The Walkers: The Return

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Hearing Damage" – Thom Yorke

Since becoming a Walker, sound was a different experience. I heard everything. The crack of the wood as we crashed to the pit below; the dust rising from every nook and crevice as they split open beneath us; the flutter of the insects that had taken residence in the ground, everything. More importantly, as we descended deeper, I could hear the shocked and angry cries of the leeches waiting below.

We touched down in the cellar, the ancient ground cracking as we hit it in succession. I turned my gaze up and took inventory of the 10 or more leeches of varying heights and physicality bent over several dead humans. Briefly, I winced as one of the leeches—one with dark hair and darker skin—stood up, her foot crushing the dead human's bones. A wave of nostalgia hit me as the dim memory of Constantine and my bones and body breaking by his hand. I took a step and heard an audible squish. It wasn't until I glanced down that I realized we had fallen into a large heap of drained corpses. The smell of early decay wafted up, but the smell of their venom was stronger.

The tallest vampire stood and moved closer, a glimpse of fear coloring the edges of his eyes. Given his broad shoulders and imposing height, I surmised he was "the muscle" of this particular coven. He glanced back at the others, and I surveyed our prey with a bit of confusion. These blood parties were often hosted by leech lords or those of higher standing. The leeches before us were wearing almost literal rags. Their clothes were dirty, stained with blood and venom. This was what Dex and Shiloh had selected for us?

Having recovered a bit of his confidence, the muscle took a step closer to us, blood dripping down his chin and dotting the floor with each stride. It continued as he said with a thick accent, "Who are you?" Each blood drop dotted his words, giving them strength.

I focused on the muscle, watching the way he moved, predicting the way he would react as I stepped forward and—

I sailed through the air, the first one to attack, and my feet landed on his chest. Catching him by surprise, he stumbled backward before growling and trying to shake me off as the rest of his coven swarmed around him. Yep definitely the leader. My brothers and sisters were quick to offer their assistance, peeling the others off and hurling them across the small space. Their bodies hit the delicate walls with the force of a bulldozer, cracking the foundation and shaking the entire house. As the structure above rained bits of stone on us, I struck the giant leech again, this time leveling him to the ground. Before he had a chance to recover, I gripped his head and pulled it from his shoulders.

A wild cry claimed my attention, and I turned to find a smaller bloodsucker. She screamed wildly, and for a moment, she looked truly animalistic. True, leeches were closer to the animal kingdom than they were human; however, there was a fury behind her wildness that made me groan in agitation. She was bonded to him in some way. I had encountered more than my fair share of bonded pairs in our travels, and it was always the same thing: I kill one, and the other makes a huge passionate show before I take them down.

Sure enough, the tiny red-eyed creature rushed toward me, her eyes already picturing the multiple ways she would make me suffer. Unfortunately, her small stature put her at a significant disadvantage. I sidestepped her assault, and as she turned to start again, I grasped her by the throat. She struggled, snapping and ripping at my hands. To her credit, she managed to get a good solid scratch on my right arm, which started bleeding. Angry that she had struck me at all, I hurled her across the room. She struck the staircase on the opposite side of the room, taking it out under her weight. I was there before she could rise, and I planted my foot on her chest. She flailed under the restraining pressure, but she could not break through my strength. One moment later, I placed the other foot on her neck, and with enough pressure, it was able to pull her head off and throw it across the room.