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CH 19: Sanctuary
🕑 Added 2024-11-21 17:39:09 +0000 UTC. James .
Wooden walls crackled and popped as screams and smoke filled the air. James lifted a wooden spear and hurled it forward at an approaching salamander. It sunk partway into the beast and dropped to the ground, wedging itself and keeping the beast from advancing further towards them. It only lasted a minute before the spear snapped and the salamander pressed forward. He bit his tongue trying to shout while running, swallowed blood and raised his voice again. “They’re only past the outer battlements! Regroup at the inner structures! Don’t let them get farther in! Shelter the others!”
The small band of defenders gave assenting shouts as they moved. James had worked Mark ragged to ensure the walls and fortifications were as robust as possible. They were now the makings of a true fortress - or they would have been if the walls weren't on fire.
He'd allowed one of the teenagers to join the defense team for the last few waves. The boy had preened when he learned he was the only one in their group capable of casting the fireball skill, and had practiced his aim diligently. James still wanted to keep him out of the fight, but he needed as many bodies as he could muster to keep the growing, bi-hourly waves of salamanders at bay. The first wave had only been one of the vicious beasts. An hour later, they were attacked by two - then another hour after they defeated the two, there were three, and so on. This time, a full eight salamanders had advanced on their position.
The teen, in all his eager stupidity, imagined himself to be some sort of lone hero. He'd fought multiple waves from atop the wall - and had helped push things in the defender's favor with his skill. This time though, he had jumped down from the front walls to take the fight to the advancing salamanders.
But he wasn't prepared to fight anything on equal ground. His fireballs connected with a series of flashes and small explosions - but they didn't kill anything. One salamander lost its lower legs to a pair of well placed fireballs, but he rest advanced undeterred even with charred skin coating large sections of their bodies. The boy ran for safety. Despite the wall defender's desperate attempts to slow the wave, the salamanders quickly caught up to the fleeing boy - and set into him with tooth and claw. In his dying throes, he'd frantically shot fireballs in every direction to try and stop the beasts.
Errant fireballs had started a raging fire on the walls, and sent the rest of the defenders into a panic. They jumped to the ground for safety, and most jumped in the right direction. A few, in the confusion and frenzy, had gotten turned around and leapt down towards the salamanders. James could still hear some of them screaming.
The things were incredibly hard to kill. They had to drive blows through the eyes or manage to get at their skulls from underneath to actually put down the creatures. The only saving grace was they could be stopped or slowed with the right kinds of damage. After that, killing blows were much easier and safer - as long as they stayed a safe distance away from the beasts.
Three salamanders had broken through the gate, covered in burns and splintered wood. The defenders had managed to cripple one and end it, but two were still alive. When the salamanders had moved further into the camp, James and the rest of the defenders were sent into a fighting retreat. Even as they ran for the second line of defenses, they did their best to slow the two beasts.
James thanked every god he could think of when he reached second line of defense. The campground was host to a summer archery tournament for highschoolers. While they were still kids, they could shoot pretty damn well - and so could their coaches. A line of bows was readied just behind a short wall in front of him. Someone shouted for the defenders to duck - and James dove to the ground as they fired.
The salamander behind him stumbled as it was pin cushioned, and he used the opportunity to jump up and stab at its eye - only to have his blow bounce off its nearly unbreakable skull. A follow up lodged itself in the creature's shoulder, and he was pushed back as it struggled forward. James planted the butt of the spear in the ground, halting the salamander's forward momentum. The spear groaned and threatened to snap under the force, but it held long enough. A second spear from another of his defenders sunk deep into an eye after only a few misses, and the beast slumped dead. The xp notification confirmed the kill. Two dead, six to go.
None of them had time to celebrate. The other salamander was fighting against the rest of the defenders - largely untouched by spear or arrow. Then James paled as he saw two more behind it. Unless they’d all gotten very lucky, there were still another three beasts outside the walls. The attack would have been manageable when they’d had full defenses. But this… was hopeless. He looked at the children behind him, then grabbed another spear from a pile nearby. He put a hand on his pistol, and wondered whether it would even be effective against the salamanders. If things kept going as poorly as they were, he would find out.
Pops of gunfire came from outside the front gate. Relief and concern washed over James in two quick waves. Marlene and her group were finally back - help they desperately needed to fend off the salamanders. But there were only three of them, and one gun, up against three of the beasts. They would be fighting on open ground, at a disadvantage. James wanted to storm forward and regroup with his wife - but he would never make it. His face set into a frown.
The three salamanders and defenders inside the walls had all turned towards the new commotion, just in time to see one of their number stumble backwards through the gate opening. The thing was bleeding, and its arms hung limp at its sides.
James stared slack-jawed at what happened next.
A hulking, shirtless madman sprinted straight through the gate towards the bleeding beast. He skidded to a stop just out of range of a snapping bite, and brought an ivory sword down directly into - then through the salamander's head. The beast twitched and slumped to the ground as the two halves of its head split away from each other.
James's mind worked to try and piece together what he'd just seen. That sword must be an incredible weapon. No one had managed to make deep head wounds outside of using claw-spears, and even those were tough to land good blows with. The skulls were just ridiculously tough. They’d even tested it more with some of the corpses.
But, this maniac had plunged a sword through the salamander’s skull. James wondered if the man had more of those weapons that his people could use. If this was part of the group Marlene had been looking for, did that mean they were allies? And if so, could Sanctuary barter for some of their weapons?
His thoughts were interrupted as two of the three salamanders left in the walls ran forward. The man slowly walked for a few steps before breaking into a run, straight at the closest beast. He tried to stutter-step around a strike, but the salamander's claws sunk into his abdomen. The beast followed up with a bite to the arm holding the sword. James dropped his spear and readied his pistol. He needed to do something, at least distract the beast so it didn't tear the man apart. At this range, he needed to be careful with his aim. He put a finger on the trigger, and...
Gasped as the man balled a fist and punched straight through the salamander's head. James's entire body flinched.
The maniac threw the limp corpse away and turned to the next closest salamander. Bits of brain and blood slowly slid down his forearm and plopped on the ground. He expected to see the man's other arm bloody and broken - salamander bites could snap straight through a femur. But the man's bitten arm was only marred by a few shallow-looking punctures. What the hell was this guy made of? The salamander's bite had barely drawn blood.
This time, he waited for the beast to approach, and leveled a kick towards it when it neared him. A crack of bone sounded out, and the salamander fell to the ground. Its back legs and tail were limp, its front scrambled and snapped.
The maniac raised a boot high in the air. It came down and shattered the salamander's head with a sickening crunch.
James gulped. He realized his gun was still raised, finger hugging the trigger. He had to force himself to lower the weapon and appear relaxed.
The final salamander was still trying to attack some of his defenders. The maniac roared out - a deep, barbaric challenge - and sprinted at the beast.
This man... was dangerous.
--
+ Reid +
Reid let out a roar, desperately hoping it would distract the beast and get it away from the group it was trying to attack. He sprinted as fast as his feet would carry him, grateful when the salamander turned and ran to meet him. The wounds in his legs complained, but he pressed on. When he reached the beast, it lunged at him. He managed to step out of the way and bisected it with a single strike.
These salamanders were weak. The kill notifications so far put them all between level 2 and 4. Even so, Reid's attempt to draw all the attention and action to himself had resulted in a number of punctures and bites. He'd need a quick rest after this before he would be ready for another battle.
He glanced around the area, but saw no more salamanders here inside the walls. Fires were still burning and people were on edge. Survivors of the outer battle filtered through the gate, and he caught sight of Louis, pulling the sled through the gate with the help of one of Sanctuary's defenders. The sled carried Marlene, and two other heavily-wounded fighters they'd found outside.
Louis had quickly snapped out of his stupor on the hill, and even had the presence of mind to grab Marlene's handgun to defend himself. Reid had felt a bit proud his recovery and resolve. The two of them had come upon a grisly scene outside the gates, but Louis hadn't shied away from the fight - and threw himself into helping the wounded. He'd stayed back to be the ambulance while Reid ran forward to meet the threat.
Reid stabbed down, ending what he hoped was the final threat. He let out a long sigh, and gave a closer look to his surroundings.
Over a dozen men were grouped nearby, holding wooden spears, knives, and anything else that could be considered a weapon. One of the group had a handful of rocks floating between his raised hands as he spun around, looking for more beasts. Behind them, a crowd of teenagers stood behind a low wooden wall in colorful shirts. They held a mixture of recurve and compound bows, and were looking to a handful of adults in their midst for directions.
Sanctuary - or rather, the campground that had been named sanctuary - stretched out beyond that. Narrow paved roads meandered along, dotted with RVs, tents, and tow-behind campers in each campsite. A small lake sat off to the side, partially ringed by an artificial beach. A few boats were tied to a red dock, some with engines and some without. The lake was split by the wall of large wooden stakes that seemed to ring the entire camp. Some spots he could see were a bit shoddy compared to the others, but it was still an impressive fortification. The wall near him was still burning. A man shouted instructions nearby, spurring people to action.
Some grabbed buckets and ran for the lake. One woman ran to the wall with a hand outstretched. Soil formed in front of her and flew towards the burning wall. An older, balding man sent a spray of water like a garden hose out from his outstretched arms. It hissed and steam rose as it collided with the flames. Closer to the gate, someone wearing a blue hoodie was reaching towards the wall. Smoke billowed towards them for a few seconds, then the fire quickly died out. Reid noted the skills in his mind - there was soil, water, and air manipulation at work there.
Louis and the defender were hauling the sled to a large, two-story building. "Rec Hall" was painted on the side in large blue letters. A few people stood outside the building's double doors, preventing a small crowd from rushing inside.
Suddenly, the man that had been giving out instructions shouted and ran towards the sled. He glanced at Reid as he passed, a complex range of emotions on his face. Reid watched him go and listened as he reached the sled.
"Marlene! Marlene!! Louis - Louis, what happened!? Is she alright? Marlene! Marlene!" A small crowd formed around them, then broke up as he barked out new commands and the group ran forward towards the Rec Hall.
"MOVE! She needs healing! Open those doors - we need Susan, now!"
Suddenly, Reid was running too.
