side. Louise finished the Swarm with a stab.

Heinz dismissed the bounty notice for the Seed as soon as it arrived and pulled up his status instead.

User I38-3NA5

Credits

6

Classification

Fighter-R

Energy

Threshold

629.2

700

He was getting close. When he gently shook his head to clear the message away, Phil was gingerly peeling his layers aside to reveal the damage.

His coat was torn and the chicken wire was broken at a few points but the Swarm’s limbs hadn’t cut through his wetsuit.

“If the bodies didn’t dissolve we could use their materials.” Phil gripped as he prodded some sore spots. “The plates from that Spider could be armour.”

“You think that would fit you?” Heinz asked and pointed to the dissolving corpse. “And even if it did, would it be better than a sheet of metal?”

Tara laughed. “Would you even want to wear it? Can you imagine having to clear the guts out?“

Phil opened his mouth to speak but paused and pursed his lips. He seemed oddly upset at the thought.

“Sheets of metal might not be a bad idea.” Louise interjected. “Heinz, Shane and Tara might not even notice the weight anymore.”

Heinz groaned as they all looked at him.

“I’ll ask at the workshop.”

They waited for Phil to recover before setting off again.

“Do we follow them?” Heinz asked.

They left the road as it veered off to the west but it hadn’t been long before they stumbled across a trail left in the dirt. Multiple creatures had come passed here and often. The ground was torn up and dozens of holes were left in the soil.

“Possibly Hyenas.” Shane said as he peered at the prints in the muck. “Little too big though.”

“Yes.” Louise answered Heinz. “It might be another situation like the museum. If we know where it is we can bring more people to clear it out.”

Control in zone I38-9F has reached manageable threshold.

Dropping zone barrier.

The message flickered into Heinz’s mind as Louise finished speaking. It took him a second to place I38-9F as the zone north of the boatyard/ Blaskeam manor one.

“They’re starting to drop like flies.” Phil complained. “Reclaimers are being driven mad trying to clear them.”

“Are you saying we should just leave them?” Tara asked, frustration clear in her voice.

“No. Yes.” Phil replied. “Swarm growth is starting to increase in previously cleared zones - did you check the ones we drove through on the way here? They need to be cleared again soon or we’ll get a second wave. And it’s about to become common knowledge about the third threshold’s duty time change. Reclaimers are going to stop or slow down.”

Heinz sighed. It was frustrating to be doing so much only for these issues to pop up as they advanced. Two steps forward, one step back.

“We can’t get back in time to clear. Let’s follow the tracks and keep going.” Louise interrupted and pointed off to the east away from the road. She finished with a stilted, “Progress is good.”

Shane began walking and they followed.

“What do we think this Swarm is?” Tara asked. She was biting her lip.

“It could be a larger version of the Spider we fought.” Phil said. He rubbed his chest. “The tracks are deep like a lot of weight was put on a narrow point. It reminded me of the Spider’s limbs.”

Tara shuddered. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”

They began to discuss how they’d fight a giant spider/crab. Their main concern was the number of limbs. Phil suggested attacking from underneath to avoid them but was quickly shot down. Heinz pointed out it could just sit and crush them. The Pangolin liked to roll and this creature might too.

“Ahead.” Louise called suddenly. “A few metres to the right of that tree.”

Heinz could make nothing out until there was a flicker of movement.

“Ambush?” Shane asked.

“Could be.” Phil grimaced.

“Let’s close in slowly and prepare for a fight. Spread out. Phil and Shane in front with shields ready.” Louise ordered.

Heinz stepped out to the left and they began to slowly advance. The brown creature became clearer as they got closer and soon he could hear it. It made a wet crunching noise as it ate and its body shuddered occasionally.

“Wait a minute!” Tara called in surprise. She jogged forward and passed Phil and Shane. The two of them began to pick up the pace but Tara pulled ahead again. She laughed and began to whistle.

The Swarm began to turn towards them and its back rose above the hedgerow.

The horse continued chewing as it watched the group.

“What’s it doing here?” Louise questioned as they lowered their weapons.

Tara had made it up to the hedgerow now and turned back to them with a smile. “There’s two more.” She made some soothing noises at the horse which was beginning to back away and began to climb over into their field.

“What do we do with them?” Heinz asked with a smile on his face as he watched Tara slowly approach the brown horse.

The horse was filthy with its coat covered in mud and twigs but it was a welcome sight. Simply, it was nice to see animals again. They hadn’t come across any lost pets in the last few days and wild animals were unheard of now.

“We take them back to the wall.” Tara said immediately. “We can tie them up inside a house and bring them back over when the walls fall.”

Heinz turned to the others to see how they felt but his smile faded as he saw Phil’s grim face.

“There’s a stable south of Bandon. I didn’t realise it was in this zone.” Phil said slowly. “But they had a lot more horses.”

“Do horses stay in packs?” Heinz asked, frowning.

Tara sharply inhaled causing Heinz to turn back. She was stroking the horse’s head but staring at its back. With a bit of prodding she got the horse to turn.

A long wound tore down its hindquarters.

“Yes. They live in herds.” Phil answered grimly.

Louise strode forward and began to climb the wall. “Heinz do you have some rope? We’ll bring them back then set out for the stables.”

As Heinz dropped his bag to the floor and began to root through it, Phil walked over and murmured quietly to him.

“Try figure out the augment on the way back. We might need it soon.”