My quest log lit up as the encounter got into full swing.

Quest – The Circle Of Life (optional)

Description – And it rules us all. Mufa… sorry, Mark. Steer well clear of gorges prone to buffalo stampedes. You don’t have a child that can hide in the wilderness with a couple of the animal kingdom’s equivalent of stoners until they come of age and avenge you. If this Scar kills you, you’re dead for good. Well, kind of. It’s bound to hurt at least. Then you can come back and do the whole thing again.

Reward – Crafting Pattern

“Not a good time!” I yelled as I pushed it aside.

Cris drew to a halt when she caught sight of the old man struggling to get clear. I veered towards her, intending to drag her with me. She pushed me forcefully at the man and glared poison at the dinosaur, leaning into her seething rage, fists clenched. The arcane energy gathered from the day around us, darkening the bright sun until it was like we were on the cusp of twilight. Scar was bearing down on us as I brushed a hand against the struggling figure’s back, casting lay on hands. I whipped round, and only a handful of steps separated the dino from his revenge meal. I readied my shield, just as Cris let forth the nova. Her mana pool dropped away to nothing, but the result was astonishing. The marauding T-Rex was stopped dead in its tracks from the pulse of overwhelming purple energy that slammed into it. I darted forward, firing off a couple of shield bashes into the dazed, lolling head. The grand total of our damage could be measured in single digit percentages, but the streets had cleared and the old man’s front door slammed hard enough to knock a roof tile loose.

“Now we can run!” she yelled, firing off a chaos orb that burned a patch of Scar’s chest.

I chanced a quick shot with my crossbow, hoping to strike the weakened flesh. It turned aside at the last moment, deflecting the bolt. “Fuck!” I snapped as it exploded harmlessly on the sidewalk. I was about to run, when the unfair fight became ridiculously one-sided. A stream of raptors poured out from the same street and headed right for us.

“We can’t outrun them!”

“I know!” Cris yelled over her shoulder as she made for the entrance to one of the apartment blocks.

“But the people!”

“We can’t help anyone if we’re dead!”

I couldn’t argue with her logic and sprinted in pursuit. A large portion of the windows were boarded up, indicating the building wasn’t heavily occupied.

“It’s totally abandoned anyway! Look at the top floors!”

I craned my neck as we hit the steps. A fire had gutted the top two levels completely. Daylight peeked down from the missing roof, and it took me back to my last vision of Pitchhollow keep before Alwyn snatched me up.

“What’s the plan?” I asked, tossing Shinara’s snare behind me.

The speedy raptors stumbled and fell as they hit the webbing that had exploded up the steps and all over the street behind me.

“Escape and evade,” she replied, heading toward the back of the building. The lobby was still damp, the walls stained with sooty runoff from either the sprinklers or fire hoses. What remained of the ceiling was a wet mulch beneath out feet. The steel fixing frame attached to the concrete slab was thick with rust.

“Nobody’s been in here in a long time.”

“Until today,” Cris replied, reaching for the push bar of the partially open emergency exit. I caught a flash of grey-green before a heavy weight crashed into the other side, slamming it in our faces. A frenzy of scratching commenced, ending our attempts to escape through the service alley.

“Shall we try the stairs?” I offered.

Cris took in the raptors trying to fight clear of the glistening strands out front, She then whirled around as a sliver of the water weakened door gave way, revealing a razor sharp claw that raked at the flaking paint. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Using the lift was out of the question. Even if power had been flowing to the building, the cab was a ruined mess, half hanging out through the twisted sliding doors. A part of the motor was buried in the top, compressing it further.

I overheard Cris’s thoughts as she glanced at the destruction. “I hope no one was in there when it fell.”

“Me too,” I replied, shouldering the door to the stairs open. The blockage that resisted my attempts was just more collapsed ceiling and other detritus within the base of the stairwell. After squeezing through, I pushed it closed and dumped piles of trash that I’d been gathering during my endeavours. Furniture joined spare tyres, pots and pans, a couple of old wall mounted phones and stuff I hadn’t even realised I’d looted. It made for a decent barricade while we began our climb.

“Shall we Matrix it across the roofs?” asked Cris.

“It won’t work as well because of all the houses that break up the rows. We can still use it to put some distance between us though.”

I set foot on the second floor and almost crapped my pants. Scar’s eye was pressed to the window at the end of the filthy hall. He stared at us, unblinking.

Cris wasn’t as startled and fired off a chaos orb that had the T-Rex ducking out of sight when the glass exploded. “Yeah! That’s what I thought!” she yelled.

I was about to reply when the whole building shook. “Holy shit, what was that?”

It shook again, and I was off like a flash up the stairs without waiting for an answer. We passed belongings that had been discarded in the panicked flight from the burning block. The clothing and keepsakes were no less ruined than the building itself. We reached the eighth floor, and echoing up from below I made out the first crashing impact from the raptors against our last line of defence. The sight of the char gave me an idea, and I unloaded a dozen torches over the banister. They clattered amid the debris I’d left and started to burn.

“Was that such a good idea when we’re already trapped?”

“When you’re trapped,” I corrected. “I’m just going to fly out of here.” My sarcastic grin lasted until the floor beneath my feet trembled.

“Asshole! We’re going to have words when we get out of this,” she said, climbing up through the smoke damaged floors.

We made it to the top and found the roof in burned sections laying inside the apartments. Nothing remained except for the brick walls and a few patches of thick, white shit. The nesting birds flew from their nooks, cawing at us in anger and fear. Their new home was not only suffering trespassers, but shuddering blows too. I apologised as best I could and carefully made my way over the uneven debris to the window.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned as the tag team below set to work.

The T-Rex had been joined by another dinosaur. It’s massive tail was already covered in brick dust when I pulled up the bestiary.

Name – Ankylosaurus (Altered) (Level 24)

Description – This dinosaur’s armour has its own armour! The ankylosaurus was a herbivorous quadruped and no easy meal for predators. Its bony, clubbed tail could shatter bones with one swing. The thick plating that covered its head, back, and tail, was almost impervious to a carnivore’s bite.

Weakness – ???

Immunities - ???

Together they stood at the corner of the apartments, taking turns to attack the fabric of the building. Scar charged in like a goat and butted the brickwork, spraying the sidewalk with more blood. Taking a few steps back, he made way for the accomplice to get a decent swing with his hammer. I leaned out as far as I dared and drew in a sharp breath.

“What is it?” asked Cris.

“They’re working their way round the outside, smashing the shit out of it.”

“What for? They can’t bring it down, surely?”

“Have you ever played Rampage?”

“Of course.”

“What happens when George punches enough windows and walls?”

“You mean Ralph,” she replied. “And it collapses.”

“Exactly. This place is already damaged from the fire and water. It won’t take much for it to go completely.”

“Then how about we throw some shit at them before it does?” she suggested, moving to another window.

I joined her and readied my crossbow. Cris’s mana rose steadily from a downed potion. Summoning a pair of magic missiles, she threw them at the T-Rex. The arcane energy thudded into its back, taking another sliver of life. I knew my bolts were useless against the hide of Scar, so it would be less than useless against the spiked armour of the ankylosaurus. Picking a spot to the front of the beast, I aimed my weapon in its path. The bolt flashed and buried itself just as the monster waddled over it. The underbelly of the creature lit up as the holy projectile exploded, causing a sizeable chunk of health to drop. I knew if Cody was here, the weak spot skill would have that soft meat glowing. I tried again while triggering smite on the T-Rex. The ankylosaurus was wise to my plan and turned aside, taking the blast on its shell. A split second later, the clear blue sky grew marginally brighter as my heaven sent ray bathed the T-Rex’s head in purging fire. More of Cris’s powerful orbs smashed into its flank at the same time.

Any hope I harboured of an amicable resolution to our conflict over a couple of pints vanished as it roared. The powerful ray seared the puffy edges of its car-forged wound. They peeled back further as the skull blackened and smoked beneath. In its furious attempts to escape the pain, it fell over its partner and went down heavily. The crash sent another ripple of tremors through the damaged apartments and I heard the sound of brittle cracks emanating from all around us.

“Mark?” Cris asked nervously, not even daring to turn her head to look at me.

“Don’t move a muscle,” I replied, performing my best mannequin impersonation. Out of the corner of my very still eye, I saw the T-Rex climb to its feet and start to attack the ankylosaurus. From the charred stairwell at our backs, I heard the raptors break through the door and my burning acme pile-o-shite. Scar tried to tear at the armoured back of its companion, achieving nothing except a few broken fangs. The squat dinosaur pivoted and swung the clubbed tail, and I knew the universe was trolling us as the tremendous power sent the T-Rex reeling.

Straight at the building.

Its injured head crashed through the wall below.

“Timber!” I yelled, knowing there was only one way this block was going. I grabbed Cris and ran across the reinforced concrete that felt like putty as it fractured and collapsed under my feet. “Levitate me, now!”

She was terrified, and so was I, but the spell was cast and I jumped with all my strength through a window. The crumbling lintel smacked me on the back as it fell, knocking me askew from my original trajectory. I was headed straight for the ninth floor apartment at full speed. To my shame, I used my power to fold Cris in such a way that ensured I hit the window first. It wasn’t comfortable, confirmed by her pained cry, but impalement by glass would’ve been far worse. My armour protected us from the sharp edges, but not the impact. The wind exploded from my lungs and Cris was thrown from my grasp. She landed against the back of a sofa, knocking it flat, scattering the cushions. I shook my head and looked up. A middle-aged man was poised with a cup to his lips, unable to drink or put it down.

“So…” I wheezed. “Sorry. I… broke your window.”

With the mug still pressed to his lips, he peeked past me to the commotion outside. The front loaded damage ensured the apartments fell out into the street as they toppled instead of against his building. A burst of experience hit me from the crushed raptors, swiftly followed by a cloud of dust pouring through the smashed window.

“Oh,” was all he said, the word curiously muffled by the unmoving cup as he got blanketed in concrete, asbestos, and all manner of nastiness.

I wasted no more time and climbed to my feet. Feeling by way of my minimap, I found Cris with my probing hand and helped her to rise. Surrounded by the thick fog of destruction, I used the lines of the wall on the same map to find the front door. We both staggered into the clean air and hurried to escape the filth that flowed out after us. Its weight gradually defeated the attempted pursuit, leaving a thin layer on the dirty carpet of the hallway. I coughed a few times and spat up a glob of dusty gunk I never wanted to see again. Cris was far more discreet in clearing her throat with one of Rhys’s stolen limo waters.

She moved slowly to the hallway window by the staircase of this apartment block which was blessedly free of raptors trying to get at us. Swinging it wide open, she leaned out and froze.

“What?”

“Take a look,” she replied, shaking her head in disbelief.

I slipped past her and peered out. The ankylosaurus was belly up, with most of that same belly torn out and strewn across the shattered debris of the collapsed building. Scar was victorious, one tri-toed foot placed on his prize.

“How the fuck wasn’t he crushed?” I gasped.

“I have no idea. We should take the chance to run while he’s feeding.”

“That thing real?” asked someone from behind us.

I whirled round, activating my shield and sword. It was the cup guy. The beverage was now held in front of his chest, a layer of dust bobbing on the coffee.

“That thing real?” he repeated, speaking slowly as if we were simple.

I nodded.

“Seen them in the films. Never seen one in real life.”

“Well they’re here, and they’re hungry,” I replied.

“You been fighting it?” he asked.

“More like trying to avoid getting eaten by it,” said Cris.

“But yeah, we’re trying to kill it. Or at least get it away from the area.”

“Don’t think you can out run it on foot,” he said, sipping at the tainted drink without seeming to notice the dust.

Cris shook her head. “Nor do we.”

“Might as well take my truck,” he said, handing me a set of keys. “Blue, out front. Sometimes gets hung up in third. Just give the clutch a couple of pumps and it’ll pop right out.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the offering. “Are you sure?”

“Yup. These things all over?”

“I’m afraid so,” replied Cris.

“Well don’t that beat all,” he exclaimed, taking another sip that left a dust ‘tache on his upper lip. “Any idea what the authorities are doing about it?”

“There are no authorities,” I said. “We’ve taken shelter in the storm drains and maintenance tunnels.”

“Room for a few more? Got some good people in this building.”

I nodded again. “Sure. Wait for us to lead that thing far away, then take them all. Any food, water, clothing, bedding you can carry without slowing yourself down, take it. Cops are already on the way to the main inlet down the street. Tell them Mark and Cris sent you.”

“That you?”

“Yes, sir,” replied Cris.

“Well, I’m in your debt. Good luck out there.” He turned and headed for his apartment, then called back as he neared the front door. “And don’t worry about wrecking the truck. She’s insured.”

The strange stranger disappeared, and I held up the keys like a talisman. “Fancy a quick ride?”

“It sure as shit beats running,” she replied, holding the stairwell door open for me.

Outside, Scar continued to feast.