Day 2

Roars echoed in the streets. He heard yelling, screaming even. Ethan limped down small alleyways. His regeneration kept him moving but unable to heal completely as long as he kept aggravating the injuries. Suddenly a roar he recognized echoed in his ears...the rock dragon.

He kept moving, blood dripping out of his wounds every so often. He had deep cuts along his forearm, between his tendons and at least one inch deep. As well as a cut across his chest, from shoulder to hip, that was the worst by far. Every step created lines of fire down his torso. Every breath felt as if he was about to burst and spill his blood and organs onto the pavement.

As he staggered around a building and out into the open street he stopped. Just down the road was...was a group of lizards walking away from him. Well, they stood on two legs like a human did but they had scales. So many scales, each one seemed to be a different color as they paraded down the street. He was so mesmerised by the scales that he hardly saw the wands that glowed brightly even out in the sun. Once he did he ducked down and out of sight, cowering behind an abandoned car. If he had been thirty seconds faster.

That was death. Ethan felt the terror build as his stomach dropped. He only had two streets to go. With death around every corner, he would have to be very careful. If he stayed here eventually an invader would find him, and kill him with no thought of mercy. As he sat there behind the car, the goblins filled his memory. They jumped from the building, they were living beings that wanted to live and he had killed them in one of the worst ways possible. Forcing them to grab at life like a drowning sailor as they leapt from the roof. He shook his head, they were enemies. That was all there was to it.

Ethan couldn’t afford to have a breakdown with so many invaders rushing towards the goblins building. Sounds of comat reached him now, metal on metal and the roars of beasts filled his ears. He decided to just go, if death was waiting. At least he took down a commander of some kind. Gorbnap might have been weak, but at least it was something. He trudged down the street, hiding behind cars and buildings every now and then.

Slowly he made it to the final street. It was empty, completely clear. All he had to do was walk the last thirty meters and he was safe. Ethans exhausted body sat down behind a car as he waited and let regeneration heal his body a bit more. Combat still filled the air, the thunder that followed lightning and the clash of metal on metal still echoed in the streets. As well as the cries of the dead, or dying. Some were particularly loud, Ethan flinched each time one was cut short.

These savages, killing each other ruthlessly. Ethan had known relative peace for most of his life, he hadn’t killed anyone before. “Goblins are not people.” he whispered to himself. “They came here to kill us, one of them almost did.” He reminded himself. They might not deserve it, but they struck first. If they came here to fight, he’d give them one.

With his mind made up Ethan stood from his spot beside the car. This was it. The last street. With great caution he took the first step. It made no sound compared to the battles being fought five blocks behind him. Still he stepped softly, from the balls of his feet to the heel. It caused a surge of pain each time he walked like this, but it made him feel better about his chances. As he walked forwards the ground rumbled. Looking from side to side he saw the asphalt breaking.

A horn appeared, a dark brown horn that led down to dark red eyes that gleamed in the sunlight. Its skin was a muddy brown that seemed to slough off onto the ground with every second, building piles of thick mud that squelched on the ground as the rock dragon stepped forwards. Its fangs even dripped with the disgusting mud as it snarled. This creature...knew him and he had survived once, on pure luck. Seeing him standing all alone in the middle of the street, it charged.

Ethan stood still for a moment, his eyes needing time to catch up with his mind. This beast was charging, he was going to die. He could roll, but that might reopen his injuries and cause him to simply bleed out on the pavement. He simply screamed and began limping towards the safe zone. He needed help, there were people inside. People that lived in those rooms. He couldn’t see inside it yet but surely, there was a person in there.

He felt the hot breath of the rock dragon on his back, and turned to face it. The beast had reared back on its hind legs, reaching what must have been eight...no nine feet. Ethans addled brain quiped at him. As it brought its legs down he closed his eyes. Still unable to face death, scared and alone he waited for the end. It would take only a second for his brain to be crushed to nothingness.

Instead he heard shouting and yelling as death did not come for him that day. As he opened his eyes he saw a shimmering field of white light and heard more shouts. “This way you idiot! We can’t hold that shield for long! It’s our most powerful spell now hurry up and move!” He heard a voice screaming at him.

He turned towards the safe zone and saw Sam standing there with a group of people, all pointing various objects at the dragon. He began to limp as fast as he could, pushing his limits as he made it into the safe zone and collapsed onto the ground. Shaking on the ground. Ethan was in shock.

The pain and terror had overwhelmed his brain, his breath came in strangled gasps as his skin became pale, and clammy. Sam knelt beside him and pointed his wand at Ethan’s prone body. “Heal” he whispered and the green energy flowed from the tip of his wand. Enveloping his body in the soothing glow. Blood vessels knit themselves back together, and his body healed.

His mind was a different story, the shadow of death loomed over his thoughts. His skin was still pale, his breath came in short bursts, his eyes slightly unfocused as he looked into himself. He had escaped, he was alive. There was no way he could succeed like this, a single commander nearly executed him and a dragon was within inches of eating his body for dinner.

Sam saw all of this happening. The young man that had stumbled into the kitchen last night, afraid and scared. Covered in blood. He had helped as best he could, making food and showing off his own upgrades. He had been there when this fighter had tested his own organic and burned himself, Keeping his head and leaving, even knowing he couldn’t control his new strength fully.

A hand touched Ethans shoulder, his eyes refocused. Sam, it was Sam. The only other person he had met with a grasp on this crazy fucked up world they now lived in. A world of death, and ruin. Ethan reached up with his hand and grabbed Sam’s shoulder, pulling himself back up off the ground.

The world might be full of death and ruin. Invaders, and beasts beyond his imagination roamed the streets. He had powers that no regular human could match, and fought horrors nobody else would but they had to fight. They had to live. Humans had fought beasts before, in the wilds in a time before technology. We could do it again. Ethans gaze hardened as he stood, wincing though the pain and looking at the crowd of people that had gathered. This was it, his chance to help this little part of the world adapt to their new reality of invasion.

“All you people here. Cowering under the blanket of protection this safe zone offers.” He said, and turned to the crowd of maybe a hundred people in the main room of the safe zone. “You sit here, scared of what’s out there...and you should be. Every single person here should be scared of what’s out there. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. This? Is nothing compared to what’s coming. There are beings out there, smart enough to speak, to think, and lead. The earth has been invaded. That’s that. They won the first engagement. They brought us all to our knees.” He looked down at his feet, and then raised his head high. “But I won, I lived. I lived.” He said, more for himself. “Alone, I should have died but I had help. We can start to fight back. This will not be for the weak. We need to take back our city. Do you think that we can negotiate? These are monsters, we killed them in our legends and our stories. Now we need to become those legends.” He finished his speech and fell to his knees.

Darkness encroached his vision as he hit his knees. Finally he dropped, the mental fatigue taking its toll on his body and forcing him to rest and recuperate. When he awoke. Nothing would be the same.

Darkness encroached his vision as he hit his knees. Finally he dropped, the mental fatigue taking its toll on his body and forcing him to rest and recuperate. When he awoke. Nothing would be the same.