NOVEL WEB Chapter 55.5: Thrown to the Wolves
“Chelsea… What are we doing out here?” Tom asked.
“Shh, you bloody tosser!” Jacqueline hushed instantly, looking around in anger.
Chelsea peered out from behind the line of trees, she had gotten wind of something in front of them on their way to the larger outpost and they were currently tracking whatever it was.
She had good sensory skills but whatever it was had stayed just out of her range, which in itself was suspicious.
The timing is too good. Why would Chris send us out on a scouting mission just when we were about to leave? And it isn’t like I could say no! It would rouse too much suspicion… Unless… Chelsea thought, her head whipping backward behind the small scouting party she was sent with looking at the faces.
Every single one was a person who wanted to leave. Not only that but they were people who had spoken out about Chris in one way or another.
She clicked her tongue. They’ve been had.
“Jacky, I think we're screwed,” she sighed.
“Why cause Toms here?” Jacqueline asked.
“No, Take a look around.”
Jacqueline whirled her head around, looking first at the surroundings but couldn’t understand what Chelsea meant. So she scanned them again, this time noticing the people that had joined them.
“No….” she murmured.
“Yeah,” Chelsea affirmed, “He figured it out somehow. Let’s get back to the camp. They might have just left without us.”
Damn it! I should have just forced Megan to come with us! We could have just made a break for it. I wanted to take it slow to keep appearances but…Fuck!
Before the party could pack up, the sound of leaves rustling through the forest sounded and another group came into view across the treeline.
“Lenny?” Chelsea wondered aloud.
The man was average-looking, a warrior class. He wasn’t much of a talker but a solid front-liner.
Tom raised his hand in greeting but something was off.
Lenny raised his hand as well, throwing it downward a hail of arrows and spells following it.
“Cover!” Chelsea shouted, the group doing their best to scramble.
Chelsea grabbed Jacqueline by the waist rolling into cover behind a tree. But some of the other members weren’t as lucky or quick, the bombardment of spells and arrows skewering them where they stood.
“Lenny you fucking rat! I didn’t take you for some obedient dog!” Chelsea shouted, pulling back on her bowstring.
“Sometimes you have to follow to get what you want. And I get the pick of the litter if I bring your head back, you little mouthy bitch!” Lenny shouted back.
“I liked the sod better when he didn’t talk…” Jacqueline grumbled.
“You and me both Jacky,” Chelsea replied, ducking out of cover and loosening her arrow, humming with a green light as it ripped through the air aimed right for Lenny’s throat.
Lenny unfortunately wasn’t any slouch and ducked out of the way of the arrow, hitting an archer behind him, and killing him instantly.
Before Lenny could curse back at her, Chelsea took Jacqueline by the arm, shouting to the rest of her party.
“Get back and regroup, we’re too spread out right now! Tom do your fucking job and raise that shield!”
Tom nodded nervously, obviously not used to combat yet with his new tank class, shakily holding up a medium-sized kite shield.
The small party turned around, making a dash for another line of trees.
But it didn’t last long, as screams rang out from the ones in the rear who had turned around first to make it for the treeline.
Chelsea and Jacqueline’s heads swiveled upwards to see what the hell was going on to see a larger-than-normal Goblin along with an army, unlike anything they had seen so far in the tutorial.
“W-what…” Chelsea stammered, looking at the army of Goblins with horror.
She ground her teeth together, unable to think of anything else for their group to get away in the face of a second threat and of an army this size. Her eyes turned to one of their party’s members being jumped on by a group of Goblins.
The person screamed but wasn’t killed. The Goblins raised in their hands shackles and collars, smiling sinisterly as they looked back at the group.
“T-they’re taking prisoners…?” Chelsea muttered under her breath in disbelief.