Travis's Journey Through the Apocalypse

Hey everyone just want to say thank you again to everyone who has given my story a shot. i really truly appreciate it. this is probably the second to last chapter of what I hope to be just the first book in a burgeoning series lol. so I hope to start in on the second book soon so don't worry if your liking the story there will be more to come. I just wanted to say that and now I have so on with the story chapter 31! Here we go!

Chapter 31

Beating the new neighbors

“Fuck.” Janet finally said.

“You see what I’m seeing, right?” I asked her.

“If you mean all thought people down there that look like they’re lined up to be turned into an Ectovizzor. Then yes, I fucking see it.” Janet hissed back at me.

“So, I think we have two choices here. The first option is we find a way to save those people while we blow this place to kingdom come, or we stick to the plane and, well, don’t save them and just blow this place the fuck up and get out.” I finished, and Janet was not looking happy with me, but to her credit, she did look like she actually thought about what I had said. She just stared at me, looking all pissed off for a few moments, then shifted to looking pissed off at the wall, then the floor, then back to me, then the wall one more time before looking at me and blurting out in a hushed voice,

“fuck! I can’t think of a way to save them and accomplish what we came here to do.” Janet said in a frustrated whisper. Then, almost under her breath, I heard her say, “It might be a kindness in some way to end it fast for them, you know? I’m sure they’re all terrified at the thought that they’re about to become new bodies for an alien species. Their Ectovizzors aren’t kind. I’m sure they have been treated awful. Killing them might be mercy at this point.” She finished and then looked over at me. She had been staring at the ground while she spoke.

I could tell she was grasping at straws. I could tell it was a callous decision for her to make or come to terms with. I walked over to Janet and pulled her into a huge. It wasn’t really the best place and time. We had already been here way too long, but she needed it. This was important. She needed my support in this decision, and I agreed with her. I would have loved to have been the hero here to save the day for all these people, but it just wasn’t in the cards. We had too many other people relying on us to make this mission successful, and we would not fail them.

I hugged Janet tight and whispered in her ear, “For Treehouse Village.” Then I let her go and met her eyes. There was resolve there and anger at having to make this choice, but it was time, and we both knew it. I turned from Janet and headed out onto the ceiling of the massive chamber. Janet was doing the same, following right behind me. We made our way to the back of the cavern, staying close to the walls, hoping that would help our stealthiness. It seemed to have worked, become we eventually made it to the other side of the cavern without any alarms sounding and found a ledge high on the back wall to take a break and restore some Mana. Once Janet and I were topped off, I nodded to her and started dropping bombs.

We dropped a few at the back of the cavern, then took off again, and this time returned to where we entered, continuing our bombardment. The mayhem had genuinely gone into full swing when we returned to where we entered. Janet and I had each dropped our full bags worth of goblin grenades on the city, and it was falling to pieces before our eyes. The entire cavern was shaking at that point, and I was a little worried the place would start collapsing. The pyramid got hit hard and was just a pile of rubble while their crude living structures were flattened, and bodies of dead Ectovizzors were everywhere.

We waited and watched it all burn down around us, at least till our Mana pools were topped off once again, then both agreed that going down into the massing force of surviving Ectovizzors and killing a fuck ton of them would be a great idea. I guess we both thought it might be therapeutic to help deal with the burning rage inside. Yeah, therapeutic. I pulled my Teremnocal from my bag as Janet did the same with her axe. I gestured to Janet with my weapon as if to say ladies first. She shot me a devilish smile and then gave me a little curtsy, and they jumped off the ledge. Headed down to slaughter as many Ectovizzors as she could before we would have to retreat back to our support troops.

A moment after Janet jumped, I was only thinking one thing, my turn. I hopped off the ledge to join Janet. We caught the Ectovizzors by surprise, or at least Janet did. I think I did, too. They weren’t expecting Janet, but I don’t believe they were expecting me either. They had recovered the second it took me to drop down after Janet had. I guess that was just enough time for them to focus their anger on her, and they almost missed my arrival entirely, that was, until I started cutting into them. Janet looked a little shocked at the ferocity of their attacks, but as I joined in the killing fest, she seemed to find her grove.

We were demons of battle living through our weapons. Each step leaving death and destruction behind us. We fought and trained together so much that we could read each other’s movements and adapted accordingly. We flowed from enemy to enemy, grim reapers dancing in death. It was beautiful to be a part of and I could tell Janet felt the same way. When the battle shifted, we both felt it. We started losing ground. We knew we were approaching our limits and needed to retreat before we both died here. Janet and I took a significant leap back to distance ourselves from the mob army for a second, and I met Janet’s eyes. With a look, we both agreed it was time to head out.

We both turned and ran for it. We both did a wall run up to the exit. Once in the tunnel again, we could hear hundreds of Ectovizzors thundering footsteps behind us. It was definitely a good motivator to keep running like hell. I just really hoped we didn’t get shot or blown up by any of our own people on the way out. They knew the plan, and in the plan, we would be leading the remaining Ectovizzors out of the tunnel to our waiting fighters. Still, I really hoped they remembered that part. As we approached the cave mouth that let out to our waiting fighters, their lines parted, and we zoomed past, sliding to a stop after crossing the last line of fighters. The line reformed as they braced for the incoming wave of Ectovizzors.

We could hear it as our forces engaged the enemy. There was a loud crash as a wave of flesh smashed against a wall of steel. We let our fighters deal with the Ectovizzors, and deal with them they did. When the battle was over, we had only lost a handful of fighters to the Ectovizzors, but none of our surviving fighters seemed to be too worse for the war. Once the Ectovizzors stopped coming, I told everyone to get some water, rest, and restore their Mana. I knew we weren’t done yet. I had seen many Ecotvizzors retreat back into the cave when they realized they were going to lose this fight.

Once all our people were topped off, we told everyone to pull out their flash blobs because we were going in. Flash blobs were super cool little things. They were kind of creepy, but once you got used to them, they were pretty handy little guys to have around. They were a slim, blob-type thing with a dark blue body and one giant eyeball. They were about as big as your palm, and if you plopped Them on your shoulder, they could use their eyeball to cast a steady stream of light. They would just chill out there, too. I don’t think they were technically alive either because they could go into a bag of holding, and you couldn’t put living things in there. They were super odd but super handy, so I didn’t question it much.

Braxin suggested them for us in the dungeon, and it was a hand thing to have around. They could also somehow sense or feel where you were looking, so it was like having a headlamp but on your shoulder. I guess you could put the little guy on your head if you wanted, but that felt awkward, so most people went with the shoulder. After everyone had their Flash blob out, we headed into the cave and down to the Ectovizzor’s village. Our fighters funneled into the destroyed village and shortly after found what must have been the last holdouts of the Ectovizzors.

They had gathered around the base of the fallen pyramid. They were formed up into a semicircular, protecting their five leaders. Our fighters formed a semicircular of their own, enclosing that of the Ectovizzors, and were standing by for orders as the Ectovizzors had yet to move to attack. Janet and I made our way through our people to stand before the Ectovizzors. I looked over our enemies’ lines, then at the five leaders, and took in their expressions.

The Ectovizzors before us were filled with rage. Some were literally salivating at the idea of tearing us limb from limb, and I could see they wanted nothing less than to be given the order to attack. The leadership, however, looked resigned to their fate, no less furious yet knowing what the outcome of this encounter would yield. I stood there for about ten seconds, Just watching them when I spoke.

“My name is Travis Mullins, and these are the people of Earth. I truly did not want what happened today to pass. We have many differences, but if there was a way to live in peace without the annihilation of your people, we could be willing to try and find a way. The using of humans as host bodies, however, needs to stop immediately, as well as any violence towards humanity unless it’s in defense of your lives. If you can accept these terms, then there may be a way for us to move forward from this day as allies, not enemies.” I finished my small speech and waited for a response. For a minute or two, the Ectovizzor leadership stared back at me, not saying a word nor discussing our offer. Then, after it was fully super awkward, one of the Ectovizzors spoke in a raspy, deep, resonating voice.

“Our lives have always been one of conquest. Not many species are compatible to become hosts for our people, and when we do find such a match, they must be properly controlled and submit to our rules. Cattle are cattle and will always be. You should lay down your weapons and submit yourselves to your rightful lords. If not, then die.” The tension between the two groups was palpable at the end of the Ectovizzor’s words. Everyone knew there was only one future for us all now. A fight to the death.

One group would leave this encounter alive, and one would be eliminated. Our two species were diametrically opposed. We needed to literally die for them to live, and all the Ectovizzors knew was conquest. Conquest to them was life. This species was always looking for a suitable host, and there was nothing I or anyone could do to change that. It was part of their very nature, intrinsic to who they were. Realizing that this day would only end in bloodshed made me increasingly furious. This was so fucked. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to kill them. I really didn’t want to kill anyone, but they had given me, us, no choice, and if that was how it was going to be, I was going to utterly destroy them.

If they really made it me or them, then sorry mother fuckers, it’s always gonna be me, every fucking time. Before anyone in ether force moved, I whipped my Teremnocal up and, using Spear Shadow, I pumped a fuck lot of Mana into the ability and struck out in an arching stick moving from hip to shoulder that took out the ten of the Ectovizzors right in front of me. The enemies that separated me from their leadership fell, and I charged with Janet and the Treehouse Villages fighter force at my back. The Ectovizzors fought to close their line and protect their leaders, but Janet and I made our way through before they did. I went on the attack with a burning ferocity in my soul.

The Ectovizzors hit back with no lack of ferocity, closing their Lines and leaving Janet and me stranded and separated from our fighters. Janet and I had been the only ones to make it through their lines before they reformed. Our fighters were laying into the Ectovizzor force and holding their attention. I had confidence that our fighters would cut the remaining Ectovizzors all down eventually, but the Ectovizzors were not making it easy. However, Janet and I’s fight with the leadership hadn’t started out great.

First, we were outnumbered. Plus, there was the fact that the Ectovizzor leadership must have been tied into some hive-mind thing because they were working together with flawless accuracy. It was incredibly frustrating, and it was challenging to gain ground. I opened with another Spear Shadow follower up with PinPoint, then Step Lightly and a Quick Strick. Janet activated Im So Strong as she moved in, followed by her taunt ability, Mighty Roar, and then activated Empower Strike. Every Ectovizzor except two couldn’t help but turn to face Janet, but right as our attacks were going to land, they moved in concert, and the next thing I knew, I was struck in the chest and pushed back, taking a few blows in the process.

Janet faired a little better than I did. She still managed to land her Empowers Strick, taking an Ectovizzor’s arm off at the shoulder, but then she was pushed back by a coordinated volley of strikes. We needed to separate them so they couldn’t work together. I had confidence Janet and I could fuck these guys up individually, but if they were allowed to work together, we could definitely be in trouble. We dove back into the fight, and this time, I fainted like I was going to charge straight in again, but as I closed in, I activated Step Lightly and moved quickly to Flank. My plan worked, and Janet got what I was trying to do.

The following few exchanges of blows had Janet and I making progress, but we were accumulating wounds at a steady pace. The battle started to shift in our favor when we finally killed one of the leaders, making it a four-on-two fight. The problem now was that the Ectovizzors must have had no pain receptors because unless we struck a killing blow or took a limb off, they didn’t seem to be slowed one bit or feel any pain. Flesh wounds were nothing were nothing they worried about. I realized at one point that if we didn’t do something to change this fight, Janet and I would run out of Mana and stamina before we could win this fight.

I decided it was time to try some new tricks. I got in close to one Ectovizzor and delivered a burst punch into its chest. I got racked with claws to do it. All down my arm, but it was worth it. My burst punch blew a hole straight through the Ectovizzor, and it dropped to the ground. With my new strategy of using burst punches, Janet caught on quick and switched to burst punches as well. After that, we ended the rest of the Ectovizzor leadership in short order. They were vicious in their attacks, but their coordination was fucking off. I could tell they couldn’t react as fast as they would have liked. The leadership Ectovizzors were more coordinated than the other Ectovizzors I had fought, but I could tell they weren’t entirely used to this human body yet.

As the last Ectovizzor leader fell, I knew the fight was over. I had given everything I had, and I was spent. Relief flooded my body, and my body was jello. I looked over at Janet, and I saw her drop to her knees, then fall forward flat on her face, hitting the ground hard. It looked odd, but I realized it only looked odd because I was also falling forward. I hit the ground hard but didn’t pass out this time. Small victories, I couldn’t move, but hey, you take what you can get, right? Janet was for sure out, and she was already snoring away. I was just in pain. I hurt all over, but after ten minutes of just lying there, I was able to get back on my feet, but I only did so when Devin tapped me with his foot.

“You okay there, Travis?” He asked me. It took me a second to realize he was talking to me. Then, I took a deep breath and pushed myself onto my hands and knees.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” I told Devin as I got back onto my feet.

“How did we do? Losses?” I asked him. Devin replied,

“No, not on our end except the fighters we lost in the initial attack. Everyone made it out of this one. Is Janet okay?” I looked over at Janet, lying on the ground, passed out, then back at Devin,

“Yeah, she’ll be fine. Just needed to sleep it off. If you have anyone with a healing or healing assist ability, you might want to have them check her out.”

“Yeah, we have Mitch Tamishoe. He’s got a healing ability. I’ll go get him.” Devin gave me a pat on the shoulder, then went off to find the medic. After we got the medic over and made sure Janet was actually okay and I wasn’t just talking out of my ass, we split our people up into groups of ten fighters each to go and search the remains of the Ectovizzor village for any human survivors or loot. By the time our people were out going through the village, Janet was awake again and drinking some water. She was just chilling out recovering leaned-up agents part of a destroyed wall and was improving.

I wasn’t much better off than Janet, but I drank some Senzuketa Bean, and Mana kissed water smoothie and was on the mend. We had come away with a good hall from the Ectovizzor village. They had gathered large quantities of metals and other materials we could sell to Braxin or use ourselves. We also found some chests with galactic currency inside, always great to have, and last but not least, about fifty humans had survived the bombing and subsequent slater. They were incredibly grateful to be saved, but I could tell they were pissed at how we did it.

One of our fighters even had to put one guy he found out of his misery. The man had charged him, screaming and accusing him of killing his family. There wasn’t much to do but kill the man. He had lost all sense and was gone lost to his rage. It was sad, and I could tell our fighters who had been involved with that mess were still struggling with themselves about it. That was life nowadays. The only thing to do now was get the fuck out of here, so that’s exactly what we did. We gathered up all our people and the services of Ectovizzor village, then headed out. I couldn’t help but feel guilty about that whole situation. It was clear these people were truly traumatized, and it was Janet and I who had made the call to continue with the attack, fully aware of the fact that we would be murdering hundreds of innocents in the process. I’m sure that would be a topic of desiccation at the council debrief later.

We were making our way back to the village now, and while I was lost in thought, Brianna walked over to me,

“Good job back there. You and Janet were fucking amazing. You were moving like the wind. It really was insane. It makes me want to get stronger and keep training, you know. So, thank you for everything, Travis. You, Janet, and Beth have helped so many people, and without you guys, things would be fucked for so of us, so from me and all of them, thanks man. Oh, and one of our people found these,” she finished, then she tossed me a bag of holding.

I looked inside. There were three of these glass cube things, and that was it. I pulled one out and took a closer look. It appeared to be a pain of cubes about the size of a six-sided die. There was a green tint to the glass, and when I tilted it in the light, it looked like computer circuits dancing in rainbows. It was epic. I didn’t really know what to do with it. I used I identify on it, and it only gave me one line of text. This is a basic information cube. That was all it said. That really didn’t help me much. I still didn’t know how to use the dam thing. I thought about the problem for a minute, and then an idea popped into my head. I turned my attention inward and focused on my Mana. Then I tried pushing Mana into my hand as if I was going to use a burst punch, but instead, I attempted to shove my Mana into the little glass cube. I only used a little, but as soon as I did, it was sucked into the cube. To my surprise, then information filled my head.