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War of the Damned is the story of the former queen Gwenhwyfar, now a vampire in the middle ages. The Holy Lands are alight with the fires of war, but in Eastern Europe a greater shadow lurks unknown to most. A threat that could enslave all of humanity and destroy the vampire clans. Gwenhwyfar is one called upon to travel to the East to fight for salvation.

This story contains strong violence, sexuality, and strong language.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Once a Queen
Chapter 2: The Clan of the Rose
Chapter 3: The Departure
Chapter 4: Kirkwall
Chapter 5: Promises and Fealty
Chapter 6: Keep of Wolves
Chapter 7: Scarlet Snow, Crimson Sand
Chapter 8: The Council
Chapter 9: The Gathering Storm
Chapter 10: Game of Wood and Flesh
Chapter 11: Forgive us our Sins
Chapter 12: Lost in the Dark
Chapter 13: Shadows and Shades

The following is the story I entered into the Monthly Writing Contest for Jan/Feb 2010. It acts as an intro of sorts into War of the Damned, though it is not neccesary to read to understand the full "of the Damned" universe.
Remember to subscribe in the Story Archive Thread to recieve notification whenever a new story is posted.
Elishka will appear in War of the Damned, but she is not the main character.

Story Archive

Story 1 - Secrets Under Blood

Lurking in shadows beneath the moon, secrets hidden from the eyes of man. Hide them beneath a blanket of blood.

Story 2 - Secrets Under Sun

Elishka pulled her hood forward as it started to slip back, casting a shadow across a face obscured by a black cloth wrapped tightly around her features. She dared not look up, where the glowing flame of the sun awaited, seeking to burn the flesh from her bones. With cloak billowing behind her, she kept her heels pressed into the flanks of her horse, galloping across the French country side towards her goal; a lonely little estate with nothing around but empty and rolling hills.

She hated travelling by day, she hated having to wrap herself so that only her eyes and the bridge of her nose showed itself. It was uncomfortable, and despite what she was, sweat soaked into the heavy brown cloth of her tunic. It was better than the alternative however, and no one who wished her kind eradicated would think that one of them would be riding in broad daylight.

Pulling on the reins to direct the horse off the ill kept Roman road, and onto what could scarcely be called a dirt path. Regardless, it was the easiest way to get to her destination without losing herself amongst the endless trees and fields between villages and towns.

The sun had reached its peak in the sky above before she slowed her mount to a slow trot, moving through the opening in the short stone fence surrounding a single house. Flames hungrily curled up what remained of the walls, and the roof had collapsed into the interior long before she arrived. Smoke rose into the sky like an angry serpent, partially obscuring that damn sun. Two men stood before the burning building, one dressed in the robes of a priest with a crucifix in hand and shouting prayers to God above. The other wore a tattered travelling cloak, with long dark, unkempt hair, and most importantly, a sword sheathed at his hip.

Neither of the two noticed Elishka as she guided her horse towards the well dug in the middle of the fenced off courtyard, nor did they pay attention to the charred body lying on the ground behind them. Though, with the wooden stake plunged through its ribcage, paying attention was not needed.

Dismounting, Elishka patted her own sword tied to a bundle on the horse's saddle, before pushing the bucket perched on the stone edge of the well, down to the water below.

The priest continued to chant, but the other turned, hand resting on his sword as he looked this new arrival over. Elishka paid him no mind as she began to lift the bucket, satisfied with the weight that it was indeed full of water.

"This is a dangerous place traveller. What brings you here?" the man asked, fingers tapping the hilt of his weapon. He had a near perfect grasp of French, but his accent sounded Germanic.

"A drink, and a rest for my horse. But I have not heard of brigands in this area that would make it so dangerous," Elishka said slowly, ignoring the burning house that this man had more than likely been the cause of. Her words caused him to startle slightly, not from content, but as her voice revealed her to be a woman. The man to his credit recovered quickly.

"The danger is not of man my lady, but of the undead. Vampires stalk these lands, and you are far from any refuge. You will not make it to safety before nightfall," the man said.

So he was a vampire hunter. There were quite a few of them popping up across Europe, and they had the support of the church. That explained the priest's presence, and his words of damning the slain man's soul as vile and evil. Elishka could not help but wonder to herself if there were any priests who followed the word of Christ.

"It looks like he is dead. How is that dangerous?"

The priest stopped his prayers, an abrupt end punctuated by a wall falling into the inferno, a shower of sparks spraying up into the air, and soon diminishing. The robed man turned, pulling his cross closer to his chest. It was a pretty thing, made of gold and emblazoned with a solid emerald in the centre. Elishka wondered how many starving mouths the coin from selling that thing would feed.

"The body is dead, but the unholy taint this blasphemous demon left here must be cleansed," he said, and the other man rolled his eyes, as if he didn't believe a word of it. His lot was to kill, and be damned whatever soul was within. Poor ignorant sod.

"More may dwell in this region, indeed I'm sure of it," the hunter said, clenching a fist.

"Well... I may need protection then," Elishka said in the most sexual tone she could muster. It came out husky and coarse. She needed work on her seduction. Still, as the words came out, she moved closer to the man, and he took a step forward as if to embrace her; it had been enough.

"Of course I shall," he said, arms reaching out wide.

The dagger was pulled from its sheath in the small of her back, and plunged into the hunter's throat before he even registered that the woman had a weapon. Pulling the steel blade free, blood spurting from the opening in the flesh, the hunter grasped at the wound. While blood seeped between his fingers the priest began to babble out prayers, holding up his crucifix like a shield.

Elishka stabbed the man a second time as he tried to reach for his sword, crimson staining his lips and rolling down over his chin. The sight made her thirsty. Her tongue flicked across the fangs in her jaws, feeling the sharp tips press against her own flesh. With her foot she kicked the hunter in the chest, and he sprawled across the dust, his blood turning it to patches of mud.

Gaze snapping to the priest, the cloaked woman walked towards him, ignoring the cross, not hearing his words.

"Demon, step away. You can not harm the lord's work," he sputtered, almost crying as fear took him. Elishka grasped him by the back of the head, gloved fingers curling through what little hair he had left, and forced him to look at the charred body.

"Look there holy man. Where in your book did Christ, who himself rose from the dead, ever say to treat a man like that?" she said, as she herself took in the look of agony on the burnt features. Of course, how could he look anything but in pain with most of his distinguishing marks turned to black?

The priest cried in way of answer, and was rewarded with a back handed slap across the face, splitting his lip. His wails got louder.

"Answer me damn you," Elishka demanded, her grasp tightening, fingers digging into his scalp.

None was forth coming, and she sighed, before stabbing the sobbing man in the stomach. She felt hot blood gush forth around her dagger, soaking into her gloves, before pulling the blade free. His sobs were replaced by pained gasps, and his body went almost completely slack. He was easy to drag, his sandals diggings rivets in the dirt. The crucifix fell from limp hands, falling into the hunter's blood, smearing the emerald as a ruby. Elishka pushed the body into the still burning wreckage, and that's when the screams started.

She stood where had before, as he prayed for God to take the dead vampire's soul, and burn it for eternity, and she watched him burn for the remainder of his life. Limbs flailed, and clothing burnt away leaving the priest naked as his skin peeled and his blood boiled.

The screams eventually died, so only the crackle of the inferno filled Elishka's ears. She wanted to say something, but no words came to her lips, her actions had been enough.

Grabbing a small pack off her horse, it was time for her to do what she had hoped not to. She had obviously been too late to save Philippe. While there was no true sadness in her heart as she knelt by his body, it pained her that he could have been saved if she had been only a little faster in getting here. Letting out a sigh she reached out with her bloody glove and pushed back the dead vampire's upper lip.

She ignored the blackened flesh sliding off the charred skull beneath, instead focusing on the fangs she had revealed. Pulling a small hammer and a chisel from her back Elishka took a deep breath. She hated this part the most, it made her cringe, as if she could feel the pain that the dead could not.

The tip of the chisel settled over one of the fangs' base, where the gums would have been. A single sturdy tap with the hammer cracked the tooth from the skull, falling into his mouth. She ran her tongue over her own fangs again, to make sure they were still there as a subconscious feeling starting to throb in her forward jaw. Repeating the process with the second fang, and now all she had to do was pull the teeth out. She reached between his jaws, frozen open in eternal agony, and accidentally pushed down on the lower mandible.

There was an audible crack as skin broke and bone dislocated, and the lower portion of his head swung down to touch his neck. Elishka shuddered, but pulled the fangs out and pocketed them. Sure she could bury them right here and it would be unlikely that anyone would find them, but she had to be sure that no one would.

She tried in vain to close his mouth, and only managed to remove the jaw completely. She let it drop then straightened her back. The hammer and chisel were pushed back into their pouch and her eyes closed gently. Two of her fingers pressed against her forehead, chest, then both shoulders before coming together.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. May you find peace of the arms of God Philippe. Amen," she said in a whisper. It was no true prayer, but she was sure Christ would approve of that much, even as he frowned upon her killings.

She stood, leaving the body for the next travelling to come along and discover. Her attention once again turned to the hunter, laying in his own blood, limp hand lying uselessly on his torn throat. She spotted a cross hanging from a chain around his neck. She reached down and pulled it off, and began searching his body for any valuables. While she didn't necessarily need them, she wanted this to look like bandits, or mercenaries. People who would not leave behind anything that could help line their pockets with coin.

All she found was a small purse that jingled with gold as she shook it. Slipping it into her pocket alongside her tools she looked around for the crucifix the priest had been wielding. Little good it did him against another Christian. She easily found it, and wiped the blood off before slipping it into her belt.

She walked back to her horse, who had nudged the water bucket back into the well. She had no words for the men she killed, for their souls were being judged even as she climbed up onto her mount, who neighed in discomfort.

"Don't you start whining, we have a long ways to go yet, and I still need to feed," she berated the horse, pulling out a scroll she had stashed away.

She broke the red wax seal and unrolled the parchment, taking in the neat handwriting from the clerk of the council, and signed by one Lord Von Kessel, one of the eldest vampires on the council.

War was brewing in the east, even as the Crusades waged in the holy land, forces were beginning to move against the council, and humanity as a whole. Someone was overstepping their bounds, and the knights of the damned were being summoned. Philippe had been one of them, but the hunters had found him. The next she was to retrieve was in the north.

"Scotland... damn it," she muttered and pushed the scroll away once more, and checked to ensure she had indeed sheathed her dagger after slaying the two men.

Satisfied with her work here, Elishka turned her horse and rode off under the blazing sun. Behind her she left no trace of her kind, and the secrets of the damned would live on only in rumour.

And so we come to the end of this tale. I hope you all have enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed the writing of it. If you want to be notified about when the prequel comes out, be sure to comment on the Story Archive thread, accessed through the table of contents of this here story. Again, I hope you enjoyed this, and hopefully the next story comes out soon.

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Blood of the Damned
Part 20

Jay laid on his back, relaxing in the comfort of the bed. Another farmhouse, another dawn. After only a few days and nights they were already used to travelling under the shroud of nightfall, and taking their rest during the day.

Lila pulled the bandages off Jay's stump, and used a clean cloth soaked in water and vodka to clean off the wound once again. She had been unable to find any proper medicine and so the booze would have to do to kill any possible infection.

"How's it looking?" Jay asked weakly, he didn't seem to have much strength left anymore, and Lila couldn't really blame him. He had been through so much, and the loss of a leg was a traumatizing event.

Cauterizing it with a frying pan had not been a pleasant experience either.

"No signs of infection. It looks as clean as I can get it," Lila said, dunking the cloth in a bowl of water beside her, turning the liquid a light pink from the blood.

"Good... I think I'm just going to rest awhile... wake me up for my shift," he said, and laid his head back on the pillow, almost immediately falling asleep.

Lila didn't say anything, but simply reapplied the bandages and looked back to the door, barricaded by the dresser that had been sitting in here. She took a quick peek out the solitary window and squinted against the morning sun. No zombies, no vampires. Just nothing.

She sat herself down and leaned against the wall, holding a sawed off shotgun in her lap. They had found the weapon downstairs in the hands of a man who had apparently taken his own head off. A bite mark had been visible on his upper arm. She only had a few shells tucked away in her pocket. She prayed to whoever might be listening that it would see them through to the end.

Setting her head against the wall, she let her eyes flutter closed, and sleep overtook her.

~~~~`

The moon looked down upon them as they walked together from the farmhouse and towards cottage country. Their arms wrapped around the other's shoulder to help Jay stay on his solitary foot. Lila's spare arm held the shotgun, Jay's a walking stick.

They didn't talk, wanting to keep as low a profile as possible.

For hours they walked, eventually coming upon carefully trimmed grass and perfectly planted trees. Cottages hidden within the shade leered at them, daring them to explore. Both ignored the temptation to find another place to rest, fearful of the death that could be lurking within, and simply walked along the road, not finding the strength to care anymore if a zombie found them.

They passed a tree, someone hanging from the low hanging branches. Either the birds of the undead had gotten to the ragged remains slowly shifting in the breeze. Neither could even identify gender, or age. They simply pressed on.

A few more hours slowly rolled by, until they found themselves coming to a large waterfront home, behind it a large dock and a boathouse. Out on the water, anchored off the shore, was a large sailboat, shadowy figures moving about onboard.

The two exchanged glances, not daring to hope, but moved down to the dock anyway, hoping to find some way to call out or to get out there. They moved past the boathouse without checking it, and as soon as their feet hit the planks of the dock they heard something shift behind them.

They turned, to see Haley sitting on a barrel that had been hidden from their view. She wore a wry and tired smile on her features, fangs hidden beneath her lips.

"We were waiting," she said getting to her feet, and striking a flare.

As the bright green light flared to life, Lila frowned.

"Where the fuck have you been?" she demanded.

"Clearing a path. Securing a way off this island for you two," she said, as shouted started to come out over the water, a small rowboat starting to make its way to land.

Jay almost laughed, but simply pulled himself out of Lila's helping hands and sat himself on the edge of the dock and looked out towards salvation, and waited. Lila flicked her gaze between vampire, human and the ship coming towards them, wondering if it was more of Haley's kind, or more of hers.

"Thank you," she said simply, sitting beside Jay on the dock.

Haley held the flare high for a few moments, before tossing it into the water.

"I hope they hurry," she said dryly under her breath.

On the horizon, behind the ship, the glow of a new dawn started to light the sky.

The End

One more chapter after this one. The battle finally commences right here, right now.
Remember to subscribe in the story archives thread if you want to be informed when "War of the Damned" starts up.

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Blood of the Damned
Part 19

Lunging forward, Haley's blade cleaved through a zombie's skull, spilling gore across what should have been a clean room, though in the near darkness it was hardly seen. The glow stick was dropped to the ground, casting its glow across the room as Haley's sword took the head from a second approaching ghoul while bullets zipped past her, striking the undead.

John stepped through the glass, and Haley slashed at him, steel slicing through the flesh of his arm, spilling his blood. A fist connected with her chest. Haley felt her feet lifted from the ground as she sailed across the room, her back colliding with the wall. The bitter taste of her own blood filled her mouth, staining her fangs, rolling over her lips.

Jay swore as he let loose a burst, the bullets tearing through John's head, but he did not falter, only stepping forward with his broken skull, bone and flesh knitting itself in a mottled rotten covering. He held no expression as he moved towards the very frightened humans, hands at his sides.

Haley reached out for her sword, pain flaring through the cracked ribs in her chest. She winced and grasped the sword anyway, feeling the marrow slide back within the bones, feeling the torn flesh within sew itself together, the agony slowly fading to where she could stand.

"Haley hurry," Jay yelled out as he shifted his fire from between the various zombies pouring into the room and John, who seemed to ignore the bullets tearing through his flesh.

Once again on her feet Haley leapt forward, cutting a zombie's head off before it reached Lila, then kicking out to her side. A neck snapped beneath the heel of her boot and another corpse flopped to the floor. As Jay and Lila backed away from the ravenous undead, Haley became a flurry of movement.

Dodging outreaching hands and John's fists, she slashed and kicked, spraying blood around her in crimson arcs.

"I'm out," Jay called in warning his hand searching for a magazine that wasn't there, and John turned his mutilated face towards the soldier.

Jay took a deep breath and dropped his M4, pulling his combat knife from its sheath on his hip. Holding it firm before his face he stared the large zombie down.

"Bring it on mother fucker," Jay demanded.

"Jay no," Lila called out, shooting a zombie in the face as it grabbed her shoulder.

Haley tried desperately to fight her way over to the alpha zombie who stormed over to who could possibly be the last living soldier on the entire island. Jay didn't move an inch, and as the first fist swung towards his face he ducked and slashed upwards.

Blood poured out of the gash along John's forearm, but he didn't react as all, his wound already healing as the other fist came swinging downwards. Jay leapt to the side, and winced as pain lanced up his leg, causing him to stumble. He could feel something warm and wet spreading beneath the bandage around his calf, seeping out from underneath.

John had no expression as his foot crashed down on Jay's leg, drawing a guttural scream of white hot pain from the depth of his soul. Bone snapped under the impact, shards piercing out of the skin. Jay tried to crawl away, but John grasped his broken leg where he had shattered it.

Jay screamed again, and Lila emptied her magazine into John's body, to no effect. She soon found herself backing into the corner, trying to keep herself alive as zombies came after her.

John lifted his victim by his leg from the ground, the skin straining from the weight, until it tore, and Jay's leg separated from itself and he fell to the ground, blood gushing from the stump below his knee.

"Weakness. I can end your pain," John said as he picked Jay up once more, this time, fingers encircling around his throat.

Jay jammed his knife into the abomination's eye, only to feel the fingers start to close, cutting off his breathing. He struggled in the creature's grasp trying to free himself, his knife stabbing into the arm desperately.

Haley came in from the side, her blade slicing upwards and severing John's arm at the elbow. Jay collapsed to the floor, taking deep gulps of breath after tossing the arm still clutching his throat away.

John glanced at his stump once, and Haley took full advantage as the creature tried to recalculate his attack. Her sword was a flurry, slicing long deep cuts across his torso. John's remaining hand snapped out faster than Haley thought possible and grasped her own arm, and quickly snapped it backwards.

She held back a scream as pain flashed into her mind, and stabbed her sword through John's bicep, severing tendons and flaying muscle from bone. Unable to control his hand while his body tried to repair itself, Haley kicked out, buckling one of his knees.

As he fell to a kneel, the vampire plunged her blade deep into John's chest, cleaving through his heart. His eyes went wide and he let out a chocked gasp.

"So you tried to become a vampire... I know how to kill my own kind, devil," Haley snarled, baring her fangs in John's face, and she smirked inwardly as she saw the devastation that final word had on John. She could see it in his remaining eye, whilst the other suddenly stopped repairing itself.

With that she twisted her blade, destroyed the creature's heart, and the semblance of consciousness within those eyes faded. Haley quickly pulled her sword out and swung around, her blade connecting and biting through John's neck and severing the spine, before passing through more flesh. As the head fell free, hitting the floor with the solid clunk, the zombies suddenly paused and started to twitch as if having seizures.

Haley smirked as she moved towards them.

~~~~`

Lila helped the very pale Jay walk out from the forest. They didn't know where Haley was, but they had avoided the trail of corpses that led deeper into the dark green of the forest. There were no zombies around them, just the open fields of farmland, and the road that either led towards the cottages or the city.

Turning their backs on the smouldering urban centre, the pair made their way towards what they hoped would be their salvation.

Next Chapter

The end looms ever closer, as parties finally begin to clash. Blood will be spill, and lives will be shattered, but who will ultimately claim victory when the dust settles?
In other news, the "Story Archive" page has been put up. You can get to it through the Table of Contents for Blood of the Damned. Don't forget to comment on the Story Archive to get a PM about War of the Damned, which is coming closer and closer.
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Enjoy the chapter

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Blood of the Damned
Part 18

The muzzle flashes lit the darkness for a split second, just long enough for Lila and Jay to see the creatures coming towards them, reaching out with rotting hands to consume them. Haley stood with glow stick held high, and sword flashed, taking heads from necks, keeping her lips clamped shut as blood sprayed across her face.

As they fought desperately against the encroaching ghouls, happy for the narrow corridors that kept the undead coming towards them in a narrow funnel, Haley felt the pangs of hunger in her gut. She hadn't eaten since the night prior, where she had gorged on the farmer. Regardless, she hadn't exactly been keeping a low profile that would have let her go a few days without food.

Hell, the Elder Coven supposedly ate once every few months.

Letting out a snarl, before forcing her mouth closed once again, Haley's sword cut through a zombie's arm before biting into the creature's neck and splitting through the spine. Walking backwards, she had to be careful where she placed her feet as she began to move over the corpses that Lila and Jay left in their wake.

"Reloading... I'm running real fucking low here," Jay called out, just a hint of panic in his voice. He was damn good at hiding his fear, but Haley could almost smell it on him. Still he pressed on after pushing one of his last magazines into his M4 carbine.

"I'm out!" Lila nearly screamed as she looked at her pistol.

"Use it as a club, it's our only fucking chance," Jay yelled.

"They're getti-" Lila started, but was suddenly cut off.

Haley risked a glance over her shoulder to see Lila's legs kicking in the air as she was pulled into a room beside them. Grabbing Jay's shoulder she gently nudged him towards the door to help her, while she covered his back.

A single gunshot sounded behind her as she moved in through the door, her sword slashing out to behead another zombie before she reached out and hit the button that slid the door shut. As the metal came out from the wall, it crushed a outreaching arm, severing the limb. No scream of agony came from the wounded undead, another reminder of their loss of humanity.

Safe for a moment, Haley turned to see Jay helping Lila to her feet. Tears of fear streaked down her face; she had come so very close to death. Or even worse a shambling undeath. As the two humans embraced, Haley once again reflected on her own state of being. She was so close to being one of those monsters outside that were pounding on the door. Her lungs no longer drew breath, but her heart still beat within her breast. That was what set her apart, what made her, despite not being alive, still human; in a sense at least.

"Is she bitten?" Haley asked.

"No," Lila answered for herself, and Haley nodded.

She turned back to look at the window that looked out into the hall to see the gathering of ghouls that awaited them. Standing just before the shatter proof glass however was a much larger creature.

He wore the same military pants and dog tags as the other talking zombie they had killed, but this one's fingers stretched out into vicious claws, and fangs pushed down on his lips. Yellow eyes stared in through the window, and he shook his head, almost in sorrow.

"What the fuck is that?" Lila asked, separating from Jay and spotting the creature.

"I think it's another of those alphas you girls were looking up," Jay said.

"Alpha... you impure humans always try so hard to label everything, to explain everything with your science. I am John," the creature said, and though his voice was muffled almost to the point of being inaudible through the glass, all three could hear his words clearly in their minds.

Before either of them could react, John's hands curled into tight fists, and pounded against the glass. Cracks spread from the impact like a spider web. Lila jumped back against the other wall, crashing against an empty shelf.

John smiled as he looked at the cracks, and in the silence, the banks of computers lining the walls hummed. Haley clutched her sword tighter, already pale knuckles turning white. Jay let out a slow breath and checked his weapon.

"Lila, take this," Haley said, tossing her the M4 she'd had slung across her back. Lila caught it while Haley handed out the few magazines she had left to her the two she had brought under her protection.

The first collided against the glass again, the cracks getting wider, spreading further. All three hearts pounded like drums, and Haley felt fear. It was an alien feeling, more akin to the woman she had left behind on that rooftop in London five years ago. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She needed to be calm, fighting whilst frightened led to mistakes. Mistakes down here in the darkness would lead to death, and Jay's and Lila's demise.

Another crack against the glass, chips of glass falling to the floor. It was only a matter of time now.

A fourth punch, and John's fist went clear through the glass, making a jagged hole. As his hand pulled free Jay fired a few shots through the hole, the bullets tearing through John's stomach and spraying blood out behind him.

John cocked a brow, an expression that looked so strange and horrific with the eyebrow missing and the skin where it had been rotted away. The creature looked down to his stomach, where the skin began to reknit itself, leaving in its wake ragged scars. John couldn't heal as well as a vampire, but he had somehow brought himself closer to the same bloodline that birthed him.

"What the fuck are you?" Jay yelled as John began to pull at the hole in the window, the glass groaning as it strained to keep in place.

"I am the future, and I will give you the gift to join me there," John said, as the window finally came crashing down, and the zombies waiting beside the Alpha came shambling in as two carbines began to fire.

"And you fallen angel, will be sent back to Hell," John told Haley.

Next Chapter

A filler chapter? Sorta kinda not really. Lets just say in the words written on the wall in 28 Days Later "The End is extremly fucking nigh".
Next story is going to be titled "War of the Damned" and it will follow a female vampire warrior. There will be a lot more vampires involved in the prequel story.
Also, keep an eye out after this story ends, because I'll be then setting up a "Story Subscription page" and the "Table of Contents/ Subscription page" and a FAQ for WotD.
Enjoy the chapter.

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Blood of the Damned
Part 17

The butt of his carbine cracked against the ghoul's face, smashing it against the glass that it had leapt at earlier. Jay brought his arms up, and without a sound smashed the undead creature again, then again, until its skull split open, it brains leaking out in a grey mush.

He smirked as he turned from the body and hobbled after Haley and Lila, both heading towards the exit of the compound, to get out of this tomb. They had their answers, it was time to get off this damn island.

Moving through the dark corridors by the illumination of the glow stick, the trio could heard creatures shambling in the darkness, following them. Jay limped as quickly as he could, regretting dropping his walking stick just outside. His hands tightened on his carbine, even as Lila slipped her finger into the trigger guard of her pistol.

Turning a corner, the green light revealed a group of zombies awaiting them. Lila let out a yelp and fired, splashing one's brains across the wall behind it, but the ghouls didn't move; simply stared.

There was a moment of hesitation, as Haley looked at them, pulling her sword free of its scabbard.

"And so we find one of God's favourites, fallen from grace by defending the impure," came a rough voice from behind them.

Haley turned to see a large zombie, military dog tags hanging around his neck, and only clad in camouflage pants. His arms were crossed across his barrel like chest as he stared at the three humans.

"What the fuck?" Lila whispered to herself.

The creature only laughed, and Haley turned to face subject 05. She smirked, and nodded to Jay.

"Let's see your flock get over this one," he muttered, lifting the M4 to his shoulder and flipping the selector switch to automatic. The noise from his bursts filled the cramped hallway, and the zombies before them crumpled to the ground with their brains sloshed within their skulls.

The smell of gunpowder filled the air, and Haley bared her fangs at the creature, who could only stare back in shock, before Lila fired a single shot into its head, bursting the skull open. Subject 05 collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap, and Haley stepped above him and plunged her sword down into where his heart would be.

The Alpha was made of more pure vampire genetics than the regular zombie hordes, and she had to be sure he was dead. As she twisted the blade, ensuring the heart torn within his chest cavity, the howl of zombies reached her ears, cut off from their commander.

"Well... we apparently pissed them off. Let's get the fuck out of here," Jay said, starting to move past the creatures he killed, careful not to slip in the puddles of blood they left pooling on the floor.

As Haley pulled her sword free, she thought she heard a voice whispering to her. Frowning she looked back from where they had come. There was something else in here with them.

~~~~`

John looked at the empty tank of subject 04. An apostle who quickly ran off to squander his gifts against the fallen ones. The vampires would not be able to get past their pride and arrogance he knew. They would defend the impure until their hearts were torn from their bodies.

Pressing a needle into the dead skin of his neck, he hoped the virus at its purest form would take hold now. It had not worked for Subjects 01 to 03, but they were weak. John was strong now, and he would lead the revolution, and earn the love bestowed upon him.

Tossing the needle away, he walked out into the hallway, and reached out, touching the minds of his flock, beckoning them to this holy temple. Their crusade was nearly at an end, and he would be damned if these heretics escaped his wrath.

~~~~`

Outside the compound, zombies began to filter into the dark corridors, groans escaping rotting lungs as they hunted for flesh. Their messiah called to them, and they answered.

Next Chapter

Answers, and portals to the next story, or could I almost say previous. I've decided that after 'Blood of the Damned' is finished I'll be working on a prequel entitled 'War of the Damned'. More details coming soon but it will be set in the middle ages and explore the vampires a little more intimately than I did in this installment.

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Blood of the Damned
Part 16

Haley flipped the soldier's corpse over onto his back and began to go through the pouches of the vest he wore. She pulled out a few M4 magazines and tossed them to Jay, or pocketed them herself. A flashlight was laying on the ground next to him, but when he clicked the button, nothing happened; the light must have been on when the soldier died, the batteries were done. She did however manage to find a few large glow sticks which she promptly pocketed.

"Why am I suddenly regretting this?" Lila said as she stared into the dark entrance on the stone compound.

"Because it reeks of death?" Jay suggested as Haley stood from the body she searching.

The vampire glanced between her two companions before cracking the first glow stick. A green glow emanated from the plastic tube, and illuminated the darkness as she walked through the entrance, and started to descend the stairs immediately inside the doorway.

Lila sighed but followed regardless, but Jay bringing up the rear, looking behind to ensure nothing snuck up on them.

At the bottom of the stairs they found themselves in a hallway that ended in a T junction. There were no lights save the green glow in Haley's hand, that illuminated the bullet strewn and partially eaten bodies that lay scattered about, and the blood splashed across the walls. They spent twenty minutes exploring, following hallways and turning at the splits.

Large windows in the hall let the three look into the various labs. Computers and strange equipment sat upon sleek metal desks. It looked like something out of a strange horror movie. They hadn't come across any of the undead, but their stench filled Haley's nose. The infection was everywhere in here, they all had to be careful, else they join the shambling hordes.

"What's this?" Jay asked as he pressed his face against a window to try and peer within. There were computers, with large processors shoved against the wall. Desks and filing cabinets were strewn about in a precise order. Like everything else in this compound, it was neat and orderly.

"Looks like some kind of record room," Lila said almost excitedly.

Haley raised an eyebrow and found the door that led within the room. She examined the steel portal, trying to find a way inside. She finally found a hand sized latch which she grasped and twisted.

With a hydraulic hiss, the door slide to the side, and Haley stepped inside.

"If there are no lights... how did that door open?" Lila asked.

"Back-up generators?" Jay replied.

"Yeah... but then why no lights?"

"Could have been the way the whole system was programmed. The limited power from the generators went into everything except the lighting perhaps?" Haley said with a shrug, showing she didn't care as to the whys too much.

Lila sighed again as Haley moved to one of the computer consoles and booted it up. She couldn't help but smirk as words began to scroll across the screen as everything loaded, small green and yellow lights in the large processors flickering as the machine came to life.

It didn't take long for a nearly blank screen to pop up requesting login and password information. Haley leaned back and shook her head, defeated by such a thin veil.

"Here this might help," Jay said, walking over from a cork board he found on the far wall. He held a small slip of paper between his fingers, which he handed to Haley. On it, scrawled in black pen, was someone's username and password. Written beneath that in the same handwriting was the message: "In case the world falls, someone may gather our knowledge."

Haley didn't think much about the bloody thumbprint in the corner of the paper, and just put in the log in information. 'Confirmed' popped up in green letters as an image of a man holding a middle aged woman, and a young girl standing in front of them with a wide grin on her face, filled the screen. Files began to appear over the image as the computer finished loading. Research notes, all with dates for names. There was a lot of information there, Haley didn't even know where to start, until the final document appeared.

"Impaler virus translated history?" Lila asked aloud.

"Check it out," Jay said, moving over to the window and peering outside.

He leapt back as a zombie smashed its face against the thick glass, smearing blood across it. His weapon was up, finger on the trigger, but he didn't shoot.

"We're okay, I don't think it knows how to open the door," Jay said.

Haley nodded and opened the file that had piqued all their interest. Two sheets filled the screen; the original documents, and the translated version. As Haley and Lila looked over both their eyes widened.

Labelled 1943. The name Himler and Dr. Von Kessler kept appearing throughout the document. Research done in Romania, on a virus found in the ancient ruins of a castle and the village beneath it. Weeks of experiments on test subjects revealed the lethality of the virus, but also the unique property of animating dead tissue.

"It's that old? The Nazis made it?" Lila said.

"Older, they just found it. The Nazis were fascinated by the occult and had been digging all over the world to find supernatural means of aiding them in the world," Haley said, as she found references to some book from the middle ages they had found. It talked about not only raising the dead, but being able to control them. It also mentioned where the virus had originated from.

"Vampires? They were using vampire genetics to make zombies?" Lila said, and Haley frowned.

"It's how they got past the barrier of death. Using the blood of something that was already dead," she told the nurse.

The German documents abruptly ended, and were soon replaced by Russian documents. How they continued the Nazi experiments. They had managed to raise the dead, but were unable to control them as the Germans had hoped to. They killed all the subjects, washing their hands of the project.

As the dates on the documents reached the early 1950's, the research turned to Chinese. There was a side note about how the Russians had sold the research to the enemies of NATO during the Korean War. It had bounced all over the other side of the world, and no one in the west was even aware this virus existed.

It stayed in Chinese, and then the dates became further apart. The last Chinese entry was 1961. Suddenly the next date was two weeks after the outbreak of the virus in England, and it was all in English. American and Canadian scientists had their hands on it, trying to find a cure. Over five years they realized that they couldn't actually stop the virus, they had to do what everyone failed to. Control them.

Work had begun on what they called Project Charon. They had found two volunteers, and three corpses to work with, hoping to make some sort of Alpha Zombie that would control the undead, and stop the destruction tearing the world apart. They were so close with someone they labelled as simply Subject 05. Then everything stopped. There was nothing else.

"What was all that?" Lila asked, waving her hand at the screen.

"Our hope turned to our demise," Haley said standing.

~~~~

John turned his head towards the door, looking away from those who may have been his brothers. Fellow messiahs they could have been had they awoken. Now though, the scent called to him.

The blood of Gods was in this compound amongst him and his kin. But the blood was tainted by will. This was his test; to deliver from these demons that wore the flesh of Gods.

John left the company of his brothers, as the undead followed him, shambling quietly into the darkness.

Next Chapter

Another chapter arrives, and the pieces move into place as the answer to the plague will be unveiled. Who is responsible, and who will pay for the sins commited?

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Blood of the Damned
Part 15

'Haley.

If you are reading this, then I've failed. There is a compound in the woods, a government complex dedicated to the study of the virus. As I write this I am planning to break in. I know we were to rendezvous in cottage area, but there await the answers to everything that has happened. I've drawn a map on the back, find the complex, find the answers, and hopefully the end of all this madness that has claimed the world.

Damien'

Haley flipped the bloody paper over and looked over the crudely drawn map Damien had provided before his infection. The compound her friend referred to didn't seem to be that far from the crash site where she had saved Jay. Standing she ran a hand through her hair and looked back towards the forest, before flicking her gaze towards Jay and Lila, who stood above Joey's body, looking at her; waiting.

"I'm heading back. Best idea is for you two to continue on to safety on your own," Haley informed them, walking towards them.

"On our own? We won't make it," Jay pointed out.

"What's so important that you're going to leave us?" Lila asked.

Haley held out the note, which Lila snatched despite the blood smeared across the page. Her eyes quickly danced across the words, and then flipping it over, took in the map. She handed it to Jay, who frowned as it took it in.

"I want to see this place," Lila stated, and Jay offered a simple nod in acknowledgement.

"I don't what'll be there. It's going to be dangerous," Haley said.

"So is running across half the island with a limp," Jay shot back.

The vampire had to concede the point, and gave a slight nod of her head. She bent down and took the pistol from Joey's limp fingers and looked back towards the forest.

"Well then. We may have a chance to end it," Haley said, starting to walk towards the tree line.

"You actually believe that?" Lila asked incredulously.

"Damien seemed to think so. Got himself killed for it," Haley said, gesturing with her chin towards the dead vampire laying in the blood smeared grass.

"Damien? You knew that crazy zombie vampire thinger?" Jay asked, and Haley's eyes twitched slightly.

"Yes. Before he was infected. We were friends. We both came here to try and do what we could, we had planned to meet at our destination," Haley explained, and Jay nodded simply; he had lost his share of friends in the service.

Lila looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself.

The trio set off in silence. Whether they walked to their doom, or to humanity's salvation, they didn't know. It was their only shot however.

~~~~~

John ran rotting fingers over the glass that stood between him and another carcass in military fatigues. The dead man was suspended by wires in a large tube filled with water, turned murky from blood and pus that seeped from the rends in his flesh. Was this his brother? Was this where he was born?

He walked along the short hall, blood prints left in his wake, taking in each canister, five in all. Only one was empty, the one at the end. Bold black lettering across the steel bar that wrapped around the tube read 'SUBJECT 05'.

Tearing his eye's away, John looked to the corner where a scientist was slumped against the wall, his head caved in, and blood pooling around his corpse. He had been one to try and play God. John laughed in his mind; it was amusing to him that those who tried to be Gods, instead awoke the messiah.

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Creatures emerge from the darkness, John is closer to his goal, and hope is fading fast for the survivors. What does fate hold in store for those left standing?

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Blood of the Damned
Part 14

A chain link fence topped with razor wire sprouted from the ground before John. Signs of red with the words "Private Government Property, No Trespassing," scrawled in white block letters. John turned his head, where a paltry dirt road that was little more than two tire ruts in the ground, led through a gate and into the small piece of so called private property. Within was a single story stone bunker and a shack presumably for guards.

No one was about, save the dead. A few soldiers whose heads were burst open lay across the ground. A jeep had crashed into the shack, the driver's head smashed open against the steering wheel. The gate was smashed open, laying on the ground allowing John to step into the compound.

John's eyes took in the dead soldiers, saddened that they could not be given the gift. Still, he could not dwell on their loss. Their time was over and his own was just beginning. Within this bunker was the answers he craved. His true journey would soon begin.

~~~~

Jay watched the smile melt from Haley's face, and felt his gut clench in fear. The vampire started to raise her M4, to her shoulder, shutting one eye to try and take aim at something.

"Behind Haley now," Jay called to Joey and Lila as he turned to walk backwards with his heavy limp, dropping his walking stick. Something was very wrong.

A loud hiss sounded from nearby, but Jay couldn't place it. Haley though stayed still trying to find the target, using her nose and eyes.

"What it is?" Lila demanded.

"Damien... another vampire... once," Haley informed them.

"Once?" Jay asked, before a creature burst from no where, jumping high in the air.

It was humanoid, but its skin was a mottled brown, with yellow cat like eyes. Once long dark hair was straggly and mostly falling out leaving only a few wisps on its torn scalp. Its nose had fallen away leaving an ugly rotten hole in its wake. Its mouth yawned open wide like a snake, twin fangs protruding out in a flesh rending snarl.

"What the fuck?" Joey yelled out as the thing landed on the ground not far from him, placing the human between itself and Haley.

Joey started walking back slowly, lifting his pistol, hands shaking.

"Get out of the fucking way," Haley yelled, but Joey wasn't listening and she started to move, but the creature circled around to keep out of Haley sights.

Jay lifted his carbine and fired a few shots at the vampiric creature, a few of his shots bursting through its head, a mist of gray and pink spraying out the other side, but Damien only growled as the holes in skull and skin started to grow over.

Joey looked about to say something, before the demon like monstrosity jumped forward and its fangs sank deep into Joey's neck. A scream tore through the night air as blood spurted out from the gashes rent in Joey's neck. Haley swore and dropped her carbine and grabbed her sword, pulling it free from its sheath.

Damien looked up at her, still cradling the blood soaked Joey in its clawed hands while Haley felt a pain in her gums as her fangs extended even further. Hissing in anger and rushed forward and started to swing a kick at the creature's head.

Damien raised his hand to block the kick, but Haley had anticipated the move and instead of her foot, her blade made contact with flesh. A monstrous hand sailed through the air, blood spurting from severed arteries, and Damien howled, before Haley's boot crunched against his face, sending him sprawling across the ground.

Strolling over to Damien who was crawling on all threes to where his severed hand had landed in the grass. As Haley approached he turned his twisted features up towards her and snarled, swiping at her thigh and cutting through her cargo pants and flesh. As blood poured down her leg and soaked into her clothing, Haley returned the vicious snarl and brought her sword down on Damien's forearm. The limb fell away from the elbow, spewing more infected vampire blood across the ground. Haley hastily kicked the arm away before slashing out with her sword. Damien, still scrambling on the ground on stumps, had his throat split open. A silent howl went into the air as blood bubbled out from the second mouth in his throat, more crimson spilling over his chin.

Haley's foot pinned her former friend to the ground. She tried to think of something to say, something to help pass her friend off to the next life, but she quickly realized Damien was already dead. This was to be a gift to him.

The sword descended, tip plunging through rib and heart. Damien's eyes bulged for a moment, before gently closing as his body settled into death. Haley shook her head softly, and twisted her sword, tearing the heart further, before pulling her sword free and bringing it down on Damien's neck, severing his head.

She kicked it away and knelt by the body, overlooking it. Damien was topless, his torso covered in scratches and bite marks; chunks of flesh missing and exposing bone and organ underneath. The zombies had swarmed him, had infected him. That's why he was like this. His pants though, they were military.

With a frown she began to search his pockets, eventually finding a sheet of paper. She pulled it out and unfolded it. Much of it was spattered in blood, but it appeared to be a note he wrote shortly after initial infection, but before turning.

As her eyes ran across the words on the note, Jay stood over Lila and Joey. Lila was desperately trying to save Joey's life, shoving strips of cloth into the wound and wiping away blood.

"Enough," Jay said to her, and Lila looked up at the soldier.

She relented, and nodded softly, standing up, and tossing away the bloodied bandages she had used on Joey. Blood didn't spurt from the wound as his heart slowed to a crawl, death looming over him. Jay kneeled down and picked up the pistol, quickly checking to make sure a round was chambered. One was.

Aiming the pistol between Joey's eyes, Jay's finger settled on the trigger. He felt like the Grim Reaper was standing over his shoulder, scythe ready to cleave into Joey's soul and drag it away. Or perhaps it was already gone. Blood vessels were popping in Joey's eyes as the infection ran rampant through his body, and the white of his eyes disappeared beneath a haze of red.

Before the creature that was once Joey could even react, Jay fired.

Even Haley looked up from her note.

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So the tale continues. There is a part that may have some confusion, but I'll put the answer as to why it happened in the FAQ. Enjoy the chapter.

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Blood of the Damned
Part 13

A sharp wind cut across the island, and the three humans hugged their bodies as they moved, trying to stave off the cold that cut through the skin and down to the bone. Jay gritted his teeth and kept moving, Carbine hanging from his chest as he set foot before the other. The others, not used to such hardship, shivered, their teeth clacking.

Haley didn't seem to notice. Hands holding her own M4 as she moved ahead of the group, her eyes scanning behind for any traces of the undead, while using her nose to smell for anything coming from down wind.

"This fucking sucks," Joey whined.

"Keep your voice down," Jay said with an angry glance as he kept moving behind the vampire, his own senses searching for any hostiles. He couldn't help but admit to himself that finding the enemy was easier here than Iraq. It was much easier to tell who was trying to kill you here than it was over there.

"How far to the cottages anyway?" Jay asked. During his stay on the island as the virus ravaged the world, he had only stayed in the city trying to keep order.

"At this rate, we'll reach it a few hours before morning. However, we may have to stop again else we could get hypothermia," Lila said from the rear.

Haley looked back at the still living companions she had gathered. It was easy for her to forget the weaknesses of being human. She sighed; she missed living.

"We'll stop whenever we find shelter. Sleep together to keep warm," Haley told them.

At the words, Joey raised an eyebrow, and despite himself grinned a little. Haley rolled her eyes, and the other two had missed the expression.

Still, they continued forward, hoping to find shelter before they froze.

~~~~

John was leaving the city finally. He had a few zombies following him, but for the most part he ignored them as he moved towards the forest outside the city.

He had come to realize his own death, and that he was like these creatures that ate the flesh of man. John was above them though. He knew this, but didn't know in what ways. Was he a God amongst them? Was he a messenger of God? Perhaps that was his truth.

As he moved through the first bushes, feeling the thorns and sticks scratching at his dead skin, but not feeling the pain, he turned to his followers. Out of instinct he pointed at one, then pointed further into the forest.

The ghoul rasped out some kind of response as it tore through the woods. It followed John's direction.

The knowledge filled his mind with wonder. What else could he do with this legion at his fingertips.

John soon found his experimental scout in a manmade clearing. The helicopter that had smashed the trees down twisted and torn, still smouldering from whatever device had pulled it from the sky. Dead zombies lay scattered about the broken trees, and a few dead soldiers in the back, one of whom was decapitated.

The two pilots still sat in their seats. One was impaled to his seat by a large tree branch the other was slumped across the controls, his neck broken.

John moved into the cockpit and broke the tree branch, before pulling it from the pilot's chest cavity. Frowning, John leaned forward and pulled away the pilot's jaw, letting the dead man's tongue flop down across his neck like a twisted necklace.

This dead man deserved to be salvaged, and John would give him this gift. He grabbed a knife and began to cut through flesh and force his way through bone up from the mouth, until the bottom of the brain was exposed.

He didn't know how he knew this. Perhaps God had given him the knowledge, and so he would deliver the message. Cutting open his own finger to let blood seep out, John gently cut the man's brain, and stood back.

It took only a few moments before his eyes opened, milky white like his brothers already embraced by salvation.

~~~~~

Haley thought she saw another farm house ahead. A car was smashed into a telephone pole on the road that ran in front of it, but other than that there was no sign of life.

"Maybe its got heat?" Joey said hopefully.

"Maybe," Lila said starting to move faster.

Haley led the group, but suddenly stopped, sniffing at the air. Jay watched her, and was relieved by the smile on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A friend," Haley said, but then the smile faded almost instantly.

"Or perhaps not," was all she said.

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