At the very last second, Pale managed to drop out of the way of instant death. Pain blossomed across her shoulder as the creature’s teeth scraped along her flesh, and she grit her teeth as she felt blood bubble up from the wound and begin dripping down her arm.

Still, she didn’t let the fact that she’d nearly been killed stop her. Pale jumped to her feet, her shotgun already barking as fast as she could pull the trigger. Shell after shell of incendiary buckshot screamed downrange, and the monster howled in agony as the pellets impacted against its back.

And yet, that wasn’t enough. It rounded on her once again, a snarl crossing its face, just as her gun clicked empty. Pale went to drop a shell into her weapon’s open action, but the monster began to move, and she braced, preparing for more pain.

It never came. Instead, with a glint of silver, the giant humanoid bat’s head began to roll across the ground with an arc of blood. The body stood upright for a moment, then fell like a puppet with its strings cut. Pale stared at it with wide eyes, though her gaze was soon drawn to Captain Allen just a moment later, who stood poised over the corpse, his sword stained with fresh blood.

Allen flicked his sword, spattering some of the blood across the ground in front of her. He turned to her, a grimace crossing his face.

“You were bitten,” he surmised.

Pale nodded grimly. “I was.”

“Hm. Unfortunate.”

He began to advance towards her, and Pale tensed. She hefted her shotgun, smacking the bolt release to chamber the one round she had loaded and shouldering the weapon in the same motion. Allen paused, glaring at her.

“You just admitted that you were bitten by that thing,” he reminded her. “Even now, the undead curse is coursing through your veins. There is no helping you now.”

“Maybe so,” Pale acknowledged, a note of grim finality creeping into her voice. “But I am not done yet.”

Allen shook his head. “And are we to expect that you’ll keep your faculties for long? What happens when you get behind us in the heat of battle, and end up taking innocent people out?”

“That won’t happen,” she assured him. “I won’t let it.”

His gaze narrowed. “And how do you intend to do that?”

“The moment I start to lose control, I’ll end it myself,” Pale growled. “But until then… until then, let me do as much as I can. Please. You all need the help. Don’t deny me this.”

Allen hesitated, then gave her another grimace. “Normally, I’d just kill you and be done with it, but you’re correct – we can’t afford to lose you yet, not when we’ve suffered so many losses already and the vampire is still out there.” He motioned to the body of the bat-creature he’d killed a moment ago. “I suppose you’ll turn into one of those things before long… bad way to go, even for you.”

“And when I do turn, you’ll all be there to stop me,” Pale reminded him. “For now, let me spend what little time I have left doing as much as I can.”

Slowly, Allen nodded. “Very well.”

With that, he turned and began walking back through the city. The remaining guardsmen gave her a wary look, but followed after her commander. Pale, for her part, merely shook her head and began to fully reload her shotgun.

Injured and infected or not, there was still work to be done. And she’d be damned if she lost this body without at least taking down Vincent first.

XXX

It didn’t take long for trouble to find their motley crew once more. More of those human-bat hybrids descended upon them from the rooftops, desperate to feast upon them. There weren’t many, but they were tough – by the time they made it back to the tavern, Pale had used just about all that remained of her incendiary shells simply to fend them off. She let out an irritated grunt as she reached for more shells from her shotgun caddies, only to grasp at nothing but air.

“I’m nearly out of ammunition,” she reported, instead pulling shells out of her belt. “How are your men doing?”

Truthfully, she didn’t even need to ask – all of Allen’s men were doubled over and gasping for breath. Their silver swords were chipped in places, and from what she was able to see during their last bout with the bat creatures, they were all down to casting little more than sparks. The fact that they hadn’t lost anyone since their stop at the blacksmith’s shop was a miracle in and of itself, her own impending death notwithstanding.

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The only one not completely winded was Allen himself, who was still standing upright, though his chest was heaving with exertion. Still, she had to admit, he’d been a valuable addition to their group; they wouldn’t have made it nearly this far without him.

Next to her, Allen shook his head. “We’re running out of time and energy. If any more of those things come for us, we’re going to have a problem.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “How are you feeling?”

Pale’s brow furrowed. Truthfully, she didn’t feel any different from when she’d nearly had her head taken off a short while ago. Her wound was still bleeding; she could only assume that the creature’s fangs were coated with some kind of anticoagulant. Still, the fact that she felt no different after supposedly being cursed surprised her. A quick diagnostic scan of her avatar showed that she was free of any kind of foreign infection, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. It wasn’t definitive by any means, given the no-doubt magical nature of the monster that had attacked her, but no news was good news, she supposed.

At the very least, it meant she wasn’t turning just yet. And that meant she could still fight.

“I feel fine,” she confessed. “Surprising, I know, especially given how fast people have turned in the past. But give it time, and stay wary around me.”

Allen grunted, then gave her another nod. He motioned to the guardsmen. “Fall in. We’re moving out.”

They all grimaced, but did as they were told, hefting their weapons once more. Pale took up position in front of the group, leading with her weapon as they traversed through the remnants of the city. Mercifully, the number of ghouls had been dramatically cut down, thanks to their efforts earlier. The city was still far from free of them, but this sector, at least, was pretty clean.

“We’re almost back at the tavern,” she reported. “My… friends should be there.”

Allen nodded in understanding. “Let’s hope it’s still standing, then. We could use the extra manpower.”

Pale said nothing, instead merely offering a silent prayer to whatever deities may have been watching that Evie and Kayla were still unharmed.

XXX

The moment the tavern came into view, Pale’s heart sank into her stomach. At some point, the walls had been breached, allowing the horde to come flooding in. Burned bodies lined the street leading to the breach, and even from her spot down the street, Pale could see streaks of blood and gore lining the walls.

She threw caution to the wind and sprinted for it, ignoring Allen’s shout from behind her. Anger pulsed within her as she entered the building, the barrel of her shotgun pointing the way forward.

If Evie and Kayla were dead, she was going to wipe this city off the map in a heartbeat, consequences be damned.

“Evie?” she called as she entered the bar, looking around, her weapon still tucked into her shoulder. “Kayla? Are you in here?”

The first thing that hit her was the overwhelming stench of it. Burnt flesh mixed with the coppery tinge of blood, coalescing into a sickening miasma that tore at her nostrils. Pale gave a small cough as the smell hit her in earnest, and she shook her head in a vain attempt to clear it. She advanced carefully, looking around for any signs of life. All around her, there were corpses, and not just of ghouls or those bat creatures – she spied a few familiar faces among them; other patrons, plus the tavern owner, all of them having been torn to shreds.

But despite that, there was still no sign of either Kayla or Evie, at least on the first floor.

Pale’s heart began to pound in her chest as she ascended the stairs, stepping over yet more corpses to make her way to the top. The only places left to check were the guest rooms, and she dreaded what she might find in them.

She made it to the top of the stairs, and immediately saw the mutilated corpses of the rest of Evie’s caravan members strewn across the floor. They had fought to their last breath, it seemed, and it didn’t take her long to realize what they had been up against – two of those bat creatures were slumped against the far wall, both of them burned to a crisp. Pale tipped her head to the caravan guards as she passed; she hadn’t known them very well, but they had fought bravely, even to their final moments.

Now the only question was whether or not it had been in vain.

“Evie?” she called once more. “Kayla? Are you up here?”

For a moment, only silence greeted her, but then, mercifully, a familiar voice graced her ears.

“Pale?!” she heard Evie call from behind a nearby door. “Is that you?!”

“It’s me,” Pale confirmed. “Hold your fire, I’m coming in.”

“You’re good. Get inside, now!”

She heard the sound of the door being unlocked, and then it was thrown open. Pale had no chance to react before someone threw their arms around her, pulling her tightly; she froze, unsure of what to do, to the point where it took her a moment to realize it was Evie.

“Thank the Gods you’re okay…” she muttered.

“Evie…” Pale replied. “Where’s-”

Another pair of arms soon joined Evie’s, and just like that, Pale had her answer.

It only lasted a moment before they both pulled away, giving her a harsh glare.

“What were you thinking?!” Kayla demanded. “You could’ve been-”

“I know, I know,” Pale interrupted. “But it had to be done.”

Evie’s brow furrowed. She looked at her hand, and the moment she did so, the color drained from her face. “Blood… Pale, are you-”

Pale gave her a grim nod. “One of them bit me,” she said. “That was about fifteen minutes ago. I have no idea how much time I have left.”

Kayla’s body began to tremble, and she let out a choked sob. “No… Gods, no, please!”

“I’m sorry,” Pale offered. “I got careless, and…” She bit her lip, then shook her head again. “...I’m sorry.”

Evie shifted, uncomfortable. “...What are you going to do?”

“Fight with every breath I have left, however many that may be,” Pale replied without a moment’s pause. Kayla gave another sob at that, and she winced, but otherwise didn’t react to it. “How are you two feeling? Are you both able to keep fighting?”

“We are,” Evie confirmed. “I can make some more of those fire bottles using what’s left of the stock down there, and Kayla’s had enough time to rest up, so she should have at least a few spells ready now.” Her expression hardened. “My guards gave their lives so we could be safe. They ushered us up here just as things started to get really bad, which gave us time to recover… we owe them our lives.”

“Then let’s make sure their lives were spent well rather than wasted,” Pale told her. “I ran into Captain Allen out there – there are a few other guards with him, so it won’t be just us. We’re going to link up with them and look for Vincent. I think it’s time we took the fight directly to him. Any objections?” Neither girl said anything, and Pale’s expression tightened. “Didn’t think so.” She hefted her shotgun, then motioned for both of them to follow her.

Wordlessly, the three girls descended the stairs, ready to fight to their last.