It was a weird feeling, standing in position and waiting.

It wasn’t the sense of upcoming violence, Heinz was no stranger to that at this point, nor the dread at burning down a town. It wasn’t even the growing smoke cloud in the sky or the faint yellow glow coming from the other side of town. Not that those helped.

It was the ranks. The shaking breaths behind him, the nervous tapping of metal off to his side, the muttered prayers. He'd played the role of ‘anvil’ in a trap before. He'd been the spear behind a wall then too. In the last few weeks he’d played many roles in larger strategies, followed many kinds of orders and done his part.

None of that felt like this. This was an army waiting for battle, not a group of individuals getting ready to fight.

Phil shifted again in the front row. Heinz wondered if he had the same weird feeling. His twitches were especially noticeable compared to Shane beside him, who was as still as a rock. More likely the father of three was thinking about his kids. Phil always got antsy before a fight. Or, Heinz thought, eyeing the man's backpack, Phil had come up with something new he wanted to write down but didn’t know if he had time.

“Runners go!”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the shout came. Waiting always felt like the worst part. Until the fighting began that is.

The four runners had been idling in front of the shield wall. They stood still as a bucket of water was thrown over each of them. Then they took off down the main street. Heinz tracked them as they went, each sprinting to a predetermined spot. More runners had been sent out to the sides of the formation, along the outer edges of the burn zone, but he was unable to see them from his position in the centre of the formation.

The first set of runners stopped about four shop fronts in. They knelt down and waited. This was the dangerous part. When the other two runners reached their stop, a further five shop fronts in, the matches came out. All the runners were covered head to toe in thick cloth and now soaking wet.

It didn’t stop the closest runner from falling back as the very air in front of them ignited.

Heinz tightened his grip on his halberd and stared into the billowing fire. He strained his eyes trying to see past the first set of runners. The initial fireball died down to a roaring blaze and he could see the street again. The fire had caught fast. Four buildings were on fire by the first runners. Thankfully it hadn’t closed the gap between the sets of runners yet.

Further down the street, the left hand side was on fire but the right wasn’t. A smoking figure staggered across the street to the other runner.

“Damn it Louise.”

Shane shifted in front of him, whether to get ready to run in or to make a gap for Heinz to do so, he didn’t know. A sharp intake of breath a row or two behind Heinz told him that Tara had noticed too.

The plan was for the runners to leg it back as soon as the fires were started. The centre of the road hadn’t been set alight - tarmac didn’t burn well - but that didn’t mean that there had been no fuel spills as hundreds of litres were carried and poured around the burn zone. There were plenty of cars and patches of road on fire between the furthest two runners and the shield wall.

The smoking figure reached the other runner and dragged them off to the side. Heinz relaxed but only for a second as the two figures knelt down again.

“Shit,” He said. It must have been a bad spot. Too much diesel to ignite quickly. The second spot had more petrol and a burst of flame sent both figures flying back.

Then Heinz’s view was blocked by the shield wall shifting to welcome the first two runners back. They weren’t burnt, the water shower had done its job, but the steam and smoke trailing off them was not a good sign.

His view was made clear again just in time to see a chunk of roof slide down and land in a burning pile on the right side of the road. The fire had grown, eating its way two buildings closer to the shield wall. It was starting on the last shop front before the open gap and the bridge. Smoke drifted down and covered the road.

“We.. we have another bucket?” Phil asked.

“Yes,” Shane said. He made no move to retrieve it. He spoke again through gritted teeth. “You won’t find them.”

Heinz looked back at the thickening smoke cloud. It pooled in the street, swirling around in circles. Water vapour and fuel unable to rise like the hotter air lifting from the surrounding buildings. The few fires on the road began to sputter out. The oxygen level was dropping.

Someone shoved their way to the front. They were fully covered like the runners but wore a full face mask, like an actual fireman. A rope was tied around their waste.

“Get the bucket ready,” Robert called loudly. “We wait another thirty seconds and then I go in.”

Now Shane moved to get the bucket. It was quickly taken off his hands and Shane was sent back into the shield wall. Heinz was once again blocked off from the main street.

It was a worse kind of waiting.

The thirty seconds dragged out. Heinz counted each down and scanned the smoke. The street was dark now, the fires on the street were either put out or hidden. Even the fires on the shop fronts were starting to die down.

“Bucket,” Robert ordered. “Pull me back after two minutes or at the sign of any swarm.”

He barely waited for the water to hit him before he was jogging into the smoke.

More waiting. Tara pushed forward from the back and joined Heinz. She didn’t say anything but shifted beside him, scratching one leg with the other.

They didn’t have to wait long. 20 more seconds by Heinz’s count. Three figures staggered out of the smoke, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. Steam rose off of Robert and the other runner and little embers burned on Louise. Now out in the thinner smoke they, Robert dropping his hands to clutch at his stomach and the other two staggering forward.

Phil stepped out of the line to steady Louise. With his help she straightened and tipped an imaginary bottle up by her mouth. Heinz scrambled to get his backpack off and water out. He pulled the bottle out only for Tara to grab it from his hands and bring it forward. Louise took big gulps and let Tara lead her back behind the shield line. She was the last to leave and the line straightened itself.

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Another waiting period began but the mood wasn’t as heavy any more. Everyone was okay. The plan wasn’t a disaster. The first step had succeeded and confidence was growing. Even the smoke seemed to be brightening and it began to drift up into the sky and leave the road clear.

The front row set their shields. Heinz and the others with longer weapons stepped into the gaps between. They watched the smoke for movement.

Clopping sounds heralded the Swarm’s arrival. Heinz had expected clattering but well, the creature’s weren’t on the roof now. The roofs either no longer existed or were still aflame.

“Ste-” Luke broke out into a cough before he could finish.

The blockade wasn’t close enough to get caught in the fire, though they could feel its heat, but they were close enough for the smoke to dry everything out. Water bottles were passed out every few minutes to be drunk and dropped, but less made it to the front two lines than Heinz would have liked.

Three Reclaimers stood between Heinz and Luke and he guessed the man was as parched as he was.

“Steady!” Luke finally got out. “Ready spears!”

In front of him, Phil and Shane shifted their stance, placing a foot behind them and braced their shields with both hands. The two of them were the core of the middle of the line.

Heinz braced his halberd with one foot. With his spare hand he pulled his hatchet from his belt. Hopefully he wouldn’t need it.

The Swarm appeared out of the smoke. It was two of the larger kind. ‘Octopus’ was the name thrown around during the briefing, a reference to some movie villain. Heinz didn’t see the resemblance. The tall ten limbed creatures burst out of the smoke at a loping run but skidded to a halt at the sight of the shield wall. Half covered in dirty ash and the other half looking mangy with clumps missing of their bristly jagged fur, the creatures were a rough sight.

For a second everything was still. The two creatures unfolded, limbs stretching out as they sized up the Reclaimers. The Reclaimers’ confidence soared at the Swarm’s appearance.

Then the smaller kind that the locals had named ‘Monkeys’ emerged. These didn’t stop to look and the flood of them did not end. People began to shout, to scream. Some called out a challenge, others roared in anger, some screamed in fright.

As the first Monkey collided with the right side of the shield wall, one of the Octopuses grabbed a passing Monkey and with a casual flick, threw it over the shield wall.

The crowd behind Heinz erupted in shouts but he had more pressing concerns. Monkeys had reached Shane and Phil. The two men grunted, first from the impact and then from the pressure as bodies began to pile in on the other side of their shields.

Heinz’s halberd was battered side to side at first. Then the press of bodies became too much. Something impaled itself on the halberd, sending shocks up the shaft. Then it happened again and again. At that point Heinz let the halberd go and it remained hanging in place.

Another Monkey flew overhead but this time it was matched. Knives, bricks and flaming bottles were thrown back at the Swarm and the press of bodies before the shield wall. The creatures' tactics were being used against them.

Heinz stepped forward in the press of bodies, closer to Shane and Phil and began to lash out with his hatchet. Any limbs sticking over the top of the shield or trying to wedge their way into the gap between were fair game.

The slog began. Heinz swung. Shane and Phil pushed. Monsters and weapons flew overhead. Occasionally Shane or Phil would reach out and steady the shield or body of one of their fellows. Occasionally Heinz would need to help pick someone up or knock a low flying Monkey back. System messages came and went but there was no time to stop. In the heat and smoke it was as close to hell as Heinz had ever gotten.

Slowly but steadily the pressure began to let up. The Monkeys on the other side of the shields began to fall. A lucky throw got them or lingering injuries from the fire proved to be too much.

Heinz began to slow to match the new pace. Phil and Shane needed to push back less and could catch their breath. The overhead flurry became one direction only.

Heinz started to smile when the shield wall to his right collapsed under a large form. The Octopus crushed both Monkeys and people as it climbed up and over the line. People struck back and landed blows but most attempts were met by long limbs and sparks flew.

“Go!” Shane and Phil yelled, glancing to the side before focusing forward and pushing back at the creatures. Heinz cursed and began to wade through the mob. Luke was over there.

The attack had thrown the formation into disarray. People stopped fighting to look and the distraction proved dangerous. Others began to move to help or escape from the mess and the gaps they left behind provided an opening. The Octopus didn’t stop moving. It ignored everything under it and focused on moving forward.

People attempted to stop the creature but all of the shield bearers and longer weapons had been in the front two lines. Lines that were either busy or under the creature.

By the time Heinz pushed through the mob, The Octopus had left the front line behind. Time seemed to slow as he looked around. To his right was the Octopus, continuing over the bridge. Below him, was a mess of groaning, blood and flailing limbs. To his left was another flailing mess but full of Swarm. Behind it, more of the creatures were turning this way.

‘Shit.’

He had to choose. As slow as time seemed, it was still moving. He only had a hatchet, his halberd stuck in some Swarm back over by Shane and Phil.

Time resumed.

Heinz dropped his hatchet. He ducked down and grabbed someone’s shoulders. He pulled them up and moved on to the next person. He tried to prioritise those closer to the front lines but there was no time. The bowled over Swarm were recovering faster than the people. He kept going. Someone he picked up fell straight back down but there was no time to turn back.

There was no time at all. A Monkey scrambled towards him. Heinz pushed forward, stepping on a limb to grab a shield off the ground. He tried to steady himself in the mess and brace.

The Monkey attempted to swerve and go around him but it had just as much trouble manoeuvring with all the bodies around. Heinz was able to shove the shield - some kind of heavy sled - out and knock the creature back. More followed behind it, peeling away from their attempts at other shields to attack in a last push.

Heinz pushed one back, then another. Two came at once and he slid back and stumbled. Something stopped his fall and pushed him back upright. More came. A shield locked into place beside his. Heinz spent a brief second's respite to glance to the side at Bella. The recognition bolstered his flagging strength and he needed it. His arms were heavy and he couldn’t use the Adrenaline augment here. He'd be too vulnerable when it ran out.

A shout came from behind and the storm of thrown items started up again. Another shield locked in beside his.

It was still a cacophony of noise around him but the dissonance began to gain order. People shouted and weapons were thrust over his head and the shield. A hand was placed on his back, steadying him. With an unspoken agreement, Heinz, Bella and an unfamiliar figure in a thick hood began to push.

Each step was difficult, the ground uncertain and occasionally squirming. Each step was progress. Each step the Swarm was pushed back. The rain overhead stopped. In the corner of his eye Heinz was able to see more shields. He recognised two.

And then it was done.

Heinz left Bella, both of them clapping each other's shoulders with leadened hands. He found Shane and Phil or they found him and they retreated from the growing mist of dead Swarm. The air flow was enough to push the smoke away.

They found Louise and Tara on the other side of the bridge. The two sat with their backs against the river wall smiling. Interestingly they looked more battered than any of the three that had been on the front lines.

Heinz took a seat, leaning his halberd against the wall above him and groaned.

“Let’s not do that again,” Louise said in agreement.

Tara snorted.

“Why was Robert clutching his stomach when you came out of the fire?” Heinz asked.

Louise winced. “A shape came out of the smoke and I reacted.”

Phil began to snigger first. Heinz joined him and soon they were all laughing.

“You punched your backup?” Tara asked between giggles as she recovered.

Louise covered her eyes. “...kicked. Max and I were holding onto each other.”

That was enough to set them all off again.