Excluding the initial ambush that forced us to wake up, after we regrouped with the military, we had little to no skirmishes with the undead for a while.

  They were here, near us. Hidden in the shadows. Waiting for the opportunity to initiate the next attack.

  Everyone could feel that they were close, stalking and forcing us to be on guard.

  That pressure and suspense gave us more psychological damage than anything else. The anxiety was getting higher and the nervousness was going to force us to make mistakes eventually.

  My teammates and I could endure it for a while. On the other hand, the soldiers didn’t have enough time to recover. They continued to be exhausted and the sudden violent waking up didn’t help them one bit.

  With time, the Stalkers became bolder in their movements and attempts to probe our formation. Sometimes, they moved close enough and we could even catch a glimpse of them when we searched with our lights. The undead either got shot or retreated into the shadows.

  This cat-and-mouse game has continued for an hour already.

  A few of the Stalkers managed to sneak through our overwatch, attempting to position themselves for an attack from above.

  They tried to disrupt our formation, allowing the rest to rush and kill us in our moments of panic, but the plan failed.

  Raven always somehow managed to detect when one of them was dangerously close.

  Due to our tight ranks, the undead couldn’t attempt hit-and-run tactics. That didn’t mean they haven’t tried them.

  The results were a few lifeless Stalkers on the ground and our ranks sustained no harm in any way. After their second failed attack, they abandoned that tactic and returned to stalking or attempting to sneak dangerously close to us.

  It became a stalemate.

  The question was how long we could continue as we were and whether our pace was good enough.

  Raven’s warning was fresh in my mind. If the acid rain had already stopped, the horde that chased the soldiers might have already entered the cave.

  The sheer numbers would overwhelm us and seal our fate.

  “How much do we have before the exit?” Leo asked Olivier, his tone sounding slightly drained, but mostly worried.

  The mental stress was affecting him the most from my teammates. However, he wasn’t the only one who desired to know the answer to this question of utmost importance, but no one from the soldiers would have dared to question their superior.

  Lily and Roosevelt didn’t have the time to ask such a question as their sentry duty was taking all of their attention. Rich knew it was meaningless to ask and as for Raven… I couldn’t read him.

  Ever since we began our trek to exit the cave, he felt… distant.

  “With our current speed, we will be there in no less than three and a half hours, but it may vary.”

  His words made us speechless. Thus far, we have been able to cope with the undead barely.

  We had the strength, but it was only temporary, a few hours at best. If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before we start making cracks in our formation. Before the undead exploit them… Before the first of many casualties occurs.

  “That sounds like a long journey. Any faster solutions?” Raven asked.

  “If you are wondering why we are so slow, it’s because if we went with a faster pace, we’ll be picked off one by one due to the blind spots we’ll leave in our defence. The option of disregarding the formation entirely and making a run for it is also possible, but it’s too risky.”

  “Most won’t make it. If any do.”

  “It’s a last resort. Only intended if we lose too many people to maintain the formation.”

  “If that were to happen, then we would be screwed.”

  “That’s why it’s a last resort. In the best case, we would safely escape the cave and have a safe return to the fortress.”

  “How do you treat the soldiers who fell in battle? Do you take their military dog tags back?”

  “Most of the time, the tag is good enough. Rarely are the bodies returned. In some battles, even the tag is hard to retrieve. When you were a soldier, how did you treat the ones KIA?”

  “I am not supposed to say much. The few things I might share are that for the public, we did not exist.”

  “One of those units? Must have been hard.”

  “Ungrateful work.”

  “Nine o’clock!” one of the soldiers shouted and fired.

  “Vicious things,” Olivier commented.

  “Ye… truly vicious…” Raven agreed and they stopped talking.

  The relationship between the two of them hadn’t improved. The forced dialogue they engaged in was intended to distract them from the harsh reality and offered them a brief respite.

  Olivier had to suffer the mental stress of leading his platoon, most of whom had already fallen. It mustn’t have been easy on him.

  They hid their worries and fears well. They were the last two who would break.

  One was the leader of many, the other an experienced veteran.

  I, on the other hand, wasn’t as strong.

  We were in a dark, wet cave. Behind and in front of us, Stalkers were waiting for us to make any mistake. We had to be in this situation for a long time. Too long for my sanity.

  How could I not think the worst might happen at any moment?

  Yet, the biggest concern I had, thanks to Raven, I must add, was the behaviour the Stalkers showed when we were sleeping. They were ‘too bold’, according to him.

  After considering it for a while, it was the truth. Their actions were unusual. That’s what caught us off guard.

  His wisdom was shared with the rest of us after he spoke with Olivier.

  “Are you trying to say that a Ruler is with us?” I asked with a sweat on my forehead.

  If one were here, we would be in an even worse situation than I initially feared. If I remember correctly, yesterday, Olivier suspected that a Princess was after them.

  I never met one. If I did, I might have died long ago. I know that they are strong, but my knowledge about them is vague.

  Raven didn’t reply. His silence and expressionless expression were the answer.

  “How strong is a Princess?” I asked him.

  “On raw power, they aren’t much stronger than the average mature male human. The problem is in their extraordinary speed. They are times faster than us. They prefer aiming for weak spots, such as the neck. They take down the prey in one hit. Their sharp fangs allowed them to be one of the deadliest. There is nothing complicated about them. Fast and deadly, yet relatively smart, but easy to provoke,” Raven explained.

  I got the shivers.

  “If we meet with one down here, we are dead. Noted,” I replied, dejected, with all hope lost from me.

  “Death? Us? More like she will die to us were we to be attacked by her.”

  “Why is that?” Lily listened to our talk, came closer and asked.

  I was about to ask that!

  “Simple. In the open, she can run around and it is hard to land a shot on her. Her comparable to a teen’s smaller frame makes it even harder. But here, in this tight space with little to no room for evasion, she would have one way to get to us – rushing head-on. This is the perfect situation to fight with one of her kind. As long as we managed to take her down before she closed the distance, we would be fine. But if she somehow makes it to our line… She would slaughter us.”

  There was no emotion in his last sentence. Neither fear nor despair. As if he didn’t care. As if he could take it on if the need arose.

  Or was he just that worried? I couldn’t tell at the moment.

  Something about him felt off since yesterday. Since he heard that a Princess was nearby…

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Try to pretend to be looking around,” Raven whispered to me and then went to the rest of my teammates.

  After a while, we all got close to each other and began discussing his advice.

  “Won’t that lead to the fall of the whole group?!” Leo asked, his voice quiet.

  “We should be safe for a while longer. Given my observation, I would say they will attack for real on two occasions. First one: if we let our guard down really hard with no one even trying to look around. With the soldiers here who might have a heart attack from stress and wariness any moment now, we have someone to watch for us, albeit temporarily. Second one and the problem that worries me the most: if their Ruler orders them to.”

  “You are saying to keep our strength for that time. I see your point, but doesn’t that mean we would be using the soldiers as decoys?” Roosevelt stated his opinion.

  We had to speak in a way to ensure no one from the military could hear us. Otherwise, we were in trouble. Even being shot on the spot might be within the possible outcomes.

  I disliked the idea of one side using the other. Together, united with one goal – for all of us to survive – we would be unstoppable. Divided, looking to save our skin, we wouldn’t make it far.

  “Yes. What about it? If you have a better idea, I am all ears.”

  I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but I had nothing better to offer. Nor did anyone from my compatriots.

  We followed his instructions and it all went more or less as he said it would. We kept our guard, but it was laxer compared to before.

  However, not all were cold-hearted and agreed with him. Most of my teammates contributed to our defence, albeit to a lesser extent than before.

  Ever Raven continued to have a few, but major contributions. It seemed he made himself sound worse than he actually was.

  He found the soldiers to be of use to us for the time being. The moment he decided they were a burden, he wouldn’t bat an eye to discard them.

  Luckily for them, it was I who was in charge.

  I looked at the soldiers again. Some of them were trembling.

  The fear continued to do the most harm to us all.

  I wonder, would Raven discard us if he saw us as a burden?

  “We will be getting to a cavern soon. An advance unit will go and ensure the perimeter is clear of hostiles while the rest cover the rear. Afterwards, we will take positions to watch both entrances. We will take a ten-minute break. Let’s hope we can catch a breather,” Olivier gave his orders.

  His words interrupted my train of thought and forced me back into reality.

  We have been travelling for about two hours. We had no casualties along the way. Taking a break would help us rejuvenate our tired minds, even if a little.

  Okay, maybe my companions and I weren’t as tired as the soldiers, but still.

  Raven went closer to the centre of the formation, where Olivier was, and started a conversation with him. I could barely catch what they were talking about.

  “Captain, do you have more glowsticks or flares?” Raven asked.

  “We do. You need them for something?”

  They both spoke with no hostility. When lives are on the line, even people who have grudges will work together! Our survival was more important than their pride!

  “How big is the cavern exactly?”

  “Smaller than the one we made our camp in. More open, but with numerous rock objects that are larger compared to the rest.”

  “I see. Could you use some glowsticks before we enter in there?”

  “We are left with a limited number of them. I cannot use them for no good reason. This is why I will send an advance unit. If you have a reason or a worry, say it. If the explanation is good, I will change my approach.”

  “I fear that an ambush, either by Stalkers or something worse, might be waiting for us in there.”

  “The advance unit would inform us if there is any danger.”

  “Splitting our already limited forces is dangerous. If the advance unit finds hostiles with which they cannot take down, they would be in danger.”

  “I would send more men if that were to happen.”

  “It might be too late. Losing the advance unit would be a heavy blow. It might render our already shaky formation unsustainable. Let’s not forget that the forces that leave might provoke the Stalkers into a rash attack.”

  “For the Stalkers, we already have countermeasures,” the Second Lieutenant said, “But for worse? What worse could be in there?”

  “Princess,” was the only word Raven said, yet it sounded heavy and menacing.

  Olivier and Charlotte couldn’t protest after hearing this.

  “Your reasoning is noted. We’ll do as you have proposed. Men, change of plan! We’ll be using glow sticks to determine the perimeter!”

  When he came back, I asked what he was talking about with Olivier, but even if I hadn’t, he would have informed us.

  “I fear that there is a high chance we will be in a battle in the place we were supposed to rest. Be prepared for anything. If there is a fight, the results would determine our next actions.”

  We all could feel that he was dead serious. Something bad will be happening.

  The closer we got to the cavern, the more on edge we were.

  “Throw glow sticks in there! Make sure the whole place is well lit!” Olivier ordered.

  The soldiers did as they were told. They threw seven: two at the entrance, three in the middle and two further in.

  All looked intensely, holding their weapon aimed, expecting a massive amount of undead to be waiting for us.

  However, no matter how much we looked, there was nothing in there.

  It was quiet. Not even bats inhabited the ceilings. Even the Stalkers stopped making sounds, let alone daring moves.

  “Your worry was unneeded. Nonetheless, I appreciate your help,” Olivier sighed with relief as he patted Raven on the shoulder.

  “One more. Let me throw it,” Raven spoke, his tone chilly.

  Something bothered him. He must have sensed something we couldn’t.

  “I don’t like it,” Lily commented.

  “It’s too quiet. Something’s off,” Roosevelt also was on edge.

  The soldiers trusted their leader. We trusted Raven’s instincts.

  “I find it meaningless, but I will allow you to. Give him one glow stick! Let’s see if he finds something.”

  A few of the soldiers laughed, somewhat mockingly.

  Their reaction would have made Raven angry and he would have bitten back. That was what should have happened. That’s what he would have normally done.

  But he didn’t.

  I gulped.

  In seconds, he had a glow stick in his hand.

  “Here,” one of the soldiers said and gave the glow stick to Raven.

  He didn’t even try to hide his mocking smile.

  “Worthless,” was the only word Raven spoke to the soldiers, having his gaze focused on the cavern before us.

  “Greetings, oh Mistress of the undead! Is it too late to discuss this like civilised barbarians?”

  Silence followed his inquiry. No one replied.

  The military burst into uncontrollable laughter soon after.

  However, my friends and I didn’t dare to relax. Not yet.

  With no reply, Raven threw the glow stick with all his might. It went almost to the other end of the cavern. It hit something and it bounced a few inches further, falling onto the other entrance.

  Still nothing.

  I sighed with relief.

  That was a brilliant throw if I could comment on it.

  But before I could joke about it and calm the tension I felt, we all lost the ability to speak for a few seconds.

  Even the soldiers’ fervent laughter was extinguished.

  The object the glowing stick hit before bouncing moved! It wasn’t alone! It had three more “friends” next to it that also reacted after the first one did!

  Even with the lightly illuminated area, we could determine that four Brutes were waiting for us!

  Soon, in front of the Brutes, dozens of armoured Runners formed a rank! They came from behind the stalagmites!

  It wasn’t over yet.

  The glow stick landed on the other entrance.

  There, a girl was sitting and swinging her legs. Her figure could barely be seen.

  She was looking at us with a tilted head, then at the glow stick and again at us. She stopped swinging her legs while looking at us. She got up.

  “More light,” Raven spoke.

  All were stunned by what we had discovered and no one listened to him.

  “LIGHT! NOW!” Raven ordered with an urgent tone and awoke us from our frozen state.

  That girl… No, that creature… Is this how a Princess looks?

  What made it different from the rest of the undead was its relatively neat appearance.

  Undead rarely wear many clothes; their skin and clothes often merge into one. The wear is considered to be rags.

  But the lone figure at the back, the one we could barely get a glimpse of, was relatively well dressed. Even the hair looked neatly done.

  Not long after she… it got up, it ran and hid somewhere.

  The movements were fast and light. There was grace in them, yet I knew they were one of its abilities that made it so dangerous.

  The soldiers threw numerous glow sticks, sparing nothing and making the entire cavern bright. However, the Princess was nowhere to be seen.

  On a closer inspection, the ceiling was teeming with Stalkers stalking us.

  A roar sounded – the starting signal of our fight.

  The Runners madly attacked us. Behind them, the Brutes stomped the ground, moving slowly closer. Above us, Stalkers were poised to jump us.

  Our rear wasn’t safe either – Stalkers began emerging from the darkness, cutting the only possible path for retreat.

  We were surrounded. This pincer attack was by far the deadliest battle I had to endure.

  “The five soldiers at the rear! Cover our back. The rest will clear up the front! Charlotte, load the few AP magazines we have left and focus on the Brutes with me! The rest, take care of the Runners, cover us from the Stalkers and help with the Brutes! Mercenaries, support us at your will!” Olivier ordered and was the first to move inside the cavern.

  His soldiers obeyed his commands to the last one. Seconds after he entered, all but five followed behind.

  Nowadays, AP rounds are a luxury.

  They are better against armoured targets, which is obvious from their given name.

  They are mostly used by the military, a few well-off organisations and Mercenaries with deep pockets.

  For their production, they require relatively scarce materials. Materials that could be used for economical purposes.

  As a result, they are a rarity and an expensive one at that.

  The main purpose of the small firearms AP round is to counter the lightly armoured undead, such as the Armour Runners before us. They can also do well against Brutes, as the round has a higher chance of making a dent in the Brute, compared to a standard round.

  Firearms with medium calibre AP rounds can make short work of a Brute.

  Usually, a good shot with a sniper rifle would end a Brute on the spot. A sniper rifle with AP rounds might even pierce the Brute without difficulty, easily shutting down organs and limbs.

  Needless to say, the more powerful the AP round, the higher the cost.

  My teammates have neither AP rounds nor a sniper rifle.

  There was the possibility of Raven having one, but he rejected the offer. It would slow us down and we focused on stealth and speed.

  “Go inside the cavern!” Raven told us.

  We listened and moved inside, a few seconds after the military.

  “We will try to take the Stalkers down. You and your AP team deal with the armoured targets!” Raven told Olivier.

  “Acknowledged. Go for the armoured ones! Leave the Stalkers above us alone unless you are forced to! Use AP rounds only against the Brutes!” Olivier roared at his soldiers to inform them of the slight changes in the initial strategy.

  We began hearing gunshots from our rear and, very rarely, the screams of humans.

  What was happening there, we couldn’t know. We were too busy.

  I hope they’ll survive long enough for us to exterminate the undead before us. I hope they endure it until we are able to help them…

  I looked at the ceiling and aimed my gun. The Stalkers were too numerous to count.

  I started pulling the trigger, my grip shaky. Most of my shots missed.

  They were too many. How could we survive this? I feared what the outcome of this would be.

  Before the panic took control of me, I saw how a good number of Stalkers got shot down.

  My teammates have already opened fire. Most of them had sweat on their foreheads, but were resolute to survive or die fighting.

  The soldiers also began shredding the undead on the floor. They were a few feet in front of us, barely moving further in.

  A few of the Runners got close to them, but the soldiers skilfully took them down with their sharp combat knives in no time and renewed their gunfire. They fired with moderate speed, but each of their shots counted.

  How can I give up? We will make it out of here alive!

  I stopped fighting.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  I reopened them, aimed my gun, shot twice and took down a Stalker, its corpse falling from the ceiling.

  My fire rate was slow, but I needed a few shots to take down one of those monsters.

  After calming down, I realised that the ceiling was too high to allow the Stalkers to jump safely. That forced them to lose time getting to us. This was our saving grace.

  A few of them decided to jump, aiming to kill us before dying themselves from the fall, but were shot instantly in mid-air.

  One tried it on me, but with all the experience I had thus far, I defended myself, ending my assailant in the process.

  I didn’t have the time to enjoy the moment of my growth, as there were many more of its kind threatening us. I’ll celebrate after our victory.

  I continued to pull the trigger.