Samantha’s POV
“Okay, Ladies and Gentleman! The mist is covering the city as of now, the survivors are wearing gas mask to protect themselves from the toxins in them. While we are immune to its effects, I know it jump starting our organs again.” I listened as Shandi goes into details about the situation we are in. “I need to know if you have questions, speak them now before we go into the debriefing.”
“Shandi, we should evacuate instead of fighting the waves of the dead. It would take no sense if we choose to stay here and fight.” I asked her we should evacuate instead of staying here to fight.
“To where, girl? Even if we could, there are too many of the dead for us to bust our way out. And the folks here aren’t gonna leave their home, they would die than to consider it.” I see her logic but… “But we are immune to the effects of the mist and you Samantha, you are good in a fight.”
“Yes, ma’am I am!” I nodded, Shandi walked closer to my face. “I’m sorry, I should have-”
“No, just call me Shandi, I ain’t no ma’am. And we are gonna Solider whatever you want to or not.” I smiled… this woman ain’t afraid of getting her hands dirty in this.
“No, I plan to fight and I am not afraid of getting all bitten up to do it.” I pulled my bio-blade, I made my decision on the matter. “Technically, we are the front-line fighters, correct?”
“That is correct, corpse!” Burk! “Most of the survivors are already in position in the city walls and on the ground. Got those guns, ready to go.”
“How’s Christie, chump?” It fluttered Burk when she asked that.
“She’s all right, she is handling those gunners and is in charge of them.”
The game plan to defend Price
“Okay, here is the strategy. Samantha!” I came as soon as she called me. “Lead the Northern Quadrant up there, choose your team of people and have a second of command.”
“Will do!” I responded, now I will have to gather a group of them.
“Barty! Take the Western Quadrant and take only 5 of your best with you. I know you prefer working alone.” He nods without question. “Jenny!”
“Yes, ma’am!” Shandi rolls her eyes at her. “I meant Shandi.”
“Can ya scout?” Jenny’s smile lights up like a kid in a candy store.
“I can and I can disguise myself as one of the dead.”
“Work with Curtis and the others, we need intelligence! Gonna operate blindly without it.” Shandi turns to Nickie! “Can you handle the Southern Quadrant?”
“Yes, Shandi. We got this.”
“I’ll join with them on the southern lines.” Jason volunteer to be deployed on the front lines.
“No, Jason, I need ya to stay here.” It surprised him that Shandi suggest he stay as support.
“I can make myself useful in a fight, I don’t want people to think-”
“You misunderstood me… I need you to stay here since I know you have a good head on your shoulder, plus you also may have over one Powerset and you are gonna to be the city’s last line of defense should anything happen to us.”
“Plus, I have noticed you are getting to be more skilled each day and willing to push your limits to discover what you can do. I agree with Shandi. You are better off staying in the city.”
“Can you boost my telepathy, Jason?” Jason walked over to Brad. He clapped his hands, surging with energy… I can feel it, too! It felt like I’ve gotten stronger.
“Can you hear me everyone?” Wow… Jason has definitely boosted the range of Brad’s communication range.
“Neat trick… Jason.” I guess even Burk saw that Jason actually can boost the abilities of the other Sentients.
“I won’t let you down, guys!”
“Just don’t because our asses are riding on the line.” Burk head off to coordinate the defenses.
“Okay then, I will stay here with Brad to help the others here in the community.” Shandi nods in approval. She knows Jason would be a big help here than out there.
“Any Objections?” We nodded in unison. We have nothing to object to. “You have your orders, dismissed!”
The northern quadrant
“So here we are… All geared up for a war. Ironically, against our own kind.” The woman’s name is Mindy, I chose her because she is a deadly shot with her nails, being able to pierce enough armor. Also, for her ability to be an effective communicator when I need to issue orders within a moment’s notice.
“Yes, never thought we would have to fighting that many of the dead.” I noticed Mindy is munching on a candy bar. Ah! I remember we can consume regular food when the mist is active.
“I know you probably be wondering what am I eating a candy bar in a time like this? I have a couple if you like.”
“I’ll take some.” I took the candy bar and munched on it. Remembering the chocolate cover, crunchiness and almond-tasting flavor. I had one of those since I was young… never thought I would taste some now.
“Thank the mist, for letting us eating some good snacks for once!” I smiled, I am grateful for that too.
“Guys! The dead are coming this way!” Brad cut it short. “They have stalkers and Pinners there.” Pinners?
I remember I fought those Pinners before we met Jason. Pinners are very dangerous zombies with the ability to paralyze their victims before they feed on you. Because we already dead, the paralyzing agent doesn’t last long but if you are living however…
“Behind you!” I saw a Pinner nearly used its needle on its arm to paralyze her. Before I can move toward her, she suddenly left without a trace. I saw her upside down, firing her nail on top of the Pinner who didn’t see her coming.
“You are not the only one with super speed.” I simply shrugged.
“Brad, can you update my group that we encountered the pinners?”
“Already did, Sam. In fact, Jason was the one that alert them the other groups to be on the lookout for them.” I knew he was not an ordinary freeloader, I glad we brought him along. “Sam, you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.” I turned toward the direction… The horde is coming down, the mist is influencing their behavior to their point where they are coming as a flood. “Gotta go!”
The battle at the northern part of the city
As I ran toward the horde of the dead, I took notice that the dead usually walk or stumble upon a city or town. They would usually deal with them using distraction and misdirection. Here, however, I see another version of the dead who is on a mad dash to get into the city, distraction will not work in this case.
I jumped high into the sky, plunge my blade down to the earth on one of the dead. I swung my arms, slicing up any of the dead that I can reach. One of them bit on my arm, I returned the favor by stabbing it with my blade. One of them attempted to swipe at me with its claws, growling as it made its way to me.
I turned my blade into a tentacle and whip it around the surrounding area. My power is mostly Bioblade, Tracking and Super Speed, however, with Bioblade… I can shape my blade into any form I wish which I turned it into multiple tentacles to clear a group of them.
I fought my way to one of my teammates who was blasting with Nuclear energy. I watch as he glowed with energy, melting through most of the horde. Good thing that I don’t want to smell that, it would not be pleasant.
“Mindy! Talk to me.” Using the communication through Brad, he linked them up before we left the wall of the city. “What is your status?”
“You will not believe this, but I saw one breeding more of the dead.” What…? “I’ll call it a breeder. That thing is spawning more of the dead.”
“That will overrun the settlement if we leave it alone, especially when it can reproduce the dead.” Damn it… A large horde is bad enough, but a breeder… This is not a war against the dead…. This is going to be a battle of attrition “I’ll take care of it, where it is located?”
“From 3 miles to your right, see multiple spores on it’s back? That’s the breeder!” I sprinted toward the breeder, I saw it… it is spawn more of the dead that will head toward us. “Hang there, I’ll be sending some back up!”
“No, I got this!” I charged toward the breeder, I swung my tentacles at its spawn which it growled at me killing them.
When the breeder charged toward me, I dodged its right hooks using my super speed to predict its movement. I turn my tentacles into power saw; I wasted no time hacking its right arm to where it came out of its body. Now the head!
Before I can move toward it, I felt hands that grabbed my legs. I can’t move! I saw it was a leftover of the spawn that is holding me in place. One opened of its mouth to bite me on my neck. They brought me to my knees as the Breeder grabs its right arm and re-attached it as if nothing happened. It picked me up, as it opens its jaw….
Shit... Multiple tentacles came out of its mouth, I can’t fight my way out of it, its grip makes it near impossible for me to break free. It came close to devour me whole when... It screamed in agony; that was enough to release me from its grip.
“Hang tight!” A man raised his palms. It is glowing with green energy. He is using flames to remove the spawn that are still holding on to me. All without burning my armor.
“Thanks!” I turned toward the breeder who generating multiple tentacles to ensure we cannot get near again. “Can you use your flames to get closer to it?”
“I can, but you will have to use your super speed once I make an opening. You have one shot, ma’am!” I nodded.
As the breeder slam down one of its tentacles, the man used his flamethrower to burn away most of the tentacles that came at him, while I cut down any that got too close. As soon he make an opening, I dashed toward its head; I jammed the bio-blade on its head.
However, one tentacle penetrates my back, it’s… It’s trying to reach my brain. I must hurry and destroy its brain first. The deeper I got my blade into it, the more the creature’s tentacles caused pain through my body. Grr… Almost there…
“Ma’am, get off of it now! It’s almost at your brain.” I know that… Gotcha! I pierced its brain using my blade… Why am I still feel it coming through… “Hurry and get out of there, the tentacle is at your brain.” The creature… is still alive, I pierce its brain! How is it…
I heard a deafening wail from the breeder… I felt the tentacle disappearing from my body.
“Touchdown! Chad! Oh, yeah!” Oh, he is the one that saved me? I pulled my blade as I jumped out of the way while the breeder fell to the ground. “Samantha, you all right?”
“Thanks for saving my life, but how did you know where to strike?” I am rather curious how he pulled it off.
“Mindy was the one who told me. We can only kill the breeder when you destroyed the brain and heart simultaneously, It looks like it almost killed you there, glad I came in the nick of time.”
“Then we need to clean up the rest.” Chad moved in front of me.
“That is not the only breeder, there are a dozen of them and more of them are coming.” Oh…
“This is not right, we take out one breeder, are you saying there is more than one of them?!” My heart sank when I realized there is more of them to deal with. One of them almost killed me, even when I penetrated its brain.
“Ma’am! There is another Breeder. 3 of them!” I snapped back to attention. As long as those breeders keep coming, they will be no end to this.
I summoned both Bio-blades into my arms and charged toward the next breeder. How many are there?!
