“So,” Jeffrey yelled over the roar of the engine, “what do we do when we get there?”
Discord, who was poking his head into the cabin through the rear sliding window, replied, “That depends. We’ll find out when we get there.”
Derrek turned to face him, “Why the panic all of a sudden? I thought they would attack in the next week.”
“And I thought today was their first day in the area, but if Jeffy saw them, they’ve been here for a lot longer than I thought—than we thought. We need to warn Mila.”
“Mila Müller?” Jeffrey asked. “Couldn’t you just call her? That’d probably be faster than driving.”
“No, the poachers might have tapped their phone lines. If we called, we’d only be ringing the bell for those jackals.”
“What about the bikes?” Derrek asked. “Wouldn’t they get us there faster than this rust bucket?”
Jeffrey glared at him for a brief moment before remembering that the truck was, indeed, a rust bucket, then proceeded to nod in agreement as Discord answered.
“Too loud and too visible. Plus, they’d no doubt recognize me at a glance. Not to mention their scanners would pick up any vehicle made after 2016, so this oldie goldie will fly right under their radar.”
“What about that ‘eighteenth gear’ thing? Couldn’t you just get us there right away?”
Discord shook his head. “They’d know. They scan for that kind of shit, and Jeffy wouldn’t have survived the jump. This is our best option.”
Jeffrey shook his head. “I have no idea what y’all are on about, but I’m with you.”
“Good. That’s good,” Discord said as they neared the final bend, leaving the forest behind for the field upon which the Schadenfreude stood. They saw the beauty of the white and gold building silhouetted against the setting sun, slowly disappearing behind the horizon. Once the sun vanished behind the trees and the men pulled into the parking lot, they finally saw the flames.
“Shit.”
Fire was roaring from a few of the windows, and several corpses and severed heads were strewn about the parking lot, along with no less than a dozen black SUVs. They all got out of the truck and looked around in horror at the damage, at the destruction brought upon the hotel, at the way the bodies were mutilated, eviscerated, and decapitated—except one, which still had its head attached, lying face down. Discord hurried over to the body and flipped it over and was shocked to see who it was.
“Choir boy?” he softly asked. “Emmett? Emmett! Wake up, choir boy! You’ve still got your head!” he yelled, shaking him by the shoulders, searching for any signs, only to be met with more silence. Discord didn’t stop, however, and kept shaking and yelling until Emmett finally opened his eyes.
“Herr … D … Disc … Discord?”
“Choir boy! Thank the gods you’re alive!”
Emmett was breathing heavily and started a coughing fit, which ended after blood spurt from his mouth. Discord looked over him, panicked, and laid him on the ground. He held his hands over Emmett’s chest, and a warm amber light began to shine from his palms. After several seconds, Emmett was breathing normally and could keep his eyes open.
“How’re you feeling, choir boy?”
“Probably about how I look,” Emmett said, in severe pain.
“What happened to you?”
Emmett was quiet for a moment. Then he mustered up his courage. “As soon as we made it known we were closing, the black cars came. Before we could react, they stormed the lobby. There were so many of them. They brought several of us to the roof and then watched as our flesh blistered. They forced us to hang our heads over the railing and then started hacking at our necks, letting our heads … fall … oh, God …”
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“Goddamn poachers. Take your time, buddy.”
Emmett took a moment to compose himself. “I threw myself over. I thought it would be a better death than what those monsters would do.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jeffrey said, looking around at the severed heads and beheaded bodies.
“Then …” Emmett continued, “the guests …”
“What did they do to the guests?” Derrek asked.
“No … the guests … were with the poachers.”
Discord looked at the hotel’s entrance, which was broken down. The fountains were smashed, causing water to flow uncontrollably and form a massive puddle, pouring into the parking lot. The doors were little more than piles of broken glass and scraps of metal, and inside, he could see several people and even more corpses. The towering fireplace had collapsed, leaving nothing but rubble where it once stood. There were people dressed head to toe in black uniforms, brandishing firearms and machetes, as well as others simply trying to play dead. The air was ripe with the smells of fire, blood, and fear, all with faint undertones of lavender.
“Havok, Major,” Discord coldly said, “get Emmett somewhere safe where he can lie down. The truck bed should do. After that, go around the building to the right. You’ll see a bay entrance that goes right into the kitchen. They’ve probably got a bunch of fangs rounded up there for interrogation. Clear the dining hall. Save any hostages you can and kill every last one of those fuckers you see.”
“What about you?” Derrek asked.
“I’m gonna tackle these bastards head-on. No games. No tricks. Tonight, there will only be blood.”
He reached both arms into his coat, producing Sue and Mary, then marched into the hotel, the wet glass crunching underneath his boots until he was in the center of the room. As soon as the poachers noticed him, the several in the lobby trained their guns on him.
“Evening, fellas,” Discord coyly said.
“Who the hell is this?” one of the poachers called out, attracting the attention of the rest of the people in the room as well as many on the balconies.
“Who cares?” another called back. “Just shoot him!”
“Wait!” a third voice yelled, this one from the first-floor balcony.
Discord looked up to see Bernmore slowly approaching the railing with two other poachers at his side, his rifle over his shoulder and a smug grin on his face.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Red Death himself. What brings you here, Discord?”
The poachers began murmuring among themselves at the mention of his name, and it was clear Discord had them scared.
“It’s funny, I thought I caught a whiff of some Basilisk scat, but I guess what I was smelling was some other pile of lizard shit.”
Bernmore let out a bellowing laugh that echoed throughout the lobby, grabbing his stomach as he leaned back. In an instant, he sharply inhaled and looked back down at Discord, lording over him with the same smug grin he wore seconds before.
“Your words cut cleaner than your swords, as they always have.” He turned to the woman to his right and said, “I’m going back to the roof. Hold him off as long as you can and send any survivors up behind me.”
The woman solemnly nodded and aimed her rifle at Discord as Bernmore walked away, entering the elevator and riding it to the roof. The other poachers put aside the fear they felt before and did the same, several of them moving to surround him.
I count thirty-eight, Sue said, heard only by Discord. What about you?
I got forty-one, said Mary. Forty without Bernmore.
Oh, I missed those two behind the desk. My bad.
“Doesn’t matter,” Discord quietly said. “They’re all gonna die anyway.”
Oooh, so grim, said Sue. We’ll let you work.
Good luck, Mary said as she and her sister stopped talking, leaving Discord with only his thoughts, which were filled with nothing but rage.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, the world slowing around him as the scores of guns readied to fire. He said a silent prayer to no god in particular, as he always did before a slaughter. He opened his eyes, raised his guns, and was torn to shreds by hundreds of bullets, forcing him to the ground as his form devolved into a bleeding mess of flesh.
Several of the poachers approached his lifeless body and unloaded several more rounds into his head, heart, and gut for good measure. They surrounded him, keeping their guns aimed at him and a feeling of surprised relief washed over them as they cheered out, amazed they were able to kill this man who had cultivated such infamy within their circle.
It was when he opened his eyes and rose to his feet, however, that they realized the mess they were in. He stretched his limbs and cracked his neck, resetting several of his joints, which had become dislocated in the hail of lead he had endured as the poachers watched in horror. Some of the ones surrounding him even dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, backing away in terror. Once his body was back in place, he looked into the sea of panic-stricken faces and grinned. He spoke loudly so the poachers on the higher floors could hear.
“Let’s get this party started!”