Loch swung Onyx, grabbing the dying Bugbear with his free hand and pushing it to the side. He surged forward, Bulwark slamming into the back of a Wendigo. The pale white creature, what used to be an elf, fell forward. The body arched back, a spear tip bursting out the back. Loch twisted, avoiding the spear.
Grabbing the body he yanked, the spear coming with the dead Wendigo. Loch saw that it wasn’t a spear but a rake or shovel handle, the end carved into a point. Stepping into the void, Loch turned, raising Onyx to block the downswing of a machete.
“Stop,” he yelled, looking into the surprised faces of two young men.
They looked like twins, very close in appearance. Blond hair, one with a scraggly beard and the other without. Same height and basic build. The one with the beard was maybe an inch or two taller. Brothers. Neither looked to be more than eighteen.
“Who?,” the shorter asked.
Loch ignored him, glancing over his shoulder to make sure his people had the walls of their wedge secured. They had pushed into the mass of monsters, forming a wall with their bodies, leaving a clear space between. Barely a person wide at the tip where Loch stood, stared at by two shocked teenagers.
Turning back to them, lowering Onyx, Loch used his free hand to push one to the side.
“Fight,” he ordered the taller, the one still holding a weapon.
The other didn’t move.
Loch could see Harper standing next to a taller woman. There were bodies on the ground, a couple people tending to them. The woman had to be the leader. Harper was pointing at him, glaring at the surprised woman.
Stepping forward, Loch made sure the gap was still covered. He stopped in front of the woman, Harper rushing to the opening, both tonfas out. The woman looked from Harper to Loch, back to looking over his shoulder at the younger woman. She shook her head, a look of confusion still on her face.
“Get your people out,” Loch said. “That way. We’ll hold as long as we can.”
He could see flashes of energy coming from the side, the towering head of the Alpha Wendigo, hear the pained roars of the triceratops and the screeching of the raptors. Leaping over the heads of all was a long black cat. The woman watched the cat, attention flashing back to Loch.
“Now,” he ordered.
“But..”
“Have them collapse the edges of the circle,” Loch said, pointing at the people in front and to the sides. “Grab the ones on the ground and run.”
The others were looking at him, unsure what to do. The woman was still frozen.
Loch cursed.
He raised Onyx, the woman flinching back. Onyx flew past her shoulder, turning end over end. The force of the axe, passing so close, made her hair move. She turned to watch its passage, seeing the axe slam into a leaping pale white giant chipmunk. The force of the impact knocked it back, the monster landing on top of others, knocking them all down.
Loch stepped past the woman, heading for the temporary break in the fighting. The humans looked down at the scrambling Wendigo, only one of them smart enough to stab down with his makeshift spear, killing a creature. He turned in surprise, seeing a glowing axe head only inches from his face, the sharp edge slamming down into another Wendigo.
“Go,” Loch ordered. “Help get the wounded out of here.”
The man only took a second, looking from Loch to the middle of the defender’s circle. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t try to say or ask anything. He just moved, throwing his spear into the chaos of the monsters. He reached down and grabbed one of the wounded, not struggling to lift the unconscious, at least Loch hoped so, body over his shoulders. He took off into the opening.
That was all it took. The others broke out of their shock. The tall woman started barking orders, yelling out names. Loch couldn’t look back, focused on the Wendigo that pushed against him.
Long arms slashed down, blocked by the glowing shield. Loch pushed up, struggling against the surprising strength of the monster. Loch didn’t even know what creature it had been. A couple inches taller, but wider in the shoulders even when drained and desiccated as a Wendigo. The arms were long, ending in three clawed fingers. It had a slight hunch, the face looking almost like a lizard, a thick tail swished behind it. Some kind of lizardman. Something new that he hadn’t seen, which meant there was another race of monsters or invaders in the area.
How many were there? Hobs, Bugbears, Elves, Redcaps, the frog creatures and now some kind of lizardman creature? The world had grown so big, and as much as Loch didn’t want to think about it, the seven billion human population had greatly dwindled. There was so much space, why did they have to be on top of eachother? Wasn’t the world big enough for everyone?
He knew the answer. The Connected System wanted it this way. It wanted the people and monsters to fight over the limited Resources. It didn’t want peace. The Connection couldn’t Advance on its own. It needed the Spirit from all the races and monsters Advancing.
Loch swung Onyx horizontally, cutting across the chest of the monster. Pale scales fell away, no blood leaking from the wound. The monster made no sound, didn’t even react to the injury. It was pushed back a step, giving Loch the space he needed to kick at the monster’s leg. Knee shattered, the monster shifting, its head lowering right into Loch’s swing.
Multi-colored sparks drifted up, flowing into Loch as the monster fell at his feet. It was replaced by another.
“Fall back a couple steps,” Loch ordered.
The people around him listened, thankfully, each falling back and contracting the defensive circle. The monsters surged forward, but the defenders knowing what they needed to do pushed back, holding the monsters at bay. An explosion of black over the heads of all caused them to look up, black liquid falling to the ground as Piper’s inksummon was destroyed. More liquid fell over the clawed hand of the larger Wendigo, its antlered head looking toward Loch. The hollow eyes seemed to bore in on him.
“Wait your turn,” Loch growled, swinging at a Bugbear.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The creature yelped, pulling its almost severed arm away, blood flooding from the wound. A Velocoraptor landed on its back, pushing the Bugbear down. Loch swung Onyx, hammerhead slamming into the small dinosaur. He heard bones breaking as the monster was flung away, feathers fluttering to the ground. What a waste, he thought, watching the feathers get trampled under the feet of monsters. The Clan’s archers could have used them for fletching.
Activating Wide Cleave, he cut through the monsters directly in front. With the momentarily cleared space, he risked a glance back, seeing the circle free of the wounded. The last, the tall woman, was running down the space held by his people. The tunnel was thinner, it wouldn’t hold for long. Now came the hardest part.
“Another step back.”
The circle contracted more.
“Again.”
He didn’t need to give more orders. As the people closest to the tunnel became free, no longer directly facing a monster, they ran. Every few seconds, the circle moved back as one, more people becoming free.
Then there were only three. Loch and the two next to him.
“On my mark,” he shouted out, hoping to be heard over the press of monsters. “Run.”
Activating Wide Cleave, Loch severed heads and limbs, clearing a space.
“Run,” he yelled.
The men didn’t wait. They took off.
Loch stepped back, finding Brian on one side and Jenny on the other. The monsters pressed forward. The three kept moving backwards, others falling in step, forming a long line with the ends turned up to keep the monsters from flanking. Loch saw some of the rescued defenders had rejoined the line. He hoped they’d get the benefit of what came next.
He Activated Aura Of Attack. The Ability description had said that it worked with allies. Would the Connection consider the rescued people as allies? He hoped so because the next Ability would make them even stronger.
Loch Activated Breaker’s Banner.
He felt a large amount of Spirit leave his body, flowing into the world around him. A green glow spread out across the field as the Spirit collected, flowing into the Clan’s banner hanging off a pole stuck into the ground behind Loch. It fluttered, as if the strong wind blowing across the field could move the flag made of energy. Loch felt his entire body energized.
He was stronger, faster, the minor wounds healing at a greater rate. Around him, he could see his people’s swings growing faster and stronger. The monsters in front weakened. Not much, but enough. Their swings didn’t hit as hard, their roars not as loud.
His people had to be growing tired. The fighting hadn’t been that long. It had felt like hours but had only been minutes. But it had been intense. Loch’s Spirit had been drained. His Health was still good. He hadn’t taken any major wounds, but had accumulated a lot of minor. That was the way of fights. Little nicks added up. Bumps from collisions or jarring blows from blocking an attack. All those felt like they were going away.
Loch felt like he hadn’t been fighting.
He hoped the rescued people got the effects. They needed it more.
Another monster fell, Loch blocking an attack with his shield as he let Onyx fly. The axe slammed into a leaping velociraptor, knocking the dinosaur back. It slammed into a Wendigo, the monster tearing the dinosaur to pieces. The screeching died out, only to be replaced with more.
With all the monsters, the air was full of the multi-colored sparks, flowing into every human on the defending line. Others flowed off to the side where Loch’s ranged fighters were. Some monsters had turned that way, but none had made it to the line yet. Small black forms darted back and forth, running at the edge of the monsters and darting away. Too small and hidden by the grass to see what exactly they were.
The press of monsters pushing against the line started to slow. They still came, but not as thick or as many. Loch felt warmth spreading through his body as Julia sent healing waves of energy. He turned back to look for her, nodding his thanks, but she had already moved on to the next person.
The ground shook, Loch not able to see what had caused it. All he could see was the Alpha Wendigo turning toward the line of humans. It meant the Triceratops had finally died, freeing up the Alpha.
HUNGER’S CHOSEN
Evaluate didn’t give Loch the name he’d been expecting. He’d expected a simple Alpha Wendigo for the tall creature’s name. Cerie had said that Wendigo was created by the Divine Being whose Concept was Hunger. More a force of nature than a sentient being. That the Alpha Wendigo was a Chosen of a Divine Being worried Loch.
It felt stronger than the Dullahan had.
Loch hadn’t seen it do anything but slash with the long arms. It had to have other abilities. Tall and skinny, skin pulled tight across the bone, the creature looked brittle and frail. After fighting Wendigo, Loch knew they were anything but.
He’d even gotten a new Achievement, one that was different from others.
HUNGER’S BANE: YOU HAVE FOUGHT AND KILLED MANY OF HUNGER’S CHILDREN. YOU HAVE EARNED +2% TO ATTACK AND +2% TO DEFENSE WHEN FIGHTING THOSE BLESSED BY THE CONCEPT OF HUNGER. YOU HAVE EARNED THE HATRED OF HUNGER AND ALL IT’S CHOSEN AND CHILDREN.
There was no rank associated with the new Achievement. Loch didn’t like that part about earning the hatred of a Divine Being, but there was nothing he could do about it. He’d received other notifications but didn’t have a chance to go through them.
With nothing else to occupy it, the Alpha Wendigo, Chosen of the Concept of Hunger, focused on Loch’s people. It took a step forward, kicking Wendigo and Raptors out of the way, crushing a Bugbear.
Loch took a couple steps back, looking up at the monster coming closer. It was a monster from nightmares, the strongest thing Loch or any human in the Northwood Territory had faced yet. He had no doubt that it could kill most of the people he’d brought with him. Harper and Piper would be no match. The Alpha Wendigo could kill all his people.
If left unchecked, the Wendigo plague would spread, consuming the world.
This was why he was the strongest, why he had gained the power.
It wasn’t because of any greed or desire for the power. It was to face monsters like this one.
It was to protect his people, his family, from the elite monsters brought by the Connection.
“I’ve got it,” he said, surprised at how calm his voice was.
Using Windstep, Loch moved past the last human defender in the line, drawing the attention of some of the monsters. He ignored them, watching the Alpha Wendigo which hadn’t turned. It kept advancing on his people.
A thrown Onyx slammed into its head, knocking it back a couple steps. The long head, looking like a cow’s skull found in the desert but with a deer’s antlers, turned to glare at Loch. The eyes were pools of black, but Loch could feel the hatred and something else coming from them.
Hunger.
The Alpha Wendigo hungered. It wanted to kill everything. It needed to consume everything.
But first it would consume Loch.
It took a step toward him.