บท 10: The Weirdest of All

Sarah brushed her forearm against her brows to clear the accumulated sweat. She felt the same nervousness that preceded a fight. Nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was the giant clock in the sky. Suddenly disappearing from her apartment while watching TV and appearing in wherever this was. The pyramid that loomed over her, located somewhere in this place. She could go on and on about the oddities and anomalies she had experienced in the last twenty four hours.

The sudden existence of a system that arrogantly described her in a few lines. The light-show creature from yesterday. It was an enormous list. But despite being so huge, there was something else that took the crown of the biggest fucking bizarre thing in this entire place. Actually, someone else. The short blond girl with an oversized backpack that stood beside her. Anichka.

"Are you sure about this, Ani? We are in the middle of the street here. If something bad is really going to happen, shouldn't we go for a more strategic location?" Doubt was clear in Sarah's voice as she questioned her newfound partner.

"I am positive, Miss Sarah. This is the place we need to be. Do you not trust me?" Ani asked with her puppy blue eyes. They carried an unexpected intensity that Sarah was starting to get used to.

"I do. You have proven enough of your… capabilities, Ani. I promise I will not question you anymore." Sarah spoke apologetically.

"This is a lie, Miss Sarah. You will question me still. Multiple times. Today even. I think the next one will be in about nine minutes." Ani said with natural confidence. Sarah had doubted the girl enough times to know better by now.

"How do you even- Aaah. Nevermind. Just tell me what to do, Ani." Sarah turned away from Ani and towards the pyramid in the distance. Ani had a faint smile on her lips, but Sarah was too engrossed by the sight of the mystical structure to see it.

No matter how long Sarah stared at the thing, she still couldn't comprehend how it was possible for such an ancient looking building to exist in the middle of this fake-looking city. She knew of eccentric billionaires, she even had to deal with the weird requests of one once, but nothing to this extent. What kind of depraved mind would come up with something so sick as this place?

The sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps caught the attention of Sarah, Ani and most of the people outside the auditorium building. An athletic young man carrying a briefcase exited the building at a light run. As much as Sarah found it baffling, she had to admit he looked totally out of place. A man with a briefcase running in a city, how could that ever be out of place? But here he was, living proof it was possible.

What a crazy fucking place, Sarah thought.

She caught his eyes as he spent a brief moment sizing her up. But as fast as he showed up, he left. Sarah questioned herself if the day could get any weirder. It probably would.

There wasn't much to do while they waited for the clock to tick away its remaining time. Some of the men from the crowd glanced at them from time to time, but by now they had learned better. No one tried to approach them.

Sarah was growing more and more anxious, but she was used to staring at the clock and waiting for the big event. Although this time there were no muted cheers coming through the walls, she could imagine them. She wondered what they would do to the Sunday event. She wasn't the main event, but she was in the main card. It took her years, but she was finally climbing the ranks. How would all of this impact her career?

She shook away the distracting thoughts. Losing her focus was dangerous before a fight. This was the sort of mentality that made you meet the mattress early, Sarah reminded herself. Ani said she had to be ready for the toughest fight of her life, and at some point she had started believing the kid.

The sky clock zero'ed out and a wave suddenly slammed down on Sarah's shoulders. As if being looked down upon by a huge predator, it took all her willpower to keep her legs steady. By her side, despite the smaller frame, Ani fared surprisingly well. A slight hunch, but nothing else.

'This girl is really full of surprises', Sarah thought.

At this point the feeling had subsided and Sarah turned towards the pyramid. A deep rumble of a horn sounded in the distance as a thick beam of red light extended to the sky. The beam came from the top of the pyramid and threatened to encompass the entire city in its red hue.

She had failed to see when it appeared, but a hovering message pestered the bottom of her eyesight.

[The first wave has started.]

"Wave, match, fight. Same thing, right?" Sarah asked without taking her eyes off the red beam and the rapidly forming dome overhead.

"Yes. They are coming. Be ready." Ani's serious tone gave her an almost comical air of contrast.

"Girl, I have been ready since we left that building." Sarah reassured Ani, and herself. Psyching herself up was a big part of the fighter mentality. If she didn't believe she could do it, she had already lost.

It didn't take long before they could hear the shuffling of hundreds of feet followed by the faint noises of snarls and high pitched screams. Sarah noticed when the people started to retreat from the street back towards the entrance of the auditorium. She gripped her sword tighter and started to move towards the entrance as well. She knew better than to be caught isolated in an all out brawl. As she turned to pull Ani back with her, the girl shook her head.

"Are we not going to retreat to fight in numbers?" Sarah didn't hide her discomfort from Ani's sudden decision. She wasn't particularly good at hiding her emotions and didn't try to anyway. Ani simply shook her head once more. With her overly adorned hand, she motioned to a particularly large street that was situated to the right of the auditorium. Sarah looked at the pointed location and positioned herself between Ani and whatever was coming.

It didn't take long before Sarah saw the first shapes in the distance. A few at first, then a dozen, multiple dozens and finally more than she could expect to count. The noises grew louder as the approaching forms became significantly more distinct. When they were finally close enough that Sarah could discern their features, she felt as if her jaw would hit the floor.

She wasn't exactly a fan of fiction, but she had watched enough movies in her spare time to identify a creature straight out of the big screens when she saw one. Stubby and sickly, the creatures snarled with their large mouths filled with jagged teeth as spittle flew everywhere.

"Ani, I know this is a dumb question, but I gotta ask. Are we going to fight those things?" Sarah spoke with a surprisingly calm voice.

"Yes, Miss Sarah. You are going to fight those." Ani spoke matter-of-factly.

"Alright. I got- Wait, what do you mean I will fight those?" Sarah turned to look at Ani. The diminutive blond's serious face and cute frown were adorable. Sarah couldn't prevent the stray thought from popping out.

"I am not good at fighting. But I am confident you can take care of me." Ani spoke with a no nonsense tone.

"Hahaha. Right." Sarah let out a genuine laugh, but the unwavering face of Ani soon made her understand the little girl was quite serious. "Oh, you are being serious. Crap. I will do my best sister, but don't blame me if you die. There are too many of those things coming at us."

Sarah's steel nerves allowed her to keep a cool head in the most fucked up of situations. The creatures were surely disgusting and surreal, but she was confident she could hold her own against them, even if she wasn't used to the weapon in her hand. Their numbers were a problem though. She wasn't the only one here though, and there were plenty of buildings and obstacles she could use to her advantage.

"Don't worry, they are not coming at us. They are going to be too focused on the people in front of that building to worry about anything else for a while." Ani's voice was calm and Sarah finally understood why. Ani was using her 'intuition', as the girl had called it, to determine the best way for them to avoid a tough situation. Sarah felt reassured about choosing to listen to the girl. It had been the right choice.

"So that's the plan. We are going to stay at a distance, while they fight the large numbers that are coming to this place, and then sweep up the remnants. It's quite a cold plan, to watch them struggle from here, but I dig it. I am not about to discard my life for a bunch of strangers." Sarah spoke while watching the ever retreating group in front of the building. The two of them had been expertly positioned behind the large group and the oncoming creatures.

"What? No. If we weren't going to fight, isn't it better to just run and hide, Miss Sarah? Although that wouldn't work in the end." Ani's admonishing tone irritated Sarah a little. She didn't like being reminded of her lack of analyzing skills.

"Argh. Alright, kid. So what's the plan then? If I am not going there, they are not coming here and we are not running, what are we doing?" Exasperated, Sarah turned to Ani again.

"Here." Ani extended her hand and offered Sarah a black marble-looking ball. "You will throw this at them when they start fighting." Ani's serious face and tone disarmed Sarah for a moment and she involuntarily grabbed it. It was heavy, a dense piece of… stone. Sarah failed to discern the material, probably some obscure mineral. Then she finally processed Ani's speech.

"What?! Are you insane? Why would I do such a thing? I am not doing it Ani! You are insane. Definitely insane." Sarah almost shrieked out of anger at her diminutive partner. Ani simply looked at the sky.

"Eight minutes and forty seven seconds, I was almost right." Completely ignored, Sarah tightened her grip around her sword and almost threw the black stone on the floor. But she controlled her irritation. Gnashing her teeth, Sarah stared at the stony faced Ani. Her annoyance flared and she turned her back. She wasn't good at this sort of confrontation, her fists were better speakers than her mouth ever could be.

"I will not do it, Ani. I am not going to do this. I am not doing it." Sarah kept repeating it like a mantra as the creatures got closer and closer to the huddled group in the entrance of the auditorium. Like a wave crashing against a sea breaker, the creatures hurled themselves at the people. Climbing over their own numbers to bite and claw at anything they could get their limbs on. Immediately, half the people ran inside, and the other half that stayed was hard pressed to do anything.

Sarah's knuckle was white as she squeezed the round stone with all her frustration at the situation. With her arm extended all the way back, Sarah chucked the heavy ball of stone with all her strength.

"FUCK YOU ANI!" Sarah roared.