Koby let out a heavy breath as he watched her leave.
"She's a feisty." Rory announced his presence from a doorway looking at Koby with his hands folded.
"I guess so." Koby said and made for the door
"I like you, Koby. You seem like you understand the situation well. And you're clearly weary of me." Rory said smiling while extending an arm for a handshake.
"You are very unpredictable, Rory." Koby said without returning the handshake.
"You're weary of me. Smart. But we really need to cooperate with each other if we are to have a chance at surviving." Rory explained
"This is a period of doubt and my instincts say you're very dangerous. I have been one to listen to my instincts."
"My instincts told me that you seem like someone that can survive. Don't try to go at it alone or you will end up dead." Rory said before leaving.
"I also think you will survive." Koby muttered under his breath.
Back in the large hall, everyone were still trying to process their loss and prepare themselves for the next slaughter.
"We are all shaken by what has happened. But I'm sure that everyone wants to survive and go home. We would have to work together to achieve that. The shoggoths are trying to divide us and if they succeed, we're dead." Clifford stood up on the stairway facing the large hall.
No one said a word, the silence was tensing as some just stared into space while others tended to their injuries.
" Well it seems like you've all decided to accept death as it is. I mean, who wouldn't ? The situation is horrific. More than half of everyone had already died. But I don't want to die yet. I saw my friends die in front of me with tears in their eyes and I want to make sure that I survive so that their deaths wouldn't have been in vain. I will carry their deaths on with me and what I want, what I need is for those with the same drive to join me so that we can make sure that we live on in respect of our dead. Let us have a fighting chance, who's with me?"
"I." Rory echoed, raising a hand as he moved towards Clifford. The sight of Rory gave most hope and they began raising their hands signalling their willingness to have a fighting chance.
Kai chuckled as he saw everyone joining Rory and Clifford.
"Of course, they will all join. Rory being in the team is a given." He said to Koby.
"You have a problem with it?" Koby asked.
"I do not like Clifford, but that doesn't make me stupid. I'm in." Kai said.
At that statement Koby smirked.
"Looks like our chances of survival just went up."
A few more hours to the next stampede of shoggoths and Clifford was holding a meeting with the factions leaders and the strongest ones among the group. Among them was Rory, Koby, Zara, Ophelia and Luna.
"Rory, remind me again why I'm letting them in on this?" Clifford asked referring to Koby, Kai and James as they entered the room for the meeting.
"They're one of the powerhouses amongst the crowd and a lot of people think they have potential, me included. Also, didn't they beat you before?" Rory explained as he sat down at the table set in the middle of the room.
"They did not beat me, I could take them without blinking." Clifford said taking a seat besides Rory.
"Sure you could." Rory said sarcastically.
Everyone took their seats at the table and had a brief moment of silence before it was broken by Clifford.
"We all want to survive and with the shoggoths coming at us like they did last time, we won't survive. So if anyone has ideas about how to beat the shoggoths. Let's hear it."
"It was your idea for us to band together, surely you have some ideas."Ophelia said.
"Divide and barricade.