Thriller Bark Pt.1

Ace was still in doubt of my proposed claim of ghosts watching us, but it was only a few minutes before I spotted the ship. "How is that even possible? It's as big as an island." I nodded, "Thriller Bark, home of the Warlord Geko Moria."

Ace looked over at me, "Remind me again why we aren't running?" I grinned, "Because it's a good chance for me to test out my new cocktails without killing anyone." Slowly the gates of Thriller Bark closed around both of us, sealing the exit around behind us.

"Okay, let's go." I sprouted a pair of wings and grabbed Ace taking to the air, "You know I can fly myself, right?" I shrugged, "It's easier this way. Also, your flames would draw too much attention."

Stopping over the dark forests, I set the both of us down. "Follow me if you want. I'm heading to the graveyard. There should be a few zombies waiting for me." Ace grumbled, and he fell into step behind me.

Ace sighed, "Do we need to be here for you to test your virus. You said their zombies right, will they even work." I started to do the math in my head, "Not all of them, but I have a few that might work. Some flesh-eating, a few that target bone mass, and ones that act as a plague. If you want, I could test them on you."

Ace was suddenly silent, and that was fine with me. All I wanted to do was test my poison and leave and maybe give Moria a visit. When we got to the graveyard, Ace looked around, "So how long is this going to take? This place is frigid."

I set down my pack and rolled my shoulders, "How about you wear an actual shirt." Ace grumbled, and I was going to say something when I heard a low moan seemingly coming from beneath me. I jumped as a pair of rotting hands broke through the earth, trying to grab me.

"It looks like the horde has awoken." The pair of hands was followed by a zombie who pulled himself from the earth. Smiling, I watched as tens of other zombies unearthed themselves and started to run towards me.

"Do you need any help Soren, they look pretty strong." I scoffed at Ace, "You insult me." Holding up my hands, I rushed forward to meet the horde. Knowing that they were only husks controlled by shadows was a relief. I didn't have to worry about being infected,' I wonder if I could resist a zombie bit. I should make one.'

Reaching the first zombie, I blocked his wild strike before landing a palm strike that sent it flying. Using my palms, I did minimal damage as I infected half of them. I was almost empty when I jumped back before creating a bone wall around them.

"Hey, what's going on? Why aren't you fighting us?" I looked down on the crowd of zombies from my perch on the wall with a notebook in hand. Ignoring the question, I started my diagnostics, "Are any of you feeling the following symptoms. Fever, sweat, loss of taste, smell, or any other senses. Wait, can you guys even smell?"

"What kind of question is that, of course, we can smell. But now that you mention it, I can't anymore." I smiled, "Thank you for answering my question. I wonder if my virus will return your shadows."

Suddenly one of the zombies collapsed, his body covered in large black welts. Feeling a connection with the body, I forced it to stand. Then clenching my fist, the zombie exploded, sending black liquid and rotting flesh everywhere.

I watched impassively as the disease spread at an impressive rate. And each time one of the zombies collapsed, I saw a shadow slip away into the forest seeking out its original body. When the zombies were all dead, I lit a match to burn the bodies.

Right now, I was playing with fire. If one of the viruses' had mutated and escaped my control, I didn't want it to become the equivalent of the black plague. Getting rid of the bone wall, I walked back over to ace, "That was pretty cold, Soren, even for zombies. They had some level of intelligence."

I shrugged, "Zombie isn't the right word for them, more like bodies infused with a person's shadow. Also, do you want to deal with our visitor?"

Ace smiled and sent a small ember flying through the air that landed on a tree a few yards away. The dry tree almost exploded as flames licked the bark, but part of the fire broke away from the tree and started to roll on the ground.

Absalom revealed himself as he extinguished the last remnant flames, "What was that for you bastard. First, you kill my men, then light me on fire. What the hell is your problem."

"You're not the victim here." Ace screamed, pointing at Absalom accusingly, "We did what we came for, and now we're going to leave."

Absalom laughed, "You don't just get to leave. Just imagine what Moria could do with the shadows of a division commander and Fire Fist Ace." Ace burst into flames making Absalom take a step back, "If you think I let you take my shadow, you have another thing coming."

As Absalom and Ace faced off against each other, I looked around, "I'll let the two of you settle this out." Grabbing my pack, I started to walk away, "What!? Soren, where do you think you're going."

"I have a date. Make sure not to set the forest on fire." I waved over my shoulder, leaving the two of them to sort it out themselves. I wanted to find the second of the Mysterious Four, Perona. I decided it was about time I start looking for potential crewmates.

Thinking about her personality, I realized just the thing to make her come to my side