THE GHOUL RISING

CHAPTER 4 — THE FIRST QUEST.

Brixen and Sommy rush onto the balcony beside me, staring down at the chaos below.

"That's impossible," Brixen breathes. "The walls was reconstructed only recently."

But something did. And it brought catastrophe with it.

The streets have transformed into a nightmare. People pour from buildings like water from a broken dam, crashing into each other, trampling anyone who falls.

The infected move through them like sharks through a school of fish.

One grabs a man, sinking its teeth into his neck. His shriek cuts off into a wet gurgle. Blood sprays across the pavement in an arc that catches the light.

More infected pour from the alley beside the building.

They don't run. They never run. But that shambling, relentless pace devours the distance as surely as sprinting.

Another person trips on the curb. She scrambles backward on her hands, screaming until one drops onto her. Her scream becomes something inhuman.

"We have to go." Brixen's voice cuts through the horror. "Right now. We have to get the hell out of here."

He turns and runs back inside. Sommy follows him immediately, her face pale beneath the cap.

I tear myself away soon after and follow Brixen and Sommy inside.

"Get dressed." Brixen throws clothes at me without looking. "We leave in two minutes."

My hands shake so badly as I pull up the pants, barely able to rid it off.

Outside, the sirens continue their endless wail while underneath were much screaming.

Brixen's phone is pressed to his ear. "Come on, come on, pick up—" His phone finally clicks, making his face lights up. "Daren! Man, I need your help. There's a huge chaos going on outside." and began explaining what's happening.

Afterwards, he hangs up and looks at us. "We meet at the Eastside entrance. Let's go before the infected spread that far."

The screen pulses in my vision.

QUEST REMINDER:

COMPLETE ENDURANCE TASK: ZERO

DEFEAT INFECTED ENTITIES: ZERO

TIME REMAINING: FORTY-SEVEN MINUTES

A timer appears in the corner. Numbers counting down in seconds. TWENTY SECONDS.....NINETEEN..... EIGHTEEN.

My stomach drops. "What happens when the timer runs out?"

"What?" Brixen looks at me. "What timer?"

"Nothing." I brush past him. "Let's go."

We head for the door but I stop. "How will they evacuate everyone? There are thousands of people in this sector."

"Well, the fortunate ones that get there first will be saved."

"That doesn't sound convincing."

"Well, that's when the protectors step in." Brixen's voice is grim. "They have to make sure they avoid as many casualties as possible to order to protect everyone because that's what they are paid to do."

We burst out of the building into bedlam when someone lands in front of us with a heavy thud that could cracks the ground.

I jump back, nearly knocking Sommy over.

A figure straightens, rising from a crouch. A man, maybe mid-thirties, wearing armor that gleams even in the dim streetlight.

He is a protector.

There is no peck of fear in him like he has seen this movie play over and over again. Is this what confidence look like?

His voice is clipped, authoritative. "Head to the west wing. They're setting up an evacuation point there."

"We already have—" Brixen was about to tell him but the protector launch himself toward another point with impossible speed.

"Wow." Sommy swoons over him. "That looks amazing."

"He is in nothing but costumes." Brixen rolls his eyes. "Without those suits, he is like the rest of us."

"Definitely not like you." Sommy taunts him, "Aside money, you are nothing."

I have to bump my shoulder at her to urge her to hush.

She looks at me and shrugs her shoulders like she did nothing wrong.

"He started it."

"But it wasn't to you." I scold her "So it's unnecessary."

"Whatever."

"Let's keep moving." Brixen pushes us forward. "We don't have much time idling around over nothing."

Sommy was about to curse at Brixen again when I interrupt her with "Now is not the best time for that."

As we continue running, behind us were more thuds that literally shakes the ground. More protectors land on various places, their voices ring out, sharp and commanding.

Behind us were the sounds of groans and punching, compelling me to take a gleam at what they were doing.

This is my first time seeing Protectors in action. For so long, this city has been peaceful so many think it is unnecessary to have protectors that do nothing but eat taxpayers' money.

They do take the fight outside the wall, making it bearable for raiders and others to get out freely and with no fear.

The street is a river of people, all flowing in different directions, many with personal belongings.

The infected wade through them, pulling down anyone within reach.

I see a young man who can't be older than twenty get grabbed from behind. His friends keep running without looking back with his screams following them.

An infected lurches toward us, its mouth hanging open, black fluid dripping from between its teeth. Brixen yanks Sommy to the side, pulling her around it. I follow, my heart hammering.

The screen pulses.

TARGET IDENTIFIED

DEFEAT TO PROGRESS QUEST

"Not now," I thought at it. "I have to make sure that Sommy is safe first."

TIME REMAINING: THIRTY-NINE MINUTES

The timer keeps counting down.

We push through the crowd, I have to lead the way because I was bigger than them by using my shoulders to create a path.

Brixen was a bit brief if compared to me, but doesn't mean he's a lackey. Aside from being a coward, he is quite resourceful when he wants to be.

Sommy stays close in the middle, one hand fisted in my shirt. Brixen on the other hand bring up the rear, constantly looking back.

More infected are appearing from everywhere, from the sea of heads. It's from there I spot two children trying to catch up which prompt me to stop.

They were maybe eight and five, running as fast as their little legs can carry them. The girl holds her brother's hand, pulling him forward. But he's too slow and that must be pulling them back. And behind them, an infected is gaining ground with each shuffling step.

The girl looks back, sees it getting closer, and her face twists with terror.

"Jid?" Sommy looks at me. "Come on!"

"You guys go ahead." The words come out before I think it through and turn around.

"What?" Brixen's eyes go wide as he grabs me. "Are you insane?"

"Those kids—"

"Jid, no!" Sommy reaches for me too. "The protectors are up to task to handle it. Right Brixen?"

She turns to him, staring at him to help her convince me.

Brixen nods in agreement. "Exactly. Sommy is right, we need to keep going. We won't want to overburden our protectors."

I know this charades that they are planning to pull. I have seen it far too many times. We all know THAT Sommy only works with Brixen when it involves convincing me with anything. Now is one of them.

"I'll catch up!" I promise over my shoulder. "I'll be right behind you."

Brixen's voice chases after me, cursing, but I can't stop now. The timer in my vision ticks down.

The little boy trips and falls hard, skinning his knees on the pavement. His sister stops immediately, trying to pull him up, but panic makes her clumsy. Her hands slip as the boy cries, high and terrified.

The infected draws closer. It's grey arm extending a, its fingers curling like claws as it reaches for the children.

Luckily, got there in time to slam into it from the side, my fist connecting with what used to be a jaw. The impact jars up my arm but the thing stumbles, knocked away from the kids.

"Get to safety!" I say, not looking at them as I can't take my eyes off the infected. Little footsteps patter away behind me.

The infected refocuses on me, its head swiveling with that horrible jerking motion. Its eyes are completely gray, filmed over like dirty glass before it It lunges.

I dodge right, barely avoiding its grasping hands. My foot catches a piece of broken concrete and I stumble.

The infected comes at me again, prompting me to scan frantically for a weapon until I spot a metal pipe lying in the gutter, maybe three feet long.

I dive for it, my fingers closing around the cool metal just as the infected reaches me.

I swing wild. The pipe connects with its shoulder and the thing barely reacts. It keeps coming, arms outstretched, mouth opening wider than it should be able to.

I remember how I handle the infected back at the raid and I swing low this time, putting all my weight behind it.

The pipe slams into the infected's knee with a crack that I feel more than hear. Its leg buckles and it drops, suddenly much less threatening on the ground.

I bring the pipe down on its head. Once, then several. The skull caves in with a wet crunch that makes my stomach lurch. Disgusting fluid splatters across the pavement.

I don't know if I got it good until the screen pulses.

INFECTED DEFEATED: ONE

PROGRESS UPDATED

A strange satisfaction washes over me. One down. Nine to go.

I look around, breathing hard. The street is still chaos. People running. Infected hunting. And there—another one, shambling toward an elderly woman who's moving too slowly, weighed down by a bag of what looks like medicine.

I run toward it, raising my pipe. The infected doesn't see me coming as I go for the knee first to watch drops before finishing it off.

INFECTED DEFEATED: TWO

The elderly woman thanks me and keeps moving, eyes fixed straight ahead to try and catch up with others.

I plan on helping her until I spot another infected and charge at it.

I move through the chaos, hunting them the way they hunt us.

'Aim for the knee, bring them down, finish them off.' It becomes consistent.

INFECTED DEFEATED: THREE.

INFECTED DEFEATED: FOUR.

INFECTED DEFEATED: FIVE.

My arms burn. The pipe grows slick with their fluid. But I keep going.

QUEST COMPLETE: DEFEAT INFECTED ENTITIES TEN.

The screen changes.

SECONDARY QUEST ALMOST COMPLETED.

CURRENT HP: SEVENTY.

Two more infected left.

PRIMARY QUEST: COMPLETE ENDURANCE TASK.

TIME REMAINING: TWENTY-EIGHT MINUTES.

This endurance task is a bit confusing. Does it mean I should run for a certain amount of time? Fight for a certain duration? The screen never specifies and I don't have time to figure it out.

I look around for more infected when a figure drops from a rooftop directly in front of me.

A blond female protector this time. She straightens, and her eyes narrow as she takes me in. Blood-spattered. Holding a pipe. Standing over a dead infected.

"What is a civilian still doing here?" Her voice is ice. "The evacuation order was clear."

"I'm helping." I gesture at the infected at my feet.

Her expression doesn't change. "This isn't a playground. Get to the evacuation point before you get yourself killed."

"But I can—"

"I don't like repeating myself." She turns away dismissively. "Move out."

Then she's gone, launching herself toward a group of infected with speed that makes my attempt at fighting look pathetic in comparison.

I stand there, stung. Is this how they talk to everyone?

Her sword blade gleams silver in the streetlights as it cuts through them like they're made of paper.

Movement in my peripheral vision. Three infected, shambling toward me from different directions. Am not going to let miss rainstorm cloud on my parade.

I raise the pipe, backing up to put a wall at my back. They converge slowly, inevitably. I go for the nearest one first..

As I raise the weapon to finish it off, fingers close around my ankle and pain explodes up my leg.

The infected on the ground has grabbed me. Its teeth sink into my calf, right through my pants, and the agony is unlike anything I've felt.

Like poison is being injected directly into my veins. Fire and ice war beneath my skin, radiating outward from the bite in waves that make my vision white out.

Can't help it as I scream. The sound tears from my throat as I bring the pipe down on the infected's skull again and again, hitting it with frantic desperation until it finally releases me.

"Shit!" I stumble back against the wall, sliding down. Repeating the curse word.

The other infected are still coming. I force myself to move, pipe swinging wild. I try to take them down through sheer desperation, each impact sending fresh agony through my leg.

But I couldn't.

I collapse, back against the wall, and look at my leg. Blood seeps through the torn fabric. Through it, I can see the bite. It's deep punctures are already darkening around the edges.

WARNING: INFECTION DETECTED.

HP: SEVENTY TO FORTY-FIVE.

STATUS: POISONED.

TIME REMAINING: TWELVE MINUTES.

"No, no, no." My hands shake as I tear more fabric from my shirt, wrapping it around the wound. "I thought I'm immune to it since I survived it before."

But the pain doesn't care what I thought. It keeps spreading, crawling up my leg like living things beneath my skin.

I have to get this treated but I need help dealing with these ones coming for me.

I hear the sound of the infected drop and before I could react, a gun barrel presses against my neck, cold and final.

I freeze. Every muscle locks. I slowly raise my eyes from the metal to the person holding it.

It the same female protector from before. Her face is hard as stone, eyes utterly emotionless as she stares down at me.

"What are you doing?" Her voice is conversational, like we're discussing the weather.

"I have told you before." I keep my voice steady despite my racing heart. "So I won't repeat myself."

She presses her sword harder against my skin, glancing down at my calf. "I see that you've been bitten. This is what your get if you don't follow orders."

"Yeah, so you can leave me here to die in peace."

"No cabt do. I need neutralize you to avoid infection from spreading."

"Then why don't you go ahead with it, sweetheart."

"Any last word?" Her finger moves steady.

"Like what?"

"You have ten seconds."

The screen pulses in my vision.

WARNING: THREAT DETECTED.

TIME REMAINING: TWENTY-EIGHT MINUTES, FOURTEEN SECONDS.

Then the countdown appears.

NINE

Her eyes narrow slightly, like she can sense something shifting.

EIGHT

"Last chance," she says quietly.

SEVEN

My heart pounds against my ribs.

SIX

But I'm frozen. The sword seems to grow, filling my entire neckline.

FIVE

"You are wasting my time." she asks.

FOUR

"Go ahead." urge her, "Do it."

THREE

She raise her sword.

TWO

I close my eyes.

ONE

The sword is driven right into my abdomen.

ZERO

I'm slowly slipping out if consciousness as the pain washes over me.

And then, the world instantly goes dark and quiet as I succumb to my fatal wound.