- With darts! - I gave the order out loud, though it was enough to think clearly. The distance between the golems and me was tiny, and I could feel them perfectly from this distance. But nerves, nerves. I just couldn't keep quiet in such an adrenaline-pumping situation.
Arachnid and Chappy finished off one land creature in an instant, then the Arachnid's legs were braided by a sticky projectile and he fell with a thunderous crash. A third mutant collapsed on top of Chappy, who lunged at the enemy, who had once again begun to weave his skein. Without anyone noticing, he climbed onto the balcony and from there, seizing the moment, attacked the golem. His weight was enough to damage the legs of my creation. And then the creature was out of luck. Chappy grabbed onto the tentacle and held on until the samurai, who with their huge, slightly curved swords sliced the creature to pieces, came running up.
The third mutant caught two darts from the disembodied Arachnid and decided to run away, staining the pavement with blue (!) blood.
Setting a plastic canister under the fast flowing blood from the soft, seemingly even boneless body, then under the second one, I sent the samurai on the bloody trail of the third mutant. It wasn't so much that I needed to get its blood as it was to get the darts back, since Arachnid had wounded the creature with projectiles that were designed against shadows.
The mutant's blood poured out in a generous stream, leaving a clearly visible trail on the ground, and its peculiar color made it stand out even more on the ground, the pavement, and the lawn.
The trail of blood led me to a small store in the basement of a residential five-story building. Judging by the picture of a man in camouflage and wading boots with a fishing rod above the door, and the inscription "Fisherman's Paradise," the store sold equipment that was very valuable to us now, before the transfer. The main thing is to make sure there is something there that survives.
- Forward, my brave warriors," - I whispered and grinned. - Bring me the head of the monster.
In a few seconds the samurai disappeared into the black gap of the entrance, then there was the thumping of metal against metal, against stone, a strange gurgling and splashing from within. And two minutes later the golems brought me the mutant's severed jaws.
- Why are you so... literal? - I sighed.
I learned from the golems that the basement is practically safe. There are some oddities; no one has attacked them, except for the wounded monster. By the way, they didn't bring any darts.
Leaving the Arachnid at the entrance on guard, I switched on my flashlight, which was included in the kit of everyone who went out into the city, and began to descend the steep steps following the golems. The steps were tiled and the creatures' blood made them as slippery as ice.
When I got inside and looked around, I felt disappointed and nauseous. The whole store was trashed, with things lying mostly on the floor and covered in the already familiar webbing fabric. Along the walls hung huge cocoons, wrapped in such a way that nothing showed through or was translucent. But the size and the cigar-like shape made one suspect what, or rather WHO, their contents were.