Encounters
The massive gate loomed above, glowing and pulsing, casting an eerie light over the cracked pavement. Every shadow seemed to twist unnaturally in its presence, and the low hum of energy pressed against their senses.
Marko planted his spear firmly on the ground, scanning the area. Ara's bow was ready, frost faintly clinging to her fingertips. Jeric stood near the center, hand resting on his machete, his telekinetic energy faintly rippling as if reacting to the gate's power.
Defenders already occupied the park. Two distinct groups were visible—Kael and Dara's team near the fountain, discussing positions and surveying the terrain, and Maki's team along the tree line, preparing for whatever might come. In between them, lone hunters and awakeners moved cautiously, assessing the strange newcomers.
Jeric motioned for Marko, Ara, and the rest to stay close. "We need to introduce ourselves," he said quietly. "But carefully—everyone here is sizing each other up."
Marko nodded, eyes scanning the groups. "First impressions matter."
Jeric stepped forward and called out, projecting his voice so the nearby teams could hear. "Hello, I'm Jeric, acting leader of our group. These are Marko and Ara."
Kael and Dara exchanged glances. Kael is tall and broad-shouldered with a scar across his cheek, and Dara is his second-in-command, who owned a gun store before the world fell. Kael stepped forward. "I'm Kael, this is Dara, and this is my group. We've been organizing defenses here, trying to figure out what the gate will do. You have a fairly large group there. Where are you from?
"We come from the Mall beyond the bridge. We've come to assist in holding this line." Jeric responded.
"You're welcome to join—but why take the risk, considering you have a fortress there, and for sure you have all the supplies you need from the mall?" Kael again asked.
"It's a long story, and if this gate breaks, even that fortress will not be safe either." Jeric's explained. And then...
Maki, a police sergeant, approached from the tree line, arms crossed, sword on his waist. "I don't know who you are, but if you plan to stay, you'll need to prove you're not a liability. The gate doesn't wait for introductions." His group, behind his back, agreed in unison.
A lone awakener, observing Jeric's group's sudden appearance, murmured to another, "Looks like they've been through a fight or two already."
Jeric nodded subtly at the assessment. "We won't interfere with your arrangements. We're here to stand with you against the gate. That's all."
Ara's gaze swept the park, noting the wary expressions of the other teams and the lone hunters. "Seems like we all share the same concern," she said quietly.
Kael gave a short nod, his eyes still sharp but less guarded. "Concern, yes. Trust—that's earned."
Dara, standing beside him, tilted her head slightly. "Names and faces are enough for now. Later, we'll see what each of us can do."
The survivors—both in groups and alone—straightened, weapons at the ready, but no words passed. The gate above pulsed once more, casting long shadows across the park, and all eyes instinctively lifted toward it.
Jeric glanced at Marko and Ara. "This is our line. For now, we observe, coordinate, and prepare. Everything else comes after."
For the first time, the two groups, the lone hunters and Jeric's team, stood together in the open park, strangers bound only by the urgency of the moment—and by the massive gate above, a threat none could face alone.
Responsibilities
The meeting ended with little more than names exchanged, but already, necessity pulled them into action. Kael gestured toward the east road, where the broken windows of the big supermarket reflected the gate's glow.
"Families, children, and non-combatants can stay there," Kael said firmly. "We've already secured part of it—reinforced the shutters, cleared the inside. It's away from the Capitol and easier to defend if things go bad."
Jeric turned to the mothers and children who had marched with them. Fear clung to their faces, but so did relief at the thought of a roof and walls. He gave a curt nod. "You'll be safe there. Kael's people will watch over you."
Marko helped guide them across the park, steadying the weary. Ara kept close at the rear, bow strung and watchful. As they moved, Kael's group opened the barricaded entrance to the supermarket, allowing the families inside. The sound of children's voices, though hushed, carried faintly into the night. For the first time since they'd crossed the broken bridge, there was shelter.
When Jeric returned with Marko and Ara, the mood had shifted. Kael and Dara were already in a heated discussion with Maki's hunters, sketching the outlines of streets on the pavement with broken chalk. Jeric crouched beside them without asking, his presence steady but unyielding.
"We need a perimeter," Jeric said. "The park is too exposed. Barricades here"—he pointed to the avenues leading straight into the square—"and patrols in the alleys. If monsters spill in from side streets, we'll be caught off guard."
Maki gave a scoff but didn't argue. "We've already scouted the eastern block. Rubble and abandoned cars will do for barricades. But we'll need manpower to haul it all."
"Then we divide," Jeric replied. "My people will clear debris. You can set watch posts. Every able hand works."
For once, Maki only nodded.
By torchlight and scraps of lanterns, the survivors began their grim work. Warriors pried loose rusted gates and dragged them across streets, hammering them into makeshift blockades. Others shoved overturned cars into choke points, lashing them together with rope and chain.
Ara stood on the steps of the Capitol, her bow scanning the alleys, while Marko worked among the barricades, his spear doubling as a lever to shift heavy stone. His strength drew murmurs from the other hunters.
Jeric walked the perimeter, his machete slung at his hip. With a flick of his hand, he lifted broken concrete with his telekinesis, dropping slabs neatly into place. Lone awakeners nearby paused at the display, their guarded eyes softening with something closer to respect.
"Patrols, two-man pairs, every corner," Jeric ordered to his own group, a total of 30 warriors who were willing to take risks. "If anything moves that isn't one of ours, the alarm is raised. No one wanders alone."
The dusk sky came. Fires burned in oil drums for light, smoke rising into the tainted glow of the sky. The park, once a place of rest, was now a forward bastion. Hunters paced the barricades, eyes sharp, weapons ready.
At the Capitol steps, Kael finally broke the quiet. "It won't be enough."
Jeric met his gaze. "It never is. But it'll hold until we make it enough."
The two men said nothing more, but in the uneasy silence, a fragile understanding formed.
For now, Laoag stood.
Two more Groups
The plaza grew noisier as another group approached from the eastern road. Dust clung to their boots and uniforms, their expressions tight from the long march. At their head was Lyra, a young woman in her twenties, her gaze steady despite the weight of leadership. Behind her trailed twenty-five souls—a mix of teachers with makeshift spears, students gripping scavenged weapons, and middle-aged folk carrying backpacks of supplies. By her side walked Fara, her vice leader, a fencer whose blade gleamed faintly in the sun.
They paused at the edge of the gathering. Murmurs rippled through Jeri and Kael's group, eyes narrowing in caution.
"Another batch?" Kael muttered, hand resting on his weapon.
Dara stepped forward cautiously. "Identify yourselves."
Lyra inclined her head, voice firm but respectful. "We're survivors from the college district. I'm Lyra. This is Fara, my second. The rest are what remains of our teachers, classmates, and neighbors. We heard the call to gather here." She then called, and the ground shuddered—the hulking shape of a stone golem rising from the earth to shadow her.
The groups are amazed by the sudden summoning from the ground.
Before more could be said, another sound rolled in from the west—Russell's team, twenty strong.
Russel, a stocky man in his forties with calloused hands and the stance of someone used to long roads, led the way. Several of his companions bore the look of fellow drivers and mechanics, while others—men and women in worn clothes—carried crowbars, bolos, and hunting rifles.
"Looks like we're not the only ones who made it," Russel said, his voice carrying a rough edge but not hostility.
Jeric stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "And you are?"
"Name's Russel. Bus driver. These here are folks I fought together with during the monster attacks—drivers, passengers, and a few who refused to sit idle while things fell apart."
The groups fell into a heavy silence, measuring each other. Lyra's people tightened formation, while Russel's leaned on their weapons. Fara shifted her grip on her fencing sword, while Kael and Maki exchanged wary glances, thinking to themselves, "They are young to be their acting leader."
Finally, Ara broke the tension with a half-smile. "If we're going to fight the same enemy, we'd better start knowing each other. Otherwise, we'll just get in each other's way."
Russel chuckled, the sound easing some of the stiffness. "The girl's got a point. No time for pride when monsters are breaking gates."
Lyra nodded. "Then let's make this simple. Names, skills, numbers. We'll stand stronger together if we know who's beside us."
One by one, introductions began—hesitant at first, but gradually steadier. Teachers shared their experience in strategy and first aid. Russel's drivers boasted of their road knowledge and ability to enhance their weapons with their experience as mechanics. Students spoke of courage, middle-aged folk of endurance. Slowly, the fragments of smaller groups began to bind into something larger.
The park shifted with their arrival. Lyra's team fanned out, rigging traps and stringing wire between pillars. Her golem rumbled as it carried stones into a barricade line. Russel's fighters braced carts and benches, building a wall against the west. Around them, Kael and Dara traded quick instructions with Lyra, while Maki walked the perimeter with Russel, pointing out blind spots and choke points. Kito, a burly blacksmith, together with the other blacksmiths, used the abandoned knife stall near them as a workshop for their smithy. Polishing and upgrading their weapons into proper gear.
The Last Preparation
Meanwhile, the air thickened with activity. Volunteers wove through the fighters, handing out hard bread, gourds of water, and bundles of cloth repurposed as bandages. Children were kept far back at Kael's supermarket camp, but here, only those able to stand and fight remained. Some tested their blades against wooden posts; others adjusted scavenged armor that creaked with every movement.
Awakeners displayed flashes of their power: a young woman coaxed embers from her palms, illuminating her determined face; a man whispered to the air, and a droplet of water hovered and spun above his hand; another cloaked his arms in flickering stone, tapping the ground to send small tremors through the soil. Around them, the more experienced defenders watched, eyes narrowing, but a spark of hope glimmered in their gazes.
Maki strode along the lines, voice steady and commanding. "No lone patrols. Two-man pairs only. Russel, take your men to hold the west. Jeric and Marko, two of your strongest, are with you on the north stair. Ara, cover the open line with your bow."
His gaze shifted to Lyra, who stood tall with Fara at her side. "Lyra, leave the wires to others. I need your golems on the front. Put one at the east stair and another near the fountain. They'll anchor the defense and keep the pressure off our weaker fighters."
Lyra raised a hand, the air around her rippling with pale light. From the cobblestones beside her, stone scraped against stone as a hulking golem pulled itself free from the earth, its body a mass of jagged rock shaped vaguely like a knight. Another followed, smaller but swifter, crouching low like a predator.
Russel walked past, carrying a bag of makeshift barricade spikes. He called over his shoulder to a young driver tightening straps on a metal door panel. "You think that's enough?"
The driver grinned, sweat streaking his face. "It'll slow 'em. Give us time to take aim."
Russel's grin widened. "Good. That's all we need."
Across the park, two hunters argued over positioning. "I say north, by the fountain," one said, frowning.
"East makes more sense," the other countered.
Ara, perched atop a low wall, raised a hand. "Both. You cover north, and I'll keep east. Keep it tight. Nobody wandering alone."
Then the park burst into motion again. Traps sparked to life, barricades thickened, weapons were readied, and volunteers dashed to reinforce weak points.
Above it all, the massive gate pulsed once—brighter than before. A heartbeat in the sky, as if it sensed the city steeling itself below.
The defenders of Laoag moved faster and stronger, their hearts synced with the urgency of the moment. By night's end, the park was no longer a mere gathering of the scattered. It had become a fortress.