***
The chaos was still evident. Invigorated sped left and right tending to the regular humans behind the barricade.
A woman with light ash blonde hair was running around making sure everything was in order and giving several Invigorated tasks.
The look on her face was of urgency and she was irritated by the fact that their response towards the sudden attack was so poor and many had died as a result.
She was Australian.
She lived every single day with the haunting mentality that her entire home had sunk while she and a few others had managed to escape without being able to do anything.
This scene before her reminded her of that day. If she let this place get destroyed, she didn't think she would be able to live with herself. She was the Safe Zone Commander, her sole duty stipulating that she had to keep the Zone safe.
Behind her, a girl who looked to be in her early twenties rushed to her position and reported. She had dark hair made into a crew cut, deep-set brown eyes and a hook nose.
"Commander, I think it's time to bring out the heavy artillery. There's barely any more survivors out there. We are also facing four grade A Stragglers that are quickly closing in," she said.
"Let's wait a bit longer. I can't afford to sacrifice any more people," Amelia replied.
"I understand your concerns, but we don't have much time left. We don't even know the Grade As abilities. Please let's launch a counterattack now," the girl said. "I know it feels like we're losing more people, but if we don't protect those that have already been saved, then we'll be killing our future. Please."
Amelia breathed and walked over to the opening on the barricade and looked ahead to see the tens of Invigorated fighting the stragglers. Even against thousands, they stood tall, fighting with their lives on the line.
With her enhanced sight, she could see the dead bodies of Stragglers and humans alike, populating the ground in a sea of blood. They had different structures and shapes but they shared the same red blood. The planet had been turned against itself.
If they didn't do anything now in fear of potential survivors, the situation would get worse.
"You're right, Grace. Let's do it. I'll send someone to bring the modified artilleries. You go ahead and warn others on the battlefield about the plan," she said with a slight smile.
Grace nodded and rushed back to the proximity of the base. She opened a door that was similar to the one you would find in a garage and walked inside.
Within was a large, well-lit space, roughly 50 square meters, where a large figure was resting.
It was a black wolf that towered over her even while lying down. She reached over to it and touched its snout gently.
The wolf opened its eyes. It recognised the person before it and stood up, wagging its thick furred tail.
"Yeah, yeah. It's time to go out. You can indulge yourself as much as you like. Let's go, Shadow," she said as she leapt on top of its back.
The wolf while standing was over 2.5 meters in height.
It rushed out of the space with great speed, Grace holding onto its fur firmly. People made way for the duo as they rushed past the barricade and into the battlefield.
Amelia watched as Grace left and then gave an order to one of the Invigorated.
Soon, from the sides of the large base, heavy machinery was rolled out. Modified mortar and grade launchers, RPGs and even 4 massive tanks with thick metal armour.
Far above in the sky, a certain giant Eagle with large wings was watching. Its eyes locked onto the departing figure of the girl on a wolf and squinted.
*
Nicholas and Ana were rushing, guns in hand. After killing the black horse and its rat sidekick, they had fought their way through a swarm of Stragglers using Nicholas' innate ability, Daddy.
The naming sense was simple, but accurate nonetheless.
Nicholas was a family man. He loved his wife and daughter to death. He would never let anything come between him and family time. His little girl was his air and his wife was his lungs.
They were both his reason for living.
When the apocalypse happened, Nicholas had lost his wife and child.
It had been a good day. He was at home with Lara, working on his car in the garage while the little girl was in the house when an earthquake shook the ground.
The ceiling shook and fell on him and the car buried most of his body under the large chunks of rubble.
When he thought of his daughter and then heard her scream, he had jolted himself to try and squeeze himself out but to no avail. The garage door had closed almost all the way during the first quake, leaving only a crooked small space.
He struggled and struggled, even feeling his legs get impaled by sharp rocks and metal bars.
A frightened yell had called for him outside the garage, little hands trying to pull the garage open but without succeeding and he told her to get to safety.
Then, the most blood-curdling screech haunted his ears, his daughter falling to the ground seconds later. He could only see a portion of his little girl from under the garage door, with burnt skin, hair and clothes.
That moment had broken him. He had punched the ground, breaking his fingers in frustration. After all his years of being a father and a husband, this had been the one day he failed to protect his family.
He had grieved under the rubble non-stop, prepared to end his own life, but then the Invigoration happened, making him stronger.
His happy thought had been the day his daughter said the words,' Dad, you'll always be my hero' to him. Those words both stung and made him happy as he remembered them now.
"Your ability has been coming in handy, Ana. I can't imagine what spawned it," Nicholas said as he shot another straggler.
"Well, it's certainly not the image my daughter had of me," she said as she placed her hand on Nicholas' shoulder.
"Yeah, I have a weird ability. I get it already! It saved our butts though," he said and then started spraying bullets like Rambo. He shot two bullets at a time, with an interval in between.
Each and every bullet hit its mark, slaughtering many Stragglers that had headed their way.
"Man! I can get used to this!" Nicholas said enthusiastically.
This was Ana's ability.
Innate ability: Guidance.
She could guide a target of her choosing to a position of her choice.
She could extent this ability to another person but lose the effect herself like she was doing with the enthusiastic Nicholas.
The restriction she had to face was limited to the number of targets she could guide at a time. Only two.
"We're almost at the rendezvous point. Let's hurry," Ana said.
*
'Hmmm, the other grade A that ran away when I advanced could be causing trouble somewhere. I better finish with this and solve that one. I wonder if the others have reached the rendezvous point yet?' Josh thought as he faced a massive humanoid lion that was a distance away. Its thick chest and arms showed that it was no pushover at all.
It was surrounded by a group of grade Cs and grade Bs that looked to be awaiting its command. It never moved an inch, keeping its eyes on him at all times. He couldn't even understand how it issued its commands.
Josh had slaughtered all the creatures that were around. Ever since he had advanced towards these two grade As many grade Bs had flocked towards him, the majority with special abilities.
Josh didn't even give them a chance to use them before killing them all.
Their bodies were strewn all around him, dead in different ways through the malicious sabre he held.
'Alright, then. This guy won't make the first move. The task falls onto me.'
Josh extended his hand towards the lion and made a gripping motion with his fingers.
A smirk appeared on his face.
'Join the family, Fur face. Extension Ability: Lonely Brother.'
In the next instance, the lion straggler felt a sensation wrapping around its body and then.....
All the stragglers surrounding it were blown away like rag dolls, flying over twenty meters away!
Before it could even imagine what exactly happened, Josh was already flying in its face, the sabre slicing through the air for its neck!
This was an Extension Ability of Lonely Bastard. It allowed Josh the ability to grant a single person the protection space of Lonely Bastard. He usually used it to protect other people, but even then it wasn't exactly ideal because if people were bundled up, it could cause more harm than good. At most he could save only one person.
He had applied it to the creature to separate it from its followers and gain a chance to attack without having to be wary of the Grade Bs that were surrounding it. He knew his ability wasn't invincible, and a surprise was the last thing he wanted in this kind of battle.
As he wielded his sword against the creature, he deactivated Lonely Brother and reactivated Lonely Bastard while still in mid-air.
To his surprise, the lion straggler ducked with such speed that it left an after image, bringing its head lower!
Josh responded immediately, flinging the sabre in the air with a quick motion and launching a ferocious roundhouse kick that smashed into the lion's face with all his might before he touched the ground!
At the moment of impact, he also released a repelling force from Lonely Bastard with his foot that maximised the damage from the physical impact and the innate ability.
The lion straggler flew a great distance at an insane speed and crashed into a building causing its wall to break. From its mouth, one could see traces of blood.
Before it could raise its head and free itself from the wall, Josh was already in the air, sabre wielded with both hands and aiming for its neck!
This time, it couldn't dodge. The blade sunk into the neck but stopped a split second later. Less than an inch had actually penetrated its skin!
The lion straggler cocked its arm with insane speed and launched a punch before Josh could restore his footing. This punch was packed with so much power that Josh felt his hair fluttering like the wind was blowing in his face.
Unfortunately for the creature, its ferocious punch was halted by Lonely Bastard, which was a shrouding Josh. However, even the indifferent Invigorated felt Lonely Bastard ripple, as it could barely stop the force of the blow!
Without a shred of hesitation, Josh left the sabre on the creature's neck, found his footing on the ground and launched a fierce low hook punch that slammed into the creatures ribs!
He felt a tremor within the creature's body, but it didn't look like it was harmed at all! Its skin and flesh were so unbelievably thick!
The creature launched another quick straight punch, heading for Josh's head!
Josh felt a force double the one from the last and crossed his arms before his face, focusing all his energy on his innate ability!
Surprisingly, behind the overwhelming physical force was an equally overwhelming pressure that seemed like.....pressurised wind!
Lonely Bastard could handle physical attacks without much difficulty, but forces like air were beyond its scope!
Josh's innate ability did its best against the creature's punch but the force of wind blew him away!
He flew over 40 meters away before stomping his feet on the ground to bring himself to a stop. His arms felt numb and the guards around his arms were torn to shreds.
"Well damn!" he exclaimed with a smile on his face, looking where he had flown from and seeing the image of a muscular lion heading towards him.
*
Yang Hai's axe dropped with incredible force and landed onto the burly Straggler's hand!
The ground underneath its feet shattered from the weight of the axe as well as the strength behind it.
The straggler bent its legs and tanked the hit. On its arms, only a bloody mark registered to show that he had been attacked despite the ferocity of Yang Hai's strike.
The straggler quickly held the head of the axe with its hand which pulsed with thick veins and a dark aura, smashing it to bits.
Yang Hai snorted and withdrew her hands, her right arm becoming coated with the red ice forming a gauntlet that wrapped around her hand.
The next moment she launched it with all her might towards the Straggler's face, which resulted in a resounding smack and the creature skidding a distance away!
It finally stopped when it was a five-meter distance, spitting out some blood from its mouth and glaring at Yang Hai who sucked more water from the tank and kept a placid stance.
The straggler breathed in deeply and held air in its mouth, making its cheeks look inflated. It then brought its head back and then forward with one fluid motion!
It opened its mouth extremely wide and a thick column of deep red flame blasted towards Yang Hai!
When the column appeared the world seemed to turn a few shades darker, the searing heat making ground turn black!
"Shiiiit!" Yang Hai exclaimed and jumped to the side avoiding the fire.
Unfortunately, the creature directed its mouth and chased her with the flame.
The girl ran, trying to avoid the fire and looking for a way to counter.
'Damn it! Did it target me because we are natural enemies? Or did I just look like easy pickings and this is just a coincidence?' She asked herself as she ran.
The straggler was relentless, following her everywhere. After a full minute, it finally closed its mouth and shot at Yang Hai at the same time to not give her time to recover.
Yang Hai quickly withdrew her armour and formed another axe from the bloody water. This one did not have a long handle. Its head was larger than that of the first, its handle thicker and it looked to be sharper.
Water gushed from the tank and formed another armour and tower shield.
The burly straggler reached her and threw a nasty overhead punch with the same shrieking noise!
Yang Hai brought the tower shield before her and blocked the blow!
However, she felt a tremendous force that cracked the shield a great deal. She knew it would heal, and thus she withdrew the shield immediately and launched an upward swing of her axe with every bit of strength she had!
The axe sliced from the creature's abdomen all the way up to its chin. It was shallow but the creature felt it. It groaned and took a step back, but Yang Hai did not relent.
She charged and bashed the creature with her shield causing it to stagger and then leapt up again and slashed diagonally across its chest!
The axe tore through its flesh and blood flowed from its body. It tried to throw a punch at the girl but she sidestepped, and bashed her shield into the creature's jaw with its edge!
The straggler lost balance and Yang Hai leapt and swung her axe downwards on its thick neck!
This time, the creature growled and shot its hand towards her face whilst she was still in mid-air!
Yang Hai's axe dug into the creature's neck drawing its blood, but it didn't react to the pain, grabbing her head whilst she was still in mid-air and smashing her hard on the ground!
On impact, the tank shattered with a sharp booming sound, the water inside spilling to the ground! Yang Hai was still disoriented and in pain thus failing to save as much water as she could before it sank into the ground!
When she came to her senses, the creature held her shoulders as she lied on the ground and opened its mouth wide!
Yang Hai's pupils constricted as she saw this! A red dark glow lit up her panicking face from the burly straggler's mouth as it prepared to release to a terrifying pillar of fire!
Yang Hai acted quickly, melting her armour, shield and axe and forming a massive tower shield that covered her body!
It was thick, with the red shade of blood as well. Just as soon as it appeared, with Yang Hai using her hands to hold it up given that her shoulders her pinned, a thick pillar of flame slammed into it!
The sheer heat that was released as well the impact, made Yang Hai groan. She could instantly feel the ice shield cracking and melting under the pressure.
A headache began to take shape in her head as lost more and more water!
"Damn it! Not now!" she screamed while gritting her teeth and looking for solutions.
She could feel her strength slipping as she lost the water to supplement her restriction.
She was held in place and couldn't escape, this was a devastating predicament!
Right then, a loud growl was heard! It sounded like the growl of a mad beast, making known its presence.
The burly straggler jerked a little but did not stop the attack.
Yang gnashed her teeth as she felt the heat start to burn her hands as the ice was melting down! It was all or nothing.
She quickly reshaped the shield into a spike and launched it with all her strength at the straggler.
The creature was impaled in the chest and it backed off from the sudden attack.
Meanwhile, though she succeeded, Yang Hai had her arms burnt as well as part of her chest.
She quickly forced herself to stand and panted while feeling a loss of strength.
The straggler growled and removed the spike from its chest and then looked at Yang Hai.
The growl rang again and the two both looked at where it was coming from.
*
Everyone looked at where the sound was coming was originating from.
Whether human or straggler. They all turned to the massive tree that had finally stopped moving, tilting its head into the sky and growling menacingly.
After a few seconds, it lowered its head and faced ahead.
Everyone held their breath.
Roots shot into the air at a speed that the human eye couldn't see!
They were sharp, they were fast and they were with purpose.
Hundreds died in one attack.
Without knowing what hit them or how!
Amelia turned her head in horror and her eyes opened so wide they threatened to pop out!
Hundreds of the civilians they had hidden behind the barricade were impaled on sharp roots that extended into the sky from the ground and hung for all to see.
The real threat had made a move!