Chapter 103 The Retreat
The North Wall didn't fall silently. It died screaming.
The Spire roof became my observation point to see the building fall apart. The Titan used its headless body which was regrowing to rip through the reinforced concrete using its black root and rebar hands. The sound produced a deep rumble which traveled through my bones with greater volume than the gunfire and the screams.
The breach created an entryway for dark elements to enter the space.
The situation had become literal. The black tide of spiders and Void Walkers surged into the streets of Sector 1 like oil spilling across a map. The bioluminescent moss that lined the streets died after the Rot contaminated it, producing complete darkness which eliminated all light.
"Elara!" Ryker's voice crackled in my ear piece, barely audible over the static of the invasion. "Drop the beacon! Get off the roof! We are collapsing the perimeter!
"I won't drop the light because they need it to find their escape route!" I shouted back, through tears that stung my eyes.
"Your position above ground makes you the target!" Ryker roared. "The Titan sees the light! It’s looking at you! Move!
The Titan stood directly beneath me.
Ryker was right. The enormous headless creature had stopped its rampage. The black sludge that oozed from its neck appeared to detect air. The creature turned its body toward the Spire. I was holding.
The creature raised its enormous arm.
"MOTHER" the voice shook the entire city.
The creature stepped closer to the Spire.
I gasped out magic energy, which I used to cut off his connection with me. The ball of white light above the city winked out instantly.
The Terrarium returned to darkness, which existed only through the illumination of the North Wall's burning fires.
I ran.
I rushed down the maintenance stairs, using two steps at once while my heart pounded against my chest. I must reach the ground because I need to find Ryker.
The Streets of Sector 1
The retreat at street level became a stampede by the time I arrived.
The broad street that connects the North Gate with the inner city created a state of panic. The population which included Human families with food packages Wolves with their pups and New Citizens who used vine-legs to run toward the Spire, moved toward that protective location.
The enemy would reach their destination before us.
The spiders moved across the skyscrapers' surfaces to reach their destination while bypassing the parking area above them.
"Keep moving!" Jaxon screamed. He was standing on top of a flipped hover-car, firing his rifle into the shadows. "Don't stop! Eyes forward!
I pushed through the crowd, fighting against the tide.
"Ryker! I screamed.
He waited for me at the intersection of 4th and Main. He protected the street while maintaining his position at the center.
He stood in the middle of the street, his Star-Metal sword glowing with the last embers of its heat. He remained steadfast in his position despite his enemies.
Baron and his elite pack were with him. They created a defensive line which blocked access to a side street. A swarm of Void Walkers attempted to reach the civilians from that area.
"Hold them back!" Ryker shouted while he used his sword to behead a mud-monster. "Give the civilians time!
I rushed to his location while using my iron mace to smash a spider that attacked from behind him.
CRUNCH.
Ryker spun around. He looked wild. His face was covered in black ichor and soot.
"I instructed you to retreat!" Ryker growled but his eyes showed he felt relief when he discovered I had survived.
"I’m here to help! I yelled over the noise. "Where is the new perimeter?
"The Canal! Ryker pointed south. "The bridge at Sector 4. It’s the only choke point. Our team must cross the bridge to achieve successful results.
BOOM.
The ground shook with such intensity that I almost lost my balance.
I looked back up the street.
The Titan had entered the avenue.
The creature moved at terrifying speed despite its massive size. The creature walked down the middle of the street. The creature used its massive body to push down everything in its path. The creature occupied more space than the street currently found itself in, which caused it to scrape against buildings on both sides. The force of its movement caused windows to break and concrete debris to fall down as it advanced through the space.
The creature moved through the soldiers without attacking them.
Vane yelled, "It’s gaining! He ran toward us but dragged his leg because his mechanical arm emitted sparks. He carried a young wolf pup in his good arm. "Ryker, we can't outrun it! It’s taking steps the size of a city block!
Ryker observed the fleeing crowd. The narrow street still contained thousands of people who could not escape because they were trapped by the bridge ahead.
He looked at the Titan, which came within five hundred yards of them. It advanced steadily.
The General stood in front of his husband to hide him from view.
Ryker ordered Vane to move all civilians across the bridge. "Vane," Ryker said. "Get the civilians across the bridge. Now.
Vane asked what would happen to the rearguard while he gave her the pup he was carrying.
Ryker declared there were no rearguards to fight. "We run. If you fall behind, you are dead.
We ran.
The nightmare appeared to me in a chaotic state. I ran past the bakery which I used to buy bread and the tailor who made Ryker's suits. Now, they were just obstacles. A spider dragged a man into an alley. The man died after I heard him scream. I wanted to stop. I wanted to help him.
"I don't want to see that!" Ryker took my hand to draw me. "Keep running!"
We arrived at Canal Bridge location.
The bridge existed as an industrial structure which used steel and concrete materials to bridge the deep water channel between two residential areas.
The crowd moved forward in a disordered state which created a dangerous situation.
"Move! Move! The people at the back need to proceed through Jaxon who was standing there.
Our footsteps made the metal grating sound when we walked on the bridge. The metal grating clanged under our boots.
I turned to see what happened behind me.
The Titan stood at the bridge entrance.
The creature stopped its movement to cover the entire street. The creature scanned the street for escaping pedestrians. The face of the creature observed the situation. The creature observed the exit point of traffic.
It raised its massive fists. Its bridge-crossing plans stopped.
The structure would destroy the bridge supports.
The structure would drop the bridge. The bridge would collapse into the river. The bridge would collapse into the river.
The bridge will collapse because I screamed the warning. "Ryker, if it hits the pillars, everyone on this span dies.
Ryker looked at the bridge. The bridge still had many people present. The bridge still had families present.
He looked at the Titan. The Titan prepared for combat.
He focused on the Titan who stood directly across from the bridge. He observed the Titan who stood directly across from him. The Titan's gigantic foot. It was a relic from the old days, a massive tank of liquid hydrogen used for the industrial welders.
Ryker stopped running.
He spoke with calmness to Elara. "Elara," he said. "Get to the other side.
The woman asked him what he meant when she said his role needed to stay with her.
Ryker declared that someone needed to ignite the explosive device.
He examined the fuel truck while he assessed his sword. The sword sat in front of him as a cold object which possessed no warmth.
He took out the lighter from his pocket.
"Ryker, no!" I screamed. "You can't outrun that explosion!
"Ryker explained that his goal was to remain alive. "I will not run away from it.
He kissed me. It was hard and fast. The kiss tasted like ash.
He shouted, "Go! The order was for all citizens to leave.
He shoved me. He pushed me with his Alpha strength. The Alpha strength made me fly backward until I landed in Vane's arms.
"Grab her!" Ryker ordered Vane. "Run!
"Ryker! Vane shouted. His mechanical eye showed his horror.
"Run, dammit!
Ryker ran back to face the Titan.
I screamed, "No!" I fought against Vane who held me. "Let me go! Ryker!
Vane dragged me. "We have to leave Elara! We must leave immediately!
We ran to the end of the bridge. We crossed the line onto the safe side.
I spun around.
The black shape of Ryker ran toward the fuel truck. His black shape against the Titan's dark shape.
The Titan saw him. The Titan altered its target. The Titan changed its target to attack Ryker instead of the bridge supports.
CRASH.
Ryker escaped the fist's range when he lay under the truck.
He flicked the lighter.
He moved without any delay to start the flame against the hydrogen tank's leaking valve.
WHOOSH.
The entire world became white to me.
The explosion created a fireball which reached the height of a skyscraper and detonated from the base of the bridge.
The shockwave hit us like a physical hammer. Vane threw me to the ground, covering me with his body.
The sound approach reached our location after one second. The sound of deafening noise broke windows across three city blocks.
When the heat passed, I looked up.
The fuel truck disappeared. The near side of the bridge was gone, vaporized by the blast. The bridge blast destroyed the connection between the two sectors.
The Titan staggered after its legs had been blown off. The Titan fell backward into the burning wreckage area of Sector 1. Its black roots were consumed by the hydrogen fire.
But where was Ryker?
"Ryker! I went to the edge of the broken bridge.
The smoke was thick, black and oily. I couldn't see anything.
Jaxon whispered, "He’s gone." The man took off his helmet.
The man who had shown me died.
A hand reached up to grasp.
A hand covered in black soot held onto the rebar from the broken bridge. The hand belonged to a man whose suit sleeve had burned off.
A voice rasped for help.
"Ryker!
Vane and Baron surged forward. They grabbed Ryker’s wrist. The two of them managed to pull Ryker.
Ryker used his strength to pull himself. He collapsed onto the concrete while he coughed smoke. His clothes were smoking. His body showed red blisters on his skin.
He had survived.
He lay on his back to stare at the smoke-filled sky.
"Did we... he coughed. He hacked up black phlegm. "Did we stop it?
I dropped down beside him to search for stations. "You exploded the bridge. You stopped the sector from entering your territory.
Ryker turned his head. He looked across the gap.
The bridge had vanished. The fire burned fiercely. The Titan lay on the ground while flames consumed it.
There were people who still occupied the area behind the street fires which blocked the passage between Sector 1 to me.
People who hadn't made it to the bridge in time. A few dozen stragglers. The edge of the fire line stood before them as they screamed for help.
The spiders advanced toward them.
Ryker saw them too.
His eyes widened. He attempted to sit up, but his body fell back down.
"Ryker whispered their abandonment.
Jaxon spoke with difficulty. "We saved the Spire." He spoke with difficulty. "Sir...You saved thousands of lives but couldn't save them all.
The shadowy figures on the other side vanished from his memory. The smoke made it impossible for him to view them.
He closed his eyes. A single tear cut through the soot on his face.
"Sector 1 is lost," Ryker said. The voice of the King returned to his tone. The command was given to "Seal the gate. Everything which comes from the North. The process begins by welding it shut.