Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant (23 page)

To your right
, yelled Nickelo.

A glance at the heads-up display showed one of the two orange dots closing in fast from the right. Richard turned in time to see a large, gangly humanoid twice as tall as the zombies and ghouls around it. Before Richard could react, the big creature grabbed a nearby zombie and threw it at Richard. Trying to get his plasma rifle into action, Richard squeezed the trigger and streaks of plasma energy bounced off the floor as he elevated the rifle towards the creature’s head. Richard felt Nickelo try to accelerate the movement of his battle suit’s arms, but it wasn’t quick enough. The thrown zombie collided with Richard, bowling him over in a mass of flailing arms and legs. Richard released his pressure on the rifle’s trigger. He felt pressure on the back of his neck. The zombie was behind him trying to chew through the suit’s armor from behind.

Good luck with that
, Richard thought as he slammed his left fist into the zombie’s head. The battle suit’s assisters magnified the strength and speed of the blow. Richard wasn’t able to see his fist make contact with the zombie’s head. However, when he pulled his arm back, his fist was dripping with dark blood, bone slivers, and brain matter.

Richard tried to scramble to his feet, but he was thrown onto his back again as his feet were jerked out from under him. He felt pressure on his ankles where the large creature was grasping his legs. Before Richard could defend himself, the creature began swinging him around its head like a club. The centrifugal force kept Richard helpless and fully outstretched. If not for the strap on his plasma rifle, he would have lost it. On the third circuit of its swing, the creature released its grip. Richard went flying through the air until he hit the cavern wall. The battle suit’s armor cushioned the impact, but even so, Richard’s breath was knocked out of him.

The tubes in Richard’s nostrils immediately pumped air into his collapsed lungs. His feeling of helplessness disappeared as his lungs re-inflated. Richard got a grip on his plasma rifle and aimed at the chest of the creature. Instead of firing his plasma rifle, he pulled the trigger of the 20mm grenade launcher under the rifle’s barrel. The rifle bucked in his hands. The grenade exploded against the creature’s chest. Bone and flesh burst from a double-fist sized hole as the creature was thrown backwards.

Richard turned his attention to two zombies and a ghoul approaching from his left. Twenty rounds from the plasma rifle made short work of them. Richard glanced back to his right. To his surprise, the large creature was rising from the ground. As it rose, Richard noticed the hole in its chest close over until it was no longer visible. Within seconds, all evidence of the 20mm blast was gone.

Nick!
Richard said.

It’s a troll, Rick
, said Nickelo.
You’re going to have to burn it. And you don’t have much time.

Richard’s passive scan told him what a glance at his heads-up display confirmed. Hundreds of dots of every color of the rainbow were converging down all the tunnels. The intersection would be crawling with an overwhelming force in less than two minutes.

Since he was fresh out of flamethrowers, and since he didn’t have time to summon one, Richard concentrated on the remaining zombies and ghouls. He liberally sprayed them with his plasma rifle until Nickelo warned him he only had twenty rounds left. Richard pulled his phase rod and switched it to destructive mode. He closed with the weaker undead, staying well clear of the trolls. The fight was all one sided since his opponents’ teeth and claws could not penetrate his armor. Still, it was a race against time, and Richard knew he was losing the race. He could kill the zombies and ghouls easy enough, but they were slowing him down. Before long, Richard encountered the second troll. He was forced to expend two more 20mm rounds to keep it at bay. The troll quickly healed itself and continued running towards Richard.

Only a handful of zombies remained. Changing tactics, Richard avoided the few remaining zombies. He ran a dozen meters down one of the tunnels. Extracting three blocks of J22 plastic explosive from the satchel at his side, Richard jammed them onto the tunnel’s ceiling. They were naturally adhesive, and they easily stuck in place. Richard turned to leave. As he’d hoped, one of the trolls had followed him into the tunnel. It charged towards Richard with a vicious growl, its arms outstretched.

When the troll was six paces away, Richard blew its left leg off at the knee with one of his precious remaining 20mm grenades. The troll nose-dived to the ground. Richard jumped over it and ran to the tunnel entrance. Once Richard cleared the tunnel, he spun around and fired his remaining plasma rounds at the ceiling above the troll. It had just gotten to its feet when one of the rounds connected with a block of J22 plastic explosive.

Boom!

The cavern shook as the tunnel collapsed on the troll. Dust and rock debris were blown out of the tunnel into the intersection. Richard was thrown back by the force of the blast. He automatically threw his hands up to protect his head. He went flying through the air towards the opposite wall of the intersection. In desperation, Richard wrapped himself in Power and attempted to use telekinesis to slow his momentum. He partially succeeded, but he still felt the back of his battle helmet crack when he made contact with the rock wall. Richard momentarily blacked out. He was brought out of his daze when Nickelo used the battle suit’s medical needles to shoot adrenaline directly into his veins.

Your suit’s seals are still intact
, said Nickelo,
but we lost some of the electronics. You need to get up and moving. That other troll is headed your way.

Richard forced himself to stand up. He was immediately knocked down by two zombies who began biting at his neck and chest. Richard got his knee under one and kicked it away. He slammed the butt of his phase rod into the second zombie’s temple. The zombie fell off and stopped moving. Richard drew his .44 AutoMag and blew off the back of the other zombie’s head. He rose to a sitting position and spun to the left where he sensed the second troll was located. Richard fired the remaining six shots of the .44 AutoMag into the troll’s chest knocking it down. Standing up, Richard holstered his pistol and then cocked the slide on the grenade launcher. He fired his last three 20mm grenades at the troll. By the time the last one hit, the troll was short most of its left leg and was missing an arm. It floundered around on the floor snarling with rage.

The elf is still fifty meters away
, said Nickelo.
The enemy down that tunnel to the right is only forty meters from the entrance. You’d better hustle, Rick, or I’m going to start having doubts about your wizard scout abilities.

Richard was too busy to even take the time to banter with Nickelo. He could see the mass of dots on the heads-up display nearing the intersection. Heading towards the right-most tunnel, Richard pulled the pin on one of his anti-personnel grenades and threw it into the tunnel.

Boom!

When he reached the tunnel, Richard took half a dozen steps inside and started sticking blocks of J22 plastic explosive on the ceiling while setting their timers for ten seconds. He activated the timers and high tailed it for the tunnel’s entrance.

Once back in the open intersection, Richard ran towards the tunnel opposite the one he had just rigged. When he was close, he threw his second anti-personnel grenade down the tunnel and flattened himself against the wall just outside the tunnel opening.

Boom!

The blast of his grenade was followed by an even larger blast from the tunnel he had rigged with J22 plastic explosive.

Boom!

Richard wanted to look back to make sure the J22 plastic explosive had completely blocked the tunnel, but he couldn’t afford the time. He stepped into the tunnel he had just thrown the grenade into and ran several steps inside before attaching three more blocks of J22 plastic explosive to the ceiling. He risked a glanced at his heads-up display. The dots were much too close. He didn’t have ten seconds. Richard pulled a block of J22 plastic explosive out of his satchel and set the timer for three seconds. He clicked the activate switch and threw the J22 plastic explosive down the tunnel. He dived for the floor.

Boom!

Richard stood up. The tunnel was so filled with dust he couldn’t see, but he found the blocks of J22 plastic explosive on the ceiling and set their timers to five seconds. He activated the timers and ran back towards the intersection. Once clear of the tunnel, Richard turned toward the final tunnel. This was the one Shandria had said led to her exit. Richard had to hold it until the elf arrived. Richard had only taken two steps before something tripped him causing him to fall to the stone floor. Looking behind him, he saw the remaining troll holding onto his ankle. Richard was struck by the fact that it was still missing most of its leg. He wondered if the troll had crawled to intercept him. Richard kicked with both legs in an attempt to free himself, but the troll had a grip of iron. It started pulling Richard closer.

Boom!

The J22 plastic explosive in the tunnel exploded. Richard was much closer than he had planned to be. The blast sent both him and the troll rolling along the stone floor until they smashed into the opposite wall. Somewhere along the way, the troll lost its grip. Richard stood and activated his phase rod.

“Leave him to me,” shouted Shandria as she ran into the intersection. “Close this tunnel.”

Richard sensed the life forms hot on the elf’s heels. He grabbed another block of J22 plastic explosive and set the timer at four seconds. As he ran past Shandria towards the tunnel she had just left, the elf pulled one of her wands from her belt and shouted two words. A stream of fire erupted from the end of the wand and engulfed the troll in flames.

When Richard reached the tunnel’s entrance, he activated the J22 plastic explosive’s timer and threw it hard down the tunnel towards the approaching life forms. Richard quickly stepped to the side of the tunnel entrance and flattened himself against the stone wall.

Boom!

Smoke, dust and stray pieces of flesh flew out of the tunnel. Richard ran in a full twenty meters before stopping. The elf was unarmored, so he couldn’t place the explosives too close to the entrance without endangering her. Unfortunately, it meant he was closer to the approaching enemy. Apparently, the deaths of a few of their companions had not reduced their desire to kill the human and elf intruders.

Richard set the timers for the J22 plastic explosive at four seconds. He didn’t think that would give him time to clear the tunnel, but he hoped it would give him time to get past any parts of the ceiling that collapsed. Taking a deep breath, Richard hit the activate switches as he turned to run back towards the intersection.

You’re cutting it too close
, said Nickelo.

Boom!

The blast shot Richard out the tunnel. Richard tried to use his telekinesis to slow his momentum, but he couldn’t concentrate. He hit the wall of the intersection with bone-breaking force. Fortunately, the armor of the battle suit was the best the armorers of the Intergalactic Empire could craft, and it cushioned most of the force. Richard had his breathed knocked out of him again, but besides that, he was relatively unscathed. His battle suit did not fare as well. The impact cracked the front part of his battle helmet. The butt of his plasma rifle broke off, and the rifle barrel bent. The tubes in Richard’s nostrils and throat retracted.

You’ve lost the seal on your suit
, said Nickelo.

Richard shook his head to clear the fog. He noticed the elf was standing in front of the remaining tunnel sending fireballs from one of her wands at something out of his sight. Richard grabbed his phase rod and tried to stand so he could join the fight.

No!
said Nickelo.
You’ve got a few seconds. You need to rearm.

Richard obeyed his battle computer without argument. He chastised himself mentally for not thinking of it on his own. He hastily removed his dimensional pack from his back and put his damaged plasma rifle inside along with the empty clip from his .44 AutoMag. Richard imagined a new, fully-loaded, plasma rifle along with a clip of .44 caliber ammo and two anti-personnel grenades. Richard sensed some energy transfer from his Power reserve to his pack. It wasn’t much. The plasma rifle was non-standard so it cost him Power, but the other items were freebies according to Nickelo. Richard opened the flap of the pack and pulled out a shiny-new plasma rifle with a fully-charged isotopic battery. He cocked the slide of the grenade launcher to ready a 20mm round. He then replaced the empty spot with one of the extra 20mm grenades he had in his satchel.

Should I replace the helmet?
Richard asked.

No
, said Nickel.
Your battle helmet’s damaged, but I’m fully functional. I would advise against an attempt to replace me right now. What if there’s a delay when you put me in your dimensional pack? Worse yet, what if ‘
the One
’ decides this is a good time to see what you can do on your own?

Richard had no desire to see what he could do on his own. He was sure Nickelo had saved his life several times already today. He hastily slung his dimensional pack on his back.

I agree
, Richard said.
Are we ready?

Go for it
, said Nickelo.

_________________

Richard ran up to Shandria and knelt down with his plasma rifle at the ready. She was no longer sending fireballs down the tunnel. Richard was grateful his battle helmet’s night vision display was still working. He dreaded thinking how horrible it would be to stumble around a tunnel full of zombies in complete darkness.

With the aid of the night vision display, Richard could see the tunnel floor was littered with charred corpses. His passive scan indicated the nearest life forms were about sixty meters ahead. There were eight of them, and they were not moving. Their signatures appeared to be run-of-the-mill zombies. Of course, something else could be using a stealth shield, but that couldn’t be helped. Besides, surely there weren’t all that many creatures in these tunnels that had the skill to use stealth shields. The odds were low.

Nodding his head at the wand in the elf’s hand, Richard said, “Nice little item to have.”

“It was,” said Shandria as she tucked it back into her belt. “It’s empty now. I drained the other two wands getting here. I’ll have to use my Power reserve from here on out.”

“You still have some Power in your staff and jewelry, don’t you?” Richard asked. He knew she did, because he could sense it. Nearly drained though they were, the staff alone still contained more Power than Richard’s reserve had when it was full.

“A little,” Shandria admitted. “But, I’d like to save it for an emergency.”

“Well,” Richard said, “I have a full load of ammo, and my Power reserve is nearly full. My armor has taken a beating, especially my helmet, but other than that I’m in pretty good shape.”

“Has Master Nick been harmed?” Shandria asked with what sounded like genuine concern.

“I’m fine,” said Nickelo out loud. “I just need a wizard scout who can take better care of his equipment. Haven’t seen any around, have you?”

Shandria’s face muscles were strained, but Richard thought they relaxed a little at Nickelo’s joke. She gave a small smile and answered, “Nay, Master Nick. But, I think you have the best wizard scout I have ever seen.”

Richard thought the compliment would mean more if the elf had ever seen another wizard scout, but he bit his tongue and remained silent.

“Are we sticking with the same plan?” Richard said. “I go first to clear out the weaker stuff, and you follow and back me up whenever I encounter less accommodating creatures?”

“Well,” said Nickelo aloud, “if my opinion means anything, I calculate that plan has the best chance for success. Rick’s armor will protect him from the weaker undead. There’s no use for Shandria to risk getting paralyzed again. When Rick hits the tougher stuff, he’s going to need help taking them out.”

“Our minds are alike, Master Nick,” said Shandria. “Lead on whenever you’re ready, Rick. I shall be there when you need me.”

Richard stepped past Shandria with his plasma rifle at the ready. When he had gone almost fifty meters, he sensed the elf begin to move.

The first batch is just around this next corner, Rick
, said Nickelo.
From their signatures, it’s just eight zombies. I’d suggest taking them out with your phase rod. I doubt you’ll need your plasma rifle. Save it for later.

Trusting his phase rod to do the light work, Richard rushed around the corner as he activated the phase rod in destructive mode. He hoped to take the zombies by surprise and take them out quickly. As soon as he turned the corner, Richard saw the zombies lined up in two rows of four facing his direction. They were not alone. Two other creatures were behind them. One was a tall, thin humanoid with mottled skin, flaming eyes, and two large ram horns growing out of its forehead. It also had a tail with a wicked looking stinger poised over its shoulder. The second creature was down on all fours and appeared to be some sort of canine. It was about waist high at the front shoulder, and its hair was similar to porcupine quills. A clump of the quills were bunched at the end of its tail. Four hissing, snakelike appendages complete with heads grew out of its neck.

Richard didn’t need anyone to tell him these were demons of some kind. He was here to handle the small stuff, this bigger meat was all Shandria’s as far as he was concerned. The demons dropped their stealth shields, and Richard felt a wave of evil wash over him. The demons had seemed as surprised to see Richard as he had been to see them. But, they were overcoming their initial shock quickly.

They were waiting for the elf
, said Nickelo.
They didn’t expect you.

Not bothering to reply, Richard started backpedaling towards the bend in the tunnel. He grabbed for his plasma rifle with his right hand. It was still hanging by its strap from his shoulder within easy reach, but Richard had trouble finding the grip.

The four-legged demon recovered first. It charged at Richard and knocked several zombies down in the process. When the demon got within range, a snakehead struck at Richard’s face. The long fangs in the snake’s mouth sent a chill down Richard’s spine. He hated snakes. For some reason, Richard had a feeling the snake’s fangs were capable of penetrating his armor. Before the snake made contact, Richard batted at the head with his phase rod. The blow was not hard, but the energy from the phase rod still transferred into the snakehead. The result was a series of subatomic explosions. The head blew apart. Pieces of snake along with a vile liquid splattered Richard’s left arm. Each spot of liquid began to bubble and smoke on anything it touched.

Dive backwards
, yelled Nickelo.

Richard was too busy swinging at the remaining snakeheads to obey his battle computer. Fortunately, Nickelo took charge of the battle suit and sprang backwards propelling Richard around the corner of the tunnel and out of sight of the demon.

Run, Rick
, said Nickelo.

Scrambling to his feet, Richard began running towards Shandria. He felt like a kid running to his mommy for protection, but he didn’t care. He figured he could be ashamed later if he was still alive. Richard pointed his plasma rifle to the rear and fired as he continued running. He couldn’t aim, but he didn’t care. Just the noise made him feel like he was defending himself in case something was following him. Something was. In fact, several somethings were following him.

“Down!” ordered Shandria.

Richard dived for the floor. His momentum carried him forward in a long slide on the rough, stone floor. He was thankful he was wearing armor, or he was sure he would have been rubbed raw.

As he was sliding, a streak of lightning left the elf’s outstretched hand and passed over Richard’s head. He turned on his back and began firing wildly down the tunnel. The lightning had done its job in a fashion in that several zombies lay smoldering on the floor. However, the demon-dog looked no worse for the wear. Richard sensed a powerful shield to its front. Shandria’s lightning bolt had failed to penetrate it.

At that moment, the taller demon came into view. It started moving its hands and shouting in some harsh language. Richard sensed a powerful ball of energy forming in its hands. Shandria must have sensed it too, because she quickly formed her own defensive shield. Richard was tempted to run for its protective cover, but he didn’t think he had time. Besides, the demon-dog appeared to have stopped its attack in order to give the other demon room to fight.

Richard did a hundred-and-eighty-degree-spin and used the legs of the battle suit to propel himself closer to the demon-dog. Strange as it might seem, Richard deemed that to be a safer spot than out in the open between two powerful magic users. As he moved, Richard sprayed a few dozen rounds at both demons hoping to distract them from the elf. The plasma rounds hit the demons’ defensive shields and dissipated into the air. The demons were not distracted.

The taller demon released its ball of energy. It streaked past Richard towards the elf. Richard continued firing his plasma rifle. He tried to ricocheted rounds off the floor, walls and ceiling in the hopes some would go around the shields, but they didn’t. The demons were fully protected.

Boom!

A rush of air from behind Richard confirmed the demon’s ball of energy had detonated in the elf’s vicinity. Richard saw the white dot shinning steadily on his heads-up display, so he knew the elf’s shield had held. However, he wondered how long it could hold up against that kind of energy. Richard thought the elf’s Power reserve was noticeably lower.

As soon as the sound of the explosion subsided, the demon-dog jumped towards Richard. Its four snakeheads were outstretched as if each one was striving to be the first one to bite the pitiful human opposing it.

Richard had a nagging feeling there should only be three snakeheads, but he quickly blocked out the thought. He had more to worry about. Aiming his rifle from the hip, Richard fired off a 20mm grenade. The range was too close for the explosive charge to detonate, but the grenade hit the demon-dog on its left hip. The round’s impact tore a fist-sized hole in the demon’s flesh. It was knocked backwards flying end over end.

Guess the hound’s shield doesn’t protect it from physical attacks
, said Nickelo.
That’s nice to know.

Richard was still lying on the floor, but he was in no hurry to stand up. The big boys were slugging it out above, and streaks of energy were going in both directions just a meter over his head. One of Shandria’s balls of energy exploded against the taller demon’s defensive shield. The demon was unharmed. Richard took a chance the two demons had similar shields. He fired a 20mm grenade at the taller demon’s head. The round exploded a meter before it got to the demon.

Damn
, Richard said.
It blocks both energy and physical attacks.

Not very considerate, is it, Rick
? said Nickelo.

Richard heard a growl. The demon-dog was up and running his way. Both of its back legs appeared to be undamaged.

Did it heal itself?
Richard said as he fired another 20mm grenade at the hound.

The demon-dog sidestepped the grenade and ran past Richard towards Shandria. As the demon passed by, Richard reached out with both hands and grabbed hold of its tail. Richard was jerked to his feet, but he dug in with his heels and pulled back on the tail with all his might. Aided by the battle suit’s assisters, the demon-dog was not only stopped, but it was thrown backwards.

Nick
, Richard thought as he pictured the taller demon who was engaging the elf.

Got it
, replied Nickelo.

Richard felt the battle suit twist in a manner too quick for him to have done it by himself. At precisely the right moment, the battle suit’s gloves released their grip on the tail. The demon-dog went flying through the air straight towards the taller demon’s head.

As Richard had hoped, the demon-dog passed through its ally’s defensive shield. The taller demon and the demon-dog both went down in a flurry of arms, legs and snakeheads. Richard saw at least two of the snakeheads bite the taller demon. With a roar, the taller demon stood up and threw off the struggling demon-dog.

They’ve dropped their shields
, said Nickelo excitedly.

Richard made a hasty grab for his plasma rifle and began spraying both demons with a nearly solid stream of red energy. Both demons roared. Richard wasn’t sure whether it was from pain or from anger or both. Richard shot a 20mm grenade at each demon catching both in the chest. This time they both roared in definite pain. However, they did not go down.

Throwing caution to the wind, Richard let go of his plasma rifle and made a dive for the demon-dog. His left hand found his phase rod. He activated it in destructive mode just as he hit the hound. Richard swung furiously at the snakeheads in a desperate attempt to put them out of action before they could strike. He barely avoided their bites, but with Nickelo’s aid, he smashed three snakeheads with his phase rod and pulled the fourth out by its roots. Then Richard wrapped both arms around the demon-dog’s neck and squeezed. He wasn’t even sure the demon breathed, but if it did, Richard was determined to choke out its life.

A strange sensation passed over Richard as he struggled with the demon-dog. As it furiously snapped at him with its long fangs, Richard sensed the world around them coming to a stop. Ignoring the sensation, Richard tightened his hold on the demon-dog’s neck while wrapping his legs around the creature to hold it down. Ever so slowly, the demon-dog stopped struggling.

I guess it had to breathe after all
, observed Nickelo.

Nodding his head in agreement, Richard jerked his arms and snapped the demon’s neck. Then for good measure, Richard pulled out his .44 caliber AutoMag and put a round in each eye. The heavy bullets tore the back of the demon-dog’s head off. Its blood, bone, and brain matter flew through the air about a meter then stopped. All of it stopped in mid-air.

Ah, that’s different
, said Nickelo as if he was taking notes.

Richard swung his plasma rifle towards the taller demon ready to fire. But his hand froze before he pulled the trigger. The taller demon looked as if it was frozen in time. Its hands were poised in front of it as if it had been trying to perform the hand movements of an intricate spell. Like the rest of it, the hands were not moving.

What the hell?
Richard said.