Arc 2 - Chapter 5: Bar Holdout

(Quintiles 29, 59 / 6:01PM)

His ears rang.

—What the … what happened?

Opening his eyes, dense smoke and dust clogged the bar. Barely configuring the debris that scattered in front of him, his arms and hands felt like they went through static. As the dust started to clear, more of his eyes gave clearance to the laying bodies taking shape.

“Everyone … where are …”

Dust and dirt blanketed their bodies, as they were surrounded by wood chips and glass. Placing his hands on the floor, his legs and feet succumbed to static, whilst his elbows held his body.

—Come on, get up!

His eardrums silenced the ringing, but he was unable to stand. Remaining in that position, he clenched his teeth and muttered through his parched throat.

“Aah … h-hello … a-a-anyone …?”

His friends were glued to the alcohol-ridden floor, as they laid restless. Using whatever strength he had, he tried to pressure the tips of his feet on the floor, but to no avail, his knees buckled. His arms continuing to lock in place, he exhaled air rapidly while grinding against his back molars.

—Get up! Just get up dammit!

Soaring a bit more strength, he remained in place, as his biceps all bulged while wearing a reddened face.

—I got to save them! I have to—

His sixth sense shook him again, leaving him to widen his eyes. Wanting to run, he couldn’t, as he could only turn his head right.

Noticing a putrid smell in back of him, his peripheral vision caught a glance of a brightly paled figure with long dark hair. The more he turned, the more his body shivered at the sight beholding him.

—W-What?

The creature … looked like an old teen. Taking the shape of a horse-human, it stared at Luke, with its smile reaching the bottom of its horse ears. Chuckling, the teen looked more like a zompire than a human, its eyes fully enclosed in black.

“I always wondered why I admire you? Throughout our time in training, you were always weak compared to the others.”

Walking closer to Luke, it crouched down, and grabbed the top of Luke’s hair. Gripping it tightly, their faces were inches from each other, leaving Luke to pull his head back from the teen’s rotting teeth.

“Why are you this rude? Don’t tell me you forgot me too… well … well?! Do you remember Ryan then?! Do you still remember what you did to him!?”

Before he could react, the teen pushed Luke’s head onto the wooden floorboards. Creating a loud thump, Luke’s face dented the wood, leaving his nose to gush out a river of blood.

Keeping Luke’s head down, the teen let out a devilish laugh.

“So you aren’t going to tell me huh? Then I guess I just have—”

He saw a blur of a leg.

Once this blur came into contact with him, it covered his face, leaving his cheeks to be pushed into his mouth. His head being thrusted back, his entire body went along with the motion, which sent him flying toward the wooden wall.

Since the wood was badly damaged from the explosion, the wall collapsed once the boy crashed onto it. Being covered in layers of broken wood, it was like a coffin God had made for him.

“Luna…”

Turning his head towards her, he caught her struggling to catch her breath. Meanwhile, two men barely stood up, their breathing out of control. Their hands on their thighs, they glanced at both the newly formed coffin, and Luna.

“pants … You alright Miles?”

“Barely … pants … you get the others up, me and Luna would handle him…”

Giving him a slight nod, Jack ran to the others who laid unconscious, even though his legs shivered hard. Letting out a cold sweat, he looked down to see a large hole where his ankle was, and noticed a large scrape near his ankle.

Blood shingled from the injury, but he ignored it.

Reaching toward Benn and Hope first, he tugged on their shoulders as more blood gushed out from his wound. Clenching his teeth hard, a culmination of cold shivers ran throughout his body … as if he was on a time limit.

“Try not to pass out! We need the others and especially Gwen!”

“Do you need help?”

Another man came out from the door. Similar to the horse-human, he had dark hair, a pale face, and all black eyes encompassing his eye sockets. He was frail, and he was a bunny-human with a height similar to Jack.

All the while the horse-human sprang himself back up from his coffin, shaking off the blanket of debris like nothing.

“Yeah bro. I think these scumbags deserve to die; for leaving us to die. You remember Luke, right Ryan?”

“Yeah, I still remember that ugly face. Can’t believe he was the one that caused my death, yet here I am, fresh as ever.”

The half zompire, half bunny-human drew towards his friend. Placing his hand on the half zompire, half horse-human, the teen looked down toward the ground, as his fists balled tightly.

“Sucks that nobody knows who I am now…”

“Don’t worry. I heard that you and me were good friends from what ‘The Fox’ told me.”

Both of them readied their stances, as they slid their right feet back. The tips of their bare feet grinding against the debris, they balled their fists.

Controlling their breathing, Luna and Miles took a couple of steps back. Luke however, still felt like a magnet had reacted with his legs, making him grit his teeth.

—Come on move! Stop being useless and move!

“Wanna see what I can do?” Said Ryan.

Letting all of his strength soar into the tips of his bare toes, he lunged forward with wide eyes. In return, Luna pushed herself from the wooden floor, as she saw him wide open.

“Not interested.”

The world in slow motion, Luna had already wielded her dual wielding, twin-bladed double-edged swords. Spinning her swords like yo-yos, she made the blades enact like helicopter blades.

Bringing her right sword forward, the blade reached toward Ryan’s neck. Bulging her right bicep and shoulder, leaving her muscles to gleam from within her jacket, she pushed the blade so that Ryan would receive an instant death.

‘Just what the hell happened to you … got to end this quickly’ thought Luna, her eyes not sharpened but loosened. But just as she slashed his neck…

“Hehe…”

Her eyes widened and her jaw jittered. Along with a barrage of hot sweat prowling down her cheeks, down to her chest, the abhorrent reality that lay in front of her…

“W-W-W-What the fuck!”

“Swords aren’t going to save you, bitch.”

His head didn’t get chopped off. In fact, allowed himself to be struck by the blade.

Because Luna pushed her sword onto his neck, it extended outward. Looking like it was made out of rubber, no tar or blood oozed from his injury, as the blade stalled on his important arteries.

And in the snap of a finger, Ryan sprung his neck back into place. Barely handling the motion of his rubber neck, she leaped back and examined him head to toe. Her hands, which gripped the handles of her swords, shook gently the more she prowled at his pale skin.

‘He’s using a blessing, but what type…?’

Steadying himself, he dug his feet into the wooden floorboards. Jumping toward her, while having his eyes set on her blades, she had them readied on defense.

Twirling her left sword clockwise, and her right counterclockwise, she twirled them again. And yet, with a simple thrust of his right foot, Ryan side lunged to his right, making Luna wide open for his…

“Pliable Manus.”

Balling his right fist, he thrusted his entire arm like a speeding bullet. Since she put all her eggs in guarding her front, she didn’t have the speed to deflect his speeding arm.

But just as his fist was about to collide, Luna jumped back, as his knuckle grazed the tip of her nose. In slow motion, she saw his rubbery arm in front of her, and with her swords on standby, she raised them without bulging her muscles. Slashing them like the opposite of a guillotine, her blades struck deep up into his elbows.

His arm went up, as if it was bent with the blade. Time flowing back to normal, she strained her white scleras red.

“Are you kidding me?!”

Ryan let out a smirk, once he saw Luna’s eyes widened. Veins sprouting from her neck and forehead, her eyes sharpened at him as he began pulling his arms back toward him.

“You know you can’t cut me.”

“God damn it! Can’t you just die like you’re supposed to!?”

“Hehe … then go ahead! Give it your best shot!”

Luna tapped two buttons on the center of her two batons, causing her blades to pop back into the canisters. Holstering them onto her hips, as it dangled along her pants, she clenched both of her fists tightly.

All the while pushed himself from the floor, and spun his body around to ripple the air.

‘I always worked better with my fists’

Luna raised her fists up to the height of her chest. Dry blood littering her knuckles, her palms smeared in calluses and bruises, and small rashes latching on her fingertips…

It was a contest.

“Ok then! Let’s see who's stronger!”

Heading straight toward her like a speeding bullet, Luna steadied her hands and blurred out her peripheral vision. Putting the world in slow motion, she threw her fist straight at him, as she got closer and closer toward him.

Pulling back his arms like a pair of slingshots, he then pushed all of his momentum into his hands. Splitting the air with his rubbery arms, they zoomed at her with the same velocity as a small caliber bullet.

As the two finally closed the distance.

“Manus Manus”

“Eat knuckle!”

Luna struck first, with her fist lodged onto his nose. Hearing a bone snap in half, and by pushing his nose into his brain, he couldn’t let his attack go to waste.

Even when his face crumbled within itself, his right arm continued to zip through the air. Striking her right cheek, while he began soaring through the air, she grit her molars and enamels from the instant pain.

And like his friend, he crashed onto a badly damaged wall, leaving him to be confined with raining wood and brick. Laying motionless, with a blanket full of debris on top of him, Luna closed her eyes shut. Falling onto her right hip, she raised her hands up to her cheek, as she tried to smother the pain with her calloused palms.

‘Shit he’s tough! Oh fuck, why is it painful!?’

The bruise soft and squishy, it bled purple along her cheekbone. Her whole body tightened under the intense pain, leaving her to bite down on her brittle teeth.

“Where’s that blonde bitch when you need her…”

“Over here.”

Hope towered over her, and pushed up a smug grin while Luna massaged her cheek. Having her left hand on her hip, she cocked her head and placed a finger on her chin, while she breathed irregularly.

“Ooh, that looks horrible. I wonder who could heal you right now…”

“Don't you dare play dumb! Hurry and heal me you— …”

Moving her body up, she had her knees grip firm on the alcohol wooden floor. Veins bulging from her forehead, Luna balled her left hand into a fist as her body quivered violently. But she wasn’t dumb, as she remembered the old saying … of not biting the hand that feeds.

“Just hurry up, please!”

Breathing rapidly, air assaulted her throat the more her cheek swelled purple. On the verge of breaking out into tears, it looked like she pleaded with Hope.

“sighs … Fine.”

Letting her hands drop from her hips, she crouched down and placed her hands onto Luna’s right cheek. Closing her eyes, a flow of yellowish light spawned from her palms, leaving the injured to gain a sense of undescribed relief.

Relaxing her body, and letting her bones and muscles soften, the purplish bruise that stung like a hundred bees began to be replaced by normal tissue. Pulling back her hands, Hope placed them alongst her thighs, as she saw Luna touch her cheek repeatedly.

“You’re supposed to say thanks.”

“And you’re supposed to heal me without any second thoughts.”

“Whore.”

“Bitch.”

________________________________________________________________________

Sweat trickled all over Mile’s face. In both of his hands, two of his sawed-off-shotguns shook, as his breath grew heavy. Focusing his groggy eyes on the horse-human zompire, the teen extended his hands outward, his palms facing directly at Miles.

Out of the boy’s palms … came out several creatures.

‘What the actual hell?!’

The creatures all being the same species, the animals looked like if mice were given wings.

‘How many bats does this asshole summon!?’

Surrounding the teen like a shield, he pointed at Miles, by using his finger which was white as snow. In the blink of an eye, eight bats bared its fangs, as they flapped against the Kepputhan air to reach their maximum speed.

“Hahaha … Let’s see if you can dodge this!”

Miles steadied himself on the old wooden floor, although his legs quivered under the pressure of his body weight. And yet, he slid his right foot back, and pointed his sawed-off-shotguns at the bat horde. Spraying the bats with his shotgun shells, some were hit, but Miles recalled his left arm and hand.

Using his right foot and leg, he sprung himself away from the incoming horde, leaving him to perform an emergency lunge. With his back hardened against the floor, he ignored the pain, and steadily aimed at the horde of five bats that were taken off guard.

“Bullseye!”

Pulling the trigger again, he felt the vibration, the recoil making his hand and fingers go numb. As the shell split open, many of the random pieces of lead melded the poor bats.

Because he laid on the floor, he was vulnerable.

‘Shit! I should get up—’

Another horde of bats charged at him. Seeing their white fangs, along with saliva drenched with foam, Miles raised both of his shotguns toward the group.

But when he pulled the triggers, nothing came out.

“No! My ammo!”

The horde closing in, Miles got up and placed himself into a corner. His legs, returning to its quaking nature, he grit his teeth, and then … threw his guns to the floor. Denting the wood with the butt of its metal, it landed near his feet, all the while Miles covered his face with his forearms.

Looking directly at the teen, he focused his eyes and steadied his breathing; as a bluish dome took the shape of a wall.

‘Shit that was close’

His shield protecting him from the bats, they relentlessly tried to break through. Bashing their bodies against the shield, he felt his strength beginning to dwindle.

‘Damn it! Come on, push them back!’

Even though it was as hard as diamond, his own dome began to shrink. Leaving his arms to shake violently, he bit down on his teeth, as if he tried to crush them into white powder. Straining his eyes red, leaving his vision to go blurry, the vibrations of the endless bats strained his entire body.

‘Why isn’t Luke helping me out!? Damn it, anyone! Even Jack for Christ's sake!’

The dome was inches from trapping his body like a coffin.

His knees on the verge of buckling, his arms tempting to give up, he felt his muscles whither like sand. The more he thought of letting go, the more his strength dwindled even more.

‘I just … I can’t die now…’

[And be the best man you can—]

—The sounds of a heavy machine gun can be heard—

A metallic spray of bullets painted the bluish dome with red blood. Littering the shield with torn up bats, the weight of their bashing finally ceased, leaving him to pull back his hands. Pressing his back against the wall, all of his bluish particles sunk into his palms, as sweat poured his cheeks.

Once the storm of bullets ceased, Miles turned to look at a bulky shark-human, clad in calmness and chalantness. His machine gun pointed at the teen, the shark-human breathed raspy, as blood swept out from his forehead.

“About … pants … fucking time … pants … Come on Benn, finish him…”

Ignoring Miles, Benn had already aimed down the sights on the gun. His finger on the trigger again, he let the machine gun loose, with the bullets crackling from the burning hot barrel. Feeling the recoil ripple his body and joints, the teen extended his hands outward, his palms facing him.

“Foolish.”

Another horde of bats unleashed from his palms. Pointing his finger at Benn, the horde charged toward him, creating a scene where his bullets killed the same amount of bats he shot out. Like fire vs water, many diseased bats littered the gap between Benn and the teen. But what the teen didn’t know was that it was a perfect opportunity … for an exhausted man to unleash one final blow.

‘Thanks Benn.’

Using whatever strength he still had, he garnished it all into his right hand. His right arm and body rumbling uncontrollably, his legs barely kept him up, and yet, he swung his right arm forward.

Which spewed out a bluish shield at the teen.

Since he was so busy dealing with Benn’s bullets, he barely saw the incoming dome of light. Targeting him like a mad truck, the teen stopped his bats, and aimed his right hand at—

The bluish shield rammed into him, pushing him back several feet.

Landing near where Ryan was, he lay on the debris as his head twisted 180 degrees. Meanwhile, Miles collapsed onto the floor, as he slammed chin first onto the wooden debris. Every ounce of his body sucked dry, not even the tiniest of muscles could push him up.

As he closed his eyes.

________________________________________________________________________

“You guys okay?”

“I’m fine. Miles isn’t.”

Benn pointed toward the unconscious Miles, who sprawled out on the debris ridden floor. His breathing rapid, Hope saw his face coated with hot sweat. And as for Luna, she motioned her to go over to Miles, by just nudging her head.

“Hope, help recover Miles.”

“My blessing only works when the person’s injured. Even if he is somehow injured, my blessing would only give him a small energy boost.”

“Does it look like care!? Just poke him with a needle and heel him! Do it or else I’ll use you as a decoy!”

Hope sharpened her eyes, as her throat contracted violently. Breathing in and out slowly, Hope turned around and ran toward Miles with a huff and puff. Stomping along the wood, and her knuckles on the verge of breaking in half, Luna and Benn looked over at Ryan and the teen.

Both beast-human zompires slowly got up. Their bodies sluggish, slow even, they both forced air to circulate through their rotting bodies.

“What are they doing?”

“Nothing good.”

Every intake of air ballooned their chests, as they sucked in lethal amounts of oxygen. Letting the oxygen circulate through their bodies, they focused their eyes on Luna and Benn’s glaring eyes.

“They act like humans but have the appearance of a zompire, yet they're not both … so what the hell are they…?”

“Liches most like it. They have the bodies of zompires, but minds like humans … corrupted humans.”

Liches.

The strength and abilities of the supernatural, but with human thought as a reward. Unlike any other enemy they faced, whether it was a zompire or a human … it was like the worst of both words combined into one.

‘Luke would find a way to deal with these pricks … wait … don’t tell me Luke is still—’

Turning her head to where Luke was originally at, she saw that … Luke wasn’t there.

“What the hell!? Where is he!?”

Losing sight of him, she glanced all around the bar. Seeing him disappear without a trace to be left, she clattered her teeth, as the thought of him succumbing to harm replayed in her head over and over again.

Until she heard howling. As if a horde of them whistled in the hellish evening, both Benn and Luna raised their eyebrows.

“Are those wolves?”

“I thought we domesticated wolves? They sound wild…”

Hearing paws squeak from outside the bar, it sounded as if they were barely entering through the destroyed door. Pulling out both metal batons from her waist, she unleashed her twin bladed, double edged swords.

As Benn had a staring contest with the two liches, Luna glanced at him while taking a step back.

“Keep an eye on those two. If they make a move, yell at me.”

Turning her eyes toward the entrance of the bar, she saw a bastion of colors. White, gray, black, only these three colors were bestowed on the angry wolves, making her legs feel readied.

‘Just where the hell is he?!’

—“Looking for this?”—

Twisting her body 180, she had her eyes set on the voice drawing behind her. Her face went pale, and her hands shook the metal blades of her swords, as she saw a tall figure holding a young man hostage.

“Luna…”

“Luke!”

The boy was frail, with long slender arms wrapping around Luke’s neck. Having the same pitch black hair, pale skin, and tar drenched eyes, he was none other than a lich.

Pushing down his lips, he frowned, all the while his lower eyelids succumbed to a grayish black.

“Out of the strongest people in the room … it’s a female? I expected at least the shark-human to be stronger?!”

“Shut it you incel. Give him back before I slice off your nutsack.”

Pointing her sword straight at the boy’s genitals, her eyes tightened at the boy’s face, as her sword shook violently. Luke, who felt his neck begin to tighten, tried to gasp for air. Flopping his feet, the butt of his heels kicked against the boy’s knees.

“Incel?! … INCEL!!?? How dare you call me that! How!? How!? HOW!? You know what bitch!”

Having his right arm maintained around Luke’s throat, he used his left hand to whistle. Perking everyone’s ears, which led Benn to lose focus for a split second, even Hope glanced at the direction of the new enemy.

The pack of wolves, that waited patiently near the front entrance, came rushing toward the boy. Extending his arms outward, he showcased the pack of wolves that surrounded him … like a leader.

‘What the hell? What is he, their alpha?’

Saliva wallowed from their teeth, leaving it to sparkle and bare white as their nuzzles vibrated. As all of them hounded her like a piece of steak, she noticed something far in the distance…

‘About goddamn time…’

Four dark figures, wielding guns, had their barrels pointed at the horde of the group of wolves. Most of them picking up their scent, the wolves in the back turned with perked up nuzzles, as the scent of blood willowed from their bodies.

“Fire!”

Stan, Gary, Fred, and Diego all fired their weapons. The recoil traversing every bone and muscle within their bodies, their aim faltered, as nothing but gunshots ripple the air. Despite shooting most of the pack, a couple of wolves began to ready their pounces, with drool and saliva sweltering from their fangs.

“Shit! Fall back!”

The boy turned his head to the commotion in back of him, leaving his grip on Luke’s throat to loosen. With this opportunity, and combined with his face returning to a normal shade of color, Luke wiggled his way out of the boy’s slender arm.

Noticing this slip up, he tried to extend his right hand toward him, but Luna was faster. No … she simply vanished.

Without blinking, his left arm fell onto the floor, gushing out tar that drenched the old wood below. As for Luna, one of her blades was soaked with it, with droplets ruminating the metal. Along with her free hand, she gripped the end of Luke’s collar, and dragged him back to her.

Pushing him back several feet, the strength that soared in her right foot dented the old floor.

“Help Benn!”

Adhering to her words, Luke sprinted toward Benn, who kept his faithful eyes on Ryan and the teen. For just a split second, Benn looked to his right, leaving his guard to be dropped for such a small window. Meaning it was the perfect chance for Ryan and the teen to push off from the ground.

As if they expanded the muscles of their thighs, they largened, although no muscle mass was displayed. Pulling back his right arm, Ryan stretched it like a slingshot, leading it to ripple the air from his rubbery state. Meanwhile, the teen was already surrounded by his group of bats, making it enact like a suit of armor.

‘Damn…’ thought Benn.

Using every ounce of muscle within his slim body, Luke sprinted toward Benn, Miles, and Hope. With time flowing more slowly than usual, Luke pulled out a piece of crystal inside his pocket. Holding it with both of his fingers, he pulled back his arm, but turned to where Hope was with Miles.

Whose body was awakened for just this moment.

“Miles! Use your blessing!”

Unneeding to stand up, and his breath calmer than before, he bit on his lower jaw like a piece of hard candy. As Luke threw the crystal at the two liches, Miles extended both of his hands outward.

‘Good thing Hope used that pin needle trick.’

In the knick of time, a bluish dome shielded both Benn and Luke. Acting like a diamond wall, the two liches slammed onto it, while the crystal… Reacted with one of the teen’s bats, making the crystal—no … the piece of fulminated mercury … to explode.

“Get down!”

As the shockwave pushed them all back, the shield broke as it absorbed most of the impact. Not too long after, a cloud of black smoke overcrowded the entirety of the bar, while the blast shook the entire building … again.