The day was finally here. Theodore and his n were coming and John had to lead his people and defend his ho.
"You!" John pointed his finger at the engineer, "stay close to with that detonator."
The engineer nodded and shadowed John while he gave orders around the base. Theodore and his n were coming and they needed to prepare for a fight. He split his people into two groups and gave instructions about how the defence of the base would proceed.
First, he needed soone to act as the bait to lure a fraction of the enemy away. One man and a group of won volunteered for the task and so the group rushed towards the factory where the majority of Theodore’s n were camping out. John instructed the others to be on the lookout, should anything unexpected happen, the group of survivors he had was nowhere near ready to deal with Theodore and his minions and that ant retreat was an option.
After John gave instructions to his group of survivors and left the base, the mood within the base changed entirely. Anxiety clouded their minds and fear crept into their hearts, so of them decided to leave the base while so steeled their resolve and stayed behind to fight for their ho.
In a separate place, John and the Engineer t up with Lydia. She was a decisive person and a quick thinker, and John instructed her to give commands while he focused on surveillance using his Web of Whispers.
Lydia called on the survivors and gathered them before the large gates of the base while waiting for their attackers. They were ard with swords, spears, bows and guns, all were familiar weapons used in the apocalypse but their main weapon of choice was the base itself. The defence chanisms could give them the advantage they needed.
John’s jaw clenched and his heart thumped wildly as he spoke up, "Do it! Now!"
The engineer closed his eyes and began the detonation. As his thumb descended on the black button, a cold feeling filled his fingertips and travelled to the rest of his body. It was like an ice cube running down his veins. In a matter of monts, his spine tingled from the freezing cold and the nerves in his hands, feet, arms and legs went numb.
The explosion bood in the distance like an ear-piercing thunderclap, but it was not just one detonation. He needed to ti it correctly so the building would block the path to the base and force Theodore’s n to take another route. John’s hope was that the detonation would rattle the monsters congregating outside the forest and they would clash with Theodore’s n while they used the detour.
While the explosions bood, Dalia’s hands were pressing on her chest in prayer. She knew how complicated the plan was and how a single mistake could spell disaster for everyone present.
The explosions reverberated into the atmosphere, but that didn’t stop the constant flow of dust and smoke billowing out. The sound of the rubble clanging together followed the explosions, and soon after the thick cloud of black ash blanketed the area. A sizzling sound filled the air as the heat caused the debris to scatter around the forest.
As the explosions subsided, John closed his eyes and followed the group of the man and won who went to lure the enemy away. It seed they had done their job, but it was only a small portion of Theodore’s n who followed them. The rest marched towards the detour, but John clicked his tongue.
Lydia frowned and asked, "what is it?"
"They’re moving too fast, they will slip past the monsters at this rate."
Lydia frowned, "shit! I’ll inform the defence teams to prepare to move, the fuckers will enter the forest!"
"Don’t leave the base," John said and followed her and ordered, "if the defenders move, Theodore’s n will co back this way and ambush the people here."
"Then what do we do?"
John took a deep breath and began, "I’ll go and stall them."
The others froze on the spot with a shocked look on their faces.
"No, are you crazy?" Octavia appeared behind him and shook her head.
Dalia grabbed John’s shoulder, "don’t! We’ll all follow you!"
John smiled wryly. "It has to be . Soone has to lure them into a trap and it must be ."
Everyone present understood his logic. This was the best-case scenario for everyone involved.
Mika looked up and spoke to him in a pleading tone, "what if you lose? What will we do then?"
"Then you take everyone and run," John replied softly, his gaze lingering on the forest, but there was a faint smile on his lips.
"John, you don’t have to..." Mika murmured and raised her hand and held onto him.
His hand wrapped around her delicate wrist. "It must be done, Mika. This is our only chance," he explained and pulled his hand away from hers.
A flash of indignant anger flickered in the android’s eyes but was gone in an instant. She remained silent as John told Lydia, "I want you to spread the n on both sides of this road. Not in the open but close enough to the treelines to snipe anyone on sight."
John’s gaze darted between Mika and Dalia, "don’t follow or you’ll die."
There was no need for further clarification or elaboration and Dalia understood his implication.
He walked away. A miasma seed to perate the air around him, filling it with a colourless haze. His breathing slowed and his pupils contracted.
Once outside the confines of the compound, he spotted Theodore’s group through the forest and wasted no ti to imdiately run towards their position.
While he ran, he brought his status screen to view one last ti before the battle:
[John Sarack]
[Age: 21]
[Strength: 32.4]
[Vitality: 22.1]
[Agility: 42]
[Energy: 26.3]
[Skills: Quiet Steps (C), Critical Hit (D), Shockwave (D), Love ter, Appraisal (B), Shadow Claw (D), Haze Veil (C), Dagger Aura (B)]
[Skill Borrowing: Muscle Strengthening (D), Strength Buff (D), Berserker’s Rage (C), Fire Control (C)]
Not much had changed, but he now had 10 more Agility and Dalia’s Fire Control Skill. This was enough of a confident boost. He put the screen out of view and focused on the sight in front.
There were more n than John had ever seen within the confines of the university.
’He must have had these n stationed sowhere else,’ John thought as he leapt over and dodged trees, the ground beneath his feet sinking and rising as he tried to outpace the group to reach them first and just then, a man spotted John and yelled out in a frantic tone, "We’re being attacked!"
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