"How much further do you think we have to go?" Cass's voice was lost to the silence of the thick trees around them. There was very little underbrush but the trees had grown knobby and twisted, looking more like warped, cancerous candles than proud trunks. The lichen covering everything had a faint green, luminescent glow that looked unhealthy enough for them to avoid touching. Tess's nose scrunched in distaste every time she stepped close enough to inhale their acrid tang.
"We can't be that far away," Zavier said, his tone hushed and wary. "We've kept a straight line and the forest couldn't have been more than half a mile deep." He did a quick mental calculation, "If we're walking three miles per hour…"
Tess held up her fist and went rigid, cutting off the rest of Zavier's sentence. They froze as she made a motion for them to stay where they were just before disappearing into the trees in a flash of silent movement.
Their wait seemed interminably long, nervous sweat making their skin slick despite the chill in the air. Luna looked around with wide eyes while Cass held his shields up on either side of his body. Zavier had his chain laid out on the ground, careful not to move it for fear the links would make a sound.
Luna gasped, then covered her mouth with both hands, causing Cass and Zavier to spin to see what had surprised the girl. They followed her gaze and saw a sickly green glow moving through the trees toward them, the light low enough to almost be missed.
"Over here," Cass whispered frantically, pointing to the opposite side where another glow could be seen moving closer.
"And here," Zavier said, pointing another direction. "And there. And there too."
They were surrounded, and the glow was getting closer.
The trio bunched up together in the small space between the trees as the glow around them became a solid thing. As one, the glow materialized into individual patches of light, the sources emerging from between the trees. A massive dog stepped into the clearing and bared its teeth in a snarl, followed shortly by the rest of the pack. Each had fur like wire brushes, the strands of their coats glowing a sickly radioactive green. Zavier's stomach dropped when he cast Identify.
Mutated Alpha Canine
Level: 15
Description: The Mutated Alpha Canine is the dominant leader of its pack, standing larger and more fearsome than its subordinates. Its body is heavily mutated, covered in dense, radioactive fur and scales that shimmer with a sickly green glow. Its eyes burn with an intelligent, malevolent light, and its teeth are elongated and razor-sharp, capable of crushing bone and tearing through metal. The Alpha's presence instills fear and dominance over its pack, which obeys its commands with lethal precision.
Small yips and grunts sounded around them, yet the other dogs held back, seemingly waiting for the Alpha to make the first move. Zavier began swirling his chain in tight loops around him, building up momentum. Cass was moving with jerky motions, shields pointed at one canine, then another, every time one of them took a step forward. Zavier took a second to identify the rest of the pack.
Mutated Canine
Level: 8
Description: This canine has been transformed into a monstrous predator, its body enlarged and its senses heightened by the radiation. Its skin is covered in hardened fur and scales and its body glows with a radioactive light.
"They're playing with us," Zavier said, fear building in his chest. Pack animals were extremely dangerous and his family was not experienced in fighting them. He focused again on the Alpha, hoping that if he took it down the others would be scared away. His muscles bunched and his chain whipped around him faster and faster. Just as he was about to launch forwards the Alpha threw its head back and howled, disrupting Zavier's focus and forcing the twins to cover their ears.
Zavier's eyes went wide as a cloud of noxious green gas erupted from its throat. It was at that moment that Zavier realized they were downwind of the creature and the cloud was blowing straight at them.
"COVER YOUR MOUTH AND DIVE!" He yelled and began swinging the chain like a fan in front of him, its links barely stirring the air enough to disperse the toxic cloud. He tried activating his skill System Block, but the cloud was coming too fast, his skill was too unfamiliar, and he was just too slow. He dove to the ground to get under it, seeing the glint of triumph in the Alpha's eyes.
Tess dropped from the treeline, a bandana covering her mouth and nose. Bearclaw struck the Alpha's side but, instead of piercing through, it skittered off the scales, throwing off her balance. Momentary surprise took her, but she shifted her weight, turning the dive into a roll across the creature's back and over its side. She spun and kicked, the bones in her foot creaking even as the hound was launched into a heavy roll into the trees.
"RUN!" She yelled and her family responded instantly, getting to their feet and running her direction - directly through the slowly dispersing cloud.
Acid filled their eyes and Zavier wiped them frantically, his clouded vision not hiding the blood on his hand. He looked back and saw the kids running after him, blood leaking from their eyes, the skin on their faces erupting in small pockmarks of pus.
He waited for them to pass him then turned to face the pack that was running at them in a yipping frenzy. His chain danced, the tip not able to pierce their scales but managing to strike their faces hard enough to cause yowls of pain, sending them careening off-course.
Then Tess was beside him, the two of them fighting a running retreat. The dogs were relentless, nipping at their legs every time they turned their backs. They were frustratingly chaotic, lunging in to nip only to bounce backwards immediately after.
"They're wearing us down!" Zavier panted.
Tess didn't reply, her face a mask of concentration. Claw couldn't penetrate their scales but was heavy enough to drive them off, while Glimmer scored shallow cuts across their faces. Unfortunately, the dogs were too fast for her to do any real damage. Every time she managed to slice into one another jumped in to take its place. She tried activating Bladestorm, but the fighting retreat counted as a retreat to The System and her skill never activated.
Zavier had never been more grateful for the training with Maisy and his added Agility points, but he could tell it was a losing battle. The dogs were a relentless and unending sea of teeth, washing against them and breaking their strides.
Zavier stepped back and felt his heel catch against something. In a split second he was on his back, hitting the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He looked to Tess but she was engaged with the Alpha. Is this it? He had a second to think as two of the dogs rushed forward with glee.
There was a blur of movement and Cass was there, a double clang sounding as the two dogs rebounded off his shields with surprised yips of pain.
"Get to Luna!" Cass said as he stepped over Zavier, lighting emerging around his body.
Then Cass was everywhere, moving in a blur through the pack. His Boarcharge boots let him charge forward like an unstoppable force, and they were backed up by the speed of someone moving lightning fast. Hounds were continuously blasted into the trees, the echoes of his shield attacks a rapid staccato that moved further away as he continually pushed them into the distance. Then he was back, sending more in random directions. It was inefficient and random, but damned if it wasn't effective. Soon it was just Tess and Cass facing off against the Alpha. It stepped back and eyed them warily, then lifted its head high and howled.
The howl was joined by others and suddenly roiling green clouds began emerging from the trees in a wave. Cass and Tess looked at each other in silent agreement before turning and sprinting away.
They emerged from the treeline in a rush, Luna and Zavier almost at the heavy steel door embedded in a long, smooth concrete wall. There were no windows to break and the door looked way too sturdy for them to even make the attempt.
They skidded to a stop and pulled on the handle, the locked door not budging.
"What do we do?" Luna cried.
Cass and Tess faced the treeline and the pack of dogs that was slowly stalking out of it.
"You need to unlock the door," Zavier said to Luna as he pointed to the keypad embedded in the wall next to the door.
"I don't know the combo!"
"Just try it honey," he said, forcing calm into his voice. "You can do this."
Luna punched in a code, the keypad display emitting a harsh note and flashing red. She squeaked and jumped back in alarm. "I can't do it! I'm going to lock us out!" She looked over her shoulder at the approaching pack.
Zavier gently grabbed Luna's arms, pulling her toward him to make eye contact. "You can, Honey. Try again."
The pack was only a few dozen feet away, spreading out too widely for them to defend against all at once. Cass blurred forward and one of the hounds was launched into the distance, then he was back. "I'm almost out of juice, mom."
Tess nodded and reached out to push him behind her. "Go protect your dad and sister."
Cass spluttered but she just pushed him back further. "Go. They may need you."
The harsh note sounded again and Luna cried out. "Only one more try then we're locked out!"
Tess put them out of her head - put everything out of her head except the oncoming pack. Too spread out. Need to thin the pack. In a swift motion she stuck Claw into the grass and sheathed Shimmer, then her pistols were out. A few quick retorts and four of the hounds were rolling backwards in pain, pawing at their faces. Damn, I thought that would work.
The dogs paused at the sound but quickly realized that it wasn't enough to kill them. A lupine grin spread on the Alpha's face as it started trotting to her.
Tess gripped the Moonshadow Fang Pendant hanging at her throat, its weight familiar and reassuring. She hadn't taken it off since they'd found it at the zoo, its fear-inducing power proving invaluable during her nighttime hunts through the woods. Never tried this in daylight, she thought, her fingers tightening around the pendant, hoping the effect would hold.
Zavier was holding Luna's shoulders, wiping tears and the last of the blood off her cheeks. "Honey, you CAN do this. You're the only one that can. I need you to try again, but this time close your eyes. Don't think of the numbers, don't think of anything except the door opening."
Luna's look of fear intensified. "But if it doesn't work…" she glanced past him to the dogs that were surrounding Tess in a curved row.
Zavier pulled her to face him again. "Don't worry about that. I need you to close your eyes and reach back for the panel. You need to do it NOW."
A chorus of keening yowls reached their ears and they all turned to Tess who was gripping a necklace and staring each of the dogs down in turn. Their ears were sagging and their tails were tucked beneath their legs, most of them backing away obsequiously. Zavier was too shocked to notice Luna closing her eyes and fumbling for the keypad.
Tess kept her gaze on the Alpha that was fighting her fear effect. The others had backed away and were making a show of gnashing and yipping, but none stepped closer. She could feel the effect coming to an end and she just hoped it held long enough. She poured every bit of her predatory soul into the gaze, trying to strengthen the effect.
The spell broke just as the door behind her clicked open with a buzzing sound. She looked backwards in shock and the hound shook its head and bristled upwards, howling in rage. It launched itself forward and Tess knew she wouldn't be able to get to the door before it could get to her. Viper-fast, she holstered her pistols and pulled Claw from the dirt, swinging it up in an arc to meet the hound head-on.
The world blurred around her and suddenly she was inside the door, her mind trying to make sense of what had happened, just as the door was slammed in the hound's face. Its howl of rage was silenced with the clang of the door slamming shut. She looked behind her and saw Cass doubled over, the last of the lightning flickering out across his body.