Delta 6 (The Pack)

Chapter 27

Warnings: None

     ~Rob's P.O.V.~

     "Oh dear Notch, he's going to die!"

Teleporting such a large distance has sapped a lot of my energy, but any exhaustion I might have felt is gone in an instant as a rumbling ghostly roar shakes the earth. Granted I should have warned Preston of the lockdown sequence that undoubtedly triggered since I didn't give him the word to deactivate it, but I didn't and now the dragon entity guarding my stronghold is probably mauling him to pieces.

"Okay this is no time to panic, Rob," I remind myself, taking a deep breath and conjuring a magical blast. "Just get in there, shut down the system, and pray that you're not too late."

A cloud of dirt, dust, and stones fly up into the air as I blast away the ground, thundering down the hidden stairs and breaking down the iron bars blocking the way with a wave of my hand. Angry red light fills my vision, my fears confirmed as I behold the chaos before me. All my beacons are a vibrant red, the waterfalls have turned to lava, and Spirit, my magic mist dragon, is growling and roaring in frustration as it claws at a crack in the wall. I squint and see the faintest glow of a lava blob wedged into a small crack in the stone wall. At least Preston had half a brain to hide using his powers. Spirit rumbles a ticked off bellow, puffs of smoke spurting from its nostrils. Spirit reads up, wings spread and mouth hinged open as a brilliant white light begins to swirl in the back of it's mouth.

"SPIRIT!" I scream, teleporting to pop up in front of the mighty dragon. Sprint snaps it's jaws shut, landing back on all fours and looking at me quizzically before glaring daggers at the wall. "He is a friend, I sent him here but forgot to warn him. Thank you for your help, but please stand down."

Spirit snorts, lashing it's tail, but turns and bounds back towards the tree where it vanishes into the bark itself. The lava morons back into water, the beacons return to their normal blue, the red flames on the large quartz chandelier turn back blue, and just like that it's over. I sigh in relief, resting a hand on my pounding heart in a feeble attempt to soothe it.

"Preston...? It's ok, you can come out now. Are you hurt?"

After a short pause, the bright lava squished in the crease begins to wobble and slowly but surely ooze out onto the floor. The puddle of Preston then rises up and he turns back into his normal self, eyes screwed shut and shaking slightly as he hugs himself. There's a small cut on his forehead, dripping blood, but other than that he seems fine. A wave of guilt crashes into me, and I frown, stepping forward and laying a tentative hand on his shoulder. Which... probably isn't the best idea as he's clearly still shaken up and his skin is scaling hot. A sting of heat reminds me of this, and I snap my hand back hastily.

     "I'm so sorry... I should have warned you..." I mumble, rubbing the back of my neck. He crack open an eye, waiting for an explanation, and I look anywhere but at him. "This stronghold is under a constant security system. If you enter without saying the passcode, well... you know what happens. In my haste to go help Vikk-that's the guy we saved-I forgot to tell you."
"It's okay..." Preston states, offering a tiny smile, "You didn't mean to."
Oh thank Notch, "Thanks, I'm just happy you're not dead. Now come on, we should go back and see how Vikk is doing. I know you're skeptical, but he seems like a nice fella."
"Sure thing....

...

by the way what is the password?"

~~~

"Silver!"

At the call of her name, Silver jumps up from her dozing position in the warm sun, and comes barreling across the field towards Preston. He runs ahead, laughing and spinning her around as she leaps into his arms, waggling like a worm and nearly knocking him to the ground.

"You saved me girl! I would've been dead without you!"

Silver barks in delight, tail a blur as she bounds around Preston's feet, clearly relieved that her master is alive and well. I smile patiently, gnawing on a carrot as the two dance around adorably for a second.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but we should probably go meet Vikk. Once were all settled, we should make a game plan. Remember we kinda of have to save the world."
Preston stops dead in his tracks, his face suddenly becoming serious. "Right. Let's go."

The three of us turn, and we walk up to my door. Turning the knob, I push it open, stepping inside.

"Hey Vikk, we're back!" I call down the stairs.

As Preston and Silver follow me inside, and I shut the door, there is no response from downstairs.

"Huh, that's strange. Maybe he fell asleep." I ponder, wiping my shoes on the coarse doormat.

Preston shrugs, descending down into the basement while I summon a bowl filled with fresh raw mutton and set it down in front of Silver. Her tongue lolls out, and she immediately shoves her face into the dish.

"There you go, girl. You deser-"
"AHHHH!"

Every warning bell goes off in my head and without hesitation, I turn on my heel and thunder down the stairs, since obviously something has gone very, very wrong.

"Preston!? Vikk!? What's- OH MY NOTCH."

To be honest, I didn't really know what I was expecting to see. However, Preston being wrestled to the floor by a Vikk who is clearly infected with a zombie virus to the point where he IS one, was not high up on the list. His skin is a dark sickly green, starting to deteriorate and fall off his face and arms. His eyes are bloodshot and have a gauzy film over them, and he's stiffly wrestling with Preston, his twists out of his grasp and retreats behind me.

"That's Vikk!?"
"He wasn't like this when I left! He must have been infected and we didn't notice!" I mutter, both of us diving out of the way Vikks fist swings and instead hits the wall, a finger literally snapping off.
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't know!" I scream, glancing at Vikks gem which has black cracks running through it. He groans angrily, shuffling towards Preston. "I don't know any spells that- wait."

Hastily crossing over to my spell book, I leaf through the pages, my eyes scanning all the spells listed under the Aether class.

"Here! Zombie purity.... cure any infected mob or human. Does not work on regular zombies or drowned. Warning... this is an extremely draining spell, only to be used in emergencies, in which the caster gives up a large portion of their life force to cure the other party. May result in fainting, one to three days without magic, a cracked gem, or... death..."
Preston's eyes widen, and he shakes his head wildly, still dodging around zombie Vikk. "Rob, don't even think about it! We can't afford to risk it right now! There has to be another way!"

I study the conjuring of the spell, silently shutting the book, and focusing my energy.

"Rob, NO! Your power still isn't fully restored from teleporting and doing so many magic things already today!"

Screwing my eyes shut and preparing for the worst, dash forwards, plans outstretched towards Vikks heart. Preston tries to jump in front of me, but it's too late.

"ROB-"

~~~
Question of the chapter:

Who knew Vikk was going to turn into a zombie? What do you think will happen next?