“Ok, on three” Thomas whispered to Delvik. “One…. Two…. THREE” he shouted as he shoved the reinforced bunker door open, and Delvik shot forward, his spear piercing one of the waiting Arvo through its throat. Thomas’s last sight of Delvik as he closed the door to a bare crack, was as the armored raccoon used the monster backwards momentum from falling to catapult himself into the air.
Delvik flew, reveling in the sense of power he felt from the suit. How his movements felt more fluid, his reactions faster, then he hit a beam in the ceiling and bounced off it, reminding him to pay attention to the here and now. He managed to take control of his fall, landing feet first against the chest of an Arvo and using it as a springboard to flip backward.
The creature stumbled backwards a few feet before slapping the ground with its stubby tail to stabilize it and push it forward. As the creature fell to all four and began to charge forward it ran straight into the spear that Delvik had retrieved from his first kill. As the spear drove deep into the space between its neck and shoulder, Delvik gave a mighty heave and threw the creature towards the entrance.
Raising his wrist, pointing it at the cluster of monsters near the entrance, standing over the remains of his and Thomas’s first peaceful meeting and squeezed his hand three times. Each squeeze sent a small, metallic sphere flying towards the group. He watched almost in slow motion as the spheres arced gently before landing amongst the creatures and turned into blinding balls of fire. The lenses over his eyes darkened to an almost opaque level to preserve his vision and Delvik uttered another prayer to the Makers for bringing Thomas to him. With a feral smile hidden beneath the metal mask, Delvik threw himself forward, cutting down all who stood in his way.
Thomas began a slow count down from one hundred, ready to slam the door shut if things went terribly wrong or throw it open should his friend need help. He heard three quick explosions as he reached seventy and smiled. Wrist launched micro grenades, this year's hot post apocalypse Christmas present he thought with dark amusement. .
The sound of roars of anger and pain, the clash of metal and flesh made Thomas flinch repeatedly as he sheltered behind the door, each time he wanted to step out or slam it shut, to just do anything, but he had promised to stick to the plan. Thomas had started to crack the door open a bit further as the sound of fighting moved further out into the street.
Bloody and scaled fingers clutched at the bottom of the door, yanking it open and sending Thomas stumbling into the ruined mess hall. He spun around after regaining his balance and saw the massive lizard beginning to pull itself up, using the door as a support. Its body was badly burned, covered with shredded and scorched scales and leaking blood everywhere. It let out a ragged hiss as it raised one hand towards Thomas, as he raised his shotgun, and then the creature collapsed forward, a gurgling hiss of breath escaping it before laying still.
With his heart thundering in his chest, Thomas spun around, shotgun raised and at the ready, but he saw no movement. He was just getting his panic under control when he heard Delvik scream in pain.
Delvik crashed into another group of Arvo, slashing and stabbing with his spear. Firing another boom sphere at a charging Arvo, he assessed the situation. Many of the creatures were down, dead or dying, but more seemed to be pouring into the area. Good he thought, if the fighting was pulling the pack here, it would mean safety for his people. A sudden roar broke his thoughts, and he saw the largest Arvo he had ever seen begin charging towards him.
Delvik met the charge head on, leaping over it and scoring a shallow gash along its armored back. The creature's tail swatted at him but he was able to narrowly dodge it and land back on the ground, turning to meet the creature again. Delvik took a deep set of gouges across the chest piece of his armor when he failed to dodge a blow that sent him tumbling away.
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Again and again the two closed on each other, trading blows before backing off and trying again. Delvik landed more hits, but this creature, he assumed it was an Alpha from its size and strength, its hide was just too thick to pierce or slash with his spear. The monster's blows on the other hand, usually sent Delvik tumbling away when they hit, and he was beginning to grow concerned as the armor took more damage.
A particularly hard hit from the creature’s tail sent Delvik flying into a metal pole, and only luck and the suit's durability saved him. The pole groaned warningly as it bent and flung Delvik back into the fray, and as he rolled back to his feet from the landing, realized he may be in trouble. More Arvo had gathered, forming a massive ring around the Alpha and himself. As they continued to battle, he found himself being forced into the surrounding ring by the Alpha.
It was a hit to the shoulder joint that ended the fight. A jagged claw ripped through armor that had been weakened by repeated hits sunk deep into his shoulder. The Alpha snarled viciously and began slamming Delvik like a ragdoll, each hit driving the clad deeper and shredding the skin and muscle beneath the armor. With a final, powerful slam into the broken ground, the creature withdrew the claw and stomped down with a massive foot, pinning Delvik and causing him to scream in pain.
He knew this was the end, that he would die here. While he took some solace in having destroyed most of this Alphas pack, it would mean the end of his plans, and that hurt deeper than anything. As the massive creature applied more pressure, another scream of pain was forced out and the edges of his vision began to dim and go fuzzy, and then he saw flapping white cloth and heard a distinctive sound.
Thomas peaked around the corner and watched the massive lizard try to squash the life out of his friend. He had crept to the gaping hole in the entrance after the first scream, and saw the scene unfolding in the wrecked street. His heart beat wildly, his mind raced with options, trying to decide what to do.
Thomas didn't remember hearing the second scream; didn't remember striding around the corner and walking toward the Arvo; didn’t remember unnecessarily racking the slide backwards and forwards as he raised the shotgun, pointing the muzzle at the ugly monster's face.
No, Thomas didn’t remember any of that. He remembered being frozen by fear and indecision one moment, and then staring in shock at the ruined stump of a neck as gore rained down around him and the creature toppled backwards. If pressed, he would vaguely describe a feeling like red tinted thunder roaring in his head and chest between those two points, but nothing more.
Delvik rolled onto his back, taking in deep, gulping breaths of air as his vision cleared. He looked up at the human, still standing there stunned. Then the human shook his head, his eyes snapping to Delvik, and Thomas reached down, extending his hand to Delvik. Armored paw met pink flesh and Thomas helped pull Delvik up to his feet. “Are you ok?” Thomas asked, casting an extremely worried look around, “because they are starting to snap out of their shock”.
Delvik eyed the remaining Arvo, still partially encircling them. The creatures were starting to come back to their senses after seeing the Alpha fall. A chorus of snarls, hisses and low, rumbling roars started up. Delvik grabbed his spear and made ready, “I will cover you, get to entrance” he said to Thomas, who nodded his head, “and thank you friend”.
Spinning his spear around in a dangerous flourish, he shouted to the Arvo “I AM DELVIK, FAR SCOUT OF RERDELP BURROWS, FACE ME AND DIE”
The creatures reared back in shock at the voice, still stunned with the loss of their Alpha. A few managed to gather their wits and slowly, they began to approach the duo. Thomas and Delvik readied themselves for the fight of their lives as the remaining Arvo cautiously approached, snarling and snapping. A few of the braver ones charged forward, charging at the two figures. One fell with the echoing report of the Shotgun. Delvik leapt forward, his spear lashing out and piercing the other Arvo through the neck and straight into its body.
With a roar, the remaining monsters began to charge, only for it to falter under an unexpected barrage of arrows. Dozens of shouts and warcries erupted from the surrounding ruined buildings as spear and ax wielding raccoons began to pour into the street, scattering the Arvo as they finally broke, fleeing. Many of the new arrivals chased after the fleeing Arvo, but one group approached the two standing in the street.
Delvik looked to Thomas, “worried this might happen, let me do talking” he said, and with a chuckle added, “could really use one of those beer drinks about now”