Derek paused at the threshold, rifle in hand, the weight of the moment settling on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath that felt like his last, he stepped out onto the deck.
"Here we go," he muttered. "Get off my property!"
Some of the goblins hadn't been looking at the house, but their heads swiveled toward him, yellow eyes glinting with malice. Of course, the ones already heading toward the house didn't stop approaching. They sped up now running. Those that were facing away turned to him and their disgusting faces turned violent as they saw their next meal.
With his rifle half lifted, he froze. He never killed anything living before, other than wildlife for meat, but nothing borne of self-defense or anger. They chittered in a barbaric tongue, and one of them launched its spear at Derek. The primal part of his brain screamed at him to move, to react, but his muscles refused the command. The spear's thud against the wood was the final alarm that shattered Derek's hesitation. Survival instinct took over, and he became an extension of his rifle.
Driven by instinct, Derek shook off his shock. His hands steadied on the rifle as he aimed at the approaching horde. With no hesitation left, he fired. Each shot was precise, guided by muscle memory, and the rifle’s recoil against his shoulder was a familiar sensation.
Derek was strong mentally strong. So strong that he rarely let anything bother him for long. The only thing that ever bothered him was his lack of ability to connect with others. He hadn't been ready for this. The sight of hundreds all looking at him with malice intention was intimidating. In the midst of chaos, with goblins swarming like a wave of malice, Derek found a strange solace in the clarity of his purpose.
There wasn't an ounce of further hesitation. His AR blasted out round after round. His heart hardened as the grim necessity of the task and the need for survival triumphed over all other desires. Firing into the mob with controlled bursts, they fell one by one. His life of hunting and range practice kept him from unloading the semi-auto at once. He breathed slowly and took out two before they passed under the deck. Derek spun around and focused on the bottom of the stairs. The green creatures started up the stairs, and Derek took the opportunity and painted the lawn with their brains.
"Vicious little bastards."
Marie's hands trembled as she watched the goblins swarm toward Derek, her breaths shallow with rising panic. For a suspended moment, she was a statue of fear, but then a sharp crack of a goblin's spear against the wood jolted her into reality. Gritting her teeth, she tightened her grip on her gun, the weapon no longer a foreign weight but an extension of her will to protect.
Derek ejected the spent magazine and slammed into another, firing rapidly into the oncoming horde. They climbed over the bodies to get to him, the pile of dead growing. Over and over, he aimed and fired until his gun clicked empty. Derek dropped the magazine in a panic as goblins approached faster and faster. He grabbed a fresh magazine and slid it into position, but it didn't click. Shit! It was backwards. He looked up to see one of them lean back to toss a spear up, and he dropped to the floor in a crouch. He also dropped the magazine.
"Shit, shit shit." Derek cursed, fumbling around to grab it and slide it home.
A goblin reached the top of the stairs and jumped on him. It's claw-like fingers tearing at his face, carving out part of his cheek, nose and lips. Marie released a series of gunshots toward goblins that were running up the stairs, leaving Derek to handle the one on the ground. The shots distracted it long enough that Derek could wrestle it to the ground and shove his fingers into its eyes, bursting into the gelatin orbs. It screamed in pain, Marie screamed in fear, and Derek screamed as he shoved it into the approaching goblin at the top of the stairs.
Maries' gun barked, emptying her magazine into the oncoming horde. Derek grabbed his gun, finished fixing his issues, stood and sending explosive rifle fire into the horde, adding to the pile of bodies. Of course, that didn't kill all of them. There were more, a lot more.
Several goblins broke past Derek, snarling as they burst into the house. Marie released more gunfire from a new magazine, ending them.
"Marie!" Derek bellowed. Abandoning his post, he sprinted inside.
With two brutal strikes from the rifle stock, he knocked them away. Panting, Derek barely glanced at Marie, as his barrel spun and with two gunshots blood and brains sprayed across the kitchen.
"You okay?" Shouting over the rifle fire as the outside goblins gained ground.
She could only nod, still shaking. They both knew the truth - the battle was just beginning.
Derek whirled around and started on the goblins who were behind him. He laid them out with more bursts of fire. The longer the battle, the more unstable his shooting was getting. He was getting tired. His practice didn't let him down, as the well-oiled efficiency kept his body moving.
"I need more magazines! Marie, they are in the boxes!" He shouted.
"I got it!" She replied.
"Slow and steady." Derek shouted, while forcing himself to relax slightly to keep his body from overexertion.
The dead goblins gave him a slight breather as their corpses covered the stairs leading up to the deck. He shot them as they tried climbing over the rail. Hundreds were wounded slowly bleeding out on the ground, another hundred were dead, but the last hundred were still in a blood rage as they tried to get to him, but continuously failed.
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Marie slipped three magazines into his empty pockets and grabbed the empty ones from the ground. He was proud of her. She was so strong. Working with him as protected their home and lives.
Apparently, some goblins were smarter than others, as several jumped the rail at once. Two died before they reached the top, one died as it climbed over the rail, another died as he crossed the deck, and the last tackled him to the ground from behind.
Derek fell onto a pile of bodies, spinning around and trying to get hold of the goblin. Marie's gun started going off as she had noticed the issue. Derek was stronger than the goblin, but not significantly so. He got his pocketknife out and whipped it open with one hand. It was an action that he did unconsciously due to constant use.
Derek ignored the ripping claws and plunged his knife into the necked and ripped it out sideways, causing as much damage as possible. Another goblin jumped on him, clawing him across the face, leaving another set of bloody gashes everywhere on his face. Derek grabbed it in a hug and stabbed it in the back, as it shredded his back. Derek ripped open the thing's back as it died against him.
Derek shoved the dying creature away, only to stumble to his feet. Derek looked over at Marie, her face covered in horror, fear, and concern. He rolled, picking up his gun and firing up from the ground as the goblins continued climbing over the rail.
The number of goblins slowed to nothing and Derek stepped up to the rail to find no standing goblins. The last goblin fell, and the gunfire's echo died away, leaving Derek amidst a bloody pile of bodies of his own making. His mind, once racing with adrenaline, now turning toward fatigue. There were hundreds slowly dying as they cried out in pain. He turned to survey the carnage in the house. Goblin bodies lay strewn across the floor, black blood pooling around them. Marie leaned against the counter; knife still clutched in her white-knuckled grip.
"It's not over yet," Derek said, swallowing down his exhaustion.
He reloaded his rifle with calm, practiced motions. "More will come. Babe…" Derek started, but screaming chittering started as more ran into the yard, attracted by the noise. "Look at me. Listen. Go downstairs and get the gun from the nightstand." She didn't move, her eyes locked on Derek's blood covered form. "NOW!" He demanded.
Marie nodded numbly. Adrenaline still flooded her system from the attack. She turned and rushed to do as he ordered.
He ran out to the get more ammo boxes and got another two boxes, his combat knife, and started strapping his tactical equipment to his bloody body. His face and body hurt from his skin being shredded, but didn't have time to complain. By the time he finished, Marie was watching him.
He dumped all five magazines for the gun into her hands. "Breathe. We are going to get through this. You're doing so good. I'm so proud. Just a bit more."
Derek rushed back out to his deck and immediately started shooting the small green creatures as they followed the line of corpses. At some point, Derek had stopped being scared. The only thing that scared him now was the thought that Marie or the baby might get hurt. Those thoughts drove through him as he mechanically created a pile of bodies at the foot of the stairs.
The pile of bodies was too much of a challenge for them. The pile of bodies was emitting a black smoke, but he didn't have the mental bandwidth to attempt to understand that. The goblins were climbing up the deck and over the pile of bodies. He resumed his slaughter. Anytime a goblin cleared the rail, Marie released a gunshot.
"Good job!" Derek shouted over the sound of his ringing ears.
Dozens of the creatures died as he killed. The practice of running thousands of rounds through the gun was paying dividends as he smoothly transitioned between magazines. Marie watched his back from the doorway, occasionally shooting one of them as they tried to climb up the back of the deck, which would have been challenging under normal circumstances.
He had honestly thought that the time he spend sending round down range would have never amounted to anything. Fortunately, he had put the time in. Unfortunately, all the gunfire attracted more, which started the cycle all over again. Shots rang out, dropping the creatures left and right. But more crawled over their dead kin, an endless tide of claws and teeth.
A goblin jumped on Derek's back while Marie was focused on refilling the empty magazines. With a shout, Derek felt to the ground as claws raked his legs. Jaws snapped next to his ears. Still, he held his ground, teeth bared in a feral grin as hot blood spattered his face. A knife to the neck ended its life and Marie had taken over those climbing over the pile of bodies to get at them.
Eventually, the waves stopped, and Derek collapsed into a chair, breathing heavily as his adrenaline faded, almost sending him into sleep. Marie sat on his lap and hugged him while sobbing.
"It's over," he murmured.
She gazed up at him with wonder and pride. In her eyes, he was her guardian angel. And for her, he would slay any monster. Marie took a shuddering breath, trying to compose herself as she pulled back from Derek's embrace.
"What were those things?" she asked, her voice quavering.
Derek's expression darkened. "Goblins, or close enough." He tensed, listening for any signs of more intruders. "It seems the barriers between worlds are weakening. This is just the beginning. I don't really understand what's happening."
Marie paled, one hand going protectively to her belly. Derek noticed and placed his hand over hers. "Don't worry," he said firmly. "I swore I would protect our child, no matter what comes through those portals. Nothing will touch you or our baby while I still draw breath."
Despite everything, Marie gave him a tremulous smile. In the face of such unknown dangers, Derek's strength and determination were her rock. As long as they were together, she knew they would find a way through.
Derek picked up his rifle, checking the chamber, his filled magazines, and the tactical gear strapped to his belt and legs. "I need to make sure the area's secure. Stay here."
He headed for the front door, and she ignored him. Derek and Marie stepped cautiously out front, scanning the surroundings for any lingering threats. The yard was littered with goblin corpses, their dark blood staining the grass black.
Nothing could block out the ringing in his ears from the gunfire. Derek's senses were on high alert. Even the slightest sounds or movement put him on edge. At first, all seemed clear.
Marie tensed, her eyes growing wide. “Derek,” she exclaimed, “something’s coming!”
He whirled, rifle raised. More goblins were coming running through the neighbor's yard and racing through the gap in the fence, he was already lined up and firing before he even realized it. There were only a few, and soon they were as dead as the others. The half dozen goblins were dead before they crossed a quarter of the yard.
Panting, Derek turned to Marie, grimacing from the pain of his wounds. "We make a good team."
The yard was a testament to their defense, yet the silence that followed was not one of victory but a haunting prelude to the battles yet to come.