The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 211 - 205: Troop 276 - The Battle of Idaho City

Emily's funeral was small, heartfelt, and short. Troop 276 had always been aware that this was a possibility but, despite their experience and strength, they were still children. Death was something that happened to old people and people far away. Their small hearts had no way to reconcile what had happened.

But also, in the way of children, death and mortality were easily pushed aside when it was done.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Kristina's question was hushed, not wanting to disturb the children standing around their friend's body. They had placed her on a wooden bier behind the building, the ground too frozen for them to dig her a proper grave. Ben wanted to build a coffin that would dig itself into the ground, but there wasn't time and they knew it. They placed a rough-hewn box over her and Alex passed around small torches to each of them. Troop 276 stepped forward as one, each of them touching their torch to the pile of wood that had been expertly stacked underneath it. Warm crackling sounds turned into the roar of a bonfire as it caught.

"Kids are resilient," Todd said. "It's a tough thing that happened to them, but they're made of tough stuff. They'll be okay."

Kristina gripped Jim's hand tightly, both of them wiping tears from their eyes. "I hope so. They're good kids."

"Should we say a prayer or something?" Todd eyed the children standing a distance from the bier, holding hands.

"I'm going to," Kristina said, "but to myself. I don't think they need it."

"Well I sure as hell do. Too young - kids that young shouldn't have to face the things they face."

"Unfortunately, I think they're about to face worse." Kristina's statement was prophetic as dawn's light spread its cold, blue touch across the area and the mountain came alive.

Of the 200 or so residents of Idaho City, only a bit over half of them had answered Todd's call to gather at the Town Hall building. The rest had decided to hunker down in their houses and cabins, trusting to their own guns and defenses. Ben and Liam had been busy while the the others had been on their mission, and the town had pulled together. The residents had initially rejected and laughed off the kids' advice, but Todd had a lifetime of experience pulling them together, cajoling, convincing, and cracking heads as needed. In the end they had seen the dire need of the situation and, as long as the orders came from Todd and not the children, they were willing to do as they were asked.

Rough timber palisades had been constructed as six-foot walls, the tips sharpened and facing outwards. Spikes lined the walls and Ben had covered them in his explosive contraptions meant to entangle and hurt anything that tried to climb them. He and Liam had built makeshift scorpion-style crossbows that were mounted along the top where residents could fire heavy, if clumsy, lengths of sharpened wood a fair distance. The palisade hugged the back of the Town Hall close enough for the scorpions to be manned by people standing on its roof, the space in the front left wide open as a kill box. Ben had laid a wide array of traps across the area and Samantha had arrayed the townsfolk in strategic groups that focused their attention in key areas that would prevent friendly fire from hitting their own people. The best shots in town were on platforms with the people manning the scorpions, rifles to their shoulders and already sighting the woods and houses.

The town was a motley crew, all about equally equipped with pistols, rifles, hammers, axes, and even a few chainsaws that Liam had rigged up to exploit System energy. They ran faster and harder than before, not needing gas to fuel them. Many even sported glows of varying colors, imbued with a magical essence that Liam didn't fully understand but could tap into with his Tech Hunter and Emergency Engineering synergies. Many had asked him to do the same for their hatchets, axes, and machetes, but Liam's skilled only worked on old-world technology. The chainsaws barely fit the bill, and non-mechanical or non-technological items didn't hold the imbuements. He had managed to imbue magical elements into many of the modern compound bows and rifles, but had less success with the old guns, and none at all with the simple bows.The ones with magical abilities were down in the open space between the Town Hall and fortifications, saving what little power he could give them for when it was most needed.

This would be a melee battle of traps and hand-to-hand fighting first, with the magical weapons being saved for the end. Samantha had explained the importance and been grateful for the understanding in their eyes. These people lived simple lives, but they were not dumb. You didn't survive long up here by overreacting or playing the fool.

The first shots rang out, startling many of those below.

"Call out what you're seeing!" Todd's voice carried across the space, his skill allowing all to hear him.

"Timber Wolves - big bastards!" Someone called out before firing another shot.

"Some sort of rat things - wait, they're chinchillas, but nasty looking ones. Big as terriers!"

"Damn it, I need to get up there and see what we're facing!"

Samantha rushed after Todd. "I'm coming with you - I need a situation assessment." They climbed up a rough ladder, squeezing onto the small platform next to a woman firing into the distance. Without looking the woman reached back and handed Todd a pair of binoculars. He looked through them, cursed, and handed them off to Samantha.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She swept the binoculars in a wide arc, taking it all in, then began giving Todd orders.

"There's too many of the chinchillas, we'll waste all our ammo without taking out a quarter of them. The wolves look the most dangerous - I doubt they'll be able to climb the walls, but we don't want to let them inside. Take out the wolves - kill shots only. If they can't guarantee a kill, wait until they're closer. Let the chinchillas come, the wall traps should be enough to take them out."

Todd relayed the message and the shots slowed down. The wave of monsters was cresting into view and shots could be heard coming from the houses they passed. There was a shattering of glass and a pair of screams from one of the distance homes. Todd cursed again.

"Wolves - now!" Sam said and the shots rang out in earnest. Ammunition was not in short supply up here and they were burning through it at an insane rate. She scoped the area again and gave the update to Todd to relay. "Half of the wolves are dead, but the others are coming fast. I don't think the walls will keep them out. Have the scorpions take out what they can, then have everyone retreat below and fall into their assigned groups."

The scorpions began thwanging and snapping as they released their payloads, many of them eliciting yips and howls of pain as they did. The sound made everyone shuffle in place nervously and grip their weapons tighter - the scorpions didn't have a long range, which meant the creatures were close.

The walls were evacuated quickly, the people manning them scrambling or just jumping from the top to sprint through the minefield to join their makeshift squads. Before they had reached them, small popping sounds of Ben's traps could be heard from the walls, chinchilla screeches causing many to scrunch their faces in pain at the shrill sounds.

Small, furry forms began flooding over the walls in a rush, leaping from the top to fall in heaps on the ground. The ones on bottom cried out as their bones snapped from the fall and they were crushed by their comrades, but the others continued without pause. Snaps of bear traps, wire looped traps, and spiked mousetrap-looking contraptions came alive as the creatures rushed over them with abandon. By the time the last of the traps had been expended the chinchilla force was cut down by a third, although more were pouring over the walls. Even the traps on the walls had been expended.

The next few minutes was a mess of heavy booted stomps, hammers and axes hitting the ground, and arrows firing into the onrush of bodies.

"SAVE YOUR ARROWS!" Sam yelled. She didn't want to waste them on creatures that could be easily killed.

A man screamed and Sam turned to seem him being swarmed by chinchillas, their sharp teeth tearing into him. People rushed to his aid, pulling them off and suffering bites of their own, hurling the furry creatures down and stomping them to death. They were easy to kill as long as they were on the ground - the townsfolk's tough clothing and boots more than a match for their small teeth, but when they swarmed they were deadly.

The last of the rodents was pulled off of the man, exposing a torn and bloodied body underneath. There didn't appear to be an inch of flesh on him that hadn't been gnawed to the muscle. Sam rushed over, pushing people aside to lay hands on him. Healing energy closed the worst of the wounds but he was missing his nose, his bottom lip, and one of his eyes. One of his fingers had been chewed away and his clothes were in tatters. "Get him inside to Mia!" She cried and two men slid under his arms to rush him to the triage center that had been set up inside.

A cry of alarm got her attention and she turned to see a Timber Wolf pulling itself atop the palisade, balancing precariously on the sharpened top. It looked around at the group, a lupine smile showing long fangs. Soon others joined, leaping right to the tops and pulling themselves over.

"What is that?" Another cry and Sam searched for where it came from. Someone was pointing upward and Sam saw ghostly figures flying in spiraling loops towards them.

"It says they're Mountain Wraiths!" Someone called out, obviously having cast Identify. Arrows shot through their bodies, doing no damage as they passed through. Ghostly wails called out and everyone felt the chill of death slowing their movements and causing fear to bubble up inside of them.

"Magical bullets!" Sam called and shots rang out. The wraiths unraveled as the shots passed through them, but they were too fast - faster than any bird that these people had hunted. The flew down and through rows of people, and the people fell, shaking. Fear racked their bodies and their eyes swiveled in every direction, ice formed across their bodies where the wraiths had flown through them. One man clutched his chest and spasmed before going limp, his heart stopped.

The wolves took the opportunity to leap down and tear into the groups, each wolf almost as tall as a man's head. Groups hacked, slashed, and stabbed at the wolves, but the creatures ignored it all, biting and tearing into anyone that came within reach.

"Use the bombs!" Ben's small voice called out and the children in the back ranks stepped forward to throw their small contraptions at the wolves. Most hit the wolves, but plenty more hit people or the ground, spiked shooting out in all directions wherever they hit. Wolves yipped and danced backwards, pawing at the stinging burrs that lined their faces and bodies. People were dragged backwards, the bombs being ripped unceremoniously from their backs and arms while they cried out in pain.

The chaos was almost too much and Sam felt her badges growing hot under the constant stress of commanding the battle. She knew she'd probably advance them after this, but she had to live through it first.

"Guns - ghosts only! Ground support, group up!" They had practiced this maneuver for exactly this kind of scenario and the people slowly responded. The people fighting on the ground formed into two long lines, shoulder to shoulder. Behind them were the archers and marksmen. The wolves tried to dive in and separate them, but dozens of strikes drove them back each time. The group slowly turned, herding the wolves into a single pack of about two dozen of the beasts. Shots continued to ring out as more and more wraiths unraveled in the air.

When the last of the wraiths unraveled above them the tenseness in the air dropped by a degree as everyone took a moment to breathe. They pulled in tighter, forming the line in a half-circle that backed the wolves against the wall. The wolves snarled and spread out, but the townsfolk didn't let up their guard. The only thing more dangerous than a Timber Wolf was a cornered Timber Wolf.

Sam opened her mouth to issue a charge when someone screamed. All heads turned to see a man at the edge of the wall being lifted into the air by his head, a massive furry hand reaching over the palisade. A huge, furry head appeared behind it, large flat teeth in a too-wide mouth, eyes black and malicious. It pulled the screaming man closer and forced his torso into its mouth, biting into his with a wet squelching sound and a crunch of bone. Screams erupted throughout the crowd as the man's shoulders, head, and legs dropped to the earth. Sam looked around and saw two more sets of hands pulling the monsters up onto the walls.