Alright, thought Asay, his heart beating wildly. Alright, stay calm. Remember, what did they say during training? What are you supposed to do in this situation?

Walking as silently as he could from tree to tree in the general direction of the protection belt, Asay thought about one of squad leader Minell's earliest speeches when his service began. "When you are out there and shit hits the fan, don't make the mistake of thinking that 'help's on its way', that all you gotta do is wait for reinforcements to arrive. They won't. Or at least, they'll always be too late. Believe me. When you are out there, always consider that you and your group are alone. If you don't help yourself, nobody will and you'll die for it".

"If things go south, you must stay calm". Hey, I'm doing my best, thought Asay with a forced chuckle. "Always stay with your group, [Shieldbearers] up front and ranged bastards in the back. If your formation was disrupted and it doesn't look like you can get it back on its feet, you have two ways to react. First situation is when the way to the protection belt is clear and you're not too far from it. Then, the ranged are to fall back to the Belt as fast as they can, 'cuz they'll just be a liability for the frontliners otherwise. The frontliners are to cover their retreat then try to stay alive. Second situation, you are too far from the Belt or the path isn't clear. The ranged are to fall back, regroup then come back to assist the..."

Godamnit, it doesn't apply to this clusterfuck at all !!

It started quite well, a mere few minutes ago. Opora, the group's [Shade], suddenly came back half screaming that a crimson wolf was on her tail. Despite having had approximately four seconds to get ready, Aarus and Seltori, the group's two [Shiledbearer], managed to get to their feet and rush in the [Shade]’s direction in time to intercept the beast. When it came bursting out of the woods, it was greeted by an almost decent-looking defense line. It started quite well, really.

Thing is, in the direction the crimson wolf came from was sitting Naochem, the group's second [Marksman] beside Asay. He didn't take well to the idea of being suddenly face-to-face with a hundred kilograms worth of muscle and brutality, a monster whose bite could literally tear off limbs. Naochem wasn’t the keenest with all this ‘not being protected by fifteen-meter tall city walls’ business to begin with and it clearly showed when he panicked and ran away in the opposite direction.

It wouldn’t have been that big a deal if he had had the good sense to run in the good direction, meaning toward the Belt. But he hadn’t. There was no need to explain what the chances of survival of a lone [Marksman] running in the Wilds were and that’s why Asay started to run after him. It's only a few dozen meters later when he heard the screams of Yva, the group’s leader, that he realized that he himself was suspiciously starting to look like a lone [Marksman] running in the Wilds. He was briefly reassured when he realized that Yva was also running after him – so many fucking mistakes in such a short period of time, it really was amazing – but his heart fell when he heard the growls of a second crimson wolf coming from somewhere on his left. Of course. These bastards are never alone.

All thoughts about getting Naochem back to the group flew out of his mind and he immediately hid himself behind a tree, trying to see where was the beast hiding and failing to do so. Behind him, Yva had disappeared, probably doing the same thing. Then he spent the next couple of minutes having no idea what to do and inwardly screaming at himself for being such a moron.

At least I didn’t start running away from that other wolf, like Naochem, thought Asay. It could have been an even worse situation. It did make him feel slightly proud to know he had been more rational. Well, I did separate from my group…Goddamit, what a shitty situation.

After a couple of minutes of being still and silent, he started to move, slowly, toward the protection belt. He wasn’t certain at all that it was a good decision as at least two more of his teammates were alone with a crimson wolf lurking nearby, and because the beast being here clearly showed the way to the Belt wasn’t safe but what else could he…

“Asay! Are you there? Asay!” half whispered, half screamed Yva, who appeared twenty meters on his right side.

Oh, Yva! Wait, no, oh no you’ve got to be kidding me, for fuck’s sake Yva, if I heard you from twenty meters away there is no way in hell the crimson wolf didn’t!

Proving him right, a bark was heard behind Yva, followed by the sound of something rapidly approaching. Asay had a couple of seconds only to decide on what to do.

On the one hand, he could stay where he was. From the sound of it, the monster was on the other side of Yva and shouldn’t come near him. What’s more, he had kept silent and the wolf wouldn’t notice if he was to slip away. It’d be all the more easy since he now clearly knew where it was. The only slight drawback to this perfect course of action was that it meant letting his teammate die a gruesome death because she tried to have Asay’s back. On the other hand, he could use the fact that the beast hadn’t noticed him and ambush it then try to somehow survive the wolf’s fury. It actually was a tough choice because, y’know, Yva was really grating on his nerves.

Who am I kidding, thought Asay while taking an arrow out of his quiver. As if I’d really do that. Asay wasn’t the best of guys, clearly, but he didn’t stoop that low. Now, I’ve gotta make it count…

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

It helped that their chances weren’t that bad either. Unlike him, Yva wasn’t a pure ranged combatant. She was a [Psyker], a half frontliner. With their skills and using immaterial bursts of strength, their role was to impede the enemy's movements and ensure they couldn’t bypass the [Shieldbearer]. If the line held strong, they could also dish out some blows from behind. With her holding the beast down and Asay in the back kitting it, they could make it out alive. Probably. Maybe.

The beast jumped out of some bushes in front of Yva, who had gotten ready, some thirty meters away from Asay. It was a frightening beast. Almost two meters in length when you included its long tail, it stood as tall as Asay’s waist. The dark, reddish fur of the wolf stood out in the forest but Asay’s eye were drawn to its maw that was as big as Asay’s head and filled with scary-looking teeth. Oh god, gulped Asay. He could feel himself starting to panic again, but he shook himself out of it.

There were too many trees in the surrounding for the [Marksman]’s liking, but at least the distance was perfect. He nocked his arrow and watched how the fight played out. Without waiting for the monster to even touch the ground, Yva greeted it with a [Blast] right in the nose. The timing was great – she wasn’t the group’s leader for nothing – and the unprepared wolf tumbled into the ground.

Now? Should I take the shot? It won’t be able to evade! In the end, Asay decided against it. It’d be a free shot, indeed, but a simple arrow on the body wouldn’t injure it much. He needed to either shoot one of its limbs, its neck or even better, one of its eyes. Only such a shot would make his ambush successful.

Yva didn’t stop there. When the beast tried to get back on its feet, she followed up with a blow using [Mind’s limb], her aether-made appendage striking it on the side of the head. It didn’t fall to the ground again, but now the beast was disoriented, moving unsteadily toward Yva.

Now! Asay checked that his passive skill [Steady aim] was active – it was – and activated his skill [True shot] while firing an arrow. Using skills in the middle of fights was a hard task as it required quite a bit of coordination. He didn’t mess it up however and his arrow left his bow faster than his eyes could see, empowered by a deadly charge of aether. It might not look like it considering the situation but he still went through two full months worth of training after all. The crimson wolf, still a bit disoriented and fully focused on Yva, took the shot right in the neck and howled in pain immediately.

The arrow had embedded itself almost ten centimeters deep, an impressive feat considering how resistant monsters’ hide were or that Asay was only armed with a wooden shortbow. It could only be explained by the fact that the neck was a weak point to crimson wolves and, most importantly, by his second level [True shot] who increased the damage dealt by his arrows.

Yva somehow didn’t look surprised at the arrow appearing in the wolf’s neck. Even better, she immediately sent a second blow toward the wolf, this one toward the arrow itself! The wolf was still reeling from the pain when Yva struck the arrow, taking it even deeper into the monster's neck and breaking its shaft. Where Asay’s shot had simply injured the beast, Yva’s follow up had now gravely wounded it.

Unfortunately, it also shook it out of its pain and the wolf suddenly charged at Yva, maw wide open and snarling in pure rage. Taken aback, the [Psyker] took a few steps back while sending out a second [Blast] toward the beast. It barely stopped it for a second. Now clearly afraid, Yva tried to hit it again with her [Mind’s limb] but it was too slow and the beast dodged out of the way. The second arrow Asay shot at it also didn’t stop the beast, though a slight limp could now be seen from one of its limbs. The wolf was soon on the verge of jumping at Yva and tearing her apart when she used her [Mind’s limb] on the ground directly to her right. It resulted in her own body being thrown to the side and she evaded the beast's maw, though she was grazed by its claws.

Asay successfully predicted the wolf’s landing point and shot at it a third empowered arrow. He was starting to feel the strain from successively using his skills in such a short period. It hit the beast again and now it was clearly limping, at last his attacks having a visible effect. The beast shook itself after landing unsteadily, the pain it felt from its neck probably starting to weaken it. It shot a bloodshot glance at Asay, now only a dozen meters away from it, and suddenly started running toward him!

Holy shit, it's coming !! God, what do I do, do I dodge or do I try to finish it, I have a perfect shot at its eyes, Yva’s screaming something but, but… Ah, too close, too close! Having run out of time after standing still for too long and his thoughts growing incoherent, Asay had no choice but to dodge behind a tree to avoid the jumping beast. He then started running as fast as he could toward Yva, who at least would be able to stall the beast a bit. He’d then be able to…

A pained bark behind him made him look behind his shoulder. The beast was preparing to pursue Asay when an arrow had apparently stuck it on the neck, again. Starting to look like a hedgehog, the wolf swayed on its feet. Following the direction the arrow came from, he saw Naochem standing in the distance, bow in hand, unsteadily taking another arrow out of his quiver. The lanky man had never looked as dashing as he was right now, thought Asay, a grin appearing on his face. A grin that disappeared when he tripped on a root sticking out of the ground and fell on his face. Look at where you’re going when you’re running in a forest, kids. Believe uncle Asay, he knows what he’s saying.

Getting back on his feet as fast as he could, Asay found out that the beast had again started going after him. It was much slower now however and Asay managed to reach Yva’s side before it caught to him. A final [Blast] to the face made the injured wolf fall to the ground and two more arrows from Asay and Naochem finally killed the monster.

They stayed on alert, surrounding the body for a full minute before allowing themselves to take a breath. With the adrenalin leaving his body, Asay started to shiver quite badly and he fell to the ground.

Naochem got closer to him and said “God, what an awful beast. Good thing you two aren’t injured, it could have ended…’

Well, Asay never got to know how precisely it could have ended – though he had an idea – because Yva decided it proper to punch Naochem right in the face as hard as she could. He lost consciousness and fell and the ground nearby Asay. After looking around them, Yva sat on the ground as well, her face pale and breathing laborious.

You so deserved it, pal.