Arina's teleportation skill was something that fascinated me…and it totally wasn't because I just found the concept of being able to teleport-even if it was through short distances-awesome and cool.
Anyway it was an interesting skill and something that I wished I had and the only two ways to get such a skill was to either kill her (something I wasn't gonna do) or learn it on my own which would take a long time too.
I sighed and looked at her slender hand held out for me.
"Can you manage without me bro?" I directed the question to Jordan who stood behind Arina. I
The [Bronze Armor] gave him a valiant air.
Jordan scoffed
"As if I ever needed you help to begin with"
"Uh huh…anyway you manage things until I'm back or at least until we meet again later"
Jordan nodded
"Yeah, yeah. Just get going" he said to which I nodded solemnly and took Arina's hand.
Arina activated her skill and I felt it with almost clarity.
Space warped and bent and then we were pulled in what felt like a tunnel. For a split second I felt my senses overload and then it all vanished. The surroundings changed too.
Instead of being in the middle of a living room with furniture and Jordan nearby, we were instead standing in the middle of a familiar office, in front of an equally familiar wooden desk and an unfamiliar man wearing crimson colored leather armor was moving behind the desk reaching for a large greatsword that was sitting in the corner.
The red armored figure turned and Bennet's devilishly handsome face and dirty blonde hair that held an uncanny resemblance to Conrad face us with a solemn expression.
"Good you here" Bennet said proceeding to set the greatsword to his back. Then he stood up straight to face us properly. "Arina you may go now get those who can fight ready and gather them in front of the gates facing North (that is the Woodlands Forest)."
Arina nodded before she vanished…teleported away.
Already familiar with such a peculiar sight I looked at Bennet and asked solemnly:
"What are we dealing with?"
"We just got a report…a large horde of mutated creatures is headed for this camp"
My expression fell and my heart sank. Scenes from the first day of the apocalypse flashed on the surface of my mind. The chaos and the death that had to have happened on that day was insurmountable and immense, not just here in York Town but probably the entire nation…hell even the entire world.
There was also another possibility too that would affect us even more greatly.
"Are they coming from the Woodlands?" I asked
Bennet paused for a moment and then he answered with a sigh:
"Yeah"
"Then…the plan we came up with work anymore now will it?"
"No it won't"
"Shit…"
…
Preparations happened swiftly. The civilians of the camp and all those who were none fighters were gathered in the Town Hall. Luckily the place was big enough to house them and they numbered less than two hundred. Ten armed guards were assigned to keep the order…after all it was in truly dark moments when the true darkness of human behavior bloomed and reared its ugly head.
It took no more than fifteen minutes for forces of Camp White to gather and assemble of the gates that pointed in the direction of the Woodlands Forest. Tensions were high and heavy.
The forces at the front were none other than the militia who were the most nervous of the bunch. The sky seemed to get darker with each passing minute.
Over 100 armed militia men and women stood at the forefront in a tight line. They were armed with automatic weapons at the ready among this group were the fighters that moved in from the Tiger's Den. Lieutenant Pike was the man in charge of this group. He stood to the side of them with a machete in hand.
Over 70 evolvers were at the ready behind them. Among them were Mayor Bennet, Thorne, Conrad, Jeoffrey, Xavier, Nale, Vicky, Clara, Veronica, Grem, Lydia, Mordecai, Dulton, Rina, Candice, Jordan and finally Huey.
The wait felt like an eternity as the minutes stretched into what felt like hours. The tension continued to brew and the continued silence only made it even more worse. Everyone felt as if the weight of the world would be dropping on their heads at any moment in time.
The pressure continued to build. Hearts continued to pound hard in their chest. many began to sweat profusely and some were pale faced.
Mayor Bennet regarded the collection of warriors. He could tell the morale as dropping which wasn't good especially since the enemy hadn't even arrived. He was a seasoned Politian after all and he could sense these things.
Bennet looked forward once more.
There in the distance a small cloud of dust rose from the ground. It was approaching the gather force. He squinted his eyes trying to get a closer look. The cloud of dust was getting closer and closer and vague figures could be spotted within the cloud.
Finally, the cloud was 50 meters away. He could make out four small human shaped figures running at the front of the dust cloud.
40 meters away and he could clearly recognize the four running at the front were none other than the scouts that he had assigned to monitor the Woodlands Forest. It was also the team that had warned the camp of the impending threat otherwise they would not have been able to respond to the threat the way they had.
30 meters away and he could finally see the creatures rushing forward like an unstoppable wave. The ground shook slightly as they approached and the heavy bloodlust they released made the air feel colder. The chilling embrace of death felt closer than it ever had.
The troops at the front were trembling visibly now.
'This isn't good'
Bennet took a step forward. Pushing through the frontline until everyone could see his back. He was wearing his leather armer. It was a made up of shoulder guards with small spikes at the ends, long leather parts that covered his upper and lower legs and were joined together at the kneecap by a dark patchwork for easy movement.
On his back large greatsword, as long as his body, rested. Its hilt was dark and its large blade was silver. Along the center of the blade intricate runes were etched upon it making it look as mystical.
Bennet looked like a warrior primed for war. To the people at the front his back looked imposing and strong.
His back was straight, he faced the horde of beast that made its way closer and closer, unmoving like a mountain…and then
He took a step forward… and another.
"People of York Town! Today is the day we test our courage. Today we make our mark. Ever since the apocalypse fell we have been pushed back again and again and again. And now it the world pushes us still. It wants to make us feel weak and helpless"
Bennet turned his head slightly and looked at the crowd over his shoulder with a confident smile. His right hand rising to grab onto the hilt of his greatsword. His fingers wrapped tightly upon it and slowly his pulled it up and off his back. The blade glimmered in what ever light it caught in the sky.
"…what do you think we should do? Should we cower and hide? Shake in fear? Sit back and watch as the world brings us to the end?"
He brought his greatsword in front of him. Held firmly in a two handed grip. Then he raised it slightly, his feet shifting in the ground. His torso twisted as he pulled the sword towards his hip in a swinging motion, hilt facing forward and blade pointing back.
"You know what I say to that? I say to hell with that and I fight. I will always fight…"
The beasts were getting closer now. Their growls carried over the crowd but the wind. The small scout team was running frantically getting closer and closer to the mayor. Only a couple more seconds and they would run right past him and a few seconds after that…the first creatures from the horde rof beasts would be upon him as well.
"…No matter the odds we fight to live! We fight to survive! We fight to protect! We fight to evolve!"
At that point the four men from the scout team had ran past him and the first mutated creature was upon him. It leapt into the air wanting nothing more than to pounce on Bennet.
Bennet was already swinging his sword. The markings on its blade now glowing faintly.
"
The greatsword tore through the air in a wide arc, tearing the creature in half. A thin line shot towards the horde of creatures. And then the explosions came, followed by a rain of blood and the smell of burnt flesh. One after another mutated creatures found themselves bursting into flames.
The first of the beast horde had been eradicated