The portal spawned Jade, Cateline, Yvain and Yasmine at the edge of the wasteland.
The air was thick with rot, heavy enough to taste. Jade fell to the ground trying to catch her breath. She had fought her way to make it through the portal.
They took breath for a moment, exchanging names in the process.
A low growl sounded in a distance.
They turned towards the wasteland to find five hallow hogs slowly closing in the distance. Preying on them, trying to catch them unawares.
A voice echoed in their head. "Survive or die." Like an instinct warning them.
Jade gets up from the floor as they took a formation ready to battle the in coming danger.
Yasmine let out a small, strangled sound.
"I... I can't..."
She vanished.
Not a blur. Not smoke. One moment she was there, eyes wide and terrified, the next she was gone, swallowed by air. Her presence faded completely, like she wasn't there.
"Yasmine!" Cateline shouted.
"I'm here," Yasmine's voice whispered from nowhere. "I just... I don't know how to fight."
"We are already out numbered. You hiding reduces our odds of winning this without anyone getting badly hurt." Jade shouted in vexation.
"I'm really sorry... I can't " Yasmine responded again.
"You'd rather survive alone, really?" Cateline cuts in.
"Its okay guys, its fine." Yvain cuts in. "Lets not fight each other and focus on the real deal here."
The hogs charged at them.
Yvain slammed his foot into the ground.
Stone answered.
Slabs of rock surged upward, colliding with two hogs on their mid-lunge. The impact cracked stone and bone alike.
Cateline didn't think.
She split.
A fragile copy tore from her body, sprinting towards the incoming hog. The hog veered, claws ripping through the image. It shattered instantly, fragments dissolving before they hit the ground.
"That didn't go well," Cateline muttered, panic threading her voice.
The hog leapt.
Jade jumps, tossing Cateline out of the way but gets hit on the shoulder, slamming her into the dirt. Pain exploded down her arm. She had felt something tear. The pain intensified for a heartbeat then vanished. Her shoulder back in place. Flesh knitted violently.
"Don't use the clone for your defense," Jade muttered "Use it as a diversion while sneaking behind it for the kill."
"Sneak behind it and use what for the kill? My teeth?" Cateline responded sarcastically.
She spawns two copies immediately both attacking the hog from two directions.
They knocked the hog off balance, long enough for Yvain to bring the ground down on it. Stone collapsed, crushing the hog beneath sheer weight.
The remaining hogs charged together.
Cateline split again - this time three copies. They darted and scattered, fragile distractions. One was torn apart immediately. Another bought seconds.
Yvain dropped to one knee, sweat pouring down his face as he forced the ground upward. Stones resisted him, heavy and slow, but it moved.
A hog breaks through the barrier Yvain was trying to form.
It tusks grazed Cateline back.
The hog reared back.
Yasmine panics has she saw the hog close to her. It couldn't see her yet she got so tensed up losing her grip for a moment which causes her to appear in front of the hog.
She didn't attack.
She screamed.
"YASMINE MOVE!!!" Yvain shouted. Tossing small particles of rocks towards the hog
She vanishes again just as the creature was about to lunge at her.
The rocks smashes the hog's face, bashing it open. It fell to the ground lifeless.
They looked around looked around, the last hog had vanished. They felt relax but weary as it may lunge a surprise attack on them.
Cateline sank to the ground, chest heaving. "Ouch... My back."
Yasmine reappeared slowly, hugging herself, eyes wet. "I'm sorry. I couldn't..."
Jade moves close to Cateline.
"Try to relax." Jade muttered stretching her hands behind Cateline.
She felt a sudden stinging pain as her back heals.
"Looks like you're whole again" Jade whispered, giving her a smile.
"Thanks." Cateline replied. A brief silence filled the air. She continues, "So which direction are we heading ?"
They looked around.
"It would be wild going into the wasteland without any survival kits." Yvain responded. "I suggest we heard towards the forest."
Silence echoed as they ponder their thought of survival between the wasteland and forest.
They nodded in agreement.
They walked for a while, slow and steady. Weary of their surroundings.
Cateline stumbled on something, falling to the ground. She stood up staring at the object. The visible part looked like an handle of something. She bends to drag it out of the ruin. It is a curved dagger.
It edges blunt but could still do some damage.
"This could come in handy." She murmured to her self, picking up pace to meet up with the others.
Few minutes later they heard a scream coming towards the direction of the forest.
"W-what's that." Yasmine stammered. Voice shaking.
"Sounded like it's coming from the clearing," Jade said, squinting.
"Someone's in trouble..." Yvain muttered. "Lets go help." He ran off without even waiting for their response.
"Wait..." Cateline shouted, chasing him down.
"Do we have to go?" Yasmine whispered, looking a bit frigid.
"We can't even agree as a team." Jade murmured to herself ignoring Yasmine comment. She picks up pace joining them.
Yasmine had no other choice but to follow suit.
---
Eleanor's head snapped toward the tunnel's mouth. Watching as the Hollow Hogs crawl out of the shadows.
It dawned on them that they couldn't run. Well, without having to leave Marielle behind. And if they try to drag her along they would be too slow and the Hogs will eventually catch up with them.
Knox clenched his fists, heart hammering. Ready to go in fist blazing if need arises.
The first hog emerged from the tunnel, followed by the other two.
Vince staggered steps forward. He tried.
He thrust his hands forward and focused-really focused- but it only seemed to slow the leading hog down.
"Come on," he hissed. "Work please."
It wasn't that effective.
The second hog lunged.
Knox slammed into it, filled with desperation. He charges at the second hog. The impact sent both of them tumbling. Bone cracked - but not enough. The creature shrieked and crawled free.
Tom hurled fire.
The flame struck true - but small. The force wasn't enough to burn the hog to death, it only left it bruised but still had a little strength left in it for an attacked.
The ground exploded.
Stone surged upward in a violent arc, hurling the two hogs close to the tunnel entrance aside as if they weigh nothing.
"DOWN!" a voice shouted.
A figure emerged from the gray horizon, arms extended, face set with fierce concentration.
Yvain.
They recognized him as one of the passengers in the bus.
Cateline ran in next.
Two mirror copies broke off, sprinting wide towards the bruised hog. The hog manages to rip through them with its claws and the copies shattered like thin glass, buying moments. The real Cateline had sneaked passed. She lunges into the air, stabbing the hog from behind. The hog growled loud as she kept stabbing and dragging the blade down.
Vince group stared, breath hitching.
"They... they know what they're doing." Eleanor commented.
"Y...Yeah." Knox responded.
Yasmine stepped out of nothingness as the battle was over.
Jade arrived last.
"Is anyone hurt?" she asked.
"I hurt my ankle." Marielle responded abruptly.
Jade dropped to her knees beside Marielle without hesitation.
"Don't fight it," Jade said softly.
She places her hands over the crushed ankle. Her hands glowed paled yellow, as if it was a faint flame.
Marielle screamed.
The pain was sharp, invasive - then suddenly gone.
Her ankle was whole again.
Jade swayed but stayed upright.
Behind them, a fallen hog twitched.
Its body jerked once... then rose.
Eleanor froze. "Guys...."
The hog lurched towards the tunnel, trying to heard back to its territory.
Yvain raises a large stone, flinging it towards the hog. The stone crushes the hog. It laid lifeless beneath the stone.
Silence filled the air as the last hog fell.
Marielle stood slowly, testing her weight. It held.
She looked at Jade, stunned. "You healed me."
Jade nodded, exhaustion written across her face.
"Seems like you guys were having a bit of problem handling the hogs." Cateline commented sarcastically.
"How did you guys know and manage to control your powers?" Vince asked
"What do you mean..." Jade responded.
"We just kind of knew I guess, it helped us survive the first group of hogs we had met earlier." Yvain responded, cutting off Jade. "Wait, you guys don't know about your powers?" he added almost immediately.
Vince's group gave themselves an awkward stare as silence filled the air.
"We are still trying to figure ourselves out." Eleanor finally breaks the silence.
"Figure yourself out? What does that mean." Cateline nags. "You guys don't know what your powers are?"
Vince's group kept their eyes down, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Yes." Knox responded.
Jade's group gave them a curious stare.
"We are heading into the forest hoping to find the others and a way out. Will you guys join us?" Jade asked. Changing the topic as awkwardness had filled the air.
"I'll follow you guys." Marielle responded immediately. Her mind was focused on one thing, survive.
They were her best bet at surviving at the moment.
"The more the merrier." Yvain added with a smile written all over his face.
Eleanor, Vince, Knox and Tom reluctantly agreed. They felt like they would be a burden to them as they could barely defend themselves against the creature of this realm.