Event Horizon 2: A LitRPG Apocalypse, page 6
“Ain’t really for security,” he muttered as the chain clinked in his hands. “Just to keep critters out.”
Lara kept her distance. She didn’t trust the structural soundness of the building, and she refused to die in the middle of the apocalypse due to some old man’s barn collapsing on her.
“I keep all the old electronic stuff in here,” Earl said. “Too much of it for the house so I store it all in here.”
“Does it even still work?” Ryan asked. “Looks like your roof would leak and ruin it all.”
Earl shrugged. “Barn might look like it’s a hare’s fart away from toppling over, but it’s dry inside and reasonably clean. Besides, I ain’t heard no complaints from customers.”
“And when was the last time you had a customer?” Ryan asked cautiously.
“Musta been two years ago. No, closer to…” Earl put a hand to his chin and looked down, muttering to himself. “Guess it was nearly seven or eight years ago. Time means less when you get to be my age.”
“Uh huh,” Ryan said. “Well, as long as the router works, we’re all good.” He glanced at Jack and the two shared a knowing look.
“Right, here we are,” Earl said, dropping the chain off to one side.
He propped his shotgun up on the side of the barn then he leaned and pulled on the handle of the large door, pulling it back. The wood groaned and the wheel it slid on squealed, making Lara wince.
“Damn it!” Earl hissed, struggling as the door stuck in place. “One of you strapping boys wanna stop gawkin’ and give me a hand?”
Jack and Ryan looked at each other, clearly neither of them in a hurry to assist the old man. Lara rolled her eyes.
“Never mind,” she said. “I’ll do it.”
She stepped towards the door, leaning in and pushing while Earl pulled the handle. The door strained, creaking slightly as something that sounded an awful lot like growling came from inside the building.
Lara stopped pushing turning her ears to the side.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
Earl frown over at her. “Hear what?”
“It sounded like…”
There it was again, the sound of growling, accompanied by what might have been heavy breathing. If she didn’t know any better, Lara would have thought there was a bear inside the barn. No, not a bear a—
The world exploded around her as the barn shuddered and a towering black form burst from the building, splintering the door on its way out.
“Eilgar!” she shouted, diving out of the way and only narrowly avoiding having her arm taken off at the shoulder.
CHAPTER 8
LARA
Lara stumbled backwards, ripping the bowie knife out of its sheath and blocking a thrust from the Phenomenon creature as it drove an oily limb towards her. She twisted the knife, but before she could follow up with the thrust Ohsheit had made her practice over and over again, the Phenomenon pulled back and coiled itself up, preparing for another strike.
Using the precious seconds the defensive move had brought her, Lara drew in her essence, triggering her cultivation as she backed away from the frothing monster. The power flowed out of her hands as she aimed a compressed spear of air at the creature.
It was less aiming as it was a frantic thrust with what she hoped was sufficient power to hurt the Phenomenon or at least drive it back and give her space and time to make a more concerted attack. The air essence flew from her hands, the power shooting through the space between her and the Eilgar like an oversized arrow.
She saw the exact moment her attack impacted with the creature. It tore through the Phenomenon’s body, ripping through what might have been its chest as the creature went flying backwards, slamming to the ground with a gaping hole bored out of its torso.
Two more Eilgar tarbags charged out of the barn, leaping over their fallen comrade and roaring with animal wrath. One went straight for Earl, the other setting its sights on Jack and Ryan.
“Fucking monsters!” Earl shouted. Lara was already angling herself to shove the Eilgar off track, but Earl yanked a handgun she hadn’t noticed from beneath his shirt. Leveling at the beast, he released a stream of lead into the Eilgar’s chest.
He sidestepped it as it came down, colliding with the ground where he’d been standing. It left a smear of tar behind.
Earl whirled on it before it could stand, emptying the magazine into the back of its head and neck until the gun clicked empty.
Lara’s attention was diverted as the first Eilgar she’d shot through with an air spear quickly recovered and charged toward her, snarling wetly.
She lifted her hands once more, concentrating. Her last attack hadn’t been focused enough, hitting the monster like a projectile that ripped a hole through its chest but didn’t cause enough damage to kill the enemy. Or, she thought, perhaps the attack hadn’t been broad enough. Broadsiding the Phenomenon with Shadowfax had been incredibly effective. If she could do that with her air essence…
She focused on making her attack as wide as possible, then released as much power through her hands as she could.
The attack wasn’t really visible, but that didn’t matter. She could sense the essence as it rolled through the air. It sped toward the Eilgar, meeting the oncoming enemy in a fraction of a second and connecting with the monster with the force of a Mack Truck at full speed.
Tar and gore splattered in every direction as the Phenomenon was turned into pulp.
“Yes!” She clapped her hands in triumph, only to wince as her attack was diverted, shifting sharply to the side and smacking into the barn.
The structure creaked, its entire frame swaying with the somewhat lessened impact, but somehow managed to stay upright.
She turned, cutting her victory short, to look at Earl. He had a dead Eilgar shriveling at his feet, scowling down at it.
She then turned to find Jack and Ryan just as a massive burst of light came from behind her. Ducking on instinct, her eyes widened at the sight of both of them pouring fire essence onto the third Eilgar.
The creature shrieked in pain and frustration, flames devouring its monstrous form as it flailed about helplessly. When the fire stopped, there was a teetering crispy husk. It fell to the ground with a dull thump, immediately breaking apart.
For a few seconds they all stood staring at the dead aliens. Lara scanned the surrounding area and found it clear of enemies for the time being. Ryan and Jack were grinning from ear to ear, standing over the shattered corpse of the Eilgar they’d just burned to a crisp, clearly delighted with the victory.
“Well,” Lara said, dusting herself off and trying to slow her thudding heartbeat a little. “That was a surprise.”
Getting jumped by Phenomenon was not on the agenda for the morning. But she supposed that it should always be considered a possibility at this point.
She took a few steps forward and peered into the barn, motioning toward Earl. “Let’s take a look at that router, shall we?”
Earl stared at them, turning from Jack and Ryan to Lara. “What the fuck was that? Shooting fire and air out of your hands?”
Ryan shrugged. “One of the aliens that came down with the tarbags is actually on our side. He taught us magic.”
“Magic?” Earl said, scowling comically. “What’d ya mean, magic?”
Ryan held up one hand, concentrating for a moment before a miniature ball of fire burst from his palm and shot upwards into the air.
“Magic,” he said convinced that combination of the demonstration and a repetition of the word would get the message across.
Earl shook his head. “That’s incredible. You sure it ain’t some kind of fancy alien technology? Ethel said she heard about some new kind’a ray gun the military is using to fight the beasties.”
Jack nodded. “Not technology.” He grinned. “It’s legitimately magic. That’s the best way to describe it. We call it cultivation. We can teach you all about it once we have the router. In fact, we’re planning on teaching a lot of people. We’re going to build a training course so people all over the world can learn to do what you just saw us do. That’s partly why we need the router.”
Looking between them all, Earl shook his head again. “You young ones, always so quick to adapt to new things. I don’t know that I’d be as quick to pick up…magic.” He held up his spent pistol. “Prefer good old fashioned lead, myself.”
“You’d be surprised how easy it is to pick up,” Lara said. “And you’ve just seen how effective it is against the Phenomenon. Imagine what we could do if the whole town could fight like that?”
Earl frowned. “Not sure I’d want everybody in town to have magic. That there’s a recipe for disaster, especially considering the old feuds we got running. You give a McClintock boy magic, first thing he’s gonna do is march on down to Miller land and burn every building to the ground. I take your meaning though, a little o’ that magic could go a long way. Help us fight these alien bastards.” He grunted. “So, you think an old boy like me would be able to learn this fancy magic o’ yours?”
“Of course,” Ryan said, bending down and rummaging around in the shriveled corpse of the dead Phenomenon while Jack pulled out his knife and started doing the same with the other body. Ryan pulled out the core and held it up in the air.
“First thing you need is one of these little beauties.”
He walked over to Earl and handed it to the man. Earl turned it over in his hand, frowning in confusion. “Now what in the hell is this?”
“It’s a core,” Ryan said. “You’re gonna need it to do the magic. Just hold on to that one and once we get the course up and running, that will show you what to do to start cultivating.”
Earl nodded, slipping the core into his pocket. “Well, that sounds just fine.”
“You have wifi yourself, don’t you?” Ryan asked. “I mean, you’ll need that, as well as a cell phone to be able to watch the training course.”
The old man nodded. “Yeah, I ain’t like old Ray. Ain’t scared o’ no technology.” He motioned towards the house. “I got me a cell phone and wifi alright. Got a generator for power too.”
“Great!” Ryan said, clapping his hands together. “All we need is that router and we’ll be able to get started.”
Earl jerked his head toward the barn. “The router’s in here. Assumin’ those monsters didn’t destroy it.” He scowled, looking at his barn. “I wonder how they got in. This door and the door for putting hay in are the only ways in and out.”
Shrugging, he was about to head into the barn, when a deep lowing noise came from behind them and stopped him short.
They all turned, and Lara’s gut sank.
“Really?” Ryan asked, sounding annoyed. “We couldn’t have just dealt with the Eilgar and gotten our router?”
“That’d have been too easy,” Jack said.
Lara watched as a group of three tar-covered cows lumbered toward them from the tree and shrub-covered part of Earl’s land. They were graceless, occasionally ramming their shoulders into a tree and rubbing it like they had an itch. It made the trunks shake, sending birds scattering up into the air.
“Well, looks like you can start on upholding your side of our agreement,” Earl said. “Maybe use some more o’ that fancy magic.”
Lara nodded. They wouldn’t have a choice whether to fight or not regardless of whether Earl had the router. At least they would be able to keep the cores from the monsters and the fight would give them more real-world experience, which Ohsheit had said was the best type of training they could hope for.
“What’s the plan?” Jack asked.
“Do we really need a plan?” Ryan said. “They’re cows. How difficult can they be to put down? Even with the Phenomenon enhancements?”
Lara gave him a side eye. “You ever seen a pissed off cow? They’re lethal. Half a ton of meat and bone charging right at you, and that’s before you add in the Phenomenon.”
Holding up his hands, Ryan said, “Fine, more dangerous than what I’m thinking, but still not as dangerous as those Eilgar, right?”
Lara watched the cows lumbering closer. They were still at least fifty feet away and didn’t seem too focused on them yet. But now that Ryan mentioned it, she was surprised how easily they’d killed the Eilgar with cultivation.
Yesterday the tarbags had nearly killed them. Today, with cultivation, they were able to end the fight in a matter of seconds. Though that might have also had to do with an adrenaline-induced reaction time paired with cultivation and less to do with any kind of skill.
They definitely needed to improve their skills. And what better time to do that than against an enemy that shouldn’t be too difficult to kill?
“It doesn’t look like the Phenomenon has completely taken them over yet,” Lara mused, squinting at the distant cows. “Look, it’s like they’re only half-baked or something.”
Jack and Ryan turned towards the cows. Ryan spoke.
“Half-baked, as in—”
“Not fully assimilated. See how they’re still more or less behaving like cows.”
“Drunk cows maybe,” Ryan offered.
“Exactly. They’re clearly not normal, but these are very different from the Eilgar we just fought and the other Drones we’ve encountered. It’s like they’re infected with a parasite, but the infection hasn’t spread far enough to completely take them over yet.”
Jack frowned, looking back and forth between the cows and Lara.
“But…we’re still going to kill them, right?”
Lara nodded, snapping out of her contemplation. The progression of the Phenomenon condition might have been fascinating from a scientific standpoint, but the cows also represented a clear danger, and Lara had a job to do here.
“Here’s the plan,” she said, watching the cows closely. “You boys hit the one on the right first and give it everything you’ve got. I’ll add my own cultivation, and we’ll roast it like we did the Amalgamation, with my air essence amplifying your fire attacks. Then we’ll split the other two, you two dealing with the one that’s in the center and I’ll take the one on the left.”
She turned at Earl. “Unless you want to help?”
He shrugged, grabbing his shotgun and shoving his handgun back into his pants. “I’ll stay here if ya don’t mind and keep watch from the rear. If things go bad I’ll try to keep them off ya.”
She nodded at him, stepping forward. “Sounds good. Let’s get to it.”
They all followed after her, the Brits shifting to be to her right and Earl on her left. The cows were only about twenty feet away now. The beasts stopped, eyeing Lara and the Brits as they approached.
“How close are we going to get?” Jack asked, his voice betraying nerves. “We didn’t have to get very close last time with the Amalgamation.”
“I’d rather we not send Earl’s property up in flames,” Lara said.
Jack shook his head. “I’m just saying we don’t want to get too close. When this blows, it’ll be big.”
“Just a few more steps,” Lara said.
She kept her eyes pinned on the cows, taking one more step and then stopping. Jack and Ryan followed her lead, halting their own advance as the group stopped, a dozen feet from the cows.
The animals stared back at Lara, looking every bit as dumb as any normal cow she’d ever encountered. Only these didn’t have the redeeming quality of being cute since they were covered in tar instead of thick fur.
“Hit it,” she shouted.
Jack’s face morphed into one of pure glee, and though not a pyromaniac like his friend, Ryan looked almost as excited. They both raised their hands and, in unison, released a burst of fire.
Lara raised her own hands, angling her air essence at the Brits’ fire. The three streams of essence collided, and the flame flared with a whoosh and rush of heat.
The cow bellowed in alarm, then got cut short as it went up in flames.
“I’ll have my steak well-done thanks!” Ryan shouted above the sound of the roaring flames.
“And here I thought you’d left the corny jokes behind, you dozy bastard,” Jack shot back with a grin.
The other two cows bolted, only instead of bolting away like a normal cow might have, they bolted toward Lara and her friends.
“Shit!” Ryan blurted, scrambling to get out of the way and tripping over Jack in the process. The two Brits tumbled over one another in a tangle of limbs.
Jack struggled to his feet, grabbing Ryan and hauling him up as they stumbled into a sprint and ran from the charging cow.
Lara focused on the cow that was charging directly towards her. Dodging far more gracefully than the Brits and dragging Earl with her, she lunged aside, firing a blast of air toward the infected animal while she was in midair.
Then her head erupted with pain, and stars burst across her vision.
CHAPTER 9
TOMBO
Tombo had envisioned his life going in a lot of possible directions—starting his own martial arts studio, being a professional race car driver, becoming a pilot, even joining the military. Never once, though, had he ever thought he would be sitting in a room full of generals, all of them looking to him for input on what was rapidly becoming a national crisis.
If that wasn’t enough, the notion that he’d be giving his two cents’ worth with an alien entity stuck in his head and another alien stashed outside behind a group of boulders was frankly ridiculous. Then there was the National Guard captain sitting on his right, and the egg-head scientist who was inadvertently responsible for the apocalypse sitting to his left.
Tombo was beginning to suspect that his whole life had been transformed into a zany plot from some Hollywood action blockbuster.
A non-assuming guard content to do his rounds and mind his own business is plucked out of obscurity and thrust into the limelight, forced to go head-to-head against an invading alien horde. With no formal military training, no backup worth a damn, and absolutely no interest in being a hero, Tombo must rise to the challenge and face down impossible odds to save Earth and drive back this implacable enemy.
