Dawn of the Void

Chapter 87: Third Wave

They cruised out to their intersection, the same one as the day before. Kimmie kept looping around on her Wing then apologizing, while Kerim had a stunned smile that just wouldnt go away.

Funny. James was already taking the Wings for granted. Amazing how quickly a body could grow used to something.

The crowd below was large. Easily three times the size of yesterdays, people on their phones, people talking in earnest groups, but when they caught sight of the eight Wings flying into view they let out a ragged cheer.

They love us! called Kimmie.

Well, maybe kinda, replied Serenity. They appreciate our guns, at any rate.

James did a rough headcount. Some six hundred people, maybe. His heart sank. Six Nem3s, an easy fight, but that meant several thousand people had opted to stay home.

Damn that viral message.

How long we got? he called to Yadriel.

Thirty minutes.

Maybe more people will show, said Serenity quietly.

Maybe.

They landed the Wings atop one of the buildings and then set to waiting. Regular National Guard were stationed below, mostly as a show of force and for crowd control if people got restive, but their orders were to clear out five minutes before the Nems showed up.

Jamess radio chattered. Air support was one once more, and every few minutes some manner of aircraft flew past, following the circuit. Drones were black specks in the sky, observing everything, and slowly more people filtered in.

But not nearly enough.

Time crawled by.

Weve got a long day ahead of us, he said, capturing everyones attention on the rooftop. Like before, lets be cagey with our resources. Dont spend Aeviternum unless youve got no choice. Play it smart, stay close, work together.

Olaf nodded his approval. And remember Shield codes, yah? Shield Gold? Full semicircle with the 12 oclock on my spear point. Remember your oclock. Shield Black? Full circle, each of you taking your oclock.

Weve got this, team! Kimmie sounded painfully young, her tension riding close to the surface. And remember: we can handle this. We just have to stay calm and positive.

James felt the tension ease, felt his hopes rise. He knew it was Kimmies Benediction, but it felt so good, so easy to just relax a fraction and ground.

Denzel blew out his cheeks and rubbed his hands together.

Joanna stretched and then grinned. Youre the best, Kimmie.

Aw, thank you!

Lets climb, said James. Make sure were low enough that Yadriel and Kerim get counted for their hundred.

Their Wings lifted off and they drifted out into the sky. The National Guard was hustling away. The crowd was growing restive, but the sight of Crimson Hydra moving into position seemed to calm them down.

The minutes crawled by, Yadriel counting them off.

We have communal Deadeye, called Olaf.

Bless Green, said James, and a moment later his stats all bumped up by +3, bringing his Power to 36.

Here we go, yo, Yadriel called at last. Ten seconds.

The crowd stirred, throbbed, people pushing against each other, some giving cries of panic. Several at the edges broke and ran.

Five, called Yadriel. Batter up!

We got this, called Kimmie. Were strong and we can do this!

Again the tension diffused, and James felt a wave of confidence wash over him. The crowd abruptly stilled; the screens must have appeared before their eyes.

James hefted his M4 just as the first Nem3 manifested right on the side of the intersection. The crowd screamed even as Serenity opened fire.

The Ma-Deuce unloaded the 50 Cals, but other Nem3s were appearing left and right. Seven in all. One moment the street was just a large crowd of half-terrified people, the next the demons loomed massive, each thirteen or so feet tall, blind, bony faces turning from side to side to orient themselves as the crowd broke apart in a mad rush.

Crimson Hydra opened fire. Thousands of rounds of Smite-enhanced bullets rained down upon the demons who reacted with wicked speed. They scampered away, blade-arms cracking into the ground as they galloped on all fours, while several hunched over to loose bone harpoons.

Shields manifested, deflecting the attacks, and the one that got through bounced off Olafs Circle. James tracked one of the Nem3s as it sprinted across the street, his bullets churning its flesh.

More harpoons came flying at them; again the Shielders let off their firing to block the attacks, again one got through and hit the Circle which flared bright white.

Three Nems were down. One was plowing through the crowd, just swinging its arms like a scythe, and with a curse James dove down, leaving the Circle and plunging behind the Nem to come at it just above the crowd. It sensed them coming, turned, and James hit it with a Sacred Strike.

The attack roared forth like a white plume from a heavenly flamethrower. It engulfed the Nem3, washing harmlessly over everyone else, and consumed it, burning it down to the bones.

Exemplary! His Anima was embedded again in the Wing, but its voice was as distinct as ever. Now we know what Power 36 does to Sacred Strike.

James angled the Wing toward the next Nem which had just loosed a harpoon at the clustered fighters above. He spun the M4 around by the strap so that it hung behind him, reached for the skeggox, tore it free from the velcro and engulfed it with Smite.

A second later he swung, leaning out as he tilted the Wing, the burning bearded blade cleaving through the demons spine smoothly.

The Nem3 collapsed even as James flew past.

All the while Serenity kept firing her huge gun, the massive recoil causing the Wing to shiver. She never lost her bead, however, even as he swooped and flew; she kept pounding the Nem3s as they went, her accuracy and Agility through the roof.

James climbed for altitude and realized it was over. Hot damn, he said, scanning the area below. Anima, you sense any of them hiding?

I dont, said the Anima. Though I am not infallible; I can sense them coming through far better than I can their presence. Take my word with a grain of pepper.

Well all right! shouted Jason, standing up on his Wing as if it were a jet ski. Were getting good at this!

Nobody was injured. Kimmie let out a little whoop, Olaf was beaming, and Denzel exchanged a fist-bump with Kerim.

Command, this is Kelly. Intersection cleared.

What, already? Star Boy sounded taken aback. Shit, I mean - ah, Roger Kelly, how many civies showed up?

Just over seven hundred. How are the other spots looking?

Duffy got on the line. Kelly, this is Command, hang tight. Well have new coordinates for you to hit soon, over.

Guess they dont want us chatting on the line, said Serenity.

A Black Hawk flew overhead, the gunners watching, and one of them gave James a thumbs up as they flew by.

The minutes dragged on. Gunfire sounded from the intersections up and down the avenues.

Kelly, this is Command. Duffy again. Make your way down to Intersection 21. Ivory Centaur needs help.

Command, this is Kelly. On it, out.

The next hour felt like playing whack-a-mole. There were never more than four or five Nem3s in any one location, and Crimson Hydra now had enough firepower to crush the Nems quickly upon arrival. But enough of the low-level teams had problems with that many demons that Hydra was kept busy sweeping up and down the line, a task which eventually gave way to chasing Nem3s into the city.

But it wasnt nearly as bad as it should have been.

Jamess frustration only mounted as they continued to wipe out small knots of the enemy. They should have been fighting ten, fifteen of them at a time, not groups of seven or eight.

Which meant hundreds of thousands of people had chosen to stay home.

This is going really well, Kimmie called out after their sixth extermination. I think Im getting the hang of it!

Good job, James called, and almost he shared his frustration. But the team was riding high on a series of victories, and they needed that boost after what had happened yesterday with Bjrn and Becca. No. Best to keep them focused on what was right before them and not worry about the bigger picture.

The streets started to fill with panicked people. They ran or drove or cycled about, shouting out to each other, asking if they were Third Wavers. Some came to the designated intersections, gathered in numbers till a Nem3 manifested, then ran away screaming. Time and again Hydra was forced to double back to new manifestations in spaces they had just cleared.

But the numbers taking to the street kept growing.

Tens of thousands streamed along the sidewalks, yelling for each other, trying to group up.

But Brooklyn was big. Even a hundred and fifty thousand people had time gathering over such a massive space. Star Boy had told him the night before that the borough was almost seventy square miles.

Way too massive an area for easy congregation.

Times running out, said Jason, whod started a countdown on his bulky rubber watch. Five minutes.

The panic below became feverish. People began to scream, to clutch at each other.

Split up, James called. Fly over them, lead them to intersections!

A desperate plan. It worked a little; people reached for their Wing, cried out for help. Jamess shouts were drowned out, but people followed as he flew by ten feet above the ground, gesturing for them to come on.

A surge built up behind him, growing from tens to dozens to scores of people. More came running in from side streets, and then there were a hundred of them, for they stopped moving and as one read their screens.

James immediately rose high into the air. A Nem3 appeared on the rooftop, hunched and massive. Without hesitation it loosed a harpoon at them, and James threw the Wing to one side, turning as he went so as to bring Serenity to bear.

She opened fire, the huge gun pounding at the demon and tailing it as it raced over the rooftop toward them.

Its gonna jump! screamed Serenity, and James ducked the Wing down, turning as they fell, bringing himself to the front as the Nem3 fell upon them, sword-arms slashing at the air.

Sacred Fire flooded over its form, and the demon died as it fell, cracking and falling apart before the sheer intensity of his blast.

The crowd cheered but James didnt have time for their gratitude. He immediately pulled up high again, rising, rising, until the blocks lay spread out below him. People were shouting, pleading, many of them having fallen to their knees to pray.

Jesus Christ, said Serenity.

A Warthog scudded by, heavy and grim and utterly unable to stop what was about to happen.

Without Jason at hand there was no way to know the exact countdown, but there was no mistaking it when the hour ran out.

Beside every panicked person a shape flickered, ghostly and only human-sized. Each was translucent in the way Predator in the movie was when its cloaking shield was up, but the second they appeared they attacked.

The people had no chance.

As far as James could see screams rose to a fever pitch and then as one were snuffed out.

Bodies collapsed, eviscerated, hacked apart. Blood fountained where each person had stood, knelt, ran. Screams erupted from countless apartments, some cutting short, others continuing as horrified family members shrieked out their terror.

The sound was horrific, rising up over the city like a miasma, a crescendo of loss and pain and tragedy as something close to a million people were slaughtered as one.

James felt his gorge rise, felt bile scald the back of his throat, then jerked over to one side, convinced he was going to puke.

Nothing came out, just bitter spit.

Straightening, he forced himself to gaze down on the city. The survivors moving to those whod died, unsure, tentative, not knowing what to do.

Because there was nothing to do.

Untold hundreds of thousands had refused to listen to the systems requirements and died for their rebellion.

Everywhere James looked, from out over Queens to the towers of Manhattan behind him to all of Brooklyn spread out below he thought he could see the horror. The dead where they had fallen in mind-numbing numbers.

A seventh or sixth of the entire city.

Dead.

Gone.

And now the clock was ticking down to the Fourth Wave.

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