Age of Saeculum: Rise of Man

Harem of Saeculum: Rise of Man - Chapter Twenty

"Thomas Hawthorne... Do you think this will kill me?" Qrurcean asked.

I turn to see his body coming back together like a monster from a movie. My hand went to the bundle of frags on my belt. Five, to be exact.

"Aphanea, take those women to the westside wall and run," I said.

She didn't hesitate and ran with the fifteen women. I kneel by the undead man.

"Maybe this will kill you. Maybe it won't. For me, it does not matter. I promise I will find a way to kill you, I promise. That's something to look forward to in the very near future...," I whispered, pulling the pins.

"You have no clue what power I wield or my master. I shall ensure your death will be as excruciating as possible," he whispered.

"My gut tells me you're dead weight. I'll tell your master you tried if that's any consolation," I said, stuffing the frags into his reforming body.

I ran as fast as I could, counting back from five. Loud, inhuman screams come from the tent. My name is mixed with cusses, and words, not of my language, echo in the night air.

'BOOM... BOOM... BANG-BANG!!!'

A few minutes later, I'm running behind the mob of women north toward Pineford. The roar of gunfire ends suddenly, and Rhonda's voice comes over my radio.

"Enemy hostiles neutralized! Coming to you, over," Rhonda stated.

"Copy that, mission complete, over," I said.

"Aphanea, are there any more captives in the camp?" I asked.

"No, these are all the prisoners," she answered.

I pull out a remote, flick it open, and push the button.

'BOOOOOM'

The C-Four goes off all at once, lighting the sky up for miles. The sound carries even farther. Many of the women drop to the ground in fear. Aphanea talks to them in the language I first heard her speak. They all look at me. Only the eleven like her shy away. A revving engine comes up not far from us in the dark, and a moment later, the headlights illuminate our surroundings. Rhonda steps out and walks over.

"Shit, Thomas! All those women were there???" she asked.

"Yeah, I found them chained up like slaves. I freed them thanks to your cover fire. You gave me enough time to get them out. None of those monsters even knew I was inside freeing them," I said.

Rhonda and Aphanea locked eyes for the first time. There was instant tension between the two, but they chose not to act on impulse. They just acknowledged each other. I found myself nervous now that they met face to face. I felt tension from knowing Kathy and Grace were minutes away, if not moments, from meeting her. Right now, this is happening either way at this point. I hope to push it off until we get back to town, at least for now.

Grace popped out the top of the Humvee. "Sheriff Orkan is on the way with a few city transit buses and school buses from the city," Grace stated.

"Aphanea, tell them to walk together. We'll lead them to safety," I said.

"Yes," she said, talking in her native language.

The human women talk to one another in a unique language before speaking hers.

"They have agreed to follow," Aphanea said.

"Alright, let's move out. We can meet Sheriff Orkan halfway at the very least," I said.

I secure my m-four in the humvee as Rhonda takes the wheel. A low rumbling grows louder. Grace and Rhonda look at me when Kathy yells.

"Thomas!!! Behind you!" she yelled, but it was too late. Something wraps around me and yanks me with incredible force.

Suddenly, some sort of vine pulls me at high speed away from the humvee before slinging me like a toy in the air. I landed hard on my back. My pack softens the impact, but it still flashes through my body. I drag myself to my feet and draw the hulking sword out of pure instinct. Out of the side of my eye, I caught a glimpse of an incoming attack. Again, my muscles react on instinct. I dodge easily and slice through the incoming veins. A hulking Qrurcean, a towering menace of body parts, four arms, four arachnid appendages, and a slew of branchy vines coming from his back, stands between the women and me. He turns to them, and I charge him.

"Tonight, I'll kill you as many times as I have to!" I yelled. My words anger him and distract him from the others.

"Puny mortal! Do you know how many centuries I have lived? You are an insignificant annoyance. Behold the power that I wield!" Qrurcean shouted with force.

A volley of thorns and needles flies at me. With the massive sword, I deflect and block most of the projectiles. The rest do minor damage to my vest and thick clothing. Made out of kevlar, they made these clothes for added protection against small arms fire. I slash my way at him until I'm close enough to cut him down. Two of his spider arms slash at me quickly. I dodge and roll out of range. Another vine strikes at me. I shredded it to pieces, then cut both spider limbs off. The undead man cries out in pain.

"Curse you! Where did you get that blade?" he snarled, backing up.

The sword hurt him, but my mind is on the many captive women. They are no longer in sight. 'Good, Rhonda and Grace prioritized the civilians.' I take a deep breath and focus on my enemy. The knowledge they were putting distance between them and us gave me all the conviction to end this monster. I calm my nerves, control my breathing, and zero in on the undead abomination. I charged again. Qrurcean uses his remaining arms to lash out at me. Just then, a giant book appears in front of him, glowing with eerie green energy. He mumbles words I can't understand. In the surrounding area, I witness more of those damned undead warriors crawling out of the ground like an evil horde of locusts. It is an eerie sight that mirrors what I saw last time. I cut as many as I can down before more fully surface. My undying will to fight his undead army sends the hulking Qrurcean into a raging frenzy.

"What's the matter? Don't have enough cannon fodder to aid you?" I barked.

"I have more than enough mana left to finish you, human!" Qrurcean snapped.

"It's going to take a hell of a lot more than this to kill me!" I stated, cutting down even more of the monsters.

Again, he mumbled strange words. 'He's making more of those creatures!' I have to stop him from bringing in more allies. I swing the giant blade across both his boney arms. A cry of pain and angst interrupts the chanting. I follow through with a horizontal slash separating his top torso from his malnutrition legs. I don't have a second to catch my breath, as our battle is not over yet. It will take more than this to attain victory. I raise the heavy sword above my head as I look down at the hulking, undead monster. The wretched creature's eyes met mine, and I smiled back. I slam the humongous sword mercilessly at his neck, angling it precisely at the right moment. The Qrurcean's eyes burn with rage but slowly fade. I take the book lying next to him. One of his stubbed hands reaches for it. As the squirming thing tries to escape me, I step on it, crushing it.