The moment the first pack's rush reached the caltrops and all the strategically positioned pointy glass shards that were perfectly anchored on the ground, their howls became whines of pain.
"Yesss!"
Davi punched the air, already safe back behind the barricade. Only the ones armed with makeshift spears and emergency axes stayed perched on the wall, ready to strike whatever beast approached the camp.
The tower defense approach was working, for now, as the injured beasts retreated.
The sight that followed made everyone shiver.
Enticed by the smell of blood of the first pack, the other packs went berserk, jumping on the injured. Their bodies were quickly ripped apart and devoured.
"What the fuck was that?"
Someone's voice broke the silence that followed. Nobody registered who spoke, as those words were in everyone's minds.
The monsters outside answered to the emotional shift, turning their heads to the camp as one.
Another howl echoed.
Then they lunged forward like a wave of hungry bodies.
The wave broke onto the structures erected by Marcos and David, parting, following the paths of less resistance.
Soon, they were in the kill zones. Blinded by hunger and instinct, the 'nudge' of Davi's skill was especially effective, keeping them in the designated lanes, where most of the traps were laid out.
They died one by one, but the smell of blood only kept the packs behind them locked in the frenzy.
Lu jumped gracefully from one mound of debris to another, killing one monster after another in a deadly choreography.
Noara observed from her position at the window.
There are just too many. Where do they even come from? I don't remember there having that many dogs in this area in the first place…
She looked around, trying to find a place where her skill would be useful.
No, there aren't actually that many. It's just that they are more than what Davi's traps can handle. They are overflowing.
She watched in silent horror as the packs that came on the second and third waves would just use the bodies of the first ones to ignore the ground traps, finally reaching the barricade.
About half of the dogs were dead, but the rest would reach the barricades easily.
"Tsk. Lu! Fall back to the main wall! Nando, don't let them come up!"
The axes began to fall in bright arcs, and the spears were being thrust repeatedly, spilling blood as they hit the heads of the more daring beasts.
Velvet Snare!
A smaller one was about to latch at the leg of a middle-aged man who was already becoming winded down, but Noara's skill activated just in time, and Nando finished the dog.
"If you are tired, fall back! Begin the rotation!"
The middle-aged man didn't wait for a second order. He more fell than jumped into the inner area of the camp, while another took the axe from him and climbed up. Some other fighters also rotated, freshening up the front.
Not Lu or Nando, though.
Lu kept jumping and striking around, ignoring Noara's calls to fall back.
Until she made a mistake.
In one moment, she was standing on a mound, ready to jump to another; the next, the foot support of the mound creaked, sending her down.
She tried to balance herself, but, before she knew it, she was already on the ground, surrounded by two waist-tall, buffed, caramel-colored mongrel dogs.
"LUUU!"
Noara's guttural scream was followed by another use of her Velvet Snare, pinning one of the dogs in place.
Lu had dropped her spear in the fall and was scrambling to find it amongst the chaos of bodies and half-broken traps when she felt a sharp pain on her arm.
The other's maw was wrapped on it, and the beast was about to thrash its head to the sides. In that split second, she knew that the instant the dog shook its head, her arm would be gone forever.
Time around her seemed to freeze in her eyes. For a moment, only she and the mutated dog, who was once a domestic one, existed.
A flash of metallic light and a thud set the world in motion again.
"Don't stay standing like that! Up the barricade! Now!"
Nando's axe had just cut the beast's head off its neck, and now he was screaming at her to retreat to safety.
This time, for once, she obeyed an order, using her skill to jump up to a mound, then from it to the top of the barricade.
The pain in her arm was almost unbearable. When she reached the barricade, Clara was already there.
"Easy, girl. Come, come. I'll take you to Julia."
"My spear…"
"Forget your fucking spear! If we don't save your arm, you will never wield a spear again. Focus on saving that!"
Clara took her in her arms and brought her down with the help of others, then took her to the place where Julia was treating the injured.
***
PoV: Julia
Julia took pride in the fact that, no matter where she was or what social group she was part of, she was always seen as the 'mother' of that group.
To her, it wasn't a burden or a hassle. It was just an acknowledgement of who she was.
She was the person who kept everyone safe.
Because of her lower-income family, the dream of becoming a medic had been abandoned years ago. Yet, she kept being the anchoring stone of every group of friends and of every workplace she took part in.
In the BDSM club, she was more than just the bartender. She was the one who fixed things when a play went south. She knew how to clean and dress up wounds, how to treat minor burns, and the best herbal infusions to tone down a fever.
Yet, nothing ever had prepared her heart for the sight of one of her best friends with an injury so deep it cut to the bone, covered in mucus from the mouth of a beast with God knows what kinds of infections, arriving in front of her.