“We’re surrounded?” I asked groggily. It seemed like events weren’t going to wait for us again. A foolish thought to believe challenges would happen on time, or on our time. “Wake the others, I’ll get Bethany and Marcus.” They were the tanks of the second and third group.

  Jessica nodded without a word and rushed out of the room. I took twenty seconds to catch my bearings and then equipped my gear. The mumbling of my teammates could be heard as I went downstairs and eventually fading as I stepped outside our abode.

  The night sky was pitch black with no sign of the moon or even any stars. A faint red hue meshed and melded with the darkness, making it deeper, more menacing, more uninviting. I shook off the prickling feeling of Sixth Sense and summoned my squad of undead troops, creating the faintest of shadows that their hue provided.

  The skeletons gathered around me instantly, and with them I rushed to the second abode, where Bethany and friends stayed. There was no key, just a sort of system access that being part of the abode allowed. As the owner, nothing could stop me anyway.

  I swung the door open hard and took a few steps inside. “ENEMY AMBUSH!” I yelled loud, not caring for any decorum. Rebekah’s head popped over the railing from upstairs in the low light, and only after I was sure she saw me did I speak, “We’re under attack, be ready in two minutes.”

  I ran across to the other group, who, it seemed, were a bit more cautious. Evee caught me as I entered the front door, “What are you doing?” she asked. Her voice was a bit tired, with a slight tinge of hostility: as if they were taking shifts to watch and I was trespassing.

  There wasn’t any time for questions, not this second at least. “We’re being ambushed, group outside,” I said before racing back to my own abode, not giving her a chance to retort.

  All told, the speed of my response had been quite spectacular, spending no more than a minute to wake everyone and regroup with my own party, whom were now gathered in our main living room.

  Crusty eyes and bed-head were rampant, and not a one of us seemed happy about it. “Thirtyish enemies,” Jessica reported. “I think it’s the camp we needed to dispatch. The feeling is familiar, one greater demon and the fodder.”

  “Could it have followed us back?” Anna asked.

  And before the questions could come pouring in I spoke, “We can discuss the cause after. Let’s worry about how to live now.” I looked at Lucas, hoping he had a plan in mind.

  “There’s no reason our normal battle tactics won’t work,” he said, “but until we’ve had a demanding fight with everyone, I can’t be sure best how to add them in.” He was referring to our new comrades.

  There was an obvious undertone to his comment that everyone picked up on, and Alan was the one who said it aloud, “We focus on our own fight then. Take as much as we can to shield the newbies and help as much as possible. We’re not heroes. We help if we can help, and if we can’t they have to do their best to hold out.”

  I agreed. I wasn’t going to abandon anyone, but we weren’t acquainted enough with the newcomers yet to risk our lives for them. Not now, anyway. I hoped the situation wouldn’t get that bad. “Alan, Richard,” I said and gestured towards the door. We were moving outside.

  Alan’s greaves clacked on the floor as we walked out, an unfamiliar sound as we always put our gear away when inside. The severity of the situation was clear as day, our safe haven was no longer safe. A mistake had been made somewhere, and I would try to figure that out later.

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  We exited the abode like a small army, joining up with my swarm of undead outside. Our new friends were grouped just by, clearly nervous as they looked into the murky darkness. Presumably our enemies were out there, but just far enough to disappear in the abyss.

  It was so quiet out, so peaceful, that without Jessica’s forewarning, we would all still be sleeping soundly right now. The prickling at the back of my neck hadn’t changed at all. Was I not in danger? Or was their stealth so impressive even Sixth Sense didn’t help me?

  “What are they doing?” I nudged Jessica from the side.

  “They’re just waiting…” She seemed unsure herself. I followed her eyes and realized they must have fanned out in front of us. Regret at not upgrading our defense, not having built a wall, slowly crept over me.

  “What do we do?” I heard Ryan whispering to Marcus. We were in a stalemate right now, and I was unsure what other intention our foes could have besides murdering us. Marcus started to pull things from his inventory, and very quickly I realized not only were we surprised, but we were also unprepared for an assault on our abode.

  The newcomers lit several torches and spread them out, even planting a few in the ground in front of the group, providing some well-needed light. It fought back the darkness, but not enough. “Maria, can you light them up?” I asked her.

  Maria wasn’t the na?ve, clueless girl from months ago. She didn’t ask questions or argue back, instead she lit an Explosive Arrow and aiming it at the silhouette of a large oak tree across the street. It’s outline was visible against the backdrop of the night sky.

  “Ready?” she asked. A fight could start immediately.

  “Prepare for battle.” I turned and said this to the other two groups. They nodded and from the clink of raised weapons and shields I could hear a hardening of their resolve. Maria loosed her arrow and the bright light shot through the sky, not stopping until it landed on the trunk of the towering oak tree.

  An explosion of fire and light brightened the sky for a moment, long enough to see the flash of towering demons spread out in front of us. The number looked overwhelming, but mostly because of their size.

  A second later, the flames burned a low orange: it was enough. We could see them there, the front halves of their bodies glowing in the darkness as the low glow of smoldering branches provided light.

  They didn’t rush to attack, or even budge much at all. The initial explosion of our attack caused some motions of alarm, but they were soon replaced by a cool confidence. Eventually, a figure walked forward.

  “That’s the greater demon.” Jessica said. It was a man though, rather gaunt looking.

  “Who can I address as leader here?” His voice was refined, like the words spoken from a noble. Clear and crisp, with a bit of authority mixed in. I wondered whether that in itself was a skill, a sort of mental attack.

  We were at a loss, and then I felt Lucas’s hand on my shoulder. I moved forward confidently with my skeletons trailing and then fanning out to my sides, “I can speak for everyone here.”

  The gaunt looking man stared at me for a moment, and the sensation from Sixth Sense slowly climbed until it was a sharp needle prickling the back of my neck. He was dangerous, maybe even as dangerous as a dungeon boss.

  “We were instructed to wait until morning, but now is fine too.” His words threw me off immediately. “You’ve been given a choice—to abandon your home and leave, or die. There are no other options. You have some time to think.” He walked back, seemingly uninterested.

  I didn’t even have time to turn around and discuss it when Glenn spoke up, “Leaving is death as well.”

  “We can’t leave.” Even Maria agreed. This was our only hope at survival. “We should fight.”

  The discussion in our group was rapid, with almost everyone deciding it was best to stay. The problem was the others, their indecisive faces. It was Ryan who spoke up first, from Marcus’ group, calling out to the demon: “If we leave you won’t stop us?”

  This was an instant blow to my morale. It wasn’t that no-one thought of leaving, but to voice that out loud instead of keeping it inside. Could he be trusted now?

  “We can win.” I said before the greater demon can respond. “It’s barely two-to-one, and we can fight many to one.”

  “If you leave we won’t stop you.” The demon’s voice whispered through the darkness. A tantalizing promise of freedom.

  Marcus seemed conflicted too, and it was apparent the question Ryan asked was not something they had agreed upon as a group. Still, the cat was out of the bag. At any moment your safety was guaranteed by fleeing. How easy was it to not fight… very.

  I suddenly felt an terrible premonition. Was this why they always said deserters would be executed? How easy was it to break our ranks with just a few words…