Huff~ Huff~
Jacob sat in a dark corner of the sewer, a trembling hand placed about his mouth, his eyes wide in horror. From deeper within the sewer came the grunts and clanging sound from monsters moving about, bumping into each other.
Beads of sweat poured out of his forehead as he tried to remain as silent as possible, but the monsters seemed to be getting closer.
Dammit! I must get back to camp! Jacob swore as he got up and slowly began to back away.
Rip~
A protruding metal managed to catch his tunic between the leather armour, and with a rip, it tore the fabric, slightly biting into Jacob's tanned skin.
It was a light injury, with no more than a drop of blood, but Jacob's heart sped up, thumping loudly within his chest.
Snort~ Snort~
The sound came from just around the corner. Jacob slowly turned his head, eyes wide, pupils constricted in absolute horror, and he watched as a monster walked out of the corner.
The monster was made of flesh and bones, skinless, like a flayed man. It was bipedal, standing about seven feet tall, and it had scythe-like arms that reached the ground, dragging behind it like an omen of death.
A Blood Reaver.
The creature was horrifying, with white eyes that gleamed in the dim light of the tunnels and wide jaw full of razor sharp teeth, but even more frightening than this human devouring beast, was the four others that followed closely behind it.
Their murky eyes remained still while their heads tilted about, sniffing the air for any signs of blood. There just so happened to be a fresh opening nearby.
Jacob turned and ran, dashing through the sewer tunnels as fast as he could. He took turns after turns, not bothering to look behind him for signs of the monster pack. Blood Reavers were hunters, but they don't stalk, they chase. So when they lock on to their prey, the poor victim will be fully aware.
Shrieek~~ Yieeek~
Jacob felt his knees go weak when the bloodcurdling shrieks reached him. He stumbled, but picked himself up quickly, taking another turn. Even though he had been mapping the tunnels for roughly a week now, he knew that his knowledge of the space wouldn't save him.
The hunt had begun, and it would be best to accept his faith, but humans were stubborn, and this young man just got a girlfriend in the apocalypse. He wasn't ready to die just yet. Not when his life had peaked.
Light poured in a few hundred meters away, and Jacob ran with all his might towards it, but he wasn't as fast as the bipedalled beasts now clanging at his heels.
Even without glancing back, he knew they would get him before he got to the exit, but he pushed on with stubborn determination.
By some miracle, he managed to get out of the tunnels and into the scorching bosom of the ruins above, just as one of the Blood Reavers caught up to him. The creature raised its scythe and slashed down, blindly cutting whatever was in front of it.
Woosh~ Clang~
A green blur brushed past Jacob and collided with the creature, sending it reeling back. Following right behind it was another blur, it pulled Jacob backward, whipping the young man off his feet right before colliding with the remaining charging mess of Blood Reavers.
"What's going on! Who are you!" Jacob yelled as he was placed down. He turned around to see two young men standing before him.
One had green hair packed in a loose bun, and bright amber eyes. He wore piecemeal armour, with heavy plating reinforcing his left arm, chest and legs, and lighter protection along the right side.
He had a triangular shield strapped to his left hand, and held a longsword on the right.
Beside him was a dashing man made of steel. He was garbed in light armour and held no weapon.
"We are reinforcement." Rhashan beamed.
Jacob looked between both men and the reeling monsters, no sign of relief in his eyes. "Just the two of you?" he asked.
"Ouch! Rude. I'll have you know, that the two of us are more than enough."
"They are coming." Maximilian warned. He looked at Jacob, "You have combat training, right?"
Jacob nodded his head. Basic combat training was a requirement to become a scout. "Yes."
"Blood Reavers are deaf and blind, but they have a keen sense of smell, especially towards blood. Right now, all they see is you, we need to keep it that way." Maximilian explained.
"What do you mean?" Jacob asked, a foreboding feeling swelling within.
"You are bait." Rhashan chuckled as he slammed his hand into Jacob's back, pushing him forward.
"WHAT?!" Jacob yelled with indignation, but the monsters had gotten back to their feet. Their senses locked back onto their prey.
With a bellowing shriek, they charged forward again.
Jacob tried to move, but he stumbled, and failed to catch himself on time. He fell on his butt, staring with wide eyes as a Blood Reaver jumped towards him, its jaw wide open.
Clang~
Maximilian stepped between them, just in time, shield raised. He grunted, and his heels dug into the ground as the monster collided with him. "Get your act together." He growled over his shoulder.
With a flex of his body, he pushed the reaver back. "Rhashan!!" He yelled.
"Yeah, let's show these small fries how it is done!" Steel flashed as Rhashan charged forward, ramming straight into the Reaver.
Maximilian followed suit, blurring towards his target. He adjusted the position of his longsword, and made two powerful slashes at the monster, aiming both at a single place.
The muscle that attached the leg of the monster to the rest of its body. Blood spurted out as the limb of the monster was cut off, dulling the senses of the others who were trying to rush past. They stood still for a second.
Sssssss~
Like an owl, the arrow appeared from nowhere, almost completely silent, and lodged itself deep into one of the confused Reavers. What followed was a high pitch noise and then…
Boom~
The entire left part of the monster was gone. It shrieked as it fell, struggling on the ground. The smell of iron wafted about, confusing the others even more.
Rhashan coordinated with Maximilian, attacking the others without showing the slightest surprise at the turn of events.
With Rhashan as the tank, slamming into the Reavers and Maximilian as the executor, detaching limbs, and one more arrow coming from the distance, they soon made quick work of the monsters, leaving five Blood Reavers half dead on the ground.
They didn't even use up to five minutes… Jacob stared in shock. Maximilian pulled out a rag, sat on a rock and began cleaning his sword. Rhashan headed for the stunned scout, his body returning back to normal.
He looked even more handsome, with glossy black hair and bronze skin. "Good job." Rhashan complimented.
Jacob blushed, "Sorry."
"Oh, I wasn't complimenting you for this. You were absolutely useless. You would definitely be dead by now if we weren't here." Rhashan laughed, "But I heard you were mapping out the tunnels. That's brave. Considering…"
Jacob blushed even more, ashamed but also proud. The two of them headed to where Maximilian sat.
"You can have this one." Rhashan threw a knife at Maximilian. He caught it and nodded sincerely, before going to the struggling Blood Reavers to finish the job.
Soft chimes rang in Maximilian's head, signalling the death of the monsters, and the earning of experience and karma points.
"So? Did you get there?" Rhashan asked expectantly. Maximilian smiled then nodded in affirmation.
"Yes. I'm level 4 now."
I'm level 4 too, but why does it seem like mine is fake?... Jacob cried silently