***
Kingsmouth, Solomon Island
The ravens gathered on the edge of the diners roof stirred slightly, ruffling their feathers and hopping backwards as the air next to them seemed to ripple. After a moment, a figure faded into view for a moment, Knight of the Peace giving the birds a playful smirk before vanishing again. “Another time,” she said regretfully. The birds looked at each other for a moment, seemingly debating the matter, then dismissed the issue and returned to watching the shoreline below.
Crouching down, Knight considered the view as well. As Street Sabre had warned them earlier, the beach was disturbingly crowded. Small packs of zombies stumbled around, herded into groups by Draug similar to the creatures she and Leon had seen at the church. More Draug of that type patrolled along the edge of the beach, while out in the water, dark, bulky figures that looked to be the size of a War Walker moved around. “If these things marched into town, they’d have taken the Sheriff's office in minutes,” she muttered.
Below, Leon entered the diner, sweeping his rifle across the room. Two zombies behind the counter quickly fell victim to headshots from his suppressed rifle, and he turned to look out the windows, even as he dropped a duffel bag onto a table and unzipped it. “Instead they just throw packs of shitty zombies at it,” he mused as he stepped around the counter and started looting the cupboards. “Has to be a reason for it, right?” Pausing to consider a can of instant coffee, he frowned. “Might be connected to whatever was protecting the church.”
“Those Draug we saw earlier got pretty close,” Robin pointed out, having her visor zoom in for a closer look at the beach.
“But they never actually entered the town,” Leon countered, putting the coffee in the bag and crouching down again. “Lots of magical barriers are based around well-defined borders. I’d bet good money the church is just the focus point.” Making a face at the smell coming from a carton of milk that had been left out when the Fog struck, he reached past it for the bread. “But the zombies, well, they’re the bodies of locals. Whatever magic is in the defenses takes a look at them and thinks they’re supposed to be there.”
Purrfect Archer’s voice came over their comms, sounding thoughtful. “Until they get close enough to the church. Then the wards are strong enough, or smart enough, to do something about them. That sounds plausible.”
There was an amused snort, and then Street Sabre spoke up. “Listen to you. Talking ‘bout magic wards like you’re an expert.”
Chuckling, Leon continued his looting with the ease of a man that had done such things more often than one liked to consider. “Eh, you spend enough time working with Alec Kazam, you pick up a bit.”
***
As she walked along Kingsmouths western border, the Knight Sabre frowned thoughtfully, looking out at the forest that ran up almost to the houses to her left. “Well, as much as I love to give you shit,” she commented, “I have to admit, you might have something.” In the distance, she could see deformed figures moving, the fact they weren’t tripping over every branch and rock they passed demonstrating they weren’t just mindless corpses. “There’s a lot of Draug wandering around out here,” she continued. “Pretty damn sure they’ve seen me, but none of them wanna come over and try their luck. Kinda disappointing. I’m a little bored here.”
“Well, you did beat the crap out of one of her bosses,” Leon pointed out. “Maybe they’re smart enough to not want their teeth kicked in.”
“As much as I love any idea that starts with me being awesome… eh,” she replied. “I’m not counting numbers, but there’s enough I’d expect them to try and swarm me at least.” As if reinforcing her comment, a pair of Draug stopped at the treeline, looking towards her, then past her towards the town. After a moments consideration, they turned and vanished. Watching them go, Priss frowned and shook her head. “So, who’s thinking the Illuminati were hiding something important in the Church?”
“You don’t believe it was intended to protect the town?” Robin inquired.
The question got a laugh from Priss as she jumped over a fence. “Come on Barnes,” she said as she punched a zombie in the chest, throwing it backwards into a barbeque. “It’s the Illuminati, the bastard understudies of Nemesis. I’m pretty sure their official business policy is ‘fuck or be fucked’.” Marching over to the zombie, she slammed her armoured boot down onto the creature's head. “Protecting Kingsmouth? That’s a side effect. This is about protecting their crap.”
***
In the diner, Leon paused in collecting cans of food, bringing his rifle up and putting another round in the head of one of the zombies as it began to reanimate. “Well, whatever it’s for, Hawthorne’s sure not gonna be able to tell us,” he mused.
“You don’t think he knows?” Purrfect Archer asked.
Chuckling, Leon knelt down to retrieve a can that had rolled away. “Not a chance in hell,” he said. “He’s a conspiracy nut. The kinda nut that needs to tell everyone every amazing thing he’s discovered. If the Illuminati left anything lying around for him to find, he’d have put it on display. With signs and everything.”
“Let’s be fair,” Robin commented, “Whatever reason the Illuminati had for placing our mystery wards, I don’t think it really matters. All that’s really important is that it’s there, and it seems to be protecting the town. We can work with that… hmm.”
Leon paused in his looting, moving towards the windows. “Problem?” he asked, bringing his rifle up.
“To the south-east, just past the pier,” she replied. “What do you make of it?”
Looking through his scope, Leon quickly found what had caught his partners attention. A group of Draug had gathered around a collection of large, fleshy pods that reminded Leon of some sort of deformed, unopened flowers. Some of the Draug were crouched down, inspecting the pods, while others faced outwards, almost as if they were standing guard. Frowning, the detective considered the sight, before his eyes widened. “Aw hell…” he muttered to himself as understanding set in.
“Some of us can’t see the show McNicols,” Street Sabre grumbled. “What?”
“It’s a fucking nest,” he growled. As if triggered by his comment, one of the pods began to move, squirming and pulsing as something inside struggled to get free. Several of the Draug tending to the nest moved closer, but didn’t interfere as the pod began to deform. Eventually, pushed to its limits, the pod split open in a shower of blood and gore, allowing the creature inside to stand up. Humanoid, with grey, dead flesh and covered in a thin layer of coral and barnacles, the newborn Draug was certainly a disturbing sight.
“Ohmygodewww,” Robin moaned, sounding like she was trying not to vomit. “It’s like the Chryssalids all over again…”
Lowering his rifle, Leon took a breath, forcing back his own nausea. “That’s what they’re collecting bodies for,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Raw material to make bigger, stronger, smarter zombies. Shit.”
A low, frustrated sigh could be heard over the comms. “That’d explain why they’re here,” Purrfect Archer said, anger tainting her voice. “Sick bastards. An entire damn town...”
Outside the diner, the air rippled as Knight of the Peace jumped down to the ground. “It might sound somewhat bloodthirsty of me,” she commented, her voice still shaky, “but I’m very tempted to turn that beach to glass right now.”
Retrieving the bag of supplies, Leon exited the diner, walking up next to the faint blur that was his girlfriend and placing a hand on her arm. “Let’s not go there just yet, okay?” he said quietly. “There might still be a better way.” The air rippled, Robins face appearing, and she smiled weakly and nodded. “Alice, we’re moving on. We’ll hit the gas station, then head on back up to the Sheriff's Office.” Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he started down the road, Knight at his side.
***
Kingsmouth, Solomon Island
The ravens gathered on the edge of the diners roof stirred slightly, ruffling their feathers and hopping backwards as the air next to them seemed to ripple. After a moment, a figure faded into view for a moment, Knight of the Peace giving the birds a playful smirk before vanishing again. “Another time,” she said regretfully. The birds looked at each other for a moment, seemingly debating the matter, then dismissed the issue and returned to watching the shoreline below.
Crouching down, Knight considered the view as well. As Street Sabre had warned them earlier, the beach was disturbingly crowded. Small packs of zombies stumbled around, herded into groups by Draug similar to the creatures she and Leon had seen at the church. More Draug of that type patrolled along the edge of the beach, while out in the water, dark, bulky figures that looked to be the size of a War Walker moved around. “If these things marched into town, they’d have taken the Sheriff's office in minutes,” she muttered.
Below, Leon entered the diner, sweeping his rifle across the room. Two zombies behind the counter quickly fell victim to headshots from his suppressed rifle, and he turned to look out the windows, even as he dropped a duffel bag onto a table and unzipped it. “Instead they just throw packs of shitty zombies at it,” he mused as he stepped around the counter and started looting the cupboards. “Has to be a reason for it, right?” Pausing to consider a can of instant coffee, he frowned. “Might be connected to whatever was protecting the church.”
“Those Draug we saw earlier got pretty close,” Robin pointed out, having her visor zoom in for a closer look at the beach.
“But they never actually entered the town,” Leon countered, putting the coffee in the bag and crouching down again. “Lots of magical barriers are based around well-defined borders. I’d bet good money the church is just the focus point.” Making a face at the smell coming from a carton of milk that had been left out when the Fog struck, he reached past it for the bread. “But the zombies, well, they’re the bodies of locals. Whatever magic is in the defenses takes a look at them and thinks they’re supposed to be there.”
Purrfect Archer’s voice came over their comms, sounding thoughtful. “Until they get close enough to the church. Then the wards are strong enough, or smart enough, to do something about them. That sounds plausible.”
There was an amused snort, and then Street Sabre spoke up. “Listen to you. Talking ‘bout magic wards like you’re an expert.”
Chuckling, Leon continued his looting with the ease of a man that had done such things more often than one liked to consider. “Eh, you spend enough time working with Alec Kazam, you pick up a bit.”
***
As she walked along Kingsmouths western border, the Knight Sabre frowned thoughtfully, looking out at the forest that ran up almost to the houses to her left. “Well, as much as I love to give you shit,” she commented, “I have to admit, you might have something.” In the distance, she could see deformed figures moving, the fact they weren’t tripping over every branch and rock they passed demonstrating they weren’t just mindless corpses. “There’s a lot of Draug wandering around out here,” she continued. “Pretty damn sure they’ve seen me, but none of them wanna come over and try their luck. Kinda disappointing. I’m a little bored here.”
“Well, you did beat the crap out of one of her bosses,” Leon pointed out. “Maybe they’re smart enough to not want their teeth kicked in.”
“As much as I love any idea that starts with me being awesome… eh,” she replied. “I’m not counting numbers, but there’s enough I’d expect them to try and swarm me at least.” As if reinforcing her comment, a pair of Draug stopped at the treeline, looking towards her, then past her towards the town. After a moments consideration, they turned and vanished. Watching them go, Priss frowned and shook her head. “So, who’s thinking the Illuminati were hiding something important in the Church?”
“You don’t believe it was intended to protect the town?” Robin inquired.
The question got a laugh from Priss as she jumped over a fence. “Come on Barnes,” she said as she punched a zombie in the chest, throwing it backwards into a barbeque. “It’s the Illuminati, the bastard understudies of Nemesis. I’m pretty sure their official business policy is ‘fuck or be fucked’.” Marching over to the zombie, she slammed her armoured boot down onto the creature's head. “Protecting Kingsmouth? That’s a side effect. This is about protecting their crap.”
***
In the diner, Leon paused in collecting cans of food, bringing his rifle up and putting another round in the head of one of the zombies as it began to reanimate. “Well, whatever it’s for, Hawthorne’s sure not gonna be able to tell us,” he mused.
“You don’t think he knows?” Purrfect Archer asked.
Chuckling, Leon knelt down to retrieve a can that had rolled away. “Not a chance in hell,” he said. “He’s a conspiracy nut. The kinda nut that needs to tell everyone every amazing thing he’s discovered. If the Illuminati left anything lying around for him to find, he’d have put it on display. With signs and everything.”
“Let’s be fair,” Robin commented, “Whatever reason the Illuminati had for placing our mystery wards, I don’t think it really matters. All that’s really important is that it’s there, and it seems to be protecting the town. We can work with that… hmm.”
Leon paused in his looting, moving towards the windows. “Problem?” he asked, bringing his rifle up.
“To the south-east, just past the pier,” she replied. “What do you make of it?”
Looking through his scope, Leon quickly found what had caught his partners attention. A group of Draug had gathered around a collection of large, fleshy pods that reminded Leon of some sort of deformed, unopened flowers. Some of the Draug were crouched down, inspecting the pods, while others faced outwards, almost as if they were standing guard. Frowning, the detective considered the sight, before his eyes widened. “Aw hell…” he muttered to himself as understanding set in.
“Some of us can’t see the show McNicols,” Street Sabre grumbled. “What?”
“It’s a fucking nest,” he growled. As if triggered by his comment, one of the pods began to move, squirming and pulsing as something inside struggled to get free. Several of the Draug tending to the nest moved closer, but didn’t interfere as the pod began to deform. Eventually, pushed to its limits, the pod split open in a shower of blood and gore, allowing the creature inside to stand up. Humanoid, with grey, dead flesh and covered in a thin layer of coral and barnacles, the newborn Draug was certainly a disturbing sight.
“Ohmygodewww,” Robin moaned, sounding like she was trying not to vomit. “It’s like the Chryssalids all over again…”
Lowering his rifle, Leon took a breath, forcing back his own nausea. “That’s what they’re collecting bodies for,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Raw material to make bigger, stronger, smarter zombies. Shit.”
A low, frustrated sigh could be heard over the comms. “That’d explain why they’re here,” Purrfect Archer said, anger tainting her voice. “Sick bastards. An entire damn town...”
Outside the diner, the air rippled as Knight of the Peace jumped down to the ground. “It might sound somewhat bloodthirsty of me,” she commented, her voice still shaky, “but I’m very tempted to turn that beach to glass right now.”
Retrieving the bag of supplies, Leon exited the diner, walking up next to the faint blur that was his girlfriend and placing a hand on her arm. “Let’s not go there just yet, okay?” he said quietly. “There might still be a better way.” The air rippled, Robins face appearing, and she smiled weakly and nodded. “Alice, we’re moving on. We’ll hit the gas station, then head on back up to the Sheriff's Office.” Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he started down the road, Knight at his side.
***