Daniel knew as soon as he saw those four dots. He knew. The radar equipped on every rescue operations rig only scanned for one thing in the immediate area. Antithesis. Those plant-like alien monsters, the ones that had been attacking the world for the last few decades. Sure, he knew all about them. Living in Fairbanks made them… distant neighbors. But he’d never actually seen a living one. That, it seemed, would change today.

  ? “Don’t let any planties eat you!” He remembered Patrick’s parting remark. The bastard just had to jinx him.

  ? “Sergeant!” he pushed his way past that grumpy red-haired girl. Maven, something or other. That didn’t matter now. He hovered a hand over the button in their dash that would activate the dome, and threw a glance over his shoulder at the open cargo doors. He wanted to activate the dome right then and there for some protection. But if Sergeant Ambrose and the driver weren’t already within its range, they would be trapped outside.

  ? Ambrose and the driver appeared. His sergeant frowned at him, displeased with the panic in his voice. Yes, rescue officers weren’t supposed to show panic. Not even cadets. But he had no time for rescue training just then. He said the only word that would save him from a lecture as he pressed the button to activate the dome. “Antithesis!”

  ? For all his gruff and bear-like manners, Sergeant Ambrose was not a stupid man. His eyes immediately narrowed at his cry, and he grabbed the driver by the back of his coat, hauling him up and into the cargo hold, where he was sent sprawling. The students who’d set out on this field trip let out cries of fear at the word. He couldn’t blame them. The thought of soon confronting Antithesis for the first time had him nearly pissing himself. But Sergeant Ambrose could get them out, and the dome would protect them. It was designed to protect against any of the lesser models.

  ?

  [System initialization failed. Please consult the operation manual for troubleshooting steps.]

  ? He swore loudly as the words flashed across his vision. “Fuck!”

  ? Sergeant Ambrose showed much less visible panic, simply pushing past him to the front. “Get that driver in his seat!”

  ? The man’s tone of command helped to settle his nerves–slightly, and he moved to action, pushing the bus driver into the only other empty chair and attaching the harness. He grunted in surprise at the rough treatment, but thankfully didn’t complain. He gave his name quickly when Daniel asked for it, and the harness cinched tight. Then what felt like another bus hit their vehicle from the side, rocking it slightly. He could hear a scratching noise along the top of the vehicle, along with the nasty crunch that told him the radar had been torn off.

  ? Daniel was knocked into the lap of that red-haired girl when the antithesis slammed into them. He pushed himself back to his feet without muttering an apology and made his way to the front, where Sergeant Ambrose was already strapping himself in. It’d be a rough takeoff then, just like in his training sims. Sure enough, his side of the dashboard was already alight with warning symbols, but the overall status looked alright.

  ? “Activated the backup shield,” Ambrose growled. He was swiping at the dash, setting up for an emergency takeoff. “Damn overstock crap. Knew that was a bad batch when they were donated.”

  ? Daniel privately agreed, all but jumping into his seat. But before he could affix the harness, another impact hit the vehicle, this time from much closer to where he sat. The entire rig spun and tipped, drawing screams from the field trip group behind them, but held steady. Ambrose actually swore at that and slammed a hand against the wheel, jerking it forward. Daniel let out a sigh of relief as he felt the bus accelerating forward. Then, disaster struck.

  ? Something crashed through the front window of the vehicle. Daniel only saw a long, clawed paw of some kind. Jet black and green, like a rotting plant, with vicious-looking claws that dug into Sergeant Ambrose’s chest and ripped him out through the hole. Daniel screamed with the others as his superior officer was clawed out of the vehicle.

  ? Of course, the rig had been jostled by that last impact and veered slightly to the right. That on its own might not have caused any problems, because the autopilot could have gotten them into the air and flown them back to the station–even without Daniel’s intervention. But they hit something, and the spinning got a whole lot worse. Then they hit something else, and the entire thing flipped end over end.?

  ? The world devolved into the sound of rending metal and shattering glass. Daniel, arms thrown up to protect his face from the glass, was yanked from side to side, then up and down, and then in random patterns, only held in place thanks to the harness he’d put on. Guess it had kept him safe after all. When the violent movement finally stopped, all he could hear was the sound of the groans from the students and the driver in the back, and a faint ringing that lingered on in the background.

  ?

  ? [Warning. This service Vehicle has taken significant damage and is inoperable. Please follow standard evacuation protocol, as this vehicle is no longer safe to inhabit. Escape hatches are opening now.]

  ? “Don’t open!” Daniel screamed, struggling to break free of his harness. “Don’t open!”

  ?

  ? [Authority not recognized. Sergeant Ambrose is listed as the superior officer on this operation. Voice Commands of Daniel Koyuk will be ignored. Please refer to the ‘Ranks’ section of the I.R.A. Employee Handbook for further clarification.]

  ?

  ? “Override!” He shouted, forgetting the proper term in his panic. “Ambrose is dead!”

  ?

  ? [Authority not recognized. Contacting your superior office for repeated mutiny attempts.]

  ?

  ? Daniel finally got free of his harness and fell upward toward the crumpled roof of the rescue rig. Almost at the same time, two hatches on either side of the vehicle hissed open, as did the doors at the back. It gave them all the perfect angle from which to view the three Antithesis monsters grouped around the sergeant’s body. Less than fifty yards away.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  ? The field trip group, of course, screamed in terror. More than a few of them tried to unhook their harnesses. Daniel, not wanting to know what it was like to be fished out of the vehicle like sardines from a can, dove for the manual lever for the back doors. He yanked it down.

  ?

  [Manual override of rear escape hatch triggered. Recognizing Operative Agency over predetermined policy.]

  ? The Antithesis had heard the screams, and two looked up and around, then immediately bounded forward. About the size of large dogs, they covered the ground with alarming speed, their three-hinged jaws opening as if they could already taste the trapped humans. Then the rear doors snapped shut, cutting off the horrifying sight. Daniel hit the side hatches next, slipping on the shards of broken glass that littered the roof–now floor–of the vehicle. The first closed without issue. The second was hit by one of the Antithesis before it even got halfway, and was ripped off.

  ? The entire rig spun about ninety degrees, and Daniel slipped again. Pain flashed across his shoulder as the glass dug into it. The Anchorage kids screamed. Again.

  ? “Shut up!” He yelled, almost as loud as they had. “They can hear you!”

  ? The girl with the red hair finally got free of her harness and thumped to the floor with a grunt. But she rolled, quickly regaining her feet, and grabbed him, yanking him closer to the back. Without a second to spare, too. Another paw reached in through the open hatch frame, swiping at the air, trying to find something to grab.

  ? The emergency equipment, he thought, pushing himself further back. It had a fire axe! He clawed himself back to his feet by using the girl, ignoring her protests, and put his hand to the panel that hid the emergency supplies. It flashed, then beeped with an angry tone. His hand was too bloody to recognize. His frustration escaped him in something between a growl and a cry, and he hurriedly wiped his hand on his thigh before pressing it to the scanner again. Nothing.

  ? “Rinse away the blood!” The girl said. She produced a water bottle and sloshed it over his hand. A crazy idea, but it just might work. And they didn’t really have time for a fourth try, judging by the sound of straining metal behind him. The monster was trying to force its way through the hatch.

  ? He held his breath, pressing the hand to the scanner once more, and heard a faint beep, and the panel split open. He reached in and grabbed the fire axe, then whipped around with it, bringing it down on the head of the alien that was less than a foot away. The axe made a sickening crunch as it sank into the skull of the beast, before it retreated with a screech–taking the axe with it.

  ? “You killed it!” One of the students yelled, throwing their hands up. “Yes!”

  ? “Maybe,” Daniel muttered, unsure. He looked down at his hands and the absence of the only thing that could count as a weapon. “Even if I did, that was just one. There’s three more.”

  ? He looked up and met the eyes of that girl. “Maven, right?”

  ? “Maeve,” she corrected him. “M-A–”

  ? “Yeah, I don’t care how it’s spelled,” he interrupted her. “Any of you have anything that could help?”

  ? He could see in her eyes that the answer was a solid no. “Best we got is some food. But that’s on the bus.”

  [System Initialized!]

  [Congratulations. Through your actions, you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Sylas. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld against the Antithesis threat!]

  [Rise, Daniel Koyuk, and become a protector of the weak!]

  ? Daniel smacked the side of his head, sure that either his augs were on the fritz or that he was going insane.

  ? “The bus!” It was the driver who spoke. He strained against his harness for a second before fumbling for the catch and releasing it. Getting to his feet, he moved closer. “There’s an old emergency rifle in the bus for defense against wild animals! You can use that, right?”

  ? Daniel wasn’t sure why this grown, old man was putting that in his hands, but he shook his head. “You mean the bus that’s at least two hundred yards away, in an open space where there’s at least three bloodthirsty monsters? And would a gun that old even help?”

  ? The driver shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno. Seems better than nothing, right?”

  ?[I believe that a weapon of the caliber listed as part of the bus’s manifest would be sufficient to defeat a Model 3. However, considering the distance involved from the epicenter of the last radio distress call, and the number of Antithesis threats still present outside, attempting to reach that weapon is ill-advised.]

  ?

  ? Daniel smacked the side of his head again. “Stupid aug! Shut up already!”

  ?

  ? Maeve looked at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was. Jury was still out on that. “Uhh, what are you doing?”

  ? “Nothing,” he grumbled. “Just some stupid bug with my augs.”

  ?[I am not a bug, Daniel. I am Sylas, an AI companion, created by the Protectors to assist you, my Vanguard partner, in defending humanity from the Antithesis invasion.]

  ? Okay, that was weird. Usually, scams and hacks to his augs did use publicly available profiles, and had such information available. But they never mentioned Vanguard or… The Protectors!

  ? “Oh shit,” he muttered, swaying slightly. “This is real?”

  ?[I am afraid so, yes. If it’s not too much trouble, would you be willing to address your immediate danger before you and these fine people die?]

  ? “Uhh, sure?”

  [Excellent. As I sense you are a little pressed for time, I will simply say that you have 110 points available to you right now. Would you like to purchase a weapon?]

  ?

  ? Daniel’s eyebrows shot up. “Of course!”

  [Excellent. Which weapon would you like to purchase?]

  ? His left eye twitched. Despite the panic, he felt like this AI was having a laugh at him… “I don’t know! Just pick one for me!?”

  ?

  [Understood.]

  [New Purchase! Class 1 Kinetic Weapons Catalogue Unlocked! Points reduced from 110 to 60.]

  [New Purchase! Foxteeth Model D! Points reduced from 60 to 55.]

  ?

  ? A box appeared out of nowhere at his feet. Flat and plastic, but with no sign of any kind of lock. It certainly didn’t look big enough to hold a rifle. But he squatted down and opened the box anyway. Inside, nestled in the same white plastic perfectly cut to house it, was a pistol. He picked it up and examined it. It seemed more like a toy, with its blocky shape and switches on either side. Safety, he saw on the right. Perfect. He switched it off.

  ? “Right,” he said, turning to look at the others. “I think this should do the trick.”