Chapter 22 : Pitfalls
Quota 0/270 - Last Day
"You can open your eyes now," Victor announced to the group.
They had just narrowly avoided disaster, but they needed to keep moving. Two creatures had attacked them one after the other, and quite a few more seemed to have been drawn by the noise.
THOMP
THOMP
It was the heavy, dull sound of something large striking the ground at regular intervals. The noise was already getting closer. It likely wasn't the only one, but it was the only one that had made its presence known.
The others were hiding silently in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to spring an ambush.
Without exchanging a word, the group resumed their journey. This time, they weren't walking briskly but running.
However, the run quickly turned back into a fast walk because of one person: Victor.
The lamp in his hands didn't help with running, but the real issue was him.
With his sleepless nights and his physical condition resembling that of a walking corpse, it was a bit hard for him to keep up with his companions over a long distance.
He had managed to keep pace with them for about fifty meters and was already out of breath by the end of that effort.
The group had to slow down, even though the creature behind them was closing in.
They were only a few hundred meters from the exit. Along the way, they didn't encounter either the dark creature with flower-like petals or any new creature. However, the one behind them had almost caught up.
In a final effort, they rushed toward the exit of the labyrinth. Victor was bent over, trying to catch his breath in large gulps of air.
They had reached the entrance hall safely. There were no creatures in sight in the vast room.
"Let's grab the loot and get out of here," Victor thought as he picked up a random bag.
The number of items they had collected must have been significant, judging by the pile of bags in front of the entrance door. The dead ends Victor and Olivia had explored hadn't yielded many items, but the other two had filled three bags.
Nothing seemed to have come to steal any of them.
"Let's hope no syllogomane larvae come by while we're transferring everything," Victor thought as he walked toward the exit door.
Everyone had slung a bag over their shoulder and was carrying a large object in their hands. The mysterious man had begun opening the door to take the rest of the items outside, the exterior tunnel looking much more inviting than the entrance hall.
Especially after hearing the screech of the creature that was still rapidly approaching them.
They managed to get the first four bags, three lamps, and a painting through the heavy lock. Just as the group was about to start their second trip, a monster burst into the entrance hall.
GRRRROAAAAGH !
The roar sent a chill down Victor's spine. The creature moved on two legs, but it could accelerate far faster than the spider. In fact, it was already upon them before the group could get the rest of the bags out.
Olivia was the first to react. She rushed to grab the shovel that had been left on the pile of bags and positioned herself at the front of the group. The creature, meanwhile, continued to speed up. By the time it reached Olivia, it was moving at the speed of a train.
However, Olivia was ready. With perfect timing and the flat of the shovel, she delivered a powerful blow to the creature rushing toward her.
The force of the strike smashed the creature's gaping maw into the ground. In its momentum, it tumbled over itself several times before crashing into the wall next to the entrance door with a heavy thud, making the entire hall shake.
"Let's go! We'll come back for the rest later!" the mysterious man shouted, seeing the creature quickly regain its senses.
The group rushed outside, with the man and Olivia closing the door in record time despite the creature's screeching.
Once the massive steel door was shut, for the first time in a long while, the group found themselves in silence.
They could take a moment to discuss their next steps, but time was running out. The sun outside was already beginning to set. With the lamps they had found, they would be too easily spotted once night fell. They hadn't found a way to deactivate them. All it would take was a single light-sensitive creature, and they'd be marching straight into a massacre.
"Let's start by bringing the lamps and one of the two paintings back. We'll come back for the rest later," the mysterious man decided, checking his watch.
18:30
Victor frowned. It hadn't seemed like they had spent that much time inside.
"Everything seems distorted in there. I'd better buy a watch once I have the money, so I can keep track of time," Victor thought, glancing at the man's watch.
They began ascending the stairs. It was a bit of calm before the potential storm. Victor couldn't do much to prepare for the dangers outside, but he could at least manage to climb the stairs. His sprint had already worn him out, and the stressful day hadn't helped.
"I really need to get back in shape when I get home if I want to last in this job," he muttered, focusing on his breathing.
If he ever wanted to go on an expedition like this on his own, he wouldn't even have the strength to open the entrance door.
It was a bitter realization, but it was a thought he could dwell on once he was out of here. For now, he had made it to the top of the stairs. The others showed no signs of fatigue, as if climbing stairs wasn't physically demanding at all.
"They're really something else," he grumbled, bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
The sun was already approaching the horizon. The light had begun to fade, and the lamps they carried were illuminating their surroundings. The situation was slowly worsening, but they couldn't afford to be careless. They had heard footsteps coming from the forest on the first day, audible from the doorstep of the house, and none of them wanted to discover the size of the creature responsible.
For now, they were tiptoeing through the forest. The mysterious man hadn't deployed his drone to maintain maximum discretion. Every sound in the forest seemed sinister, from the whisper of the wind through the trees to the squirrels gnawing on their nuts.
However, two sounds stood out, far louder than the rest. They were footsteps, but with different intensities. The first was relatively light, as if from an animal the size of a cow. The second, however...
Thoom - Thoom - Thoom
The entire forest vibrated after each step of the creature. It was the same sound of footsteps they had heard in the distance on the first day. But now, the noise was much louder, as the creature must have been much closer. Though they couldn't see it, they occasionally crossed clearings where trees had been knocked down. The creature must have passed through, flattening everything in its path.
It left behind colossal footprints in the damp soil.
Thoom - Thoom - Thoom
They could hear the creature walking somewhere to their left. It seemed able to move quickly through the dense forest despite its size.
Even though Olivia had a rocket launcher in her bag, they weren't confident it would be enough to kill it. The group began to veer to the right to try and avoid it. They walked for several minutes, trying to keep as far from the creature as possible. The detour added about 15 minutes to their journey. They had to pick up the pace as the sun was dangerously close to setting behind the horizon.
As they approached their vehicle, the giant creature was far behind them, deep in the forest for the moment. However, it would only take a few strides for the situation to turn dire.
They were just a hundred meters from the HUMVEE. But standing in their path was some sort of dog. It was the monster Olivia had encountered during her first quota. Victor wouldn't have called it a dog, considering it was the size of a cow, but that was the first thing that came to mind when he saw the monstrosity.
The creature moved with its head lowered as if sniffing the ground. Yet, it passed within a few steps of them without detecting their presence. As Olivia had mentioned, the dog was also blind. In complete silence, they slipped toward the HUMVEE. There were two other dogs roaming about ten meters away, but none of them heard the car doors open.
They placed the lamps, the painting, and the bags in the back. There were still two bags and another painting waiting for them deep in the forest.
19:00
The light had faded significantly, but the mysterious man had a solution. From one of his bags full of gadgets, he pulled out a pair of night-vision goggles. They decided to go back to retrieve the remaining items. There was no need for everyone to go; two people would suffice.
Olivia and the man would return to the forest. Shirley would stay at the HUMVEE, ready to start the engine so they could leave as soon as they returned.
As for Victor, he would wait patiently in the back of the vehicle. He lacked the stamina and experience to run through the forest quietly, and he didn't have Shirley's driving skills.
So, all he could do was sit in the back of the HUMVEE, hoping nothing bad would happen to them on their way. He spent several minutes with his ear pressed against the bulletproof window, trying to catch any sound from the forest.
He could hear the giant creature walking. It was far away, but he still felt as though he could sense the vibrations of the ground even from that distance.
It walked for several seconds at a time before stopping. Like a predator, it must have been using that time to check if any prey had slipped into its surroundings. After a short pause, it resumed its cycle again and again.
That is, until Victor heard it start running.
He could feel his heart tighten with every step the creature took. He had no way of knowing what had caused this sudden change in pace.
All he knew was that the sound boded ill. Victor tried pestering the system for answers on what might have broken its cycle, but the system remained silent.
It was an oppressive silence, interrupted only by the eerie footsteps of the creature in the distance. It had run for several seconds before suddenly going quiet. The creature didn't resume walking until several seconds later, returning to an almost normal pattern.
The waiting was becoming increasingly unbearable. Victor checked the time to try to calm his anxiety.
20:00
They had already been gone for nearly an hour. The sun had set a few minutes ago. It was a moonless night, and darkness enveloped the vehicle. Shirley hadn't turned on the headlights. They waited in total silence and darkness.
There was no way to contact the others.
20:30
Several dogs were prowling nearby. Since Shirley hadn't started the engine, they occasionally passed beneath the windows without even noticing them.
21:00
"They should be back by now..." thought Victor, staring through the window.
The longer it took, the louder Victor could hear his own heartbeat. They should have been back a long time ago. The giant creature was still moving in the distance, but its pattern was no longer consistent. It kept running and stopping, as if searching for something.
It seemed to have picked up their scent again.
Thoom - Thoom - Thoom
Thoom - Thoom - Thoom
THOOM - THOOM - THOOM
Victor frowned. He could see the creature's silhouette rising above the treetops, approaching them at high speed.
"Why is it coming straight for us?" he wondered, looking outside.
He couldn't see anything in the darkness, but he could hear the dogs growling.
The colossal creature had now left the forest, and in a few seconds, it would be upon them.
As Victor watched it approach, two silhouettes leapt onto the windshield.
"GO, GO, GO, Shirley!" shouted the mysterious man, pounding on the hood.
She seemed to have been waiting for this moment with anticipation.
"EVERYONE HOLD TIGHT!" she screamed before slamming down the gas pedal.
The HUMVEE roared to life with a deafening sound, catching the attention of all the nearby dogs. Despite its weight and armor, the metal beast was anything but slow. In fact, Shirley must have modified it so much that it would beat most of its rivals off the starting line.
The HUMVEE shot backward like a bullet, hitting a dog that was in its path. The rest of its companions had already lunged at the vehicle. One of the closest dogs managed to slam into the door. The metal dented from the force of the impact, but the door held.
The HUMVEE then sped forward like a cheetah. Olivia and the mysterious man clung tightly to the windshield wipers. In just a few seconds, Shirley had left most of the creatures behind. She skillfully dodged the dogs that tried to block her path and drove through the entrance gate.
Victor glanced out the window at the advancing creatures. They had managed to escape, but the creatures would continue to hunt them down across the city. Worse, they would maybe kill about a quarter of New York's population along the way.
As Victor watched them approach the gate in fear, they suddenly vanished.
It wasn't due to a lack of visibility because the taillights were illuminating the scene.
They had simply disappeared, as if erased from the surface of the Earth.