Chapter 96

“You three form a perimeter.” I said as I began to get to my feet. My body was now starting the protest what he had just been through. I’ve been through far worse, but my body still had the issues it would like to express. Once on my feet, I reached down and pulled my blade from the body. It took a lot of effort, but I eventually got it free.

Examining the blade, I saw no damage, but it was coated in this green sap stuff. I tried wiping off on the body below me, but it was sticking to everything. Looking over the Hills, I could see she was in a similar state. That is when I noticed the slight smell of something earthy/decaying coming off this green shit and we were covered in it. Great.

“You good?” I asked her.

“Yes. What is this green stuff anyway?”

“No idea.”

“Are we scrubbing this one?”

That was a fair question. I didn’t answer immediately and looked over the two bodies at our feet. In theory, I was within my rights to end the mission, as it was clear the zone was changed somehow. We did not know if there were more surprises ahead of us as we were only now a short distance from the beach.

“No, we continue.”

I knelt next to one of the bodies to see if a closer examination would reveal any more details or insight. It was clear that the branches or vines, whenever they were, formed the outer shell that protected more vulnerable parts. The upper chest seemed to be where the most vulnerable parts were, what we could call its organs.

“All right, people, listen up.” All the others turned to face me. “As you heard, are continuing. There’s a good chance we will run into more of these things and our axes won’t do much good. So, get your swords out and target chests.”

All of us were carrying swords as secondary weapons. By and large, they were all different versions of short swords. This meant we had lost some of the range that other weapons gave us. But it was clear that we would have to get close to take out these new threats.

It only took a few minutes to swap out our weapons. And once we were done, I gave everyone a quick once-over to ensure I was happy with my decision.

“Let’s get to the breach.” I told them. “Stay aware. The hostiles in the zone have changed, as you know. There might be other surprises waiting for us. So, call out anything you see, no matter how trivial.”

They all nodded and I knew that they understood. There is nothing worse than operative than being in a zone that was different from the reports or what they were expecting.

“Follow me.”

We doubled back to the wall and the gate. It wasn’t far, but we checked every shadow and movement hint as we moved. We turned around on the road and continued to follow it towards the breach. Even moving at our slow pace, it was only a matter of minutes before we approached the location where it was situated.

We reached the pathway that doubled up the driveway possibly. A few feet in, a gate led further into the area. I indicated to the others to continue to follow and we advanced, leaving the road. It was only a short distance before we saw the tell-tale signs of the breach. Ahead we saw the bubble affecting the fog around the breach, but no hostiles were present.

“Surround the bubble. I will visually check the breach.”

The others acknowledged my order and quickly surrounded the breach facing outwards. There were a lot of shrubs and hedgerows as this was a communal garden space but no sign of previously recorded hostiles of the new ones we had encountered. I knew Hill’s would handle the others while I checked the breach. So, with a deep breath and a serious desire of not wanting to do it, I stepped into the bubble.

As soon as I was in visual contact with the breach, a sense of wrongness swept over me. The two-dimensional crack space in front of me was like the others had encountered, differing but still the same in what it was. I quickly stepped back out of the bottle and looked at Hill’s. So far, so good?

“Anything?”

“Nothing yet.” She, like the others, was focused on the fog around us, trying to spot any movement or signs of danger.

“Okay, I walked the perimeter. If all goes well…..”

“Contact…..Fuck………….arrghhhh.” This came from the other side of the bubble where Jones had positioned himself.

“Everyone hold! Defensive stances!” I yelled out as I ran through the bubble avoiding the crack.

I quickly emerged and found Ford standing over Jones. He was covering him from something. Looking at Jones’s body on the ground as though he was still alive but had several protruding spikes sticking out of his armour.

“What happened?” I demanded.

“Something in the fog…..” Jones began from the ground, his voice not hiding his pain.

“Fuck!” Ford yelled out as he raised his shield. More spikes shot out of the fog and impacted against his now-raised shield. Most bounced off, but a few impaled into the shield. I raise mine, knowing that I could become the target.

“Where are they coming from?”

“Whatever is it moving.” Ford indicated further into the garden.

I could see another figure moving on the limit of our sight in the fog. I saw another sign of movement from that direction. My instincts got me to raise my shield. Half a dozen spikes shot out from the fog and impacted against my shield this time. I let out a grunt as the impact’s kinetic force passed through my shield and into my arm. Glancing over my shield’s rim, I noticed they had all bounced off apart from one sticking out my shield. I looked back quickly into the fog and lost sight of whatever was out there.

“Ford, I have lost it. Can you see it?”

“No. I can’t see it at all.”

“Jones, how are you?” I asked the man on the floor, unable to look at him in case we were fired on again.

“Shit….not good.” Came the reply.

“Hills. Jackson on us. Man down.” The other two quickly came and joined us.

“Oh, God!” I heard from Jackson.

“Jones, stay still. Let me check you out!” Hills rushed over to him and began rendering first aid. I turned to look over my shoulder at Jackson. She was looking at the prone form of Jones and was not handling the situation well.

“Jackson!” I called her. But she was focused on the form of Jones. “Jackson!” I yelled louder, but she still ignored me. I was forced to manoeuvre around Hills and Jones while trying to keep my guard in the direction we had taken fire from.

“Jackson!” I yelled to get her attention. She blinked rapidly and looked at me, but she was clearly in shock. Before I could say anything else, another volley came from the fog, striking Ford’s shield.

“Ford, keep everyone covered. I’m moving out to engage.” We could not stay on the defensive, so I went on the offensive. I pushed out from the group and into the fog from where the projectiles came from. I advanced. I caught a quick glimpse of a figure and decided to pursue it.

The hostile was shaped like the earlier ones we had encountered, but I noticed the spikes protruding from his body. As I approached, it spied me by sticking out its arms and seemed to release spikes. My shield was already up, stopping the spikes from striking me. I broke into a run and shield charge my opponent. I gambled on my superior body weight and the additional force of the colliding at speed to bring it down.

Like the ones we faced earlier, it was short, stocky, and no faster. The collision sent a wave of kinetic energy from the body, which was pretty painful. We felt together, with me landing on top of it with my shield between us. I quickly lifted the shield and rammed my blade into its upper body. The blade, however, was deflected by its outer layer and I was forced to try again. The second time I slip between the vines and into the main body. The creature made a sound similar to the first one I killed and stopped moving.

I waited a few seconds to ensure that it was got up, pulled the blade out as I stood up, and then looked myself over. I was covered in more of the green stuff. I also noticed the damage from spikes that were on its body that my shield did not block. None had penetrated my armour, but I was surprised at the amount of damage. I doubled back to the group.

“How is Jones?” I asked when I caught sight of them again. Ford and Jackson were standing in a defensive stance over Hills as she was treating him.

“He is lucky. Only two spikes penetrated the armour. The first was a minor breach on his chest. The second is a deep wound in the shoulder.” This was good news. I noticed that though he was injured, it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. She was helping him to his feet and his right arm was in a sling. One spike had been removed and the one in the shoulder was still present.

“Okay, this is what we going to do. Hills, Jones and Ford, you guys can head back to the perimeter and meet the sealing team. Jones needs to be pulled out and you guys will need to cover him. Jackson and I will stay here and await your return.”

“Should Jackson come with us and Ford stay with you.” Hills asked.

“No, you will need him more if you are ambushed. Get going out of your account to sixty before I fire off the flare. Warn the team of the new hostiles in the zone.”

Hills was clearly not happy, but she understood my reasoning. Jones could move under its own power, so they quickly returned the way we came. Jackson was clearly still in a state of shock but seemed more aware of her situation now. Looking over at her, I had not really interacted with her during the missing. I had spent the time I was able watching her. I don’t think she will cut it. That would be my recommendation to command, but in the present times, I knew that they were not going to get rid of her. I honestly pitied her for it.

I kept a running count in my head. When I reached sixty, I pulled out my flare gun. If this misfires on me, I will not be happy. I checked the flare to make sure it was the right one and when I confirmed this, I pointed it to the sky. I pulled the trigger and the whoosh of the flare igniting was a welcome sound. The area was soon bathed in the green glow of the flare, causing the fog to dance in its weird and disturbing way.

“You okay over there, Jackson?” She jumped at this, not expecting the question, far too wrapped up in her own thoughts.

“Er… Sorry…. Yes.”

“Keep aware, Jackson. We are in a zone and in constant danger. Don’t go losing yourself in your head.”

“Sorry. It’s just that….”

“Not used to the sight of human blood?” She nods in the affirmative at my question.“ Yes, that’s a weird thing, all right. You can face off against a monster with no problem on the sight of human blood makes you want to throw up.” Again, she nods yes.

“Don’t worry. You are not the first and you will be the last.” We lapse into a brief silence.

“How do you deal with it?” She asked.

“One day at a time. Just one day at a time.”