Event Horizon 2: A LitRPG Apocalypse, page 15
Herman couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess you’re right. Neither of them strike me as fighters, but they’ve both fought well and neither of them seem like they’re going to back down.”
They fell silent, and Herman thought about that for the last few moments they hiked. People really were more than they seemed a lot of the time. And if there were hundreds, thousands of other people who stepped up and fought like Ryan did, then humanity might actually have a chance.
His thoughts broke off as they reached the top of the hill. It had an impressive view. On either side it fell down into a canyon-like area, while behind them was another hill. In front of them was the most impressive out of all of it, with a meadow down below in the far distance. Herman looked around, admiring the view and checking for any Phenomenon.
Uncle Ray ignored him, lifting his binoculars up and starting to fiddle with them.
“Beautiful,” Ohsheit said. He leaned forward as if trying to get a better view of something. “Though I am unsure what that long dark thing is out there. Is that a rock field?”
Herman frowned. “Rock field? There aren’t a lot of super dark rocks in this part of the world. And I don’t remember there being rock fields out here in the meadows.” Granted, he hadn’t been here in a long time, so his memory might not be correct.
“Can you tell what it is, Uncle Ray?” he asked.
Uncle Ray didn’t respond for a moment as he swung the binoculars back and forth slowly as he tested them. He fiddled with the focus.
“Well, looks like everything’s fine with these,” he said. “Now what was this dark patch you two were talkin’ about?”
“That one just straight in front of you,” Herman said.
“Straight in front of me? There ain’t nothing there,” Uncle Ray replied.
“Keep looking, because we can see it and it doesn’t look like anything that belongs in this part of the world,” Herman replied.
He wasn’t a geology or botany expert, but he did know what looked out of place.
“Herman, I really don’t see—” Uncle Ray shouted in surprise. “Well ain’t that a thing. That there is a Problem with a capital P.”
Dread curling in his gut, Herman strode over to join his uncle at the side of the hill. Taking the field glasses, he lifted them and looked toward the black mass.
His eyes widened. He took the binoculars from his face, rubbed his eyes, then looked again.
Everything was still there in glaring detail.
A whole horde of Phenomenon.
“That…” he said slowly.
“What?” Ohsheit asked. “What do you see?”
“It’s…” Herman let out a heavy breath. “No freaking way. Those are all Phenomenon.” And they were. There were all kinds down there, many that Herman recognized the type of, like Eilgar, Vespers, and Drones, and plenty that looked like Earth animals—dogs, deer, even horses.
He felt Ohsheit pull at his mind, then access what he was seeing.
“Oh,” Ohsheit said, sounding dazed. “That is not good.”
“Well yeah, I could have told you that, lizard head,” Uncle Ray said. “That many Phenomenon all in one spot? Of course it ain’t good.” He hefted the grenade launcher. “Should I go down there and torch them?”
“No,” Ohsheit said. “It is likely a large number of them are resistant to fire. You would be walking into your own death for no reason. Not to mention they look like they are many miles away. Given how slow they are moving, they are not presently a threat. They will be once they get closer.” He sighed. “I did not expect a monster surge so early, but I suppose it makes sense.”
“So what do we do?” Uncle Ray asked. “They look like they’re coming this way.”
Herman looked again and found that Uncle Ray was right. The Phenomenon were milling about, moving slowly like Ohsheit had said, but largely moving in one direction.
Toward Glasset.
He gritted his teeth. The Phenomenon would likely take a couple days to reach Glasset at the speed they were traveling. But once they were there, they’d level the town and kill anyone in their path.
They needed to get to Glasset and do their best to get the townspeople out before the surge reached them.
He looked at the surge, taking another look at the different creatures. What he’d noticed at a glance was helpful, but if they could figure out more of what was there, it might give them an advantage if they actually had to go up against that horde.
“Are those llamas?” he said. “And sheep? And pigs? Wait, we’re just outside Glasset…” He trailed off, then gasped. “Were all those from the Daugherty petting zoo?”
“Probably,” Uncle Ray said. “This whole meadow was their property.”
He remembered that zoo from when he was growing up in Glasset. The Daugherty family would let any of the local kids come out on weekends and see the animals. He’d loved going, especially to see Cecil the pig.
“Wait, is one of those infected pigs Cecil?” he said. “Tell me the Phenomenon didn’t get Cecil.”
Uncle Ray shrugged. “I didn’t keep up with what animals they still had. But pigs can live a long time, as long as they’re not turned into bacon. I suppose it’s possible that one of those was Cecil.”
Herman sighed, dropping his head. “Poor Cecil. No one deserves to be infected by the Phenomenon. But especially not good pigs like Cecil.” He remembered how the boar liked to come up to people and lean against their legs like a dog, asking to have his back scratched.
“Nothing we can do about it now,” Uncle Ray said, though his tone was unexpectedly gentle. “Best we can do is make sure that this surge doesn’t destroy that damned town.”
Herman nodded. “We need to hurry,” he said, handing the glasses back to Uncle Ray. “We’re gonna have to evacuate Glasset. That surge isn’t moving fast, but that could change.” He looked at Ohsheit. “How long do you think we have?”
Ohsheit shrugged. “If they continue just ambling like they are, a couple of days at best. But if something catches their attention, that could change. I concur with your assessment, Herman. We should make haste.”
“Right. Then let’s get to it,” Herman said, already jogging back down towards the Hummer.
CHAPTER 19
TOMBO
“This is good,” Tombo said, waving toward the decimated parking lot. “We don’t want to get ourselves trapped in here if we can help it.”
Aguilar pulled the large Humvee over, turning it so they could make a quick escape from the parking lot if they needed to. They’d all piled in about an hour ago and driven back to Horsetooth Reservoir. McKee and Wright had made a convincing argument to try bodies of water closer to the observatory, so they didn’t have to trek through Phenomenon-infested land any more than they had to.
Ku-Aya had wanted to go back to the reservoir because they knew how to attract the fish there for sure, and she wanted Tombo to kill as many Phenomenon as possible so that he could gain stat points and increase his abilities.
He’d pointed out to her that he was still recovering from his wounds, and that the military didn’t know he was mostly alright at this point. They’d sent him out with these four military personnel assuming they would act as his bodyguards. He was supposed to teach them how to fight the Phenomenon and guide them in capturing a live specimen.
He couldn’t just hop out of the Humvee, heal himself with a quick spell or two and then get into a brawl with the Phenomenon. Not without raising a lot of questions.
A compromise presented itself when Wright had been loading the Humvee and Tombo had caught sight of three grenade launchers and multiple cases of grenades.
“These are gonna be relatively effective against weaker Phenomenon, right?” Tombo asked Ku-Aya.
“The low level ones, yes,” Ku-Aya confirmed.
Despite Tombo’s many weapons, he’d never actually owned a grenade launcher. He preferred the greater demand for accuracy that rifles and handguns demanded. Not to mention, there weren’t many places that he could fire a grenade launcher and not get in huge trouble.
Sure enough, the first group of Phenomenon Drones they’d come across had died fiery deaths to the grenade launcher.
“Just why didn’t we have one of these the other day?” Tombo asked, rhetorically. “Polly would have eaten dirt way faster.”
“Actually, she wouldn’t have,” Ku-Aya said. “She was a relatively evolved Phenomenon. These weapons would not have been sufficient to kill her. Not without presenting a far greater risk to you.”
Tombo grumbled. “Well, glad to know I wasn’t facing the Terminator in hand-to-hand combat for nothing.”
He supposed it was a good thing he hadn’t had the grenade launcher anyway, because he probably wouldn’t have increased all his skills and activated the healing spells like he had otherwise. And if there was one thing he’d learned from the first few days of the alien invasion, it was that his healing spells were among the most important assets he possessed. Anything that was going to keep him alive longer was more important than whatever kind of mundane weapon he was wielding. Even if it was a sweet ass grenade launcher.
Tombo slid out of the Humvee now, reaching in to unlatch the small crate where he’d placed Trojan. He peered in, spying the little mole curled up in the corner on top of an old shirt.
“Stay here,” he told Trojan. “But if you feel the need to get involved because shit’s going south, then do it.”
Trojan nodded at him, shifting nervously. “I understand. Please be careful, however. I do not like the idea of you returning to where you nearly drowned.”
Tombo gave the little mole a small smile. “I’ll be fine.”
He wondered if Trojan was relieved not to have to get out and help, considering how much he’d hated being on the water the other night.
Stepping back from the door but leaving it open, he looked around the parking lot. The fires that had been here just a few days ago had all gone out or been put out. The smell lingered though, blood and burnt plastic and gasoline. A light breeze blew, and clouds floated through the sky, occasionally blocking the sun and casting everything in shadow.
“I would recommend allotting your stat points,” Ku-Aya said. “You have several available and it would be wise to do put them somewhere before you are called upon to fight once again.”
Tombo nodded, pulling up his stats.
Night Blade Novice Level
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 9
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 2
Charisma: 4
You have 7 stat points to spend.
He considered what they were about to do—capturing a Phenomenon—and decided that Strength and Intelligence were his top priorities. Strength, because he didn’t want to get pulled down into the water again and nearly drown, and Intelligence because Ku-Aya had said that would increase how much essence he could use and therefore increased the number of times he could use his healing spells.
He put three points into Strength and four into Intelligence.
Night Blade Novice Level
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 9
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 2
Charisma: 4
You do not have any stat points to spend.
“You coming or what?”
Tombo looked over to find McKee watching him with an annoyed expression.
“Yeah, give me a second,” Tombo replied.
He’d found on their drive over that none of the soldiers were actually as hard as they first appeared, especially Wright. They each knew their work and went about their business with great professionalism, but they also took great delight in teasing one another with sharp verbal jabs and even the odd practical joke.
There was some kind of ongoing rivalry between McKee and Wright which Tombo hadn’t quite figured out the details of. It wasn’t a particularly vicious relationship, but it was more noticeable than the general banter between the others.
Tombo made a show of looking out at the surrounding landscape, eyes narrowed. “Just checking for any sign of Phenomenon,” he said as Fraser and Aguilar unloaded a large barrel from the back of the truck.
They had a second barrel strapped in the back storage space of the Hummer that was filled with water that they would transfer the monster into after transporting it from the water to the truck in the empty barrel. Tombo wasn’t entirely convinced that either of the containers would hold whatever they caught, but it was the best they could come up with on such short notice.
In his opinion, it would have been nice to reinforce the container in the Humvee with plates of steel, but there was no time for that now. So, even if they did manage to snag themselves a specimen, they’d be stuck in an enclosed space with a Phenomenon that may or may not be able to bust its way out.
At least whatever they put inside wouldn’t be able to build up much momentum to try and bust out. Then again, if the fish could launch spears like their big boy cousins, that might not matter.
Their plan was to go fishing with a strip of leather attached to a thick rope that was tied to the front of the Humvee. That assumed that the infected fish here would react the same way as the other fish he’d already encountered.
Tombo wasn’t taking any chances of getting drowned again, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let any of the soldiers—who didn’t have the benefit of Ku-Aya helping them—try fishing out a monster trout if there was a possibility of being dragged into the water and drowned.
Fraser brought the thick rope to the front of the Humvee. Knotting it to one of the rings on the bumper, she leaned all her weight against it.
The rope creaked, but didn’t budge.
Uncoiling the rope, she laid it out across the beach until she was at the edge of the water and only had about twenty feet in her hands. She looked around, clearly searching for something.
“What are you looking for?” Tombo asked.
“Something that floats,” she said. “Unless you can launch a hundred pounds worth of rope into the water?”
Tombo glanced at the other three. They were all well-built and as in good of shape as you’d expect for Marines and the like, but none of them could shot-put that much weight that far. And looking at the beach, there wasn’t anything he’d trust to carry Fraser and the rope without sinking.
Not to mention he suspected the infected fish had evolved since he’d been in the water with them. He’d been able to swim in the reservoir unbothered after he’d gotten rid of the leather he’d been carrying. Now he fully expected the fish to be more like man-eating sharks, coming up and snapping at anything that moved on the surface.
“I guess it’s time to show a little muscle,” Tombo said to Ku-Aya.
“Are you sure it won’t put you in danger of being discovered?” she asked.
“No. But I don’t like the idea of sending any one of these soldiers into danger unnecessarily,” he replied, reaching to take the rope from Fraser. “Besides, I don’t actually have to throw it in. I can send it into the water on a piece of plastic.”
Fraser gave it to him, a curious look in her eye. Behind him, he could hear McKee, Aguilar, and Wright muttering and elbowing each other.
“Ten bucks says he can’t get it halfway in,” McKee said.
“Ten bucks says he can,” Wright immediately countered.
Tombo turned toward them with a grin. “And what do I get if I get it not only all the way in, but it gets stopped because it’s tied to the Humvee?”
The three of them blinked in surprise at him, then Aguilar said, “I ain’t givin’ you anything. That’s a look of a man who knows his abilities.”
“Twenty bucks,” Wright said, ignoring Aguilar.
“Are you kidding?” McKee said. “He nearly died not even three days ago. He shouldn’t even be carrying that much weight, let alone throwing it.”
Fraser snatched the rope back from him before he could react. “McKee’s right. Quit being a dumbass trying to show off and let me work.”
With that, she turned on her heels, grabbed a huge piece of plastic from the shore, and put the rope on it. She left the leather-wrapped end hanging from it, then glanced about. Striding toward the edge of the water, she snatched up a long metal pole that had probably once been part of some kind of railing on a boat.
“What are you doing?” Tombo asked. “You can’t get into the water.”
“Of course I can’t,” she said. “I don’t have a death wish.” She braced the pole on the side of the plastic and shoved. The little raft went into the water, wobbling for a moment and bobbing like it would sink, before stabilizing and drifting deeper into the water.
Tombo sighed. “Looks like you and I had the same idea.”
She gave him a look, clearly not believing him.
He threw up his hands. “What, a guy can’t mess with his new teammates? Of course I wouldn’t have been able to throw a hundred pounds of rope in after having been mauled by a Phenomenon and getting left on death’s doorstep.”
“Fucker had me convinced otherwise,” Wright muttered behind him.
“Because you’re a gullible fool who thinks being macho can solve anything,” McKee said.
“False,” Wright said. “I’m a man who thinks grit and determination can get a man much farther than people would expect.”
Tombo ignored Wright and McKee as they devolved into bickering, watching Fraser push the plastic. Soon the pole wasn’t long enough to reach, and she gave it one last shove.
The rope uncoiled slowly, the leather trailing in the water. Silence fell over the space when Wright and McKee finally stopped their bickering. The only sound was the gentle lapping of water on the beach and the plastic float. The water was relatively smooth, not yet churned up by the afternoon winds.
“What is that?” Ku-Aya asked in Tombo’s mind suddenly.
