Inch by Inch

Jay leaned over the railing at the edge of the wagon roof. The wind brushed at his hair, but he ignored that and the vertigo to focus on what stirred below.

Down on the ground, the swarm was packed together. Densely, densely packed like hay set for transport. The ground had disappeared, buried under a sea of blue cores and an uncountable number of limbs. The oddities compressed, their limbs sliding and interlocking as pressure built. By the wheels, where there was a surface to push against, was the worst. The pressure had to go somewhere.

Between one blink and the next, one of the oddities popped up out of the crowd. It flew into the air as if it had been thrown. The creature didn’t reach very high, maybe two meters above the others, and nowhere near the top of the wagon, but when it fell back down it landed on top of another oddity and stayed there. The blue sea grew taller.

There was another pop. This time, instead of falling onto another oddity, the creature fell on one of the thoroughfare steps.

For a second the flood underneath them seemed to still. Then it began to shiver and wave.

Pops began to ring out all around the wagon. In less than ten seconds, the blue flood had condensed and a second layer had formed the entire way around the wagon. The creatures stacked atop each other and onto the first of the thoroughfare steps.

The second layer grew denser and denser.

More pops.

The creatures were close enough now that Jay could witness a pop from start to finish. As the oddities pressed in together, some of their limbs would hit other limbs, other cores. When they did, instead of sliding off, they caught. The limbs didn’t push the other creatures away, instead bending, building pressure and straining the limb more and more until... Pop. One of the creatures would fly into the air.

“Get ready!” Tasia shouted.

Jay felt very jealous of Kane’s armor all of a sudden. For all of his preparation, Jay had not picked up any for himself, knowing that it would be cheaper and of better quality in the city. His coin was not of much help in his bunk.

The bulk of the flood reached the wagon, blue fading in the distance and concentrating around the wagon. Two layers became three. Three became four. When it reached the fifth layer, the popping oddities were within Jay’s reach.

He stabbed forward, piercing between the short gaps in the rail, past the limbs flailing, reaching forward and sinkin-

The spear tip shuddered and scraped across the hard blue core. All force deflected as the sharp metal tip failed to penetrate.

Shocked, Jay pulled his spear back and looked around. The thrust had been good. His spear was sharp, well maintained. It could be stabbed into wood, metal even. He frantically scanned what everyone else was doing, checking to see if there was a trick to it.

Unfortunately, there was not.

All along the wagon top, spears were being thrust forward, most aimed reasonably close to center. None punctured the core. All the oddities fell back down into the waiting mass unharmed. All those attacks did as much damage as a light shove.

“Try the limbs,” Kane said, eyes twitching as he watched the oddities intensely.

Jay shifted his target, switching from the apparently dense core to one of the tens of limbs. It wasn’t ideal. It was unlikely that slicing off one of many limbs would affect the creatures, but maybe they would bleed out or...

The spear tip, half slicing motion rather than stabbing, struck a limb and didn’t bite into it at all. The blade scraped along the limb, uselessly filling the air with a scraping screech.

“Not working!”

“Focus on pushing them back,” the old watchman beside Jay barked, a command for all nearby.

Jay couldn’t help but detect a hint of fear in the man’s voice.

He snapped to follow the instructions. Instead of trying to stab, he pushed the cores away. Timed correctly he could send one falling back, down to the third or second layer beneath it.

It wasn’t enough. There were more oddities than there were spearmen.

The fifth layer solidified. Any oddities popping from the fifth would reach roof height at the top of their jump.

“What are the adventurers doing?” The old watchman said, temper clear in his voice. His motions were growing more frantic. More worried.

Jay was wondering the same thing.

“Runner!” The old watchman bellowed. “Tell Tasia we’re being overrun.”

Jay didn’t hear a confirmation over all the grunting and cursing around him. He focused, ignoring everything to concentrate. Hitting the targets became everything. His mind slid into a state of emptiness.

On the left. 1.6109m down. Left again. 60cm closer than the last. Now far right. 1.532m down, 1.98m to the right, just at the edge of his zone. Center, 1.56m. 1.35m. 1.0124m. 1.482m by 1.27m. 90cm. 1.302m.

“Tasia says we need to buy time,” an unfamiliar voice shouted. “Reinforcements on their way from the forward wagons. We need Words that can penetrate. Steel does nothing to them.”

A hand grabbed onto Jay’s shoulder, breaking him from his trance. “Jay, Tasia says restrictions free.”

She did? What did... Oh. That could work, but not alone. She would need help.

“Jay! What does that mean?”

He pulled his spear back from in between the rail and spun.

Ana jumped back, away from Jay and more likely, his weapon.

With his spare hand, Jay reached forward and grabbed her, pulling her forward. He pushed his spear into her hands.

“Ana, you need to cut.”

Ana’s eyes widened and she balked. “What?” She looked past him, between where he stood and Kane, who had just unsheathed his blade. She shook her head. “No. No, you said I couldn’t. I was told not to!”

He pulled her forward. “That was then. We have bigger problems now.”

“No, Jay! I can’t... I don’t... I...”

“Don’t worry,” Jay said, trying not to show his building panic. “I’ll help.” He guided the tip of the spear through the railing and pushed Ana forward until he was behind her. Thankfully her fear had turned to indecision and not flight. Jay reached around her and placed a hand on her arms, steadying the shaking.

He aimed the spear for her. “Just... Cut.”

“Ja-”

With a pop, blue flew into their vision. Centre, 70cm down.

The threat spurred Ana into action or reflex. She closed her eyes and shouted.

“Cut.”

Jay directed the hands. The spear tip moved. Just as the spear was about to hit the spiky mess... Jay let go.

Ana twitched, feeling the loss of the steadying arms, but it was too late at that point. Her strike had momentum. The blade continued, sweeping past the spiky limbs and to the core. The metal edge met the hardened mass and continued moving. Without resistance.

Jay caught Ana’s arms again as the spear tip exited the entity, pulling the spear back.

The blue oddity, sliced down the middle, fell in two halves. One was absorbed by the mass below, the other hit the edge of the forming sixth layer, sticking to another swarm and carrying it down.

“Again," he ordered, cold sweat easing.

Ana sounded a wordless protest.

Another oddity popped up. Jay swung, correcting for Ana’s help and resistance as she tried to follow the motion.

“Cut.”

Another oddity fell.

Ana gained more confidence with the next. Jay was having to provide less force and more control.

“Cut.”

Another.

“Cut.”

Another. And another and another. They began to get into a sync. Instead of stabbing forward, they swept the spear tip back and forth as if painting on a canvas. A space opened up before them.

Jay startled as another hand fell on his shoulder.

“To the other side!” someone shouted. “They’re getting overrun!”

Entangled as Ana and he were, it was awkward getting the spear out from under the rail. When they turned, a path had been cleared to the other side. Jay and Ana shook each other off and rushed across. It took a few seconds to get set up again, but the oddities were closer on this side and targets were easier to find.

The press continued.

Guide. Swing. Cut.

Oddities fell away below them.

More popped up.

It didn’t stop.

There was a shout. Kane was pulling the two of them back away from the rail.

Jay blinked a drop of sweat from his eyes, staring at the matching sweat on Kane’s forehead, glistening between the tied kinky hair there. The drop seemed so far away... Or was it close?

“Reinforcements are here. We need to get back from the sides,” Kane repeated.

Ana slumped bonelessly to the ground, eyes closing. Kane caught her before her head struck the roof.

Jay stood, ignoring Kane’s protest and his own aching muscles, and moved closer to the rail where he could get a view. His limbs refused to work, falling in the wrong places and at the wrong times. He barely made it, sinking against the wooden support as his legs disappeared under him.

Out towards the other wagons, where the sea of blue ended, a group of people stood on the ground.

When the adventurer spoke, everyone heard. It was said softly, yet it carried above the oddities from one side to the other.

“Get Down.”

Jay watched as below him, the swarm shuddered. The layers compacted once, then again. Hard limbs bent and broke as they were driven down. The layers spilled out, falling away from each other as pressure from above scattered their formation. When the creatures met the ground, their limbs sunk in, digging deep until their blue cores touched the ground.

The field fell still.

Jay fell back from the railing, unbalanced on the uneven surface. He took a deep breath, fear and exhilaration now flowing through him in equal measure.

Now that was an adventurer.