Kamiyo stood in the doorway as Philip and Hannah spilled out. Both were bloody and bruised, but each moved with purpose, as if the pain did not bother them. Their pain would have to wait.
Immediately, the demons were on them, a zombie hurrying towards them before the others. “Die,” it shouted, somewhat humorously. At least it didn’t shout ‘brains.’
Hannah pumped a round into the zombie’s face and killed it. Philip dispatched a burnt demon with his spear, sinking it into the creature’s charred Adam’s apple. Then he pulled it out and speared the next through the chest.
They had made a good start.
An area towards the far side of the steep slope was clear, so they started in that direction. They could throw themselves down it and be at the bottom in seconds. Then they would have a hundred metres to reach the lake.
Kamiyo studied the lake now and saw it glowing like it had the night he’d rescued Vamps. Something was preparing to emerge.
Hannah fired off another shot at a lunging ape, but the bullet hit its shoulder and didn’t stop it. Philip leapt in front of Hannah and impaled it on his spear, which snapped as the creature fell down on it. Philip swore as he found himself defenceless.
A zombie sprinted at Philip, seeing him without a weapon, but Hannah took it down with another rifle shot. She had claimed to have seven rounds, so already she was down to five. They hadn’t even made it to the slope yet.
Kamiyo remained in the doorway, not knowing what to do. He should close the sally port now and leave Hannah and Philip to their fate. Ted would need help with whatever was happening at the front.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon Hannah and Philip.
A demon spotted Kamiyo standing there, and the open sally port behind him, and sprinted towards him. If he didn’t close the entryway in the next three seconds, the demon would spill into the courtyard, and it would all be over.
Philip and Hannah moved slowly, back to back, while trying to cut a path towards the slope. All Philip could do was kick out, and Hannah didn’t have enough bullets to kill all the demons in front of her, so she had to resort to using her large knife.
“Damn it!” Kamiyo slammed the sally port closed. The crossbar kicked up and fell into place, locking it.
“Doctor? What the hell are you doing?” Hannah was looking at him in disbelief.”
“I’m getting you to that lake,” he shouted. He’d made a spur-of-the-moment decision, and now he had to commit to it. He swung his iron poker at the demon that had been hoping to get inside and knocked its head clean off, the iron slicing through its neck like cream cheese. He fought his way to Hannah and Philip and reached them in time to stab an ape about to leap at their backs.
Hannah was still staring at him, bug-eyed. “Doc, what the hell?”
“Just start moving.”
They travelled in a loose triangle towards the slope, demons besetting them on all sides. Kamiyo took the brunt of the attacks, knowing his weapon was most effective. The poker carved through demon flesh with a symphonic delight.
Philip watched him in awe. “How are you doing that?”
“It’s the iron,” said Kamiyo. “Aymun told me demons have a lethal reaction to it.”
Hannah frowned. “Then who was lifting the portcullis? That’s made of iron too.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Philip put a hand on both their backs and moved them towards the slope. “Let’s go for a swim.”
Just as they were about to descend the slope, the ground shook. It was a slight, almost imperceptible vibration beneath their feet, but it was enough to make them stop and look around. The demons along the walls and the ones attacking all stopped too. Some of them made a strange gesture of placing their right arms over their chest, like some kind of salute.
“Oh shit!” Hannah stumbled backwards, as something coming up the hill captured her attention.
Kamiyo turned and saw it too—a massive, flesh-patched skeleton the height of nearly two men. “W-What is that thing?”
“Bad news,” said Philip.
Hannah grunted and spat a mouthful of blood, then she sneered with bloody lips. “You can just tell he’s the kind of guy who borrows your biro and returns it with a chewed-up lid.”
Kamiyo frowned at her.
She shrugged. “Just saying, he looks like a knob.”
The massive demon stomped towards them. Hannah lifted her rifle to shoot, but Philip pushed it down. “Save the bullets to get you to the lake. Both of you get moving.”
Kamiyo grabbed Philip’s hand and pulled at him. “We can all make it if we run.”
“No, that thing walks faster than we can run. I’m finished. You two go do what you need to do to keep those kids safe.”
“Philip, what are you…?”
Philip shoved Kamiyo away. He collided with Hannah, and in their weakened state, they slid backwards down the slope.
Philip was insane. Instead of running away, he strode right towards the massive monster. Other demons broke from their stupor and surrounded him until it was impossible to see past them.
Philip shouted from amongst the demons. “Kids! On me!”
Arrows rained down on the demons. They fell in droves, and the massive demon caught three or four shafts itself, but they bounced off its exposed bones without causing any damage. It towered over Philip, unperturbed.
Philip managed to see through the carnage to where Kamiyo was struggling to keep his balance on the slope. The man gave a small nod, and Kamiyo returned it.
Hannah pulled Kamiyo backwards down the slope. “Come on. We either die with him or make use of his sacrifice.”
Reluctantly, Kamiyo allowed himself to turn his back on the horror, and they raced down the hill to the sound of Philip’s agonised screams.
51
TED
Frank wheeled back as Vamps sliced a canyon of blood across his forearm. His small stature aided him, though, because Vamps second attack went sailing over his head.
Ted rushed in to protect Frank. He shoved the man away and turned to face Vamps.
Vamps slashed Ted’s face.
Ted’s vision turned red. He clutched his face, moaning as the worst, most sickening pain he had ever experienced washed over him.
Blood spewed from his left eye, which now felt foreign and strange as he fingered it—too squidgy. His vision curled inwards like it was being folded in half.
Frank appeared over him and tried to drag him back to his feet. “Jesus, kidda. You still with me?”
Unbelievably, he was. This was a fight for survival, so there was no question of throwing in the towel. He made it back up to his feet, and Frank thrust a spear into his hands.
The teenagers above turned their attention into the courtyard and started firing arrows at Vamps. Ted’s bellows of pain must have captured their attention.
Vamps jarred and shook as shafts planted themselves in his body. The arrows jutted out of his thighs and torso, and one pierced the side of his neck. Blood squirted from him as though his body were a sprinkler.
But he didn’t go down. Methodically, he yanked out each arrow and tossed them to the floor.
Ted staggered, not towards Vamps but towards his hammer. He finally got his hands on it and no longer needed the spear, so he launched it into the air and buried it in Vamps shoulder. That was enough to drop the demon to its knees.
A few more arrows sailed through the air, but then stopped. Ted glanced up at the walls and knew the teens had finally run out. Their stockpiles were depleted.
“You need to die,” said Ted as he gripped his hammer and stalked Vamps. “This place is ours.”
Vamps bled from his mouth, which made it a grizzly thing when he smiled. “Over is the sprawl of mankind, the most self-important of creatures. Finished are the ants who think themselves gods. Extinct is the species that thinks itself immortal.”
Ted was weary, which was why he had very little to say as he lifted his hammer. “Shut up!”
&nb
sp; He heaved the large copper mallet at Vamps’ skull, but the demon reached up and grabbed it. He ripped the hammer from Ted’s hands and snapped it in two like a twig. Ted crumbled as he watched the thing that had saved his life on several occasions fall to the ground in pieces.
Frank shouted. “Get back, Ted!”
But Ted was incensed. He bunched his fists and swung them like wrecking balls. Each blow landed, but Vamps absorbed them and then grabbed Ted by the throat. “Time to take your other eye.”
Ted spat in Vamps’ face.
Vamps roared.
Then there was another roar from somewhere close by. Aymun appeared wielding a chainsaw. “I hope you do not mind if I borrow this, Ted?”
Ted smiled. He had forgotten all about the two chainsaws he had brought up from the workshop.
Aymun whirled on Vamps and effortlessly sliced off a hand. Vamps actually cried out in agony and held up the stump of his left hand in panicked confusion.
“No!”
Ted broke free. Frank stood with him. Both men watched as Aymun and Vamps did battle. The demon was squealing and clutching his bleeding stump.
Aymun was quick, almost inhumanely so, and he managed to avoid every one of Vamps’ retaliatory blows.
Frank was pulling Ted away, but Ted shook free. “What are you doing?”
“Moving yow to safety.”
“There won’t be any safety left unless we kill every demon here. I have to fight, even if I lose both eyes.”
“Okay, kidda, then fight better because yow losing.”
“Thanks for the advice. Now let me go.”
Ted raced back to help Aymun, who had managed to avoid getting hit. Vamps’ bloody stump was no longer bleeding, and in fact, his hand was regrowing where it had been missing. As much as they had wounded him, he was undefeated. His injuries healed within minutes of being inflicted. Even a severed hand.
The chainsaw was too cumbersome, so Aymun was forced to throw it down and fight bare-fisted. Ted no longer had his hammer, which meant he had to fight the same way. He started running, picking up as much speed as he could in a short distance, then shoulder-barged Vamps as hard as he could. It rocked the demon and gave Aymun an opening. The sprightly man punched the demon in the wind pipe and sent him backwards, choking.
“I fear he cannot be killed,” said Aymun to Ted. “Yet we must keep him contained until Hannah completes her mission.”
Ted looked at him with his one remaining eye. “What mission?”
“She is a brave warrior, our sister Hannah. She is going to pass through the gate beneath the lake. If she succeeds, we shall win this day. But we must survive long enough to see her victory.”
Ted wanted to throw up, and he wasn’t so sure it was from the throbbing agony in his ruined left eye. “That’s insane. She can’t do that! It’s suicide.”
Aymun shook his head. “It is not suicide. Merely a hastening of the inevitable. Your friend is mortally wounded.”
Ted turned to face the courtyard. He was about to head for the sally port, to stop Hannah from being so reckless, but Aymun grabbed him before he could take off. Ted growled. “Get the fuck off of me.”
“It is too late. She is already set upon her path.”
Frank shouted out and alerted them. Vamps had cantered towards the small man and was about to tear into him. Frank threw himself forwards onto the ground and quickly scrambled between the confused demon’s legs.
Ted and Aymun assaulted Vamps as he turned to face them. They grabbed the demon by the arms and attempted to restrain it. If they could just hold Vamps down long enough, even if it meant sitting on him, then perhaps they would give Hannah the time she needed.
If she isn’t already dead.
What is she thinking?
She’s trying to be a goddamn hero. Doesn’t she already know she is one?
Hannah…
Ted growled and lost his temper. He let go of Vamps’s arm so that he could pummell the demon’s face. Even if he couldn’t kill the demon, he wanted to make it hurt. Make them all hurt.
It was a mistake. With less arms holding him down, Vamps was able to snatch at Aymun’s face and slice open his cheek. The sudden wound startled the man and made him let go as well. Now Vamps was free again. The demon struck Ted in the centre of his chest and launched him backwards. Aymun tried to grapple with him again, but Vamps pulled him by the arm and hefted him into the air head first. The man hit the ground painfully.
That left only Frank who, to his credit, did not hesitate. He barged into Vamps’ hip and unbalanced the demon, but it was only a minor victory, and the demon quickly recovered. He backhanded Frank and knocked him unconscious.
Vamps marched towards the portcullis, which was utterly surrounded by demons now that the teens had run out of arrows. “Enough of this!” the demon roared. “I am no longer enjoying myself. It is time to end this. Enjoy your deaths, for you shall experience nothing after.”
Vamps reached down and grabbed the portcullis. This time he was so enraged that he was able to lift the gate all the way up with one mighty heave. The demon held the giant gate over head as if it were made of tin. He glared at Ted with a predatory grin as his fellow demons spilled through the gap. The monster inside Vamps had won.
The demons were inside the castle.
52
HANNAH
Hannah couldn’t believe Philip was dead—which was absurd because she'd witnessed the entire world die. Death should not be able to shock her anymore, but Philip's had been an ending on his own terms. That's what made it different.
He had bought them time.
Kamiyo was shocked too, for the doctor remained utterly silent as they slid down the hill on their butts, allowing gravity to pull them faster than they could run.
Once at the bottom, she asked him if he was okay.
“Just tired,” he replied. “You still okay to continue?”
Hannah looked around. A group of nearby demons had already spotted them. “Don't think I have a choice.” Her guts had gone icy cold, and she wondered how much longer she could stay upright. She raised her rifle and delivered two rapid headshots. “You got these?”
She meant the two remaining demons, still racing towards them after Hannah had just executed their mates. Kamiyo dispatched both with that deadly poker of his. The way it cut through demon flesh gave her the warm and fuzzies. It was a real-life lightsaber.
They lumbered towards the lake, Kamiyo having to help Hannah along. Philip had been her backup if she failed to make it into the lake, but now she didn’t have the luxury of dying. She needed to stay alive and fight the lure of the beckoning darkness. Her vision swirled, and her lower legs grew gradually numb. Her steps got more and more uncoordinated. Kamiyo kept looking at her with concern. “I'm okay,” she kept telling him. “I'm okay.”
More demons tried to halt their progress, forcing Hannah to rattle off her last remaining rounds. It felt comforting to toss her rifle down for good, shedding the last memories of who she had been—a soldier in a war already lost. The time of guns and bullets had passed, and she didn’t mourn it. If mankind did survive, she hoped it would regrow without the need to acquire such things ever again.
The cabin was an inferno, the entire outer structure was burning. The inside was smoking, and black waves billowed through the main entrance. Their idyllic hideaway had been razed. The loss was monumental, but all they needed was a foothold. A chance to carry on.
“Hey, Kamiyo,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“If you survive this… Never stop being a nerd, okay? Be who you want to be.”
He smiled drearily. “You have my word.”
They were halfway to the lake now, almost past the fire pit out front of the blazing cabin. The heat from the flames grew immense, and they both sweated. The fire consumed the demons too, at least the ones too stupid to keep a safe distance. But there were hundreds more in perfect fighting shape. Most surged up the hill to assault the castle, b
ut a sprinkling spotted Kamiyo and Hannah. They rushed towards them, screeching like birds. A pack of apes made up part of their numbers.
“Keep moving,” said Kamiyo, pushing Hannah towards the lake.
“You can’t take on all those apes alone. They’re too fast.”
He pushed her again. He looked handsome then in the flickering backdrop of the fire with his jet-black hair flopping over his face. She hoped he made it through this and found himself a tody piece one day. “I have no choice,” he said, echoing her words from moment's ago. “Keep moving. I’ll catch up.”
“Kamiyo….”
“Move!”
Hannah stumbled away from Kamiyo, leaving him to face certain death. She had counted at least four apes and had previously witnessed a single one take down a dozen men. They were the most deadly of all.
The lake's edge lay only twenty metres away, and no demons barred her path. They amassed to her rear, flooding around Kamiyo.
Her numb legs wobbled, and she almost fell. Several times, her body just plain refused to move. She found herself willing her legs to take another step.
The demons surrounded Kamiyo, and he fought for his life. She wanted desperately to go back and help him, but it would achieve nothing. She couldn’t fight anymore. All she had left was death.
And she intended to die after passing through the gate.
The lake had been glowing when they'd left the castle, but now it shone as if a giant torch hid beneath its waters. The surface frothed and roiled.
Something was happening.
Something was coming through.
She didn’t have long.
Neither did Kamiyo. He took out the first ape with the first swing of his poker, but the second one dodged aside and took a swipe at him. He avoided the blow but proceeded to dance around desperately to stay alive. The apes were too quick and unpredictable for him to strike.
Hell on Earth- the Complete Series Box Set Page 109
