Savage Webs, page 12
part #2 of Apocalypse Cultivation Series
Stephanie said, “The people from this community, Beacon, they said you went off into the dark and killed one before they could even figure out what had happened. Like–”
She was interrupted by all of the Paladins’ radios going off at once, all six of them.
“Radios off,” said John. The others nodded and turned off their little handheld radios. John spent about half a minute listening to someone near panic as they rattled off an address and a code with letters and numbers, similar to police codes.
John was grim as he turned. “Call from the schools, where most of the refugees and people looking for protection went.”
“That is a problem,” said Stephanie with a nod. She absently generated a flame from one finger and made it dance across her palm. “There’s no real easy way to get there unless we go over the highway. Highway is dangerous enough, but it’ll take forever to get there unless we go by the mall and the Walmart. Last time we checked it out, those animals there had a blockade.”
“Yeah. So what do we tell them?” asked John. “That’s where most of the families went.”
Then the stone-looking man spoke for the first time. Not for the first time, Jake thought having such an odd-looking team member might be one reason the Paladins were taking Jake’s presence as calmly as they were. The stony man said, “So, what, we just sit on our asses and only help people on this side of the highway?”
“Why are you helping people in the first place?” asked Jake.
“All of us have different reasons. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t,” said Caleb. “We have other Paladins out there right now, good people from town trying to keep this place safer. We’re the only team that is made up of all superhumans. They call us if it’s something the people with guns can’t handle.”
Tracy added, “Everyone around this area has heard about what happened at Macon now. All the survivor communities with radios are trying to figure out where we should all go to gather, especially since Atlanta is a death trap. Until they figure it out, we have to just hold on. Everything was fine until, like, five days ago when those assholes took over the Walmart area.”
“I think they came from the Atlanta area,” said John.
Jake frowned. “So you are worried about raiders.” He realized that he must have appeared back on Earth near where the bandits were living now. When he’d gone up on the clay bat, he’d seen the Walmart. “They aren’t very far away, are they?”
“The raiders? No. This is the closest we can really come. It’s night time right now, so they probably have their own problems, but yeah. It’s always a danger. The people here were lucky that we were on this side of the highway when the call went out; otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have made it in time.”
Jake began thinking of ways he could help. He had a few days on Earth, and he didn’t need a ton of vampire cores, so helping this community should be something he could do. The Morrigan’s subtle warning rattled around in his head, though. If he made too much noise, would big stompy agents of evil come looking for him? Would that put this community in even more danger?
The rumors about Atlanta were also worrying. Atlanta had definitely been a no-go zone in Jake’s first life, but it’d taken longer to get to that point.
Still, it should be pretty easy to go with the Paladins and just hit any blockades with a Demonic Contradiction wave. It might make craters too, but it’d definitely make a ton of noise. Jake didn’t know how many of the raiders there were, or whether he should be killing people during his limited time back on Earth.
At first, a few days back on Earth had seemed like lots of time. Now it didn’t seem nearly as long. And knowing intellectually that thousands of other communities across the United States had similar problems as Locust Grove. It was a grim thought.
Caleb hit his own leg in frustration. “The schools are really well-protected. We thought they’d be fine. Fuck!”
“We should probably get going, even though it’ll take us forever to get there,” said John. He warily stood.
“The defenders should have been fine,” said Tracy. “Why did it have to be vampires there? They’re so hard to deal with.”
“Wait, what did you say?” asked Jake. He stood up quickly.
All the Paladins whirled. It was like they’d temporarily forgotten about Jake for a second in the heat of the moment. “About what?” asked Tracy slowly. She didn’t quite reach for her weapons, but Jake could tell he’d spooked her.
Jake grinned, showing his teeth. The Paladins all flinched. “I came to hunt vampires, and y’all just jogged my memory, or more like made me realize something that was right in front of my face. You can head to the school, but get on your radio and tell them that I’m coming ahead of you.”
“What do you mean?” Caleb didn’t exactly look excited, but his eyes had a bit more light in them than they’d had before. “Are you going to run ahead? Take out the raiders?”
“Fighting the raiders will take too long. The people at the schools need us now,” said John.
Jake nodded. “Yup.”
“So are you going to run?” asked Caleb.
“No, I’m going to fly.” Jake pulled the clay bat out of his storage.
Stephanie scrambled back in alarm while the others goggled. “What the fuck is that!?”
“This is Bartok. Bartok is about to fly me straight at the vampires.”
“The vamps aren’t going to be happy to see you, are they?” asked John.
“Nope. I just need a basic map.”
“Good.” John pulled a pen and paper from his pocket and drew Jake a crude map. Then he pointed to the road. “Team! Hop in the trucks. Let’s go!”
The Paladins loaded up their vehicles as Jake hopped on the clay bat and rose into the air.
Visibility was fantastic from the sky since Jake had such good night vision. He took one last look back at Beacon. Everyone who was still alive was awake. It was unlikely the lamia would be back any time soon, but the survivors were busy rebuilding and improving their defenses. Jake turned and saw the bodies laid out in sheets in one of the nearby park’s baseball diamonds. The fallen Paladin’s body had to be there too.
A couple guards were there with the bodies. The survivors had been smart to get the corpses out of their community. Nothing drew monsters like the scent of death. Even as he watched, one of the guards raised a crossbow to his shoulder and killed a wandering zombie.
Jake saluted the bodies and mimed pouring a glass out. Then he said something he hadn’t said in a long time, something he’d begun saying during his days in the Grasshopper Mice.
“Goodbye, friends. I will continue the watch through the long night. You are relieved of duty. Now rest with honor. You will be avenged.”
When Jake wheeled the bat around through the starlit sky, his eyes were flat. His excitement to be back on Earth had waned.
This was not a vacation. There was work to do.
Chapter 19
When Jake approached from the sky, he was able to tell why the Paladins had called this area “The schools.”
It looked like this county was one that put all the schools together from kindergarten to high school. Several large buildings and their satellite buildings were all practically within spitting distance from each other.
There were way more people at the school than Jake had assumed. It looked like most of the people from the surrounding residential area and maybe even from further away had gathered there for safety. From the air, Jake could see rows of generators, tents set up for community use, and personal tents scattered around as well.
The perimeter had been lined with a fences, and this area had a military presence. US military vehicles were parked in a long row to one side, and soldiers were among the defenders below.
Jake quickly noted the layout of the camp and just as quickly analyzed the violence. The scene was pure chaos.
Vampire were not the only type of monster attacking. There were waves of the things, mostly attacking from the north. Jake had come from the southeast, so he flew over the entire battle below to get a closer look.
Monsters were spilling out of the forest from across the road to the north. From Jake’s vantage point, he could see at least one residential neighborhood past the large, wooded area.
Constant, staccato firing of weapons accompanied the screams of wounded people and the roars of monsters. Jake’s senses were much better now than the last time he’d been on earth, almost incomparable. There were around three hundred defenders and maybe ten times that number of noncombatants in the main building.
A smaller school to the north, maybe an elementary school, had already been overrun. Based on the size of the school and the size of the parking lot, Jake figured it was the high school where that the defenders were making their last stand.
Most of the defenders were on the roof or other elevated places, aiming floodlights and shooting at the monsters that advanced past the ditches, fences, and barricades. They must have had some heavy equipment at this location at some point, because the level the school had been fortified in less than a month was downright impressive.
It wasn’t stopping the monsters much, though. Especially the vampires. A second line of defenders were on the ground in front of the school itself situated behind a portable chain-link fence. They were armed with spears, pitchforks, machete, and shotguns. So far, the two levels of defenders were holding out against the wave of monsters, but only just.
In the distance, Jake saw at least two zombie goliaths moving through the forest toward the school. At this rate, the defenders were fucked. Even as Jake watched, vampires tricked out of the elementary school, flanking west and south to attack the high school from another side.
There were just too many monsters and not enough defenders. And they would have to be getting low on ammo by now too.
Green fire flashed out from the defenders on the ground, proving they had at least a few superhumans among their ranks, but it wouldn’t be enough. If there were zombie goliaths out there, there’d also be a shit ton of zombies coming. And the vampires weren’t very tough, but they were fast as hell and it’d only take a few of them breaching the defenses or actually working together–even by accident–to overwhelm the defenders.
Fires in burn barrels in the parking lots and road helped the defenders see but gave the entire scene a hellish glow.
Jake had seen enough. Despite the grim situation, he was feeling a bit satisfied. He’d come to earth to kill vampires, and what he was seeing below as a target-rich environment.
“Hey,” Jake said to the clay bat. “Bartok. I’m going to play some music.” He pulled a boombox out of his storage ring and put in a random mix tape he’d acquired from one of the gangs in Macon. “Stay out of reach, but hover over me. I want you close if I need to leave. The music should tell the Paladins where I’m at when they eventually get here.”
Jake hit play. He shook his head as the first strains of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” began to play. “Figures,” he muttered.
Then, as the defenders looked up when the music began playing over their heads, Jake dropped down into the slaughterhouse below.
He hit a vampire right as it was climbing over an improvised barrier. Jake slammed the monster’s face into the asphalt with the strength of his Gold stage of Body Reinforcement body, the power of his cultivation, a mild layer of Lunar Dao Polishing on his shoulder, and his full falling weight.
The vampire’s head was pulped instantly and Jake tucked to roll, springing up and delivering a powerful kick into the ribs of another vampire. The creature shot back with a squelching sound. It collided with a ruined car, busting out the windows and leaving a dent.
Jake was on it in a flash, his other fingers supporting his clawed pinky finger as he tore open the already mortally wounded monster’s throat.
Another vampire leaped over a concrete barricade, claws extended. Jake slapped the hands away, shoved the creature away with a double open-palm slap, then leveled his AK pistol. Five rounds of 7.62x39mm tore through the vampire. Its dark, almost black blood decorated the barrier it’d just jumped over now.
Jake flipped the safety lever back up to safe and flash-stepped back, about halfway between the barrier and the defenders. His hand went to his wooden sword as he scanned the area around him with his cultivator senses. He was tempted to just draw his ego sword, Bloom. It was his most powerful weapon after all. He was waiting, though.
After ten years of killing demon beasts, which were really just the Murim world version of monsters, he’d learned a few things. The more varied ways he killed, the more likely it was he’d get monster cores from the bodies.
His surroundings had grown temporarily more quiet, and human defenders and attacking monsters all paused to stare at him. LMFAO blasted overhead.
Jake waved at the defenders and flash-stepped at a group of three vampires crawling under cars to avoid being shot. He stepped down on one’s arm, hard. The creature’s limb was pulverized.
He heard the chatter of gunfire before feeling the impact of heavy bullets. They hit with more force than the buckshot he’d been hit with before. “Well, now I know how that feels.” Each rifle round impacting him had felt like a strong man jabbing him with a stiff finger. It hadn’t exactly hurt but had definitely felt uncomfortable. His energy depleted a small amount, but much smaller than he’d experienced while getting shot before. He was stronger now than he was then.
Jake flash-stepped twice, all the way back to the defenders, and shouted, “Don’t shoot me, assholes! Want me to leave? Fuck.” Then he turned and flash-stepped away. “Making me waste my energy–” he grumbled to himself.
From back at the school, he heard the survivors yelling. One exclaimed, “Holy shit. Holy shit! Blue eyes. That was the Grim! He really came!”
“That was the Grim?”
“He’s so fucking fast. I hit him. I know I hit him. Holy shit, did he teleport? We are so screwed.”
“Don’t shoot at him again, fucktards! Tucker! Now we might actually have a chance!”
“We might not die anymore?”
“Not if we help the Grim and shoot the fucking monsters!”
Jake tuned them out and darted forward into a group of three vampires. They all attacked at once, and he had a sudden insane idea. I’m going to be fighting hundreds of monsters all at once. What if I turn this into training? Jake cut down one of the creatures with his wooden sword. He explosively hammer-fisted one on the temple and kicked the other, giving himself room, then put the sword away.
“Let’s go, bitches,” he said. A single low-level vampire just wasn’t much of a threat to Jake anymore, but there were a lot of them, and more powerful ones might be on the way. There were also the zombies coming.
Jake lost himself in combat. His cultivation base spun and he never tired, never faltered. His fists broke bones, his claws killed, and his mysterious replacement limb was a handy blocking took, strong as steel.
Bullets from the defenders thundered around him, sometimes sparking off the asphalt or cars. Jake was like a missile, crashing like a ton of bricks into every monster that crossed the barrier. The creatures slowed their advance, some of them cautiously eyed him from the forest, only coming in groups now.
Despite the danger, Jake was in a great mood now. Killing vampires was exactly what he’d come to Earth for. It was weird that there were so many here. He’d been expecting he’d need to look harder for them or even go back to Macon, but this was working out great. And he was even helping people too.
He laughed and kneed a vampire in the face so hard that its head crumpled, and one fang stuck in Jake’s leg a bit. He plucked it out, spun, and kicked the legs out from under a monster that had been trying to get past him. “What’s your hurry?” he asked.
The vampire didn’t answer. Jake thought that was rude, so he tore out its throat.
James felt grateful for the lull in his lane of fire. There were still attackers, though. Maybe the gymnasium full of women and children somewhere below was just too tempting of a meal for these bastards to pass up. Another monster climbed over the cars that made up the portion of barrier he was laser-focused on.
He lined up a shot, was about to squeeze the trigger, but in a flash, the Grim came out of nowhere and literally tore the vampire apart. James breathed a sigh of relief and glanced to one side where he was keeping his ammo. He only had a few dozen rounds left.
Running out of ammo while fighting an army of ravenous monsters hadn’t been part of his life for very long. It was amazing what he’d gotten used to in a couple weeks. He’d never known he had it in him before to do something like this. Now he was filled with pride; pride and determination.
Kathy was in the school with the other noncombatants, and he still hadn’t had a chance to ask her out yet. It just never seemed like the right time, even before the world ended. But now he was thinking that if he actually survived the night, maybe he’d finally have to grow some balls and just ask her to walk around or something.
To his side, Jonah Smith fired off a shot and said, “I thought we’d be dead by now.” It was the first time the older man had talked in a while. If not for the fact he was talking so loud to be heard over the ringing in their ears, his tone was so casual, he could have been talking about the weather.
“Yeah. The Grim really came.” James only glanced over briefly. Past Jonah, Wesley’s body still slumped over in death, his face and throat ruined. A single vampire had managed to get through the parking lot and past the defenders below, jumped up on the roof and killed Wes in a flash. Johan had dumped an entire magazine into the thing before it’d finally dropped off the edge of the roof
James frowned. It kind of bothered him that he’d seen so much messed-up stuff now that seeing Wes die, he might not have a specific nightmare about Wes dying. He lined up another shot past the barrier and took it, pulping a vampire’s chest. The things were tough, so it kept crawling, but it’d die. Good.
