An Agent Named Nicolas Flint

Case Three part 1

A magic marker? Really? I guess if Witches and Trolls are real, a marker could be magic. I debated asking if other things are real like Bigfoot or aliens but knew it was not the right time for such a conversation. I stayed behind Nick as we checked inside empty rooms, on high alert and expecting to encounter danger at any moment. My nerves felt fried in just a few minutes. Every faint sound made me tense and look around, simply to find nothing there. Nick didn't appear as stressed but his face never looked as if he was experiencing much of anything. My hand kept hovering above my holster ready to draw if needed. I thought I was ready for this kind of case, but when the danger finally showed itself, I was proven very wrong.

We found ourselves walking through a curved hallway while clearing rooms. When Nick went inside, I kept a lookout on the hallway. He was never gone for more than a few minutes. So far, I didn't see any signs of death or distress. The building appeared normal aside from the emergency lights and lack of residents. I heard a sound coming from the room Nick went inside of. I was about to rush over to check on him when something else caught my attention: I had heard groaning from a few feet away.

Panicked, I turned my head to find the source. A man wearing a lab coat was shuffling down the hallway in an uneven gait. He bumped against walls and nearly tripped over his own feet. I choked in fear after seeing him. His face was pale and this man looked and acted like a fresh zombie. And for good reason! Out from his chest sprouted a bulb that was about the size of my head. I could see vines growing from the parasitic bulb going into the man's chest. When he raised a hand, more vines poked out from his skin showing his entire body was infected with them under his flesh. I drew my handgun and prepared to fire, when more noises came from behind me.

Four more of the infected were coming down the hallway. These men were dressed in SWAT gear from head to toe with the exception of the heavy-duty vest, which had been removed to make room for the bulbs. I didn't know if the infection made them take the vests off, or if they were caught before they were fully suited up. They groaned as they bumped against each other.

I let out a yell of surprise when Nick came shooting out from the dark room. He didn't say a word. Taking off like a bullet, he attacked the group of SWAT men in a blur of motion I couldn't fully follow. His form a graceful blur of attacks. I listened for the sound of his sword but didn't hear it.

Instead of the delicate sword he normally used, in his hand was a thin line of black. It was a blade almost four feet long. It sliced through the men and their gear as if they were nothing. My stomach turned as they fell to pieces.

And it wasn't just my stomach. My head felt light and I almost fainted at the sight of four people being turned into chunks. The vines inside their bodies covered most of the gore but I still couldn't look over at them for very long. It was enough for me to forget about the man wearing the lab coat as he shuffling closer.

I gasped, turning with my gun raised. He was almost within arm's reach, his hand raised and milky eyes staring without emotion. The bulb started to get bigger as his face hollowed out. I froze, watching as the man appeared to be drained as the thing on his chest started to open. If I didn't pull the trigger in the next second, I would be dead. My finger twitched and yet, I couldn't do it. I was unable to put enough pressure into that one digit to save my life.

Nick was the one who saved me yet again. He knew he couldn't get around me in time. Instead, he wrapped one arm around my chest to drag my body back and out of harms away as his other hand wrapped around my own holding the gun. He was the one who forced my finger down on the trigger and took the recoil of the weapon as it fired. With perfect aim, he fired three shots. One into the heart, the brain and the bulb. Just when it looked as if the bulb would open, the bullets tore through the threat. The man collapsed, and the bulb shriveled up, now dead along with the host.