Remnant II

by Randi Darren

  “Jaina will catch up long before we get there,” Steve said, trying to ignore Lucia. It was difficult with how cuddly she could get in public lately. “Let’s get going.”

  “Aren’t they going to attack us?” Nancy asked.

  “If they try, we’ll just go off to the side where the wall stands. At that point, we’ll let them deal with the Creep,” Steve said.

  “You think Jaina can cover us?” Geneva asked.

  “Yeah, I do. Creep Witches are very strong,” Steve said, then sighed.

  Up ahead, he could see peasants and commoners all shouting and pointing at Steve and his people.

  Welcoming committee.

  Twenty-One

  By the time Steve and his people stopped in the massive gap in the wall that Jaina had created, she’d long since caught up to them.

  “Alright,” Steve said, looking around. There was quite a bit of rubble all over from the collapsed wall. “Let’s see what we can do.”

  Setting Lucia down to one side, Steve pulled his pickaxe out from the loop on his left hip. There were only two items he always carried with him. His axe and his pickaxe.

  His shovel was with his tent more often than not. The rest of his tools were all back at the farm.

  “You, citizen,” Lucia said, addressing someone else. “Alert the city that the Creep is coming. You’ll need to bring your army up to this point.”

  Walking to the rubble, Steve cocked back his pickaxe.

  Come on, you fucking glorified nose-picking asshat Shitty Steve. I really need this to work to build things, too.

  It’d worked to fix the wall back at Filch, but that gap had been considerably smaller. This was a much more massive and terrible mess.

  “…already on their way, your ladyship,” someone said.

  “Good. As soon as whoever’s in charge shows up, point them out to me,” Lucia said. “We’ll need to organize your defenses.”

  “Uh, of course, your ladyship,” said the same person.

  Steve brought his pickaxe down with the intent to have all the rubble nearby slammed up into the wall.

  With a clank, his pickaxe hit the nearest mess of stones. Then, with a strange thud, the mass of broken bricks and mortar around him vanished.

  They reappeared where the wall was broken in an odd-looking wall-like structure.

  It’d clearly taken significantly more material to make the wall than it would have originally. But it looked stable enough for the time being. It also covered some of the massive gap that’d been there.

  Grunting, Steve pulled his pickaxe up to his shoulder and looked at the area around him. There was nothing left to utilize for rebuilding.

  Turning around, he bounced off an armored breastplate.

  “I’m so sorry, my lord,” said Hiren. “I was just awestruck and… I’m sorry.”

  Gritting his teeth, Steve looked up at Hiren. Standing on either side of her were Beati and Felisa.

  The three of them were dressed in their full armor, though they weren’t wearing tabards anymore.

  “Whatever, move,” Steve said, pushing lightly on Hiren’s hip. The big, heavily armed woman took two steps to one side.

  “How can we serve, my lord?” asked Felisa.

  Of the three of them, she’d been the most subservient. She’d practically run up to Steve and gotten down on her knees without a word.

  “Well, you sure as hell can’t blow me right now,” Steve said, walking over to the rubble pile on the other side. “We’ll be fighting to keep the Creep out of Faraday. Not letting the Creep in, if I can help it.”

  In his mind, all he could see were people who would be innocent. People who couldn’t leave the city but didn’t want anything to do with the false queen.

  People who would have been exactly like Gwendolin and Nia, with nowhere to go.

  “I understand, my lord,” Felisa said. “I’ll service your needs as per my duties as soon as we’re done here.”

  Glancing over his shoulder at that, Steve raised his eyebrows.

  Felisa was standing where he’d seen her last. Just as tall as Hiren and Beati, and just as fierce, the brunette had dark brown eyes. Her looks ran similar to the other two knights with that alien beauty, though she was prettier than either of them. There was something very different about her.

  He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he knew she wasn’t Human.

  “Sure, why not?” Steve said, turning back to the rubble. He couldn’t deny that taking the three knights had fed his ego considerably. “Certainly not going to say no if that’s what you want to do.”

  Bringing his pickaxe up behind his head, Steve envisioned what he wanted done again.

  “Of course, my lord,” Felisa said. “It’s… it’s why I’m here, now.”

  “Yes, my lord,” Beati agreed.

  Bringing his pickaxe down again, Steve watched as the broken wall disappeared and then reappeared once more.

  “Good enough,” he said, thankful the pickaxe was capable of doing more than he’d expected.

  Turning his head, he started looking for Jaina.

  Who was right next to him.

  “What d’ya have the power for?” he asked, getting straight to the point.

  “Not much, not much,” Jaina said, shaking her head with a frown. “I’m sorry. I can start absorbing Creep when it gets here. Until then, I’m spent.”

  “Right, makes sense,” Steve said. “Did you get an idea of what we’re looking at?”

  “All Creep creeps,” Jaina said. “Nothing turned. All Creep formed.”

  “Okay. A lot of them?” Steve asked, looking out toward the plain. He could see the purple dome of Jaina’s magic around their camp.

  “Lots, lots. More than… more than we’ve ever seen before,” Jaina said.

  “Okay then. Answer is simple, I guess,” Steve said. “Kill as many as you can, try to funnel them into a narrow area for us, and stock up on power.”

  “Your ladyship, that’s… that’s the current champion,” said a voice from behind Steve.

  Craning his neck around, he looked toward the voice. It was a shabbily dressed citizen.

  Heading her way down the street was a woman in full armor, just like Hiren, Beati, and Felisa. Wielding a sword and shield just as they had been.

  Another one? Is she a champion?

  Shall I add to my collection?

  Lucia clicked her tongue and then moved several steps to one side, apparently to intercept the woman.

  Grunting, Steve looked out in front of him.

  It ain’t the shovel, but… would it work?

  Hefting his pickaxe again, Steve walked out to the grass and dirt that was in front of the walls. He gave himself more than enough, as he contemplated what he wanted to happen.

  For the grass, dirt, and any stone beneath to form into a sheer cliff face.

  Then he brought the pickaxe down with force.

  A strange shattering noise dominated the area, and the world itself shifted. Faster than he could figure out what’d happened, Steve found himself several feet lower than he’d been previously. He was now standing in a shallow channel.

  Not far away, a low mound of stone had appeared.

  Right. It’s not the shovel, so it can’t move dirt, but it can peel out any stone like it’s nothing. Whether it’s specks, chunks, rocks, or otherwise. Got it.

  Sighing, Steve shook his head and walked back over to Hiren, Beati, Felisa, and Jaina.

  “Suddenly I wish I had my shovel,” he grumbled. “I’m a fortifications expert when I have all my tools. I should have brought it with me.”

  “Couldn’t have known,” Jaina said, shaking her head. “No way to have—There they are.”

  Following the line of Jaina’s eyes, Steve could see a black shadow moving toward them at the same speed as the sky grew darker.

  Damn.

  “If you’ve got any juice left, I’d say your first spell should be a big ol’ fireball that hangs in the sky like a
flare,” Steve said.

  “A what?” Hiren asked.

  “We need light,” Steve said, not wanting to answer that. “Fighting in the dark against the Creep is a great way to get bit.”

  “I can do that, yes, yes,” Jaina said, then held a hand up above her head.

  A purple fireball no bigger than her head leapt out of her palm and then hung above them in the sky.

  In the next second, she moved it behind where everyone was. The light of it was cast forward so it wouldn’t blind anyone.

  Smarter than I gave her credit for.

  That or she’s learning as we go and this is all new to her.

  I wonder… was she a sheltered little thing who’d never really gone outside of her village?

  Pulling his pickaxe out of the loop, he turned to his three knights.

  “Which one of you is the strongest?” Steve asked.

  “I am,” Hiren said immediately. “Beati was the third strongest, Felisa the fifth. You… killed the second, fourth, and sixth.”

  “Great,” Steve said. “And what about that champion over there?”

  “Her?” Beati asked, turning her head to look to the newest champion of Faraday. She was still talking with Lucia. “She didn’t participate. She would have been at least the third, though. Her name’s—”

  “Don’t care,” Steve said, then held his pickaxe out to Hiren. “It’ll go right through any Creep you hit. More so than your sword. Just be aware of that, or you’ll end up overswinging.”

  Hiren’s face through her helmet looked unsure and doubtful.

  “Just don’t put it down, or you can’t pick it up again,” Steve said as Hiren took it.

  Steve moved over to Lucia wanting to give her a heads up.

  “…fill the gaps. We need it covered,” Lucia said.

  “I… I understand,” said the champion in response.

  “Good. Now get me those arrows,” Lucia said and turned away from the champion. “Oh! Steve, good timing. Can you make me a little tower to stand on?”

  Giving him a wide smile, she laid a hand on his chest.

  “Please? I know I earned all my scars protecting you, but I’d really rather not add to them,” she said.

  Steve thought about declining the request, then shrugged his shoulders.

  “Hiren,” Steve called out. “Get over here and hit the paving stones with the pickaxe. In your head, I need you to keep thinking ‘tower’ as you do it. Got it?”

  “Yes, my lord,” Hiren said as she came over.

  “Thank you, my beloved consort,” Lucia said, then gave him a quick kiss.

  Sighing, and feeling like he was ever getting deeper with Lucia, Steve went back to the front line.

  The Creep itself looked like it was a minute out, the zombies a few seconds beyond that.

  Steve hefted his axe. He really didn’t like this. It was going to be an ugly and stupid fight.

  Then a wave of soldiers with shields and armor moved past him and set their shields down on the ground.

  Uh, what?

  Beati and Felisa each took one of Steve’s sides.

  “You didn’t think you’d be fighting, did you?” Nancy asked from directly behind him. “They have soldiers specifically for this. You rebuilt part of the wall and brought your own forces to bear. Now you get to sit here and watch it all happen.”

  Frowning, Steve watched as seven more rows of soldiers showed up and settled in behind the first.

  Slowly, he was pushed further and further into the back of the area with each row that joined.

  I guess… I guess she’s right.

  This isn’t my job.

  Need to make sure I always have my tools on me going forward.

  How do I… Oh! I’ll just make Hiren, Beati, and Felisa carry my things. They can just strap them to their backs until I need them.

  Perfect.

  Then the zombies hit the line of soldiers, and the battle began.

  ***

  Steve brought his axe down on a zombie’s neck, severing the head from its body.

  At some point, a hole had been made in the line of soldiers and a wave of zombies had gotten through. It hadn’t been many, and the hole had been closed rather quickly, but it’d still happened.

  Following the head as it rolled to one side, he saw that its jaw and eyes were still moving.

  And that’s why we remove the jaw.

  He grabbed the head with one hand and used his axe to cut the jaw away. Then he stood up and looked around.

  Geneva, Hiren, Beati, and Felisa were executing zombies as well. Jaina and Nancy were nowhere to be seen.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he found them with Lucia on top of the pillar Hiren had made.

  Steve turned back to the line, surprised. There wasn’t any fighting going on anymore. It looked like the soldiers were sending back their wounded and reorganizing themselves.

  We’ll need that can water. But not before I get their queen’s head.

  Steve started searching through the crowd to find one person in particular. He needed to make a statement, get this done, and have it all buttoned up immediately.

  When he found who he was looking for, Steve stuck his bloody axe into the loop at his side. The champion of Faraday was next to the pillar that Lucia, Jaina, and Nancy were standing on. Somehow that spot had become the center for the defense of Faraday.

  Blowing out a quick breath, Steve marched himself over that way. People got out of his way as they would if he were digging a trench. No one stood before him as soon as they realized who he was.

  When he got in front of the champion, he finally got a good look at her since her helmet was at her feet.

  She was a redhead with light brown eyes. Her hair was just as short as the other knights he’d collected.

  Once again, he found she shared the odd and alien beauty everyone from Faraday seemed to have. Much like the other champions, she was also extremely well endowed.

  Though, she was considerably more muscular than he’d previously thought. He could see the muscles in her neck and shoulders even from here.

  He asked for insight into her; he needed to know if he could pull this off.

  Siena Atil

  Knight/Champion

  Ogre Hybrid

  Father: living

  Mother: deceased

  Traitor- betrayed her nation

  Condemned Criminal- has been condemned as a criminal

  Royal Captain- captain of the royal guard

  Ambassador- speaks on the behalf of the queen of Faraday

  Envoy- designated to treat with other nations for the queen of Faraday

  Champion- one and true champion of Faraday

  Noble Line- part of the nobility of Faraday and Lamals

  Perfect. Unmarried, untied.

  Though, I wonder what an Ogre hybrid means as far as her race goes.

  She looks Human. Just rather big for a Human.

  Maybe this is more of what Nikki meant. The more a race breeds with Humans, the further they go towards Human.

  “You,” Steve called out to the champion.

  That got the woman’s attention, and her eyes turned to Steve.

  “I’m the champion of Filch, Geneva, and the forces that just assisted Faraday,” Steve said. “I challenge you to combat. Or you can choose to let me use you, just like the other champions have.

  “You’ve got about ten seconds to decide how this turns out.”

  Looking shocked, frightened, and unable to process it all, the redhead stared at Steve as he walked right up to her.

  Then down at him when he was standing in front of her. She was taller than him.

  They breed ’em big, pretty, and different here, huh?

  “Well?” Steve asked. “You got about five seconds to drop to your knees before I pop your head off. I’m taking Faraday. Today. I’m done with this.”

  Letting out a slow breath, Siena got down to her knees in front of Steve.

  “I do this
and I live?” she asked.

  “That’s right,” Steve said. “You become mine and you live.”

  “Fine,” Siena said. “But my family gets their charges cleared.”

  Nodding his head, Steve undid his pants and then flipped his not very erect self out. He wasn’t in the mood and he didn’t really want this, but he needed Faraday done.

  “That’s fine. Get to work then,” Steve said.

  Easing herself forward, the champion set her lips to his tip. Slowly, she took him into her mouth and began to suck on him.

  “Perfect,” Steve said, laying his left hand on Siena’s head as his right hand took hold of her armored shoulder.

  “Now, who’s the next champion after her?” Steve asked, as Siena suckled on his rapidly hardening length.

  “I am,” said a woman who was nearly a clone to the other four knights he’d taken.

  “Great, you get a different option,” Steve said as Siena slowly started to work her head back and forth along his now rock-hard length. “You can get down on your knees behind Siena here, die, or go knock your false queen out and bring her back here.

  “Your pick. Though I’ll be honest—after Siena’s done with me, it’ll take a bit for me to be ready to pop off again. So you’ll be working it for a while.”

  Hesitating for only a few seconds, the knight contemplated her options.

  “I’ll get the queen,” she said, then started jogging off.

  “Great,” Steve said.

  Letting out a slow breath, he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed Siena’s mouth.

  “My lord, I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Beati on his left. “But I must report I was bitten. You… should dispatch me before I turn.”

  Steve briefly considered simply letting her die. It’d be a quick way to pick up a new Creep Witch, but he also didn’t want to scare off his own people.

  Letting her die like this would definitely make it harder for him in the future.

  That and it was a little hard to think right now with Siena’s mouth wrapped around him.

  “Fuck that,” Steve said, not opening his eyes. Siena was just like the others. Inexperienced, but willing and trying. “You’re mine, Beati. Someone go get one of my canteens.”