Did she just say rise? Rise as in, rise from the dead?
The correlation was as clear as day, but I refused to believe it. The dead baby, the mention of her nursery—this walker was getting me more pissed off by the second! The more I focused my hearing on my surroundings, the more I heard the ground break and fissure. Spots along the grass began to tremble in sync. From the cracked and pitted earth, scores of her victims began to crawl out, the sound of their moaning and grunting sending chills down my skin.
“You filthy bitch…” I seethed through my teeth. How many kids did she fucking slaughter and bury here?!
“You’ve stepped into the wrong home, you pestering hunters!” She cackled. “Methodia, the spider brood mother, defends her nest, always! Make no mistake, you two will not be leaving my domain alive!”
She was the worst… preying on innocent kids… making them her puppets!
“Defend your queen!” she roared, ordering her legion to attack us.
A scream that could summon the dead—I would have given her a higher rank.
She was definitely no easy opponent, this venomous shield she had over my eyes making fighting her ten times more difficult. Well, she pissed me off, and I was determined to shove a one way ticket to hell right up her fat ass! So I snatched the rock around my eyes and buckled my fingers down, borrowing the strength of my rage to crush it. With enough raw strength, it cracked, and then ultimately shattered. When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry with a tint of red, but I was able to make out shapes without a problem.
I staggered back as a horde of Methodia’s victims grew bigger. Their eyes glowed a ghastly green, their faces showing different stages of decomposition. One girl no older than nine crept along the corner of my eye, and when I turned to her, I noticed how alive she looked. A recent kill…she didn’t even look dead… As if the sight wasn’t horrifying enough, the smell of decay was turning my stomach, but I tried to remain headfast.
“This ends now!” I roared, the rage burning within me adding fuel to my booming voice. “You don’t know anything about being a fucking mother! Taking these kids away from their parents, robbing them of their dreams, their future! You’re as bad as they come! And I’m going to make you pay for each innocent soul you’ve condemned!”
She giggled. “Such brave words, you fragile being! Your weakness brews in your voice! I bet my eight legs that you couldn’t hurt not one hair on their pretty little heads!” She snapped her finger, and suddenly, all of them lined up in front of Methodia. They circled her with their bodies, some stacking on top of the others to form a barrier around the spider walker. “Go on then, do your worst! Show me the true power of a hunter!”
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“Gladly,” Naomi muttered, and when her arm stretched out, kids began to fly. One by one she plucked them up, using them to attack the spider queen.
I froze, my stomach tanking at Naomi’s weapon choice. With a shout, I protested, “What are you doing?!”
“They are already dead!” she cried, watching as the monster tried to protect herself from the bombarding bodies slamming against her. “There’s nothing we can do for them! So quit hesitating and fight!”
I knew that but… I… I didn’t have the heart to defile them….
I clenched my fists, pressed my stinging eyes shut, and dug real deep. With an apology, I stormed into the fray, using my arm to tackle through them. My voice broke out in a furious cry as my body bulldozed them down.
My aggression only triggered their resolve. They fought back, boys and girls of different ages reaching their small hands out at me. Desperately they grasped, holding onto my hoodie, my pants, my sleeves, anything to take me down and protect the bitch that enslaved them. I looked up at her insidious grin, realizing that Naomi had stopped tossing them. When I looked over to my left, she was being piled. There were just too many of them, I grunted to myself. This wasn’t where our career ended! I had an oath to fill, to protect mankind at any means necessary! I couldn’t let this shit bother me… I had to fight! I had to win!
“You manipulative, six-eyed slut!” I roared. “YOU’RE DEAD!” With a hell cry, I combusted, swallowing everything in my path with hot wild flames to get to that monster. My fury had no bounds, this unyielding energy pouring from every pore of my body. A void of white flashing through my eyes. I’d cracked, unleashing power I didn’t know I had. The world seemed to fade for a moment, my ears ringing from the sound of scorching silence. I could feel bodies melt all around me, bodies crumpling one by one against the heat that soared over my head.
“YOU WILL NOT HAVE THEM!” I shouted through the chaos, my voice reverberating through the field. I was completely focused on bringing that creature down, regardless of the bodies jumping in my way. There was no room here for sorrow or regret, only vengeance and fury. I could feel it in every fiber of my being, every inch of flaming skin and searing bones. The cleansing fire whistled, cracked and popped, until my stamina took a hit and doused my flames.
Exhausted, I dropped to my knees, flurries of ashes mirroring in my drooping, tired eyes. That bitch was gone, gone for good, and now, all of those kids could rest in peace.
“Nero!” Naomi cried, rushing to me. She slid down to her knees and held my shoulder up, trying to keep me from tipping over. “Are you all right?”
I turned my head to her and chuckled, the bitter taste of smoke still lingering on my tongue. Staring at those sweet lavender eyes, I opened my mouth to answer. “Yeah… just… peachy,” I croaked, a wry smile pulling at the corner of my lips. Soon, I felt my strength ebbing away, my head dropping against her chest before I passed out.