If I ever wanted to get a gravity machine experience of a lifetime, this was it. I was being pancaked, and Yoleeha readied another serenade. Without a moment to waste, Naomi reacted, reassembling the planks of wood to attack Yoleeha and Sift. She tossed them like projectiles, Sift’s effect on me weakening by the second. Naomi took on the role of distractor, and with the seconds shaving down on the clock, I was finally able to get up and head to the egg.
The saloon was stripped apart as my flames continued to engulf it. In the middle of the room, I saw the nest with the egg, and rushed over to claim it. Naomi was running out of fuel out there, and started to yank bottles from the shelves, tables and chairs, and anything she could get her hands on to keep those two away from me. Yoleeha had an opportunity to scream again, and just as suddenly, Naomi’s HP bar began trickling away.
“Come on, Naomi, just a little longer,” I whispered to myself, and boom, another gunshot from our sharp shooter, Yoleeha shutting up immediately.
But then another sound broke through, making my heart drop down to my stomach.
I heard whistling, and not the delightful cowboy type of whistling either. It was followed by the sound of a thunder clap, feeding chills down my back. It all happened so fast, my hand sweating on the egg as I continued to claim it. This had to be the longest five seconds of my life, the ground underneath me rattling like we were inside a goddamn snow globe.
Big heavy steps began to march my way. It was Belhem and his titan meta ability.
Belhem was one talent I didn’t want to cross paths with. He wore a mask similar to that of Slipknot’s Number 7 finished in chrome black. He was known as the silent giant, but there was nothing quiet about the chaos that laid in his wake. Besides the fact that no one heard him talk, you’d hear wherever Belhem went. Buildings crumbled, cars exploded, and monsters fled in terror. He left a trail of rubble and ruin behind him without ever uttering a single word.
Thankfully, Naomi had bought me enough time to seal our score, and now all we had to worry about was escaping before the hurricane came.
“We locked in our score. It’s time to get the hell out of Dodge.” As soon as I rushed out of the burning building, a giant foot crushed it flat. I was blown forward from the gust of air and particles chasing me as Belhem entered the scene. Sift looked up to Belhem in all of his towering glory, but the gravity manipulator didn’t use his meta on him. To anti-gravitate a person that big would require a shit ton of stamina, and he wasn’t about to burn away his resources on one guy, let alone on a lost point.
Sift stood where he was, and Belhem crushed Sift.
The crowd erupted with excitement.
Magpie:That was one ground-stomping sacrifice there, Flamingo!
Flamingo: It sure was, Magpie! The giant has given Sift a one way ticket to the White Box!
While that was smart of Sift not to use his stamina bar, he could at the very least try running away from Belhem. Unlike Sift, Naomi and I ran for our lives. We sprinted through the rubble and down the dirt road, the town looking smaller the faster we ran. The ground shook with each of Belhem’s pounding steps behind us, and when he realized he wasn’t catching up, he picked up speed.
“Naomi, break!” I shouted, and we forked off. Luckily for Naomi, he went for me.
If I knew her, she was going to regroup with Reina and strategize, Naomi confirming that through my com two seconds later. With Belhem here, that could only mean one of two things—his team couldn’t secure a point and he wanted to rack up on HP, or his team did score and he was being greedy. When I looked at the score, it confirmed that they’d taken a point. So far, Team Owl scored one, as well as Team Wolf.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Team Owl: 1
Team Wolf: 1
Team Hawk: 0
Team Cheetah: 0
“We are going after the Wyrm egg,” Reina said through my earpiece.
“The coast is clear. Try losing Belhem and meeting us t-t—”
“Naomi?” I called out, but the connection was lost. “Naomi,” I panted as I ran, “Are you there?”
Shit.
They got into some trouble, both of their health bars taking a hit.
I needed to shake off Belhem quick, so I ducked into an alleyway and funneled through the maze of side streets. I sprinted through the narrow alleys, vaulting over debris and squeezing between half-collapsed buildings. Belhem’s thundering footsteps grew fainter as I gained distance. I tapped my com again, hearing cracks in the line, and Reina’s voice trying to pierce through.
Static hissed over the channel before Naomi’s strained voice responded, the sound inaudible. “Naomi? Reina? Are you there?” I whispered, until a huge fucking hand dropped down from the heavens.
I spun around just as the massive hand slammed down behind me, cutting off my escape. Towering above was a huge grin, Belhem and his beady eyes glaring at me hungrily as he attacked.
The giant didn’t say much, but his eyes were expressive. He thought he got me when he slammed his fist down again, but I cocked my fist back and bore down between his knuckles, Belhem, instantly peeling back.
He didn’t like that, and I darted to the side to avoid him retaliating. But in my hurry to get away, he snatched me with his other hand as it bulldozed through a wall.
Debris rained down as I struggled to break free over a pile of rubble. Belhem’s reaction speed was ridiculously fast for someone his size, the confined alley not slowing him down. I struggled against Belhem’s grip, trying to wiggle free, but his massive fingers were like iron bands around my body.
His size was a multiplier for his strength. So I had to ask myself if it was even worth fighting this guy alone?
Sift was a year three hunter, and even he didn’t bother wasting his stamina on this guy. But if we kept feeding Belhem health, we were setting ourselves up for failure toward the end of the round.
I had to weigh my options, but luckily, I didn’t have to do it alone. Suddenly, a bright flash of light erupted from behind me, momentarily blinding Belhem. His grip slackened, and I dropped to the rubble below. When I pivoted around, I saw Reina standing there, with a rocket launcher over her shoulder.
“Thought you could use a hand,” she said with a grin.
“Reina?”
Belhem got up from crouching, waving the smoke screen from his face. Capitalizing on his distraction, Reina and I bolted, running as far away from him as possible.
“Thanks for the save, Reina!”
“Don’t thank me yet. I had to leave Naomi with Bram.”
“Bram?”
“He was pretty upset I shot him in the head.” She grinned. “I told you my sniper idea will work.”
“I’m glad I gave it a chance. But now, let’s focus on grouping up again.”
“Oh no, Naomi’s in the White Box,” Reina said.
“Dammit…” I sucked my teeth. “Don’t worry. We don’t have to rush it. We got a point. Let’s give Naomi a place to respawn to. Between both eggs this time.”
“You don’t want me to set up a scoping location?”
“There’s no point unless we know what we’re up against. Not only that, Bram’s team will expect you on your perch.”
“You’re right. And these nest locations are more exposed than usual….”
“We have limited optimal elevations on this map, and we don’t want to make it obvious.”
“Both eggs have been claimed. We have Team Cheetah on the left, and Team Wolf on the right.”
“Right now, claiming those eggs isn’t even in our plans right now. Let the big leagues fight over it and then swoop in under them.”
“There’s an advantage to nesting the egg first, Nero.”
“I know. It’s just not the luxury we have right now.”
“It may be in our interest to third party now, no? If we continue to lag behind, their bars will increase, and ours will remain stagnant.”
I smirked. “We will score some kills. You already have two. Here.” I handed her my healing candy item.
Dragon Tail Soft Candy: Restores HP bar to max. Negates respawn rule.
“That way, you don’t have to wait to respawn to use 300 HP.”
“It’s not going to matter, either way. You two are done for,” someone said from behind me, and when I pivoted around, I saw nothing, and no one. Not until Reina yelped. I snapped my head back in time to see her standing on top of a huge magnified card that had a drawing of a wormhole on it. And in under a second, Reina dropped right inside of it.
“Reina?!”