A few steps into the passage, Sophia’s progress was halted by a loud boom that had sounded from behind her. Unless the zombies, the ki-less beings that they were, were proficient with plastic explosives of some kind, the loud sound probably came from an attack from the courier himself, with sent another chill down the priestess’ spine. A small ball of ki flickered in Sophia’s hand, meeting her gaze. She had learned how to control ki almost on accident, and while her ability was nothing to scoff at, she didn’t feel as though she could even hold a candle to the proficiency of the courier. Added to that was the pure physical prowess of the redheaded Piper, who probably fought with more tenacity than Kaden and Sophia put together. Although it pained her that she wasn’t able to be there to help out her friends, she knew that they both knew how to handle themselves.
The healer walked down the winding path with uneasy steps, wary of the potential obstacles that might await. Maybe it was a woman thing, but Sophia couldn’t help but notice that the interior of the passage hadn’t been decorated much at all, giving it a rather dreary feeling, like a bunker or something of that sort. While she didn’t exactly expect the walls to be lined with glitter and rainbows with puppies running on top of it, she wished that there was at least something to indicate that someone had actually traveled the length of the hallway before.
As if on cue, a sneeze could be heard from down the hall. Startled, Sophia gasped the breath out of her lungs and placed a faint hand on the wall, scared as to who had made the noise. Paranoia was an awful thing, but even an irrational fear had never tallied a sneeze among the sounds that have ever been heard from a zombie. She quickened her pace just a little as she traveled down the hall, curiosity overriding any fear or doubt that she might have had. Even if it was a slight chance, if someone who wasn’t gurgling or picking off pieces of his rotten flesh could offer her some assistance, it was literally be a life-saver.
The room that she was lead to had a more “homey” feeling than the rest of the structure, if only by a little bit. A man sat in a broken recliner, staring at a television set that sat on a table underneath a large moose head that was hung proudly on the wall, though in her experience such decorations didn’t actually represent any great feat. While Sophia was definitely happy that the man didn’t immediately take a swing at her upon first sight, she couldn’t help but notice that he was staring intently at the television—a television that was turned to the “off” position. The man sat leaning forward as he began to mumble quietly to himself.
“Look at that bass, man,” his words were barely audible, which was a shame. “I swear, if I ever catch one that big, I can use the money to dump this lump of a wife of mine.”
He turned his head slowly to look at the sofa that sat along the wall. The priestess gasped loudly and put two hands to her chest as she followed his glare. A rotting corpse, much like the zombies she had already encountered, lied there, unmoving. Flies swarmed the body; a sure tell that the body was in fact dead. The skull was broken into a dozen pieces, and if the shotgun laying next to the man in the recliner was any indication, Sophia had a pretty good guess as to who was to blame. The man laughed loudly and directed his gaze to the healer, flashing a toothless grin.
“Well? You just goin’ to stand there, or are all of you women the same?” he chuckled again. “Wifey over here hasn’t moved since Kai showed himself.”
Sophia had no idea how to react. She merely stood, subconsciously taking a step backward.
“Ahh,” he waved her off dismissively and turned back to stare at the blank screen. “Oh, good. Gene Autry.”
Sophia shook with fright, but just had to ask. “How do you know Kai?”
“Eh? So you do speak!” he slapped his knee. “He’s a good man, Kai. He let me have this T.V. even after the accident.”
“What accident?”
“Who knows. This place ain’t lively anymore, though. That’s for sure,” he shrugged, shaking his head sadly. “Place used to be crawling with people. All sorts of ‘em would wander through. Gave life a purpose, know what I’m sayin’? But ever since about a week ago, my gun shop hasn’t got any business. I can’t understand it, what, with all those zombies crawlin’ through and everything.”
“Did it ever occur to you that your customers are the zombies?” Sophia immediately regretted the question, valid as it was.
“Well, shit. Never thought of that,” he sighed. “Oh well. Doesn’t change nothin’.”
“How so?”
“That purdy wife of Kai’s told me somethin’,” he spoke, reaching slowly for his shotgun while his eyes were still glued to the television. “She told me that some people would probably be rollin’ into town. And you know what else she told me?”
Sophia knew where this was going. She shook her head and started to turn back.
“She told me, ‘If you can kill one, anyone, you can have your shop back again,’” he quoted, standing up. “Sorry, dearie, but that store meant everything to me. Don’t be afraid, though. It ain’t all that bad. Just ask my wife!”
He pumped his shotgun with a cackle and pointed it at the priestess, who didn’t have the time to run away. His finger tightened around the trigger, but before he could make a move, the room began to shake violently. A loud groan sounded from under them, and another bump made the crazed man lose his balance and fall to the ground. The shotgun went off and hit the ceiling. With the aid of the quake, the blast broke off a large portion of the ceiling, and hardly gave him a chance to survive.
Sophia stumbled and latched onto the wall just to keep her balance. Soon, the shaking stopped, and the television flickered on. The screen was in black and white, and two figures were barely visible. In front of the figures, a large hulking mass stood vehemently. It didn’t take long for Sophia to figure out what she was watching. What she had trouble discovering, however, was how she could get down from there to join her allies as they fought that…beast.
Oh no, Trisha’s voice came from overhead. Might they be in trouble? You’d better get down there, don’t you think?
“Shut up! You’re enjoying this!” the priestess cried out. She shook her head; now wasn’t the time to panic. Sophia looked around the room intently for the first time, breathing a sigh of relief, her eyes fell upon a door that she hadn’t seen initially. Rushing through the door and down the ensuing stairs, she found herself hovering above the scene below, standing on the balcony. Below, her two allies stood defiantly.
They were reunited at the best possible time. Sophia hoped that it was enough.
The healer walked down the winding path with uneasy steps, wary of the potential obstacles that might await. Maybe it was a woman thing, but Sophia couldn’t help but notice that the interior of the passage hadn’t been decorated much at all, giving it a rather dreary feeling, like a bunker or something of that sort. While she didn’t exactly expect the walls to be lined with glitter and rainbows with puppies running on top of it, she wished that there was at least something to indicate that someone had actually traveled the length of the hallway before.
As if on cue, a sneeze could be heard from down the hall. Startled, Sophia gasped the breath out of her lungs and placed a faint hand on the wall, scared as to who had made the noise. Paranoia was an awful thing, but even an irrational fear had never tallied a sneeze among the sounds that have ever been heard from a zombie. She quickened her pace just a little as she traveled down the hall, curiosity overriding any fear or doubt that she might have had. Even if it was a slight chance, if someone who wasn’t gurgling or picking off pieces of his rotten flesh could offer her some assistance, it was literally be a life-saver.
The room that she was lead to had a more “homey” feeling than the rest of the structure, if only by a little bit. A man sat in a broken recliner, staring at a television set that sat on a table underneath a large moose head that was hung proudly on the wall, though in her experience such decorations didn’t actually represent any great feat. While Sophia was definitely happy that the man didn’t immediately take a swing at her upon first sight, she couldn’t help but notice that he was staring intently at the television—a television that was turned to the “off” position. The man sat leaning forward as he began to mumble quietly to himself.
“Look at that bass, man,” his words were barely audible, which was a shame. “I swear, if I ever catch one that big, I can use the money to dump this lump of a wife of mine.”
He turned his head slowly to look at the sofa that sat along the wall. The priestess gasped loudly and put two hands to her chest as she followed his glare. A rotting corpse, much like the zombies she had already encountered, lied there, unmoving. Flies swarmed the body; a sure tell that the body was in fact dead. The skull was broken into a dozen pieces, and if the shotgun laying next to the man in the recliner was any indication, Sophia had a pretty good guess as to who was to blame. The man laughed loudly and directed his gaze to the healer, flashing a toothless grin.
“Well? You just goin’ to stand there, or are all of you women the same?” he chuckled again. “Wifey over here hasn’t moved since Kai showed himself.”
Sophia had no idea how to react. She merely stood, subconsciously taking a step backward.
“Ahh,” he waved her off dismissively and turned back to stare at the blank screen. “Oh, good. Gene Autry.”
Sophia shook with fright, but just had to ask. “How do you know Kai?”
“Eh? So you do speak!” he slapped his knee. “He’s a good man, Kai. He let me have this T.V. even after the accident.”
“What accident?”
“Who knows. This place ain’t lively anymore, though. That’s for sure,” he shrugged, shaking his head sadly. “Place used to be crawling with people. All sorts of ‘em would wander through. Gave life a purpose, know what I’m sayin’? But ever since about a week ago, my gun shop hasn’t got any business. I can’t understand it, what, with all those zombies crawlin’ through and everything.”
“Did it ever occur to you that your customers are the zombies?” Sophia immediately regretted the question, valid as it was.
“Well, shit. Never thought of that,” he sighed. “Oh well. Doesn’t change nothin’.”
“How so?”
“That purdy wife of Kai’s told me somethin’,” he spoke, reaching slowly for his shotgun while his eyes were still glued to the television. “She told me that some people would probably be rollin’ into town. And you know what else she told me?”
Sophia knew where this was going. She shook her head and started to turn back.
“She told me, ‘If you can kill one, anyone, you can have your shop back again,’” he quoted, standing up. “Sorry, dearie, but that store meant everything to me. Don’t be afraid, though. It ain’t all that bad. Just ask my wife!”
He pumped his shotgun with a cackle and pointed it at the priestess, who didn’t have the time to run away. His finger tightened around the trigger, but before he could make a move, the room began to shake violently. A loud groan sounded from under them, and another bump made the crazed man lose his balance and fall to the ground. The shotgun went off and hit the ceiling. With the aid of the quake, the blast broke off a large portion of the ceiling, and hardly gave him a chance to survive.
Sophia stumbled and latched onto the wall just to keep her balance. Soon, the shaking stopped, and the television flickered on. The screen was in black and white, and two figures were barely visible. In front of the figures, a large hulking mass stood vehemently. It didn’t take long for Sophia to figure out what she was watching. What she had trouble discovering, however, was how she could get down from there to join her allies as they fought that…beast.
Oh no, Trisha’s voice came from overhead. Might they be in trouble? You’d better get down there, don’t you think?
“Shut up! You’re enjoying this!” the priestess cried out. She shook her head; now wasn’t the time to panic. Sophia looked around the room intently for the first time, breathing a sigh of relief, her eyes fell upon a door that she hadn’t seen initially. Rushing through the door and down the ensuing stairs, she found herself hovering above the scene below, standing on the balcony. Below, her two allies stood defiantly.
They were reunited at the best possible time. Sophia hoped that it was enough.