บท 14: Stage 1 : Zombies
161: 10 :13
Ten minutes till 8pm.
The harsh winds carried the sandy dunes alongside them, assaulting the fearsome figures. The haunting silhouettes of malformed beings and their eery grunts grew ever closer. The crepuscular rays of the hanging moon extended as far as the eye could see, casting an otherworldly glow that illuminated the world as though it were the early day.
As the heinous muffles grew ever closer, the geared warriors halted their march, a good distance apart from the closed hatch buried within the sands. The desert's winds quickened their pace, a brewing sandstorm as the time wound down.
161:02:01
They could see them, roughly thirty drew near. The time had come. None of the once stalwart human figures expressed verbal fright, but their now quivering forms was enough indication.
The hue of the warm moonlight glowed on the grotesque fiends. Their ashy skin was riddled with unsightly blotches and deep unforgiving scars. Patches of rotten skin pulsed with frequent wriggles and released a foul stench.
Rather than fingers they had mere stubs which only served to highlight their elongated claws that would tear human flesh with unprecedented ease. Like their claws, the fangs beneath their lips posed the same threat to soft human flesh. Their decaying bodies appeared starved, their protruding ribs told of a dire need for nourishment. Their somewhat human physique was ruined by the lack of necessary limbs. Some did not have both arms, others had only one eyeball, the more pitiful ones had one leg.
They continued their advance without a care, driven by the need to satisfy their morbid hunger.
Opposite them, with grim, perturbed expressions, the human warriors maintained three rows, the leading row consisted of five, the two behind them had ten people each.
The only one with a calm, unfettered look appeared to be their leader. She stood at the center without the leather armour that adored the rest. Her grip on her twin chakrams tightened. The circular blades of the two jade weapons shone with a lime hue. Those beside her held glowing weapons of their own.
The howling winds calmed, almost as if to welcome the staunch heroes to a new battlefield.
161:00:00
At this time the golden runes were soon replaced with crimson runes that read 05:00:00.
On cue, the malevolent beings released a piercing warcry, Alex responded with one of her own before she sped off into the fray of inhuman enemies. The four that had remained look at themselves before dashing forward with a cry of their own. The remaining twenty humans, divided into groups of two positioning themselves appropriately to render timely support.
Alex controlled her speed to regress to it's level before she had experience any of those anguishing transformations. Her strength was a bit above that. With each swing her circular blades tore through her foes with precision. She had chosen the chakrams after toppling the rest in a short exchange of blows. It had helped her practice restraining her true strength.
With every of her moves, blackish fluid gushed out of the harrowing fiends. Her advance through the enemy was a sinuous dance on the battlefield leaving only fallen bodies and muffled heaves in its wake. She relied on her ears her eyes and her limbs, a perfect coordination allowed for a seamless display of moves.
At first her moves were rough and instinctive, gaps and delays after each cut. However, her overwhelming experience allowed her to blend every gesture and every cut. No seconds were wasted. She blitzed across the battlefield like a well oiled machine. The shrieks of her foes echoed in the night, their fellow creatures did not care to avenge them, nor did they take heed to the threat Alex posed. They only yearned for flesh, so they continuously lunged at her time and time again. The dull lime of her chakrams brightened into a lush green with each strike. Her weapons shared her bloodthirst.
Arrows flew to the more isolated beasts, most missed , except a peculiar arrow which emanated an ocean blue glow. It always struck before returning to its owner.
Anthony watched with bated breaths, as one sole woman brought carnage to the enemy. His palms were sweating and his gaze shifted from left to right wondering who he ought to strike. His bow and arrow automatically increased his accuracy, but he needed to be properly focused if he wanted to utilize enough strength and maintain proper form. Without that, he would hardly get through the skin of his targets. He took a deep breath nocked his arrow on his bow then steeled his gaze.
Aoki was locked in a fierce battle with the unreasonably tough creatures. His enhanced katana could not cut through the creature without a powerful strike. He struck with determination, never allowing the gnarling beast to get close. He would slay his prey, it was only a matter of time.
Evan and John tried to work together, putting to practice all the tips they had been given. John taunted the beast with his special shield, while Evan pierced the creature any time it was distracted. The orangue lining of his daggers only got thicker as time progressed and Evan knew they would be able to end the battle soon.
The humans at the back were not having it easier, as predicted they had to converge to groups of four rather than two. The enemies were too strong, and it took various tactics to land a clean hit. The archers were one in each group and their accuracy was terrible.
None of them backed out of the fights, their nerves had calmed a long time ago. Adaptation was the only choice for them after all. They utilized all they had been taught to gain an upper hand on their adversaries.
Alex had killed all that she needed to, numbering a total of twenty-four zombies - they were nothing like the pathetic creatures in video games and movies. She left twelve for the rest to deal with. Things were as she feared, it was obvious they weren't meant to survive this. If she wasn't here, too many would have died. It would have been a complete wipeout of the twenty-five strongest challengers plunging the others in the base into despair, chaos and unavoidable doom.
She wondered if that would still be the case for their next fight. She opened her interface and took note of the red dots that moved in their direction on the large map.
She moved to the grey maze icon and zoomed in.
' That's a lot of red. Why does this dot look larger than the others? Well, I'll know when I get there. I just have to be careful.'
She looked to her group mates and was glad to see them holding their ground and improving. Then, without a care for the consequences of her departure, she dashed in the direction of the maze.
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