Joe, meanwhile, had scrabbled to his feet. He waved his bat in the air, yelling incoherently. The bear’s head jerked back and forth, like he couldn’t decide whether to go after whatever had bitten him in the backside or bite Joe in half.
The decision got easier after Mandy swung her whip again, provoking an outraged cough from the bear.
COMBAT: Party Member Mandy does 15 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 415/850 HP.
“Mandy, STOP,” I yelled, my voice breaking. “Let Joe…”
It was too late. The giant animal spun around and got Mandy in its field of view. She was out of reach, at the very length of her whip. But not for long.
It took a rolling step and swiped at her. Claws caught her like hooked knives and she flew through the air, rolling to a stop twenty feet away. She lay like a ragdoll on the ground.
Everyone was moving at once and the kids were screaming. Even my juiced-up brain was having trouble following everyone. I let another Mana Bolt fly just as Mandy came to a stop.
COMBAT: 20 MP Mana Bolt does 20 Damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 395/850 HP. 190/250 MP.
Then my subconscious finally managed to get through to me the thing that was clogging up my thoughts. I spun and shouted at Bruce, “RED TEAM RALLY! DO IT!”
He just stared at me, his eyes huge. I saw Mike running past him toward Mandy, forgetting completely about the fact that the tank had to stay up. Sheila was kneeling next to the wagon and had her daughter and the two small children huddled in her arms, all of them screaming. Robert was clinging to Bruce in terror.
COMBAT: Party Member Joe does 45 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 350/850 HP.
COMBAT: Party Member Anthony does 22 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 328/850 HP.
Now fixated on getting Bruce to use his buff before the bear managed to hit more people, I ran toward him.
The bear’s down to less than half but we’ve used up all our tricks and one hit could rip somebody in two what if Mandy’s dead oh shit we have to burn him down NOW…
COMBAT: Party Member Joe does 34 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 294/850 HP.
COMBAT: Party Member Danielle does 40 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 254/850 HP.
One corner of my mind registered that Daniele had entered the melee, as much as from her yowl of rage as from the damage notice. It only made me move faster. Tearing up to Bruce, I yelled “Red Team Rally! USE IT!”
“What do I…” he babbled, staring at the bear surrounded by desperate fighters.
I grabbed his arm. “Look at the fight! Say ‘RED TEAM RALLY!’”
Finally, he looked me in the eyes and managed to focus a little. He turned back to the fight, as did I.
Just in time to see Joe flying through the air, his bat spinning away like a twig.
“‘RED TEAM RALLY!’” screamed Bruce, his voice filled with horror.
COMBAT: Bruce uses ‘Red Team Rally.’ You receive the Red Team Rally buff. Damage increased 20%. Defense increased 20%. Resistance to Fear effects increased 50%. Time Remaining 10:00.
Bruce’s eyes rolled up into his head and he dropped bonelessly to the ground. It happened so quick I couldn’t have caught him even if I’d had the presence of mind. Which I didn’t, because I saw Danielle on the back of the bear hanging on for dear life.
COMBAT: Party Member Danielle does 22 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 232/850 HP.
Robert stood looking at his father's weakly moving form with incomprehension until I shoved him toward his mother. I didn’t remember throwing the Mana Bolt, but somehow, one flew from my hands and hit the bear, curving to miss everything between me and it.
COMBAT: 20 MP Mana Bolt does 24 Damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 200/850 HP. 170/250 MP.
The bear was now whirling, trying to get to the annoying thing clawing at its back. Danielle seemed to have the claws of one hand stuck in the bear’s hide and was swiping at it with the other, screaming at the top of her lungs. Just as I managed to throw another Mana Bolt, she was flung off, rolling in the air like an Olympic gymnast and doing a spectacular three-point landing.
COMBAT: 20 MP Mana Bolt does 24 Damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 176/850 HP. 150/250 MP.
While Danielle was riding on the bear-y-go-round, Anthony had backed up and now ran in for another solid hit on the bear’s flank with the sharpened tip of his staff.
COMBAT: Party Member Anthony does 27 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 149/850 HP.
I took a tenth of a second to review the HP stat bars of the party. Joe’s was half gone. Mandy’s was a sliver of red. Both her HP bar and Joe’s were pulsing, probably from a Bleed effect. Danielle had taken a solid bump when she hit the ground but was in good shape. Anthony, Mike, Samantha and I were untouched, but under Samantha’s, Kaa’s showed as nearly gone.
Somehow, our desperate efforts had gotten the bear down to less than a quarter of its health. It was bleeding from two large stab wounds and the leg Joe had hit on his first run wasn’t working very well. More blood was matted in the fur on its back where Danielle and Mandy had opened thin but deep slashes in its flesh.
But it still had more hit points than almost any of us and it was furious.
The first to face its wrath was Anthony. He’d pulled back for another stab, but the bear half-turned, half-rolled, and managed to backhand him with one huge paw. It didn’t have a lot of momentum behind it, but it was massive. The Wandering Monk was dashed to the ground with a thump. His health bar instantly dropped by more than half.
As the bear loomed over Anthony, Danielle leapt onto its back again. She’d slipped her shoes off and was trying to get all four sets of claws into our gigantic foe.
COMBAT: Party Member Danielle does 48 damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 101/850 HP.
This time, the bear didn’t spin: it rolled over. Danielle’s claws were stuck.
She couldn’t let go in time.
There was a crunch of breaking bones I could hear from fifteen yards away. I screamed and threw another Mana Bolt, powered as much by sheer incandescent rage as by Mana.
COMBAT: 20 MP Mana Bolt does 24 Damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 69/850 HP. 138/250 MP.
Danielle’s HP bar was maybe eighty percent gone. But before I could take a single step in her direction, the bear coughed and turned toward its newest tormentor.
Me.
I was still standing right next to Bruce, who was just now starting to struggle to his knees. Shaking its head with pain, the bear started moving in my direction. The first few steps were slow, stumbling. But in a few seconds it had picked up momentum. Huge as it was it took only a few more steps to reach me.
With a terrified leap I threw myself to one side. The bear wasn’t moving that fast, and it only moved past me a few yards before it managed to stop. I reflexively let another Mana Bolt go.
COMBAT: 20 MP Mana Bolt does 24 Damage to Adult Black Bear. Adult Black Bear 37/850 HP. 118/250 MP.