Chapter 6: The aftermath

Roy remembered his mother, his stern father, his cute sister. He remembered his competitions, his school days, all of it. He desperately pushed against the mindless general that had once guided him through the desert a short while. On his back, with tears streaming down his face, he fought for his life.

Then the general froze, Roy finally managing to get him off. In panic and shock he scooted back, barely registering what was happening. Then slowly he came to his senses, watching Mia stab the general multiple times in the head.

Stab. Stab. Stab…the general moves no more. Roy looked around, looking for Tony. The man was covered in blood, covered in bites and scratches, holding himself up with his trusted spear, seemingly unconscious…hopefully unconscious.

Then, behind Tony he saw William sitting, his two batons covered in blood. From head to toe, he was battered with injuries. Barely breathing, but still holding onto his weapons. Then Roy heard the steps, turning, he saw Mikael walking, with a thin pointy blade and a saber, comparatively in better shape, but still injured heavily. Then he looked in the direction Mikael was walking and he wished he didn't.

A dead man was kneeling eating away at a lifeless body.

Mikael approached slowly, swung his blade, decapitating the teenager who had once brought them important information from the introduction. Looking back, he spoke:

"Mia, that thing is dead, stop. William is in bad shape, go help him"

Mia finally stopped, clearly distressed, looked up at him and then quickly ran to William. Roy finally stood up and ran up to Tony.

"Uncle, you okay? Wake up, come on, uncle wake up" Roy touched his shoulder and Tony started falling. The boy, already realizing what had happened, didn't want to believe it. He caught him mid-fall. Slowly put him down and started pressing on his chest repeatedly, tears running down his face, he did not give up, holding onto hope. Then he felt Mikaels' hand on his shoulder.

"Kid, he's gone…I'm sorry"

Roy looked up, his face full of despair and sorrow. He sat down and buried his head into his knees, as if it would help him hide from the world.

Mikael looked at the boy for a few seconds and then limped away looking for items they failed to pick up. They had killed all 58. Around thirty that appeared first, were joined by the rest soon enough. He had a tough time at first himself, but the stiletto that dropped after the first couple kills had been very useful at short range.

Tony wasn't so lucky, his inexperience with the spear left him borderline defenseless at short range, forcing him to keep the dead away with what he was born with. He still fought valiantly, slaying many, it was his crisis that had distracted Makoto who ended up dead because of it.

William on the other hand was well accustomed to short range, but his weapons weren't too great for stabbing, which was necessary to kill the dead quickly. If not for his skill, he would likely not survive. At some point they realized that the nape of their necks was key to killing them, which quickened the process, but the damage was done. Roy had been useful, helping those who were swarmed, but he could only do so much.

Mikael looked at his saber, he was not very good with it, but somehow he was progressing quickly, by the end he had started to behead the dead with ease. The stiletto had clearly been a good choice, it never got stuck and allowed him to lodge it deep, reaching the backs of their brains.

Picking up all the items, he walked to William and Mia, sitting down next to them. William was on the edge, but he seemed to be improving. With Mia's medical record, she knew what to focus on, eliminating the most damaging injuries, right now she was focusing on the bite on his neck, after she addressed the potential artery damage on his thigh. Mikael was sure that William could be saved, he hoped that she could do enough in one hour to improve his condition to a manageable level. Meanwhile he washed his own wounds with some water.

He had collected a vial with red liquid that dropped for Roy. Leather bracers that dropped for Tony. A small orb that dropped for Makoto and a strange looking black stone that was dropped for him with the last kill. Holding it in his hand, he felt calmer and that seemed to be it, however soon he noticed a current running through his hand. As he moved his fingers, a small electric current played between them.

Around an hour later Mia seemed to be too tired, so she lied down and went to sleep. At this point, William looked much better other than the many injuries that had only begun to heal. Roy had not moved, but Mia going to sleep seemed to get him going, as he stood up, walked to Mikael and picked up the vial. As he drank it, nothing changed until he started looking at his fingers, from which claws began to grow, not very sharp, but enough to cut skin if force was used. Then he turned around, walked to Makoto's corpse and brought her next to Tony.

He began to dig with his new claws, by the time Mia woke up, he was already done, putting their bodies in the two holes he dug. The three gathered around the graves, while Roy filled them with land. When he was done, William spoke simply:

"It was an honor"

Then Mikael turned to the horizon and spoke.

"A storm is coming"