(Luke) Ow! … Is everyone alright?!

A cloud of lethal dust covered the entire destroyed and flat bar.

Luke remembered how the first explosion caused the bar to be ridden with debris, with the roof and most of the top walls being blown away.

But this explosion was different, as it destroyed all the walls that held the settlement.

The dust continued to grab a hold of Luke’s throat and eyes, filling his airways with decade-old dirt and grime as he put his right hand gently on his throat. Thumping his left hand onto his heart, he pounded it so that dust and dirt could escape out of his lungs.

(Luke) gasps … Hello! … gasps … anyone there!?

The cloud of dust continued to surround everything, his visibility impaired as the dust started to attack his eyes. Clenching them shut, he put both his hands to his eyes, bobbing his head right to left.

(Luke) Aaah! … please anyone! … gasps … say something!

The dust started to clog his throat more and more. His breathing became more shallow by the second. Clutching his left chest with his right hand, he continued to suffocate under the dust cloud, hoping that by some miracle—

A sudden rapid gust swept the dust cloud off the bar. Seeing that the entire bar was now clear of dust, Luke still had his eyes wide open as he looked around the wall-less establishment.

(Luke) W-what…

Too fast for the eye to see, Luke barely felt the presence of the gust. Putting his right hand towards his chin, he looked down at the still alcohol-ridden wooden floorboards.

(Luke’s thoughts) Was that Fred’s invention? Did he finally use the dust sweeper?

Luke’s legs finally were able to walk normally on their own now, the explosion from earlier causing him to wake up the scared joints of his knees. Seeing Miles and Hope putting their backs in a corner, followed by Benn laying on the wooden floor motionless, Luke was thankful he could control the flow of his breathing.

(Luke’s thoughts) Luckily Hope and Miles are safe, and Benn looks like he just wants to rest for a short bit. I wonder how Luna and the others are doing.

Stan and the others look at Fred who brought with him a dust sweeper, a black device that had a circle in the middle. Seeing that Fred gave him a thumbs up, Luke gave him a slight nod as he kept on looking through the bar.

Luke saw Luna pointing her sword toward the frail boy, her eyes bloodshot red as she had the tip of her blade right at the frail boy’s heart. Seeing this, Luke slowly walked towards Luna, holstering his dual-wielding uzis in both his hands.

Luna glanced at Luke, her eyes still bloodshot as she continued to focus her entire focus on the frail boy. Luke stood near Luna, his body calm and nonchalant as his arms were motionless with gravity.

(Luke) Before you kill him, we should ask him a couple of questions first. They may ask us why they are attacking us in the first place.

Luna didn’t give a nod to Luke, keeping her blade on the boy’s neck, but she did however motioned her head slightly to the boy’s direction. As Luke looked down at the boy, he then pointed his right hand towards the boy.

(Luke) What are you guys doing here?

Luke’s right hand started to gently shake, his palm starting to warmly sweat as the grip of his gun started to feel loose.

The boy changed eye contact towards Luke, his hands still on the ground as he sat.

(???) We’re just zompires with blessings. I think that fat shark-human said that we’re liches, perhaps. Anyway, we have no designated goal in mind, no mind of our own is what our boss calls it.

Luna firmly moved her blade slowly into the boy’s heart, his body flinching as he started to have white bulging veins popping out of his neck.

(???) Hey, calm down you stupid bitch! You females need to listen if you want the truth!

(Luna) Can I kill him right now!?

(Luke) I know you're angry but please, we need info.

Continuing to crouch down towards the boy’s eye level, Luke sharpened his eyes as his hands started to shake evermore. Taking note of the boy who seemed to not take any interest in both of them, Luke began to exhale and inhale slowly.

(Luke) Just tell me, who are you guys?

A vein started to sprout out on Luke’s forehead. Quickly holstering his guns to his side, Luke extended his hands towards the old shirt of the boy, his hands shaking gently as the whiteness of his eyes began to turn slightly red.

(Luke) Who is behind all of this? I’m not going to let you make Lagefor into another Clastine. Not again. So tell me, who's your boss?

In a cold yet frantic murmur, Luke’s throat reverberated as he spoke more with the frail boy, his eyes tightened as he narrowed them toward the boy.

Twitching hard, the boy’s body had his face puffed up and he continued to stare at Luke’s unbothered gaze, his eyes on the verge of closing until…

The boy laughed, slapping his knees as he looked down at the ground.

His laughing startled Luna, who loosened the tip of her blade on the lich's heart. Meanwhile, Luke’s frustration only grew as his hands started to shake violently, his eyes narrowing more as he continued to hear the boy’s pathetic laugh.

The lich noticed this and wiped away a black tar droplet from his black right eye, controlling his breathing as his legs and arms started to decrease in motion.

(???) Hahahaha … fine, I submit, I’ll tell you some things. It probably won’t kill me.

Luke’s grip on the boy’s shirt continued to remain unshaken, his teeth grinding against one another more and more as he smelled the putrid breath of the zompire. The boy in question folded his arms as he continued to sit down on the floor, despite half of his left arm being sliced away.

(???) For one, you probably don’t know me, but I most likely know you. Do you recognize those two dimwit beast liches that seemed as if they’re—no, yes, they are best friends! Do you recognize those two?!

Luke glanced towards where Benn was lying down, his arms and legs motionless as a possum playing dead. In front of Benn, Luke took note of the lich duo.

The lich that Luke doesn’t remember had its chest and head clean off its body, with only its legs and feet still standing. The other lich, Ryan, had merely his left arm and half his face blown away, chunks of tar and pale body parts spread all around the area that they crashed into.

Luke looked back towards the frail boy again, his hands shaking more slowly as his voice continued to remain cold.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

(Luke) I know Ryan, but not the other one.

(???) Well, that makes sense. Curses are one hell of a power… anywho … How did we become like this? Well, no matter how you look at it, we stink, we’re puppets, we’re rotting yet we’re immortal, so …

The frail boy then turns his lips into a devilish smile, the tips of his dimples reaching to the level of his nose.

(???) We’re just a collection of past dark memories…

Gary overheard the conversation from up close, several feet behind the frail boy. Scratching his head with his right hand, Gary looked down towards the debris-ridden floor filled with dirt and grime.

(Gary’s thoughts) Why do I feel like I heard him before like I knew him…

Luke stood up as he took a step back, his eyes remaining solely on the frail lich boy. His arms were shaking more gently compared to before, and his breathing became slower as he straightened his back.

Luna’s eyes narrowed toward the frail boy, and her hand that held the blade started to softly shake. With veins starting to sprout out from her neck, Luke kept his gun pointed towards the lich boy, but with a droplet of sweat rolling down his forehead and nose.

(Luke) Just two more questions. How did you guys come here? And also…

Luke used his right hand to pull out his other Uzi, holstering it as his shaking hand started to slowly diminish.

(Luke) And who’s behind all this?

The frail boy stood up, patting his knee with his right hand as he stared at him at eye level. Putting his hand to his chin, the boy then lightly tapped it back and forth, rolling his eyes like a normal teenage boy.

Luke took a step back as he let go of the boy’s old shirt, watching his height dominate him by a couple of inches.

(???) The easiest question for how we got in is quite simple. Our boss knew that doing a full charge at the border wouldn’t work, since the border patrol uses a lot of military to guard the border between this country and Ticia. So he thought of something interesting.

The frail boy took a couple of steps back, making Luna move at the same pace as him, still placing the iron blade onto the boy’s heart. The boy had veins bulging from his neck and forehead, his breath hot and rapid as he tried to make eye contact with Luke.

(???) He decided to—stop tormenting me you bitch! … anywho … he decided to sneak many of us in by truck, pretending to be a soldier while he was at it. From there, we saw an old abandoned factory and we called it home.

(Luke) And who’s your boss?

With both uzis in both of his hands, Luke aimed them straight at the boy’s heart, his hands shaking violently again as his grip on the guns started to feel loose.

Luna firmly dug deep into the boy’s chest, his veins continuing to bulge more as his teeth started to grind.

(???) Can this bitch leave me alone! Damn her looks are wasted by her personality! At this rate, she’ll never be a good wife for—

(Luna) That’s it!

Luna, who had her blade on the boy’s chest, tightly put a lot of strength into her arm, expanding her muscles as she readied to thrust her sword into his heart. Fortunately, Luke was near her, so he used his right arm to halt Luna from pushing any farther.

Luna saw Luke’s arm holding her back, his arm making contact with her ripped stomach as she stopped to look towards it. Turning her head towards Luke, she slightly glared at him, her body continuing to quake under the burning anger inside of her.

The boy took many steps back, his face full of veins bulging and sprouting as he had his palms open up for an attack.

(???) I was being nice, yet that female always messes things up! Because of her, you’re both on my personal shit list.

(Gary) Turn around.

Hearing a loud reload coming from a gun behind his head, the boy turned his head. Turning around to see Gary, Gary’s eyes began to water, a tear rolling by his left cheek as his face started to push down.

The frailed boy started to smile warmly, the corners of his lips barely reaching the lowest part of his nose.

(???) Gary! Gary. Long time no see, do you still remember me?

Gary’s hand gently shook as he continued to point his pistol towards the frail boy, rolling down more cold tears as his eyes began to puff up red.

Stan and the others pointed their guns at the frail boy too, their faces wide-eyed too.

(Stan) How are you still alive? I thought you were dead…

(???) Ahh, it’s a friend reunion! Did you guys miss your old speaker from the robotics clubs?

(Luke’s thoughts) He was the speaker from six years ago…

With Stan, Fred, Diego, and Luke starting shaking with disbelief, Gary continued to point his gun toward the lich, his finger on the side of the gun as his eyes continued to let out cold tears.

(Gary) What … what … what happened to you … why … Why are you doing this?

(???) It’s a long story—no, actually, it’s quite short.

The frail boy’s left arm began regenerating, the wound sprouting out a frail meatless arm that slowly was covered in black tar and mold. Steam was slightly present as his left arm was finished molding, the steam managed to burn the tar to where it formed white pigments. Showing his left arm brand new, the boy extended his arm as steam puffed out.

The rest of Stan’s group and Luke took a couple of steps back, their faces turning slightly pale as they clutched their weapons hard.

(???) I already had a blessing to begin with, so it only took long before I eventually became this. Still, though, I never thought you would eventually team up with the man that broke your nose.

Gary’s throat jumped with each sniff he intake, his eyes continuing to observe the ghostly face that used to withhold humanity. Stan put his hand on Gary’s right shoulder, signaling him to get behind him.

(Stan) Come on Gary, he’s practically a shell, a ghost, a being with no mind of its own, we have no other choice but to kill him…

But Gary put Stan’s hand away. As more tears dripped down from his chubby face, Gary moved his body forward to the frail boy who looked at him smugly.

(Gary) Stop doing this Harold. It was six years ago … please …

Gary then put his pistol into his belt, securing it tightly. Within an arm’s length, he extended his hand outwards, making eye contact despite being looked down upon by the lich boy.

(Gary) You don’t have to do this…

The frail lich named Harold put his right hand underneath his chin, tapping it gently as he continued to make eye contact with Gary. Putting his left hand on his hip, he tilted his head to the right, until his eyes unfocused on Gary.

(Harold) I’ll let the tall chick decide.

(???) No problem Harold.

A female voice was heard coming from behind the boys. Fred, who noticed that voice from anywhere, instantly turned his head towards the direction of the—

A tall woman with dark black hair, a ghostly pale face, and black eyes stood behind the group of boys, specifically looking at Fred. Seeing her face in the flesh, Fred stood up instantly as he shook his head softly, his breath caught inside of his throat.

The woman in question tilted her head to the left, smiling softly at the man in silver hair.

(???) I see my sacrifice hasn’t gone in vain.

(Fred) Gemma…

Fred then collapsed to his knees, his legs giving in as his arms remained motionless on the floor. Sitting on the wooden floor, he looked down as he started to stare into the abyss, his eyes holding back tears of joy and sadness.

Gemma walked slowly towards the silver-haired man, making a devilish grin as she noticed him submit to the ground. Towering over him, she put her hands onto her hips, tilting her head again as her eyes gazed upon Fred’s neck.

(Gemma) You’re all grown up too, sucks that you’re now taller than me.

Crouching down, Gemma reached the same eye level as Fred, who was sitting on the floor with his hands holding him up. Extending her frail and pale hand toward his face, she started to rub his cheeks gently and affectionately, rubbing her thumbs back and forth.

(Gemma) You’re so cute like you were two years ago … kind of makes me wanna just kill you quickly and turn you into my lich boyfriend already. How does that sound?

Fred slowly turned his head upwards, her eyes not reflecting his body as he could only just let out broken hums. Getting closer to his face, Gemma slowly opened her mouth, revealing the rotten and decaying contents of her putrid breath, followed by her sharp fangs.

(Stan) Fred! Snap out of it! Run!

More howls can be heard outside the bar, the sounds of paws and growls coming closer as the front of the entrance had silhouettes of creatures waiting for their signal.

(Gary) Don’t do this Harold… Please don’t do…

(Harold) It’s all part of my boss’s master plan, so take it up to him. Besides, if you want me to not do this, then just shoot your shot.

(Miles) You got to be fucking kidding me right? Are you seeing this shit, Benn?

(Benn) Yeah, unfortunately.

Both Ryan and Cameron’s corpses, the corpses that were supposed to be blown to bits, started to slowly reconstruct themselves. With the black tar of their blown-away bodies creating white pigments with the hot steam radiating out of their bodies, Ryan and Cameron managed to steadily get up with fresh hot limbs, as they eyed both Benn and Miles.

(Hope’s thoughts) We need a miracle.

(Gemma) Just hold still Fred…

Fred’s neck flinched with the hot yet disgusting breath that was Gemma, her mouth wide open as her fangs were inches away from Fred’s hot and sweaty neck.

Both Luke and Stan pushed their legs against the old floor, their chests reaching their limit as they flail their arms back and forth frantically.

(Stan) FRED!!

(Luke) Don’t give up Fred!

(Luna) Gary, just shoot him now!

Luna pointed her two swords toward the entrance of the bar, as what entered in was a large pack of bloodthirsty wolves. With sweat beading down from her temple, she took a step back as the wolves growled their muzzles hungrily.

Gary’s hand shook violently as Harold placed his own body against Gary’s gun, and he continued to let out tears upon tears.

(Gary) But … I can’t …

(Luke’s thoughts) I just … I just …

On his way towards Fred, he extended his right hand, stretching his arm to his limit as he lunged his body right at him. Having a tear drip down from his right eye—

(Luke’s thoughts) … Wanna go home…

In the biggest mound of rubble right in a tucked away corner of the bar, came out a dimly lit light, a light so recognizable that…

The mound burst open from the inside out, revealing a freckled woman carrying a passed-out red-haired man.

(Gwen) I’m up bitches.

For one solid second, everyone turned their gaze towards the bluish light that reflected the rays of the breathing, their eyes all focusing on Gwen, their miracle given.