Arc 2 - Chapter 17: Jenny and Jerry vs ???

(Quintiles 29, 59 / 7:55PM)

‘Seriously, who is she?’

Both Jerry and Jenny stared at a teenage girl older than Loraine. Looking at them in return, the lich girl swayed a strand of black hair from her right eye.

“Do you mind telling me who you are, and why you’re doing this? I don’t like laying hands on women, so I hope it’s not something psychotic…”

Slowly breathing in and out through his nostrils, he began inching his way toward her. Her head tilted down, she looked up at him with raised eyeballs, and didn’t nudge her head from place at all.

“You don’t look like a fighter, nor do you look like you take pleasure in killing people, so…”

He extended his hand outward, as his knuckles softly shook. Frowning softly, his cheeks were strained and wrinkled, while a bead of sweat rolled down his right temple.

“There’s nothing we can gain or lose in this fight.”

Surprisingly, the girl extended her hand outward, her frail bones barely holding up from the influx of gravity. Gripping onto each other, Jerry felt no blood or warmth from her paleness, as they book shook on it.

And she smiled warmly, with the crevices of her eyes making her look angelic. Squinting her eyes, she swung her hair back … followed by her grip loosening …

“There is something that I gain from this…”

—He heard a gunshot…—

He looked down toward where his right hand, the hand that tried to settle their differences.

But her hand wasn’t there. Instead, it was replaced by metal, a revolver that spewed out a barrel of smoke.

“H-Huh?”

Pulling back his hand, he turned it around to see the factory floor through his palm. The hole murking in a warmish substance, he began to gasp in intervals from the raging pain that soared up his arm. The bullet didn’t get stuck in his palm, it went clean through.

Jerry gripped his right wrist, and took many steps back as blood drove from his wound. Staining the concrete floor crimson, his throat pitched and convulsed from his pulsating vocals, as he felt like they might tear each other apart…

“Hope! Hope! Hope!”

He felt another area where warm liquid fell, as it moistened his clothes. With his left hand, he touched the area with his shivering fingers, and clenched his eyes from the pain.

Because the bullet went clean through his hand, it had to be dislodged somewhere….

“Jerry!”

Jenny sprinted a few steps toward Jerry, and crouched down once she reached his sprawled out body. Placing her left hand onto his forehead, he felt his body shimmer cold, causing her to rub her tumb with brittle care.

“Hang on! I’ll get some of the soldiers to—”

She heard a click, followed by a reload.

‘Damn her!’

Turning her head rapidly to the lich girl, and along with her standing up, she pulled out her spiked frying pan. Wielding the handle with both of her hands, she pointed the tip of it toward the revolver-carrying girl.

Having the bullets locked into the chamber, her wrist was the bridge between the gun and her body. Her own hand taking the form of the revolver, she aimed the barrel straight at Jenny, while not bothering to use her left hand.

“Come here!”

Wielding her pan like a baseball hat, and her knuckles on the verge of breaking, she lunged to the left. Using her right leg to push herself off the ground, hints of rust cleared off from the surface.

And because Jenny lunged forward, the lich girl shot out many bullets from the barrel of her revolver. With no trigger, and with no extra finger, she fired as much as she could, but Jenny’s lunge caused many of them to miss. Traveling through the emptiness of the factory, a couple of hot lead grazed the ends of her jacket, which burnt and tore off strands of leather.

‘Crap!’

Lunging again, she raised the bottom of her frying pan to deflect two to three bullets, which dented some of the spiked metal. Deflecting them back to the creator, the lich girl began to jump left and right.

Firing and spraying more of her revolver bullets, she felt every recoil reverberate her body. More and more, the barrel fluttered lead smoke from the tip. Fluttering in the wind, it screamed against any unfortunate eardrum that was next to air, or in the vicinity of it. That’s how guns work, a tool used to finish up loose ends; bad or worse.

Deflecting them at the right time, it swayed into the darkened corners of the factory. With every bullet she swayed off with her pan, it crackled the pan evermore. Numbing her hands, tingling her fingers, the blood that was prisoned by her skin shuddered at the thought of being released.

That was, until some of the bullets were deflected; accurately toward the lich girl.

“Hmm?”

Lodging into her kneecaps, it hit precisely the area between her thighs and shins. Like a bird in a plane’s engine, her joints laughed, as it gave her body the ability to remain frozen in place. Not by choice, but by the absolute ability to not move forward. Too slow to regenerate, too slow to push out the bullets from her knees, she was like a deer in headlights.

She stood still, and tilted her head to the left while placing her finger along her cheek. Out of luck or skill, the last of the deflected bullets didn’t plow through her head, as it burnt and tore centimeters of skin from her ear and cheek.

“Now you’re through!”

A meter away from the girl, she ignited her small muscular muscles throughout her shoulders and upper back. Thrusting the pan toward the girl’s face, she clenched all enamels of her teeth, sending some of her teeth to chip out from the excess stress.

Closing the gap, the spikes slammed onto the girl’s right cheekbone, forming holes that poured forth tar. Creating a mini shockwave, the air trapped between the pan and the girl’s face reenacted a small sonic boom. Digging deep into her cheek, half of her bone structure shattered, but Jenny wasn’t finished … nor did she send the girl flying.

In fact, the only body part that flew—

“Oh my…”

She saw the world upside down. Because of gravity, it soon arched down, leaving it slam and roll along the factory floor, accumulating rust in its wake.

‘I suppose some rust got in my eye.’

Once it ceased rolling, all of her face was endowed in brown and red dust, and rust. Along with half of her facial structure collapsing under the strike, it led a pool of tar to splutter around her neck.

‘I think I used too much strength…’

Looking far into the distance, the dislodged head was 20 to 30 feet away from her position. With her head unable to regenerate her body, Jenny continued to focus her eyes on the lich girl.

Using her peripheral vision, she noticed a scared soldier shivering by the side. Hiding in the shadows, Jenny moved her eyeballs toward him, and spoke in a stern teacher voice.

“Help him now! He’s losing blood!”

“O-Ok!”

As the soldier ran toward Jerry, he huffed and puffed out repeating air from his wrinkled lungs. The grip on her pan slightly loosening, her fingers dug deep into the metal, followed by a bead of sweat rolling down her temple. Having tar drip from the spikes of her frying pan, it dribbled softly against the stone floor.

‘Now which body part is she going to regenerate from? Wait … a Zompire's weakness is their heart. If I take her heart now…’

In front of her, was the bleeding body of the girl with no head.

Tar pouring from her neck, Jenny raised both of her arms and hands, which casted a shadow amongst the twitching body. Having the dim light from above softening her neck, she spread out both of her legs, and made a stance as a person using a sledgehammer.

‘Then her misery would end.’

Squeezing her bicep muscles merely instantly, the grip on the handle tightened exponentially, allowing her arms to thrust forward. On a trajectory toward the girl’s heart, the spikes of the frying pan grew closer and closer as it…

“Not every lich has their heart … on the left side of their chest.”

The spikes of the pan stopped inches away from her chest. Keeping the pan on the girl’s heart, Jenny turned her head upward at the dislodged head.

“What?!”

“My heart is where my brain is at, and my brain is where my heart is at.”

The girl didn’t let out a frown nor a smirk, as her lips were flatlined alongst her battered face. Since rust plastered her pale face, it led her to squint steadily at the monolid beauty, who gawked her mouth repeatedly. Sharpening her eyes, a vein sprouted from her right forehead, allowing her fingers to dig deep into the handle of her pan.

“I’m not buying that! Are you saying that liches are different from normal zompires!?”

“Liches can alter their organs into different places, if their blessing shall suit it. If humans did the same, then they would end up killing themselves in the process.”

She moved the tip of the pan toward the girl’s head, despite the vast difference in location. Breathing hurriedly, she felt a stabbing sensation quench her chest, like someone was pinching directly at her heart.

Ignoring her breathing, Jenny swayed her head once, and glared at her. Taking several steps forward, she walked past the bleeding out body, as the metal from the handle crackled.

“Why are you telling me this? What do you achieve by telling me your secret?”

Silence blared itself into her eardrums, leaving only the sound of her mellow heartbeat. But it was soon replaced by a voice…

—“I suppose I just needed more time…”—

Something stood up from behind her, making her jump and turn around nearly instantly. Seeing her body; with no face; look at her like a headless chicken, tar splattered all across the poor girl’s chest and stomach.

“I despise my head groveling on the ground like this.”

‘Oh no … I should kill her now!’

In a flight or fight response, Jenny lunged herself toward the headless body, and noticed the body barely keeping itself stable. Realizing that it wasn’t backing down, Jenny slightly crouched down … and kicked herself off of the ground.

‘Maybe this will work.’

Reaching a height no humans should be able to jump, her entire body soared through the air like a boomerang. Turning her body the opposite way, she did a backflip midair.

Landing carefully amongst her heels, all of her body weight and inertia pushed her body to crouch down. For a split second, Jenny took the small time to compose herself, before checking her spiked frying pan that was still holstered.

‘Good, it didn’t fall off.’

Wielding the pan with her right hand, Jenny charged toward the back of the lich. The spikes of her pan gleaming under the dim light, she clenched down on all her enamels, leaving her gums to sore from the excess strength.

Pulling her hands back, her muscles expanded yet again as she swung the pan with unrelenting strength. The lich being wide open, the area she swung toward was none other than the left side of her back. All the while a cowardly soldier watched the movements of the monolid beauty.

‘Just how much strength does she have? She swings her pan like nothing…’

Halfway through her charge—

—The girl spun around, with two of her arms being replaced by assault rifles.—

________________________________________________________________________

‘W-What?’

Without warning, a barrage of bullets plowed through the rifle’s barrels, ricocheting the small girl’s body back and forth. Leaving her feeting to be loosened, all of the bullets burnt the air like imaginary steak.

Widening her eyes, Jenny’s entire body was enclosed in sweat, once the bullets were all charging head on toward the lunging Jenny. Too slow to dodge left or right, she extended her frying pan, but it only covered her chest and stomach.

‘Simpleton.’

Baring her teeth, her knees felt on the verge of buckling from the sight of death. Continuing her running push forward, all the bullets narrowed their way closer and closer. And unfortunately for her, the pan could only do so much…

‘I…’

Some rounds of bullets found themselves inside her lower stomach, digging holes upon holes into her digestive tract. Claiming shelter, she ceased her run and tumbled forward with blood oozing from her lower abdomen.

Letting go of her weapon, she immediately hovered both of her hands over stomach, as she felt a warm liquid escape out. Staining the floor red, a foul odor lingered in the air.

“Help! Help!”

Everything blared a shimmering tinnitus, pushing her mouth to open wide and flare her nostrils. Clutching both of her hands onto her lower stomach, her eyelids fluttered rapidly as humanly possible.

‘I don’t wanna go!’

She felt her breathing decrease, her lungs wrinkling and shriveling as they constrained factorially. Her heart decreasing its beating, blood dumped out from her mouth, which left her right lip to stain red. Feeling her throat go dry, it was like a dozen bees repeatedly stung her vocals.

‘I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go!’

Even the blood from her intestines drenched her chest down to her thighs. Feeling half of her body casted in a warm liquid, she sped her eyes around the room, making her eyes tremble and squeeze.

‘I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go!’

“I’m glad I had my little fight with you. I suppose it’s not worth fighting for, yet you still charged forth.”

Unable to see her surroundings, and her breathing going on hyperdrive, she felt truly scared. Her eyes dilating increasingly larger and larger, she failed to acknowledge—.

“I promised … pants … myself to never lay hands on a woman …”

Wielding a sword with his left hand, his right arm was motionless amongst his waist, while blood gushed from his wound. Having the tip of the blade against the floor, it rang down a putrid substance covered in black.

Her eyes were entirely focused on Jenny, until she placed them onto Jerry. His breathing coming in short intervals, along with his chest heaving frantically, his left hand squeezed the grip of his sword.

“But … pants … you my friend are no woman …”

They both heard a thump. Glancing to her body, she discovered that the man was right behind her…

“Hmm?”

Squinting her eyes, she noticed a limb, which was covered in a pool of tar. Shaking her head, her hair began to sprout up as if a balloon rubbed the top of it, all the while she puckered her lips.

“My arm…”

Her right arm was dislodged from the rest of her body, leaving the assault rifle to dissipate into a normal body part. Moving her body forward, she turned it around, and had it face the barely breathing Jerry.

“You imbecilic cheat.”

Barely pushing his legs forward, he tried to swing his sword with all his might. His breath hot, he aimed at her left arm, but she soon lunged to the right.

Her vision withering away, it left Jenny to do the only thing possible; rest. Relaxing her body, her muscles loosened as blood continued to gush from her intestines.

Unable to take a glance at Jenny, Jerry bit his upper lip, allowing a small spur of blood to crimson his lower one. His eyes on the verge of shutting off, the lack of blood flow caused his knees to buckle slightly, making his aim randomize.

‘Please let me hit her arm! Just once, please lend me a hand lady luck!’

“I shall end this immediately.”

As she maintained her lunging movement, she pointed her left arm not at Jerry, but at the ground. Spreading her legs outward, her bare feet clamped onto the ground, putting Jerry off guard.

But he still managed to zone in on her left arm, once he thrusted his sword luckily onto her rifle. Sparks flying from the sudden strike, he pushed an absurd amount of strength into the blade, overpowering the girl’s defense. Since her feet were glued to the floor, it left Jerry to turn his sword, and have it pointed toward where her heart was.

‘Even if she is going defense, I’ll just—’

—“Your lover was killed, during the fall of Ticia. Is that correct?”—

He remained still, as the strength from his arms soon dwindled from her words. Being pushed back, his grip on his sword loosened, as he looked at the girl who wide-eyed into his soul. Keeping the tip of his sword at the stone floor, the lines beneath his eyes squirmed against a hidden frustration…

“H-How did you know…?”

“Her name was Sidney. Ginger-haired, freckles, medium-height—”

“How did you know!?”

He pushed out a loud yelp, leaving the room to thicken from his parched vocals. His throat began to quiver, his fingertips trembled the more he had his grip on the straining handle. Shaking his head side to side, he didn’t allow a shed of ceiling light to shone on his face.

“What does she have to do with this…”

“There is a way to bring her back.”

He had trouble holding onto the handle of his quaking sword.

Widening his eyes, Jerry’s sword loosened severely, once his palms were beginning to coat with excess of sweat. Gulping down whatever saliva to moisten his throat, he steadied his breathing … and dropped his sword.

“Do you … Do you mean it? Sidney would be back?”

“Of course. But first, you shall meet my Boss. He doesn’t want anyone to configure our location, so I must blindfold you.”

Rubbing his right arm with his left hand, he glanced at the bullet wounds from his right hand and his stomach. As blood continued to pour evermore, staining his pants and his shirt with red, he let out a sigh and turned toward Jenny. Seeing her body completely defeated, his eyes submitted defeat.

“I’ll go with you … but can you promise me you won’t hurt that woman there?”

“Of course. The boss wanted Boris, but I think he’ll be lenient enough to allow you.”

Panning his attention to the cowardly soldier, he had his gun pointed toward the head of the girl. His finger on the trigger, and with the metal shivering, Jerry pushed his vocals as he yelled at him.

“Soldier! Tend to Jenny’s wounds! I’m going to settle this on my own…”

“But Sir! This is a trap! Consider the possibility that your life is on the line!”

“Consider this my sacrifice to save my second option! Tell David and the others, if they manage to pull through, that I’ll be doing it alone this time!”

Ignoring the headless body, and the rolled up head, he bent down to grab his sword, his fingers barely clutching onto the metal. As the headless body began to walk toward her body, her bare feet slapping against the floor, she reached toward the head.

Picking it up, she twisted it back on, with tar instantly steaming to form imaginary stitches.

‘My entire life, I wanted one thing. Just one thing. No matter what, I’m achieving that goal…’