"Hey do you guys hear that?" Haws asked. Grandma let me go and we both turned our ears towards the sky. The gunshots that we could hear faintly in the distance now sounded louder and closer. But that wasn't the only thing I heard, there was a low thudding noise in the woods to the left of us. Like something was stomping on the ground.
We all aimed our guns at the woods in the direction of the sound. About thirty yards away into the woods I saw a tree bend and then snap and topple to the ground.
"Fuck….." Haws muttered to himself.
"The ascended?!" I gasped as I took aim into the darkness using the tree to gauge where it was.
The thudding sound was getting closer and more trees were getting toppled as whatever it was advancing was getting closer. We could have ran but the ascended was fast enough to catch up with a steed drawn carriage that could reach speeds of seventy miles an hour, on foot we had no chance in hell to escape.
As the thudding got closer I realized there was a rhythm to it. Six thuds with a slight pause between each one, almost like whatever was coming towards us was traveling on six legs instead of the two that thrads used.
"Wait a second…." I muttered just as two massive crab claws gripped the tree trunks at the base in front of us and snap them effortlessly. Haws, Grandma Lulu, and I all watched the trees toppled to the side and a huge evo forced its way out of the woods. "…a Crawnuff?!"
Crawnuff was a transport type evo; same type as the steed; that was made by combining crawdad and artic king crab DNA. They looked more like the crabs but had a crawdad's tail and four claws; two massive crab crushers and two much smaller pincers. The average Crawnuff stood over eight feet tall and weighed two tons. The one in front of us was at least eleven feet tall and five tons.
The three of us stood still as the crawnuff eyed us with its eye stalks. It leaned to the left and the right as if to investigate us from all angles. After a moment it turned and walked around us then started down the path along the river.
"That has to be Diamond-Breaker." Haws said as we watched the evo scurry away.
"Yeah…but how? Diamond-Breaker had to be in the south warehouse with all the other transport type evos. It would gave been one of the first ones that was overrun when the thrads attacked." I said.
"Crawsnuffs like that are built tough. It's shell must be strong enough to withstand a shit-ton of thrads trying to take a chunk out of it." Haws said.
"Something like that would probably be smart to control Chase." Grandma Lulu said, nudging me towards it.
"Yeah…" I said softly then held my right hand and collected energy into my crystal and sent it towards Diamond-Breaker. The crawnuff froze and went ridged as I took control of it. The evo relaxed as I cemented my control and Diamond-Breaker turned around to face us. "…got it."
"Good job starlight." Grandma Lulu said. The three of us walked over to the crawnuff and planned to climb onto its back when a large group of people ran out of the woods a few yards behind us. They were all in a total panic and running blindly away from some unseen danger, which sent them running to us. Three golden retriever sized evos scurried out of the woods and rushed after the group.
Grandma spun around gun raised already and took a shot, blowing the head off the evo closest to the group. Haws and I turned a second after her and I took aim and fired my Orkas, the dual lever action firing two shot. Both shots hit the second evo and dropped it while Haws fired his Mastruck and the recoil knocked him off his feet and sent him flying into Diamond-Breaker. The bullet struck the third evo and obliterated it completely.
"OW! FUCK!" Haws screamed. I scanned our surroundings to make sure there weren't anymore evos then turned and helped Haws to his feet. Several people from the group looked back and saw that we'd killed the evos that had been chasing them and slowed down.
When I turned back to face the group of people that was now approaching I recognized who they were. The sheriff deputies and the group that they'd been guarding though the group looked much smaller than it had when they beat me senseless and wanted to execute me.
Haws noticed who those people were
instantly and aimed his gun at the lead deputy Jason. He and everyone else at the group came to a halt and held their hands up.
"Wait don't shoot! We're people!" Jason screamed.
"Like hell you are! After what you did to Chase!" Haws growled. Grandma Lulu aimed her rifle at Jason and glared daggers at him.
"He's the one that beat my grandson up so badly?" Grandma Lulu asked in a low and vicious tone. Jason and the rest of the group finally noticed that I was there and even better that Diamond-Breaker was right behind us and all looked terrified.
"We were just defending our town! He obviously turned against us and released all those evos!" Jason exclaimed. "I mean look! He's obviously controlling that evo behind you!"
"But it's not attacking you. And after what you fuckers did to him I'd have Diamond-Breaker crush your stupid asses and tear you apart!" Haws barked. A woman. Pushed her way through the group to the front while screaming at everyone to let her through. When I saw it was Logan's mother Alison I scowled and prepared myself to be yelled at. When she reached ttr front of the group I saw the panic on her face.
"It's Logan! You have to help him! He's fighting off evos by himself!" Alison cried.
"Why the hell should we care?" Haws asked bluntly.
"He's his brother!" Alison snapped.
"A brother that volunteered to kill me because he felt he was owed it after suffering being around me for sixteen years only a few hours ago!" I snapped back.
"He was sure you were the reason the evos were attacking in the first place! He was only trying to do his duty!" Alison cried.
"Stars above!" Grandma Lulu said in Torapos then switched back to English. "And you expect him to put his life on the line to go and save him now? Let go Chase."
Grandma Lulu climbed on Diamond-Breaker's club claws and Diamond-Breaker automatically lifted her up so she could climb onto the top of his shell. She sat down and held her gun at a ready stance in case anyone in the group wanted to try something. Haws followed suit and stood on top of Diamond-Breaker shortly after. I turned to climb up as well but Alison grabbed my arm in a tight grip.
"Chase please! He's all I have left! I can't lose anyone else!" She cried and dropped to her knees, still clinging to my arm for dear life.
"All you have left…?" I muttered then glanced around at the rest of the group and realized I didn't see her husband Isaac anywhere. I looked back at her and noticed that her shirt was covered in blood, with no visible injuries my first guess that it wasn't hers. "What about the able bodied deputies behind you? Why didn't they stick around to help him?"
"Are you fucking serious? We didn't sign up to fight a swarm of monsters. He volunteered to lead them away while we ran!" Jason yelled.
"So you'll beat up a defenseless sixteen year old child but a evo that can fight back is too much for you?!" Haws shouted. "Fucking cowards! The lot of you!"
"I'm not a fucking soldier like him! He signed up for that shit not me!" Jason defended. The other surviving deputies all shouted their agreements with his statement. Alison's grip on my arm tightened as tears streamed down her face.
"Chase please! I'll do anything! I pay you anything!" She pleaded. I jerked my arm free from her grasp which illicit a desperate scramble to grab hold of me and plead for Logan's life. I said nothing as I turned and climbed up Diamond-Breaker then turned to look down at Alison and the rest of the group.
"Which way did he go?" I asked. Alison's eyes grew wide and a look of hope spread across her face. She wiped her tears and pointed towards a stretch of woods that went east around the edge of town.
"That way! Hurry! Those evo aren't fast but they're a lot of them!" Alison exclaimed.
"Are you seriously going to try and go save that asshole?!" Haws yelled. "He's been a piece of shit to you for your entire life! He volunteered to kill you himself!"
"I know." I muttered. Grandma Lulu spun me around and looked me in the eyes.
"You know he wouldn't do this for you…right Chase. You could save his life and die for him but he wouldn't care." Grandma said.
"I know…but I'm not him." I replied softly then turned back and addressed the group below. "There is a fallen tree that can act as a bridge to get you across the river further up stream! Don't try to cross the river by swimming, there are thrads in the water and while they'll be sluggish until morning they still have the advantage in water! Once you get across the river get as far away from the from town as you can! He's to fort Vaultworth, there are already a group of survivors there."
On hearing my instructions everyone in the group started running around Diamond-Breaker trying to get to that fallen tree and to safety, only Alison stayed.
"Thank you! Thank you!" She yelled then hurried after everyone else. I sighed then turned to look at Grandma and Haws.
"You two can head to the tree, I'll try and save Logan then head back." I said.
"Like hell I am!" Haws snapped. Grandma Lulu shook her head angrily.
"I'm not letting you run head first into danger to rescue your worthless half brother who's wanted to kill you since the day you were born by yourself." Grandma said pointedly.
"Fine…" I said softly then sat down on Diamond-Breaker's head and pointed towards the direction that Alison said. "…Diamond-Breaker let's go!"