The blood was hot and sticky, and the downpour was relentless. Thick globs of it soaked through Jenny’s hair. It ran down her face and new armor in ribbons. Every breath she took was stained with its heavy metallic stench, and she felt like she was drowning.
It coated her lungs, her insides, and she felt the blood with every pulse of her heart. Shielding her face with one hand, she tried to blink it out of her eyes. To keep it from dripping down her face. She really wanted to swallow; she could tell just by the scent, by the aroma, that the blood was delicious. That it would hit better than any meal, any drink. She wanted to stick out her tongue and catch every single drop. She wanted to cup her hands and gather a mouthful and slurp it all up and-
Unable to resist, she stuck her tongue out and lapped up what it could off the sides of her mouth. The flavors, rich and savory, coated her tongue, and she felt a wave of dizziness as her body adjusted. No new notification came up. Nothing changed. Of course it wouldn’t; she was already Blooded.
The ghouls hadn’t come out of the ground yet, but everything was bubbling. It felt like they were taking their time, or maybe the blood was making them thicker, heavier... She splashed through some of the liquid, blinking over and over to clear her eye lashes, too aware of the blood dribbling down her back and down her arms. Yeshua was urging the Deaths to gather.
“Stay close!” he shouted. “Stay near to me. I will protect you.” He was gesturing wildly with his arms, like he was trying to herd a flock of sheep, and the Deaths, all their faces frightened and covered in blood, did as he instructed. But as the rain grew thicker, as the blood fell heavier and wetter, it grew increasingly difficult to see.
Jenny fashioned new head gear, dark blue to match her new armor. It covered her hair and the sides of her head – blood dribbled down behind her ears and she suppressed a shudder. She’d included a raised visor to keep the blood out of her eyes. To keep the blood from filling up her nose with every breath. And it was just in time.
Hands reached out from the frothing liquid. Arms stretched upward and out, fingers curling as though the Ghouls were in agony, as though they were drowning in their own substance. A rounded head emerged amidst all that, the two eye holes filling with vapor, filling with blood, and one by one, more heads appeared. They looked like pinkish-reddish flotation devices bobbing on the sea; their limbs could’ve been pool floaties.
But there was something wrong with them. Something different. The first head that appeared was the first ghoul to fully form. On all fours it rose from the bubbling water, blood streaming down its entire body, staining its once white coloring. This creature wasn’t like the ghouls she’d fought before; it was as red as the blood, darkening with every drop of rain.
Blooded Ghoul (NULL)
Blooded? It didn’t cry out. It didn’t call for its father. It didn’t say anything. All it did was groan, moaning and mumbling incoherently – if it was trying to communicate, Jenny couldn’t understand what it was saying over the drumming pitter-patter of blood splattering her armor, splattering the ghouls’ heads and shoulders, and running into their empty eye sockets. Several of them turned their heads upward with their oversized mouths open, even as they struggled to fully emerge. Their teeth glistening as their throats collected blood.
Steam swirled out of their eyes. She hoped they would collapse the way the ghouls who’d eaten from Yeshua’s body had fallen to the ground, becoming pink puddles that drained away. But more and more crawled out of the bubbling puddles. More Blooded Ghouls stretched their limbs and turned their empty eye sockets toward her.
This was going to be a fight. Messier and uglier than before. The first ghoul opened its mouth to reveal two rows of stained teeth. Blood ran down its chin. She half expected it to say something, to call out for its father again, but it scrambled toward her. It batted away reaching arms and legs, kicked its fellow ghouls; it was coming straight for her.
Her hatchet flashed to her hand. More and more Ghouls climbed out of the frothing liquid, and now it felt like she was wading through a flood that came halfway up to her ankles. The first ghoul stumbled, reaching for her, eyes swirling with steam that trailed behind it. Jenny sliced through its elbow with one swing. There was a muted flash of light that made all the rain drops around them glisten, that made the ghoul’s grotesque face shine for a quick second.
+64 Energy
It didn’t burst into liquid. Instead, there was a crack and the arm splintered like wood. And this time, she got Energy from the attack. She was causing pain. The ghoul slipped, clutching its arm and howling, howling so loudly that Jenny wanted to cover her ears. But she was already stepping back, sloshing through the liquids, trying to keep out of reach of the other hands climbing out of the ground.
A wild thrill flickered up to her throat. This was what was missing during her first encounter with these creatures. With a renewed wild frenzy, she struck over and over as more ghouls got to their feet and came after her.
+64 Energy
+64 Energy
+64 Energy
Were there more ghouls this time? She couldn’t tell. Their bodies glistened like shiny red plastic, and in the blood rain, she could hardly keep track. Each of their faces looked the same. Hollowed out eyes. Large mouths filled with blood. Their moans and whimpers swirled around her as she struck. But this wasn’t like before at all. She’d rested. She’d eaten. And she’d invested her stat points. She wasn’t going to be on the defensive this time.
But too many bodies crowded between her and Yeshua and the Deaths. And no matter how many she struck down, more Ghouls kept coming. All the while, the relentless rain pummeled her with blood, making her feel sticky and bogged down. It thickened the air in her lungs, her breath burning with the metallic aftertaste of blood. But the scent egged her on; she wanted more.
The ghouls shrieked like banshees every time she struck them down. They didn’t die, but they’d clatter to the ground, clutching their wounds and wriggling and screaming. She’d wince if they were too close to her ears, but even then, their sounds of agony felt justified. Rage thrummed through her limbs. Rage at how they’d feasted on Yeshua for who knew how long. Rage at what the Deaths had felt trapped in their pillars. Rage at herself. Rage at the worlds. Rage at everyone and everything.
This was almost therapeutic, beating down on the Blooded Ghouls without a care. Their bodies didn’t have bones or flesh or veins. If there was any more liquid coming out of them, it was meaningless in the rain. And they didn’t even die. It didn’t matter if she slit their throats or left a deep gash in their faces or lobbed off their arms. They didn’t die. Most of the injured fell to the ground, others stood helplessly in the swarm, crying like children lost in a crowd before another ghoul knocked them over. It was pathetic. And all the while, she harvested their pain through her Hatchet.
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+64 Energy
+64 Energy
+64 Energy
She punched one in the face, her armor covered knuckles making a satisfying thwack as the ghouls’ face caved in. It collapsed to its knees, fingers digging into its new orifice, and Jenny spun to attack the next ghoul with her hatchet. This was almost too easy, she thought. Was she really that strong?
As far as she could tell, the only difference between the Ghouls and the Blooded Ghouls seemed to be their dark red color and that they no longer burst into liquid when struck. But how was that an improvement? Now they writhed in pain and felt pain. She’d been afraid they’d advanced to a more powerful form, how the angels had gone from tarnished to wretched to desecrated. So, what was this? But the more she fought, as the ghouls closed in and bumped into her shoulders and arms and back, as they threatened to suffocate her, she realized what the issue was.
Before, she could strike down several of them with a Savage Throw or Instant Acceleration and make space. But now she had to be even more careful when she dodged. The ground was cluttered with fallen bodies shrieking and wriggling. If she fell, the ghouls would pile on and she’d never get back up.
Hands grasped her shoulders. Red fingers curled, and she felt a few of her scales crackle, but the new enhanced design held up a lot better than her previous armor, and the blood rain made her slick and wet. She slipped out of their grip and shoved her hatchet into a ghoul’s chest. It fell away with a gasp, the steam swirling violently in its eye sockets.
Another ghoul’s fingers curled around her leg, and she fought the urge to kick it off. An elbow struck her in the back. Hands grabbed at her helmet, trying to yank it off. It forced her head back and blood rained down on her face. Jenny used Ignite.
Flames roared to life from head to toe, boiling the blood dribbling down her armor and scorching the ghouls who’d grabbed her. She seized the opportunity, flipping her hatchet as she turned, striking them down in a wide crescent, each one lighting up with a brief flash of light. She shook her leg free, a hand still curled around her calf. She’d cut the arm off.
Jenny was stronger now. Their grips weren't as painful or effective, and with her increased power, each strike cut through the ghouls with ease. And each strike gave her more Energy, and slowly she found her rhythm, slashing off their arms or their heads, letting their bodies topple to the ground. She stomped on them like she was crushing red pots of clay. She whirled around, slashing and shoving, swiping arms that reached for her when she didn’t have an easy swing, punching faces or throats.
Screams and groans assaulted her ears, but her enhanced armor, her tougher body, took their attacks like they were nothing. In the frenzy, she’d almost forgotten her plan to fight toward Yeshua and the Deaths, but then a powerful gust blew away the ghouls swarming her. They rolled by, arms and legs flailing like they’d been sucked up by a tornado. The rain curved and flicked around Jenny, swept away in the same direction, a brief break from the downpour before the blood came pouring down again.
Red lightning ignited in the sky, illuminating the rain and the boiling clouds, and Jenny saw Yeshua standing in front of the deaths, his soaked robes billowing, his hair stuck to his face as blood ran down his forehead and cheeks.
But he also stood behind the Deaths as well as at their sides. Seven or eight of him in total, all wearing the same purple robes, all hunched and looking exhausted, but he’d formed a perimeter around the Deaths as they huddled in a compact circle.
Each Yeshua punched and kicked the ghouls that swarmed them, but when their hands and feet made contact with a ghoul, the creature completely disintegrated into a fine red mist, and the impact blew away the surrounding ghouls.
He must have an ability that let him duplicate himself. Jenny rushed toward them with Instant Acceleration, taking advantage of the momentary cleared space to catch her breath. She caught up to the crowd of Deaths, blood dribbling down all their frightened faces and soaking into their robes. They all looked almost as red as the ghouls.
“This won’t end,” said the Yeshua bodies in unison, his voice echoing and booming all around. “They will come endlessly. They are the world responding to change.”
Jenny held her breath, trying to ease her heartrate and watched as the ghouls struggled to get past the many Yeshua. He struck them over and over, using his fists to generate enough wind to disintegrate the closest creatures and push back the rest.
The younger deaths were sobbing as the older ones tried to console them. But the rest of them were crying too, frightened and meek, and Jenny didn’t know what to do. She remembered Yeshua warning that he couldn’t protect them all, and judging by how weakened he looked, how the ghouls kept coming despite how afraid they’d been earlier, she wasn’t sure how long this would hold out. As she prepared to jump back into the fight, one ghoul slipped past a Yeshua to her left.
Its red limbs flailed as it leaped toward the Deaths, teeth gnashing, empty eyes swirling with vapor trailing behind its head. Jenny turned on her heels and ran toward it, pushing through the crowd of Deaths. The ghoul had grabbed the little girl death, the one that came up to Yeshua before. It was holding her in the air as she kicked and cried, as rain battered her face.
The closest Yeshua turned, his face strained, teeth bared. But several ghouls grabbed him by the neck and shoulders and brought him to the ground. Neither he or Jenny were going to make it in time, but then the girl squirmed out of the ghoul’s grip.
How? Jenny barely registered what just happened. Was it just because of the rain? Did that let the girl slip away? The ghoul scrambled before grabbing her again, this time pinning her to the ground as it bared its teeth, ready to take a bite from her shoulder. But that was enough time for Jenny to catch up, and she didn’t bother slowing down. At full speed, she kicked the ghoul in the face.
The tip of her armored foot connected with one of its eye sockets. There was a hideous crack, and the top of its head flew off as though she’d just popped the lid off a jar.
Its body fell limp to the ground as the girl wriggled out and ran into the arms of one of the other deaths. Jenny turned, tossing her hatchet with Savage Throw to strike down the angel chewing off Yeshua’s nose.
But more ghouls broke through the line of defense, and despite Yeshua’s multitudinous cry telling them to stand still, the crowd of Deaths scattered. They ran in every direction, and in the frenzy, in the bloody downpour and the ghouls swarming, everything became a mess of red limbs and screaming. Shouts and cries erupted all around her, and she knew neither she or Yeshua could attack with ease. They’d risk hitting a Death.
Red lightning surged and Jenny used the flat side of her hatchet, parrying blows and trying to knock creatures away from her. She saw Yeshua’s splitting, each one separating into three or four more Yeshua, but the new ones looked even thinner and weaker. Strained. They were being overrun, and in every direction, there were only more ghouls, more blood-colored mannequins moaning and whimpering and scrambling over each other. And the screaming!
Shrill screams of agony that she knew were the deaths. She found the girl, the first death that Jenny had freed, lying on the ground, wriggling and shrieking as three ghouls feasted on her arms and legs, splattering blood and flesh. With a scream of rage, Jenny lodged her hatchet into their heads. She beheaded one. She snapped through another’s skulls. She kicked one off the girl.
But before she could help the death up, several more ghouls grabbed at Jenny. Fingers curled around her wrist. Hands latched onto her sides. Something struck the back of her head so hard she saw sparks.
What did they want?
What did they get out of eating the deaths? Could the deaths even die?
What do I do? Ignite? Savage Throw? Instant Acceleration?
Valescent Light?
That’s it!
She elbowed a ghoul in the face and struck down another. She pushed a Death, an old man, to the side and struck down the ghoul that had nearly gotten him. Her mind spun, trying to connect thoughts as she evaded ghouls and blinked blood out of her eyelashes.
She could open another portal. She could get everyone out of here. But how? And where would they go? She didn’t know how she’d opened it last time. She’d just made use of what was already there.
How did I do it?
An arm grabbed her shoulder, and this grip felt too firm, too powerful, and she swore out loud, twisting her body to attack, afraid her arm would pop out of her shoulder. But it was one of the Yeshua. He’d had the same idea as her. He shouted in the chaos, blood dripping down his face and beard, “Open a passage! Open a passageway to the World of Demons. We can lead these abominations right to Hell!”