by D A Rice
I turned, spotting Isaac on the other side of the Corrupted nearest us. He signaled me; he had seen the ribs of the demon as well. We would take advantage of the weak spot. I heard growls from both demon and human around us as my warriors silently engaged the Corrupted. Isaac and I followed their lead.
He sprinted as he ran at the demon low, twirling a sword in each hand. I ran around the other side, my eyes on a piece of debris sticking up from the floor that I could use to launch myself. My leg hurt, but I ignored it, pulling on my adrenaline again. I would likely be recovering from a broken leg for a while, but it was not in me to abandon those who needed me the most. Right now, that was my warriors. I hit the debris perfectly, twisting in midair and bringing my sword around in a two-handed grip.
Isaac landed his blow first, striking the Corrupted’s exposed organs. The demon roared, arching his back, which was exactly what I needed. I plunged my sword into his neck, twisting as its claws came up to pry me off. I hunched my back, exposing my armor instead of my skin as his jaws came forward next. If that demon bit me, I was done for. He moved back and forth, trying to sling me off, but I held on, enduring the claws that dug into my armor from behind. They never reached me.
The demons were big, but they were only about nine feet tall before the horns. Bigger then we were without a doubt, and stronger with skin like our armor, but they were beatable. We exploited every weak spot where they had eaten parts of themselves. The creatures that had become so hungry that they were desperate enough to penetrate their own skin were easier to fell.
I rode the demon down as it finally gave its last breath and pulled on my sword, yanking it out of the body. “ZAKIYA!” came Isaac’s panicked voice behind me and I jerked my head up, rolling out of the way just before being chewed through by a Corrupted who had seen me come down. It snarled, swinging its arms forward to capture me between clawed hands. Isaac was there in an instant, his swords cleaving through the demon’s wrists before landing with a slide right beside me. The demon howled, its eyes glowing a fiercer red as its empty wrists dripped with its blood. The monster snapped his jaws as he flung its head after Isaac. I flipped the grip on my sword and swung back levelly, taking off the monster’s head, the rest of him falling with a loud thump.
We had no time to take a breath as another Corrupted pounced on Isaac, who swung his swords back with force, driving them into its stomach. I could hear the fighting around us, but I could also tell that it was getting dimmer. With a panic, I realized that we were losing: losing stamina, losing warriors, losing strength. In this moment of horror, I did not see the Corrupted until it was upon me, knocking me to the ground.
I could not breathe as the demon clawed at my armor, and I could feel the pain in my leg and head double with its force. I had undoubtedly hit something on the ground that still bore the mark of my blood. I shoved up with my hands but could not get enough strength in my arms to even pull my sword in and up to stab behind me. Disoriented, I felt the demon breathe its sulfuric breath onto my neck, the armored cuffs and gloves on my arms and hands protecting my face from its jaws.
And then I was free. I rolled around, drawing ragged breath into my lungs bit by bit. I turned, my braid coming loose, to find Isaac standing protectively over me, two swords blocking the demon he had undoubtedly thrown off my back. The demon was bleeding from its eyes, redder with each minute that it could not get to me. I rolled to the side, pulling up my sword as Isaac pushed the demon off of his own. I swung my sword in a fury, meeting the Corrupted as it fell off balance. It roared, reaching for me one last time. I hunched in, falling to my knees with its weight. I had little strength left, my senses disoriented undoubtedly because of the hit to my head, but I shoved, pushing the demon to the side as it fell and pulling my sword free.
A cry behind me had me frozen in its anguish. I turned, eyes wide as Isaac stumbled to his knees, his eyes shining in pain as they met mine in disbelief, his hand clutching his neck where it met his shoulder. I could see the blood from where I sat, sword in hand, frozen. I barely registered the demon behind him, its jaws glistening red. I could barely hear the swallow that followed as the Corrupted engulfed a piece of my beloved’s neck.
All I could see, in excruciating slow motion, was Isaac falling forward as his body went limp, and the life that seemed to drain from his eyes as he toppled over. I could not move until that wretched Corrupted bent over him for another bite, then I was up so fast that nothing hurt anymore. Seeing red, I flipped up my sword and threw it into the demon’s neck. It fell back from my force and I followed it, gripping my sword in a righteous fury as I plunged it further into the Corrupted then pulled until the neck came open, severing its head from its body.
Then I saw the daylight creeping over the dome’s walls. I heard the Corrupted scream as the sunlight hit them, scrambling to escape it. I could sense the reinforcements that had finally arrived, but far, far too late. I had no idea how many of us were left. I didn’t care.
I fell next to Isaac, consumed only by the sight of him; falling onto my side as my emotions overcame me and I screamed until my voice was hoarse.
4
The eastern section of the city of Zion was a graveyard. No one could understand what had happened. It had always been an active source for the Corrupted, but this had been a bigger breach than anyone could have ever imagined. None of the warriors who’d gone out there that night had survived unscathed.
Including me.
They’d had to rip me from Isaac’s side, knocking me out with a sedative when I wouldn’t move without a fight. I barely remember anything about it, except the floor caving beneath me. That I remembered with crystal clarity. I also remember seeing only Isaac with a red haze at the edges of my eyes. I remember registering the horror on my mother’s face when she saw me, bloody and dazed, hovering over the body of my beloved. I remember her giving orders to do everything possible to seal this section of the city off for good, using whatever resources we had available to us. We could not afford another breach tonight or any other. Who knew how many other bolt holes were so close to becoming what the eastern section had?
When I woke up in the hospital wing of my mother’s building, I blinked the haze out of my eyes. I felt nothing but the numbness that encompassed my head and my heart. My mother sat beside me, her glasses perched on her nose, a book in her hands. She looked up, something akin to pity in her eyes. I licked my lips as I attempted to speak, “Isaac?” The hospital lights above me were blazing, and all I could see was white. Everything was as pristine as it always was when it came to my mother and her labs. I could taste the antiseptic in the air around me, could feel the itchy hospital gown I was in, and the soft warmth of the white blanket covering me. I could even feel the pinch of the IV they had planted into my wrist, among all the other aches and pains that racked my body; even with the superhuman endurance my mother had blessed me with. I could even hear the gentle beeping of the computer monitoring my every move, even if it was just a hologram next to my bed.
My mother set her book aside and shook her head, “we went back for the body but... it’s missing. There was a cave-in, the floor was unstable as it was. We could not afford to go digging for him. I am sorry, Zakiya.” Her voice was soft for once as she leaned forward, her hand finding my arm in comfort. “I wish I could ease your pain.”
I whimpered, a raw sound coming from my throat as my back arced with the pain I was feeling inside of myself. Nothing- no injury I had, and I had plenty- could compare to the raw anguish I felt inside in this moment, “it’s my fault. I could not save him. I could not save any of them.”
My mother shook her head, “you cannot take this blame, Zakiya. No one could know how eroded that part of Zion had gotten until there was a breach like the one you encountered. I thank Adonai that it was your squad, my daughter. You are the best we have. Anyone else and the Corrupted would have overrun the city while our people slept.” Her hand stroked my arm as her gaze fell on the door, haunted. “I know it i
s not a comfort to you, with your wounds so raw, but you have saved this city yet again with your quick action.”
I watched her, my eyes shining with the anger I felt. Towards her, but mostly towards myself. I yanked my arm away from her and she flinched, her eyes returning to mine, flashing the hurt I had caused her before composing themselves again. She leaned back as I hissed, “at what cost, mother? As you have said, we were the best! Now we are no more! And pity for you, you will get no more data for your experiments.”
She recoiled from me, standing abruptly, “is that what you think I care about in this moment?” Her eyes narrowed as she studied me, before softening ever so slightly, “you are still raw. You must rest.” She pulled her lab coat closed around her, before reaching for her glasses and book. She glanced back at me once before exiting, “I am sorry. Isaac was a good man.” With that she was gone, and I was crying out in agony, thrashing in my bed as I let my fury, my pain, consume me whole.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Cofher asked me softly. Aside from myself, he and only one or two others had survived from those who had stayed behind with me. I had no idea how much time had passed while I was virtually comatose in this room, but this was one moment when my thoughts were incredibly clear. I needed to go back. Cofher sat beside me now, an arm in a sling as his dark hair covered his haunted eyes.
“I am his go’el ha-dam, Cofher, his blood avenger. I will find his body. It is the least that he deserves,” I said softly. I wasn’t about to tell him what I had done. I took a deep breath as I shifted, pulling myself up in my hospital bed. Damn these injuries of mine. I couldn’t move without hissing. I had broken my leg, one of my arms, and had a massive concussion I was still recovering from. That didn’t even count the nightmares I was not soon to be rid of or the bruised and broken ribs I likely had underneath all of that bruising.
Zachariah Cofher, fearless leader of my scouts, shifted nervously beside me, “but alone, Zakiya? Are you sure this is wise?”
I had sent for Cofher as soon as I had known he was alive. He had come to me as soon as he could. He was quick, stealthy, and aggressive, even without his blessed armor. I was not surprised he had survived with little injury compared to my own. I was as envious as I was grateful, “I just need you to cover me for a little while, Cofher. I promise I will come back before night falls.” Even I knew that I could not battle a Corrupted right now, but I had to know if what I had done that night had worked.
I had fought hard to cover up what I had found, distracting them with fits of rage that were only partially faked. I had not planned on them sedating me, but I was not entirely surprised they had. I was a force to be reckoned with, even in my right mind. But I had just witnessed many of my closest friends slaughtered. What made them think that I would go with them calmly? No, I was not surprised they had come prepared to fight me once they realized what had happened. I likely had my mom to thank for that.
“I am not sure about this, Zakiya. Even as his go’el ha-dam, going into the eastern section, straight into that hell….” He shivered before meeting my eyes, disturbed.
I moved my legs over the bed, taking a deep breath in as I lay my hand on his. I had no sling for my injury, only a cast. They did not expect me to get up from bed like Cofher. They should have known better. The cast on my leg was there, but it was made to be functional since I would be wearing it for a while. I could move and fight in it, almost as if I only wore my boots. “That is exactly why I must do this. It is my right, but more than that, he does not deserve for that place to be his grave. If I can only find him and perform a burning, I know we will both be at peace.” It was all lies, but Cofher did not know what I had done. He watched me for a moment, his eyes assessing the bare truth in mine.
He nodded then, giving in, “ok, Harishima. Go, do what you must.”
I nodded at him and stood from my bed. I had already gotten dressed without anyone knowing, throwing the gown over my jeans, shirt, and jacket. I pulled on my boots now, leaning against the bed, ignoring the aches that washed over me as I stood. It would not take long, comparatively, to heal as one of the blessed warriors, especially a genetically enhanced one, but it would still take time. The cast on my leg was made to fit inside my boot. I could still walk, even as I knit myself back together in the next few days.
The cast on my arm was light as well and allowed me to retain most of my movement. My arm would take longer to heal, but I had discovered that was due to the fact that it had been clawed through by one of the Corrupted. While being clawed did not corrupt us, it acted as an infection would and therefore took longer to heal. Their claws were tipped with something akin to poison for us, often leading to complications. I pulled my sword from under my bed. My mother had it brought to me, knowing how I hated to be without it. I knew that she loved me, even if she had a hard time showing it.
I pulled the IV out of my wrist last and glanced at Cofher, who stood and helped me pull pillows underneath the blankets to make it look as if I still rested there. He cringed, “I am not convinced this will work.”
I smiled and nudged him before turning towards the door and striding to it. With a peek out to make sure the hall was clear, I nodded back at Cofher in thanks before slinking out into the hallway, pulling my hood up and over my blonde hair. At some point during my stay in this place, someone had taken the time to clean me up, getting all the blood off my body, taking care to avoid all my injuries. They had also taken the time to wash my hair and comb it, likely while I was sedated. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that my mother had done it herself while I slept.
Light on my feet, I made my way out of the hospital,then the Organization’s building. I did not look back as I made my way through Zion, maneuvering through the people and the markets, hearing the whispers of the horror that had happened to me and mine only nights ago. The markets were nothing but stalls set up with whatever scrap we could spare. People brought in whatever goods they had available, or could make, and we traded for what we needed. We had no use for money in our world. What money we did get was used within the Organization to keep us alive and research what we could of the Corrupted. That money was made trading with other domes and improving any technology found when we braved to venture outside of the metal walls.
I shivered as I passed through my people and our candid existence, continuing forward until the throng surrounding me lessened and I found myself in the abandoned eastern section. Even our homes, small though they may be, were metallic in nature. It was all we had. We had plants, and we had greenery in places. Everything was controlled by the Organization and the scientists within. Since we had little wood inside our metal paradise, we built Zion with the steel the Angels had left us, not all of it blessed. It was rusting and decaying in the places my mother and her team could not enhance with their science. But at least we had food and water, in that the Organization’s efforts had not been wasted.
They had built a wall around the bolt hole in the eastern section with what was likely blessed metal, covering up the multiple holes that had been made since our devastating fight here. It had undoubtedly taken the whole of the time I was in the hospital to build. The new wall towered up the side of the dome wall, blocking any further entrance into the city if one of the monsters should escape.
I had only been in the hospital for a few days at most. For this to be built so fast, they had to have involved everyone who was willing. I glanced around as I assessed. The work was solid; there was no chance of forced entrance, at least for the moment. We would see how long the scrap would last against nightly assaults. I fished in my pocket and pulled out a grappling gun, angling up before pulling the trigger. The grapple shot up and caught on something about halfway up the wall.
I clicked the gun and it jerked me up, sending me flying. Flicking my wrist, I pulled the grapple free, pressing a button on the gun to pull in the line as I sailed up and over the wall before free falling on the other side. I probably shouldn’t have gone up and over like
that. I probably should have taken more care for the injuries I already had. I just couldn’t bring myself to care in that moment. As a Warrior of Adonai, I was made to survive even a fall as high as this.
I rolled as I landed and hissed, clutching my arm as I hit it wrong. My legs took most of the hit, even the broken one, which ached with a dull throb, but not enough to deter me. I sat for a moment in the semi-darkness. It was still far too light out, even with the high walls on either side of me, for Corrupted to be coming back in here today. It was just after noon if I had to guess. I needed to use the time I had left, before night fell and I drew in all the Corrupted within the vicinity.
I stood as my eyes adjusted, taking in my surroundings. There, I thought as I moved towards where I had caved in the floor before they had sedated me. They were so focused on me, they hadn’t seen Isaac begin to steam from the light that had hit him. They hadn’t seen him start to move, shifting weakly from the pain of it. They hadn’t seen him wake. I hadn’t thought, only reacted, pulling my sword free and throwing it into a weak section of the floor. I had seen it, the crack. I had evaluated what it would take to weaken it further. When my sword landed with a shake from my force, the floor had moved. I had fought to get back to him, pounding the floor nearby. They had seen me rage. They had been right, but not for the reasons they thought.
