Mark was cursing that blasted tree all the way down the fire escape. He had turned back to help Boe but found he was more than capable of traveling down on his own. When they got to the bottom he stumbled through the alleyway by the light of the moon. Mark was tempted to turn his phone light but held off for now. He was pretty sure they’d find him soon anyway no need to go announcing his presence until he was ready.
Traveling as quietly as possible he arrived at the mouth of the alleyway he poked his head out. He was at the back of the building and Mark could see scores of Corrupted outside the theater on the main road.
The wind was blowing and a small amount of drizzle was beginning to fall.
To continue towards Prospect Park he’d have to go right past them. Seeing as there were probably no less than fifty Corrupted here, skirting around was probably his only option here.
Suddenly Mark noticed the group become more restless, as an Ordinator began sniffing the air and growling.
“Shit, have I just been winded,” he thought, as the hunting lessons his father taught him years ago began to resurface.
The Ordinator began moving in his direction as did the horde. Mark had to make a decision quickly.
For the best chance at escape, he’d have to cross the road. In front of a now alert mob. Or go further into the alleyway, which was a dead-end. Mark was fairly certain he could scale the wall with no problem but that direction went further from his goal.
They were getting closer by the second. Screams and moans began to raise into the night.
Mark sighed.
He wasn't going to take an unknown detour when the path forward was right there. Even if that path was mired in Corrupted.
Steeling his resolve he drew his weapons. Seven bolts appeared around his head. He found as he gained more practice with them his number was increasing.
The moans were growing closer.
Finally, he took out his phone and turned the front-facing light on. He zipped it up in his front pocket, leaving just the top exposed. Hoping it would act as a sort of flashlight while he moved.
Steadying himself he lifted his gun and bolted forward out of the alleyway. Boe was hot on his heels
Immediately the light gave him away but that couldn't be helped. The horde began to move double time, charging towards him.
Mark kept moving but he already had his target in sight. He sent all seven bolts forward at once. His target was the Ordinator, if could kill it now then it would make escaping a lot easier. The difficult part was that it was among the crowd, it still stood out but it had the very definition of a meat shield in front of it. So Mark had gone for the quantity over quality option. [Force bolts] peppered the front of the horde, dropping two right away and injuring a couple more. Two bolts got through and detonated against the Ordinator.
Mark didn't have time to confirm the kill, he simply continued moving down the street to the opposite side. Entering the mouth of the alleyway he was glad for the light his phone was providing. Hopping over a trash can he continued running. The first Corrupted pushed into the narrow passage. Mark kept his eyes focused on the obstacles ahead even as he heard more bodies piling in behind him.
It looked like he was in luck, the alleyway led one street over. Acting as a choke point, slowing their charge down.
It was directly after that his luck gave out. Exiting straight into the well-lit street he came face to face with several wandering zombies, that were now moving straight at him.
“You gotta be kidding me!” he hissed as six nearby bodies launched themselves at him.
He had just enough time to cast [Force bolt] with seven bolts, but no time to aim. Sending them forward in a cone was the only thing he could think of. Three dropped to the ground dead with multiple holes in them. Boe dashed forward and bit the leg of one, ripping it to the ground.
Mark swung his machete down, braining another. The last one would be on top of Mark in no time, so with no other choice, he brought the Glock forward and fired point-blank through its eye socket.
Mark had decided to try and avoid using the pistol for multiple reasons, ammo being one But right now noise was his biggest concern.
When the shot went off, it echoed out for blocks carried by the wind and as if to answer, more screams of the dead rose to meet him.
“Fuck, let's go, Boe!” he said.
Boe had ripped the throat out of the one on the ground, blackish blood covered his muzzle.
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This had all happened in seconds, Mark continued moving, sensing the pack catching up to them.
They changed direction, continuing Northward once more. While running up the street he dodged around small groups of Corrupted and when he couldn't, he went through them. Firing off a [Force bolt] every thirty seconds or so.
Mark quickly realized this was suicide, they were pushing upstream and his Mana wouldn't last forever, they had to find a place to duck and hide.
Mark's eye moved to the horizon, searching. The rain had started to pelt down at some point during their mad dash. He could just make out a church in the distance. He dismissed it as too far right away. But in that same direction, something else drew his attention. A tiny walled-off playground, nested in a residential area. Now he wouldn't bet on the wall stopping them but it would slow them down.
Changing direction once more Mark and Boe made a dash for the playground. At this point, Mark also made the mistake of looking back.
He almost tripped and fell right there. The group that was following them now had to be at least as big as the one in the mall. The streets were flooded with Corrupted. Mark even saw dozens of Ordinators amongst them. Mark refocused on running and even used his new spell [Invigorate], Prana flooded his veins. His exhaustion faded, along with a jolt of new energy flooding his body.
Getting closer he noticed a building was under construction just next to the playground. In fact, the whole playground was probably closed due to the double-story scaffolding buttressed against a partially finished wall. It looked warped, but he didn't have the time to investigate further.
Another bolt flew forward killing a Corrupted blocking his path
Mark dashed past a sign that read “Danger! Construction in progress” and headed right for the wall, noticing there were wrought iron spikes at the top of it.
It was about two meters tall. Now Mark had always been very active, so scaling the wall shouldn't be an issue, though the spikes were annoying. The problem was whether he had enough time. The closest ones were just a couple of seconds out.
With no time to dwell on it, he doubled down. Casting [Shape Mana] sent a box-shaped construct forward, pushing it up against the wall acting as a large step.
One large leap and he was up and over, quickly reabsorbing the construct and moving it to his hands. Shielding them from the sharp spikes. Landing on the other side he absorbed the force first into the balls of his feet, then bent his knees to distribute the energy of the landing.
The rain had turned the area into the mud. Boe came vaulting over the wall, clearing the two-meter jump all at once.
Mark was already running when he heard the dull impacts of flesh meeting stone.
The rain was getting harder to see through, Mark could just bearly make out a lonely jungle gym sitting in the middle of the fenced-off area.
Choosing to remain parallel to the wall he ran through puddles of blackish water. The mud began to give way to grass the further he went into the area.
Checking back he could see multiple Corrupted trying to scale the wall. Although only the Ordinators had any real success. The rest were just using the front runners as stepping stones to get over.
He noticed the Ordinators were no longer scenting the air. Did that mean the rain was covering his tracks? Was it scent based? It seemed so but it had to be something more. They'd followed him to a closed-off building where his scent shouldn't have mattered.
One thing was certain though, something was disrupting them. If they were following him purely by sight then he had a chance.
He kept moving but once more the building next to him caught his attention. Now that he was closer he could see the scaffolding was damaged, probably from the meteors. It was almost completely unattached to the building.
A spark appeared in Mark’s eyes.
He continued to move, but as he came to the other side of the playground he stopped. Repeating the process he had earlier he got up on the wall. Only this time instead of jumping down he turned back towards the approaching hoard. Pouring a massive amount of Prana and Mana into [Shape Mana] he surrounded himself in a cylinder of force, rooting himself to the spot. Then stretching the construct forward, he gripped onto the scaffolding. This was the furthest he had ever sent a construct and he could feel the drain on its resources. However, as Mark pulled he felt the scaffolding give way. Whatever remaining support beams there were snapped. And like a row of dominos, the whole structure began to fall. One portion at a time, each pulling the next down.
Beams and planks crashed down onto the screeching mass. Burying them and creating an obstacle for any of those not trapped. The closest ones to Mark still rushed forward but Mark drew in the construct and hopped off the wall into the street below. There were a couple here too but only the closest seemed to notice him. The rain was coming down in buckets now. Mark needed to find shelter. Boe had cleared the wall and was already halfway across the street. Dashing to catch up to him Mark killed the few blocking his path.
Heading east was a little off his desired course, but he could see the area was becoming more industrial. Which meant less Corrupted. Mark traveled down the road until he saw a medium-sized warehouse. By now he mostly lost his stalkers, he was pretty sure he’d caught most of the Ordinators in the collapse, but he wouldn't count on that stopping the survivors for long.
Moving quickly out of view, Mark approached a side door into the warehouse. There was a heavy-duty padlock on it. Taking a step back he fired a couple of [Force bolts] until it gave out. Pushing his way in he slammed the door shut behind him. The room was warm, dark, and way too silent.
Boe came in after Mark and immediately shook himself of the rain
Quickly adjusting the light in his pocket they moved deeper into the building. The room opened up into a large open space, packed with shelves. The shelves were filled with an assortment of things. Mostly food items, non-perishables.
There weren't many windows at ground level, however, Mark could see large ones near the ceiling to let in natural light. A couple of them were even broken, letting in sheets of wind and rain. Listening carefully he tried to keep an ear out for any shambling or moaning. When he didn't hear anything. He began searching the place. Slowly going through the aisles, making sure he was truly alone here. After a while of finding nothing, he finally began to relax and search the shelves. There was no way he was sleeping, but he’d take some time to rest in a moment.
First, he wanted to see if there was anything he could use here.
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/1guc4q1xwdqnl36/Chapter%2027%20-%20Playground.png?dl=1]