Warbreaker's Rage: A LitRPG Apocalypse Adventure (The Connected System Book 3), page 35
Brian and Davis ran just ahead, making for a group of shadows clustered in the middle of the street.
“Go!” Loch yelled, not wanting his girls and Jenny to wait for him.
They started running up the street.
He turned and threw Onyx, not trying to aim, just trying to hit something. Facing up the street, he kept running, holding his hand out to the side. The familiar weight of Onyx appeared in its shrunken form. Loch held it to the side, keeping the blade away from his side as he ran. An axe was not an easy weapon to run with. Another arrow shot past, a bright flash of light from behind.
The gaunts were eerily silent, just the sound of their feet against pavement.
He twisted and threw Onyx, another arrow streaking by. Two thuds of bodies hitting the ground told him both attacks had struck. Might not have killed, but they would at least delay some. They ran, Loch stealing glances to the right, afraid he’d see more gaunts rushing out of the woods. There was a small stream that ran alongside the road, down about ten feet, maybe more. The sides were steep. It would be hard for the gaunts to cross there, but not further up. They had to get past the next set of roads.
It was a long run before hitting Main Street. And then they’d have to turn, running parallel to the gaunts’ field. That wouldn’t work.
“Last arrow!” Bobby yelled as the blue streak shot past Loch.
Bobby cursed. A miss.
There was more in Piper’s spatial bag, but arrows were things they were running out of. There had to be someone getting some kind of Bowyer or Fletcher Class. They needed more arrows.
They needed more everything.
He caught up to Piper, the slowest of the group. Loch adjusted his speed to match hers.
“The bear is gone,” she got out between breaths.
She was doing well so far. Their Adapted bodies let them run longer, but he wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up. They just had to make it to the Main Street intersection.
Loch stopped and turned, throwing Onyx. He Activated Elemental Surge, the energy building in his body and releasing as a wave of pressure. The gaunts were further away, the energy wave not as strong when it reached them. The ones in front stumbled, a couple falling.
He counted a dozen with the shapes of more further back. The night sky was lit with the glow from multi-colored sparks drifting through the air, swirling and dancing around each other as they streaked toward Loch and the others. Small dots like fireflies lit up the air, the gaunts completely ignoring them as they swirled around and through the monsters.
He threw Onyx, watching the weapon trailing crackling bolts of lightning as it twirled end over end, slamming into a gaunt, knocking the monster into another, the two tumbling down and bringing two more with them.
Loch turned and ran, pushing to catch up to the others.
He could see the shadows changing ahead where Olde Canterbury Road crossed the street they were on, the roads causing a gap in the trees, a break in the line of shadows. He cursed when he heard the sound of fighting, seeing sparks of light as weapons and Abilities clashed.
Brian was standing in the middle of the road, club swinging wide, facing off against more gaunts. Another dozen, at least. Jenny and Harper were on either side of him, Davis behind and launching his energy spears. Bobby held a knife, watching warily. Piper fired blasts from her wand, silver blobs streaking past Loch.
Loch Activated Windstep, crashing into the gathered gaunts. He swung Onyx wildly, not caring about connecting or killing, just wanting to drive the monsters back.
“Go!” he yelled.
They had to get past this group before the ones coming up behind reached them. Loch had no doubt that any member of his group could handle a gaunt one-on-one, but there were just too many. Even he would be overwhelmed.
And they had no way of knowing if these were the normal gaunts, the houndsman or even something else. There had to be stronger gaunts within that army in the field.
“Dad,” Harper started to protest.
“Go,” he ordered. “Now.”
“Shaking!” Brian roared.
There was a huge crash, the pavement cracking under the impact.
The ground erupted under Loch’s feet, the world shaking and vibrating. He felt the shockwave stretching out down Olde Canterbury Road. The gaunts fell, a couple blown into the air, landing hard on top of others. Loch managed to keep his feet, swinging his axe at the off-balance enemy. One fell, Loch knowing that it was dead. He kicked it as it fell, pushing back a couple of others.
He couldn’t see any of his people, hoping they were all running ahead. He’d hold the line, able to use Windstep to catch up. With Bulwark shining on his arm, he released the energy built up in the shield, blasting back some gaunts.
Heavy steps on the pavement told him the chasing gaunts had arrived.
Loch backed up a couple of steps, putting himself in the middle of the intersection, gaunts coming at him from two sides. He swung Onyx, backing up as he did, keeping the gaunts from flanking him. Blobs of silver energy struck the gaunts, a couple racing past him.
There were gaunts all around him, Loch having to keep moving backward to keep them in front and to the side. For every one that went down, another replaced it. He just hoped that Harper and Piper kept running.
An arm, maybe a leg, some body part of a dying gaunt struck his side, feeling odd. He glanced down, seeing the spatial bag at his waist. Loch cursed. He had the bag. The one that contained all the soil and loam, the pallets, everything they’d looted from the hardware store.
The whole reason they’d made this raid.
Onyx struck a gaunt, slicing through an arm. The return swing caught another gaunt, knocking it aside. A small streak of energy exploded against a gaunt off to the side—one of Harper’s throwing knives. More blobs of silver struck gaunts.
They hadn’t kept running, stopping to help him out.
“Run!” he yelled, his voice lost in the howl that echoed through the night.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The sound was not like any howl Loch had ever heard.
It was loud, deep, reverberating through his body. He could feel the energy in the sound. It was a call, reaching out.
And the world around Loch answered.
The trees groaned, the limbs twisting and swaying. The ground shook, but not like when Brian’s club had slammed into it. This shaking was the ground answering the howl. The gaunts stopped. Loch kept stepping backward, not sure what was going on.
The howl changed its modulation, a new pattern, the trees responding.
Branches stretched out, vines growing along their lengths. The dark night got darker as the canopy grew overhead. Loch looked around at the sight, the creaking and cracking of wood filling the night. It was a horrible sound. Wood stretched and groaned, bark cracking and snapping.
Somehow, over the cacophony of those sounds, Loch heard bodies falling. Behind the gaunts, odd shadows shifted in the dark. Long and thin shapes snapped down, pulling up with larger shadows.
The trees were reaching down and grabbing the gaunts. Loch didn’t know how, could barely believe what he was seeing. More bodies fell, vines and branches snaking along the ground, grabbing and pulling at the gaunts. Bodies scraped against the pavement as they were dragged away. Splashes in the water to the side as gaunts fell into the stream. Thuds and cracks of wood breaking as they were thrown into the nearby buildings. None of the gaunts bothered to chase after Loch.
“Run, Lochlan Brady,” a deep voice called out. “I cannot hold them for long.”
He looked around for the source of the voice, but couldn’t find it. Like the howl, it seemed to come from everywhere. Loch knew that voice. Little River Stone. The Sasquatch was somewhere. He couldn’t nail down where Little River Stone’s voice was coming from. The howl was still a steady thrum.
Loch could still hear the sounds of fighting behind him, the gaunts that had run past now facing off with his group. His girls.
Loch turned and ran after them.
He threw Onyx. The spinning glowing axe lit up the night as it slammed into a gaunt, sending the creature flying to the side. Windstep brought him closer, his momentum pushing him into another gaunt. With Bulwark, he flung the monster to the side, clearing a path to his people.
“Go!” he yelled.
“Dad, what’s going on?” Harper asked.
Loch just waved at her.
“Go.”
The last of the gaunts fell as the group took off running again.
He could hear the cracking and groaning of branches behind them, the thud of bodies hitting the ground. It faded as they ran.
“What was that sound?” Jenny asked.
“Later.”
A new sound filled the night, melding with the howl, joining it. The mournful cry of the Gavia echoed in time with Little River Stone’s howl. The two sounds joined. It was all Loch could hear.
He felt the grief coming back, the sadness of the Gavia’s cry. But something else. Something that was lost. A world, a home. Forests destroyed and disappeared. Lives lost.
Loch stumbled, hearing Piper crying just ahead. He stopped, the emotions too much. The loss and the grief.
The howl stopped. Abrupt, taking part of Loch’s grief with it.
The Gavia’s cry ended, trailing off, fading into the night.
Loch stood in the middle of the road, his girls and the others in front. They all looked lost, unsure.
“Run,” Little River Stone’s deep voice called out.
They all started running.
“Hold up!” Loch called, breathing heavily, stopping the others at the intersection with Main Street.
They hadn’t run full out for the entire length. It had started as a run, but even their Adapted bodies couldn’t go full speed for that long, especially after fighting. Loch could have gone further; his Stamina pool was high, but the others couldn’t.
Especially Piper.
They had changed to a jog.
There were no sounds of pursuit, but Loch wasn’t counting on the gaunts giving up the chase. They were back there and they were coming.
The group spread out, Brian and Jenny looking each direction up and down Main Street, Davis and Bobby looking back the way they had come. Bobby looked just as tired as Piper. In the middle of the group, Loch motioned his girls closer. He undid the spatial bag around his waist, holding it out to Harper.
“What?” she asked, looking at the bag. “Why?”
“Take it,” he said. “You’re going to Shadowskip out of here. We can’t run down Main Street; the gaunts can attack from the side and will be chasing us. We won’t make it. You can, though. The rest of us will go through the woods and the trails.”
Her eyes grew in fear, looking up at Loch.
“No…”
“Yes. That bag needs to get back to the school and you can get it there the quickest.”
“I can’t leave you,” she said, taking a step back.
“Harps,” Loch said, a little firmly. “You have to.”
He didn’t want her to, but there was no choice. The gaunts weren’t going to give up and they would be swarming the road ahead. Even with Shadowskip, it would still be dangerous for Harper. But she could go behind the houses, Skip between them, hiding in cover the whole way down the road and then through the woods away from the gaunts’ field.
And he wouldn’t be there to protect her.
Harper was going to have to do this all on her own.
He tried to project confidence but knew he was failing.
She could see it in his eyes. Loch didn’t want to do this.
“You got this, Harps,” he said, holding the bag out again.
Harper looked at Piper, who gave a weak smile, one that had no power as tears came down the younger sister’s face. She did her best to hold them back, failing. She looked at Davis, who gave her a thumbs-up. Her gaze returned to her father. He reached out with his free hand, gripping her shoulder. He squeezed.
It was a lot of responsibility for a fifteen-year-old.
She took a deep breath, nodding. Before she could change her mind, Harper took the bag and belted it around her waist, adjusting the strap to fit better. She pushed at it, making sure it wouldn’t move.
Loch pulled her closer, leaning down to place his forehead against hers.
“I love you, Harper.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
“Be quick.”
He wanted to tell her to be safe, but what was the point? If he wanted her to be completely safe, he would have made her stay back at the school. Loch knew exactly what he was doing, deliberately putting his eldest in harm’s way. He was sending her through the most dangerous part of the road, where he was taking the relatively easy way out. All he had to do was stay ahead of the pursuing gaunts, while running through a dark forest and somehow keeping the right direction.
Harper stepped back. Loch fought the urge to reach out. She gave the group one last look before disappearing, melting into the shadows.
Loch stared at the spot where she had been.
What had he just done?
Small fingers curled around his, squeezing hard.
He looked down to see Piper looking up at him. She forced a smile, squeezing his hand again. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
“Let’s go,” Loch told the others.
“What was that howling?” Bobby asked.
Loch wasn’t sure how to respond. There wasn’t time to explain exactly who and what Little River Stone was. Loch wasn’t sure if the Sasquatch was still around or had disappeared again. Where had he even come from and why that moment? If Loch ever saw the large Sasquatch, he’d ask.
“We’re going into the woods here,” Loch said, pointing across the road. “We’ll go deep enough to circle around the pond. The trails here end up meeting up with the ones behind the school.”
“That’s a lot of added distance,” Jenny said.
“Yeah,” Loch agreed.
“With those things after us,” she added, pointing down the way they had come.
Loch looked in that direction, seeing a moving mass of shadow.
“Incoming,” Brian growled out.
Loch looked to the east, down Main Street, seeing another moving mass of shadow. That had been the direction Harper had gone, but she’d been in the Shadow Realm already. The gaunts wouldn’t have seen her.
So Loch hoped.
The gaunts were doing exactly what he wanted, the part of the plan he hadn’t told Harper. The monsters had to be distracted so they wouldn’t try to find Harper, wouldn’t even know to look for her. Shadowskip was an amazing Ability, but it was limited. She couldn’t stay in the Shadow Realm for the whole trip back to the Clanhold. She would have to pop out and rest, let her Spirit reserves recharge, and let the cooldown on the Ability disappear so she could use it again. There wasn’t much of a cooldown, but it did exist.
Harper had explained that the shorter the duration of Shadowskip she used, the shorter the cooldown. So just hopping in and out of the Shadow Realm, like she did during a fight, the cooldown would be so minimal, it was like she could continuously Activate the Ability. But something like now? Where she’d be in it for the maximum duration, that would trigger the maximum cooldown.
It would be easier for when she was not in the Shadow Realm if the gaunts were actively looking somewhere else.
Loch wanted that somewhere to be where he was.
He knew that meant where Piper was as well.
It wasn’t lost on him that he was putting both his daughters in extreme danger. But they had been since the Connection. They’d be in danger every day of their lives going forward.
He sighed.
It had to be done.
And Loch hated it.
The Connected System would pay.
INTERLUDE SIX
The Wendigo heard the music. It was beautiful, haunting.
Or that is how it would have described the sounds before The Hunger. The world was different before the Hunger. Now all it cared about was the Hunger.
The music flowed around it, through it. The music called to it. It wanted the Wendigo to follow it to the source, to join with it.
To become one with the music.
But the Hunger would not allow it.
Not just the voice that spoke in the Wendigo’s head but the Hunger it felt. That all-encompassing, constant ache that wanted, no demanded, to be fed. All the time, never ending. The Hunger was hungry.
It was always hungry.
So were the things around it.
The Wendigo could feel the presence of its creations stalking through the woods. Over a dozen now. Changed and warped by the Hunger, becoming Wendigos of their own. Mutated animals that had been changed by the Connection, now changed again. First, they were made better, and now they were made great.
That was what the Hunger imparted to the Wendigo. There were never words, just feelings. But the Wendigo understood. It always understood.
These lesser Wendigos were to help it to feed the Hunger.
The music changed pitch. Still, the Wendigo ignored it, but it was curious, and the lights it saw through the thick growth of trees drew its interest. There was little that could draw it away from its never-ending Hunger. Even the Hunger itself was curious about the source of the music and the lights.
Uttering a creaking call, the Wendigo told the followers to wait. There was rustling in the bushes, snapping of twigs and sticks along the ground, claws digging into tree trunks, and more strange creaking calls as the monsters stopped moving. They didn’t settle, constantly shifting, always in motion, but they stayed where they were.
The Wendigo pushed through the forest. It knew to move silently, so it did. The large form ducked under branches, pushed others aside with the long and bony arms. Long, thin fingers clutched at tree trunks, holding itself steady as it bent, legs stretching out.
