The Last Colony

Part 20

Mark kept the pace of his truck slow. They had the whole truck boxed in with their vehicles. It wasn't long before the combined noises of the vehicles got the attention of a small hoard. Mark hated the feeling of being trapped in the middle with a circling hoard. These people were so calm about it though. As the hoard came at them, Death removed his long scythe and addressed them neutrally. "Hold your ground. Face death without fear." Mark watched with a blatant horrified expression. The people closet to the hoard, hopped off their vehicles and formed a line to stare down the hoard. They had to of lost their minds! Three lickers slowly approached them, their snake like necks tilting at odd angles to observe what they were doing. Mark didn't like this. There had to be more zombies hidden in the dark. They were just waiting for the Lickers to start them into a frenzy. This was insane! The Lickers walked up on the line, their long tongues slithering out of their expanded jaws.

The tongues licked up the bodies on the people in front of them. Mark was slightly impressed by the people's fearless insanity. After a good lick, the Lickers looked like they were no longer interested in the line and started to turn away. Mark couldn't believe his eyes. Why had they lost interest? They were walking back into the dark, when a scream broke out from the back of their group. Mark's heart leapt in his chest, his eyes dropping to the side mirror. All he saw was a Hunter jumping out of the darkness to slam a woman into the back of a truck. Pinning her against the truck, the Hunter tore into her throat and flesh like a frenzied animal. Mark held his breath, glancing back toward the Lickers. The Lickers were turning back to face the line again with hissing grins. The people on the line still held their ground. Even when the Lickers spun around, lashing their tongues out like whips to wrap around the necks of people along the line. The people were yanked clear off their feet and dragged across the ground toward the Lickers. Bloodcurdling screams and snarls started filling the open night air.

Still the people held their ground and not a single person opened fire! Mark rolled his window down only enough to yell out in frustration. "What are you doing?! Help them!" Not a soul moved or lifted their guns. What was wrong with them? The ground started to shake, and Mark exhaled his breath feeling defeated. It was a Juggernaut. The Juggernaut was as big as the trucks with hardened skin and if they charged... they could easily slam into tanks hard enough to destroy them. He had even seen them take tank guns to the chest on the news and still they charged on! The Juggernaut stopped a few feet away, its body tensing. Mark's hands shook on the wheel. It was going to charge at them and if it did... It would come straight toward him with little resistance. It was at that moment that Death rode out as a bell began to toll with a haunting deep melody. The sentries that had been running up behind the Juggernaut, skidded to a halt to screech in agony. The sound of the bells gonging was forcing them to retreat.

The motorcyclists suddenly whizzed around the trucks and around Death's horse. With small handheld scythes, they began cutting down the Lickers and Hunters as they dashed by them. The Hunters chased after a few bikes, allowing other riders to cut them down. The people along the line began pulling out canisters and popping pins. Tossing them out before them and causing a thick smoke to cloud them from view. Mark watched with fascination as the Lickers started coughing and curling their tongues back from the smoke. Was it hurting them? In the swirling cloud cover, Death faced down the Juggernaut. Removing his long scythe, Death spun it in his hand and kicked his horse straight toward the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut charged in response. Mark couldn't look away. This guy was the very definition to having a death wish! There was no way he could kill that thing like that. Right before they were to collide, Death turned his horse to pass by the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut didn't stop.

It had too much speed now. It would go until it hit something hard enough to slow or stop it. Mark froze in place, his eyes locked on Death. Death's horse made a shocking three-sixty turn and resumed running up behind the Juggernaut. Holding his scythe high, Death slashed out at the Juggernaut's back. With a deep roar, the Juggernaut arched its back and stumbled on its feet to tumble to the ground. The Juggernaut barely slid to a stop before the line of people. Mark could see a deep wound across its bare lower back. The Juggernaut rose up on its hulking arms, bellowing a roar to the line before Death rode up to slash at it this time across the back of its neck. Then it went down for good. Death trotted his horse down the line as the last of the hoard was dealt with, telling them sternly. "Those that died were faced with death and were afraid. Their cowardice killed them. A true Death Stalker can look into the eyes of death and live! Now let's move out!" Death kicked his horse into a bolt to get back up to the front, leaving everyone to load themselves back up onto their vehicles.