Father David rushes towards a man covered in insects, his skin gradually being torn off and his blood aggressively drained. The priest's brow furrows in anguish as the survivor collapses, dead before he even hits the ground. Henrick, meanwhile, gets a closer look at the insects before killing them. They seem to be a mix of common insects, simply larger, bloodthirsty, and heavily mutated.
The crinkle of the chip bag sends waves of sadness through Henrick's heart, the thought of the little rascal's death weighing heavily on his mind. Roaring in ager, Henrick unleashes bolts of electricity that indiscriminately attacks the insects and the survivors that are covered in them.
Electricity arcs off the recovering swarm, slaughtering dozens at a time, as Henrick unleashes bolt after bolt of electricity in his sorrow. The soldier spots Selene standing amidst the carnage, watching Bobby being drained and eaten, and decides to towards her direction.
"Selene, we have to go!" shouts Father David as they approach, his body slightly quivering from the exertion or perhaps from fear. Selene continues staring at Bobby's rapidly withering carcass, completely oblivious to the duo's presence.
The priest grabs her arm and gives it a firm shake, bringing her back from her daze. "What's the point? My brother is dead. He was killed a long time ago. I have nothing to keep me going." she says, tears spilling as she collapses to her knees. Henrick frowns as he rushes forward and puts her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, stunning the elf-like woman.
A cacophony of animalistic screeches suddenly cut through the buzzing of the swarm, as a group of mutated monsters burst down from the manhole entrances. Abominations mutated to varying levels and types work in tandem with the insects to orchestrate a gruesome play.
The soldier starts sprinting towards a random sewer channel, the priest chasing after him with all his might. Father David winces as the tormented screams of dying survivors echo throughout the camp behind them. The group continue running through the sewer interceptor channels, only now realising that a lot of the pathways have been cut off and buried in rubble.
Selene remains motionless on Henrick's shoulder as the soldier is forced to take another path. "The world above is screwed, and so is the underground. Where do we go from here?" he mutters as they finally make it to a manhole.
Henrick stares at the manhole above, and with a grunt of exertion, leaps straight up to the top of the ladder. He removes the manhole cover and swiftly climbs out, offering a hand and pulling David up faster. The priest places the cover back and puts his hands to his knees. "What now? Where do we go?" he asks, desperation evident in his voice.
Looking around, they realise that only broken buildings and abandoned cars surround them, safety is nowhere to be found.
They press flat against a car as a group of mutated creatures rush past. Henrick scowls as he considers his options. "How about that camp outside the city?" he asks with a frown. Selene chuckles at that, finding the idea of shelter to be useless. Father David places a comforting hand on her shoulder as he looks at Henrick.
"They were in one of the state parks, but the signal kept cutting off when they were saying which." says the priest, exhaustion lining his face as he stares at the purple sky above. Henrick scowls at the information, but composes himself, understanding that anger will only make them slip up.
Henrick moves to speak but the distant whirring of helicopter blades and explosions draw their attention. A thought occurs to the soldier as he peeks out of their cover to see a military chopper approaching. Father David's eyes light up in relief, but darken as a large mutated brute leaps off a roof and smashes into the chopper cockpit.
The brute strikes the chopper's windshield repeatedly with animalistic ferocity, the vehicle shuddering each time it does so. It leaps upwards and gets mutilated by the rotor blades, but mangles them in the process. The air vehicle spins out of control and slams into the base of a building. The groaning of concrete and metal can be heard as the already damaged building tilts, threatening to fall and crush the chopper completely.
Henrick sees a female pilot dragging a man out of the wreckage, and debates going to help them. A chorus of inhuman shrieks, however, give him pause. Multiple mutated creatures, attracted by the noise, rush towards the crash site intent on slaughtering anything that moves.
With a frown, he decides to head the opposite way. Father David, however, chooses to speak up at that moment. "Henrick, we can't just leave them!" says the priest, concussive energy building up on his hands as he prepares to intervene. Henrick grabs David's arm as the priest tries to run towards the soldiers. "What are you thinking?! This is no time to play hero! Look at how many of those things there are!!"
David shrugs Henrick's arm off as he whispers harshly. "What kind of person would I be if I abandoned them? I couldn't do much in the camp, but I am more than capable of giving those two a fighting chance!" Henrick curses to himself as Father David propels himself forward with concussive blasts before he can react. The priest arrives next to the two injured soldiers and supports them as he rushes back towards Henrick.
Henrick unceremoniously drops Selene on the ground, the woman hardly reacting, and releases a bolt of electricity at a mutated monstrosity leaping towards them. He enhances his body with lightning and rushes towards David and the soldiers, reaching them in a few seconds.
The electricity wielder covers David's retreat as he slaughters dozens of abominations, his manic smile threatening to return. The female soldier suddenly throws up blood as she falls alongside her unconscious companion. "Damn it! Adrenaline kept her going, but she's as good as dead, David!" Henrick shouts as he notes the amount of blood coming out of her mouth and how pale she's already become.
"No! There has to be something we can do!" the priest shouts as he picks them both up and laboriously continues moving. Henrick whirls around when David gets cut by a monster that accidentally gets past him, and brutally gouges out its eyes as he electrocutes it.
Father David drops both soldiers, his back bleeding aggressively, and his vision swimming at the sudden pain. Making a split second decision, Henrick grabs David and Selene as he runs, leaving the soldiers behind. "Henrick! No!" screams the priest in protest, watching helplessly as the soldiers are torn apart by the ravenous horde.
Henrick runs and runs, unsure of where to go at this point. He sees a fairly small apartment building and goes inside to rest. The soldier finds an open apartment and rushes inside, making sure that there aren't any mutated monsters. With a huff, he drops Selene and David.
Snarling, Henrick grabs the Father by the shirt, bringing him to eye level. "You could have gotten us all killed. We can't save everyone! Don't you get that?" he whispers harshly as David stares in defiance. "I had to try! I couldn't do anything to save anyone!! What use are my powers then?" the priest answers back, pushing Henrick away.
Father David's ragged breathing cuts through the silence as he steps closer to Henrick, anger marring his face. "We survived, but at what cost?" he asks, but is quickly lifted off the ground as Henrick uses both hands to manhandle him. The soldier's face is a mask of calm as his electric blue eyes glow with an unsettling intensity. "At any cost. We do not have the luxury or the power to do what we want, only what we can." he says, almost gently, as he places David down.
Grabbing the backpack from David, Henrick places it down and takes bottled water and canned foods for the three of them. "Eat. Keep your strength up, then we rest." he commands, already opening a can for himself. David sits on the ground as he glares hatefully at the sky above. In silence, he starts eating, occasionally glaring at Henrick too. All the while, Selene remains motionless on the floor as her tears never stopped pouring.
After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, Selene sits up and mechanically eats her meal. Father David finishes his meal and clenches his fists, pondering what just happened. "Why was the camp attacked? It felt so sudden." he asks no one in particular as he slumps down in defeat.
Selene's ears twitch at that, but remains silent and suddenly becomes very focused on her meal. Henrick, who has been silently watching her, feels a surge of white hot rage simmering just underneath his skin as he stands to his full imposing height. "You...what did you do?" he asks, almost demands, as he steps closer. Father David stands in shock as he then steps in between them. "Henrick, what's gotten into you?"
The soldier ignores David, and presses further. "What did you do?!" he almost shouts as electricity suddenly lashes out towards the surroundings. Selene looks at Henrick and smiles mirthlessly as she drops her food, her eyes bloodshot in sorrow. "I was above ground when the swarm passed by overhead." she says, chuckling, as magical energy swirls around her and her eyes take on a more crazed look.
"I lured them in."
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END