The Long Night (III)

Ada caressed the channeling rod, holding it tightly to her chest. The cold steel numbed her fingers. Even so, she didn't let go.

She sat at the window, staring out from the second floor of Kal's moss-coated cottage. Flames and fury filed through the streets. She watched, silent and empty, as the world outside wrestled with its newfound hell. Terror overflowing. Boundless agony.

And… Kay.

Ada shook her head, drawing herself away from the window.

Why am I thinking of him? She thought, bitterly. He'll always be the bastard of Halmer, in name and title, even if he claims a lost memory. So many in the household died because of his conduct, his defiance. And now, Kal - simple Kal - will be another in the long list of dead to fall at his feet. Damn that boy...

The door behind her creaked open slightly. Ada stood, letting the channeling rod drop to her side, her fist tight around the handle. Two young faces stared through the gap of the door, huddled together and shivering. Ada sighed, loosening her grip on the rod.

"You can come in," she said.

Kal's charges, two girls, stepped in. Their hair was tattered and mottled, their faces were dirtied with mud. Dark stains spotted their dresses in a discord of muddy pigments. Kal was a good man, Ada knew. But, rearing children wasn't one of his forte's. He needed a wife, or at least someone that had the capacity to look after the girls while he was out at sea.

"It's okay," Ada cooed. The girls approached, nervously. Ada beckoned them closer. "It's okay, come. Come."

Guppy, the taller of the two stepped forward first. "What's happening outside?" She asked. "It sounds scary."

Ada stepped over to Guppy and placed her hand on her head. Guppy flinched momentarily, stiffening, before finally easing into Ada's gentle touch.

"It'll be okay," Ada lied. "It'll all be okay."

The other girl, Tetra, tugged at Ada's skirt. Her eyes, violet like lavender, were glazed with fear and despair. "Uhm," she started. "Where is Uncle Kal?"

Ada knelt to Tetra's height and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "He's gone to get someone. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

Tetra began to tear up, sniffling. "Uncle Kal went outside," she said, wailing. "I can hear bad things out there!"

Guppy, too, began to cry. Ada wrapped her arms around the girls, fighting back a deep sickness and tears of her own. "He'll be back," Ada said. "He'll be back, I promise."

The girls sobbed, huddled in Ada's tender embrace, muttering prayers beneath their breath. Ada spoke with hushed assurance, repeating her promise over and over. In the end, it was more for her than the girls in her arms. She lamented her own callous greed.

Why do I always think about myself? She thought, silent tears flowing down her cheeks. Am I really that selfish? No… No, I can't be.

Ada pushed herself away, leaving one hand on each girl's shoulder. Through her tears she looked each girl in their eyes and said: "I will protect you, okay? I promise!"

The girls nodded together, their eyes red and puffy, snot running from their noses.

I will protect them, Ada affirmed. I won't leave them.

Then, a loud crash sounded downstairs.

.

.

.

The months of training with Viktor forged my body into something beyond what I thought possible. It moved without effort or thought, as if my body were a marionette guided by a great puppet-master. Everything within me was connected, working in unison, strung together by drills and practice.

My once heavy and stout office-worker frame was replaced by a body not only younger, but stronger and more capable than I ever had been. I was dexterous. Powerful.

And, where Viktor moved like lightning, and struck like a volcano, the infected woman seemed slow and heavy as if moving underwater. She swung, her claw-like hand meeting only air. I planted a kick hard in her stomach, pushing her back.

"Grab me something. Steel, wood, anything!" I barked at Kal. "Hurry!"

"W-what, from wh-"

"Just do it!" I screamed, dodging the lunging woman. Her claw nearly nicked me.

Was she faster just then?

Behind me, Kal scrambled for a weapon. Frantic, shaking, his eyes glazed over alleys and yards as he stumbled around, too stressed to think straight.

"Kay, I need you to hurry!" I said. The woman stepped closer, hissing as she did. Her neck was rotting away, the skin rapidly deteriorating. It seemed as if it were going to fall off at any point. As she stepped into range, I prepared a right hook. Something within my stomach twisted. I stopped and jumped backwards a few steps, putting some distance between us.

That was close, I thought. It'll be better to use my feet for now, incase this is a 'one bite, you're out' scenario.

"Kal!" I said. "I'm going to need you to hurry the hell up, okay!"

The woman jumped forward, throwing a hard, horizontal swipe. I dodged it just in time. My heart beat heavily in my chest, pulsing through my body as my fear drove me onwards. Every ounce of my being stood on edge.

That settles it, I thought. She's getting faster!

"Goddamnit Kal, if you don't get me something to use in five seconds I'm going to-"

"Here!" Kal said, pushing a fence rail into my hands.

"Okay!" I said. "Let's go!"

With the rail in hand, I dove towards the woman and slammed it hard across her face. Her head cracked to the side, tearing the rotted neck up, to lean limp on her shoulder. From the gaping wound, I saw movement.

"Circle around!" I ordered. Kal and I moved past the woman, now flailing about widely. I tasted vomit in my mouth, and swallowed. The scent of ash and blood lingered in the air. Death and destruction. The taste of the end.

More infected appeared from the alleyways ahead.

"Keep moving!" I ordered. Kal, by my side, heaved heavy breaths. He looked pale. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"Not far now," I said. "Not far now."

.

.

.

The door of Kal's house lay shattered before us, broken into splinters and shards on the floor. Inside, the walls and floor were painted with blood. Bodies of the infected lay still on the floor, their torsos destroyed.

It seems they can be stopped, I thought. But this seems too much.

"Guppy! Tetra!" Kal cried, sprinting past.

"Kal! Be careful," I snapped, but he was already up the staircase.

Following carefully behind, I checked each room for any signs of danger. No point getting here if we just get trapped upstairs.

"Guppy! Tetra!" Kal's voice was muffled by the distance, but I could still hear him from downstairs.

No sign of Ada, either, I noted. Or the channeling rod.

Kal came bounding down the stairs, his face a twisted mess of panic. "They're not here!"

I shook my head, cursing.

"We should leave," I said, looking at the bodies on the ground. "It's not safe here."

"W-what if they come back?" Kal asked, stammering. His pale complexion appeared almost translucent under the candlelight of the home. Sweat dripped from above his brow.

I took a step back.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

Kal, through sharp breaths, nodded and said: "I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired."

"Didn't get bitten," I asked. "Or scratched, or anything?"

Kal shook his head, eyebrow raised. "No, why do you ask?"

I eyed him cautiously, looking him up and down. "It's nothing," I said. "We should go. The girls won't come back, not if they're with Ada. She's too sharp to do something so stupid. Let's regroup with Lord Trigg first, and then we can comb the city for them."

Kal nodded, wobbling slightly. He stepped forward and stumbled, falling onto my shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice soft. "I get like this if I haven't eaten in a while. I-I'm feeling really quite tired. Maybe… Maybe we could rest a bit."

The telltale hissing of the infected sounded from outside. A group, by the sound of it.

I turned my back to Kal and knelt slightly. "We don't have time. Jump on my back," I said. "I'm going to carry you out."