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.
Remember that spamming will not be tolerated. Be courteous to other readers who may or may not be interested in the comments, and do not spam. Thank you.
Enjoy the chapter

Subscription/ Table of Contents
FAQ

Previous Chapter

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