In the wake of Louise’s revelation, everyone was silent for a few seconds. Then they all began to speak at once.
“We need to test-”
“What?”
“Are you sure-”
“But you’re okay-”
They looked at each other and then back to Louise. Louise just looked at them, laughed and wiped at her face.
Tara, out of an unspoken agreement, stepped forward and began to check over Louise for any wounds that may have missed in her confusion while crossing the threshold.
“We’ll need to test this,” Phil said. He looked at Heinz and Shane. “We can check while we’re on duty today. And - how close are we all?”
User I38-3NA5
Classification
Fighter
Credits
130
Energy
Threshold
1041.1
1100
“About 60 off,” Heinz said, pushing the message away.
“70,” Shane grunted.
“90,” Tara said absently, pulling Louise up to inspect her back. Shards of glass fell off her armour to tinkle along the ground.
“150,” Phil finished. “You could all cross today. No, you will. Let’s make this the focus of our duty time today. Heinz, is the van working?”
Heinz shrugged. “I don’t know. We were about to test it when you called.”
“Would you mind checking then? It’s best not to linger too long.”
Heinz nodded and set off to do just that. As he left Shane sat down by Louise.
“Just because the gate’s open doesn’t mean there’s not a bull in the field. Don’t do anything stupid Louise.”
When Heinz looked back in surprise, Shane was fingering the stitched rips down the front of his armour. Louise was as still as ice opposite him, but slowly, she nodded.
The van did start - after a couple of tries that is, but it sounded like someone was firing a gun over and over into a washing machine full of loose screws. Heinz stayed below 30 km/h for the rest of the trip, and at that pace they may as well have jogged. This progress ground to a halt in Halfway. The other side of the roundabout was just as clogged and the Innishannon teams had yet to create a path through. Heinz parked the van off to the side and out of the way. With a heavy heart, he left it behind. He had an eerie feeling this was the end of the road for it.
Louise led the charge down the dual carriageway to the next zone. They were undisturbed by the Swarm as they raced up the hill. After a brief moment to prepare at the base of the purple wall, they stepped forward and through the wall into I38-OL.
Shane called the all clear and Heinz flicked that corner of his mind for the zone control.
Zone Control - I38-OL
Swarm Growth
80%
Local
5%
About the same as the last zone, I38-GY. Heinz scanned their surroundings. The main road ran North to south along the western side and open fields lay to the east. This zone was hilly. The undulating earth rose and fell again and again, endless towards the horizon.
Tara stepped off the road into the dirt to test and it was firm. She didn’t sink in at all. Small clumps of grass were still visible on the hills around them. Whatever the Swarm had done to the previous zone hadn’t happened here yet.
The group shared one last look between themselves before heading out into the unknown. They had Swarm to kill and now a target to reach.
A pack of four Springers brought Heinz down to twenty Energy left. The creatures seemed trivial almost and Louise attacked with new speed and purpose. A lone Musical chair brought him up to only ten remaining. They tried to share each kill whenever possible. Each point of Energy brought them all closer to the threshold. It was going well.
Until Louise stopped in place. She pointed out into the distance. “What happened to the wall?”
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Heinz scanned their surroundings one last time before following the finger. It pointed out west, above a hill, into the endless mass of purple that blocked everything out. From this distance, the wall was blank, a single unmoving shade of purple. Until it wasn’t.
With a flash it was gone. Another flash and it was back.
“Rhino,” Phil whispered in fear.
Heinz stiffened. An ache building in his shins. He'd faced a Rhino down before. He was not eager to do so again.
“We.. we have to look right?” Tara asked, not moving. All the previous cheer and energy had left them instantly.
Shane stepped forward. Then he began to move, speeding up to a run. “We need to go now.”
They followed, sprinting to the top of one hill, changing angle slightly to avoid a nest of Spiders at the base of the next. The wall ahead flickered all the while.
Louise shouted a warning and they split left, avoiding suspiciously long patches of grass.
The flickering stopped. A thrum ran through the air. Followed by another.
Shane slowed his pace, stopping at the top of the next hill. Jerking suddenly he crouched down. Heinz did the same, instinct kicking in as he reached the top.
A wide open expanse lay ahead. Field after field open to their view. In one of those fields, at a corner of the wall, a swarm awaited. Small bodies scurried around two gigantic creatures. Rhinos. The creatures paced back and forth, lifting their heads and letting a thrum fill the air as they did so.
Some of the smaller creatures left the Rhinos, revealing they weren't so small after all. Heinz saw Monkeys, Spiders and new creatures, things he did not recognise. The creatures headed out into I38-OL, the zone open to them now. Some headed north, some south. Some headed towards Heinz and his group.
Swarm call after swarm call rang out as the army announced their presence. More cries rang out behind Heinz as the calls were answered by the Swarm already in I38-OL
“Fuck,” Heinz mumbled, crouching a little lower and pressing into the dirt of the hill.
The two Rhinos shook themselves and turned to the corner where two more walls met. They crouched back before pulling forward off two twisted limbs and rocketing at the barrier. Purple flashed and the wall dividing Heinz from home flickered in and out of existence.
“Dear god,” Phil whispered.
“We go. Innishannon must be warned,” Shane said, voice as hard as stone.
No one moved.
“Now!” Shane snapped, pushing up from his crouch and sprinting to the wall without looking back.
Phil followed, right on his tail. Tara was a second behind. Heinz followed just after but he slowed as he realised no one followed behind him.
Heinz skidded to a stop and turned. Louise stood there, at the top of the hill, back to him and the group, staring to the North.
“Louise!” Heinz shouted. Already the noise from the army of Swarm had grown louder. The group had been noticed. He could hear thumps of running creatures growing closer.
Louise took a step forward, away from him and then another.
“Louise!” Heinz roared. He started to backpedal, away from the hill, away from the incoming Swarm. What was she thinking? There was no time.
Louise stopped in her tracks. A flicker of movement to Heinz’s left. Bristly fur and many limbs pulled against the ground.
“Fuck!” Heinz screamed in fury and hatred. He turned and ran after the others.
Step. Avoid a long patch of grass. Phil was over two hundred metres ahead.
Shift to the right. Too many cries coming from ahead to the left.
The others disappeared over a hill. Clomps rang out as many feet struck the ground behind him.
Heinz strained, each step now a stamp onto the ground. Each raised leg reaching higher and higher off the ground as he didn’t run as much as kick the ground to jump forward. His arms pumped, swinging his halberd to maintain balance as his feet left the ground.
It wasn’t enough, the steps behind him were growing louder.
Another push and he reached the top of the hill. The wall was within sight, Shane almost reaching it. The others weren’t far behind but they weren’t alone. Three Spiders attempted to block Phil and Tara off. Three creatures that weren’t a threat to the group. Any one of them likely could have taken on all three by themselves. But now, as a distraction they could be deadly.
Heinz jumped, letting gravity speed him up and he sped down the hill. The steps behind swung to his left. The clomping faded.
Shane reached the wall. He turned, holding a hand out to the purple. A flash from the wall lit him up, letting Heinz see as Shane scanned the field, eyes lingering on Phil and Tara before continuing onto Heinz and then to behind him. Shane’s hand curled into a fist, anger and shame flashed across his face.
Heinz landed, feet sinking deep under his weight even as he pushed off again.
Phil and Tara put on a burst of speed, slipping past the less agile Spiders. They reached Shane.
Starting with Tara, Shane grabbed them and shoved them against and through the wall. He took one last glance back at Heinz before disappearing through the wall himself.
Heinz’s steps faltered even as he got back up to top speed again. The steps behind him were closer again. The clomps louder. Loud enough that Shane considered him a goner. Close enough that Shane had left Heinz behind.
With a roar, Heinz pushed on again.
‘No, not like this.’
But he was at his peak. There was no more force to be pushed out of his feet. No more speed to be gained. The Spiders had turned to him now, old prey gone. He could run around them, but any diversion, any hindrance and what was chasing him would catch up.
“Go right!” Louise shouted from his left.
Heinz nearly tripped in surprise. His halberd swung out as he dipped, turning the stumble into an uneven wobble. The steps on his left became footsteps.
The clomping was just as close but now he wasn’t alone. Heinz went right. Louise went left.
The Spiders, caught between two choices, hesitated.
It was enough. Heinz reached forward with his right hand, leaning forward for the finish line. Something crashed into his back. He touched the purple.
Heinz fell forward, rolling, tumbling into mucky dirt. Something clung to his back and rolled with him. Face. Mud. Sky. Stone. They came to a stop in a tangled mess.
Shane roared and with a tug Heinz was spinning again. He landed on his face again, but came to a stop. Heinz push against the dirt, struggling to get to his feet. Everything was wet, there was nothing solid to orientate on.
A hand grabbed onto his arm, and Heinz stopped struggling as he was dragged to his feet. With a muddy hand, he wiped at his face and nodded to Tara, his helper. Behind her, Shane sank his axe into a Monkey, one last time.
Phil helped Louise to her feet.
The wall flashed.
Tara pulled at Heinz's hand again, towards the southwest, Innishannon. “Come on, we need to go.”
They ran. Down the dual carriageway to Halfway. Past Halfway without stopping to Innishannon. The purple flashes stopped. They ran faster.
The group split at the entrance to Innishannon. There were thousands to warn.
Heinz ran into the pub, knocking the door off the hinge as he failed to stop in time. Someone screamed. A few fell back off their chairs. Others pulled weapons.
Heinz held up his hands, caked mud falling off. More fell off as he panted and heaved for breath. “The swarm has knocked two walls. They're coming. It’s a stampede.”