26

The first monsters reached the house about the time I got turned around in the closet. I was ready for the fight that was coming with my dagger in hand. I knew they were coming, and I knew what direction they were coming from. The spider that slammed into the house was three times bigger then the one we'd seen in the store. It was missing two legs, but it had evolved to have a male torso with arms included where there had only been a head before. 

It looked even more human then the smaller one I'd faced earlier. It had a human head, upper torso, and arms. Then around the waist his torso darkened. Blackening as it switched into the spider's body. I wondered if any of the other spider monsters had followed a similar mutation path. 

The spider rushed towards me. I couldn't let it sink it's teeth in. It's venom was more dangerous then anything I'd seen so far. I couldn't let it get close. I lit hallway in front of me on fire. 

I didn't have long to wonder before another monster slammed it's way through the doors. It looked like a dog, but with extra legs. It's feet were shaped more like hands as it jumped towards me. I slammed the blade into the dog as it ignored the flames, and leapt towards me. I only had time to stab it in the face once before the spider yanked him back. 

They then proceeded to fight over me. I was wounded, and tired but not stupid. I rushed into one of the side halls. Just out of their line of sight. I heard them slam into the flaming walls as they tried to pursue me through the house. 

The dog was smaller, and weaker, but it had an easier time moving through the house then the spider. The spider had barely fit through the doors. I frowned to myself as I dodged through the house. Forcing them to slam into walls as they tried to follow. The flames were spreading, and I was starting to feel the heat as smoke flowed up the stairs, and out somewhere upstairs. 

The house was quickly turning into an uncontrolled blaze, and the smoke wasn't collecting inside so it had to be collecting outside. I dodged around their attacks the best I could manage. Stumbling around the house almost as much as the monsters were. I was largely used to this kind of hard luck. Shit went wrong for me all the time. 

I put furniture between me, and the monsters whenever possible. I slashed at one of the spiders legs as it lunged at me. Taking that whole leg off as I dashed beneath it. Splashing it's underbelly with flames as a third monster slammed into the house. This one looked human, but it had spider legs for arms, and legs, and it's face was more like that of a spider. 

It slammed into the other spider monster, and started using it's limbs to stab at the other monsters. Unlike the other spider monster it didn't have the ability to spin webs. It just crazily stabbed it's enemies. I didn't really care. The three way struggle they were having was working to my benefit. 

All I had to do was stay out of their reach. They kept on fighting each other violently. It slowed them enough that I could stay ahead of them in my exhausted wounded stat. Eventually the house became too hot for me to stay in. I could practically feel my skin blistering. 

I jumped through a window, and rushed to the next house. Something was off about that house so I just ran faster to the third house. This house didn't have the same dangerous air as the last one so I slammed into the door hard. The deadbolt wasn't ungauged so the door gave with one more good hit. I rushed into the room, and found myself in a living room of sorts. 

There was a living room with windows on one side, and a wall with doorways on the other. I rushed through one of the doorways, and found myself in the kitchen. One doorway led into the kitchen the other led further down the hall. This was a single story home so there was no upstairs. I was guessing that there were bedrooms, and a bathroom down the hall. 

Small home like this probably only had one bathroom, and from the size of the kitchen I would think that there were two bedrooms. You didn't need a large living room, and decent sized kitchen for a one bedroom house. I heard the monsters slam into the house through the front door. The dog creature was the first one to get to me. I lit my blade on fire, and stabbed him as he went to bite me. 

Flames erupted through my blade, and burst through the other side of the dog monster. I'd put more mana into it because of my exhaustion. I rushed through the next few steps. Backing away as the monster snapped his teeth at thin air a few times. He dropped to the ground still snapping his teeth as he died. 

I jumped away from the window as the spider monster that liked stabbing rushed towards me through the window. It didn't quite fit through the small kitchen window so it just thrashed it's limbs around as it tried to stab me. I dodged around it's attacks. Fleeing into the hallway as I rushed towards the bedrooms. I was glad I still had my dagger in hand. 

I slammed my blade into the wall, and lit the hallway on fire as I ran down it. The monster would try to follow me. I wanted to burn it. I rushed into one of the bedrooms, and slammed the door. Shoving the dresser over so it fell in a way that blocked the door. 

I heard the monster slam into the door. It's spikes started piercing the door a moment later. My dagger was still burning. I pulled the flames away from my blade using mana, and threw those flames at the dresser. Giving the flames even more fuel.