Arc 2 - Chapter 6: A Collection of Past Dark Memories

“Oh … is everyone alright?”

A cloud of dust blanketed the bar. Remembering the first explosion, he recalled the roof and most of the walls to be blown away. But this was different, as no walls were present to hold the blank slate of wooden floor.

With the dust cuddling in his throat and eyes, he placed his hand on his throat, as dirt and grime filled his airways. Using his left hand, he thumped his chest, and wheezed relentlessly for fresh air.

“gasps … Hello! … gasps … anyone there!?”

The dust surrounding everything, and his visibility impaired, he clenched his eyes shut from the meddling dust. Moving his palms to cover his eyelids, he swayed his head left and right.

“Aaah! … please anyone! … gasps … say something!”

Clogging his throat more and more, his breathing turned more shallow by the second. Hunching his back forward, he continued to suffocate slowly, hoping that it would just—

It was gone.

As if it was wiped away by a dust sweeper, Luke opened his eyes and let both of his hands drop from his face. The swish of rapid air was so fast, Luke could barely feel it whip his body spiritually. Seeing the establishment clearly, he instantly knew what it was, and he was thankful for it.

‘He finally tested that thing out…’

Standing up from the floor, he began to brush off dust and pieces of debris from his pants. Seeing Benn and Hope lying near a pile of broken wood and brick, and Miles snoozing right next to them, Luke let out a huge sigh of relief.

‘They’re okay … thank god for that …’

Meanwhile, Stan and the others saw Fred holding a black box device on his right palm. Already opened, mechanized steam ruptured some of the chords of the device, meaning it was more or less a one time use gadget.

Checking in on Stan and his group from afar, he took note of them having no injuries. As he continued walking through the bar, he finally reached toward Luna.

Luna pointed her sword at the pale boy, as the tip of her blade pinched his chest. Bringing out one of his uzis from his holster, he let his other arm remain motionless to his thigh. Turning around to look at him, her eyes were strained a hideous red, with her scleras stressed from the fight.

“Hold up. We should ask him a couple of questions first. They may gave us a reason why they attacked us.”

She didn’t nod at his words, as she still kept her sword pinning against his chest. Yet even so, she didn’t yell or talk back. Once he kept her at bay, Luke pointed his uzi straight at the zompire’s forehead, but with his finger on the side.

“What and who are you guys?”

His right hand gently shook, his palm warmly staining the grip of his gun with sweat. As the boy continued to sit motionless on the ground, he stared grudgingly into Luke’s eyes, leading Luke to slightly loosen the grip of his uzi.

“We’re zompires blessed with blessings. I think that fat shark-human said that we’re liches, perhaps. Anyway, we have no goals inside us, no mind of our own which is what our Boss calls it.”

She pushed the tilt of her blade an inch more, leaving her sword to scrape his chest. Flinching, a spurge of white veins sprouted from his forehead and neck.

“Quit it you bitch! Females like you need to listen if you want the truth!”

“Can I kill him?”

“I know you're angry, but please bear with it.”

Crouching down to the boy’s level, Luke holstered his uzi back onto his waist. Sharpening his eyes, while his hands trembled, Luke slowly pulled in a gush of air, once he noticed the boy’s lack of interest.

“Who is behind all of this…”

A small vein splurged from his right temple. Thrusting his hands, he gripped the front of the boy’s white old collared shirt, as his scleras swirled into a world of crimson red.

“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 matter, Luke’s throat reverberated as he spoke. His eyes twitching hard, the boy’s face soon puffed up the more he stared at Luke’s serious gaze. Closing his eyes …

The boy laughed.

Starling him and even Luna, she pulled her sword several inches back. Although startled, Luke’s frustration only grew, as his hands shook even more violently, and worse. Feeling his hands tremble dangerously, the boy controlled his breathing as a single black tar drop rivered down his right eye.

“Hahahaha … fine, I submit, I’ll tell you some things. And I might tell you who I work with.”

Luke’s grip remained unshaken, once the smell of the boy’s rotting mouth assaulted his nose. As the boy’s left arm was cut off from earlier, he had his body stabilized with his right, which was pressed on the wooden floor.

“You may not know me, but I definitely knew 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 back at the rest of everybody, as they all watched him interrogating the boy from a distance. Beyond them, was a duo of liches…

The teen lich had its head and chest be gone from existence, as only his legs and feet still stood. Ryan on the other hand had merely the right side of his body be blown to smithereens. Regardless, both liches had body parts and tar scrambling the area around them, which made Luke’s voice remain cold as a meat house freezer.

“I know Ryan … but not the other one.”

“That makes sense. Curses are one hell of a power … anywho, well, no matter how you look at it, we stink, we’re puppets, we’re rotting yet we’re immortal, so …”

The boy pushed his lips to form a devilish smile. Moving his dimples to reach the lower parts of his ears, it made Luke … loosen his grip on the boy’s shirt.

—“I guess we’re just a collection of past dark memories.”—

Gary overheard the conversation from behind. Scratching the back of his head, Gary looked down with a slightly opened mouth.

‘Wait a minute…’

While Luke stood up, taking a step back as he focused his eyes solely on the boy, he completely let go of him. His breathing returned to normal as he straightened his back and neck.

Luna’s eyes narrowed at the frail boy, and her sword swiftly shook as veins intertwined around her face. As for Luke, he took out his uzi from his waist, and then pointed the barrel straight at his face yet again.

While a drop of sweat trickled from his nose down to his lips.

“Just two more questions. How did you guys come here? And again…”

Using his other hand, he pulled out another uzi from his waist, leaving him to coolly dual wield his guns.

“Who is behind all of this?”

The boy stood up and patted his knees, as he kept his all black eyes on Luke. Once he was finished swatting off chunks of dust, he placed his hand underneath his chin, and tapped it with his fingers.

“How we got here is quite simple. We could’ve done the same thing we did with Ticia, but charging through the border would be idiotic. Military presence is extremely heavy on both Kepputha and Haxouburg’s borders, so our Boss thought of something.”

And even when he stood, Luna still kept her blade onto his chest. Taking a step back, veins began to bulge from his neck to his forehead, his breathing running hot.

“He decided to—stop tormenting me! … anywho … he decided to sneak many of us in by truck, and played the role of soldier for a short time. From there, we saw an old abandoned factory and we called it home.”

“And your boss?”

Luke aimed the barrel straight toward his heart, as the grip tightened alongst the metal. While Luna pushed her sword an inch forward, it led the boy to growl the words from his putrid mouth.

“Can this bitch leave me alone! Damn her looks are wasted by her personality! At this rate, she’ll never be a good wife!”

“That’s it!”

Luna flowed her strength to her right bicep, leaving it to expand once she thrusted her sword. Fortunately, Luke was near her, as he grabbed her right shoulder in an iron grip. Feeling her muscles curve and protrude, she stopped to turn around to face him with a hideous glare.

Her body quaking by her unearthed anger, the boy took several steps back, and extended his palms outward.

“I was trying to be nice, but that female just ruined it for both of you! Typical of—”

“Turn around.”

Hearing a splint of metal shaking from behind, the boy turned around. Facing Gary, whose eyes began to water, made him push his lips to form a warm smile. Just as his lips reached the bottom of his ears, a single teardrop flowed from Gary’s left eye.

“Gary! Gary. Long time no see.”

Another tear rolling out from his right eye, it puffed his cheek red, as the metal of his gun continued to quake. Stan and the others pointed their weapons too, with the clash of metal vibrating repeatedly.

“What happened to you … I thought that you …” Muttered Stan, before the boy spoke to replace his words.

“Died? I should’ve told you this, but your speaker was already blessed with a blessing beforehand.”

—Wait … speaker … was he the speaker for the robotics club?

The men shook their heads in disbelief, with most of their fingers stretched out onto the side of their guns. No matter what, Gary couldn’t move his finger, even if he tried…

“What … what happened … why are you doing this?”

“It’s a long story—no, actually, it’s quite short.”

The boy’s missing left arm began to resurrect. Flustering out strands of muscle and tar, it wrapped around like a sewing machine before it began to mold. Steam flushing from the hot bending tar, a skin of ghostly white pigment covered and prisoned his tar and muscle flesh.

Once this process was finished, the boy showcased his new arm like a new toy, leaving the men to pale their faces; and clutch their weapons harder.

“After I died, I was turned into this. I joined an organization a few hours later, which is where I met my Boss. As for the rest of everyone, they were all gone when I woke up.”

His throat jumped with every sniffle, as his breathing turned irregular the more he saw what’s left of him. Feeling a hand pressed onto his shoulder, it was none other than Stan, whose fingers trenched into his bone.

“Come on Gary. He’s practically a shell, a being with no mind of its own … we have no choice …”

Gary swayed Stan’s hand away, as many of his tears bottled up in his eyes. Taking a step forward, he lowered his handgun so that his hand rested on his thigh. Extending his other arm outward, he made eye contact, who just smug at him maliciously.

“It’s been six years … y-you don’t have to do this, Harold … ”

Harold placed his hand underneath his chin, and tapped his jawline with his yellowish fingernails. As he shifted his head to the right, he let his hand press onto his hip.

While Gary softly muttered the last of his words.

“Let’s go home…”

“... I’ll let the tall chick decide.”

“With pleasure.”

A female sounding voice drew from behind, making Fred instantly turn around…

He saw a tall girl with black hair, all black eyes, and a ghostly pale face. Her eyes glued to the silver-haired young man, it took his breath away, as he swayed his head softly. The girl in question tilted her head to the left, and softly smiled.

—“I see my sacrifice hasn’t gone in vain.”—

—“Gemma…”—

Fred collapsed on his knees, as he let his legs remain motionless to the floor. His arms unable to help him up, he stared down into the abyss, as a mixture of emotions swelled up in his eyes.

Slowly walking toward him, she put on a devilish grin. Once she towered over him, she placed her hands on her hips, and had her gaze specifically at his neck.

“You’re all grown up too. Sucks that you’re taller than me.”

Crouching down, she reached the same eye level as Fred, and extended her frail and bony hand. Rubbing his cheeks gently, like how a mother would, her bony thumbs grazed the top of his cheekbones.

“But you’re still so cute … makes me want to turn you into my zompire boyfriend already. How does that sound?~”

Fred lifted his head up, with muffled groans spewing out from his throat. Getting closer to his face, she opened her mouth, revealing her sharp rotten fangs along with her decaying breath.

“Fred! Snap out of it! Run!” Yelled Stan.

Sprinting toward him, Stan had the barrel of his AK pointed low to the floor. As he did this, more growls muzzled from the entrance.

“Don't do this Harold…”

“It’s all part of his master plan. Besides, you want me to stop? Then take your shot.”

“You gotta be shitting me … you seeing this Benn?”

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

The blown up corpses, which were decimated from Luke’s fulminated mercury, unleashed a plow of steam. Their limbs being entangled in black tar, along with their muscles and bones attaching themselves like legos, the duo steadily got up. Their limbs still hot, their white pigment glowed, while eying Benn and Hope.

‘We need a miracle’ thought Hope.

“Just hold still Fred…”

Fred’s neck flinched from her breath, her fangs inches away from his sweat filled throat. Cultivating all of their strength, down to their heels, Luke and Stan pushed themselves frantically; as their chests went numb.

“Fred!”

“Listen to us Fred!”

“Just shoot him Gary!”

Luna pointed her swords toward the entrance of the bar, which were the wolves that stalled at the decimated door. Her grip on her swords loosened, she took a step back as the pack growled hungrily.

To make matters worse, Harold placed his chest right onto the barrel of Gary’s handgun, as he remained smug.

“I can’t …”

—I just … I just …

Luke extended his right hand outward, stretching his arm to its limit while he lunged. Shedding out a tear from his left eye, he swore he felt the word slow down in time…

—I just wanna go home…

Just as everything was at its peak … a white light shone.

In the biggest mound tucked away in a corner, was a light so recognizable that … Everyone turned their heads to it. Friends, enemies alike, they all widened their eyes once the mound bursted free.

And out from the raining stone and wood, was a freckled woman, carrying in her arms a red-haired man. Dropping him down on the floor, all of their breathing reflected against her light, as they looked at the miracle they were given.

“I’m up bitches.”