CHAPTER 128: Evacuation
“What did you say?” Jack Fleming demanded of the man leading the new group of humans. Fire balls were formed on his hands, but they sparked and sputtered, showing a lack of mana to sustain them.
“We’re here to evacuate those who can’t fight,” said Randall, not fulling paying attention to the man. “Get them prepared to move.”
“You think you can just boss us around and take our weak?!” The flames on Fleming’s hands surged with renewed intensity, though they couldn’t stay that formed.
The ground shifted. People were moved out of the way as a shorter teen wearing glasses came through. He also didn’t seem to be looking at Fleming as his eyes roamed.
“What’s the hold up, Randall?” asked Elias.
“This idiot isn’t letting us through. It’s like he doesn’t want to be rescued,” said Randall, spear held in a ready position in case the invaders pushed forward. For now, they had made some space between the groups, in part due to the stronger spells and ranged attacks now falling on them. The Sentinel Army wasn’t willing to leave it at that, trying to push the lines back even further without blowing through their mana.
Elias looked Fleming up and down, showing no particular respect or care for the decorated soldier. He eyed the scraps of leather, coarsely sewn into armor. He looked at the bone knife tucked into his belt and dismissed them. Fleming seethed, trying to will his flames to grow.
“Then you’d prefer we don’t rescue you?” Elias asked, also indifferently.
“You come in here and then make demands of us?! We don’t know or trust you,” spat Fleming, still fuming but down to only one hand covered in fire.
“I see,” said Elias thoughtfully. He looked at the invaders and then shot a few [Earth Spikes] that impaled the invaders standing still. The action was idle, something for Elias to do while he considered the issue. “We’re the Sentinel Army. If you don’t want our help, then there is nothing we can do.”
Fleming’s jaw dropped. The remaining flame died out.
“Time to pull back,” shouted Elias, the ground raising him up so people could see and hear him better. “They didn’t want a rescue.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” said Fleming, caught off guard.
“Yes?” asked Elias, taunting him with a smug look.
That’s when a few others who had been watching came over too. Elias was sure Randall hadn’t paid attention to them, but it was clear they had stayed back to evaluate the newcomers. For Elias, it was in bad taste to leave their army hanging instead of hurrying the operation.
“I think that’s enough, Fleming,” said Dalton Coleman.
“But they’re just kids!” shouted Fleming.
“Kids leading an army,” answered Willis Abrego.
“Plus, they haven’t been phased at all by what’s happening,” agreed Cody Sloan. “And we need a way out.”
Fleming grew more indignant. “We’ve seen more war than the lot of them combined. In experience, knowledge, and levels they are less than us. They should be giving their command to us!”
“Look at their levels,” said Coleman.
“None are as high as ours,” muttered Fleming, making no effort to speak privately.
“No, but they are close, and their whole army’s average level is much higher than ours. This ain’t their first rodeo,” said Abrego.
Then addressing Elias, who was clearly more capable than Randall, Abrego asked, “What’s the plan?”
“We’ll push forward, leaving half of the highway open for your people to evacuate behind us. Get to our vehicles. It’ll be a tight fit, but we should be able to accommodate most of your people. Drivers are waiting to evacuate your people,” explained Elias.
“Then what?” asked Coleman.
Elias looked him directly in the eyes and smiled viciously, causing Coleman to flinch in surprise.
“Then we level,” said Elias. Quickly he returned to his normal demeanor. “This is the bulk of the invaders in the area. Once we clear most of them, our forces should be able to safely travel back to Jackson.”
Abrego laughed hard at that. “Not their first rodeo indeed.”
“Alright, we’ll go tell the general the plan,” said Coleman. He grabbed Fleming and pulled him away, seeing the hothead still fuming over something. This was hardly the time for internal issues. That Randall kid really must have pissed him off.
The ground once more rose beneath Elias. Then he whistled and motioned to the other side of the highway. Horns went off along the line of Sentinel Army members and the defenders in the lead stepped into the gap that had formed between the invaders and soldiers.
Coleman watched as the defenders moved forward, followed by hundreds wielding swords or spears. With precision, the ranged fighters released their attacks, keeping pressure on the invaders. Very occasionally, a close ranged fighter would take an attack, but hands were quick to pull them back while another person stepped in. The two times he saw that happen, the injured was quickly healed and then got back into line.
When Coleman looked back to check on those kids, he noticed that Randall was in the front, flashing around like a lightning bolt with his spear. Elias couldn’t be seen, but the ground continued to shift up and down the lines, taking people where they needed to go.
It was interesting for Coleman to watch for a while, and he wished he had arrows so he could get involved. This orderly way of fighting would have provided him with a lot of opportunities.
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Before long, people began to trickle in. He pointed toward the gap that had formed behind the fighting army. The caravan people were exhausted, but this was their last chance to get away. They had to put their trust in the newly arrived army.
“Where’s Commander Rexus?” asked an officer as he arrived.
“Rex, Spence, Gillum, and Zito are defending the front side closer to the invaders,” Coleman answered with a salute.
“Do you think it’s safe?” asked the officer.
Coleman shrugged. “I don’t see much choice. We were heading to Jackson anyway.”
“How can you be sure they are from Jackson?” asked the officer suspiciously. Coleman just stared at him.
“Is there another human army in the region?” he asked sarcastically.
The officer practically pouted as professionally as possible for someone who had been through what they had over the last months. “How did they know where we were and that we needed help?”
Coleman sighed. “Don’t they have alien tech? Plus, you’ve been trying to radio them. Really, it doesn’t matter. We go with them, or most people here are toast.”
The officer reached up and began making gestures. Within minutes the highway was filled with people trying to get to the Sentinel Army’s vehicles. There were army officers, regular people, the sick and injured, as well as anyone who was unable to fight.
It was nerve wracking as the invaders kept trying to target the retreating people, but Coleman was continually impressed by how on the ball the Sentinel Army was as shields and barriers sprang up to protect the people. Healers were also spread throughout, doing the minimum healing necessary to help people keep moving forward.
***
“There they are,” pointed Zito. “Let’s make some space for them.”
“And by us, you mean me,” corrected Spence, as no one expected the healer to get in direct combat.
Zito just smirked at him, practically mocking him. “Of course.”
“Fine, you coward,” said Spence, not really meaning it. He had served with Zito for years, and he trusted the man both in a firefight as well as from up close.
Chad watched Spence lead quite a few fighters forward. He didn’t have much mana left, but he was willing to use it all up to get Gregor, and the people rescuing him, to safety. There was also a lack of danger, as no one was focusing on him while Commander Rexus was nearby, showing why he was the strongest.
The Commander didn’t push into the invaders. Instead, he used skills and they came to him. He would shout and they would turn away from the other targets, focusing on Rexus. Chad wouldn’t want to be the focus of all those monsters’ attention, but Rexus didn’t care. He faced all that came for him. Even without Zito healing him he suffered such little damage.
The tall man carrying Gregor also didn’t seem concerned. The defenders around him reliably did their jobs, while the group of attackers escorting them carved death through the invader crowds, never concerned on their own by the hits they took.
Spence reached the Commander, then gave him some space as he began punching his way forward. Those weird rock covered men fell to his fists. Creatures without necks, with four arms and long nails, did manage to get some scratches on him, but he punched and kept going.
The arrived army seemed more practiced with its actions to Chad, while also equipped with better gear. They were fully committed to saving the caravan. It hadn’t escaped Chad’s notice that people behind him were swarming to the south side of the highway to disappear behind the fighters.
Not much time went by before the group was able to come out from the invader mass. Once more, the invaders made space, unable to cope with the human groups and not having the space to really swarm them.
“You guys from Jackson?” asked Spence, when there was finally room to talk.
“That’s right,” answered the man carrying Gregor. He effortlessly lifted the large body off his shoulder and handed it to Spence, who handed it to Chad. “Were you expecting another army?”
Spence choked at the sarcasm. “No, kid. We weren’t even expecting your army. This was our last chance.”
“It’s impressive you made it this far,” said the teen. While he said that without offensive inflection, Spence seemed to take it as being looked down on.
“If you think for one minute that you nobodies could have survived what we went through…” A hand was placed on Spence’s shoulder, and he stopped himself.
“We’ve all had our battles, Kev,” Commander Rexus said to him.
“I apologize for his attitude, it’s been a long road,” Rexus then said to the newcomers. He seemed amused by how the small, skirt wearing knight had readied her shield and hammer for a fight. Now that they were closer, Chad could see her tag of “Shield Maiden [43]”, which impressed him.
The dark-skinned man shrugged and spoke with a deep voice, “tempers can run deep with this level of stress. We’ll get you back to Jackson, where your people can rest and recover.”
“We’ll all appreciate that,” said Rexus with an almost amused smile. “What do you need from us?”
“Get those who need it to safety. Our vehicles will take those who can’t travel on their own to Jackson while we hold the invaders back. By the way, I’m Lucas Fenton of the Sentinel Army,” said Lucas.
Rexus nodded. “I’m Detachment Commander Victor Rexus,” he said. “You the leader of the army?”
“Just in charge of this op. There are a few other things happening and the real leader will join us soon.”
“Oh? You don’t say,” said Rexus, a slight lick of his lips caused Chad to shiver. “There are more of the bastards attacking behind the caravan and I don’t know how long my troops can hold it. I’ll head back there if you guys have this area.”
Lucas nodded to the Commander, who then turned to head back down the highway.
“Alvarez,” said the Commander, getting Chad’s attention. “I know you’re tapped. Take Gregor and evacuate with him. You’ve done an admirable job, soldier.”
The Commander saluted him, and then dashed down the caravan’s perimeter.
***
The evacuation took a long time. As it should, considering how many people there were to evacuate. Gregor woke shortly after they had gotten to the trucks. There wasn’t any raw meat for Gregor to eat, and he was exceptionally weak. The two were put in the back of a pickup truck with quite a few other people. No one wanted to be all that close to the blood-soaked Gregor.
When the first ten trucks and the trailers they pulled were loaded with people, they left, giving the next set of vehicles more room to accept their evacuees. Gregor looked around with his eyes a little glassy, just staring into space. Chad wasn’t sure what he was concerned with, so he handed him a bottle of water. Gregor drank it absentmindedly.
It had only been a few minutes of travel south when a loud rumble caught the edge of Chad’s attention. He leaned over the edge of the truck, using his wind magic to block the wind shear. Down the highway he saw another group of motorcycles and trucks driving at them, going speeds that pre-[System] would have seen them arrested for reckless endangerment.
The lead motorcycle was driven by a human, and Chad could hear laughing from the driver of his own truck. Chad assumed they were with the Sentinel Army. There was honking from the lead truck heading south and the vehicles heading south formed a line to make space, while those heading to the fighting made their own line.
Suddenly Gregor’s head snapped around. He grabbed his chest while his face flushed. He turned and watched the man on the lead motorcycle, who frowned, but didn’t give them any attention, as focused as he was on get to the fighting.
Chad swallowed hard. “What was that?” he asked Gregor.
Gregor’s eyes were locked on the man as he drove further away. His whole demeanor was tense, hackles raised like a cornered animal ready to fight for its life.
Gregor snarled, hand absently massaging his chest while he answered. “Something dangerous and wrong.”
***
Adam was relieved to see people evacuating without rushing. He and the General’s Guard had made it in time. There would still be some fighting. Inside, his soul both boiled and calmed. It didn’t want to be left out of the invader slaughter.
Then, as Adam sped forward, an intense pain gripped him. It wasn’t physical or mental, but something in his soul. Something that wanted to get out. Adam felt like the time his connections had been ripped from him when his friends were trapped inside the Testudinate rift.
It only lasted for an instant, and then he settled as he continued driving. He held his breath, waiting to see if it happened again.
After only a few more minutes, Adam saw the evacuees ahead loading into the vehicles. Thoughts of the pain vanished. There were invaders to take down!