They moved forward with speed, but carefully and silently. They were about forty meters from the back of the attacking mobs when he made eye contact with his mother, who stood a bit to the side, looking for them. She shouted something he couldn’t hear, but the effect was clear.

  Two orange glowing glass spheres flew over the wall, into the mass of warriors pushing and banging against the gate.

  Ben signaled his friends and they sprinted forward, flying towards their enemies.

  The glass spheres shattered and flames shot out with a roar, Ben couldn’t see the impact, but the commotion covered their approach.

  Within seconds, they were among the Retskuls. Ben used the momentum of his charge to ram into one of the archers, who flew forward like a rag doll, taking down two more. Tumbling to the ground, he used his momentum to swing his axe at a shaman, who collapsed with a deep cut into its rib cage.

  Ben saw Michael stabbing left and right, Anne fighting with unerring precision, and Jamal hitting the enemy line like a freight truck. Between them, within seconds, half of the ranged fighters were down.

  That’s when the first leader turned around and screeched.

  Ben pushed on and took out one more shaman. He saw Anne take an arrow to the chest and Jamal pushing ahead. The momentum was theirs, a few more seconds and they could take down the whole section of their enemies…

  “Retreat!”

  If they stayed, they might be able to take the leaders, but their strength was unclear and they couldn’t take them down before at least some of the shamans and warriors would join the fight and then they would die.

  He held out for one more second, took down one more enemy archer, but then he turned around and grabbed Anne, who was clearly struggling, being hit hard and losing blood. Then he ran like the wind. A few arrows were flying in their direction, but there weren’t many. A [Flame Spark] hit him in the shoulder and burned away parts of his armor, but he kept running.

  In seconds they had reached the forest cover and they knew that they were faster than the enemies, so they should be safe now, but they didn’t relent.

  They turned left, until they were on the west side of the settlement. There they returned to the clearing and ran to the palisades. Helping hands took Anne off of him and helped them to quickly scale the wall.

  Ashley, the doctor, was waiting for them, feeding Anne a health potion while removing the arrow from her chest. Fortunately, her armor kept it from going too deep.

  He quickly confirmed that Jamal and Michael were ok, then ran towards the north side of the settlement.

  “What is the status?” he asked his mother the moment he reached her.

  “They have retreated for the moment. Adam has received a perk that allows him to strengthen our walls. We believe that around fifteen of the ranged fighters perished during your attack. The firebombs were effective and killed three to five each and causing even more confusion. Including everything else we did, we probably took fifteen or so of the melee fighters out. That means we have about forty enemies left.”

  During the conversation, his sister had briefly joined them to cast a healing spell on his shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed how much pain the burn wound had caused him, thanks to the adrenaline.

  Forty left. Ben didn’t know how to feel about that. Their plan had sort of done what it was supposed to, but at the same time, the remaining enemy forces still included their leaders.

  “They are coming back!” The shout jolted him from his thoughts. He jumped on the footrest of the wall, and indeed, the Retskuls were running towards them. This time, a more homogeneous mass—single-minded in their desire to breach the walls.

  The big wooden bar keeping the gates closed moved from the pressure on the other side. Still holding… but for how long?

  With his axe he couldn’t do anything, and even if he took a spear from one of the defenders, there was no way to properly reach the center of the mob pressing against the wall as there was no footrest on the gate itself.

  His mother created another bunch of thick roots shooting from the ground, crushing a handful of opponents. Damien cast one [Flame Spark] after another.

  He didn’t believe the gate would hold. The monsters would enter the Protectorate. Given the numbers, the defenders might prevail. But at what cost? How many of his friends and citizens would die?

  He turned to his mother, “Have the ranged fighters focus on their shaman and scouts. I think I can buy us time.”

  With that, he took a deep breath and… jumped.

  [Agile Body] must have helped because he managed to first land on the shoulders of one warrior, crushing him with his 90 kilos of body weight, and from there land safely in the gap that he had created. He used his momentum for a vicious top-to-bottom slash that killed another of his enemies.

  From there, he kept the offense going and did not stop. Enter. Stand. Breathe. Strike. Strike.

  He felt the attacks hitting him. He knew he should dodge and block, but he didn’t.

  He heard several crashes behind him, but he didn’t look. He attacked. Another Retskul fell to his attack.

  He saw Jamal appearing beside him. He felt Michael’s presence as the attacks on his back ceased—at least slightly.

  A hammer hit him on the left shoulder. He lost control over the arm and switched to one-handed attacks.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  He heard a roar that he had heard once before, followed by more crashes, and while repositioning, he saw the fearsome sight of his mother with the silver outline of a bear covering her, tearing into the enemy.

  He kicked. He swung. He killed.

  For the first time, he saw Barry going all out. Every kick and punch—precise, incapacitating, even lethal.

  He heard a scream behind him, Jamal swearing. A softer landing. His mother, no longer in bear form, shouting for Jamal to protect the doctor.

  He didn’t count. There were still enemies all around. He kept attacking. Trying to use [Cleave].

  A system message popped up.

  Attention. Perk [Cleave] has forcibly evolved into [Frenzy] — In heated battle your Body attribute is raised by 2, Mind increasingly reduced with duration of battle, after battle Body reduced by 2 until rest. Uncommon

  He ignored it. He felt himself getting stronger, but the environment got even hazier.

  He sensed more than saw an attack incoming that he knew he could not ignore. Defend. Stand. Defend. Breathe. Strike. A miss. The leader he was fighting was fast and skilled.

  Ben tried to look for tells. But he was exhausted and in pain. It was hard.

  His opponent was fighting with a spear. It had the reach advantage, despite being shorter than Ben. One attack was stopped by his armor; the second pierced his leg.

  He feinted with his almost useless left arm. It was not enough. But a black crow dove from the sky, distracting the Retskul in this moment. Ben took a step forward and cut deep into his opponent’s neck.

  He sensed a small hand on his shoulder and the warm feeling of a healing spell coursing through him, relieving some of his pain.

  After a few seconds, he could feel his arm again and resumed a two-handed fighting style.

  Just ten meters to his right, he saw both of the remaining leaders make their way through their troops, heading for Barry and his mother, who stood behind him.

  He created enough space around him so that the doctor could retreat safely, Jamal covering her. Then he went on another rampage. This time cleaving a way forward with purpose. He needed to get to the leaders before they could get to Barry and his mother.

  A Retskul before him perished as an arrow hit it in the chest. Another got hit with a [Flame Spark] in the face. Ben took advantage of the opening, striking the burning enemy.

  Five meters and three enemies separated him from the leaders. The weaker one saw him and moved towards him, closing the distance in less than a second, attacking viciously with a swing of its sword.

  Ben dodged once, twice. Took a cut to his arm above his bracer. He saw the main leader advance towards Barry.

  Another arrow provided the distraction he needed. The Retskul ducked, opening himself to a kick to the face, followed by a swing to the throat.

  Barry was facing the leader. Dodging. Weaving. Clearly superior technique, but with a reach disadvantage against his opponent’s spear, and probably also weaker.

  Ben hacked right, clearing the last opponent between him and the leader, and then leaped forward, blocking an attack, opening an avenue for Barry to land a kick to the inner leg. The lizardkin crashed to one knee—an opportunity Ben didn’t waste. With a decisive cut, he decapitated his enemy.

  He wanted to rest, but enemies still stood. The [Frenzy] pushed him forward. [Calm] was helpless.

  He turned left to the largest group of enemies when he saw something flying. A second later, fire roared and enemies burned. Another firebomb.

  This was too much for the Retskuls. Fewer than ten lizardkin remained. They turned and fled.

  Ben did not have the strength to follow them, but a couple of arrows did and downed two more.

  He sat down. In the middle of the carnage and with enemies still in sight, he sat down.

  Completely drained of all Energy. He felt the temporary strength of [Frenzy] leave him.

  The gate opened and he saw people running out. He struggled to compute all that happened around him.

  His mother stepped to his side, a bloody wound on her arm, “Come on son, get up. This isn’t over, yet.”

  He slowly stood up. His heart still beating rapidly.

  Jamal, Michael, Barry, and a couple of others stood a few meters closer to the gate in a group, looking towards something on the ground between them.

  Something, or someone…

  Ben accelerated and moved towards them.

  Simon.

  Simon, who had been with them for almost a decade. Who had been quiet, but funny when he spoke up. Who had been a diligent coworker and who had always volunteered to help, before and after Arrival Day, lay dead between them, a deep wound in his chest.

  Ben reeled. He didn’t know what to say or what to think.

  He kneeled down beside Simon, gripped his shoulder and closed his eyes. Trying to get his feelings under control. A tear rolling down his face. [Calm] working overtime but being outmatched by his emotions.

  “What happened?”

  It was actually Ashley, the doctor who spoke up, “it was a tragic accident. He stumbled when he jumped from the wall, lost his balance and a Retskul took advantage of the situation. I tried to help, but there was nothing left to do. I am sorry.”

  “Not your fault. Not your fault at all.”

  The pain was overwhelming. It was his fault. He knew it. He should not have jumped. They could have waited at the gate. He should have coordinated better. He should have…

  Thoughts threatened to spiral out of control.

  Barry clasped his shoulder. “Come on. Now’s not the time.”

  Nils and Jamal, both close friends of Simon’s, carried the body into the settlement.

  Ben heard his mother ask some helpers to collect the weapons and cores from the Retskuls. It felt very different to harvest cores from humanoids, but he didn’t care right now.

  Adam waited for him and they walked to the HQ in silence.

  They arrived in the apartment, where the twins raced to embrace their uncle. Robin stopped them at the last second—Ben was not only filthy but still bleeding. He waved at them, “hi you two, you’re safe, no need to worry about anything.” With a glance at Adam, “please excuse me, I need to take a shower.”

  He fled the living area, desperate to have some time alone. Standing under the hot water of the shower, he tried to take a step back, but he did not find an excuse that worked.

  He had fallen back into his old pattern of trying to do everything himself, which had led others to follow—and ultimately to Simon’s death.

  Simon hadn’t been a Second Chancer, but the grandson of one of his grandfather’s friends, wanting to live a life in and with nature. He had seemed happy. Had never made a fuss.

  A knock on his bathroom door, “are you coming out?” It was Julia.

  “In a minute!” Ben turned off the water and stood there, wet, trying to center himself with a couple of deep breaths. After a minute he dried himself off, put on some pants and stepped out of the bathroom.

  Julia stood there, waiting for him, “are you doing it again?”

  “Julia, I am not in the mood.”

  “Nobody is in the mood for anything. I might not have known Simon as well as you and the others did, but I did. Mom knew him as long as you did. So did Barry, Michael, Jamal, and the others. But I don’t see them blaming themselves for his death.”

  “Well, sure, because they are not responsible for his death. I am!” he almost shouted.

  “Those monsters are responsible for attacking us. ‘Energy’—whatever that even is—for hitting our planet. Chance, because that’s what made him stumble. Maybe Simon himself, because he made the choice, without you, to jump down that wall, to help keep us safe!”

  “But he only jumped down there because I did. Because I didn’t think.”

  “Maybe… maybe that is true, maybe you didn’t think it all through. But if you hadn’t jumped, they would have breached the gate and we would have to fight them in the settlement. What would have happened if some of these monsters had made it through the lines and gotten to the kids? Can you know that nobody would have died in that fight? Of course you can’t. Nobody can. You made a choice, now you have to live with it. But blaming yourself for his death doesn’t help anyone.”

  “Shit!” Ben threw the towel he had been holding against the wall.

  Julia took a step forward, hugged him, “Yes, shit.”

  They stood there for a few seconds before Ben stepped back, “thanks, Julia. I’ll finish dressing and be out in a minute.”

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