Chapter 91

I moved forward on the attack.

Getting close in as quickly as I could to use my short sword here would put me at a disadvantage if I delayed. It was a gamble I knew but I had to take it. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t work out this time as I advanced quickly the creature struck out with one of its arms. I was able to block a blow but the sheer force of the impact knocked me back again causing more pain in my right arm the kinetic energy of the blow transferring in from the shield.

The creature hadn’t actually moved up or back when it did this but stayed static continuing to block my access to the axe behind it. I took a few moments to reorient myself and get back into a defensive posture.

I was not going to be able to get in close enough because of the alpha’s reach with its claws. I was going to have to find a way to distract it. I could only think of one option and I hated it there was no other way. I tense my body ready for action when the opportunity I was hoping for appeared

“Grey, I need help to distract this thing.” I called out knowing that she would here be in the storefront.

We both heard the sound of movement and the ghoul looked towards the storefront to gauge how many new opponents it would be facing. I moved as it turned its head away from me and looked towards where Grey was coming from. I moved. I sprang forward as fast as I could hoping to catch my opponent off guard and it sort of worked.

The alpha could not respond fast enough to prevent me from getting close but was fast enough to move to try to protect itself. My blade was thrust forward and I was aiming to catch it somewhere in its guts but it moved to the right and I scored a hit wounding it with a multi-inch scar across the left side of its lower torso.

It snarled in pain returning the favour with a punch to my head. I was able to drop my head so it the force of the blow court the solid part of my helmet along my forehead. I was knocked back staggering with my head ringing as the helmet did not absorb all of the kinetic force.

“Hold on we are coming up.” I heard someone call out to me, I think. The world was a bit wavy at the moment.

Thankfully the ghoul had not followed up its attack as it was repositioning to face off against those who had emerged from the storefront. If it had there was a good chance it would have got me as the blow it delivered had rung my bell. I realise this as soon as I managed to get myself focused and back into a fighting stance.

Grey, Hills and a support team member I did not recognise were now outside of the store in a loose line facing our opponent. I knew that the third man was a support team member as he was wearing the older style of body armour with the latest military camouflage pattern, unlike our matte black operative suits. The way he was favouring his right side anything he might have been injured but not badly enough to prevent him from trying at least to support his other team members. The alpha was now forced to split its attention between me and the newcomers to the scene.

“Help me keep it distracted and stay out of reach.” I called over to Gey.

“Understood.”

The three of them began making a bit more noise trying to get the alpha to focus on them mostly by banging their weapons off their shields and calling out insults. The problem was the alpha was smart I knew that this was a distraction but it could not afford to ignore them as they could attack it while it was focused on me. The result was not perfect but it was a hell lot better than me facing this thing alone.

The alpha’s head turned from me to the other group and back again when people moved. I had time to time this right if I was going to pull it off but unfortunately, Hills had another idea. She suddenly attacked taking everyone by surprise but the alpha.

Stepping forward she swung in with her mace at the back of the creature’s head trying to wound the creature and create further opportunities for the rest of us. The attack was executed well and normally would have been a good blow when it connected unfortunately her opponent was a lot faster than she realised. As she swung in it suddenly pivoted towards her flashing out with one of its clawed hands that were closest to her to block the incoming blow and the other returned the attack.

The court had struck in an upward motion ripping across her shield gouging deep grooves into the hardened material. Even though it was not a full-on blow she was knocked sideways by the kinetic energy from it. She stumbled away her back was exposed to additional attacks. But this gave me an opportunity and I had to take it to save her.

I sprang forward as fast as I could and the creature was turning its upper torso to strike at me as I approached but as it did, I dropped to my knees and skidded along the floor. I thrust my blade forward driving it deep into the back of the knee that was exposed due to its turning to face Hills. The blade penetrated deep into it my body weight helping to push it in and it ripped through the kneecap black blood spurting from the wound. I think it cut several of its tenants in the back of its knee.

“ARGHHHHHHHH.” The alpha screamed out.

I managed to get my sealed up the return blow I was knocked flying sidewards and was quickly rolling across the grounds. I lost hold of my blade and my right arm was increasingly protesting the abuse it was going through along with my shoulder. I quickly got up and reoriented myself in case I was under additional attack due to the fact there I was open. However, I quickly realised that my gladius was still in the creature’s knee and it was trying to withdraw it while Gray and her support team member were launching harassing attacks.

I quickly looked around and realised that my axe was only a meter away and quickly went over and retrieved it. With its firmly back in my hands, I turned to face the alpha once more. My overall condition was good barring the unhappiness of my right arm and shoulder I was fighting fit. I moved up just helping the attacks that the others were launching.

The alpha’s mobility had been severely impeded by a blade in and it was staggering a bit not able to put full weight on that leg now. It was launching swiping attacks against Grey and as it reached out one of its arms, I was able to strike at it with my axe. I cut it deep on its forearm causing more black blood to flow and forced it onto the defensive. I quickly looked over to Grey and she nodded her thanks for the support which I returned.

Hills had returned to the fight and was hammering on the creature with her mace. Her blood was up and she was pissed which was seen from her nearly frenzied assault on the creature. It had its arms up blocking the blows as they were coming in but the spikes on her mace were causing additional wounds to appear on the arms.

I use this opportunity to swing around behind it. It recognised me as the principal threat and punched Hills in the shield that she was using to cover her torso knocking back again. It turned as quickly as it could again to face me and I could see the injuries on its arms were still oozing blood. It was snarling from pain and probably hatred trying to focus on me but still being aware of the others.

The support team member I did not know took a turn in attacking the alpha. He was knocked back with a savage blow taken him from his feet. Grey quickly followed up and like Hills on this mission carried a spikes mace over her normal sword. He didn’t swing high but swung low and connected with the other kneecap. Again, the creature cried out in pain and fell to its knees. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity and took the chance that the opening presented to me. It didn’t react in time and my axe blade slammed into its skull. The force of the impact sent a wave of shock on my left arm but the axe was in deep. Black blood and brain matter splattered from the wound along with the sound of the skull collapsing. For a few seconds, it knelt there clearly shocked by what had happened and then collapsed forward.

Dead.

The sudden end of the fight took us all by surprise. We all stood there for a few seconds catching our breath and trying to process that it was over.

“Holy Shit! We still alive!” Hills exclaimed.

“Eyes on the fog!” Grey snapped and that quickly got the others to focus on the job again as we were not out of danger yet.

I quickly went over and spent several minutes retrieving my weapons from the body of the alpha. This proved a lot harder than I thought it would but eventually, I got both the axe and my gladius back after a lot of swearing.

“We need to get moving.” I told Grey.

“Agreed. The pack will be disorganised after the death of the alpha.” She quickly returned to the storefront and began giving orders to get everyone moving. She called the support team member back to give a hand to the others. I moved up and joined Hills watching the fog.

“It’s darn good to see John. I honestly thought you were dead as I have not seen or heard about anything you’ve done in the last eight months at least.”

“Was in a coma for a while as I got mauled badly in a fight.” I told her.

She nodded accepting my reason knowing that I got into some really nasty scrapes and had scars to prove it.

“Seeing you come out of the fog and wreck those ghouls.” She shook her head at the memory as she went through the fight again. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Apart from the alpha, the others were nothing to you.”

“That’s not true Hills. Remember you get cocky you die. At each opponent with the respect, they deserve.” I told her but realised I needed to change the subject. “Once we get moving you should take the lead and I will take the rearguard.”

Grey quickly organised the others and got them moving I told her that Hills would be in the lead. She agreed with the idea and everyone started moving into the fog. Though they tried to hide the looks I was getting from the others were impossible to ignore. I couldn’t tell what their reactions were so I turned my back on them and looked out into the fog or any other threats.

Soon the final one passed me and I followed them up forming the rearguard to the group. I saw the occasional flicker of movement from the fog but nothing came of it and we quickly made our way out of the zone. Leaving a zone, no matter what the weather was outside was always a wondrous thing. And I revelled in the freedom from the effects that we were all under while in there.

We quickly past the perimeter guards and cross a small bridge. The wounded were quickly descended upon by the medics of the base and I noticed that a small group were waiting off to the side. I recognise most I knew that they were here for me. Hawk would be debriefing Hills, Grey and I extensively.