Silence reigned over the eighty-five combatants standing in the pre-dawn darkness. As they waited, some of the melee combatants acted as roving patrols, quietly eliminating any monsters that ventured too close to the assault team. Ensuring that they would have an element of surprise was paramount to the mission’s success.
Marie and Michele stood with the commander, her eyes darting between the clock and the sky. They had reviewed the battle plan nearly a dozen times this morning, but never changed it. Despite their preparation, no one felt truly ready. Marie knew that not even Derek, with all his strength, would emerge from this unscathed. It would take time for everyone to recover.
Marie’s oracle sight peered into the near future, envisioning individual’s potential choices and battle’s potential outcome, but she was confident in their plan. However, each person, including her, had a critical role, provided she didn’t disrupt the timeline… again.
Marie took pride in her family, seasoned veterans of this type of battle. She had selected the Girdwood trip as the best practice for this exact encounter. Remaining calm and collected, she engaged in a quiet discussion with the mission commander, a military man experienced with mages and an avid video game player. He was quite adept with this kind of battle, both with his study of military tactics and video games. Marie almost laughed at the thought ‘video games provide real life skills’, but the situation was too tense for that kind of levity.
The idle chatter amongst the team was a fruitless effort to break the palpable tension as the time drew near. Mages were meditating to concentrate their power. Gunners double-checked their weapons and ammo. Fighters were attempting to contain their anxious energy. The nervous energy that the team experienced felt like electricity in the air, charged with anxiety and anticipation.
Among the groups, Sarah’s team, visibly the most nervous, comprised five members, with only two above level four. Despite their inexperience, they held a crucial significance in Marie’s long-term plan, largely due to her husband, currently a level 8 archer. Her team had no right to be here and everyone knew it. It was a mystery to everyone else why Marie insisted that they were a part of this.
Mauro’s team, second only to Marie’s in strength, comprised twenty seasoned fighters, each over level ten. She suspected that Mauro himself was above level 20, but couldn’t out rightly tell. His entire team sat in a ready formation as they checked their gear. Rifles, pistols, melee weapons, and armor were all checked, then double-checked by a partner. Whatever experience Mauro had been through had certainly carried over to his people. They were all mercenary types. Mostly professional, but greedy and bloodthirsty, not necessarily in that order.
The military, relaxed yet vigilant, maintained a perimeter, swiftly and silently eliminating any approaching goblins to prevent alarm. Despite their overall weak levels, their training was the most notable among all four groups. They moved from shadow to shadow, protecting the convoy’s secrecy by silently assassinating patrols that wandered too close.
The mission commander looked at the sky, then down to his watch, and finally over to Marie and Michele. “Are you ready to get this party started?”
Marie ran several scenarios through her head and found the timing acceptable. She nodded in response. “Yes, now is as good of a time as any.”
“Go time, folks.” The commander said just loud enough that most people heard and those that didn’t hear understood what was going on.
The team quickly loaded up, the military filing into personnel carriers and Humvees, while Sarah and Marie’s groups joined them, and Mauro’s team opted for their own vehicles. Once everyone was in, the roving patrols were called back to join the convoy. Guns were drawn as they scanned the residential street, watching for monsters.
“Engines on… Begin,” the commander ordered.
The assault team’s vehicles rolled forward, their engines rumbled softly before picking up speed. Then they picked up speed. A humvee with a snow plow led the way. Keeping silent as long as possible. The gunners held their fire even as monsters started shrieking. They would still beat the alert back to the horde. All gun fire was held as long as possible.
The lead Humvee ran straight into a group of goblins, not slowing as they were bowled over and crushed by the following vehicles. As the convoy passed the horde’s makeshift wooden wall, splintering as the powerful humvee plowed straight through it.
The commander’s voice rang out over the radio. “Open fire!”
Muzzle flashes lit the darkness, the staccato of gunfire blending with the monstrous roars. Derek gripped the handhold above his head, bracing himself against the jolts as the humvee plowed forward, rolling over a curb. Bullets shot out of the convoy, slaughtering everything.
As the middle school came into view, it was a grim sight. Monster camps were scattered everywhere, ragged tents and crude shelters dotting the grounds. The stench was overwhelming, a foul mix of unwashed bodies and the acrid smell of waste. The monsters in the yard were caught off guard, falling over as rifle fire mowed them down before they could react.
The school itself was a dump. The school was a dilapidated ruin. Doors had been torn from their frames, leaving gaping holes large enough for trolls to pass through. A pile of trash was haphazardly stacked by the doors made of ceiling tiles, duct work, insulation, and electrical wires. Apparently, the ceiling hadn’t been tall enough for them and they made space. A huge pile of dirt sat outside of one wall next to some rough looking wooden sleds, some that looked like they had been carrying dirt and others that looked like they were carrying bloody bodies.
The convoy looped around the school, clearing the area, then came to a stop where they entered. This setup the escape plan in case things went south. As soon as the convoy barely stopped, people began piling out of the trucks. Derek sprang from the vehicle, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face, his sword swinging, carving through nearby goblins and orcs. He was eager for this fight. Releasing the bloodthirsty beast within, he shot toward the oncoming monsters before they could swarm. His blade severed limbs and lives with blinding speed. As he cut through the monsters, he created a gap for the other melee fighters to fill, turning the rushing horde into a manageable trickle.
“Hold the line!” the commander bellowed. “We can’t let them near!”
Fighters of all types poured out of the trucks and onto the stinking battlefield. They formed up ranks as gunmen covered the frontline with support fire. Archers and mages released arrows and magic, creating a gap between the convoy and the frontline. Leroy and John followed behind Derek, and each used their levels and strength to their advantage as they efficiently carved through the oncoming monsters. The line of melee fighters, a mix from all the various groups, created a line and fought back the incoming.
Just as the melee fighters gained ground, the commander’s voice rang out. “Fortifications!”
Mages released their concentrated spell, causing the ground to tremble as thick stone walls emerged in an arc, creating a formidable barrier to protect the convoy from the encroaching horde. The melee fighters outside the walls, intercepting the incoming monsters with practiced precision. There were few at first, but the numbers rapidly increased as the amount of noise increased. The earth rumbled as multiple sections of thick stone wall slowly rose from the ground in an arc to defend the convoy from the horde. A way out was kept open in case the battle became too intense.
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“That’s three!” Leroy laughed over the din of battle, his excitement palpable despite the chaos around them.
“Are we keeping track?” Derek asked.
“5000 credits that I can kill more than you,” Leroy announced from behind him.
“I’m already at eight. You’d better catch up,” Derek laughed, his blade cutting through another goblin with ease.
“You both are bloodthirsty.” John complained as he swiftly sliced an orc’s throat open.
Leroy didn’t hold back, his massive sword carving through goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs with every wild swing. Clad in armor and at level 19, he felt invincible, slicing through monsters with sheer delight. Nothing could seriously harm him. Blood sprayed as he removed a monster’s head. It was like one of those violent video games that his dad played. He snuck in after everyone else went to bed to play, only to be caught by his dad, who let him play, but told him not to let Jenny catch him up.
It was better than video games. He was actually in the game and he was a hero. Not as strong as Derek, but he was a hero, someone who could save people and the planet if he got strong enough. He knew James wanted to be a hero too, but James wouldn’t admit it. He convinced James to practice training with him when they didn’t have anything else better to do. After some convincing, James played along as they played sword and sorcery, killing imaginary monsters in the yard.
Meanwhile, John fought with a heavy heart, longing for his wife and the warm meals she prepared. Despite understanding the necessity of the battle, he yearned for the peace of home. He knew it was a necessity, but he wanted to get back to his construction project. It wasn’t as complicated as combat. It was easy and safe. Even though he evolved and become much stronger than the monsters, he still didn’t want to be here. He wanted to go home and play security guard and keep the neighborhood safe between projects. But his eyes glanced up at his son, Michael, who stood on the wall with James and Candace slinging magic into the oncoming horde. Fortuantely, Michael was the only one of his three children that were here. After the last battle, Olivia didn’t want any part of combat. She was at home with Linda, Jenny, and Victoria.
The gunmen ascended the ramps, spreading out along the top of the wall to optimize their firing angles and cover more ground. The sound of gunfire echoed across the monster-laden schoolyard. Derek kept his weapon moving, cutting down monster after monster. The battle intensified as a minotaur bellowed from within the school, its roar causing the ground to vibrate and sending a wave of terror through the combatants.
The river of monsters appearing from the school turned into a flood, pouring from every door and window of the school, quickly filling the schoolyard. What started as hundreds soon swelled into several thousand. The gunner’s firearms were trained on the doors. Any goblins or orcs that came out of the building were immediately filled with led and then pounded into the concrete by the larger, stronger monsters behind them.
Monsters of all types poured out of the school, their numbers swelling a thousand, turning into two, then three, and four thousand. How that many monsters were inside the school was beyond Derek, but such thoughts were beyond him as he worked to defend the wall.
James glanced at his sister, noting her increasing fear with every passing second. He called her over, determined to give her a task to focus on.
“Candace, come here,” he ordered, his voice steady amidst the chaos.
Candace hurried and looked at him for instructions. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be an adventurer, not a war mage. James had trained her like a war mage, then she went into one of the training simulations and came out with a solid set of polished magic. The second simulation taught her magical traps and more ‘adventurer’ information.
“Start preparing your largest area spells on the horde. Look for something to weaken them, like a poison cloud or curse.”
She nodded and started focusing on a task instead of the big picture. James scanned the battlefield and glanced back at Marie after he dropped a devastating spell on the enemy horde, obliterating nearly a hundred creatures with a single blast. These things weren’t particularly strong, but there were too many of them. He hadn’t had as long to practice with his new magic since gaining level 19, but it was like the magic was at the end of his fingertips and wanted to perform his spells before he gave it instruction. It leapt to his hand, and he used it to slaughter hundreds.
As dawn broke, the assault team saw the full scale of the horde. Thousands of monsters, a seething mass of fangs, claws, and grotesque bodies, swarmed toward them. The ground trembled under the weight of their charge.
Derek’s grip tightened on his sword, the weight of their situation sinking in. Even as he carved through monster after monster, constantly moving to thin the horde and protect the wall, he worried about the others. He knew Sarah’s team and the military weren’t ready for this kind of fight, but yet here they were under Marie’s instruction. He was constantly holding himself back from going full tilt as per her instructions.
“Hold back as much as you can, until the moment of truth occurs, you will know it when you see it.” Marie had told him when they were alone that morning.
Even if people were dying around him, he couldn’t unleash the full brunt of his power. He was ordered to conserve his energy until it was needed. It was the first time Marie had shown exactly how much she changed since the apocalypse began. Her empathetic personality had faded when it came to people outside the family. For her family, her heart was still as large as ever.
His eyes glanced back at the wall where a group of kids were casting spells with trembling hands. James looked like a monster, with his eyes glowing with power as he released spell after spell, the other two, Michael and Candace were shaking with fear as they released much smaller spells. He knew they were brave, but this was beyond anything they had faced before.
The overwhelming numbers of the horde were throwing themselves at the fighters without concern of their own lives. The innumerable horde constantly pressured the fighters on the ground as they protected the wall.
Sarah’s team, the most inexperienced, was struggling. Sarah herself was barely holding back tears as she fought, her arm already tiring from holding the heavy rifle. Her husband rapidly fired arrows, but even he looked like he was starting to lose hope. Their presence here was controversial, and now she wondered if she had made a terrible mistake by coming here.
A deafening roar of inhuman voices filled the air, mingling with the thunder of gunfire and the clang of steel. The horde surged at the roar almost as if they were more afraid of what was inside the school than the team slaughtering them by the hundreds. Two fighters fell under the surge with screams of pain as they were ripped apart.
The team’s morale, nearly bottomed out in that instant. The optimistic outlook of the battle turned to a fight for survival. The controlled focus that they had maintained up to this point turned into a reckless fight for survival as gunfire increased, spells were released faster, and the fighters shouted in desperation.
A massive ogre, twice the size of any they had seen, smashed through the horde, sending goblins and orcs flying as it rushed toward the fighters. The sight of it filled everyone with dread.
The mission commander was looking from Marie to the ogre trying to comprehend how Marie hadn’t foreseen this. He shouted into his radio, trying to call for reinforcements that might not even come. Afterall Marie said that reinforcements wouldn’t be needed. Why, if she knew that this would happen would she not have arranged for backup. He didn’t have time to think as the ogre was intercepted by Mauro.
As the monsters pressed harder. Leroy’s eyes met Marie’s, and she saw the same reaction from him as everyone else in the team who looked to her in support. Why had she not foreseen this.
The horde was relentless, their numbers seemingly endless. Every fallen monster was replaced by two more. The air was thick with the stench of blood and sweat, and the cries of the wounded and dying filled the battlefield. The sheer brutality of the battle was wearing on the team’s spirit.
Candace cast a massive spell, a swirling vortex of fire that incinerated dozens of monsters in an instant. The effort left her drained, and she stumbled, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. James rushed to her side, supporting her with one arm while launching deadly spells with the other.
“Stay with me, Candace,” he urged, his voice breaking. “We’re going to make it through this.”
Marie looked around at her team, seeing the fear and determination etched on their faces. She knew they were running out of energy as the desperation sank in. The horde was closing in, and unless they found a way to turn the tide, they would be overwhelmed.