by Ramy Vance
Bennington looked over his shoulder as Terra picked herself up off the ground. She cracked her neck and spat. “You ain’t even knocked a tooth loose yet. Come on, puppers, let’s tango.”
Terra walked toward Bennington, an uncanny sense of calm radiating from her as her power grew, her eyes flashing even brighter.
Two of Bennington’s hands traced sigils as he sauntered toward Terra.
Suddenly, she flashed forward and grabbed his hands, the ones he was using for sigil work. “Uh-uh. These are going, pronto.” She gripped them until the bones crunched and leaned back, ripping them out of his chest.
Bennington howled in pain and stumbled backward. Terra pushed forward and cracked the butler across the face.
After he hit the ground, Terra squatted over him and brought her fists down like sledgehammers, relentlessly pounding the butler’s face, cracking his mask further. “We got one big thing in common, puppers!”
Bennington’s arm snaked around Terra, and he slashed her back as he drove his other hand into her stomach, puncturing her skin.
Terra slumped onto Bennington’s wrist.
He grinned as he stood up, Terra impaled on his hand. “What is that, human?”
Terra’s hands wrapped around Bennington’s wrist. “We both dig pain.” She twisted Bennington’s wrist, snapping it, then threw her body to the side, knocking him off-balance. As her feet touched the ground, she twisted again, wrenching the butler into the air with sheer strength. Once he hit the ground, Terra threw one leg over his arm and pulled up, tearing his arm off, then delivered a solid blow to Bennington’s skull. “Now, stay the fuck down!”
Before Terra could walk away, Bennington rose, black goo feeding into his body from the spire. He grew to twice the size he was before, towering over Terra, his wolf’s head breaking through the bottom part of the mask. He fell on top of the human, his body a mass of swirling blackness and claws and teeth, and enveloped Terra completely, only to spit her out.
Terra hit the floor, covered in blood. She groaned quietly as she tried to keep from slipping into unconsciousness.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The dead woke across the Nine Realms.
They had lain in wait for days, their soulless eyes staring at the living from behind walls in cities where the folk were lucky enough to have them built. But there were more out in the fields, in the jungles, in the suburbs where there were not nearly enough resources to offer protection.
Roy, Blackwell, Persephone, and Naota were in a helicopter on its way to Los Angeles. LA was an epicenter of the zombie infestation. Initially, most of the state had been swept, and the zombies had been taken to pens in LA. The idea was, if something were to happen, it would all be centralized. Halfway through the extraction, it had become obvious that if anything happened, it would be far too large to control.
As Persephone looked at the burning city, she could easily see that. "Why would zombies burn anything?" she wondered aloud.
Roy came over to her side and looked through the window. "It's not the zombies. They're the root of the problem, but anytime you throw a terrible situation at human beings, they're going to make it worse. Luckily, we're not tasked with dealing with humans, just zombies. That being said, anything that acts like a hostile is a hostile today."
Persephone looked at Roy, shocked. "Are you saying we have permission to use lethal force on people?"
Roy shook his head. "No, I'm saying that if something tries to hurt you, don't hesitate. We're on a rescue mission today, folks. That means anything even remotely dangerous to the mass population is going under. You got it?"
Blackwell and Naota nodded.
Outside the helicopter, a squad of dragonriders flew by, headed by Alex and the rest of Boundless.
Roy held his hand to his ear, turning on his comm. "You guys got that too?"
Alex's voice came through the comm. "I highly doubt anyone is going to try to stand up to a herd of dragons. We should be good."
Roy turned off his comm and muttered under his breath, "Obviously, she's never been to LA. The place is worse than New York. The fucking raccoons might eat you here."
The helicopter pilot banged on the cabin’s panels as he looked over his shoulder. "All right, we're getting close to the drop zone. You ready?"
Roy looked at his crew. Persephone was standing. Blackwell was strapping himself into an improved exo-suit. Naota had already secured his.
Blackwell looked at Roy. "Sir, have we heard anything from the DGA?"
Roy shook his head. "Nothing yet, but we haven't heard from them in hours." He turned to Persephone and offered a weak smile. "That doesn't mean shit's gone south. Probably just means they're doing their job."
Persephone nodded. She was worried about Abby, but there were other things to attend to at the moment. Lives were at stake, and she knew there was a job to be done. If she didn’t stay focused, people would end up dead. Abby wouldn't want that on Persephone's head, and neither did she.
Blackwell finished loading into his exo-suit and grabbed a plasma rifle hanging from the interior panels of the helicopter. "What's the plan?"
Roy pulled up his holoscreen, which depicted downtown LA. "We're swooping hard into the shit. There are four clear zones around downtown. We're going in hard and fast, clearing everything we see around us and hunting down civvies. We're the heavy hitters today. Got it?"
Naota attached his plasma blades to his exo-suit. "Ain't we always?"
Blackwell sighed and shook his head. "We're flying beside a group of dragons. A drow infused with elder god goo is in our helicopter. Terra, Anabelle, and Abby are in hell, fighting demons and shit. We are not the heavy hitters."
Naota shrugged as he swung his plasma blades and caught them. "Maybe you aren’t, not with that attitude. I'll make sure to watch your back." He blew a kiss to Blackwell, who sighed and turned to join Persephone by the window.
The drow was still watching the zombie horde below. "You hear anything from Cire's squad?"
"A little while ago. They're making moves on the orc world. Kravis is doing the same on the gnome homeworld," Blackwell said. "Don't worry, we'll get this cleaned up. Make sure there's a world for the DGA to come back to."
Blackwell opened the back of the helicopter and leaned out. "Okay, team, it's go time."
Roy walked over to Blackwell. "You know that's my thing, right?"
Blackwell smiled. "Yeah. Always wanted to give it a try, though." Then he jumped out of the helicopter, spiraling down as he maneuvered his body so his exo-suit could take the bulk of the impact.
Roy and Naota leaped out next and headed in the same direction as Blackwell.
Persephone watched them go, forcing herself not to look at the thronging masses of undead in the streets. She didn't want to think about what they were doing to the defenseless humans down there. She swallowed her anxiety and jumped out of the helicopter.
The ground floor was worse than Persephone could have imagined. The view from the helicopter did no justice to the sheer volume of the chaos they had landed in.
Roy and Blackwell had hit the ground a second before her, and zombies were already swarming the two of them.
Persephone launched her tentacles in their direction, breaking through the zombies and clearing a path. Once they got some space, they climbed on top of a car and started lining up headshots.
When Blackwell reloaded, he scanned the area. "Have any of you seen Naota?"
"Yeehaw!" came a scream from down the street.
Naota swung around the corner, using his blades, which were connected to energy tethers at his wrists, to catapult himself forward. He landed in the sea of zombies and spun in a circle, taking their heads off.
Roy opened his scanner and searched for anyone living while Persephone, Blackwell, and Naota held the zombies at bay.
Hundreds of zombies were in the streets. Most of them trudged by without paying attention, but enough were interested in the Middang3ard agents to create a prob
lem.
Roy pointed at an apartment building. "Okay, we got some! Blackwell, Naota, this one is you. Persephone, clear a path."
Persephone whipped her tentacles out, lashing the zombies lining the street to the apartment. That gave Blackwell and Naota time to break down the apartment building's door and run inside. She pulled a plasma rifle from her back and started taking shots, backing up to the car Roy was on while he took care of clearing the other side.
"Would have been nice if we knew it was this bad!" Persephone shouted.
Roy aimed down his sights and blew through a zombie's skull. "No way we could have known. This has been getting worse by the minute."
Alex and the rest of the dragonriders descended, launching fire attacks that burned through the zombies on the street.
Despite being aflame, the zombies continued on their death march, some of them falling to the ground, only to be crushed under the feet of the others.
Above, the windows of the apartment burst open, sending glass flying. Naota leaped out, holding a child, and a woman hung from his back. He was followed by Blackwell, who held two teenagers in his arms. They landed in the open space the dragonriders had cleared.
Roy pointed east at a street full of zombies shambling by, taking no interest in them. "The DZ is that way." He turned to the civilians. "Can you walk?"
All of them wearily nodded.
"Good, follow me."
Roy turned to go and heard one of the teenagers inhale sharply. He turned around to see the kid struggling to stay on his feet. Without saying a word, he walked over, slung the kid's arm over his shoulder, and turned back around, ready to face the odds. "Blackwell, Persephone, I want you on point. Naota, you're taking up the rear."
Persephone and Blackwell moved into their positions, standing side by side and waiting for Roy's order.
"All right, move it!" he shouted.
They slowly made their way up the street, watching the zombies around them, who didn't seem to notice or care. The dragonriders had cleared enough space, and they were due for another burn soon. All Persephone needed to do was keep a level head and make sure not to fire unnecessarily to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
The blood pounded in her ears. She tried to keep from looking too long at the decaying corpses crowding the street. She felt like she might open fire out of disgust.
Then there was a sharp, shrill screech of pain.
Persephone looked over her shoulder.
The woman had tripped and fallen onto a piece of broken glass, cutting her hand open. She'd already covered her mouth, silencing the brief scream.
Persephone didn't need to turn around. She could hear the growling. It was obvious what was about to come.
"We're pushing through," Roy growled. "Don't let up."
The zombies ahead turned around, and their dead eyes locked onto the mortals in the street. They started their slow yet relentless attack.
Blackwell and Persephone opened fire, mowing down the zombies in front of them. When Persephone's rifle was empty, she threw it to the side, shooting her tentacles out and lashing the zombies to clear more room.
But the zombies didn’t stop. They continued to pour into the street from all sides, creeping as slowly as death itself.
In the distance, Persephone could see the DZ tower. "Can we get some fire?" she shouted to Roy.
Roy checked his HUD and shook his head. "Boundless is engaging more shit right now on the other side of town. Just called it in. This is on us."
Blackwell opened fire again, shouting in frustration. "There are too many. Goddamn it!" He threw down his rifle. "Sir, permission to do what needs to be done."
Roy looked past Blackwell at the horde of zombies. "Permission granted."
Naota broke formation and ran up to Blackwell. "Wait, hold on, you're being a little rash. You should—"
Blackwell placed his hand on Naota's shoulder. "Hey, buddy, we talked about this. Remember what we promised?"
Naota hung his head, tears forming in his eyes. "That we would never keep the other from doing their duty."
"And what else?"
"That no sacrifices would ever be made in vain."
Blackwell turned to Roy. "Tell the DZ we're coming and to get those doors ready." Then he turned to face the horde of zombies. He reached behind his neck and grabbed the power reserve on his exo-suit. "Get ready to run." Then he tanked it out.
Energy surged through Blackwell's exo-suit, and his body started to vibrate. He took a step forward, his boot cracking the pavement. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, then he made his move.
Blackwell sprinted forward, moving faster than his body should have allowed. He was overclocking it, pushing the suit and his body to their limits. He zoomed right and left, tearing through zombies with his bare hands as the veins in his neck throbbed, threatening to burst.
Within less than two seconds, he had cleared ten feet.
Roy shouted, "Get moving!"
Persephone picked up Blackwell's rifle and started firing. Naota was at her side, crying softly as he fired at the zombies.
Blackwell continued to rip through zombies, but there were still too many.
"He's not going to make it," Persephone whispered.
"No, but you are," Roy said. He helped the teenager he held hobble over to Naota. "Take him."
Naota shook his head. "Sir, you can't—"
Roy reached back and jerked his exo-suit's cord. "That's an order." He turned to face Persephone, his face vibrating, the blood vessels in his eyes beginning to pop from the strain. "Tell Anabelle I love her." Then he removed his pistol and rifle, handing them to the woman and the boys.
He bolted forward, joining Blackwell in the mass of zombies. The two worked in tandem to clear the path.
Persephone and Naota followed closely, picking off the zombies who escaped Roy’s and Blackwell's combined wrath.
The men in the exos made their final push, bounding forward like wild animals and savagely ripping through the zombies that tried to claw their way up the DZ’s gates.
Persephone and the rest ran as the guards opened fire, keeping the zombies at bay.
Roy and Blackwell slipped through the gates as they were closing, the both of them stumbling, hardly able to walk. The exo-suits had overexerted their muscles and bones. They had practically been liquified in their bodies.
Roy managed to lean against the wall while Blackwell collapsed, spewing blood as he coughed.
Naota ran to Blackwell’s side. “It’s going to be okay, buddy,” Blackwell muttered.
Naota nodded, his lips stiff as he tried to keep from crying. “I know. It’s going to be okay.”
Blackwell coughed up blood as Naota helped him sit up. “This isn’t going to last forever, Naota. This war. It’s going to be over, and then you have to keep on living your life, you understand? This is just a moment. You have a whole life.” Blackwell’s head slumped to the side, his chest rising slower and slower until it finally stopped.
Naota clutched Blackwell and kissed his forehead, finally allowing himself to cry. He sobbed softly into Blackwell’s hair.
Persephone couldn’t comfort Naota, not now. There was nothing to be done.
“Hey, Mister!”
One of the kids was trying to talk to Roy, who was still leaning against the wall with a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth. His eyes were closed, and for the first time since Persephone had met him, he seemed at peace.
Persephone walked over to the child and guided him to his mother. “You should let me talk to him.” Then she went back to Roy.
His cigarette had fallen to the ground.
He wasn’t breathing.
But he still stood, a defiant smile on his face.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Anabelle's eyes snapped open. There was something wrong. She felt it deep in her stomach, an overwhelming sense of terror, pain, and suffering.
Her body had lost all feeling.
The on
ly thing she could register was a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Roy was dead; she knew it. Deep in her gut, she knew he wasn’t coming home.
Part of her snapped. Whatever had been holding her together was gone. Something sleeping within her woke up. This was the first time Anabelle had ever felt hopeless, and along with that feeling came something else—a pain even Grok hadn’t been able to bring out.
Anabelle’s skin smoked as small flames flickered across her body. There was nothing more for her. Nothing to fight for. Nothing to love. There was only the well of pain growing within her. Still, her eyes couldn’t remain open.
Across the room, Bennington was walking away from Terra, who was lying unconscious on the floor. He was heading toward Rasputina and Sarah.
Rasputina put herself between him and Sarah. “You don’t care about them. Just take me, and let’s be done with this.”
Bennington laughed and pressed his hand to his heart in a mockery of embarrassment. “You think this is only about you, Rasputina? You thought of me as a plaything, never taking into account that I might have feelings. Have you forgotten what I was before you?”
Rasputina winced at his words. “I tried to forget.”
Two arms sprouted out of Bennington’s chest again as he lumbered toward Rasputina. “Why? Do you fear what you used to be, or are you afraid you made a mistake?”
Rasputina stood and plunged her hand into her side, pulling out a dagger-like bone wand. “I did make a mistake, and I will never again become what I once was.”
“Your only mistake was not killing me. Only a fool would cow one of the most powerful sorcerers in the universe and make a plaything of him. Only an idiot would spend centuries torturing him without expecting to have some kind of vengeance taken on them.”
Rasputina gripped the handle of her dagger wand tightly. “What do you assume you will get from all this? My death? Then what?”
Bennington raised his hand, his sorrowful eyes peering out from Grimnir’s mask. “Power. In your foolishness and the Light One’s, in your fear of the Dark One, you failed to see what I have seen. Grimnir was not the Dark One’s avatar. He was the last of the Dark One’s strength—the Dark One distilled down to raw power, and the very last of it. And now that power is mine!”
