Allistor was right behind him as he reached the gates. Instead of the slide bolt that had been on the original doors, there was a thick beam made of steel about the thickness of Allistor’s thigh. It looked like it weighed a literal ton. But when Sam grabbed it and tugged, it slid easily along its track. When it cleared the left-hand door, Sam pulled it open just far enough to stick his head out. Another tremor passed through them as the thing began to move again. Its new direction sent it directly away from their gates.
Sam pulled his head back in. “I saw Michael and Ramon! They’re heading toward the forest. What the hell are they thinking?”
Meg said, “Doesn’t matter. We need to help them. They led that thing away from us once already. We owe them.”
“No question,” Sam said. “But we don’t all need to go.”
Allistor stepped forward. “I’ll go. I saw those guys shooting at it yesterday morning. They weren’t doing any damage. Maybe the spear will get its attention.”
Sam said, “I’m going too,” causing Meg to gasp.
“No offense, old man. But you aren’t exactly a spring chicken anymore.” Sean smiled to take the sting out of his words. “Let one of us younger specimens go tease the giant death machine thing.”
Sam glared at the deputy, then nodded. He stepped back from the door without a word. Allistor could see it was killing him to stay behind. He put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “You’ll need to be ready to lock these doors if that thing turns around.”
Not waiting for a reply, he dropped his pack and dashed out the door. Sean and Robert Edward were right behind him, each with a rifle in hand. Sean also carried a long blade of some kind in his belt.
They ran as fast as they could toward the towering monster. It never noticed them, solely intent on the prey in front of it. Allistor held a finger up to his mouth, signaling for silence as they approached. Both men lowered their rifles, and Sean slung his over his shoulder before drawing the sword. Allistor took the lead, dashing up behind the titan and ramming his spear into its ankle with all of his strength and speed.
The spear broke the skin and pushed its way in among sensitive tendons and nerves. The beast roared in pain, the foghorn sound making trees lean backward in its path. Its momentum forced it to take another step forward on its injured foot. As that foot began to move forward, Allistor ripped the rebar spear free, tearing nerve and tendon alike. The titan roared again and stumbled.
Sean took advantage of the distraction. Running up to the same foot, he slashed at the back of the ankle, which was as high as he could reach, with the sword. He made contact very near the spot Allistor’s spear had struck. The tear in the titan’s skin widened as Sean pounded at it with the blade. Dark, thick ichor leaked from the wounds. It smelled of rotted meat and sulfur.
As the monster came to a halt and began to turn, Allistor struck again with his spear. Robert Edward was farther back, down on one knee with his rifle aimed high. A single shot rang out, and the titan flinched. “Direct hit!” Robert Edward yelled. “Right in the eye!”
Sean backpedaled a bit to keep from getting stomped on as the titan pivoted. Spotting the other humans, he shouted “Michael! Ramon! There’s a safe place back behind us. We’ve got this thing! You guys get in there. Sam’s waiting. He has cheeseburgers and beer!”
The older of the two men waved at Sean and began running right toward the titan, which was turning its back on them to deal with Allistor and company. The two men shouted their thanks as they passed by and continued on toward the stronghold.
The giant had lifted its injured foot and placed it back down a good distance to Allistor’s left as it spun around. He could see it favoring that foot. With the thing still focused on turning around, Allistor struck again. This time in the uninjured foot. He drove the spear point between two of its toes with all the strength and weight he could muster.
There was a nasty-sounding squelch, and the rebar sank deep into the titan’s foot. Thick black blood welled up around the wound. Allistor kept pushing, levering and twisting the rebar around to inflict as much damage as possible. With its weight on that foot, it took a while for the titan to be able to shift and lift the foot. Allistor made it pay for the delay. When he felt the foot begin to move, he yanked the spear free and ran backward just as a massive hand swept past where he’d been standing.
The titan’s roar of frustration and pain nearly deafened him. Sean, who’d been running toward the first injured foot to continue his assault, dropped his sword and covered his ears with his hands. Unwilling to let go of his own weapon, Allistor had to just grit his teeth and suffer. He turned and ran past the giant’s foot, away from the stronghold. He hoped to turn it around and lead it away again.
Dashing about fifty yards behind the thing, he turned and started shouting. He thought about firing a shot from his handgun, but it wouldn’t do any damage, and he didn’t want to waste ammo. As it turned out, he didn’t need to. The taunt was more than enough. His toe-shot had well and truly annoyed the monster. He Examined it as it turned again.
Void Titan
Level 10
Health 4,600/8,000
“Holy shit! Almost half its health is gone?” He stared at it for a moment longer and then retreated farther. It had made its lumbering turn and was moving toward him. A shout from Sean caught his attention. The deputy was running up to the damaged heel with his shotgun in hand. Allistor saw him jam the barrel up against the wound they had opened and pull the trigger. He was instantly covered in a back spray of titan flesh and black ichor.
The monster faltered again, making a sort of pained whining sound rather than a roar. It dragged the injured foot a bit as it tried to step forward and the damaged muscles and tendons didn’t respond. Suddenly off balance, its momentum made it stumble forward onto one knee. Both hands went down in front of it to stop its fall.
Michael and Ramon, seeing this, stopped their flight and turned around. They raced back toward the monster, guns up and ready. Robert Edward, who had retreated inside, and Sandy, both shot out of the gates behind them, intent on joining the fight.
As the void titan’s hands had hit the ground not far from Allistor, he too charged forward. He jammed his spear into the inside of one wrist, hoping it had veins similar to a human wrist that he could open. The flesh was softer here than on the feet, and his weapon sank deep. A notification popped up on his interface.
Critical hit! You have hit a vulnerable point on an incapacitated enemy.
Allistor waved away the notice and pulled his spear free. Black blood pumped from the ragged wound, so he shoved the weapon in again close by. He twisted as he ripped it back out, then retreated back the way he’d come.
Behind the titan, he could see Sean pumping round after round into the sole of the injured foot. The barrel was inches from its flesh, and based on the amount of black blood spraying around him, he was creating a good-sized hole.
Still backpedaling, and despite the fear and adrenaline pumping through him, Allistor had to laugh when he saw the brown-skinned Adonis he assumed was Ramon dash between the downed titan’s legs and fire several rounds up into its crotch. Based on the squealing sound it made, the monster definitely felt that. The Hispanic man laughed, shouting, “The bigger they are, the harder they ball!”
Allistor’s laughter died in his throat a moment later when the titan lunged forward, stretching out both long arms and reaching for him as its belly impacted the earth. Allistor dodged to his left, turning to sprint away at an angle, hoping to avoid being smashed. An impact on the ground right behind him sent him stumbling forward to fall on his face. The debris pile he landed in lacerated his face and neck, a sharp metal edge jabbing into his cheekbone just below his eye.
Scrambling to his feet and ignoring the damage, he turned to see titan flesh blocking his entire field of vision. The hand and arm had slammed to earth literally two feet behind him. A broken steel beam with a jagged tip now protruded up through its arm just below the wrist.
The thing had impaled its arm in its bid to squash him. Already it was struggling to free the limb and try again.
Void Titan
Level 10
Health 1,460/8,000
They were doing it! Slowly but surely they were doing enough damage that they might bring this monster down!
Allistor started shouting, “Kill it! Kill it! Hit it with everything you’ve got!” like a maniac as he ran toward the prone body. Since its arm was extended and trapped for a moment, he ran for the most vulnerable spot he could think of.
Its armpit.
The smell when he reached it nearly overpowered him. Clamping his mouth shut and holding his breath, he slammed his spear into the exposed flesh covered in matted hair. The spear penetrated all the way up to where his hands held the shaft. As he twisted and levered it around, he instinctively took a breath. The stench overwhelmed him, and he yanked the spear free as he bent to empty his stomach’s contents. He felt dizzy and had to plant the butt of the spear in the ground and use it as support. Another deep breath inflicted more of the stench on him, and he retched some more. Behind him, the creature began to roll, but he didn’t notice.
A moment later he was knocked from his feet as the hairy armpit rolled over the top of him. Black blood poured onto him from the spear wound that was now above his head. He was sure he was about to die, and he thought maybe that was okay if only he didn’t have to take another foul breath.
The spear didn’t budge as he fell, and his hands released the shaft, which remained upright. On the ground, he rolled to his back and saw his spear standing upright like a tent pole, the sharp end embedded in the titan’s armpit again, the blunt end stuck in the ground. The thing had rolled right onto it. Allistor screamed as the hairy armpit flesh pushed further down the spear shaft, threatening to crush him.
He retched again, some of the black blood having gotten in his mouth when he screamed. The matted armpit hair pressed down against him, smothering him even as he rolled to one side to spit out the blood.
A moment later, the pressing weight that threatened to crush him lifted away. He risked a glance upward, seeing the armpit rising, taking his spear with it. Scrambling to his feet, he leapt up to grab the shaft but missed. It continued to rise out of his reach as the titan rolled away from him. Another spasm wracked his body, and he retched again, the last contents of his stomach, including some of the black ichor, splattering the ground at his feet.
Weaponless, he looked around the debris piles that surrounded him. He found several good-sized rocks, which he flung at the titan’s back with all the strength he could summon. They simply bounced off, having no effect. He needed a real weapon.
The steel beam caught his eye. Covered in black blood, it was the one that had impaled the titan’s arm. Too big for him to lift even with his improved Strength, it set his frenzied mind on the right track.
Searching the pile, he found an eight-foot-long metal pole about four inches wide. He grabbed hold and yanked it, intending to use it just like his spear. But when he pulled, it resisted. He set his feet and pulled hard, the thing finally breaking free. The bottom end was encased in a thick chunk of concrete. About to discard it and find another weapon, he turned to see the titan still on its belly.
“Come on, blunt weapon skill!” He grunted as he hefted the heavy pole with the concrete end over his shoulder. He spat a few more times, trying to clear the nastiness from his mouth as he ran toward the titan’s head. The eye closest to him was the one that Robert Edward had shot out earlier. The monster didn’t see him coming as he picked up speed. Now at a full run, he lifted the pole above his head, concrete end trailing behind him. As he reached the head, he leapt up and slammed the pole forward like a massive sledgehammer. The combined weight of his body mass and the concrete, assisted with his momentum and every muscle he put into the effort struck the titan’s temple.
There was a cracking sound as the thing’s skull dented in slightly. The concrete bulb at the end of the pole cracked, and several pieces fell free. Allistor’s momentum slammed his own body into the side of the thing’s head. It was like running full speed into a brick wall. He was knocked backward, disoriented for a moment. His left elbow stung and didn’t seem to be working properly.
He lay there for a moment, hearing gunshots somewhere to his left. A moment later there was a very human scream that cut short. Allistor rolled onto his side and struggled to his feet. His left arm was definitely broken. Looking up at the titan, he was staring directly at the side of its head. He could see a small indentation where he’d struck the thing, but the blow hadn’t even broken the skin.
Lifting the pole with just his right hand, he tucked it up under his arm like a jousting lance. “Just die, dammit!” he gasped at the titan as he rushed forward. He used his momentum to jam the end of the pole into the monster’s ear. Its end was rounded, not sharp like his spear, but the pole was hollow. It dug into the much softer flesh inside the thing’s ear and broke the skin. Allistor gripped as hard as he could and leaned into it, pushing the hollow tube deeper. When he lost his grip, he backed up and pressed his shoulder against the back end of the pole where some concrete still clung to it. He slammed himself forward like it was a tackling dummy. Something popped, and the pole shot forward at least a foot. Continuing to push, he moved forward with it until the pole struck something more solid and stopped.
Once again, messages filled his interface. A green +18,000 floated across as Allistor realized the monster was dead, and he let himself collapse to the ground. Cradling his broken arm, he coughed and spat, still trying to clear his mouth of the nastiness. He instinctively reached for his bag, looking for his water bottle, but it wasn’t there. He’d left the bag back in the stronghold when he charged out.
His back against the monster’s head, he reached up with his right hand and took hold of the pole that protruded from the ear. He used it to help himself to his feet. Disoriented, he looked around for the stronghold gates, but he couldn’t see them. As he fought to gather his wits, a series of golden numbers flashed across his interface. Fame points. It occurred to him to wonder why more than one set of them had flashed by, but he blinked the thought away and focused on trying to walk. His legs were a little unsteady, but he managed to stumble around the debris and make his way toward the titan’s feet.
Several seconds later, he was able to look past the corpse and see that the others had exited the gates and were walking toward him. Amanda caught sight of him and dashed forward, Nancy right behind her. The two of them scooped him up, each one ducking under a shoulder and supporting him as they walked him back toward the group. Each step sent pain lancing through his arm, but he just gritted his teeth and tried to accept the pain. Nancy coughed once and said, “What the hell is that smell?” Amanda appeared to be holding her breath.
Sam was laughing and hopping up and down as they approached. “You killed it! I can’t believe you did it! Holy shit, man!” He reached out to shake Allistor’s hand, noticed he was covered in ichor about the same time he caught wind of the stench, and changed his mind. “Way to go, guys!”
Allistor turned to see Ramon and Michael walked toward them. Ramon had a grim look on his face. Allistor looked past the two men at the monster. “Where… where are the others? Sean?” he asked as the two ladies set him down in the grass and started to work on him.
Michael shook his head. “When it began to thrash and rolled over, they were too close. It crushed the three of them.”
“Oh, god.” Nancy began to cry. She set down the jar of salve she’d been opening and bowed her head. “I’ve known Sandy since grade school. We just keep losing people! Why are they doing this?” Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. Chloe came running over and wrapped her little arms around her mother’s neck.
Amanda grimly kept working. She poked at his elbow and tried to straighten it, causing him to hiss in pain. “It’s broken,” he informed her through gritted teeth.
“No shit, captain obvious. I’l
l put it in a sling for now. Let’s hope the system has a quick way to heal it.”
Meg and Sam were holding each other as they faced Ramon and Michael. She asked quietly. “All three of them? Gone? Sandy, Sean, Robert Edward?” Ramon nodded his head, not speaking. They’d all lost too many people over the last week. A sort of numbness had set in.
Sam broke the silence. “We need to burn their bodies. And do something about this beast. We can’t have it rotting outside our doors. Or let it be eaten by other beasts and making them stronger.” He looked at Allistor. “You need to loot it.”
Allistor turned his head toward the titan’s corpse. It was indeed glowing, indicating he needed to loot it. The foot was only a dozen or so feet away, but there was no way he was getting to his feet. Michael and Ramon stepped over and touched the corpse, receiving their share of the loot. Michael’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. I got two hundred klax!”
Ramon said, “Yeah, me too. And something called void crystals.”
Seeing that Allistor was struggling to rise, the two men returned and lifted him up. Together they carried him over to the corpse and let him touch it with his good hand. Allistor’s interface filled up again, but he mentally waved away all the notifications. As they carried him back to the group, he begged, “Please… anyone have any water? I... got some of that black shit in my mouth.”
“And everywhere else,” Meg added, handing him a water bottle. “You’re not coming inside like that. Stink the place up for a week. We’re going to have to hose you down out here or dunk you in the river or something.” The look on her face spoke volumes. She included Nancy, Amanda, Ramon and Michael in her condemnation, all of them now slathered in the stuff from helping Allistor.
Allistor emptied the bottle one mouthful at a time, swishing the water around before spitting it out and taking another. The taste lingered, but he swallowed the last few mouthfuls, needing the water.
After a quick discussion, Ramon and Michael lifted Allistor and carried him toward the tree line. There was a creek close by that fed into the river. Nancy and Amanda followed as Lilly took charge of Chloe.
Shadow Sun Survival Page 10
