10 Minutes

Dean, Larah, and Hope were in the toilet. They stood before the mirror, washing their faces. Hope was laughing, but her laughter was suddenly overpowered by the hellish cries coming from outside. Larah gulped and pulled Hope closer to her body.

‘Stay here!’, Dean said and went to take a look outside. He peered through the narrow cleft—and his jaw nearly dropped. It was one thing that ghouls had made it into the hospital, but even weirder was the police officer marching toward him. The nameplate read—

‘John!’, Dean read aloud. ‘Wait… his appearance… and his name! That can’t be!’

John had spotted Dean. His eyes narrowed, and his pace quickened. A ghoul leaped over John's body and dashed right at Dean, ignoring the people cowering on the floor. Dean breathed in and out. As he exhaled, the fear, the pain, and everything else left his body. What remained was the will to protect his people.

‘Larah, don’t leave the toilet. Protect Hope!’

And he stepped out. No weapon. Nothing but his fists. He charged the ghoul. A few meters before the clash, he used the right wall as a springboard and jumped up. He tightened his fist—and then he felt something. Something pulsating in it. But there was no time to wonder what it was. With one punch, he thundered the ghoul into the ground. The whole floor shook. The people gasped. Even John halted, staring at Dean.

‘What was that?’, Dean asked himself and dropped to his knees. Two more ghouls appeared behind John, rushing at Dean—who was out of breath. That one punch had taken nearly everything from him. Suddenly, a voice called out behind him:

‘I knew you weren’t normal since the first time I saw you!’ It was Sark. He had armed himself—two black guns, bigger than usual, glowing violet.

‘Sark! What are those? And where’s Jessie?’
‘When John heard the name Jessie, he came back. That moment was enough. He yelled:

‘Kill me! Please!’ Two ghouls blocked the way to him. Sark stepped forward and opened fire. Before they knew it, ten bullets had torn through the ghouls, wrecking their bodies. He turned to Dean, lowering his weapons.

‘The commander gave us these. Jessie went to the battlefield. You’re looking for her, right John? Jessie told us about you, and when we said her name, you came back!’

‘What do you mean, Sark? And I still don’t get why that weapon is so strong! But more importantly—we must leave this place. They want to operate on Hope!’

‘Those bastards… they told me the survival rate of that operation… well! Dean, where is Hope?’

‘In the toilet!’

‘Good. Go get her. We’re leaving! I’ll deal with that zombie. Sorry, but you won’t get to meet Jessie!’

John suddenly let out a scream—one filled with sadness and rage.

‘I told you to kill me! And now—’ His head jerked. His body twisted. He gnashed his teeth. Then he smashed the wall to his left, destroying it completely, finishing his sentence:
‘You will die, for this body no longer belongs to me!’

The cry of Commander Nootra in his werewolf form had sent the soldiers’ morale soaring. The battle was in their favor—until Nighyel appeared, riding a giant lion in ghoul form. And that lion was massive. It inhaled deeply, its belly bloating. Nighyel laughed:

‘Hahahah! That will be so funny. You should’ve brought all your best soldiers. I know what your humans are up to! Kill them!’

The lion roared, firing compressed air combined with Nighyel’s flames at Commander Nootra—who undid his transformation with a bright smile. Behind him emerged two women: Nicole and Jessie. Jessie was holding a massive black axe, glowing violet. Her face had become the synonym for hatred and rage. Each step she took was heavy with power. Nicole spoke to Commander Nootra:

‘Her compatibility with the weapon is the highest we’ve seen. One might say… she’s become a darkborn herself!’ Jessie swung her weapon down, shattering the enemy’s attack.

‘Nighyel, you bitcchhhh!’

‘Hahaha, we meet again, Jessie. I learned a lot about you from John!’ Jessie didn’t care anymore. She would’ve rushed in if not for the strange violet circles that appeared beneath the lion.

‘Jessie, I would’ve liked a private talk, but facing you three would be too much—even for me. Oh hear me, my king, my savior! Here I offer you souls—and the souls of my children! Take it! Wander this earth with your servants!’

A great number of ghouls and the lion vanished. Behind them, a gate opened—and four darkborns stepped out. Nighyel bowed. The pale, black-haired man in front asked:

‘How long do we have, servant?’
‘After 10 minutes, the sacrifice ends and you return.’, Nighyel replied

‘Only 10? I see. Enough to kill them all!’ A wicked violet energy burst from his body, radiating through the field. Nicole ran to the front and used her blood to shield them. Her shield shattered. Commander Nootra stepped forward—and went into his second transformation.