Alistair: ‘Damn straight. I’ll take a thousand of ya down if I have to.’

Gritting his teeth at that thought, the old man sprung into action to deal with the attackers. The first made for his leg, so he thrust it forward, slamming his boot into the Krimling’s soft head, the force sending it tumbling backwards and into a rock at the road’s edge. The second Krimling shot to the side before leaping at him, but he felled it with a flick of his sword, tearing open its bulbous head to spill its fleshy brain out over the mud.

The first Krimling rose, charging at him again despite a bleeding wound on its head, to which Alistair responded with a rising kick, catching its chin with the toe of his boot and sending it flying several meters into the air. Having risen back to a standing position, he launched forward, running after the others rather than waiting for his opponent to fall; if the crash didn’t kill the beast, it certainly wouldn’t be able to run.

As he rushed down the path, more rustling caught his attention. With intermittent pauses in Recess, he was able to catch glimpses of the fleshy bodies scampering through the brush ahead of him.

Alistair: “On your left! Three more coming out!”

On cue, the first of the Krimling emerged, leaping its way up the trunk of a willow tree and along one of its outstretched branches. It sprung off the branch with a demented cackle, fingers outstretched and a long tongue flopping out of its mouth as it soared through the air.

Loid slid to a stop the moment Alistair shouted, whirling around to face the falling Krimling as he heft his javelin over his shoulder. He struck it with a mighty swing, using the end of the spear like a club. A great thunk rang out as his swing reduced the creature’s skull to a spray of red viscera.

The second of this band of Krimling shot out of the brush at ground-level, the third lagging a bit behind it. Jacqueline swung Jackie around from her arms onto her back, the child draping their hands around her neck and clasping them together in a practiced motion. Falling to a crouch, Jacqueline’s hands shot to her belt, flipping two daggers free from their sheaths—a curved kris in her left hand, a double-edged dirk in her right.

The Krimling shrieked as it lurched at her, but she thrust her left arm forward and upward in a scooping motion, silencing the monster as her blade sank into its neck. She rose halfway, pulling the Krimling up with her, then quickly wrenched her arm downward, whirling her whole body around to nail the airborne beast with a kick.

The dying creature’s flailing corpse was sent crashing into the dirt. The third Krimling leapt to the side to avoid the body, stumbling into the mud. It scrambled to rise to its feet, but it was already too late for it, as Loid’s spear impaled it just a moment later.

Jacqueline was already running before the final Krimling met its end, quickly joined by Loid. Alistair wasn’t far behind, having closed most of the gap between them. After clearing two ambushes, he kept his eyes peeled for the next, and it revealed itself before long.

Alistair: “Five more ahead! Comin’ from the right!”

Right on cue, the third band of Krimling emerged from the brush, this time clambering out onto the road ahead of the group. They let out a chorus of shrieks and high-pitched warcries as they charged forward.

Loid made the first move once again, sliding to a stop and flinging his javelin forward. The frontmost Krimling leapt sideways to avoid the spear, dooming the one behind it to a bloody fate as the javelin drilled a hole through its skull instead. The leader cackled as its follower was obliterated, but its maneuver only bought it a few extra seconds of life, as one of Jacqueline’s daggers was embedded between its eyes the moment after.

With two already dealt with, the three remaining Krimling continued forward. One fell to all fours, lurching past the others in a rabid sprint. It was Alistair who met its charge head-on, emerging from behind the other Humans.

Sprinting forward, he delivered a hefty kick to the Krimling, sending it into the air. Continuing his forward charge, he bisected the creature’s rounded body with a flash of his blade. The final two Krimling shot past him on either side, aiming for the others behind him.

Alistair continued forward until he reached the corpses of those felled at range, grabbing the end of Loid’s spent javelin. Hefting it up—and the Krimling impaled on its end with it—he whirled around with a wide, mighty swing. At the motion’s apex, the dead Krimling slid off the pointed end and was sent flying into the back of one of the remaining attackers, knocking it to the ground; Loid quickly dealt it a finishing blow, slamming the end of his second javelin down on its head.

The final Krimling leapt up at Jacqueline, who barely stepped back out of the range of its wildly-swinging claws and swung her empty arm downward, delivering a chop to the creature’s head that sent it down into the mud. As the beast rose with a growl, Alistair nailed it in the back of the head with Loid’s javelin, and the Krimling fell face-first to the ground. Stubbornly refusing to die, it clawed its way forward; Jacqueline placed a hand on the javelin to shove it down further, a meaty squelch sounding out as the Krimling’s life was snuffed out.

Jacqueline tore the javelin free from the monster’s flesh and tossed it back to Loid; Alistair retrieved her dagger and passed it to her as they resumed running.

They’d been managing so far, but these ambushes were oddly small. These were likely just the remnants of the pack’s previous hunt—those that happened to still be around after killing the Jiyagi. As they were clearly aware of the Humans’ presence, they would no doubt be multiplying already; the longer they let this battle drag on, the larger the Krimling population would get, and the more they would be overwhelmed.

If they were to have any chance of surviving this, they had to escape quickly.

As the group continued down the path, thankfully free of a fourth ambush for the moment, Alistair waited until they reached an upcoming ruin on their left.

Alistair: “...Wait just a sec. I wanna check somethin’.”

He spoke to the others, then approached part of the ruin. It was a short but extensive building of rotted wood with a stone foundation, its entrance a few feet separated from the edge of the path. A few short, rectangular pillars of cobbled stone were embedded in the ground all around it, and one of these protruded from the edge of the road at a crooked angle.

Alistair ran at this pillar, kicking off its side to clamber up its length and perch precariously near its top. He then sprang backwards into the air, entering Recess at the height of his jump.

From this vantage point, he could see past the brush and the ruin, and his prediction was proven correct—there was another road on the other side. The long, rotting building actually extended directly across part of the road, a portion of its walls clearly destroyed by the passing of larger monsters.

To the left, the path continued a short ways before curving around a particularly tall hill; to the right, it ran parallel to their current path a short ways before bending around another ruin and then winding through a valley between two long mounds of trash.

At least some of the Krimling seemed to be originating from beyond the hill to the left. The pack clearly knew they were on this road, and they wouldn’t expect Humans to try to pass through the brush. If his group transferred to the other road via the ruin, they might just be able to gain some distance while the Krimling focused their search on this road.

Time resumed, and the old man landed beside the others. “Could you two jump to that doorway?”

Jacqueline and Loid both glanced to him, and then to the ruin.

Loid: “I think so.”

Jacqueline: “I could if you take Jackie.”

Alistair nodded and sheathed his sword, stepping over to carefully lift Jackie off her back. “We’ll cut through to the next road and get away while they waste time here. They’ll think we somehow got further down this road.”

Loid: “Got it. Let’s hurry.” Loid made the leap first, getting a running start to soar over the neon grasses and ferns. His foot touched down just on the edge of the ruin’s foundation, causing him to stumble a bit as he caught his footing.

Alistair: “Alright, hold tight, kid.” With Jackie in his arms, Alistair moved next, clearing the gap with relative ease. He stepped further inside and turned,

Alistair: “Jacqueline—“

Jacqueline: “Go on ahead.” She stood still at the road’s edge, stealing a glance back in the direction of their previous camp. “Leave markings for me. I’ll catch up.”

Alistair: “Wha—what do you think you’re doing!?” He sat Jackie down beside him, his usually-calm voice overtaken with anger. “We need to move before they—“

Jacqueline: “And what if they follow us!?” She rose her voice in a stern reply. “Isn’t all of us just disappearing a bit suspicious? I’ll distract them, keep them focused on this path.”

Alistair grit his teeth, his breath stifled. “Damn it, we don’t… you can’t…”

Jacqueline: “I’ll be fine, Dad.” Her expression softened, and she cocked her head to the side with a wink. “It’ll take more than a band of rabid, fugly assholes to kill me. You just get Jackie as far away as you can. I’ll find a chance to escape and meet up with you later, after the swarm.”

Alistair twisted his hands into fists, mind racing for a response. Loid held an arm out in front of him, the other adjusting his glasses as he looked out at his partner.

Loid: “Lyn, are you sure?”

Jacqueline: “Someone has to do it. I’m the fastest runner.” With that, she turned away, looking back at the ruin and the fallen pillar in the distance. “Besides, I’ve gotta be a good role model for Jackie.”

Loid gazed grimly at her side profile, finally lowering his head with a pained breath. “Stay safe. And make sure you come back.”

Jacqueline: “Of course I will. I never let you guys down, do I?” Without looking back at the others, she began walking back down the path.

Jackie: “Mom?”

It was Jackie who spoke next, breaking their silence. Hearing their voice, Jacqueline froze in her tracks.

Jackie: “...I love you.”

Jacqueline: “...I love you, too. All of you. So please, get as far as you can.”

She refused to turn around, lest the others see her tears.