Fort Night Sucks-3

*Laura's POV*

Walking into the room was Bode and another guy who was somewhat familiar. Before I could rack my brain to remember who he was, I noticed the knife in his hand that was placed at Bode's throat. The sharp edge of the blade was tightly pressed against his skin to the point that at every step they took, small trickles of blood appeared on his neck.

With Kati pointing her bow at this new guy and him using Bode as a shield, a dangerous standoff took place in the middle of the room.

"There are teachers who are wounded at the gate. You are going to open the gate so we can save them." [???]

"Oh yeah? And why should I believe you, Alex, who's holding my friend at knifepoint." [Kati]

"I don't want to hurt anyone; I just want to save the teachers now open the gates or this guy will get hurt. You have 30 seconds before he dies." [Alex]

"Do you even hear yourself? I've heard a lot of hypocrisy, but this is by far the dumbest thing I've ever heard someone say. How are you saying you don't want to hurt anyone while hurting someone? Are you dumb?" [Kati]

"Uh, Kati. Can you not piss off the guy trying to stab me in the…Hrrrg" [Bode]

Urging the blade even deeper into Bode's neck, Alex shouts out,

"You, shut up. Open the gates or I'll really kill him then I'll kill you." [Alex]

"You think you can? Come and try" [Kati]

While this standoff doesn't seem to go anywhere, we can't afford to let him hurt Bode. Looking for a way to break the stalemate, I hear a voice in my head.

|Finally using me eh Boss. Just toss me at his head and he'll be over quick. Ahh how I've missed the feel of slicing through skull and bones.| [Acheron]

|I believe my liege prefers a more nonlethal approach. If you grab that cup behind you and throw it, I believe that will provide a decent distraction. Your companion should be able to seize the opportunity and free himself from his captor.| [Aureole]

{I've never been that accurate with throwing, so I hope I don't hit Bode by accident…} [Laura]

|Worry not, my liege. We shall assist you.| [Aureole]

I slowly shift my arm behind me, wrapping my fingers around the cup. I then shift my eyes to Kati, who notices my gaze. Although we cannot communicate our intentions verbally, I turn my eyes towards Bode and Alex. Seeming to understand what I was getting at, Kati slightly nods.

All it took was half a second before things went hectic.

Kati yelled out,

"Down!" [Kati]

Following her order, Bode immediately throws himself on the ground and an arrow passes right by my head lodging in the shoulder of the person behind Bode. The force of the arrow spins Alex's body around and he falls face first on the stone floor. After witnessing the person get pierced by the arrow, Bode leap to his feet, and hurriedly grabbed the now incapacitated Alex and tossed him out of the room. Bode then turns towards me and shouts,

"Laura, close the door!" [Bode]

Looking at the person on the other side grabbing their shoulder in shock, I hesitate between helping them and closing the door.

"Now, Laura!" [Kati]

Getting pulled back into reality, I quickly shut the door and slam the bolt back into place. When the door finally closes, the muffled screams of agony begin.

"Aargh! Aarrgh! My Shoulder!" [???]

While I'm confused on what just happened, Kati and Bode seem to be in a deep discussion.

"Bode, what the hell happened? Why are people trying to kill you and what is this about some teachers?" [Kati]

Out of breath, Bode huffs for a second before answering.

"Some teachers who left came back. Three of them are wounded and they want to open the gates to help them." [Bode]

"O-Okay, you say that like we shouldn't do that. Can we not help them?[Kati]

"Wait, I'm not finished! There were monsters in the distance watching the gate. Shin and I think that we shouldn't open the gate because the monsters will be able to get in and hurt more people. I rushed back here to tell you to be ready for an attack. Shin was sure that people would get mad and come here to open the gates, without thinking of the consequences. I kind of forgot about that other guy and he jumped me from the shadows when I entered the building." [Bode]

"So, people are going to come here and try to hurt us to open the gates? What the hell is wrong with these people?" [Kati]

"Yeah, we don't have much time." [Bode]

{Huh? I feel like they're forgetting someone…}

"Bode, where's Shin?" [Laura]

"He stayed behind with them, probably to stall them." [Bode]

"Wait! Does that mean you left Shin all alone to deal with those people? What if they hurt him when he tries to stop them?" [Laura]

Not having an answer to that question, Bode stares down at his feet.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, but if people are coming here to open up the gate, we need to prepare to stop them. Can we talk about protecting this place first?" [Kati]

{She's right, now is not the time to get worried about him. He left me here because he said he trusted me; I can't betray that trust by leaving. From the stories my mom told me, he was trained by his father who was a strong soldier, meaning he should be able to defend himself until we can arrive.}

Steadying my beating heart, I try to calm myself down and even out my breathing before turning to Kati and Bode.

"Okay, you're right." [Laura]

"Then what are your orders?" [Kati]

"Huh? What do you mean? You're the one who set up the password and everything so you should know what to do right?" [Laura]

"You're the vice-captain." [Bode]

"Shin trusts you so we should as well." [Kati]

{Why are they acting like this now? Kati was perfectly fine handing out orders earlier…Is this the emotional control thing that affected me earlier, or is it something else…?}

"Okay, Kati, you said there were no other entry points besides the steel door, correct? Then we will be focusing our fighting force in this room here. Kati, you will be stationed away from the door at the appropriate distance for you to use your bow, make sure to aim to wound, if possible. Bode, since you use a shield, you will be our vanguard and wall so to speak. You will not allow people to pass by you. Kati will be responsible for any magic casters and rear support. Bode, you will be responsible for tanking their frontline attacker. I will be dealing with anyone who gets past Bode. Kati, you are also responsible for detecting any people using stealth so make sure to keep your detection skills active throughout the fight, even if it hinders your performance a bit." [Laura]

"Understood." [Bode & Kati]

Bode and Kati move into position while I stand in place, dumbfounded.

{What the heck just happened. I've never done anything like that before, yet I felt so confident in the moment.}

|Commander Skill has levelled up, new active skill available|

My Commander Skill leveled up, is that what just helped me?

|Correct, my liege. That skill takes affect when you distribute orders to people who are under your command.| [Aureole]

{Under my command? But why do they think so in the first place. I know that Shin said I was his number two, but I was sure that people thought it was a joke?} [Laura]

|Aye they did, until I activated one of your Skills for ya. That way they listen to your commands without fussin.| [Acheron]

{You activated one of my Skills?} [Laura]

|…They're here| [Acheron]

…

Although the steel door was solidly built, it is by no means soundproof. The screams of pain, which could still be heard, were now accompanied by the concerned voices of other people.

"What happened here?" [Unknown #1]

"Who is that?" [Unknown#2]

"Alex, oh God, Alex, what happened to you?" [Gabby]

"Quick, bring someone who knows healing magic." [Unknown#1]

"He was shot by an arrow; we'll have to pull it out for the healing to work. [unknown #3]

As they begin assessing the guy who was shot, his cries of agony subsided, and he finally began to talk.

"Aargh, the bow person in there shot me when they opened the door. Be careful, they're dangerous and won't hesitate to kill." [Alex]

{This isn't good, this is going to be an all-out fight. I don't want to have to hurt people. I should try to talk to them before anything else happens.}

"That's not true. We don't want to have to hurt anyone. Alex tried to stab our friend and held him at knifepoint, so we stopped him. We were just ordered to keep people away from the opening mechanism so why do you want to open the gate so badly? There are monsters out there that will hurt people." [Laura]

"You hurt Alex, who the hell do…" [Gabby]

"Wait, we should at least talk to them first." [Unknown#3]

"Were you not told? The teachers who went out earlier came back, but they are injured. They need to be brought inside in order for them to be saved." [Unknown#3]

"What about the monsters out there waiting for you guys to open the gates?" [Laura]

"They don't matter, they seem to be keeping their distance so we're quite sure that they are scared of fire. We will shoot fireballs at them to ward them off while we save the teachers." [Unknown#3]

"I assume you have a mage with you then? Can you use fire and wind magic?" [Laura]

"Yes, you are correct, I am Edjer and I'm proficient in the use of both wind and fire magic. Are your questions finished? We have to hurry here and if you open the doors, we won't do anything to the people inside." [Edjer]

"If you are proficient in wind magic, why can't you just lift them up and over the wall with your magic?" [Laura]

"A-Are you kidding? I-It's impossible." [Edjer]

"How do you know; did you even try?" [Laura]

"Y-You, just shut up and open the door. You have 5 seconds before I blast it open." [Edjer]

I turn to Bode and whisper,

"Bode, can you flip over the table so we can be protected from the blast." [Laura]

Hearing this command, Bode grabs the table we ate our meal on and flips it, so the tabletop faces the door. Although the table is made out of a somewhat thick wood, I can't imagine it blocking much.

"Time's up. I'm going to blow the door, everyone get back." [Edjer]

I look at Bode and Kati, who nod back. Everyone here knows that this going to come down to a fight. I think of the conversation I had with Shin earlier.

{Did he know that this would happen?}

I prepare myself mentally and I whisper to both Kati and Bode,

"I don't want to hurt people, but if they are trying to hurt or kill you, you can't hesitate. I don't know why people are violent right now, but you have to protect yourself, no matter what." [Laura]

"Understood" [Bode & Kati]

Hunkering down behind a flipped over table. We wait for the explosion that will signal the start of the fight.

Expecting the door to explode immediately, we were surprised when there was a lack of an explosion after several seconds. Activating my Exposure Skill, I try to see what is happening on the other side of the door. Though the Skill is not perfect I should be able to at least sense their whereabouts through the door.

{Huh? They're gone?}

"Kati, can you sense anyone beyond the door or anyone concealing their presence?" [Laura]

"Negative, I cannot sense anyone in the vicinity, hidden or not." [Kati]

{Hmm did they leave? No wait, Edjer said he was going to blow upon the door. Then why did he leave. Unless… Oh shit.}

"Kati, Bode. Get into the back room now!" [Laura]

Grabbing the both of them, I desperately drag them across the main room to the room furthest from the door. Slamming the door in place, I shout out.

"Bode, Kati. GET DOWN, NOW" [Laura]

Throwing myself onto the ground, I cover my ears and close my eyes.

*BOOOOM*

The entire building seems to quiver and quake from the pressure from the explosion. The next sensation we are barraged with is the heat from the explosion which I can feel along my exposed legs. Even the ceiling cannot stand the pressure as pieces fall off onto me. Feeling the pain form both the falling pieces and heat on my back, I'm finally spared when I feel something big fall on my head.