That night was nearly sleepless. A mixture of anxiety and excitement swirled and churned my thoughts for hours. Just how many demons would we be facing with such a large number of people? At least fifty was the running estimate amongst us.

  Lucas hadn’t found out much from Lidya the night prior, just that their group was also tight-knit and didn’t like socializing with people they weren’t familiar with just yet. It was a fair enough reasoning. Who could you trust these days so easily after all?

  I stared up at the ceiling and flipped through the thoughts in my head, only stopping when I got to the thought of when I actually fell asleep. Jessica stirred beside me, “I think I got two hours.” I said. A low bar to beat.

  “Wasn’t a great night for me either.” She agreed, “The day starts with or without us though.” And she got the ball rolling for the both of us. There was a weight to stepping out of bed, and making it down into the living room. The entire atmosphere was heavy.

  I turned to the front door and cracked it, the darkness of the night brushing past my hand and battling with the living room lighting. There was just forty-five minutes until the next demon wave, “We might be fighting in the dark.” I said to the four of us who had woken on time.

  It was possible the sun wouldn’t be out by their arrival, which wasn’t something we had accounted for at all. I didn’t even know what month it was off the top of my head right now. It must have been sometime at the end of the year for the nights to be so long, though.

  My family, Christmas, New Years—the memories flashed past. These days ideas popped into my head without much prompting. I guess that was one of the things that stayed the same from before and now—you never could control much what thoughts ran through your head. Would I ever see them again? I closed the door and let that thought slowly die on its own.

  We had prepared for this wave over the past few days, so we were merely waiting here for the rest to wake. “Does everyone have their potions and Demon slaying elixirs?” Lucas asked to double check. Unlucky for him that he had to ask three more times over the next twenty minutes as the others woke one or two at a time.

  Our first waves we didn’t have any sort of fortification, but now with it our game plan had been simplified, especially with the little information we had received from the newcomers. Fortified walls could hold up for a few hours against a demon onslaught, or at least a manageable one.

  With slits for shooting ranged weapons and a double-door entrance that could probably only fit 7 or 8 demons side by side, funneling them into a blender wouldn’t be difficult. It was actually the biggest reason why I was so confident about or chances.

  Our fighting style made choke-points extremely advantageous for us, and as far as I could tell the demons showed no strategy—at least the waves of them had not. Previous knowledge suggested they would rush our choke until the last fell, making it easy EXP and loot to collect.

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  Between my minions and the combined member of every group, we had at least six tanks to hold the choke as well. Richard and Alan as well as my generals could probably account for all seven or eight demons, we probably didn’t need help from either of the groups.

  But if I knew anything about this fucked up new world, nothing ever went to plan. When you thought you had things covered, something else always came up. If anything, that was the one constant across it all—something always happened to fuck it up.

  Marcus led the second group, newly formed from the tragedy of Bethany and Ryan. “Has the plan remained the same?” He asked while walking over.

  “No changes. We coordinate with each other at the front as planned. New comers can squeeze in but I’m not expecting much.” Lucas said. There were slits along the walls that arrows, swords, spears, or any type of thin or ranged weapon you could think of would fit through so they could participate. It would be no different than shooting fish in a barrel.

  “They ran like cowards before. I expect nothing.” Marcus scoffed. He had become a bit colder since Ryan passed, and had no intention of being friendly or kind to anyone who hadn’t earned it.

  “We’ll be able to see after this how useful they are.” I agreed with him, something I’d probably not been able to do just a year ago. We were all clay, being molded against our wishes into a form best suited to survive.

  Besides, something about the situation felt wrong. We had given them more than enough grace by allowing them to stay after knowing they fled. Their story was enough to convince us initially, but only if it were true, and some things didn’t line up. Time was too short to confront it before the wave unfortunately.

  Ten minutes prior had everyone assembled, “New people line up, each of you will get one of each potion.” He held HP, MP, and Demon slaying elixirs to pass out. “Do your best to participate. When or how you act is your own judgment, but everyone is required to put forth some level of effort.” Lucas said. “This isn’t a free ride.”

  It was a fair ask, as the abode had been defended by us for two waves already. Newcomers weren’t guaranteed a spot, it was a privilege. Did it feel a bit tyrannical? Yeah it did, but how else could we protect our own?

  The few remaining moments were tense, as the sun was still nowhere to be seen in the sky. It was darkness out and beyond, and that alone was terrifying enough. The amount of things that roamed earth that could slice you in two or devour you whole were uncounted and unseen, but no doubt numerous.

  “One minute.” I yelled out. Marcus and Alan made their way to the gates and pulled them inward. They could go either way, but at least this way we could shut them closed in an emergency if need be.

  They waited at the new opening and let the chill of the night air brush past them. How many demons would come? How many of us would die? Would this ever end? The questions came endless, and the answers were nowhere to be found.

  “They’re coming.” I said. “A light please.” I said to Rebekah, who spawned her fairy and lit the night sky. My shadow was there and I pulled my minions from within, filling the gaps between our tanks.

  It was nothing but pure darkness for at least a minute straight. Only the low sound of our breathing filled the night air. Eventually though, when the impatience of our growing anxiety reached a new height, there was a change.

  Thump… thump… thump. The slightest tremble shook the earth in rhythm. It was marching… and there was enough for us to feel it through the ground. It reverberated perfectly with the beat of my heart, and I realized it was a mental attack of some kind.

  This was gonna be something different entirely. “They’re here.” I said.