A ghastly human form stumbled out onto the street in front of them. The creature looked to be a walking corpse of a man in his late thirties. He had a bloodied, ripped shirt, matching pants, and only one shoe on his feet. Its jaw hung at an awkward angle, and it continued to groan in a hauntingly unnatural manner. A chime sounded in Shawn’s ear.
Raid objective update: Discover the source of the zombie threat and eliminate it.
Shawn let out a nervous chuckle.
An undead threat in the city? I suppose I have one good idea as to who's behind it.
“Shawn.” Anisha hissed at him while the zombie stumbled closer. “What is that?”
Right, doesn’t sound like this type of thing is common knowledge here.
“You remember when I asked you about magic that could make corpses walk or fight?” Shawn asked as they both backed away from the groaning creature.
“Yes I-” Her helmet snapped towards Shawn. “The necromancer?”
Shawn nodded.
Anisha gripped her sword a bit tighter as she considered their opponent. “How dangerous is this thing? Can we fight it? It seems slow.”
“Identify.” Shawn commanded.
A small text bubble appeared in his vision.
Zombie. Human Corpse.
Shawn knew there were many different types of zombies; fast, slow, viral, cursed, etc. The only way he could answer Anisha’s question would be to narrow that list down. Without explaining his thought process to the knight beside him, Shawn dashed forward. The zombie’s blue eyes flared, and it bared its teeth at the sudden approach. Shawn tucked his blade up near his chest, ready for one powerful thrust. The zombie reached out both hands to grip Shawn’s shoulders and lowered its mouth with the intention of biting Shawn’s exposed face. With a fierce cry, Shawn’s arm shot forward and buried his knife deep into the skull of his attacker. The groaning stopped and the creature fell backwards onto the street with a heavy thump.
“A little sign or vocal indication that you were about to attack it would have been appreciated.” Anisha grumbled as she approached the fallen corpse. “You should have just told me it was going to be that easy.”
“I wasn’t sure it would be.” Shawn wiped his forehead with his arm. “But one general concept with zombies is that the individual isn’t very strong. That’s not what makes them dangerous.”
“Meaning what exactly?”
Another ghoulish groan penetrated the night followed swiftly by a second. Then a third, fourth, fifth. Shawn’s skin crawled as blue eyes began to surface from every alley and doorway on the street they were on. Zombies began to pour out onto the street and swarm in their direction.
“Zombies are dangerous because when there’s one there’s bound to be more.” Shawn’s eyes flew over the group in front of them, quickly realizing that they wouldn’t be able to hold them all off. “We should fall back.”
Anisha turned and ran west, parallel to the river. Shawn was confused for a second but realized that she must have been considering the hundreds of people crossing the bridges right now. It certainly wouldn’t be a good idea to lead this swarm to a compact collection of fresh meat. Risking a quick glance over his shoulder, Shawn felt a spike of fear shoot through his system as the hoard behind them were in a full sprint. He had hoped that the first zombie they had encountered would be a copy of the rest, but it looks like they met the weakest of the bunch. The illuminated blue eyes of the lifeless husks behind them created a subtle but haunting glow that sent shivers down Shawn’s spine.
“We might be in trouble!” Anisha exclaimed as a pair of zombies spilled out of an alleyway in front of them.
In one swift motion, Anisha sprang forward and decapitated both creatures with her blade. More groans could be heard from the alleyway as the pair sprinted past. Shawn knew that they were avoiding the river to give the civilians enough time to cross over, but he was starting to worry that it was only a matter of time before they were surrounded.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shawn spotted someone down the next side street. It was the briefest flash of information, but it told his unconscious mind just enough to stop him in his tracks. On a dime, Shawn killed all of his forward momentum and dashed down the side street towards his new target. A female reservist stood motionless in the street a few dozen feet away. She had to be younger than Shawn. She was a full head shorter, and her auburn hair was pulled up in a dreary brown reservist cap. Her weapon lay on the ground at her feet, yet she made no move to pick it up. Shawn couldn’t see her eyes, but fresh tears were streaming down both of her cheeks. Shawn pumped his legs as hard as he could, his breathing rapid as he closed the distance between them.
“Look out!” Shawn’s shout stirred the oblivious girl from her stupor.
She lifted her head and her amber eyes widened in shock at the sight of Shawn sprinting directly towards her. What she failed to notice was the undead monster directly behind her. Pale, bloodied hands gripped both of her shoulders from behind and the creature opened its mouth wide, ready to clamp down on the reservist’s exposed neck. With a desperate yell, Shawn dove, body fully stretched, over the last few feet. His hands struck the young woman right below her sternum. The force of his dive drove the reservist directly back into the zombie’s chest behind her. The trio painfully spilled across the paved street in a mess of tangled limbs. Ignoring the gash that began to bleed from his cheek, Shawn stabbed down with his hands. The motion proved useless however, as Shawn quickly realized that his knife was no longer in his grip.
Shawn cursed and had to draw his hands back quickly as the zombie began to snap at him. The young woman had managed to free herself from the pile and she quickly scrambled back. Shawn wasn’t really paying her too much attention, though, he did find it odd that she seemed to be staring at him and paying the violent monster no mind whatsoever. There wasn’t much time to dwell on it as Shawn was locked into a deathly struggle trying to keep the zombie on the ground. Scratches covered his arms and Shawn felt his shirt rip in multiple places as he fought to keep the bloodied mouth of the creature away from his flesh. If there was anything he wanted to avoid while fighting a zombie, it was being bitten.
He couldn’t take his eyes off the writhing creature beneath him. An idea struck him, and Shawn turned his head slightly to look at the motionless reservist nearby. The young woman continued to stare at Shawn with a mixture of awe and confusion. As if she couldn’t comprehend his presence. Before Shawn could ask for her assistance, a blade snaked itself around his shoulder and directly into the zombie’s head. Stunned, Shawn turned to find a heavily breathing Anisha standing next to him.
“Thank you for leaving me with the hoard.” She said sarcastically. “You’ve really got to work on your battle communication.”
Shawn grimaced. Once again, he hadn’t even thought to tell Anisha his plan.
“I’m sorry. I saw someone in danger and…” Shawn trailed off, unsure of how to explain his thought process.
He lifted his head and looked around at the empty streets. “Where did they all go?”
Anisha leaned against her sword and jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Led them further west and doubled back. I lost them through a few alleys, but I can’t say for how long.”
Shawn’s eyes widened. “How fast did you run? You weren’t gone for very long.”
Anisha chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, still winded.
“Here.” Anisha dropped Shawn’s combat knife into his hands. “You dropped this.”
Shawn’s shoulders slumped. “Thanks.”
“Is she okay?” The armored knight pointed at the motionless reservist who continued to stare at Shawn.
“Um…” Shawn met the girl’s amber eyes. “Are you okay?”
She blinked and opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“I’m Shawn, this is Anisha.” He pointed to himself and to the armored knight beside him. “We’re here to help.”
“Help?” The reservist repeated in a bewildered tone.
Shawn nodded. “That’s right. What’s your name?”
The young woman broke eye contact. Her head turned to the buildings directly behind her for a brief moment before her gaze returned to Shawn.
“Kaylish.” She said after a brief hesitation. “Kaylish Brightson.”
“Why are you here Kaylish?” Shawn asked gently. “Were you part of a team?”
“No I…” Her head turned back to the buildings behind her. “My parents.”
Shawn felt his insides twist painfully. He looked at Anisha and gave a slight head tilt in the direction of the building Kaylish was looking at. Anisha nodded, readied her sword, and entered the four-story apartment building. Shawn took a few steps away and picked up the rifle that lay in the center of the street. He lifted the weapon and confirmed that it was the same kind of rifle that he had been given at the frontline. In this world, it was known as the Shatterbrew bolt action rifle though, it did bear a strong resemblance to the 1903 Springfield rifle from his own world. Shawn pulled the bolt back just far enough to see that the weapon was loaded and still had three out of the five total rounds in the current clip.
Shawn set the rifle on his shoulder and turned back just as Anisha was exiting Kaylish’s parent’s building. Despite the faceplate obscuring her face, Shawn could still tell their eyes met. Anisha hurried over to Shawn and leaned in close.
“I think I found her parents. Both shot in the head. Furniture is all overturned, lights broken, and their bodies have a lot of scratches and wounds. Blood all over the house. Looks like a real struggle.” Anisha whispered quietly.
All Shawn could do was shake his head. It was all clear now. Kaylish had obviously returned home when gunshots had first begun only to find her parents already turned. Shawn couldn’t imagine the mental toll it must have taken on the poor young woman to kill her own parents in self defence. Looking over to the bruised and battered reservist, Shawn was determined to help her get to safety.
“Kaylish?” Shawn approached her and crouched down to her level on the ground. “Listen to me.”
She nodded.
“I’m going to get you to safety, okay? We can’t stay here. There are more of those monsters out there and they could wander onto this street at any time.” Shawn explained slowly and clearly. “Can you stand?”
Kaylish nodded once more, and Shawn watched as a flicker of light began to grow inside of the girl’s amber eyes. Shawn offered her his hand, which she took with a tremble. Kaylish, with Shawn’s assistance, lifted herself to her feet. Shawn relaxed his hand, intending to pull away now that Kaylish was stable, but to his surprise, she continued to grip his hand tightly in her own.
“Don’t worry.” Shawn awkwardly patted her back with his free hand. “We’re not going to leave you. We’re going to get you to safety, just like I promised.”
Kaylish shook her head.
“No?” Shawn asked, genuinely confused. “What do you mean?”
“I-I can help.” Kaylish said with great effort.
“You’re not just here to help me, right?” She gazed at Shawn’s face with great intensity. “You’re here to help everyone, aren’t you?”
“I mean…” Shawn looked to Anisha for help. “I suppose that’s why we are out here.”
Anisha shrugged in her platemail but nodded in agreement.
“Then I want to help.” Kaylish tightened her grip. “Give me my gun and I can help you.”
Shawn gripped the shoulder strap that held the rifle on his shoulder and frowned. “I’m not sure if…”
Using Shawn’s arm as leverage, Kaylish spun forward, throwing him off balance. Shawn threw his arms to the side to try and regain balance. As he did so, Kaylish slid her rifle from Shawn’s shoulder and chambered one of the three remaining bullets. Three shots so quickly that Shawn momentarily forgot the weapon was bolt action. How Kaylish had been able to operate the rifle in such a rapid fashion was beyond Shawn’s understanding. Before the gunshots had finished echoing off of the buildings around them, Anisha had her blade against the young woman’s neck. The barrel of the weapon was pointed in Anisha’s general direction, but Shawn had a sneaking suspicion that the armored knight wasn’t her target. Following the barrel to the end of the street, Shawn’s breath caught in his throat when he saw three zombie bodies hit the ground. Each one had a new hole in the center of their foreheads.
Kaylish turned her head, and for the first time, acknowledged Anisha’s presence. The movement of turning her head caused a cut to appear on her neck and a small droplet of blood formed on the razor-sharp edge of the crimson blade. Kaylish didn’t flinch.
“Are you satisfied?” Kaylish lifted one eyebrow.
Anisha shot a quick glance down the street and pulled her blade back when she saw the fallen corpses of the undead. The turnaround in Kaylish’s attitude and demeanor was startling. Only a few moments ago, she had been frightened and unable to speak. To go from that to hitting three targets perfectly two hundred yards away made Shawn more than a little uneasy.
“I want to help.” Kaylish spoke once again to Shawn in a pleading tone. “Please.”
A chime sounded in Shawn’s ears.
A quest has been issued: Unwavering Loyalty, What’s Done is Done.
This quest is part of a line of quests. Failing to complete one will result in the failure of the rest of the questline. Kaylish Brightson is required for the quest progression. Refusing her access to your party will result in an automatic failure.
Well, that doesn’t make me feel better about this decision. It doesn’t even explain what the purpose of the quest is or how to complete it. Shawn’s eyes narrowed at the notification. I can’t shake the feeling that someone out there is messing with me.
Kaylish seemed sincere enough in her desire to help, but there was something about her that wasn’t sitting right with Shawn. He could tell that Anisha felt the same.
“Okay.” Shawn finally answered.
Kaylish’s worried eyes lit up and she rushed forward to embrace Shawn tightly.
“Oh, thank you, thank you!” She was practically bouncing with excitement.
Anisha’s faceplate turned to look at Shawn.
“We can use any help we can get to find the source of these creatures and put a stop to them.” Shawn said aloud, mostly to satiate Anisha’s obvious disapproval for his decision.
The prerequisites for the quest “Unwavering Loyalty, What’s Done is Done” is complete. A notification will be sent when the next part of the quest is available for review.
Shawn really hoped he wouldn’t regret this decision later.
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