Chapter 5: 5. Horde

 

“Is that someone on the bridge?” Callum asked as they grew closer to it.

“Looks like it!” Rachael said with enthusiasm oozing in her voice.

However, the shadowy figure in the fog rushed to the far side and disappeared among the buildings before they could get close. Damn! Did we scare them off? Callum wondered as he peered into the blanket of fog covering his line of sight. He shivered as it wrapped around them as they set foot on that old structure.

It’s so weird! Why is it always so cold with this green light? He glanced at Rachael, who wore a stern expression on her face.

“Try to be as quiet as possible and stay close. So far, I don’t see anything, but they’re out there somewhere.”

Rachael led the way across the bridge as she glanced into the depths of the river now and then. The buildings on the opposite bank looked to be in worse condition than the ones they had left behind. Which made little sense to Callum. He could not stop his eyes from moving to the numerous dark, grimy windows. It feels like they’re watching us.

“How do we even hunt the Gobs?” Callum asked as he tore his attention away from the windows.

“Gobs?”

“Yeah, those furry creatures. That’s what I call them.”

“Oh, gobs huh?” Rachael paused for a moment before giving out a soft chuckle. “I like that. Because of their enormous mouth, right?”

Callum nodded as he waited for her response to his own question.

“Anyway, there’s not much we can do except look around. It would be best if we can find some that are alone or in small groups. Between the two of us, we could probably handle three or four of them at a time. We just have to make sure we keep enough will to make our way back. Oh, right. Try not to use your Time card unless you really feel you have to and warn me first so I can use Dash.”

Callum frowned as an old newspaper blew past them in the mind. “Wouldn’t it be better to use our abilities? There’s less chance of getting injured that way.”

“True, but what would you do if you had, say, four counters left? Then we ran into a situation where your Time Lock could’ve saved us, but you can’t use it? Honestly, take it from me. It’s definitely best to only use our cards when it’s necessary. Plus, that means we can hunt more of them before we turn back.”

Callum noticed a bright smile on her face, which made him shudder. I get the feeling she enjoys this. Don’t tell me she’s some kind of battle junkie? He silently groaned at the thought. It would be difficult to convince her to turn back when he wanted to if that were the case.

A rancid smell suddenly filled the air as Callum’s eyes teared up. Ugh! What the hell is that? Rachael smirked before covering her mouth and nose. She nodded her head towards a large steaming pile of excrement on the road ahead.

“Ugh, that’s vile!” Callum covered his lower face with the collar of his jacket as best as he could. “Take it that means we’re close?”

“Definitely.” Rachael nodded as she studied the buildings on either side of them. “They usually only do that where they feel safe. There’ a chance this area has become a nest for them.”

Callum’s body tensed up as he frantically searched the nearby buildings with his eyes. Rachael’s comment made him worried that a rain of gobs could crash through those windows and doors at any moment! However, the street remained silent, despite how wary the pair had become.

“Looks like we’re fine for now.” Rachael said with a soft voice as she set off down the street again. “We’re probably on the outskirts of their territory.”

“Shouldn’t we look around here? Going further in is bound to be bad news!”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared?”

Callum’s face flushed red at her accusation. Obviously, he was scared, but he could not just admit that to a cute girl! If he was going to be stuck in this world, then there was no harm in considering his romantic options for further down the line.

“No, but until I get used to the streets and how to fight here, I’d rather just be safe than sorry.” Was what he actually said as his eyes darted to the buildings again.

“Cool, I get that. At least you're not brain dead. But it would slim pickings here and we’d waste too much time. We’ll get more fragments if we go further in.”

A few minutes passed as they continued to follow that road before Rachael waved at Callum to stop. A kitchen knife appeared in her hand as she trained her gaze on a large broken window. Callum gulped as she pointed towards and carefully headed in its direction. It was then he noticed that the hand she held the knife with was shaking.

Guess she’s just as nervous as me. His eyes went to the window as his hammer appeared in his own hand. Callum’s knuckles turned white as he did his best to not make a sound in following her. He could feel his heart pounding like a drum as his ears picked up the sound of something shuffling around inside the building. What if it’s the person we saw on the bridge?

However, a quick glimpse of fur shut down that doubt. He looked towards Rachael, who signalled with her free hand he should deal with it. Fuck off! Seriously? Why do I have to do it? Callum gulped as he felt sweat forming on his scalp. How am I even meant to get in there without alerting it?

Rachael furiously pointed to the door laying ajar just behind him. Damn it! He cursed as he crept up the three stone stairs to it. The wood of the door was rough and cold to the touch as he gently pushed it open at arm’s length. Callum kept his hammer raised to react to anything he may encounter, but he could still hear the gob rummaging through the contents of the room to his right.

The wallpaper in the entrance was old, like something out of the seventies. Dark stains covered it where it had not been torn by what looked like claws. Wait? What caused that? Gobs don’t even have arms! His heart quickened its pace at the thought of an unknown threat lurking somewhere in the area.

However, he pushed himself onwards. The smell of damp mould invaded his nostrils as his boots disturbed the ruined crimson carpet. Oh god no! He rapidly pinched his nose before he could sneeze. At that moment, although he had prevented himself from making a noise, the house grew silent!

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Panic filled Callum’s mind as he peered through the doorway that led to the room that the gob had occupied. However, it was nowhere to be seen! All he could see at that moment was the ruined upholstery of a couch, glass all over the floor, and smashed photo frames. Where did the bastard go? He grimaced as he slid into the room.

BANG!

A table and the light sitting on it went flying as a massive dark figure rushed towards him! Shit! Callum grunted as the gob head-butted him, sending him sprawling against the wall next to the window!

His vision swam as he barely registered the two life counters disappearing from the rear of his left hand. God dammit! That hurts like hell! Rage took over his mind as he stumbled back to his feet.

The gob was busy rolling on the floor like a hairy egg. Desperately attempting to get back on its own feet. Callum yelled as he brought the hammer in his hand down on its head! The gob squeaked furiously as Callum unrelentingly pounded on it. His breathing became ragged as he heard footsteps from behind him. However, he did not bother to even turn around. Instead, he vented his anger on the helpless gob as blood and flesh spread across the room from his assault!

“Cal! That’s enough! It’s already dead!”

Callum heaved in a deep breath as he glared at her before turning back to the gob. She was right, of course. But that only made him wonder why he had not noticed it.

“Dude, you seriously have some anger issues.”

Rachael clicked her tongue as the gob’s corpse glowed with a white light. The fragments drifted through the foul air and into Callum, who felt strangely warm when they made contact. Once the light faded, he turned towards Rachael and stormed out of the door!

“Yo! Cal!” Rachael said as she caught up to him on the street outside. “What are you doing?”

“I just had to get out of there.”

Rachael watched on with a concerned gaze as Callum deeply filled his lungs with air. Her gaze went on the blood on his hands and the scraps of flesh in his hair.

“Come here, you.”

She sighed as she made him bend over so she could reach the fleshy remains and carefully removed them. She looked him over with an attentive gaze. After a second, she spotted the two missing life counters.

“What happened in there?”

“The damn thing got the jump on me!” Callum clenched his jaw as he balled his hands into fists. Which reminded him he still had his hammer out.

“Ok.” Rachael said after a long moment. “Let’s just take our time and try to calm down. On the bright side, you managed to kill one without using your time card. So you did pretty well.”

She rubbed his shoulder in what Callum guessed was supposed to be a comforting way. Instead, he felt humiliated. Like he was somehow less of a man because he was more affected by what had happened than Rachael. That’s just stupid. What the hell am I thinking?

Callum sighed as he looked down the street. “Thanks, Rachael.”

“No problem.” She shrugged her shoulders as she fiddled with her baseball cap. “Do you think you can go on?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Ok, well let’s take a look… Did you hear that?”

Rachael’s body tensed up as she glanced nervously back along the road in the bridge's direction. Callum frowned as he listened intently, but he heard nothing. He was about to ask what she had heard when a far off sound reached him. A shiver slivered down his spine as his eyes went wide.

“Um, Rachael…”

“Shit! Shut up and run, Cal!”

Adrenaline pounded through Callum’s body as they took off down the street. “Rachael, what the hell is that noise?”

“It’s a damn horde! They’ve emptied their nest! We have to get off this road and find another way to get back to the library!”

Callum cursed as he heard that. How many gobs are in a horde? The sounds of uncountable different squeaks overlapping each other grew closer by the second. How the hell did they get between us and the bridge?

Callum’s mind raced as he tried to understand what was going on. It was as if those creatures knew they had invaded their domain. But just thinking that they had enough intelligence to cut off their escape route without being noticed made Callum feel sick.

“Quick! Let’s cut through there!”

Rachael led the way through an archway between homes. Their footsteps echoed off its walls as they darted through it, entering the back gardens belonging to those houses. They frantically climbed the ruined wooden fences that separated the gardens as they glanced around anxiously.

The squeaking sounds grew louder, amplified by the dark passage through the archway they had passed through less than a minute before. Callum turned his head to look. However, he was suddenly pulled to the ground as a chilly hand wrapped itself over his mouth!

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