They didn’t linger in the area after the fight with the Hyenas, staying only long enough for Louise to finish giving out to Shane.
The fight had been successful overall but Shane had taken an unnecessary risk. Both Heinz and Shane could have suffered bad wounds if it hadn’t been for their new armour. Heinz’s neck was still tight and uncomfortable after straining it to get away from the hyena’s jaws. Shane seemed to know it too. When the aftereffects of the Adrenaline II augment wore off and he could move again, the first thing he did was apologise.
They ran the rest of the way back to Halfway town, finishing off their loop around the perimeter of the zone. It was as good a time as any to stop for breakfast and they did so in one of the few intact buildings remaining, a Garda station.
Another group had come and gone since they had last been in the Halfway. Some rubble had been moved, doors broken and buildings searched. The Reclaimers were prioritising certain supplies and had left the few bits in the Garda kitchenette alone.
Tara was persuaded to volunteer her Combustant augment and aside from a minor mishap while trying to ignite the... substance with a small lighter, the tea and stale biscuits were a welcome addition to the food cubes.
Heinz was still a bit leery of the augment, and kept well away from the goo. Phil’s burnt glove and singed eyebrows were only further proof of this. That said, Heinz could see the benefits as he sipped his first cup of tea in a week.
It was at this point that Heinz gave up on trying to ease the stiffness in his neck with stretches and asked for help. The hot tea had left his neck uncomfortably warm and had not helped to relax the muscles.
Heinz tried to pull his scarf down and winced. It caught on something and pulled at his skin. He tried again and managed to get it away with a tug that felt like he’d pulled a wax strip off.
Louise gasped behind him.
“Phil! Come over here.”
“What is it?” Heinz asked with a sigh. “Don’t tell me it’s all bloody. I don’t think I cut it on anything.”
“It’s not that,” Louise said, sounding curious. “I thought you hadn’t gotten your augment to work?”
“What?” Heinz reached a hand up to his neck and swiped at his... scales? Instead of the bumpy and slightly sweaty skin he was expecting, Heinz felt a hard and smooth surface under his fingers. Small shapes separated by gaps and furrows. “What is? What’s on my neck!”
He jammed his fingernails into the gaps, trying to pry it off. His nails could reach the skin in the gaps and the jabbing pain was nearly a relief. He could still feel. It wasn't too late, he just needed to get it off. One scale came off quickly but it was accompanied by a sharp pain as his hair went with it.
Louise grabbed his fingers with a hand. Then another. “Stop, it’s your augment! Phil!”
Heinz went to reach another hand back before stopping and settling for gripping the arm of his chair instead. He trusted Louise. She wouldn’t leave some new kind of slugs on his neck. The wood cracked to splinters under his hand.
Seeing he was back under control, Louise released his other hand. She crouched down before pressing something hard into his hand. “Here. You pulled this off, take a look.”
As Phil joined Louise behind him, Heinz examined the object.
It was a small centimetre sized hexagon of metal. The object was a silver-grey colour with a smooth surface. He had to be careful not to bend it as he turned it around in his fingers. It was thin and didn’t weigh much.
“This came from my neck?” Heinz asked faintly.
“Yeah. It looks like it formed over the skin.” Louise replied.
Heinz heard a muffled thud and a yelp from Phil. “Ow. Yes, the scales formed right over your skin. Could it have come from your pores?”
“What does it look like?” Heinz asked, bending the ‘scale’ in his hands carefully.
The Swarm had scales. So did the Malignant.
“They’re all like that one,” Louise replied. “It doesn’t cover too much and there’s gaps between them where I can see your neck. Your skin is red and sore where you pulled that one out but like you’ve had a wax.”
“Right,” Heinz said with an exhale. He was relieved and not. This would have been much easier to deal with on his hand. Where he could see it.
“We can pull the remaining bits off-” Phil made a noise of protest and there was another thump. “-but it might be better to leave it until we’re done for the day. Does the augment feel any different?”
“I don’t know.” Heinz felt for the elusive sensation. It was more difficult than he expected. Harder to reach. “Yeah, it’s a little weaker maybe?”
“You probably can’t use it often then. Try save it for now.”
Louise pulled Phil away and gave Heinz a bit of space, sensing he was a little out of sorts at the surprise.
Heinz slowly brought his hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. It was easier to picture what he felt under his fingers now that he had seen one of the scales himself. The armour extended from the base of his right jaw around to his spin, complete aside from the one scale he had torn off.
‘Shit.’
Heinz pulled up the zone control before they left Halfway.
Zone Control - I38-9G
Swarm Growth
65%
Local
40%
They’d made great progress but it was clear that there were a lot of Swarm still in the zone.
Louise and Phil's plan was to continue clockwise patrols around the zone but moving further from the wall each time. It was a safe approach that would allow them to retreat to the nearest wall if they ran into difficulty.
It was uncertain whether the scavenging group of Reclaimers were still around. They may have retreated back behind the wall after looting the town to deliver the supplies back. If the scavengers were around, they’d need to be careful not to surprise them. Jumpy humans weren’t quite as dangerous as the Swarm but they made for trickier situations.
At least the sun was coming up now. People would be easy to spot and easier to deal with in the light. Vision I was incredible but it suffered with detail and monotone colours. Everything looked a little nightmarish in the odd light.
Progress was slower at the base of the valley compared to the road above. The ground was worse by the river than it had been earlier. Instead of muddy sand the dirt was a liquid bog. The soil pulled at your feet with each step, seeking to rid you of your boots and drag you deeper in. It was tempting to walk in the relatively cleaner waters on their right but the soil there might as well have been paper.
They tightened their formation as it became clear their new speed was going to persist. Even Louise who had no trouble sprinting earlier was bogged down by the grasping nature of this new terrain. She moved forward until she was within arms reach of Heinz. Tara came up beside her, and Phil drew equal with Shane.
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At this distance they couldn’t search as easily but it would prevent them being separated or singled out.
When Phil stumbled they all paused, hands drifting to weapons but no one acting. The terrain may have been awkward but they were not the humans they had been a few weeks ago. Stumbles weren’t a thing that happened to them anymore.
“It’s weird,” Phil began as he straightened. “I thought I felt something move under-”
As if it was listening, a small plump shape wiggled its way out of the dirt a metre or so away from Phil’s right foot. Its fur was slicked back with all the dirt.
Heinz flashed back to the outdoor centre’s slipway. Ann lying on the ground bleeding out and children’s screams in the background.
The soil around Phil began to bubble.
“Beavers!” Heinz shouted. “They’re weak but don’t let them get a hold with their mouths.”
One by one the creatures burrowed out of the marshy soil. What started as one turned into five. Five became ten. As soon as the swarm surfaced, they dived towards the group.
As Heinz slogged through the dirt, he began to regret his previous statement. Each of the individual icebox sized creatures were weak. Together and in this terrain they had enough mass to become a problem.
Phil was the closest to the creatures and bore the initial brunt. His shield was effective in keeping the Beavers from latching on but his boathook spear was not doing much good. For their size the creatures moved quickly and while Phil had no issue skewering them, it was difficult to hit anything vital.
Shane was first to draw even with Phil. He abandoned caution and began to lay waste around him. Wild swings of both his axe and shield left the Swarm broken or sliding back stunned.
Seeing Shane’s success, Phil abandoned his spear offence and focused solely on battering the Swarm with his shield.
A low wailing sound began to build.
Tara and Louise joined the fray on Shane’s right. Both hung back, away from Shane’s wild blows. They focused on picking individual creatures from the horde and finishing them off in quick blows.
Heinz was a pace or two behind. A few quick stabs with his spear point proved just as unsuccessful as Phil’s. The point dug into the Beaver’s flesh but the creature ignored the blow, clawing at the dirt with surprising strength to get away.
The sign edge was slightly more successful. Heinz swung his halberd wide and caught a surfacing Beaver across the side. The blow sent the Swarm flying but it didn’t slice into its flesh as Heinz was expecting. Another overhead chop at a closer creature slid to the side and revealed the issue. The Beaver’s fur was matted in a way that made it difficult to bite in with the sharp edge. Heinz had to put extra force into each blow to do more than swat the creatures away. Stronger blows were more difficult to control and a few missed the slippery creatures altogether.
Heinz attempted clobbering them with the counterweight end of the halberd but most of the force of the blow was dispersed by the marshy soil. Each blow would send the Swarm sinking below the surface with a chitter. The same creature would resurface somewhere else a few seconds later. It was far too similar to a horror version of whack-a-mole for his liking. Heinz whirled the halberd around and switched back to axe blows with the sign edge.
“Swarm behind!” Louise called. Heinz glanced back to see heads poking out of the soil.
Louise backed away from the front line to cover the back. Tara shifted closer to Shane.
The wailing reached a crescendo and stopped.
Two shapes rose above the surface of the river. Long snouts slide out and forward from the water before thick shoulders, heavy with matter fur followed. The new Swarm picked up speed as it approached the river backs, steadily growing taller until it reached up to Heinz’s chest.
“Kelpie!” Heinz roared.
The Kelpies surged out of the water, still picking up speed as they moved onto land.
Heinz took stock of the situation. Phil and Shane were bogged down both literally in the marshy soil and figuratively with the number of Beavers around them. Louise was busy dealing with three Beavers that had appeared behind them. Only Tara was free, having been pulling the odd creature away from Shane. Their frontline was loose and in the shape of a rough bow with Phil and Shane at the front.
Phil grasped the situation first. “Brace!”
They were not escaping the charge. Heinz swatted a Beaver back, buying him enough to try trudge closer towards Phil. He did not make it in time.
The Kelpies struck the centre of their formation, bowling into Shane and Phil.
Phil got his spear in front of him and the left Kelpie impaled itself as it charged. The thin staff of metal did not stop the creature and Phil, splitting his effort between his shield and spear, was knocked to the side. The spear was left behind, protruding from the Swarm’s shoulder.
Shane didn’t attempt to attack the creature. He put both hands on his shield and squatted down. Seconds before the Kelpie bowled him over, Shane pushed forward with a roar that was so loud it had to be augmented. Two forces met and physics took over. The Kelpie toppled forward, hindquarters catching up to its front until the creature somersaulted over itself. Shane was not unaffected. The Kelpie’s charge had too much speed built up for that. He slid then fell back himself, shield above him as the creature collapsed on top of him and drove him into the dirt.
“Shane!” Tara screamed, sinking her axe into a Beaver’s head before kicking the creature away. She ran to the tangled mess.
Heinz chased after the Kelpie that had smashed through Phil. The creature had continued forward. The spear hanging off its shoulder prevented it from charging at Louise too but it could still circle around in the other direction.
The Kelpie finished its turn and focused on Heinz. Its snout parted down the centre, all the way back to the base of its head. Heinz finally got the second part of the creature’s description. Matted hair hung down from the Kelpie’s top jaw in spikes, forming teeth-like formations that hid the barbs waiting in the creature’s mouth. It was a grotesque caricature of a crocodile’s jaws.
Heinz got another step closer before the creature charged. He crouched down, anything to stabilise his footing in the slippy terrain, and levelled his halberd.
The Kelpie slowed a step, and somehow, Heinz knew that it recognised the weapon. Phil’s spear hanging from its shoulder had left an impression. Heinz cursed and stood. He needed to intercept it before it could attack Louise or Phil, or join the fray around the other Kelpie and Shane.
But to his surprise, the Kelpie didn’t change its course. Instead, after that temporary slowdown, it seemed to race forward faster than ever. He scrambled to get back in position as the Kelpie bore down on him.
The Kelpie took one last step before leaping. It soared into the air and Heinz adjusted, spear tip tracking the form. The tip pierced into the Kelpie’s torso from underneath and its weight came down on both Heinz and his halberd. Heinz strained, both hands tensing as the weapon’s shaft flexed and he was driven deeper into the muck.
The Kelpie let out a wail, a dark substance oozing from where it was impaled. It reared its head back and Heinz saw victory.
The Kelpie’s head split open and whipped forward, twisting and latching onto where Heinz forward hand met the halberd.
Heinz screamed as barbs dug into his hand. Up to his forearm had disappeared into the Kelpie’s maw. He instinctively tried to pull his hand back but the pain stopped that action before it fully began.
The Kelpie wailed and twitched, attempting to pull its head back. However, the creature lacked the force to do so. It hung partially suspended on the halberd and its forelegs dangled uselessly. Its jaws had also latched onto more than Heinz’s flesh. His plated jacket pulled towards the shoulder but didn’t tear.
Heinz gritted his teeth and whined as the shifting barbs dug at his skin but he didn’t let go. He was stuck. They were stuck. Heinz couldn’t pull his hand away without leaving half of it behind. He couldn’t let go of his halberd with his other hand or the Kelpie would be free to pull itself free and take that same half with it.
The Kelpie didn’t seem capable of or willing to detach itself from his hand either. It settled for pulling its head side to side and weak tugs instead.
Heinz was forced to close his eyes and try to ignore the pain.
For an eternity they hung there, suspended in a battle of wills. The Swarm’s raw hunger matched by Heinz’s drive, slowly being eroded by pain. The noise of battle continued around them but Heinz couldn’t spare the attention to follow it.
A wail and a sharp tug at his flesh had him opening his eyes with a scream. Louise stabbed another blade deep into the Kelpies neck and began to saw.
The Kelpie didn’t let go until it was dissolved. Dark goo flowed off Heinz’s right hand with a shower of dirt that no longer had anything to cling to, and red blood. His hand was a mess of red with small patches of partially attached grey-silver squares. The mess continued up his forearm but his armour had done its job and anywhere covered by a plate was unaffected. The cloth above the plates had been shredded. Louise collected the detached plates in a bag.
Heinz reached for his status as his wound was washed and bandaged. Each touch causing additional pain.
User I38-3NA5
Classification
Fighter
Credits
124
Energy
Threshold
1028.8
1100
When that wasn’t enough he dug through all the bounty messages he had ignored during the day.
2 credits from the Spiders on the road. He’d been too distracted by trying to get the Shield Skin augment to work to help much. 8 credits from the pack of five while they were chased by the Kelpies. 12 credits from the Hyenas themselves.
It paled in comparison to how much he just earned from this fight. 19 Credits and 50 Energy from contributions to five Beavers bounties alone. The Kelpie had earned him 16 Credits and 30 Energy. It wasn’t worth it at all.
Eventually the pain ended and Heinz opened his eyes to look at his bandaged hand. He scanned the rest of the group. Shane was covered head to toe in filth. Everyone else wasn’t any better. Dark dirt clung to their lower halves and splatter across their shoulders.
“Back to Halfway?” Phil asked.