Apocalypse game, p.37
Apocalypse Game, page 37
I looked back and grimaced. “Think they’re the same ones we ran into yesterday?”
Salvatore shrugged. “That’s a worrying thought. These things are tough as hell. Our guns aren’t working on them.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
Means we need to get close enough to use our abilities on them if we’re going to have any hope of losing them.
“Okay. Guys, I have a really stupid plan,” I said.
“As long as it’s not split up, I’m listening,” Finn said.
“Shut up,” Adeline replied with a smirk.
“Finn, speed up, and then when we have some distance between all of us, we’re going to jump out and take them on.”
“Are you crazy!” he shouted, swerving around an abandoned car.
“Yes, but that’s not the point.” I shook my head. “Our guns aren’t working. We need to get close to take them on. We’ve fought them before. We know their patterns. We can do this.”
He cursed but saw the logic in what I was saying, and he floored it. After a few seconds, we’d put a decent amount of space between us.
“Alright, everyone, get ready!” Finn said.
He slammed on the brakes, and we dove out of the car.
As I flung myself out, I activated Demon Form. My world spun, and rough asphalt dug into my skin, and I threw my hands down, my sharp claws digging into the concrete, leaving deep furrows as I slowed and then came to a stop.
I stood in a flash, my hands in front of me as I prepared to engage the Midnight Beasts.
But as I scanned the interstate, I frowned.
“What the hell?”
Salvatore stood beside me, his twin pistols raised as they swept in an arc.
“Where did they go?” Finn asked.
The road, though littered with broken-down cars and trash, was free of the monsters that had been on our heels just moments before.
I glanced at all the long shadows cast by the dim sun through the light snowdrift scattering around us, just waiting for one of them to move.
Adeline had her hands filled with fire, and as the four of us grouped up, we formed a tight formation as we waited for the beasts.
But as the seconds turned to minutes, I started to get paranoid.
“Okay, seriously. Where the hell did they go?” I asked.
“I have no damn clue,” Finn said, shaking his head.
“That worries me.” I kept glancing around. “They’re ambush hunters, so why chase us out in the open only to run away when we stopped?”
Salvatore shook his head. “I don’t know. But if they’re not going to show themselves, then I say we get back in the Humvee and be on our way. I don’t like being so out in the open.”
Another few seconds of searching only proved fruitless. If the Midnight Beasts were out there, they weren’t showing themselves.
“Alright, let’s get back. Slowly. Watch the shadows.”
The four of us made it to the Humvee, and as all the doors shut, Finn hit the gas, and we were once more speeding away.
Though something was nagging at me that even the many miles we put under us couldn’t shake.
Chapter 25- Into the Dark
It took us another day to reach the other end of Pennsylvania, and finally, after over two days of driving, we were close to our destination.
Adeline nudged me awake, and I jolted up, my hand going for my pistol. “What’s up?”
“Time to get up, sleepy.” She smiled playfully.
“We’re in New York?”
“Not yet. Got a couple of hours left.”
I sat up and groaned. “Any more sign of the Midnight Beasts?”
Salvatore nodded. “Here and there. They’ve been keeping their distance, but I’ve seen them out of the corner of my eye.”
“And that’s not counting the other myriad of Callisto’s pets that have been hounding us for fifty miles now,” Finn said. “We’re outrunning them, but it makes me hesitant to think of what we’ll find in the city.”
I didn’t like how the beasts were behaving. It was almost like they were keeping us moving, forcing us down the route they wanted.
Like they’re herding us.
Which worried the hell out of me. But there wasn’t much we could do about it. We still needed to get to New York, and there weren’t many other routes that we could take. We were running low on gas, and fewer and fewer stations we passed had working pumps.
“I don’t like it, but we stay the course. Though keep your eyes peeled. It’s liable we’re walking into a trap.”
“Yeah, that’s what worries me,” Salvatore said.
We didn’t say much after that. The closer we got to New York itself, the more we left the old world behind. Back in Grissom, I could almost pretend the apocalypse wasn’t going on. But here, it was staring me in the face.
Hundreds of broken down or burned-out and wrecked vehicles littered the sides of the road. They’d been pushed aside by something big and heavy as the sides were crumpled and scraped to high hell.
Thousands of personal belongings and trash drenched the streets and swept up as we passed by. What buildings we drove by were shattered remnants of whatever they used to be. Coffee shops and clothing outlets sat looted and broken. And there wasn’t a single vehicle or store that was untouched. All of them were in various states of collapse.
Everywhere I looked, I was hit in the face by the fact that the world I knew was gone. And the new one operated by a completely different set of rules.
We’ve all gotten stronger, but is it enough? We’re walking into the lion’s den here. Or panther’s den, as it were.
My gun lay next to me on the seat, and I picked it up, checking it over. It was practically useless now against Callisto’s pets, but I’d still rather have it than not.
With nothing else to do, I fidgeted and glanced to see if we were being followed. Shadows moved out of the corner of my eye, marking the Midnight Beasts.
But that wasn’t what bothered me. I knew they were leading us somewhere, had prepared for that eventuality.
Something else sent shivers up my spine.
It was like there were eyes on us. Something I couldn’t see. It nagged at the back of my mind, like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
The next few hours were taxing, to say the least, as the strange feeling never left me until we reached Newark. By the time we made it to the city, the road had grown increasingly dangerous. Each passing mile, the piled-up cars and debris grew until we physically couldn’t drive any further.
Not wanting to leave our hard-won supplies and Humvee in the open, we parked it in a nearby garage, and we took the steering wheel key with us. I didn’t like leaving the object we worked so hard for, but it was a necessity.
And it had served its purpose. We’d made it to the city mostly unscathed.
Newark
Threat Level: 12
Status: Plagued
After popping the trunk, we had a serious logistics issue. We had a ton of supplies in the back, more food and water than the four of us could go through in a month, and we couldn’t take it all.
Luckily, someone thought ahead and stashed six olive-green duffel bags in the back. So, we divvied up the supplies and stuffed as much as we could comfortably carry in the bags.
At the very bottom of the Humvee was a heavy road repair kit. And among them were half a dozen road flares.
I smirked at the sight.
I need to thank Wise the next time I see him. Buy him a beer, at least.
I grabbed them, as well as all the ammo for my weapons, putting the full magazines in my satchel along with some extra food and water. The rest went into my duffel, and it weighed at least fifty pounds by the time I was finished.
I looked out in the direction of New York, and I could just see the city in the distance. “How many miles away is that?”
Finn took a quick look and then went back to his duffel. “A dozen, maybe more. Nearly a four-hour walk in good conditions, I expect it’ll be nightfall before we enter the city itself.”
Which wasn’t good. We hadn’t spent much time out and about in the dark, so I planned to find some place and hunker down for the night, but that presented its own set of challenges.
“Well,” I said as I slung the duffel over my shoulder. “We best get moving.”
“Think they’re going to let us?” Finn asked, pointing to the shadows twisting in the distance.
“Until we’re where they want us,” I said. “But don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”
“Why doesn’t that make me feel better?” Adeline said as she slung her duffle over her shoulder.
“Because it’s me.”
She snorted. “Ain’t that the damn truth.”
The four of us finished packing quickly and then headed out.
Newark itself had obviously been through rough times, but it wasn’t a wasteland. There were even a few buildings that almost hadn’t been touched, save for the scattering of broken glass storefronts and debris that flooded the streets.
After a few miles, the lingering unease crawling up my spine vanished. And whatever was watching us left. But the absence almost worried me just as much, so I kept my ears tuned to every sound as my finger rested on my trigger.
Shadows hissed as we passed, and the sickly luminescent eyes of the Midnight Beasts stalked us as we went. More of them slunk in from the sides, flanking us but keeping their distance.
“I really hate this,” Adeline said. “Makes my skin crawl.”
“Yep,” Finn said. “There're dozens of them. Can we really take them all?”
I nodded. “We don’t have a choice. If we can’t handle these mid-tier beasts, then we won’t survive in New York.”
“Hmm,” Salvatore muttered under his breath. “Wherever they’re leading us will be dark, with lots of shadows to make it easy to ambush us from.”
“Yep. But good thing we’ve got Roman candle Adeline here to light the way,” I said.
“Ha. Just make sure you don’t get burned in the process.”
The four of us made slow progress, and the numerous beasts echoed every step as they prowled behind us.
To make matters worse, thunder echoed overhead as it started to rain. The chilled winter air only made it worse as the howling wind sent cascades of icy spray to soak us to the bone. We stepped up our pace as the rain poured down harder, but even then, it took hours to walk the ten miles to Newport and the Holland Tunnel.
The tunnel was dark and foreboding, and as the concrete towered over us on all sides, I glanced back and found nearly twenty Midnight Beasts blocking our exit.
So, this is where they’ve been leading us. Something is waiting for us in the tunnel.
“Guess we’ve arrived,” I said.
“Looks like it,” Salvatore said, drawing his pistols but dropping the magazines.
“Whatcha doing?” I asked.
He smiled as he reached into his bag and pulled out several extended magazines with a different kind of ammunition in them. The 9mm rounds were blue-tipped, the brass shimmering as lightning flashed.
“Well, I lack any offensive skills, so I figured I better break out the big guns.” He grinned. “Incendiary tracer rounds. It burns at around five thousand degrees on impact. I’d like to see their mana deal with these.”
I laughed. “You’ve been holding out on us.”
Salvatore shook his head. “Expensive. Triple the AC cost of regular ammunition. But it never hurts to be prepared.”
“Alright, I’d rather face whatever monstrosity’s in there than stand out here in the rain another second,” Finn said. “Let’s get going!”
He was right, and with our nerves strung as tight as piano wire, we entered Holland Tunnel.
Pitch black darkness settled around us. There wasn’t a single light source in the entire tunnel, and all the overhead fixtures had burned out or been shattered. Ade fumbled for a flashlight while Finn switched on his attached LED light next to the barrel of his shotgun.
As his high lumen light cast a wide arc of brilliant light through the decrepit tunnel, something ran by a car about fifty feet in front of us. It was gone in an instant, but the shadow it cast was of something very large.
Finn froze. “Please tell me you saw that?”
“If you mean the lightning-fast shadow of something the size of a van.” I shook my head. “Nope. Sure didn’t.”
“Oh good. I was worried my insanity was wearing off.”
I flicked on my own light and thumbed the safety off while I was at it. Callisto had a weird sense of humor when it came to his beasts, and I didn’t want to be blindsided by some unnamed horror from the depths of hell.
The mass of jam-packed cars made the shadows cast by our lights elongated and turned them sinister.
But they thankfully stayed where they were at.
Though the shrill howl that echoed through the tunnel behind us got us moving.
I took point. Finn followed behind, shotgun at the ready while Adeline and Salvatore brought up the rear.
Our footsteps echoed in the tunnel, announcing us to all, but we weren’t alone, and whatever was in the tunnel knew we were here. The air was musty and rank, almost rotted. A sickly miasma crept along my skin as the air shifted and distorted.
I turned as the first Midnight Beast launched itself at me. It appeared from underneath a mid-sized sedan and snapped its jaws as I brought my SMG to bear. They closed around the barrel, narrowly missing my hand as its weight crashed into me, and I fell back.
Something cracked underneath me as my head smashed against something hard, but I couldn’t stop and worry about it with the monster on my chest. Its teeth dug into my gun, but it couldn’t break through the metal, my flashlight swaying, illuminating the three other Midnight Beasts that were creeping toward the others.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of the road flares. I lit it, and as the tunnel lit with a brilliant crimson light, the Midnight Beast recoiled, letting out a pained cry as it shut its eyes.
“Eat this!”
I let go of my weapon and thrust the burning flare into the gaping maw of the beast. I snatched my hand back before the beast could take a bite of me, but it soon had many more problems to worry about.
It whined as it flung its head in chaos, backing up and trying to dislodge the burning flare lodged in its throat. Shadows arced off it as it ate through its mana, to no avail. And after a second, the shadows stopped altogether.
When it ran out of mana, I drew my pistol and fired. My shots took it in the head, splattering its sickly yellow blood and brain matter over the car it’d ambushed me from.
As it died, its mouth opened, and a flash of crimson light spilled from it as the flare continuously burned. The beast’s carcass went up in a brilliant inferno as flames brought some brightness to the tunnel. The acrid stench of singed flesh and smoke filled my nose.
I tried not to cough as Adeline brought her magic to bear and ensnared a group of Midnight Beasts in a single Conflagration circle.
They howled in torment as they died, turning to briquettes in seconds.
As they died, I stood and retrieved my SMG. Several bite marks marred the surface, but it was only superficial damage.
Finn and Salvatore scanned around us, waiting for more beasts, but the only movement were the dancing flames that slowly dwindled.
The carcass of the one I killed dissolved to ash, and I knelt, casting my light over the ground, and I grimaced.
Because I found out what I’d landed on.
Bones. Human. And a lot of them.
The concrete was littered with dozens of remains. I shook my head as I picked up the flare before I chucked it ahead of us.
The light sent shadows cascading along the walls, illuminating vehicles and the remains of even more dead, before it landed and rolled.
It stopped, and suddenly, a massive paw came down and smothered the flare, snuffing it out with a sharp crack.
All four of us turned our lights to the beast, and I paled as its full size was revealed.
The creature held the same panther-like qualities as the other Midnight Beasts, but it was at least four times the size of the regular ones. Its brilliant orange eyes glinted in the light and narrowed, hinting at far more intelligence than any mere beast.
I cast inspect, though I could guess at what was standing in front of us.
Monster (Boss-Tier): Midnight King
Health: 8000/8000
Mana: 6000/6000
Exp: 2856
AC: 2,200
As it stared at me, I spoke.
“You’ve certainly put in the effort to get us here, Midnight King.”
It chuckled, a rolling, sibilant hiss that grated on my ears. “That I have, Demon Lord of the Black. My subjects corralled you quite nicely. It was almost too easy to lure you here.” It took another step, its paw landing on the hood of some sedan and crumpling it as its jagged claws carved deep grooves into the metal as it came forward. “Right where I wanted you.”
Finn and Adeline sucked in a breath as it spoke while Salvatore raised his pistols.
“Oh, that’s not creepy in the slightest,” Adeline said.
The Midnight King’s eyes snapped to her. “Pawns do not speak while kings are conversing.”
She squeaked and shut her mouth as a reflex before fury crossed her eyes, and she grimaced. It looked like a retort burned on the tip of her tongue as she opened her mouth, but I stepped forward before she could speak.
“What’s so important that you went through so much to speak with me?”
It grinned, a facsimile of a Cheshire smile as it flicked its barbed tongue out. A splash of thick, clear poison landed by my foot, and I had to fight not to take a step back on instinct.
“When else but now would I get the chance to see you for myself and be able to test your measure?” It shook its head. “What an unworthy master our god has chosen.”
“Unworthy, why?” I asked.
It snarled. “Kin killer. You who have slain one of the kings. You would spurn our aid in your quest and slaughter our kind by the score. You have been marked as a traitor.”
