The silence lasted for several minutes, only covered by the hum of engines and a subtle tension that held the entire camp active. Something had to give. And eventually, it did. Engines from afar slowly echoed from the edges of the sandstorm, the hums seeming to be a reassurance as if everything was taken care of.

Then the Prowlers came into view. Covered in blood. Dismembered body parts hung from the grills of the vehicles as if they’d rammed through a crowd of people to get away. The limbs had deep cracks through them like ground that hadn’t had rain in far too long. They also appeared to be almost made of sand as if they’d been exposed to the elements so long that every bit of their blood had been filled with the substance.

The APC, turrets primed to unload on anything that so much as twitched, pulled back from its central point in the wall of cars, allowing the Crimson Company Prowler to get through. A shout came from the fringes of the camp as the Prowlers rolled up. “Medic!”

Immediately a shout came from a few of the stragglers not loaded up. Captain Roger, called out to the group, “What happened out there? Injuries?”

There was a reply, though it was too faint to hear from the distance. Hampton sighed deeply. I followed his gaze to the severed limbs hanging from the grill. “Looks like Dune Walkers.”

”Damn, hate those things.” Lia leaned forward, squeezing in between Yonrow and the console to get a better look. “At least the sandstorm is gone.”

Renold shook his head and sighed. “You just had to say something… we’re probably in the eye of the storm.”

The wind shifted once more, sand blowing with it as the visibility once more declined. Soon, the few people out of the vehicles were forced to don protective gear as Captain Roger continued his discussion with the returned groups. Injured were pulled out of the bloodiest Prowler and rushed to a hastily erected tent barely standing against the fierce winds. Looked like two, maybe three.

“You ever fought Dune Walkers, Zuku?”

I blinked, refocusing as Sergeant Hampton popped his head out in front of me. “Uh- no. Never run into them.”

”You know how to deal with them though, right? Silver bullets to vital points or complete destruction of the body.” Hampton tapped the roof with his hand. “Doubt it’ll matter with six turrets and the APC pumping out rounds, but never can be too sure.”

”Don’t bother aiming.” Yonrow commented for once. “Hard to miss when we get rushed by hundreds of them.”

How… wonderful. We were expecting hundreds of attackers. I tried to think back on what I knew about Dune Walkers. It was unfortunately little since I was so far from their hunting grounds. Just that I need silver bullets, they were like zombies from those cheesy horror movies, and they were a real menace for Nomads. Honestly, not quite sure how they’re different from Ghouls.

Just as I was about to reply, movement caught my eye. All four Mice, which had been stalwart barriers keeping the worst of the sandstorm out, started to roll. They pulled back, driving behind everyone else and pushing their backs up against the edge of the rock outcropping we camped on. The Prowlers, including ours, shifted forward, making a half arc in front of them centered around the APC. We were on the far side, out of the direct path though still in sight of the main approach.

The radios crackled once more as someone tried to pass a message. Nothing came across, though it was solved as a runner approached us from the leadership still discussing with the returned squads. He was a rather scrawny-looking guy, standing out sharply against the usual large, military-esque frames of the Crimson Company. ”Silver rounds! Dune Walkers approaching from up the mountain.”

”Damn, Melinda is going to be pissed.” Lia muttered as she slowly petted the wolf pup sprite in her arms. Or, at least, I imagine it was the wolf sprite since I couldn't see it. I’d deactivated Aetherial Perception a while ago. It was incredibly nauseating to stare at the storm.

”Can you cast your- uh- thing? The thing with claws and circles.” Hampton asked as he sent the runner on with a nod.

“Still don’t know its name yet?” Lia sighed dramatically, though started prepping. Aside from the constant roiling in my gut caused by the magic storm, I got a twinge of Insight as she started to cast her magic.

Renold pulled a cigarette from the dashboard and stuck it in his mouth. He didn’t light it though, thankfully. Smoke would have nowhere to go. “How can you expect us to know its name when you always beat around the bush with it?”

“Claw Guard. It’s called Claw Guard… leave Yonrow out as per usual?” She asked.

Must be a limited-effect spell. I’d seen a few of them when doing some research. The sites I looked at were split on them being weak spells since they could only affect a small number of people or they were so powerful that they could only affect a few people. As usual, the Net was notoriously untrustworthy when it came to magic research.

”Chek.”

Lia went silent as she started concentrating. Temptation got the best of me as I took a look with Aetherial Perception. A massive array of, well, complicated geometry spread out from the small pup in her hands. It looked extremely complex with tons of sharp triangles as if to imitate claws. The entire thing was entirely symmetrical centered around the sprite, and seemed to spark with… electricty? But like, an Aether variant.

Ethereal energy sparked around as it gathered in said circle for several long moments until it burst forth, sending electrified tendrils out to its target. I watched out of the corner of my eye, trying to not make it obvious I could see exactly what was going on. The tendrils reached out to me, Lia, Renold, and Hampton.

As soon as it touched us, which I tried my hardest not to flinch at, the tendrils turned into glowing circles that rapidly faded. As they faded, about three dozen claws made of raw blue electricity formed around the four of us. I flicked off Aetherial Energy, and the claws faded with my senses of the Aether.

Lia froze up momentarily as the charged vibrato of magic in the air faded slightly. ”Hey, Zuku, you’re fine with magic being cast on you, right? Sorry, Frank never had an issue and I just assumed…”

“It’s fine.” I guess. A bit late now. “Just- uh- what was it?” It’d be nice to get some kind of Perk to defend myself from magic. Or at least get some kind of protection. What would I even need to level up for that? Evasion?

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Speaking of, while I know I’m not the most knowledgeable about the whole magic thing, why hadn’t I gotten a level in those skills? Did I need to cast magic myself? Then what about talismans, enchanted scrolls, and that sort of thing?

“It’s called Claw Guard. Basically, if an enemy combatant approaches you, a magic claw will form and attack it. It’s got thirty-six charges.” Lia ticked off her fingers as if trying to remember everything about the spell. “Should be strong enough to kill a Dune Walker with a couple of strikes, but its main purpose is to temporarily stun and make space so you can attack with another weapon. It has- uh- two-hour duration? Maybe. Hopefully, we’ll have taken care of them by then though.”

Sounds useful. Hmm… maybe I should look into getting some more magical items at some point. They were usually expensive, but every drop of protection I could get would be useful.

My current lineup was certainly lacking, at least. Just auxiliary items like Crow’s Canteen of Chaos, the jade dagger, and Crow’s Celestial Compass which I still had yet to find much of a use for. Guess not everything can be super good. Though, to be fair, I hadn’t had to use it much since I almost always knew where I was going in the city thanks to a combo of the Mapp and Eidetic Schematic.

”Are we going to get close to them?” It was the most logical reason to use a spell that protected against melee strikes.

”Captain’s Combat Rule Thirty-Five: Expect the unexpected.” Yonrow muttered as he carefully scanned our surroundings with the turret.

Combat rules, eh? “What’s the first?”

”Never forget the win condition.” The quiet guy informed me. A good rule to go by, and one I don’t think I’ve ever actually gone by. Usually, my win condition is just to get out with my life. Doesn't work in this situation though all things considered. What was the win condition then? Kill all the Dune Walkers in this horde?

"Five-five-six, right?" Hampton asked me. Seeing my confused expression, he elaborated. "Your rifle."

"Ugh, check."

Hampton nodded a few times. “Okay, there’s a box of silver bullets in the back if you need more. Uh- let’s get out and set up firing positions around the prowler. We’ll provide cover fire and kill anything that closes in. Or rekill it, in this case. Zuku, you’re free to stay with us or head back to Gold-Three and wait with Tom and Hein.”

Hmm… to flee or not to flee, that is the question… Of course, my initial gut reaction was to get out and head to Gold-Three, but logic froze that thought. I’d probably be safer sticking with the four heavily armed guards and the giant turret strapped to the Prowler than with a single guy in the back line. Sure, I’d be closer to the fight, but it would also be a good opportunity to get some more work in shooting. And I’d finally get to see what all the fuss was about Dune Walkers. I could always flee later. “I’ll stay here.”

”Nova.” Hampton propped open his door, instantly refilling the interior of the Prowler with swirling sand. Good thing I kept my mask and stuff on. The rest of the team, aside from Yonrow who stayed to operate the turret, followed his lead and stepped out. I was a moment behind.

Without the protection of the Mice to block the majority of the sandstorm, it was much, much more brutal. Every step I took to follow Hampton was a struggle for balance and to free myself from the sand building up all over me. It got everywhere, infesting my poncho’s hood and making everything feel grimy. I, apparently, was the only one amongst us four to have much of an issue as the others easily gathered up at the trunk of the Prowler.

“Since it's Dune Walkers, we don’t need much hardcover. Just stay out of the turret’s sight lines.” Hampton told everyone, though I got the feeling it was more for my benefit than anything. “And make sure you’re in a place to make space so you don’t get bogged down if anything goes wrong.”

The trunk popped open as the others loaded up. Renold grabbed a massive machine gun that looked like it’d been ripped off the top of a Prowler. He easily swapped out the large box mag to one filled with silver-tipped bullets. Lia grabbed an SMG, a Raijin P-490. I recognized the weapon off its weirdly designed overhead mag feed that ran down the length of the weapon.

Hampton similarly grabbed one, though he also grabbed a box with a high explosives label on it. Grenades? I took the opportunity to stuff a ton of bullets into my backpack. Free ammo was free ammo. I grabbed just enough to not weigh myself down too much.

Elsewhere, I could see shadows through the sandstorm getting set up similarly to us with the other squad members abandoning the gunners in the Prowlers while they set up firing lines.

Lia opened her mouth to speak, though instantly went still. “Shh… you hear that?”

I focused, trying to listen to whatever she was hearing. Unfortunately, it seemed my ears weren’t near as good as hers. I couldn’t hear anything under the hums of engines and the shifting sands.

Until I could.

It started as a mere whisper of a sound. A slow shuffle, though the sound was multiplied by hundreds of times to where even a soft sound became loud. Then the APC unleashed hell. Every turret opened fire at the same time, shooting off into the distance. From where we were, we couldn’t see exactly what they were shooting through the thick sand.

I could feel the tension though. The calm had faded. Now it was just the storm. I kept my eyes peeled as I stared out into the distance, watching for any detail that might seem off.

At first, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. Then Yonrow started shooting off into the distance. Each bullet left swirling trails of sand behind them as they streaked off to somewhere beyond my view. The cameras on the turret must’ve spotted something long before our flesh eyes could.

Then Renold started firing. He held the heavy-duty LMG, full auto unloading into the distance. His chrome made it so that not even the slightest bit of kick transmitted back to him. It was a common enough scene, though usually I saw it more with assault rifles and not massive guns like Renold’s. He wielded the thing without finesse, just pure brute strength.

And then Lia moved. I felt a twinge through the Aether, quickly followed by four massive blue claws each about the size of a person forming in the air. They held there like an executioner’s ax for several long moments as they sparked with blue electricity. The slight glow helped me see it, though the exact details were lost on me. The claws dropped, slicing through the air.

In the wake of the massive electrified claws, the sand cleared for a brief moment, revealing a wall of shambling shadows slowly approaching us. Long bolts of lightning flashed in the sand as the particles became electrically charged by the spell.

What I thought was just a simple attack proved to be a genius strategy as Lia got massive returns off her one spell. The lightning arced everywhere, electrocuting mass amounts of shadows as they dropped, though they were quickly replaced as the wall steadily approached.

A particularly long bolt of lightning arced all the way down the rock outcrop we defended, shining enough light for me to get a better view of the situation. The wall of shadows coming towards us was a mere fraction of the total approaching Dune Walkers. Thousands closed in, and the center of their approach was closer to the APC. For every one that approached us on the far side, twenty closed the gap to the APC.

Even as the heavily armored vehicle staggered its reloads between its dozens of turrets so at least one would always be firing, the Dune Walkers closed the gap. It wasn’t until the main turret started shooting its explosive shells that the swarm was pushed back the faintest amount. The mercs spread out in a firing line around the APC constantly firing into the distance, tearing through their ammo as they held their position.

”Feel free to shoot whenever!” Hampton called back to me as he pulled a grenade from the box. Except it didn’t look like any grenade I’d seen before. It was massive, as if it’d been drugged up to kingdom come. Seemingly pointless wires dangled from the massive grenade, stringing around it and various bolts sticking out of the makeshift-looking weapon. “As Yonrow said, don’t bother aiming. Just shoot towards the shadows. You're bound to hit something.”

”Chek.” I snapped back to attention and lifted my rifle. The first mag flew with a little hesitation. The second mag fired off and I could start to see the shadows in the sand. As I fired the third, the shadow wall grew closer still.

I couldn’t even really see if my shots had had an effect. I wasn’t like the turret that fired off large calibers that blew apart bodies and mowed down swathes. Still, I fired into the distance with the best accuracy I could. I shook out my arm, loosening the tension built up in me from a combo of adrenaline and kick. I reloaded once more, resigning myself to a long and drawn-out fight.