by Ramy Vance
As for the patrons of the park, they were enamored with the show that they had been lucky enough to stumble upon. Many of them believed Excitement Land was merely about the rides. They were glad to see the park was investing in other entertainment avenues.
Anabelle scanned the park before pulling down her slim HUD to check for energy signatures. It appeared that they had arrived before the Dark Gate had opened. The positive was they had arrived before any damage was done.
Blackwell was also scanning, as were the recruits. Anabelle was glad they were at least trying to keep up with her. Even though she was supposed to be leading the squad, calling out orders irritated the hell out of her. Just don’t die. That seemed to work for her.
People were starting to crowd around Anabelle and the recruits, asking questions such as “When is the show going to start?” and “Are you guys supposed to be soldiers or something?”
Anabelle ignored the questions before she realized she was at the entrance of an amusement park. That meant thousands of bodies. Thousands of people in danger. “Blackwell, I need you to start evacuating people as fast possible,” she commanded. “I’m going to look for the Gate.”
Blackwell didn’t need to be told twice. He gestured at the recruits, who stepped up, and the four humans started to calmly explain to the park’s guests what was happening.
Needless to say, there were many incredulous park patrons. Luckily, Blackwell seemed to be nearly as charming as Anabelle, a quality that Anabelle noticed as she left the recruits to take care of business.
Anabelle maneuvered her way through the throng of humans gorging themselves on candy and junk food. She’d never understood the appeal of places like this. How could she? Most of her life had been spent training to be a Traveler and the rest living the kind of life humans watched on TMZ, wishing for a taste of that regal type of excitement.
Once Anabelle got far enough from where her portal had opened, none of the guests seemed to notice her. They were either too concerned with their vacations or had attributed her outfit to something pertaining to the park.
As Anabelle strode through the crowds, she kept her eyes open for anything suspicious, occasionally pulling her HUD visor down to scan for any energy anomalies. The visor was only showing low spikes, as though the Dark Gate was warming up. If things progressed as expected, they had time.
Since there was no pressing concern, or at least not one Anabelle could discern, she stopped over at the popcorn vendor beneath one of the roller coasters. “Could I get a large?” she asked.
The vendor scooped out an obscenely large box of popcorn, slathered it with butter, doused the kernels with salt, and handed the box to Anabelle, who took it and went to go sit at a bench overlooking a bizarrely quaint lake.
Anabelle’s comm beeped angrily. “What’s up?”
Roy asked, “Have you found the Dark Gate yet?”
“I’ve been walking all over the park, and the recruits are moving everyone they can out. But to answer your question, no. You sure these are the right coordinates? Or did you guys mix something up on your end?”
“Of course, they are the right coordinates. We have an entire department dedicated to looking for the gates. Maybe you just aren’t looking hard enough.”
Anabelle tossed her head back and laughed. If Roy could see her now, he would definitely think that. “I’m looking as hard as I can, but we haven’t come across anything yet.”
As Anabelle spoke, she sensed the air around her changing. The temperature fluctuated drastically from cool to frigid. Patrons within the park had noticed as well, many of them clutching their jackets tighter.
Above Anabelle, at the top of the rollercoaster towering over her, there was a flash of lightning, quickly followed by a boom, then the sound of a giant sheet of paper tearing. “Actually, Roy,” Anabelle started, “I might have found the Dark Gate.”
Chapter Five
Once the Dark Gate was open, all hell broke loose. The crowd below didn’t notice for a few minutes, but Anabelle watched as the Dark One’s forces poured through the Gate. There were more than last time, and there was a greater variety.
First came the orcs.
These orcs were larger than the ones Anabelle had fought previously. They weren’t as stringy; instead, their muscles appeared ready to rip out from beneath their gray skin. They carried axes and swords, their faces covered in warpaint from tribes Anabelle couldn’t identify. None of these orcs carried plasma weapons, which Anabelle found odd.
Next came the goblins.
They were not much different than the goblins Terra had fought. The only noticeable distinction was the eyes. These goblins did not have the bloodthirsty eyes of the goblin warrior class. Their eyes were lucid, clear, reminiscent of Creon’s curious gaze.
Trolls followed the goblins.
They were hulking creatures standing over seven feet tall with dead gray skin and dumb eyes, snot and drool trickling down their faces. Anabelle remembered when the trolls had been a noble race. Then, the Dark One got his hands on them. It pained her to see such noble creatures fall so low. She hoped there were still trolls out there who had managed to avoid the Dark One’s grasp.
All in all, she counted over forty enemies between the three races—much too large a force for her and four others to deal with. Even if Anabelle were at the top of her game, she would be easily defeated.
She was slipping into the shadows to call Roy when the Dark Gate crackled one last time. Something that looked like a long snake the width of a house slithered out. It had sleek black scales and two small wings in the middle of its torso.
The creature had a small, narrow head that looked as though it had been pinched in a vice until its brains had been forced out. Its small legs and claws looked like a bad joke.
A wyrm, Anabelle thought. The cruel, underdeveloped cousin to dragons. Thousands of years ago, when it was believed that all the true dragons had fled from the realms, the wyrms had tried to make themselves a force to be reckoned with. It hadn’t gone over well.
Even humans had stories about killing wyrms. To be fair, Anabelle thought, they have an entire series about killing wyrms. Still, it would be better without that thing. At least it can’t breathe—”
The wyrm let loose a small jet of fire. Compared to a dragon, it was downright pathetic, but the humans beneath the roller coaster didn’t know that. When they heard the roar of the wyrm, they screamed and panic set in, the park descending into madness.
Anabelle pinged Roy as the humans scattered. Orcs and goblins climbed down from the coaster, running after whoever was in front of them. “Hey, Roy, we got a problem. This isn’t just a small group like last time. This is a whole invasion party,” she shouted.
Roy answered almost immediately. “Wait, how many are you talking about?”
“Forty, give or take. And they have a wyrm. A pretty big one. Looks fairly dumb, though.”
“Fuck. All right, we’ll get reinforcements on the way. What’s your plan?”
Outside the shadows, a little girl and her mother ran from an orc. The orc snatched the mother into the air and held his sword to her throat. The girl cried out, an ear-piercing sound that made the orc sneer in disgust.
A tall, chubby security guard with honey-brown skin, a scruffy beard, and thick dreadlocks stepped over to the orc. His nametag read Naota. He flipped up his sunglasses and pulled out his taser as the other security guards fled. The taser crackled loudly. “‘Kay, ‘kay, buddy, I’m gonna need you to put the lady down,” Naota droned. “No sense getting hurt worse than you need to.”
The orc stared blankly at the guard. “You’re kidding me, right?” it growled.
Naota spat and hiked his pants up, snapping his suspenders loudly. “You leave me no choice. With the power invested in me by Excitement Land, the three-hour security guard workshop, and my own unrelenting belief in myself, I’m placing you under arrest.”
The orc dropped the woman and twirled his sword as he stomped
to Naota, who didn’t back off. They stared each other down.
The orc surged forward, sword raised high. He got in Naota’s face, his sword coming down to cleave the security guard’s head off.
Naota stepped to the side, pulled his taser back, and shouted, “Entry-level job taser attack!” as he drove it into the orc’s neck.
Thousands of volts of electricity pulsed through the orc’s body, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Naota snapped his suspenders again and pulled out a toothpick as he scanned the park. “Orcs. Goblins. Not on my watch. Not at my park,” he muttered in an intentionally gravelly voice.
Anabelle couldn’t lift her jaw off the ground. She’d never seen such an oblivious human. The guy obviously had no idea how much danger he was in. She watched as Naota picked up the little girl and brought her over to her mother. All the while, the park behind him was exploding into pandemonium. “Keep your head down,” Naota said. “There are monsters afoot.”
Anabelle stepped from the shadows and approached Naota as she told Roy, “I think I found someone to help. Send those reinforcements.”
Roy came back loudly, “Gotcha.”
Anabelle grabbed Naota, who countered by grabbing her wrist, flipping around and pointing his taser at her. “Hold on there!” he shouted. “Wait, you’re too pretty to be an orc. State your business. We are in high-crisis mode right now. Possibly the highest.”
Anabelle pulled Naota’s thumb back, which made him shriek and let go of her. “You handled yourself well back there. I need your help getting these people out of here. You’re conscripted. Got it?”
Naota folded his arms. “Don’t know who you are, but if you want to help me get my park safe again, lay it on me. What’s the plan?”
Anabelle drew two plasma rifles and handed them to Naota. “Kill everything that isn’t human.”
Naota lowered his sunglasses a fraction so Anabelle could see his unnaturally black eyes. “Just like Middang3ard VR. I’m a wizard there.” Then he turned, struck a bizarre kung fu-inspired pose, and landed a headshot on two orcs within fifteen seconds. “Guess I’m a marksman here.”
Anabelle couldn’t believe her eyes. Who the fuck is this guy? she thought just before she heard the roar of the wyrm above. She hit her comm, letting Blackwell and the recruits know to head to her position. Then she set her sights on the wyrm.
Chapter Six
Blackwell and the recruits had finally cleared out the civilians from the first section of the park. And more were heading Blackwell’s way. Hopefully, they’d follow the path of everyone else fleeing the park. Anabelle had sent coordinates. It was time to reposition.
Blackwell was a considerable distance from where Anabelle needed him to be. He checked his exosuit’s palm. Abby told him she’d managed to squeeze in some mobility upgrades before they headed out. He hoped they helped with speed.
Blackwell clenched his right fist, activating Abby’s new mobility mode. “SWARMMT, time to get moving!” he shouted as he leapt forward.
And what a leap it was. Blackwell had merely meant to run forward, but the moment his leg left the ground, he shot through the air, soaring over the concession buildings that made up the first section of the park.
The exosuit’s feet dug into the ground when Blackwell landed, the suspension accommodating for the amount of force that had sent him through the air. “That’s a fucking upgrade,” Blackwell muttered before calling Abby. “Hey, Abs, what else did you put in these things?”
When Abby answered, she sounded distracted. “Don’t you read memos? Sent y’all the schematics this morning. Mobility…uh…streamlined weapons. Is that all? Kinda busy at the moment.”
“Just wanted to make sure I don’t walk into a fight that I’m not prepared for, Miss.”
“Right hand is speed. Left hand is strength. Weapons holstered in the back. Quick reload on things. Everything else, you gotta figure out. Bye.”
Abby hung up, leaving Blackwell to debrief the other recruits, who quickly landed behind him. On foot, it would have taken half an hour to get to Anabelle. The exosuits were definitely going to cut down on that time.
Blackwell gripped his right hand again, and the exosuits gears began whirring again. He took a step forward, registering how walking was now running, slowly gaining speed this time before kicking off, soaring through the air toward a rollercoaster. Instinctively, Blackwell reached for one of the girders on the coaster, his hand easily finding it, before he swung forward.
Small propulsion jets on the back of the exosuit fired, keeping Blackwell in fluid motion. The suit was extremely reactive to the slightest movements he’d made. “How the hell did she do this?” he muttered.
Martin popped up in the corner of Blackwell’s HUD. “Abby added to the tech,” Martin lazily droned. “But the style, that’s all me, baby. I’m making you guys look good!”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“Can’t you remember more than a bad sci-fi chapter’s worth of exposition? Remember when Abby loaded me into your suits? I’m still here. My job’s not over until all of you keep from being dead. Which means I’ll be here for a while. Lucky for you, I have such a charming personality.”
Blackwell skidded across the ground. He was close to the coordinates Anabelle had sent. The only problem was he’d just raced into a platoon of orcs. And these guys were bigger than anything he’d seen before.
One of the orcs spotted Blackwell and drew his sword, pointing at Blackwell and the recruits landing behind him, and roared. “Rip ‘em up good, boys!” the orc shouted as two trolls burst out of the bathrooms behind the party of orcs.
This was it. Guess there wasn’t any better time to test new gear than the present. “You’re gonna make sure I don’t get killed, right, Martin?” Blackwell whispered.
Martin laughed sarcastically. “Well, I can’t reach out and shoot someone for you, but I’ll do my best.”
Blackwell clenched his fist and felt his exoskeleton’s legs relax. The suit shifted and suddenly felt heavier. He took a step forward and his foot sank into the concrete, cracking it. Still, the suit remained easy to maneuver. Hardly any speed had been lost. How much strength had been gained?
The orcs rushed at Blackwell. One went for his head, swinging an ax. Blackwell raised his arm, and the ax hit his wrist and snapped in two. The orc stumbled as Blackwell lunged forward and kicked it in the chest. It flew into a nearby wall.
The other orcs stopped in their tracks.
Blackwell checked his hand as the recruits watched him. “Fuck yeah, that’s how these babies should work!” he shouted.
The remaining orcs charged Blackwell and the recruits. “Upper right hand is power, Lower right hand is speed, kids!” he shouted as he met the orcs’ charge.
Blackwell connected with the first orc, punching it in the face, breaking its jaw, before dropping it to the ground. He grabbed the orc by the throat and tossed him into another orc.
One of the trolls slammed a club into Blackwell’s back, driving him to the ground. Shit hurts still, Blackwell thought as he boosted to his feet. But at least it won't kill me.
Blackwell turned to face the troll, who swung its club at him again. As the mace came at his head, Blackwell clenched his right hand, switching to speed. He moved back, sidestepped the troll, clenched his left hand as he leapt into the air, and brought both fists down on the troll’s head, cracking its skull.
“Point positions, team!” Blackwell shouted as he backed against a wall. He leapt onto the side of the building, drew his plasma rifle, and started lighting orcs up.
The other recruits followed suit, breaking away from the horde of orcs they were fighting, taking the high ground, and then carefully picking their shots. When Blackwell saw the squad firing, he jumped off the building, throwing himself back into the fray. It felt too good not to.
Blackwell and the squad knocked out the party of orcs and trolls within a few minutes. The recruits joined him on the ground amidst the
corpses of their foes. “That’s how we’re moving through the park,” he commanded. “Get in their faces, break ‘em up, snipe ‘em down, then clean ‘em up. Got it?”
The recruits shouted back, “Yes, sir!”
Blackwell knew he wasn’t really in command and didn’t deserve to be called ‘sir.’ It felt good, though.
From above them came a roar. Blackwell stared up at the wyrm passing slowly over them. Yeah, it was good he wasn’t in command. Otherwise, that huge son of a bitch in the sky would have been his problem.
Chapter Seven
Anabelle stuck to the shadows, following the wyrm. The creature was stupid, as most wyrms were. The rest of the invasion party was probably planning on using it to terrorize the humans in the park, maybe to burn the place down. But Blackwell and the other recruits were proving to be ample distraction to keep anyone with half a brain from commanding the wyrm.
That meant Anabelle could get close enough to kill the beast before it went on a rampage, which was only a matter of time. Eventually, the wyrm would get bored, see living beings beneath it, and decide it was time for a snack.
The wyrm continued to float aimlessly around the Dark Gate. That was when Anabelle realized why the wyrm was there: extra security. Guess that meant the Dark One had assumed his invasion party was going to come up against a fight. Doubt he knew it would be so put together.
Anabelle began to scale the roller coaster. It was the longest route to the wyrm but also the stealthiest. Someone would have to be looking very closely to see her. As Anabelle climbed, she scanned the park beneath her.
It was apparent where Blackwell and the rest of the squad had been. There were orc and goblin bodies piled high at random spots in the park. A few groups of orcs and goblins were still wandering around, but most of the humans had been evacuated.
Blackwell and the recruits were progressing through the park with impressive speed. Anabelle made a mental note to tell Abby the upgrades she’d added had worked great. The recruits almost reminded Anabelle of Travelers. Almost.
