Of Craters and Combat

John and Ela approached the foot of the bridge, drinking in the scale of ruin ahead of them. So many cars and trucks and military vehicles lay strewn about that it was hard to see very far along the bridge from ground level. Concrete barriers had been erected as a stopgap, but they too were toppled and broken, as if something had walked right through them.

“I really hope we don’t have to fight whatever did this,” the nervous nerd muttered to himself. “Rather not meet any of ‘em, but I’m guessing that’s not an option...”

“Any suggestions?” John asked, cautiously examining the area in front of them. “The map was pretty high level; I don’t have a good idea of a route through here.”

Ela crossed her arms, putting a finger on her cheek and nodding.

“We move slowly, clearing places where enemies could be hiding. The bridge did not seem too crowded from above,” she stated, calmly. “Stay behind me. My armor is better, and I specialize in close quarters defense.

She turned to him. “Between us, you have the better ranged spells and an option for handling groups. If we encounter any, try to break them up with your magic.”

John nodded his assent, deferring to the person with more actual combat training and experience. "Sounds good. Not all that different from my last plan. You sure you’re OK basically tanking?”

“Someone always has to be in front,” she said, a glib smile on her face. “If you are worried, then kill them before they can try and hit me.”

“I’ll do my best,” he chuckled back. “You said you’ve fought zombies and stuff before, right?”

“Not quite like the ones you described. No simple undead would have used a sword or magic.”

“That was just the boss, at least… For now.”

The blonde bit her lip. “I am making assumptions, since I have never fought these enemies, but human bones grow brittle after ****. Close combat is rarely ideal against the living dead, but if we are fortunate, then the enemies we face will not have magic to correct that weakness.”

She sighed.

“Stay close, in each other’s sight if at all possible. Be prepared to retreat if they attack in numbers.”

“Roger Roger.” He saluted.

That got a smile out of her.

With a plan determined, the two set out to cross the bridge, navigating cautiously around heaps of ruined steel and concrete. Above them, the neverending tempest began to grumble and churn.

---

Their footsteps echoed ominously off their surroundings.

John swallowed his own nerves as the pair crested the bridge. Nothing had disturbed their journey thus far. Yet every step he took was more and more shaky. They hadn’t found anything, not even corpses. They’d checked corners and cars and behind fallen concrete, and not a single enemy had appeared.

He hated the absence far more than he’d imagined.

Every second they spent without anything happening made his stomach roll. Where was everything? Were they waiting? Could the basic zombies he’d encountered before even do something like that? Had those been replaced by something superior?

The Gamer’s own imagination was a foe he was entirely unprepared to deal with.

’This is why I don’t play horror games…’

He sighed, looking at the beautiful blonde in front of him. Ela’s composure hadn’t faltered for a moment the entire time. Longingly, he wished for that kind of courage. ’Maybe there’s a stat for “don’t be a scaredy-cat…”’

Cautiously, the pair approached a wreck just past the midpoint of the bridge - a school bus, ripped in two. Each half had been violently slammed into the sides of the bridge, the metal crunched and folded over the concrete edges. The front half was turned on its side, and the fading yellow paint had been burned off of the front.

The windows that weren’t broken were splattered with thick black ooze.

John peered inside as they passed. Both halves were devoid of life, but the goo was stretched like webbing all throughout them. An overly curious part of his brain almost wanted to touch it.

’Oh man… I really hope nobody was in there.’

Ela took a few steps forward beyond the wreck. The bridge itself was cracked here, a distinctive crater carved out of the road. Whatever had hit here had done so with such impact that there was a small hole in the center, seemingly to the rising waters below.

This was the bridge’s weakest point, which had been visible even from the top of the lighthouse.

Rather than a smooth crater, the bridge had shattered into uneven ledges. Huge slabs of concrete had snapped into multiple levels, almost like warped and disfigured stairs. Most were a few feet long and a couple wide, and there were varying height differences. The blonde knight cautiously stepped forward to the edge examining the drop to the first layer in front of them.

Several police cruisers sat overturned, scattered around the various layers of destroyed concrete barricades. The remains of a tank joined them, its turret having been blown off at some point in the past. The front end of one of the smaller vehicles had been flattened to the floor on the closest ledge. The whole area was covered in ooze and scorch marks.

Ela put a hand up, halting John’s movement, and hopped down to the first step, landing with a hollow thud. The knight moved forward to examine the wreckage, stepping cautiously to make sure the slab wouldn’t move.

’What the hell could punch all the way through this much concrete?’ he wondered, crouching down on the edge his companion had just descended. ’No way this was some zombie… This had to have been something massi-’

The sound of shattering glass snapped him back to reality.

He turned as a twisted, bloody arm flew out, crashing through the window of a flipped car, clawing at Ela’s heels. Luckily, she’d already been jumping backwards as it had reached out at her. Landing safely away, she drew her axe up in front of her. Slowly, the unnaturally long limb slunk back underneath the wreck.

A throaty groan emanated from where it had come from.

Then, it was echoed all around.

A shiver ran down John’s spine.

Ela began backing up towards John, weapon raised, as a lanky, rotting monster crawled its way out from under the wreck, dragging itself over the broken glass of the window. Once, it had been a person, but those days were long gone. Its skin had been sheared almost completely off, leaving its bleeding flesh exposed. A gnarly mixture of black and red ran from its wounds. The bones on its fingers were worn to deadly points, stained a rusty orange.

This thing was far more inhuman than the Bloated Fisherman he’d encountered before. It howled with a chilling mixture of anguish and bloodlust.

John felt his heart drop as two more monsters shambled into view from the far side of the crater.

They looked similar to the other enemy that was slowly stumbling towards them, though these ones still had remnants of old clothes on. Their skin was dry and leathery, more decomposed than the enemies from his previous dungeon. The pair of walking corpses groaned and snarled with fervor, and he could feel aggression pouring off of them. Their limbs, though rotted thin, moved with unnerving strength.

More seemed to creep out and worm their way from underneath and behind all the car wrecks around, maybe a half dozen bloody undead in total had joined the first, boxing the duo in against the gap in the bus behind them.

None attacked yet. They stood, simply watching the pair. Uneasy tension settled on the clearing.

'Were these things waiting for us?' he thought, familiar adrenaline shooting into his veins. “Is-is this when we retreat?”

Ela's grip on her axe tightened. She took a deep breath and widened her stance, her bony armor scraping against pavement. The muscles in her arms flexed and her suit rippled with mana. "How strong are they?"

"One second," he shot back, leveling his staff against the nearest enemy.

’Definitely stronger…’ The Gamer thought, allowing his analytical brain to take over for a second. ’I was able to one shot the ones from the last dungeon, but not these ones. Even my [Lesser Earth Spike] isn’t in range anymore. Better hope my staff puts in some work…’

"They're a higher level than last time," he said, swallowing nervously. "They’ve got more health, but not a lot. Might mean their upgrades were in damage stats."

"Back up." Ela slid over, placing herself between John and the creatures.

"Wha-?"

"Try and pick them off as they approach. I will not let them touch you." She stood resolute in front of him.

The Gamer heard the knight that she’d trained to be, instead of the bubbly blonde he’d been with this whole time. Her absolute confidence was calming.

Cautiously, John took one step back from the edge he’d been standing on, planting the base of his staff on the ground. The instant that he began to channel a [Lesser Air Burst], something snapped.

The Ravenous Ghouls cried all together and rushed forward with speed rivaling the Abomination that The Gamer had faced previously. They hurled themselves down the various ledges on the far side of the crater, bounding towards the slabs that John and Ela were on.

Everything was cold suddenly.

Every fiber of his being told him to run. John's legs began to tremble as the reality of oncoming **** set in. A single, hollow tap on the ground cut through everything to reach his mind.

Ela took another step forward. Her action sent a bolt down The Gamer’s spine, and he remembered to try and be useful.

Warmth and mana had been swirling within him, the familiar feeling of air magic, now blessed by the enchantments in his staff. He hardened his nerves as best he could, feeling the familiar surge of adrenaline as he convinced his body that he’d chosen fight over flight.

Exhaling, The Gamer let loose a now partially charged [Lesser Air Burst], a radiant golden projectile soaring over Ela's head. Its warmth was comforting, fighting back the cold of his fear.

It crashed with a satisfying sizzle into the first undead they’d seen, its holy-converted magic damage searing into corrupted flesh before exploding. The monster kept moving. Its flesh was alight with holy fire, and yet it charged undeterred. Its sharpened claws were outstretched, greedily grasping for flesh.

Ela didn’t flinch.

The knight sprung like a mousetrap, her eyes ablaze in green. She slipped underneath the creature's wayward limbs and brought her axe upward with a mighty crunch. In a single strike, she cleaved upwards, snapping one of its arms like a twig. Whirling, the Pole brought the axe up with all her might, slamming into the creature’s jaw. Its neck twisted back at a sickening angle.

With a final kick, she shoved the creature backwards, and it collapsed, lifeless, falling step over step down to the hole in the bridge.

’Holy cow…’

“Eyes forward!” Ela called. “Here comes the rest!”

Brought back to the moment, The Gamer turned to take his channeling position again as the other six enemies dashed towards them, clambering over each other to scale the sides of the crater. The first of the new enemies had made its way up and lunged at the blonde, close enough now to show off its red and black stained teeth, bits of decay spewing from its maw as it howled.

It didn't make it much farther.

Ela’s axe was as swift as it had been the first time, batting aside flailing strikes to find her own opening. She shoved the creature’s arms upward, giving space to draw her weapon back and slam it into this ghoul’s thigh. Its leg bent and snapped, and it fell to its knee, jaw still snapping with unending hunger.

She brought her axe down into the creature’s skull, caving it inward. The enemy went limp, lifeless. Muddy scarlet leaked from its wounds.

Another climbed up from the other side, behind her. It dove at her, but she ducked, effortlessly, as if she had seen it happen already. She sidestepped, allowing the creature’s charge to pass her.

Once more Ela moved with purpose, a single, precise swipe across the undead's back crunched into its spine. With a nasty pop, bits of bone followed the blonde's weapon out the other side, and the monster tripped, its legs twitching.

With a cry of effort, Ela brought her axe up with both hands, then down into the torso of her fallen foe, finishing it off.

As she confirmed yet another kill, John completed channeling another [Lesser Air Burst]. He’d poured even more mana into this one, trying to dial in how much extra damage he needed to kill these things. The warmth of the holy infusion in the air was soothing, even in the middle of battle. There was a oneness with this sensation that he enjoyed.

Calming his breath, The Gamer concentrated, all of his energy poured into aiming his next shot. He needed to pass by his ally, and stop the next grouping from reaching them. Wordlessly, he thanked the lady behind his powers for the kindness of skill targeters.

Once more, holy winds whipped around him, sent flying against his foes. They flew past Ela as she ripped her axe from the corpse at her feet. This second projectile of blessed air impacted a ghoul that had just climbed up, burning its leathery skin before popping into its larger AoE.

Another enemy was caught in the blast, and both were stopped in their tracks, knocked backwards down the crater by vibrant green mana, leaving golden flames to dance across their freakish bodies.

The final two enemies were already upon his companion as The Gamer turned to help.

Ela dodged a rotten arm aimed for her head, seizing it in her armored grip and twisting. Her biceps glowed and she torqued it further until it snapped, bringing the back of her axe upward into the ruined limb and tearing it off completely. The sudden lack of resistance caught her off-guard, and she stumbled backwards.

Discarding the severed piece, she had no time to regain her footing before the final enemy tried to grab her from behind. She had little room to dodge, sandwiched between the two, though she twisted enough that the ravenous undead caught her right arm instead of her neck.

It tried to sink its horrid teeth, stained with blood and black ooze, into her flesh, only to be denied by the unyielding plates on her armor-clad arm. John thought he heard something snap.

Her HP bar moved for the first time in the fight, though only by a few percent.

As John prepared to cast, he realized that friendly fire might be on. His stomach caught in his throat. In a panic, he tried to aim a [Lesser Earth Spike] instead, but his blonde companion was too close to her enemy, caught in its maw. Was he supposed to wait while she fought two of them? Or dive in to help?

Ela grunted in pain, but kept on her feet, spinning to gain position on the creature and shoving it back into the car the first had come from. It refused still to unlock its jaw, and she resigned herself to breaking it. The suit she wore began to thrum as more mana passed into it, its black fiber beginning to shine with verdant green mana.

She pulled back, her muscles flexing, then heaved forward with all her strength, denting the metal of the car with **** as she slammed the creature’s head into it. Using her leverage, she pinned her axe against the undead, slowly prying her arm free.

Behind her, the wounded enemy had regained its footing.

John’s mind was made.

Adrenaline shot through his veins, and time seemed to slow.

He lept.

The creature lunged, only to be met by the full body weight of John Newman, slamming himself into its side. The adrenaline-fueled alchemist bowled over the ghoul, following it sideways as the two tumbled to the ledge below. The landing knocked the wind out of John’s lungs. Scrambling to his feet, John tried to get a [Lesser Air Burst] together, gusts of green swirling around his arm and staff.

Unfortunately, just as The Gamer completed the spell, his enemy was upon him again, batting him sideways with its remaining arm. The green and amber burst went flying off in a random direction. Without the element of surprise, he might as well have been his old, non-magic self, fighting Frank. A rotting arm whacked his chest again, and he was thrown off his feet once more.

A chunk of his HP bar vanished.

The crumbling concrete was cold, and sharp bits dug into his back. Sickening feelings arose in The Gamer as his target threw its weight upon him. Suddenly a snapping jaw was in his face, and he'd barely had the time to switch weapons and catch his crowbar in it before he'd lost his nose. The creature was so heavy, and even its worn-to-bone body had the strength to pin him effortlessly.

It took all he could muster in both his arms to keep **** at bay.

He choked, the monster’s pressure on his chest immense. Ribs bruising, his HP bar began to drain as the air was **** from his lungs.

Panic began to set in.

His nostrils curled as he began to feel and smell the putrid air from the creature’s ravenous snarls on his face.

Idly, part of him wondered if they actually needed to breathe.

Then he heard something in a language he didn't know. A mighty yell preceded a snapping of ribs as Ela kicked the monster in the side so hard it rolled off John and over a few times, only coming to a stop with an echoing thud as it contacted one of the wrecks. The sound of a body hitting steel rang out across the bridge.

As he caught his breath in his throat, the Pole leapt over him, the suit over her thighs glowing, green mana tracing lines through its fibers. She bounded forward, power behind every step, pulling her axe behind her as she approached the zombie.

Her back twisted, the full weight of her body behind her final strike, she swung for the fences. The bone-bladed axe slammed into their last enemy, and chopped straight through. Bone met flesh, and then steel, an even lounder CLANG consuming the echoes of the previous sound.

Experience numbers began to rack up as his xp bar moved across the bottom of his vision.

’You know, I can’t wait for the day I get to finish one of these fights standing.’