Checkmate

The glow of the corrupted energy was visible down the alley. The pair approached as silently as they could. The closer they got, the clearer the chanting became. They still couldn’t make it out, though. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t Japanese. Cliff inched himself along the wall and towards the corner. When he reached it, he slowly poked his head around.

He saw a man wearing ornate robes standing in front of a mass grave. Several men stood around him, wearing the classic suits he was used to seeing by now. Bodies crawled out of the pit, eyes glowing like Cliff had seen before. They shambled out towards the road. Cliff looked around and cursed the lack of any real cover. He leaned back and turned to Sable.

“We gotta get in one of these buildings and get a bead on ‘em. Follow me.” He told her.

“Right.” Sable said back with a nod.

Cliff moved over to a door and tested it. Locked. Of course. He didn’t bother with it this time. He leaned back and gave it a solid kick. The door buckled under his force and swung in. He noticed it was rather barren once he got inside. A warehouse, or a factory perhaps. Cliff spied a few windows ahead, illuminated in the green glow of the tainted magic surging outside.

“We’ll ambush ‘em here. I’ll take down as many as I can and then hightail it back outside and round the corner. Stay here and watch my back, okay?”

“I got it. They won’t get to you.” Sable replied earnestly.

Cliff almost felt a swelling sense of pride in his chest. He moved down the wall until he reached the windows. He made his approach into the light of the windows. One last look towards the open door showed him that Sable’s shadow was still in the doorway. Without much else to do to prepare, he sighted in the red dot on the nearest target and opened fire.

The rifle barked. The shell casing ejected. The window broke as the bullet sailed through it. It entered the skull of one of the yakuza. Cliff switched targets and fired again. Again. And again. The window soon shattered as he unloaded the magazine on anything that was stupid enough to move into his line of sight. When the magazine went dry, he bolted. He swapped the empty one out for a fresh mag and loaded it in expertly. There were harried cries and shouts outside. No doubt they were trying to organize a counterattack.

Cliff heard the sound of glass breaking as he reached the doorway. He looked behind him but saw nothing. Thinking on his feet, he pulled Sable away and pushed her out the door, before turning on his weapon light. Three yakuza were running at him with incredible speed. He reacted fast and switched to full-auto. He squeezed off a few bursts and watched one tumble and turn to ash on the floor, their momentum sending it down into a heap that spread out from the impact. He aimed for the next one and tracked it with his light. It was fast, as was the other. He started trying to suppress them now to keep them back. The rifle bucked into his shoulder as he sent rounds at the two yakuza.

The second one went for him. Cliff staggered back and pulled the trigger. When the gun went click, he twisted it in his grip. He saw that the bolt was locked forward, indicating an empty chamber. He dropped it, letting the sling catch and swing it around to his side. His hand went to his bayonet and his pistol. The D-ring was not playing nicely, but he was experienced with the “widow maker” holster. As the vampire came at him, he drew the bayonet first. When it came in close to bite him, he stabbed it in its chest and then, having finally retrieved the pistol, stuck the muzzle under its chin and fired. It disintegrated in front of him.

The third had leapt up and sailed right into Cliff, with his feet impacting into his chest. Cliff felt his wind leave him as he was sent onto his back, his body flying through the doorway and out into the open. The vampire jumped on him and raised up a clawed hand as it manifested into its true form, only for it to be struck and turn to ash. Cliff looked to the side and saw Sable with her pistol pointed toward him. He nodded and stood up as she holstered it. The bayonet was sheathed and the pistol holstered. While he took the time to reload, Sable yelled suddenly. Cliff jerked his head back up and noticed she wasn’t there anymore. He cursed and moved around the corner.

He saw the blonde vampire from before. Phillip held Sable with a pistol to her head and a slimy grin. The man in the robes had a more sinister smile on his face with the Necronomicon in his hand. The energy flowing out of it was being fed to the corpses behind him. Cliff kept side-stepping in front of the two as he checked the numbers. The only vampire left was Phillip, but the undead were slowly making their way over. Cliff figured that they’d have a stand off until the undead forced his hand or made him retreat.

“Ah, if it isn’t the priest.” the man in the robes said. “You left before I could make your acquaintance.”

“Takahiro, I presume.” Cliff snapped back, slowly trying to position himself at an angle to line the two of them up, but finding no such luck.

“You know me! I must say I shouldn’t be surprised. The CIA does so love to dig up everything it can. But did they ever tell you who I was?”

“I think I got a pretty clear picture right here.”

“So testy. You Americans were always ones to shoot first and ask never. But now, I’m afraid you’re too late! The ritual will be completed. Thank you ever so much for bringing the conduit to us. Tonight could never have happened without it.”

“The conduit?” Cliff looked to Sable. “Her?”

“That’s right. You are too pure for our purpose, priest. But the witch shall serve excellently. Her brand of magic is more agreeable to ours.”

“Like hell. You’re insane if you think I’m going to let you take her.”

“You don’t have a choice.” Takahiro shot back, his grin only growing wider.

Cliff looked at Sable. Something in her eyes struck a chord with him. She wasn’t angry or afraid or sorrowful. In fact, she had that look of determination again. She closed her eyes and nodded at him. Cliff felt his heart sink. His hands trembled.

“There’s always a choice,” he said grimly to himself.

The muzzle of his rifle tracked to the side. He sighted the red dot onto Sable’s head. His finger twitched on the trigger. His breathing quickened. The images of what he had seen, what he had done in Panama, came to the forefront of his mind. But even as his mind raced, his eyes told his brain what was going on. Soon enough, he was surrounded. Phillip moved away, dragging Sable from the hungry claws of the ghouls.

“Blighters.” he cursed as he leapt up onto the roof of the nearby warehouse, taking Sable with him.

Cliff looked and saw the undead move past Takahiro as if he wasn’t there. They headed straight for him. He felt his body tense up, but his training kicked in. He looked up at Phillip for a second and positioned himself to where he could keep an eye on him as the growing horde moved in. He thumbed the selector switch back to semi-auto and went to work.

The rifle barked at every pull of the trigger. The flashlight illuminated a gruesome picture of the ghouls’ heads being punctured with bullets. Their bodies dropped one after another. Takahiro moved his hand forward, and the undead replied by rushing Cliff with a murderous tenacity in their shambling movements. He doubled back, trying to work his rifle back and forth along the horde to put down the ones that got the closest. It wasn’t enough. His gun ran dry, and he drew out his pistol next. He put a few more rounds downrange before he had to resort to the combatives again.

His hand went out and pulled the nearest ghoul in. It flailed as he point-blanked it with the Beretta. Cliff let the momentum from his pull carry the body through as he let go and side-stepped it. He did the same to the next one, but one got a hold of his right arm. He tossed the pistol into his left hand and shot the wrist of the offending undead, effectively destroying the hand. Cliff stepped back more and more, firing at the ghouls as they encroached on him. He couldn’t keep this up, so he emptied the pistol into the closest targets before turning and running.

Phillip laughed at Cliff’s expense. “Jog on, you twat!” he shouted snidely.

Cliff gritted his teeth as he watched Phillip jump down and land next to Takahiro. There was only enough undead between him and them to make him slightly question his aim, but he took the chance. He reloaded the Beretta before doing the same with his rifle. With that done, he turned his feet in the dirt and headed straight for the horde. He lit a fire in his heart and plunged straight into the hungry pack.

He lit off round after round, working the rifle in his arms as if he was a tank. His feet moved in a straight line as his torso twisted this way and that. He acquired his target, fired, and switched to a new one instantly. There was no time to confirm the kill. Cliff let the adrenaline flow through his veins as he aimed the rifle squarely at his next target and fired. At this distance, he didn’t even need to aim down the scope. He cut through the horde like a knife and pushed through towards Takahiro and Phillip. Sable struggled in their grasp as Takahiro held up a ritualistic dagger and chanted louder.

“No!” Cliff shouted as he pushed forward. The gun was empty, so he elected to just shove his way through as he drew his pistol again, letting the sling catch the rifle. He was almost at the very edge of the horde now. He popped a few heads in his way and then dashed for them both. Phillip fired at him, and Cliff felt the bullet graze his cheek. At the same time, the Beretta let loose a round that struck the vampire in his arm, causing Phillip to drop his pistol. Cliff gained distance from the horde behind him and aimed his sidearm squarely at Sable.

“Even if you kill her, it won’t make much of a difference!” Takahiro cried. “Even if we don’t find another, we’ll-”

“Shut up! You want your precious ritual to work? I’m not gonna let you have it!” Cliff snapped.

And yet, his body wouldn’t respond. No matter how hard he tried, he kept seeing that family in that house he bombarded. He swore to himself that he’d never take another innocent life again after that day. The conflict in his heart and mind only grew stronger. He felt everything clashing against each other. The mission, his duty, and the fate of the known world, against his morals, his word, his penance to God. He inwardly shouted at himself to squeeze the trigger but his hand wouldn’t listen. Then, in the calm of his mind, he noticed Sable’s mouth moving ever so slightly.

“What’s the matter, Yank?” Phillip jeered as he grabbed his pistol with his other hand. “You gone all soft? Guess you always were a-”

“Bruni!”

Takahiro felt his arm around Sable sear with pain. He hissed and loosened his grip, seeing flame on his robes. Cliff turned to Phillip, who watched Sable break free from Takahiro’s grasp and run.

“Come on, I don’t got all night!” Cliff yelled at Phillip, bringing the vampire’s attention back to him.

“You bloody right bastard, I’ll skin you alive!”

“That’s quite enough out of you.” came a multiplexed voice.

Phillip whirled his head around just in time to see the muzzle of an MP5 point blank in his face, before it put a few holes into him and turned him to another pile of ash like the rest. Susan stood there, her eyes glowing red with black sclera and with her devil wings and tail on full display. Takahiro dropped the Necronomicon and held his burnt arm.

“But how-?” was all Takahiro was able to say.

Cliff and Sable both emptied their pistols into him at short range. Takahiro’s body was perforated until he fell back into the pile of bodies. The undead that had been approaching suddenly stopped within mere inches of grasping them. They writhed and collapsed as the glow in their eyes vanished. The bodies soon went limp. As the three of them watched, a giant surge of energy erupted from the grave. The sky returned to its natural color and the green glow soon faded.

Susan approached the mass grave and bent down to retrieve the Necronomicon and the ritual dagger. She slipped them into her rucksack and zipped it up before padlocking the zippers together. She returned to Sable and Cliff’s side and smiled. Sable retrieved her staff and breathed a sigh of relief. She looked to Cliff and patted him on the shoulder. He was more relieved than all of them that it was finally over. Finally, they could relax.

Nearby

Reijiro looked grimly at Matsuo as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone. If he had been angry, he didn’t show it. The whole thing might have been doomed from the start, honestly, but there were too many dead on their side to let this go unpunished.

“Matsuo.” He said.

“Yes?”

“They’re leaving. Take care of them.”

“At once.”

Meanwhile

“I’d say that about wraps it up.” Susan said as her demonic features faded. “Where’d you learn to do that, Sable?”

“Yeah, you said you only knew healing magic.” Cliff added.

Sable smiled and tapped her chin. “What? A girl’s gotta have some secrets.” she said with a sly grin.

“Well, we got what we came for. I think the Japanese can take it from here. Susan said.

“Good. I think I’m ready to go home and get an actual American meal.” Cliff replied.

“You know they got American food here, right?” Sable asked him as they all started heading out towards the road around the side of the building.

“They do? How come neither of you told me?! I would kill for a burger right now.”

“You never really asked…” Sable said sheepishly.

The three of them laughed together. It was a very touching moment to cap off a crazy week. And as they walked along the road, a car pulled up alongside them. Cliff looked to his right as they kept walking. His smile faded when the barrel of a gun poked out from the open window. Everything slowed down. He reached out and shouted. The gun chattered off round after round. Cliff grabbed Sable and threw himself between her and the car. Susan brought her MP5 up to bear and tore up the windshield with its fire. Cliff brought Sable down onto the sidewalk.

The car sped off. Susan lit it up as it darted down the road until she lost sight of it. She looked behind her and saw Sable pushing Cliff off of her. He was bleeding heavily. Susan could see a lot of holes in his back. Sable was distraught as she pulled his shirt up. He’d taken eight shots total. His blood poured out, mixing with the rain. Susan ran off, saying she’d be back with help. Sable felt her hands shaking and tears starting to well up in her eyes. She looked down and put her hand on Cliff’s back.

“Cliff?”

“Y-yeah…is…is it bad?”

“I…I don’t know…”

“Sable…the worst thing you can do…in a situation like this…is panic.”

“Okay…okay…okay I…”

Sable took a deep breath and remembered who she was. She took out her knife and quickly went to work trying to cut out the bullets. She went for the ones that were away from the center of his torso first. Cliff started to spit out blood as it filled his lungs.

“No! No you can’t die on me! Please!” Sable cried.

“It’s okay…”

“No, it’s not okay! Please, just stay with me! You’re going to be fine!”

“I’m not…just don’t…let it…”

Sable watched Cliff’s mouth stop moving and felt her heart surge with grief. She grabbed her staff and put it over him. She settled herself and chanted, letting her magic become amplified with the staff. As she chanted, she waved it over his wounds that she had already dug bullets out of. A green color of energy washed over them. It was soft, almost pastel like in appearance.

The energy wound itself around Cliff’s body, seeking out the bleeding holes and flowing into them. The wounds closed up and the bleeding stopped. Sable felt dizzy. She put a hand on her face. Her skin was a bit clammy and her vision started to blur at the edges, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.

Sable put her knife into Cliff’s back, slowly turning it until she pried out the bullet. She did it again, and again, and again, until every last slug was pulled out. Then she put the staff out and started chanting again. She felt the energy leave her body and enter Cliff’s, sealing the wounds up. Her vision constricted into a small dot. Her body started to go cold and there was a ringing in her ears. Even after all her practice, using this much magic wasn’t something she was used to yet.

By the time she was done, Susan had returned with Ikumi. She remembered seeing the two running over to them. After that, everything went hazy. She collapsed onto Cliff, with the rain soaking the two of them to the bone.