AC: I also want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for his time on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
Sarah watched the large field as her father drove behind Peyton's father's truck, tapping on her scanner quietly. She hoped everyone was okay at the farm. The uncertainty was unnerving. Looking at her scanner she heard it beep suddenly. Wasting no time, she opened it and saw it was from Tom.
They're here.
Sarah gulped, "They are at the farm."
"We'll have to be extra careful," Jeff told her.
"There is going to be a lot of action there," Alex commented. He sighed, "I hope they are going to be fine. I really do."
"They will," Sarah said, starting to sweat a little, "I'm sure they will be okay. They have to be."
Her mother turned around, "We can only pray. Still, they will be fine." She wasn't sure how to reassure her daughter. Nevertheless, she continued to give her some reassuring words.
Meanwhile, Sarah put her hands together and prayed. Prayed like she ever had before in her life. She prayed that everyone would be okay. She prayed that Tom wouldn't be hurt.
Chapter 94: Siege
Tom watched as the M'arrillians approached the house with the scope of his rifle. He knew there were around twenty of them. They had come to investigate the house and control the minds of everyone inside.
His mother was nervously watching them approach. Her mind went back to when they escaped them. She noticed one of them was the one she had run over. Aval'par was with them. The others were dark green humanoid crab-like creatures with heavy shells on their body.
"Foot soldiers. Only Aval'par is a true warrior. They aren't expecting a lot of resistance," Intress concluded.
"But there are a lot of them still," Annie commented nervously.
"They knew we escaped," Tom replied. As he watched them, he thought about Phelphor for a few seconds. He wondered if he was fine. He then shook his head and pushed that thought away. Now wasn't the time for that. He adjusted his aim and pointed at one of the crabs.
"Their chest and faces don't have that green exoskeleton to protect them. That's their soft spot," Intress told him.
"Aim for the blue part. Got it," Tom replied. He took a deep breath. It wasn't the right time to shoot yet. He waited for them to get closer but they stopped. Squinting, he wondered what they were planning.
(Humans! Come out right now and surrender yourself to your new masters!) The voice of Aval'par echoed in their mind.
Donald left his position and went to the front, examining the creature. He then looked at Kaz and his mother, "We have no reason to surrender to them."
Outside, the M'arrillians waited for an answer. They expected the humans to try and escape which is why they had the house surrounded.
(We won't wait long for you to make your decisions humans! You are either fools or you are about to escape, which is a mistake! We have already surrounded you! We are faster and stronger than you! This is our prowess! The M'arrillians!) Aval'par shouted in frustration.
POW!
A loud sound suddenly echoed from the house. The creatures were on high alert, hearing something near them.
Aval'par turned around and saw one of the Kha'ralls on the ground. The soldier had a hole in one of his eyes with pale blue blood coming out of it. He wasn't breathing anymore, (Soldiers! Charge! Those fools killed one of us!)
Tom panted when he saw the M'arrillian he had shot wasn't moving anymore. There was silence for a few more seconds before the creatures reacted to the death of one of their own. He couldn't believe he just killed a creature like that. Just one shot and bang, that M'arrillian's life was over. His stomach turned, but he pushed the feeling aside. He knew what they would do and he had to do it.
Intress watched them and told Tom calmly, "Good shot Tom."
Annie knew her son would be scarred for a long time by that. She knew it from the gaze on his face. Taking a deep breath, she tried to say something, but her son fired again.
"I'll worry when this is over," Tom told his mom and Intress. He then fired a third time and another one was down. Looking out he saw Aval'par flying towards the second floor.
"Get down. There is only one creature flying," Intress told them.
The two humans climbed down the stairs at the same moment Ava'par entered through the window.
He noticed Tom escaping with his mother at the last second, before he was hit by Intress.
"You won't hurt Tom!" She glared at him as she prepared to attack.
Downstairs, Kaz saw one of the M'arrillians on the ground after his best friend had shot the creature. He then saw them charging and another one was down. He saw the second creature hit and put his hand over his stomach, falling to the ground.
Cassandra went towards the door and waited for a few seconds. She then raised the revolver and aimed at them. As she steeled herself, she heard commotion on the next floor and knew the Aval'par was upstairs. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the creatures and fired six shots on one of them.
The M'arrillian felt the bullets hit his body, but they didn't pierce his skin like the rifle. Still, it hurt a lot, making him lose his balance.
The woman quickly reloaded.
"I'll help!" Agitos rushed with them as he summoned fire in his hand with Rothar doing the same.
The two waited for a few seconds for them to get close enough. Once they were they launched their attacks at the creatures. Fortunately, they passed through the holes of their barricades and exploded on the creatures.
As they hit, they noticed the creatures preparing a devastating attack.
(The messengers are in there! Capture them alive!) Aval'par ordered.
They doused their attacks and rushed towards the entrance.
Tom and his mother climbed down the stairs, "Aval'par is up there!" Tom shouted as he finished loading a few bullets into the rifle and aimed outside. He pushed his emotions aside and fired two more shots before they got too close.
His mother pulled him back and fired her pistol twice.
At the back of the house, Donald saw the M'arrillians finally showing up, but they were holding something. He fired his rifle at the three M'arrillians who approached them. He noticed they had taken out some kind of shield. An improvised one made from vehicle doors. He aimed more carefully, trying to get their soft spot.
Meanwhile, Arias cracked his knuckles as he prepared to attack them. He gazed at the two old humans and then focused back on them. Being inside, his actions were limited until they managed to break the barricade. Biding his time, he counted them. There were three coming from behind. If one of them were down, he would have a good chance to deal with the other two. He just had to be out of the man's line of sight.
It wasn't long before the creatures took the offensive. Arias pushed the man aside as a few holes formed in the wall from the M'arrillians' water attacks.
The ram creature grinned and jumped out of the house, enlarging one of the holes, "We'll fix it later!" He landed on the ground and charged at the creatures in his way.
Donald took his chance to reload. Once he was done, he aimed and fired at one who was open, hitting him in the gut.
The M'arrillian suddenly felt pain and coughed blood. He lost his balance and fell on the ground as a hole appeared in his gut.
Arias quickly charged at them, "Iron Balls!" Iron balls came out of his eyes and hit the creature in the face. He then grunted as an ice attack hit him, making him take a few steps back. He saw the other two readying themselves to attack him despite their pain. He rolled to the side and avoided ice shards coming at him. Growling, he raised his hands. "Rock Wave!" He shouted, raising the ground and breaking the creature's balance. Taking advantage he charged at them, "Vine Snare!"
He whipped the wounded M'arrillian right in his gut, sending him away while he ignored the agonized cry of the enemy. Turning around he faced the other two, taking a few steps back and heard another gunshot.
One of them groaned in pain as he put his hand on his chest. He coughed blood and lost his balance. Gazing at the Overworlder he raised his hand and created a wall of ice between them and the human who kept shooting at them. Doing so he used all of his strength to stand up while the other one did the same.
"You won't beat us!"
"You are tough, I'll give you that," Arias commented as he crossed his arms.
"We won't lose to you ever again. We are in the Cothica and will take control of it," one of them cried as they shot an ice attack at him.
Intress avoided a tendril from Aval'par. The purple creature then used a water attack. She blocked it and rolled to the left. She countered with Vine Snare and whipped the chest of the creature. Charging, she punched him in his gut. As she did so she realized it was the strangest thing she hit. It was all just jelly.
The purple creature grunted in pain as he took a few steps back. He was infuriated. The humans who had humiliated him were so close, but there was an Overworlder in his way. He glared at her, "Get out of my way! Your fighting is pointless. The others are coming soon!" He wanted nothing more than to control her mind and ambush Tom, but her mind was protected right now.
"We know. The humans are watching you and knew the moment you left the city," Intress replied. It might be a mistake to give him this vital information, but the pros outweigh the cons given that the M'arrillians knew so little of the Earth, just like her.
She noticed the baseball bat that Annie had brought up. She had forgotten it was there, but quickly went to grab it. She avoided an ice attack and charged. Moving quickly, she smashed the creature's face.
Aval'par's head was flattened by the impact, making him lose his balance. He fell to the ground and yelled while his head reformed itself. Getting his bearings back quickly, he saw sleep stings coming at him and managed to dodge at the last second. "Power Pulse!" He used that energy and shot it right at her chest. He then charged and punched her face before following it up with a kick on her arm, disarming her. He went in for another strike, but was pushed away by the rocks coming at him.
The two glared at each other as they prepared their next move. The baseball bat was on the ground between them, both aware it was an effective weapon.
The M'arrillian regretted letting it go away when he disarmed the Overworlder. Still, he could take the weapon back at any moment.
The two knew the other wanted to get the weapon first and prepared to rush after it.
Aval'par was the first to charge. He used Ice Shards to attack Intress as she used Power Pulse. The attacks collided, but the M'arrillian had enough time to get the weapon before her thanks to the tendril coming out of his waist. He blocked her fist and rolled on to the ground to avoid her kicks. Not wasting a second, he was back on his feet and held the bat with his hand.
The Overworlder knew she was in trouble if she didn't turn this around quickly. She charged and avoided his swing, then used a Flash Kick and hit his chest but it did little damage as it hit his armor. Distracted by it she took a hit from the bat and crashed hard against the wall. She tried to move, but everything was fuzzy for a moment.
Aval'par chuckled and knew this was his chance to get the two humans and control their minds. He turned around and quickly flew down the stairs to get them.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: Siege Part 2.
