12
Gamble I
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Alduin and Ise hastily ducked for cover as fear washed over them. His hands held the long clothed objects tight, while Ise was clenching a small black box.
‘Is it too late?’ Alduin panicked under the thick blanket.
The Goblin had cried out with such a loud voice that they heard the windows shaking.
In response, the wolf started crying like a hyena. The howling laughter marked a new hunt. From seemingly every direction, cackling sounds rang out. They were only a few houses over. One that had already been raided through, yet Alduin and Ise’s hearts raced in their chests.
“A-” Ise almost whispered in a panic before Alduin put his hand on her mouth.
The vibrations of this gathering group of beasts spread all the way to the attic of the building they were in. But every sound vanished the moment two distinctive howls rang out.
‘Three,’ Alduin started thinking about everything that could happen and cross-referenced it to what they already found out. ‘Three wolves, two hunters, and one leader, the rest are workers.’ They had been observing everything for almost two hours already.
‘They seem familiar with what is going on,’ Alduin thought further.
Once more, a cackle, louder than any other one rang out.
‘That’s the leader.’ Alduin instinctively knew.
The one that aimed its arrow at him. The one whose eyes he crossed with. The one that was actively hunting them. And the one that didn’t enter the building.
‘I’m sure it knows.’ Alduin and Ise had been hiding their trail extremely well. If smell was something they tracked, modern inventions could help them hide. Same with sound, and now they also exploited their weak eyesight.
These beasts didn’t move on instinct. Alduin was certain. That leader was smart, terrifyingly so.
‘It’s going to happen.’ Alduin knew. Three taps were given on Ise’s shoulder as they both lay under a blanket, not a single sound or smell could escape.
And outside, not far from their location, a gathering took place.
The pavement on the small street had completely shattered. The facade of the old houses had crumbled and cracks had invaded the walls. Dried blood and corpses of the people who couldn’t escape littered the streets and houses.
Within these ruins of a former town, more than seventy goblins had assembled and aimed to finish their invasion of the town.
Shouts rang out, shouts unable to be mimicked by a human voice. Teeth clacked together, and slowly these seemingly rabies-infected creatures’ rage reached a crescendo. Windows almost shattered from the vibration of an entire hive-like group of monsters crying out in unison.
Inside, Alduin shivered with great intensity. Ise had tears forming in her eyes. But neither of them made a sound, even a corpse would have a larger presence than them right now.
‘Did we make a mistake?’ Alduin felt his adrenaline pumping as his mind tried registering what was happening.
Once more three wolves howled out and the overwhelming battle cries completely disappeared. Yet tension had never been this high. Neither of them dared to take a single breath. Time seemed to slow down. Even their sweat seemed to stop as goosebumps gathered over their bodies.
Silence abruptly appeared. For a single second, a cloak of silence dominated every sound in existence.
Only a single second passed before a cry so loud rang out, that both people instinctively grabbed their ears. A cry of a hyena. Followed by the cackling of a torn throat and the clacking of its teeth in a domineering rhythm had completely shattered the fragile balance that existed.
Now every single creature rang out. And all of them, with cries louder than the one before, started on a death march on the old church.
It had started. Throughout the entire village, not a single person should have been alive. The only targets left were their prey, flocked together in a church.
‘It knows!’ Alduin panicked. ‘There's no time left!’
Their gamble was crashing down before they even placed their bet. The board they were setting had instantly been broken.
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The only thing racing through his mind was the moment that the goblin leader had stopped its chase. Right before it should have entered the building, a smirk was visible. Red eyes that darted around knew what was happening. But they had long since passed the point of no return.
Four taps could be felt on Ise’s shoulder. Four taps, the last of their signals. The one that meant that whatever their plan was, it was no longer achievable.
***
Alduin and Ise raced down the stairs and stepped outside. Their previous stealth seemed like an illusion in the way they stood in the middle of the street.
Alduin and Ise could only look in the distance, the raging group of goblins had almost arrived at the town’s square.
“What should we do?!” Ise started panicking, the past couple of hours had completely frightened her towards the viciousness of those beasts. The bloodstains and body parts of their former neighbours had been plastered on every wall.
“We’re continuing, we don’t have time left!” Alduin had already formed a contingency plan. “Ise, run towards the entrance, you’re starting from the back!” Alduin yelled as he started running, Ise could only follow him.
Alduin knew that there was a reason that the predatory beast hadn’t entered inside. It smelled their desperate attempt at survival. Much in the same way as the final thrashing of the boar he killed.
Alduin had reached the midpoint of the road from the church before he stopped and ordered with haste, “Continue! Start from here towards the end. When you hear the bell, commence the plan and start running towards the museum!”
“What about you? What about the others?” Ise panicked, the 26-year-old woman had reached the end of her rope. Her impressive demeanor was crumbling. It was normal, Alduin was the same.
The situation had taken a turn for the worse. This was the only thing he could think of. At least this way Ise would be in the least amount of danger.
“I’m adjusting our plan, we don’t have a choice anymore!” Alduin yelled and entered a building.
His frown and nervous expression forced Ise to go even faster. Out of everyone available, she was the only one in good enough shape to fulfill this plan. Not even Leon could have replaced her. This was proof enough that her mental state was exceptionally resilient. And now, if they wanted to have even the smallest chance of survival they had not a single second to spare. Ise understood. Her fears became desperation and her desperation became action. She chose the fight response.
Alduin in turn had already entered multiple buildings on his side. ‘Good, I can’t see her anymore.’ He looked towards the far end of this road, the entrance of the town. His internal countdown had started. Each step became faster and faster. Every building he entered only took half a minute at most before he ran towards the next one.
His breathing became rougher. His mind became faint. The sharp smell of gas was draining his remaining stamina at a rate even faster than before. ‘Please wait. Please,’ Alduin hoped.
The sounds of clashes rang out throughout the town marking the fact that the goblins had arrived. The old church that used to stand alone in the middle of the town square was now surrounded by a horde of raging monsters.
***
The old people had gathered in the middle of the church. Every one of them had started trembling the moment Alduin left. Most didn’t dare to take a risk, and most were strongly opposed to their current plan. The only difference was, only Edward, Alphons, and Theo had a gun.
Theo stood near the entrance holding his nose. Tissues marked with blood showed some discord had been going on here after Alduin left.
Everybody was deadly silent. Everyone knew what was going to happen now, yet nobody expected it to happen this fast.
“Look what you have done! You have doomed us!” An old man yelled out in rage. “That little shit has pushed them to attack us even faster! We could have tried communicating!” Blood poured down his face. His mental state had completely withered. His eyes showed no signs of sanity.
“Please lord, Please forgive this sinner. Don’t leave me in this purgatory,” The voice continued rising as madness overwhelmed him. But the old man was already subdued, few old people stood by his side, it seemed the changing world was more overwhelming than they imagined.
Alphons and Leon stood on a movable staircase. Creaks from the aged wood made everyone move their heads as Leon suddenly ran towards Edward.
“They’re coming,” Leon looked with a panicked expression towards the old man. And a stern gaze returned his call.
“Not a single person in here makes a sound. That is if you want to survive,” Edward spoke with a fierce voice. A bleeding fist was cleaning the butt of the gun he held in his hand.
“Alduin is dead! He has doome-“ The voice stopped. The priest fainted.
“Seal his mouth. The next person that speaks up will get the same treatment,” Edward threatened.
Everything had gone wrong. The moment Alduin left, discord erupted in the church. Panic brought the worst out of people but a show of force always brought someone back to reality.
Although others had a different reaction, to the side Edward saw a fainted woman. Lydia had reached her limit, she had vehemently protested her son leaving, yet there was nobody fit or confident enough to replace him.
Even Edward didn’t want him to leave, but he dared not hold him back either. Only Veleda, who was touching her lips, seemed to wholeheartedly support him. But the tears in her eyes betrayed her thoughts.
‘Please don’t die.’ Edward felt his mind shaking. It had been a long time since he last felt this sensation. But now, there was nothing he could do about it.
“We will survive,” Edward spoke loudly and walked back towards the front. “They're still alive.” He didn’t know if anyone heard, but it was enough if he tried convincing himself.
A massive commotion could be heard outside. The earlier howls weren’t comparable to this. While they had predicted a similar situation occurring, this was way too fast.
Edward ascended the wooden staircase and stood next to Alphons. Staring outside the clerestory, they could finally see what they were up against.
Two bare-chested large goblins riding wolves stood next to a cloaked one. Their green skin and red markings were terrifying as their grey eyes were focused on the massive church door.
But it was the third one, the middle one was the worst. A beast, completely stripped from its skin with countless cuts replacing it, served as the mount for a monster.
Terrifying teeth could be seen as it started smiling. Ruby red eyes looked ahead. And its hands grabbed its bow.