Mana Pool Snippets - The Days After

Four

"John" stared down at the woman like a drunk hyped up on drugs. She did nothing but shiver in fear, traumatized by the gruesome murder. The zombie then jumped at her, the woman screamed, and he jammed the lower jaw into the woman's right temple before driving his foot into her spine.

Ten seconds.

A newscaster described the event as her cameraman captured the footage. As if the zombie were annoyed, he took a stick from the ground and hurled it at the newscaster's right shoulder. The cameraman dropped his equipment to grab her, but the deep wound was oozing blood fast from a severed vein.

Afterwards the zombie turned and screamed at Jaruka. Blood dripped off his eyes down his thin cheeks as he started running at the Halcunac.

Without his honor dead, he was still able to sense magical energies and he felt them from the zombie—the deep, black magic from Area 51. The zombie's mouth was wide, baring his cavities. His muscles bulked up with every step, but that tipped Jaruka off. Enthralled zombies never bulk up that much, especially with a victim so thin before.

Which meant....

The zombie slammed into the inner shield. The shield rebounded the force, sailing the zombie twenty feet back where he landed on his feet.

"Mercenary!" He yelled, silencing the crowd. "You coward! Fight me!"

"I'll pass," Jaruka said, but the garbled voice became familiar. "Wait...Griffon?"

The right side of the zombie's face went numb, down to the bobbling eyeball and his right arm was next.

"Look wha...that punk Dunne did to me!" He grunted. "I...this human was difficult to take...This...this pain. By Jove. What happened? What did that...pecker do to me!?" He paused for a breath. "Tell me—AH!"

His left knee and shin broke by itself, without action from the zombie. Bone cracked and muscle ripped apart, but the zombie kept his stance. The soldiers aimed their rifles, but did not fire even though the zombie attack across the country days ago permeated their minds.

"I'm immortal! This...cannot be happening!"

Jaruka smirked. "Well. I'll give points to Scott. He crippled you good. Must be running on empty, right, Griffon? From the rapid decay, I'd say five minutes."

"Who's Griffon?" Deryl asked.

"The one that captured me, Scott, and the sorceress."

"Right," Deryl said and half raised his Sig Saur. "Wait. Sorceress?"

"Don't bother."

The zombie yelled with a hand on his chest. "The host's heart and kidney ruptured. Good deduction, Halcunac," Griffon said.

"Make that seconds." Jaruka sneered.

There was another bone snap. The zombie made irregular breaths as he held the left side of his chest.

"Y-You think you're safe?" The zombie said, he gave a small laugh, but winced as he spoke. "You won't...last a week on...this planet. Gah. Just wait, Halcunac. I will get you, and those kids."

"I'll make sure you don't." Jaruka showed his pistol, not pointing it in any direction in particular. "They are my watchers, and witnesses."

The zombie licked his lips, tasting the blood. "My people will enjoy watching you die. Just you wait."

Jaruka glanced back at the dropship. Scott and Katie were outside with their totems. Scott stood rigid with a hand on his chest scar, Katie kept him from getting closer.