Corporal James Ruiz popped up from behind the car he was taking cover behind, frantically squeezing the trigger of his rifle and sending a barrage of bullets into the charging… thing… rampaging towards him. The dinosaur, that was the only way the stocky young man could think to describe it, shrieked as its body was shredded, purple blood spewing into the air. It collapsed to the ground, the two-legged, man-sized creature spasming, its long tail thrashing wildly.
"I got one!" He called out, slamming a new magazine into his rifle. Adrenaline pounded in his veins, his heart pumping wildly as he looked for a new target. There was no shortage of them. More of the creatures were approaching from down the street, stampeding over abandoned cars and plowing through hastily erected barricades.
"Good! Now do it again!" Sergeant Colter barked from beside him. He was firing in short, controlled bursts, calmly dispatching monster after monster. The sight reminded James that he had a limited number of rounds. More of the screeching, green-scaled creatures were pouring out of the shimmering portal. He'd have to be more conservative if he wanted his ammunition to last.
"What the fuck are these things, sarge?!" Another member of the security detail called, an undercurrent of panic in his voice. Three fireteams had been guarding the portal when the incursion began, and they were quickly being forced back by the growing number of invaders. Backup was on the way, but James didn't know if it'd arrive in time to stop the ravenous dinosaurs from slipping past them and outside the security zone. If they got into the populated areas of the city…
"The army issued you a rifle, Cooper!" Sergeant Colter snapped, reloading his rifle with practiced efficiency. "Not an encyclopedia! That was a de-li-ber-ate decision! Now get some rounds down range! Don't let these overgrown lizards down those side streets!"
"Sergeant!" Private Wilson called from where she was kneeling beside a radio. "Command says air support is en route! One minute!"
"About damn time!"
James felt a surge of relief. He dispatched another of the creatures. They were getting closer, this one had made it within fifty feet of him. But they only had to hold out for another minute. Just sixty more seconds. The gunships kept on standby would make quick work of this mindless horde. All they had to do was-
"Look out!"
A shadow swept over them. James looked up just in time to see a huge, winged creature swoop past them, raking its talons across two of his squad members. They went down screaming, blood spraying into the air as the monster flapped skyward. James turned, firing wildly after the wyvern-like beast. It looked like a cross between a pterodactyl and a bird of prey, with large, barbed talons hanging under leathery wings.
"Man down!" Someone called, dropping out of line to grab their wounded companions, struggling to drag them to the relative safety of a nearby alley. More fliers swooped in, sending their fireteam into disarray as Sergeant Colter fought to organize a fighting retreat, trying his best to maintain some semblance of order. James' hands were shaking in fear. He turned his weapon towards another one of the charging dinosaurs, firing wildly-
Click
His weapon fell silent, out of ammo. There was no time to reload, and the private stood paralyzed by fear as the monster bore down on him, its vicious maw snapping towards his chest.
WHOOSH
A translucent barrier of energy snapped into existence around him, shaping into a bubble that intercepted the monster's lunging bite. James was knocked off his feet, landing hard on his back beside the Sergeant as the dinosaur bounced off the force field. It fell with a snarl, struggling to regain its feet, only to die in a fountain of blood as a huge sword cleaved it in two.
James stared, awestruck, as the armored man pulled his weapon free from the carcass. He swept his sword through the air, launching an arc of crackling energy skyward to slam into one of the fliers, severing its wing clean from its body. It fell with a shriek, plummeting like a stone and smashing through the window of one of the adjacent buildings.
"Damn." The large man said, turning to extend a hand towards where James still lay sprawled on the ground. "Think they have monster insurance?"
----------------------------------------
Naomi wasn't as fast as Jade or Luis. She sprinted down the road after them, running towards the sound of gunfire, cursing her friends' long legs. Part of her couldn't believe that she was intentionally making her way right into the thick of what sounded like a war zone. A couple of months ago the very idea that she would do anything other than run away from such a situation would have been laughable. Yet here she was, charging past military jeeps and armored vehicles, going towards a combat zone. Holding nothing but a guitar.
How is this my life?
She still felt fear and anxiety when preparing for battle, but hard earned experience had taught Naomi how to clamp down on it. It didn't paralyze her like it had in her early days in the Labyrinth. Now, it kept her alert, ready to react to danger. She charged around a bend in the road, hopping over a security barrier and dashing past two very surprised looking soldiers. Neither of them tried to stop her, either because they were too distracted by the conflict or because someone had radioed ahead to inform them they were coming.
The battle soon came into view, Naomi arriving just in time to see Luis snag an enormous, winged monster out of the sky with a cord of ice energy, heaving it down and slamming it into the pavement a short distance away. More than a dozen soldiers manned sandbag barricades around him, firing automatic weapons into a swarm of dinosaur monsters that filled the street further afield. Naomi was struck by how loud real firearms were. Even outdoors at a remove, the noise was deafening.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
Her eyes fell on a group of uniformed men and women lying slumped against a nearby wall, blood stains standing out starkly against the camo patterns of their outfits. She changed course, rushing to join them.
"You shouldn't be here…" A woman groaned. She was cradling one of her arms, a damaged rifle laying across her legs. "It's not safe for civilians."
"Ma'am, you need to leave the security cordon." Another soldier said, stepping up to her. He sounded a little unsure of himself, perhaps taken aback by her archaic armor and the sword hanging from her hip.
"Wayfarer. I'm here to help." she said, flashing the glowing sigil on the back of her hand. Naomi had no idea if that meant anything to him, and she didn't much care. It sounded official, and that was often all it took to get people to back down.
Without waiting for a response, Naomi began channeling mana into her guitar. She played a soothing tune. It was soft, yet it somehow still carried clearly over the cacophony coming from the main street. 'Rejuvenate' was her latest spell, a melody that restored health and mana to everyone nearby. The effect was immediate. Few of the wounded soldiers had serious injuries, and they all stirred as the magic took hold. Wounds closed, bleeding stopped, and fractured bones began slowly knitting themselves back together.
"Just a little more. You'll be okay." Naomi assured them. She glanced over her shoulder at where Jade and Luis were helping the soldiers stem the tide of monsters. "We're going to-"
A sudden, completely unexpected wave of immense power swept through Naomi like a tidal wave. She staggered, bracing herself against the wall as her vision swam. The strange surge of strength dissipated as quickly as it manifested, leaving the idol swaying on her feet.
"Ma'am!" The young soldier reached out to steady her. "Are you okay?!"
What the hell was that…?
"I'm fi-" The words died in her throat as she caught sight of the wounded men and women. They were all getting to their feet, looking themselves over in disbelief. Naomi was just as shocked as they were. Her healing magic was only of minor strength, and the area spells especially took time to be effective. Yet somehow, her magic had restored the dozen people around her in nearly an instant. How…?
A nearby explosion shook her out of her stupor. This was no time to question good fortune.
"Get back out there and help!" She called, charging back into the street. The bard was already playing a new tune, an energetic melody that swept across the battlefield, bolstering everyone it touched. She poured mana into her 'fleetfoot' spell, the sound amplified several times over by her 'Superstar' ability.
"Now we're talkin'!" Luis shouted, sidestepping a snarling lizard monster and severing its head with a single powerful slash. "Keep it coming!"
----------------------------------------
Jade moved like a shadow, dropping rune traps as she flit between monsters, charming random creatures as she darted in and out of the battlefield. How many of these damn dinosaurs were there? Dozens of corpses littered the street, and just as many were still milling about. Worse were the several flying monsters flapping overhead, which her interface labelled as 'mountain wyverns'. Now that they'd taken the pressure off the security force, hopefully they would be easy pickings for soldiers equipped with modern rifles.
The tide was slowly turning in their favor when Jade heard the rhythmic 'thump thump thump' sound of approaching helicopters. A pair of military gunships swooped overhead, door-mounted guns opening up on the remaining packs of monsters. Soldiers shouted to clear the area, and Jade didn't need to be told twice. She fell back with Luis, the newly arrived media crews, and the squad they'd come to assist.
An unexpected surge of enhanced speed and agility swept over Jade, so intense that it felt like time slowed around her. The effect only lasted a moment, prompting exclamations of surprise from the men and women surrounding her. What the hell was going on with Naomi's spell? This was the third time her magic had suddenly spiked in power. The enhanced effects were incredible, but their unpredictable nature was making her boost almost more of a liability than a boon.
She shot a concerned look towards Naomi, who was continuing to pound out her melody a safe distance behind the main security force.
"Take up defensive positions!" One of the soldiers shouted, gesturing to a line of barriers blocking the street. "Be ready to pick off any stragglers!"
Jade hung back as the squad spread out, taking a moment to catch her breath. The battle had been short but intense. The helicopters were making short work of the remaining monsters, which had finally stopped pouring out of the portal. All they had to do now was make sure none slipped by.
Another wave of power swept across the battlefield, Naomi's magic again bolstered to a level beyond anything Jade had felt before. This time, the effect lasted several seconds, long enough for her to try and pull up her combat log to see if she could finally figure out what the hell was happening. It didn't work, of course. That portion of her interface wasn't available outside the Labyrinth. After checking to make sure she wasn't in imminent danger, Jade gave Naomi a closer look. She appeared completely normal, if as surprised as the rest of them by the wild swings in the potency of her spell. What could be…-
Jade's eyes fell on the media crew. They were a short way back from the defensive line, a trio of men and women wearing armored vests with the words 'PRESS' emblazoned across their chests. One of them had a large, shoulder-mounted camera, and was sweeping it across the battlefield as a woman talked into a mic.
The camera!
Jade blinked over to them, covering the distance instantly and startling the reporter into silence.
"Point your camera at her!" she shouted, fighting to be heard over Naomi's pounding music and the roar of helicopter-mounted machine-gun fire.
"What?"
"Just do it!" Jade grabbed the cameraman by the shoulder, imbuing enchantment into her words. He blinked once, shaking his head slightly as her magic took hold, and then complied. The reporter looked like she wanted to complain, but one look at Jade's bloodstained armor and glowing, enchanted dagger shut her up. Jade held her breath, waiting to see if she was right. What was that ability of Naomi's again…? 'Superstar'?
The camera panned back to Naomi, bringing her into frame. The effect was as dramatic as it was instantaneous. The strength of her aura surged, as did the effect of her spell. Again, the world seemed to slow around Jade, her speed and agility enhanced to the level of a videogame powerup. It wasn't just her. Luis, the soldiers, even the reporters next to her all moved with the same incredible grace and finesse. Every shot fired suddenly found its target, every force blade from Luis's sword slicing through multiple of the rapidly dwindling monsters. And this time, the enhancement held.
Incredible…
"Jade!"
Luis's warning dragged her attention back to the battle. Almost all the monsters were dead now, Naomi's boost having been the final push needed to sweep the area clean. There was just one problem. Jade followed Luis's pointing sword, catching sight of one of the helicopters hovering over the battlefield. Two of the flying monsters had latched onto its landing skids, clawing and snapping at the vehicle and wildly flapping their wings. The helicopter was spiraling out of control, smoke billowing from a section of its tail as it careened downward.
Heading right towards them.