Sarah knew that she had to put damage between herself and the hitman she’d ended up working with. While many people joked that they could handle the muggers and pickpockets on New York’s mean streets, Sarah knew they were kidding themselves since o amount of jazz aerobics or Pilates classes made you ready to take on a professional hitman. In all honesty, now that she knew that the zombies only attacked when they were threatened, the undead were the lesser of the two evils and something that had happened earlier had got her curious. Reaching a covered mall, Sarah slowed her pace as she entered the deserted shopping centre save for a few lingering members of the undead. While the majority were members of what she called ‘the long dead’ there were a few fresher corpses, possibly trampled as the public panicked as the zombies descended on them.
Singling out one of these fresher zombies, a young woman of about her age dressed in a gothic looking ensemble save for the tip of a stiletto heel stabbed through her skull, Sarah sidled up to her.
“Stop.” Sarah whispered, a little afraid to raise her voice. The zombie stopped moving save for a few spasms in her arms, almost as if she had obeyed the instruction given to her.
“Turn around and take one step.” Sarah ordered, the zombie turning and taking one medium sized step forward.
“Now sit over there.” Sarah suggested as she pointed to a low wall surrounding the fountain in the middle of the mall. Turning the zombie walked over and Sarah followed, curiosity now overtaking fear. As the first zombie sat on the wall Sarah smiled before looking around at the other members of the undead.
“Anyone else want to sit on the wall?” She asked, only for the other members of the undead to ignore her. Frowning slightly Sarah tried again. “Sit on the wall.” After a few groans, the two closest zombies to the wall lumbered over and sat down next to the zombie Sarah had secretly named ‘Stiletto Stacey’. It seemed as if these undead were susceptible to suggestion, and Sarah sat down next to her undead subjects before flipping open the Ragnarok codices. What she had told Mike earlier was not strictly true, there was plenty on the dead but it covered Hel Walkers, the dead who came out of Helheim and not their immediate predecessors that were present here, the Hel Bound.
Naming the other two zombies, one a semi rotten corpse dressed in scrubs and an elderly looking woman who had a massive pine splinter through her right arm, Dr Dead and Pat Wood, Sarah got to her feet and continued her experiment, humming the first few bars of a song she only vaguely remembered and watched the corpses rise their heads and sway a little.
“You still can recognise music.” Sarah gasped as a shot rang out from the way she had escaped from. Almost immediately the zombies including the ones who had previously been under her control let out a primal scream before surging forward as a massive mob. “Wait stay!” Sarah commanded to no avail as her undead subjects left her. “Shit!” She swore, before running after the mob, shouldering her way to the front as she headed back the way she had come.
Singling out one of these fresher zombies, a young woman of about her age dressed in a gothic looking ensemble save for the tip of a stiletto heel stabbed through her skull, Sarah sidled up to her.
“Stop.” Sarah whispered, a little afraid to raise her voice. The zombie stopped moving save for a few spasms in her arms, almost as if she had obeyed the instruction given to her.
“Turn around and take one step.” Sarah ordered, the zombie turning and taking one medium sized step forward.
“Now sit over there.” Sarah suggested as she pointed to a low wall surrounding the fountain in the middle of the mall. Turning the zombie walked over and Sarah followed, curiosity now overtaking fear. As the first zombie sat on the wall Sarah smiled before looking around at the other members of the undead.
“Anyone else want to sit on the wall?” She asked, only for the other members of the undead to ignore her. Frowning slightly Sarah tried again. “Sit on the wall.” After a few groans, the two closest zombies to the wall lumbered over and sat down next to the zombie Sarah had secretly named ‘Stiletto Stacey’. It seemed as if these undead were susceptible to suggestion, and Sarah sat down next to her undead subjects before flipping open the Ragnarok codices. What she had told Mike earlier was not strictly true, there was plenty on the dead but it covered Hel Walkers, the dead who came out of Helheim and not their immediate predecessors that were present here, the Hel Bound.
Naming the other two zombies, one a semi rotten corpse dressed in scrubs and an elderly looking woman who had a massive pine splinter through her right arm, Dr Dead and Pat Wood, Sarah got to her feet and continued her experiment, humming the first few bars of a song she only vaguely remembered and watched the corpses rise their heads and sway a little.
“You still can recognise music.” Sarah gasped as a shot rang out from the way she had escaped from. Almost immediately the zombies including the ones who had previously been under her control let out a primal scream before surging forward as a massive mob. “Wait stay!” Sarah commanded to no avail as her undead subjects left her. “Shit!” She swore, before running after the mob, shouldering her way to the front as she headed back the way she had come.
Issue #2 (June 2018)
Written by John Cheese Featuring: The Enforcer
Zombie Master
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THE LANTERN OF HYRM - PART TWOMike Nero took position on the roof of his old Toyota as he saw the undead file in from all directions, before opening fire in earnest with the FN FAL he’d rescued from his trunk, the three round bursts downing individual zombies from the leading edge of the crow, if temporarily. When it ran out of ammo he didn’t bother reloading, swapping instead to the quiver of javelins inscribed with the mark of the five Thunder Marshals, flinging each one into the crowd a burst of thunder scattering those close to the projectiles landing point.
“Hey stop!” A human voice called, causing Mike to spin round as he grabbed his Street Sweeper just as Sarah muscled her way out of the mob. “Uh no!” Mike yelled as Sarah jumped onto the hood of the vehicle. “The paramedics killed the driver and brought the horde down on us.” He added as he blasted a zombie that had been flung forward by the javelins and was only feet from the car. “Help me thin out the crowd or we’ll be joining it!” He continued as he slipped Sarah a pair of MAG-7 shotguns. “They can be reasoned with, I could control them!” Sarah snapped as she picked up one of the shotguns and looked at it with disgust. “They don’t want to hurt us!” “Maybe before they were set off, and maybe after we die but right now they want to kill us!” Mike growled as he jumped down onto the bed of the truck and kicked a zombie back before ditching the shotgun in favour for the spear he’d given Sarah earlier, the tip burning as he plunged it into the corpse. “Please stop!” Sarah ordered as a zombie grabbed her leg and began to drag her off the car. Panicking Sarah unloaded two shots from the MAG-7, the rounds obliterating the zombies head and torso causing its remains to fall to the floor. “Oh god I’m sorry.” She sobbed as she took aim at the rest of the approaching horde, the rounds chewing through individuals in the mob. “Be sorry later, here take this.” Mike ordered as he stabbed the spear into the ground, a wall of protective fire encircling the vehicle before presenting Sarah with a katana, its blade gleaming with an unnatural light. “That fire-brand should keep them back for a bit, but not for long.” He added as he drew his own katana, a blade that was stained red in a pattern that looked like rose thorns. “Mark Nero!” A voice called causing both Sarah and Mike to swing round to where they were being addressed from. Standing at the head of the horde, his bleeding fingers holding onto the figurehead containing the lantern was ‘Dead’ Paul. “It’s Mike Nero!” Mike snapped as he took note at how emaciated Paul was looking, to the point where his ribs were sticking out of his skin. “Paul you don’t look so hot, so why don’t you put down the Lantern of Hirm…” “Hyrm.” Sarah corrected him. “Right Hyrm, send the zombies to bed and we’ll forget about this.” Mike finished. “Or not!” Paul hissed. “You tried to kill me, well now it’s my time to kill you, but first I’m going to rip your little Necromancer friend apart for what she tried to do.” “Me, I didn’t do anything!” Sarah yelled as she looked around the crowd before turning to look at Mike. As much as she hated to admit it, he was her best chance to get out of this alive now, but that didn’t mean she liked him. “I felt you trying to pull my marchers away!” Paul yelled as Sarah turned to Mike. “You are one of the dead like us, yet you fight against us, come join the marches and I’ll make you my second in charge!” “Do you have a megaphone?” Sarah asked Mike as she ignored Paul’s raving. “And maybe a bag?” She added as Mike went to the back of the car and brought out a police bull-horn and what looked like a body-bag. “Oh god that’s grim!” Sarah gasped. “Trust me no people have been it, not to say it’s never been used.” Mike answered as he looked at Paul. “I get what the bag’s for, but what’s the rest of your play?” “You’ll find out.” Sarah whispered as she climbed onto the top of the car and turned the horn on before uttering two words, her freed hand pointed at Paul. “Get him!” She ordered as the horde automatically turned on Paul, undead hands pulling at him as he thrashed in a vain attempt to overcome the horde, and as he did the figurehead rolled onto the road. “Keep ‘em off me okay?” Mike stated as he grabbed the ‘Firebrand’ and ran over to the figurehead before trying to poke it into the body-bag. After his third attempt the artefact was completely covered and he picked it up. As he did, the horde stopped their attack and looked at him with one movement before screaming and advancing on him. “Hey stop!” Sarah yelled to no avail, her second shout coming from the MAG-7 she held in one hand, the blast scattering the zombies on Mike’s heels. Reaching the pick-up, Mike leapt into the driver’s seat as Sarah attempted to slide across the bonnet to the passenger seat, her clumsy landing causing her to turn her ankle. Cursing slightly, she clambered into the car the engine roaring to life sounding over the moans and sound of pounding metal. “Still want me to leave them alone?” Mike asked as Paul got to his feet and took a deep breath. “We need to get this out of here.” Sarah hissed as she shot the body-bag in the footwell a dirty look. Smiling Mike gunned the engine and aimed the Toyota right at Paul, the vehicle slicing through the horde and running the underworld appraiser over with a sickening crack before skidding around the corner and away from the zombies. “Okay so how do we destroy the Lantern?” Mike asked. “No.” Sarah replied adamantly. “I want an answer for an answer. Starting with how many have you killed and why?” “We talking about as hits or hits and self-defence?” Mike asked as he drove past a crashed school bus. “Just the hits.” Sarah replied coldly. “It’s seven.” Mark answered, his voice weary as if reminiscing about such things still weighed heavily on his mind. “Two drug dealers who sold near schools, one assassin for the Hand, a Hydra section chief, two paedophiles. I don’t lose sleep about them, not often anyway.” He gulped before slowing down and looking at Sarah. “The other one, I don’t know what that was, it was…is the worst thing I’ve ever done. In all honesty I have some stories that make me look as heroic as Captain America and others that paint me in a worse light then the Red Skull.” “What did you do?” Sarah asked. “Not your question.” Mike replied glumly as he turned back to the road, a haunted look on his face. “So how do we destroy the Lantern?” “We can’t.” Sarah answered. “The figurehead, the lantern both still have roles to play in Ragnarok, the codices made that quite apparent.” She added, as Mike slowed the car down and looked at the barricade placed across the road, gun barrels pointed towards them. “Shit!” He cursed as he spun the crowd round and turned the car round to face the horde lumbering towards them. “We can’t lead them any further and we can’t fight them. If I owe you a question can I ask one now?” He asked as Sarah looked at him, a worried look on her face. “I guess, what do you want to ask?” Sarah replied. “The zombies are looking for the ferry right, so if we lead them to water will they just leave?” Mike asked as he drove down the street before swerving right into Central Park. “Maybe.” Sarah answered as she went to look in the codices, only to realise that she had left it in the mall. “I mean trial and error works, sometimes right?” She asked. “That’s not the question you want to ask.” Mike replied as the pick-up powered over one of the stone bridges before slamming the brake on as the car arrived on the jogging track that ran around the perimeter of the Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. “Okay so how do we get the ferry here?” “I lost the book, but I think this is an artificial lake.” Sarah replied as she looked in the rear-view mirror at the zombie horde crossing the bridge towards them. “That makes a difference, right?” Mike asked as he shifted the gear stick into reverse. “Maybe, I don’t know.” Sarah answered as Mike reversed into the horde, the Toyota making headway for a bit until the corpses dying and reanimating under its wheels built up jamming it in place. “But I think Helheim’s waters are salty.” “That’s not going to make a difference if we die here.” Mike sighed as he pulled a P90 SMG from a hidden panel in his door. “Keep that safe.” He added as he gestured to the figurehead before winding down the window and firing at the undead horde trying to clamber in. “Either way this won’t take long.” He added as he replaced the P90’s clip and grabbed his katana before kicking the door open and vanishing into the throng. Cursing to herself Sarah pulled the door shut before winding her own window down and blasted the nearest zombies before sliding out onto the roof. “Mike what did you use the grenade launcher for!” She yelled as she blasted another zombie trying to climb onto the roof. “Never this.” Mike answered as he sliced a zombie through the neck with his katana. Smiling he turned back to the fray as he heard Sarah drop onto the flatbed and pull back the hidden compartment where his weapons were stored followed by a whizz and a boom as the first grenade streaked out and scattered the ranks of the horde. The explosion was followed by five more as Sarah emptied the revolver style clip, the horde now reduced to a pile of squirming limbs, albeit ones that were still dragging torsos forward if they were still attached. “Seawater huh, good thing we’re on an island.” Mike stated as he sprinted back round to the driver’s side with Sarah doing likewise to the passenger seat. “You were amazing by the way.” “Don’t thank me, once this is done I don’t want to touch one of these ever again, and I certainly don’t want to see you.” Sarah hissed as she slammed the door shut. “If we smash down Broadway then we can reach the river, it should be salty enough for the ferry.” She added as a withered hand reached in through the window and grabbed Sarah by the throat. “You’ll reach the water but not among the living!” Paul hissed as he dragged Sarah out of the window as more reanimated dead smashed through the glass and swarmed Mike, knocking his P90 out of his hand. “Now that I can lead the Hel Bound again, we can continue our preparation for Ragnarok.” He added as he reached down for the body bag, only for another hand to dart in and pull it out past him. “Paul, just stay dead.” Mike growled as he slipped onto the passenger seat and tackled Paul to the floor before being swarmed by the undead. “STOP!” Sarah yelled as she held onto the figurehead, the sharp bark like scales cutting through the fabric and into her skin. “They may listen to you Necromancer, but they won’t stop killing their enemy.” Paul snarled as he reached up to grab the figurehead, only to be kicked back as the wings of the serpent figurehead flung open again and the fire in the skull begun to glow again. “About staying dead Paul.” Mike growled as he threw Paul’s emaciated form into the reservoir before looking around at the now inert army of zombies. “Mike.” Sarah gulped as she felt the uneasy feeling of what felt like reptile scales squirming under her hands. “Look at that they stopped.” Mike stated as she turned to look at Sarah, his look of relief turning one to worry. “I think we have a new problem.” Sarah finished as she looked at the blood oozing from under her fingernails. |