Night Scuffle

Chapter 13: Night Scuffle

It was shaking with increased force, causing jolts into the floor and falling everywhere-the dust and little pieces of hive's walls. And then the pulsating light in the walls faded away before it began growing with a disturbingly dark tinge of reds.

"What is happening?" she screamed out. Her both guns were pointed upwards to scan the corridor.

"It's not collapsing," Ava said, her voice tight with panic as she steadied herself. "Something else is happening."

A deafening screech echoed through the hive, making their blood run cold. From the shadows of the corridor ahead, countless glowing eyes began to materialize, and the glowing eyes multiplied in less than a second.

Cadens's grip on his katana tightened. "Looks like the hive's waking up."

The first wave of Proximars burst into view, their rock-like insect bodies swarming over the walls and ceiling, their claws clicking as they moved with terrifying speed and glowed with radiative energy.

"There's too many!" Darius yelled, instinctively hardening his body. "We can't fight all of them!"

"Then we don't," Caden said sharply. "We need to run. Now!"

He didn't wait for an answer but took off down the corridor, his blade cleaving through the first few Proximars that reached for him. The rest followed hard on his heels as the swarm filled the narrow tunnel behind them.

"Why does it feel like they're endless?!" Mira yelled as they ran, firing over her shoulder. Though she struck some of them dead, her other shots filled quickly with reinforcements from the herd of creatures. "They probably are!" Ava echoed, the energies of the psyche flared alive as she batted at another cluster trying to block them up ahead.

"Stay together!" Caden called back over his shoulder. "Don't stop for anything!"

The swarm seemed to grow louder, their screeches and clicks echoing through the tunnels as Proximars dropped from the ceiling and leapt off the walls to force the team to duck and weave to avoid getting overwhelmed.

Darius swung fists-hardened and unyielding-crushing anything that came too close, but even he was finding it difficult to keep up. "Caden, where are we even going?!"

"Out!" Caden screamed. "There's no way we're winning this in here!"

A roar suddenly shook the tunnel, deeper and louder than any they had heard. The hive itself shook in response.

"Wh-what was that?" Mira asked, voice shaking.

"Something worse, and I really don't think you want to see what it is" Caden replied with a slight frown.

The passage rounded a bend into a larger chamber: the exit could be seen far in the distance but the space separating them from their freedom was rapidly being filled with Proximars.

"We're never going to make it!" Ava exclaimed, her energy sputtering, threatening to overtake her, and Mira started to use her powers of gravity to hold the proximars in place for a little while.

Caden's eyes narrowed as he oversaw the occurrence. "Then we make a path."

He stepped forward, his katana glowing with green energy. "Darius, you're with me. Mira, Ava keep the ones behind us off our backs."

"Got it!" Mira exclaimed, spinning to fire upon the swarm following them. Ava nodded, called the last reserves of her energy, and built a barrier to slow their attackers.

Caden and Darius hewed their way forward through the Proximars with any and everything. The creatures bore them down without a hint of mercy, but the two were a whirlwind of flying elbows and fists; violence married to precision cut a path barely wide enough to the outside.

"Almost there!" Darius shouted, slamming into a really big Proximar and sending it off into space.

"Don't stop now!" Caden yelled, hacking his way through the last few remaining creatures between them and the door.

The hive shook one more time as they finally emerged, a deafening roar echoing out behind them.

"That can't be good," Mira muttered, her face pale, as she fired one last shot into the swarm.

"Out! Now!" Caden yelled, driving them through as the hive entrance quivered. They came out in a race onto the open, breathless and staggering in turn, until from behind came that rumble: the hive breaking out. Suddenly it recoiled upon encountering the sun.

"We made it out alive" Darius said in amazement as he touched his body all over. "Take that fuckers" Darius said laughing a he raised a middle finger in the hive direction.

"Why aren't they after us?"Caden asked confused and Ava sighed before speaking "They can't stand the sun" she said and everyone turned their heads in her direction" and Mira nitted her eyebrows together confused "Why would you know that" she asked and Ava pointed at the hive's entrance

"They obviously run for sunlight, they are hiding in the shadows." Ava said, and with one nods, the whole team realized. "That would mean we are only safe till the sky turns dark" Caden said and sighed before starting to stare outside at the gathering dark clouds.

Caden looked up at the sky again, which was welling up with dark clouds. "Well, just great," he said, a hint of his usual playful tone replaced by a thread of concern.

Mira looked upwards, her brows furrowed. "Those clouds don't look natural. They're forming way too fast."

"Yeah, no kidding," Darius said awkwardly, moving closer to the group. "It's like the hive doesn't want us to get a time-out."

Ava nodded, narrowing her eyes. "If those clouds block out the sun…

Caden concluded his statement, his voice jolly. "Then we're back on the menu. Maybe when they look at us, they will see pepper sauce and then decide to leave us alone because we will burn their tongue," he said, winking at the team.

The whole team rolled their eyes at him. "I'm starting to miss serious you," Mira said, shaking her head. Then for a time, the only sound in the silence as the team stood still, was the picked-up wind across, the darkening sky onwards. The glow of the hive entrance behind flickered red; faint screeches echoed from within.

"Alright," Caden said, breaking them all from their reverie. "We can't just stand here waiting for it to get worse then. We need to find a place to stay and figure out our next move."

"Stay where?" Mira asked, holstering her pistols. "We're in the middle of nowhere, and those things could swarm us the second the sun's gone."

Caden looked around, scanning the landscape. Miles upon miles of the barren terrain spread out with a few rock formations offering some shelter to cover them. He pointed upwards at a cluster of rocks on the top of the nearby hill. "There. It's not perfect, but it'll give us a vantage point and some protection."

Darius frowned. "You think those rocks will stop them?"

"No," Caden agreed, "but it's better than standing out in the open."

None of them spoke against it, and they launched themselves toward the rocks, crunching boots with every step into the dry earth. The wind grew stronger and carried with it an unnatural chill that seemed to sap their energy.

Once they had reached the hill, Mira climbed onto one of the larger rocks, scanning the horizon with her pistols at the ready. "No movement yet," she reported, her tone wary.

Ava sat down on a flat rock, rubbing her temples. "We're not going to have much time. The clouds are moving fast."

Darius stood beside her, his knotted fists flexing as he looked out at the hive entrance in the distance. "What do we do if they come back?"

Caden leaned against a rock, his katana resting against his shoulder. The smirk that usually curled his lips was gone, replaced by a serious expression. "We hold them off until morning. If we're lucky, the clouds won't hang around too long, and we'll have daylight again before too much longer."

"And if we're not lucky?" Mira asked, her voice sounding down.

Caden didn't look away. "Don't be so pessimistic, we will just have to make our own luck."

Before anyone could respond, a distant roar echoed across the plains. The team froze, snapping their eyes to the hive.

"What was that?" Ava whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind.

A shadow stirred at the entrance of the hive, larger and more imposing than any they had previously seen. The ground shook at their feet as the figure stepped into the fading sunlight.

It was a Proximar, yet different from all the others. Its body, huge-three times as large as the Vanguards they had engaged-pulsated red lines crossing a black exoskeleton. Long, jagged claws shimmered with a faint crimson light that seemed to bend the air around them.

Mira's voice shook. "That… that's not a Vanguard. What is that thing?"

Caden stared into the creature, his grip on his katana tightening. "Something worse I guess."

The creature roared again, its eyes glowing as they locked onto the team. Then, with terrifying speed, it started charging.

"Everyone, get ready!" Caden shouted, his katana igniting with green energy as he stepped forward. "This isn't gonna be like the others!"

The team scrambled into position, their exhaustion forgotten as adrenaline took over. The Proximar beast closed the distance with alarming speed, its claws leaving deep gashes in the ground with each movement.

Caden took a deep breath, his mind focused on the forward area. *"Alright, system. Let's see what you've got in this one."*

The system's voice echoed within his head. * "This is a new type of Proximar. The level of energy it uses is much higher than the usual Vanguard's, and with you at your current level, your energy cannot keep up with it, but it has one fatal weakness we can easily use to our advantage. All you have to do is strike the energy core it grew directly, and you will defeat it. Be careful; its movements will adapt quickly to yours.".

"Great," Caden growled. "Just what I needed-something that learns and adapts quickly to raise my Combat skills."

The creature charged, its huge claws swinging toward the group. Caden charged forward to meet it, his strong strike clashing with its exoskeleton and sending sparks flying.

"Spread out!" he called to the others. "Don't give it a single target!"

Mira and Darius were to either side of the beast, firing and striking into its legs to hold it back, while Ava focuses and builds up her shield of psychic energy as it swipes a claw at her.

It was not stopping, though. He roared once more, and that had them leaping onto their feet as he really shook the earth where they had been standing.

"This thing's a tank!" Darius shouted, dodging to avoid a swipe from one of its claws. "How are we supposed to take it down?"

Caden's eyes narrowed as he studied the creature, watching its movements. *"The core,"* he thought, his hand tight on his katana. "We hit the core."

"Are we supposed to know where the hell that is" Darius said as the proximar knocked him away

"Distract it!" he shouted. "I'm looking for a clear path to its weak point!"

He ordered, and the team charged everything at it as Caden circled the creature in a futile effort to search for its vulnerable area. The fight was far from over; the sky ahead was darkening.

Caden ran circles around the huge Proximar, his gaze scouring its shining exoskeleton for any hint of the energy core. The creature moved with such precision and swiftness, its adaptations to the team's assault coming at a terrifying rate.

"Mira, keep its attention on you! Darius, go for its legs! Ava, block anything that comes at me!" Caden yelled, his voice cutting through the chaos.

"Easier said than done!" Mira yelled back, firing at the head of the Proximar as it lurched toward her. It roared in frustration and turned to swipe at her with one of its huge claws.

Darius charged in, his hardened fists finding their mark in the back leg of the creature with such strength that it shook the earth beneath them. The Proximar teetered, allowing Ava ample time to cast a barrier against another claw striking Caden.

He dove under its body, and his sharpened perception allowed him to see the dull glowing underside of the creature-a throbbing red core, buried deep in the internal part of its body.

"There it is!" Cadence said in a low tone, embracing his katana firmly. With an upward flare of his body, he cut into the underbelly of the Proximar. Sparks flew off, and the blade scratched against the hardness of its exoskeleton while its core remained intact.

The Proximar roared in anger, its movements becoming wilder as it twisted and thrashed. One of its claws slammed into the ground inches from Caden, sending a shockwave that knocked him off balance.

"Caden!" Mira shouted, her gravitational powers flaring as she pulled him out of harm's way.

"I'm fine!" Caden panted, recovering his balance. "But that core isn't going to be easy to reach."

Ava's voice strained as she raised another barrier. "We don't have time for 'not easy'! Those clouds are almost occluding the sun!"

Caden looked up, and felt his heart fall as dark clouds almost occluded the whole sky. The last rays of the sun were gone, and the Proximar's movement felt much stronger by the second.

"Then I'll finish this now," he said, firm.

"Wait—" Mira began, but before she could even get the protest out, Caden launched himself forward. His katana was shining brighter now as he put all his energy into the blade.

The Proximar lunged at him, jaws wide apart. Caden slid underneath it, avoiding its attack by a hair's breadth, and plunged the katana upwards with all his strength.

The blade tore into the exoskeleton, sinking into the glowing core. The Proximar gave an earsplitting roar. Its body convulsed as red energy burst from the wound.

"Get back!" Caden shouted, pulling his katana free and rolling away as the creature began to glow brighter.

With a final series of loud cracks, the beast's body suddenly smothered itself in a bright, reddish glow; the Proximar launched the team through the air behind the boulders, sending debris across the ground.

Finally, where the Proximar had lain, there was nothing left but glowing debris being dissolved by gusts of wind.

Caden stood, huffing, his katana still glowing faintly. He turned to the team, a small smirk on his face. "Told you we'd make our own luck."

Darius let out a relieved laugh, slumping against a rock. "You're insane, you know that?"

"Yeah, but it worked," Caden said, sheathing his katana.

Mira shook her head, equal parts annoyance and awe etched on her face. "You're lucky you didn't get yourself killed."

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Ava said, her voice exhausted but impressed. "That was all skill."

Caden finally looked to the sky, the smirk gone as he considered the clouds that remained. "We're not done yet. This is just getting started."

Uneasy glances were exchanged among the team as the weight of his words sank in.

"Let's move," Caden said, serious. "We need to find real shelter before the night catches up to us." And saying so, he tried to get up and walk but fell down, exhausted.

"What'cha doing right now, don't make me tell ya I gotta carry ya" Darius said irritated "If you could of took down the Proximar by your own means I wouldn't be so tired" Caden replied back and Darius tutted and moved over to pull Caden by his leg.

And finally the entire sky turned dark and roars cropped up from all places

Meanwhile deep inside space

A/N: Alright guys let's wrap this up here for now, next chapter we continue