Okay. This chapter in terms of length, beat out the last one. This chapter doesn't really focus on character personallity. It's an early chapter, a while before the plot thickens, you get into it, and before you know it: You're wondering who killed the butler. I hope that happens atleast. I'm debating on doing a side story or two based off of this world. If you have an idea just PM me and we'll work some magic--- Whoa, whoa. I mean: We'll work some Phocus. But ehought of my chatter, on with the show:

This takes place at almost the same time as the last chapter, The difference being that Ian's is more toward early night to past midnight.

Chapter 5: Darkest Hours

"Another dead end." Gore growled and slammed a fist against the wall. He and Seni stood outside of a cave entrance. A smooth wall blocked the way in. Seni tried to manipulate the mountain. "The different Cor that altered this mountain is too deep. I can't move a lot." The mouse admitted "They're earth users" "They own this mountain..." Gore finally came to the conclusion. There was an awkward silence "You know what we have to do." Seni said. "Yeah, yeah... Only thing we can do. Do what we can and contact base. We have to... We do have more members in Nonin, they might help." "They won't hurt him." Seni added, smiling "He's a hostage. They'd be silly to kill one of us!" Seni pointed his thumb to himself. "Where's that overgrown baby? " Gore asked, referring to Terror. "Not sure. He left already. I get the feeling he doesn't like the new guy." "We should catch up..." Gore was torn but he knew what he had to do. The City-Town of Nonin was a city and a town. The town looked like it was in the midst of an industrial revolution but stopped mid-way. Some houses and buildings were built of only wood while the others were either brick work or abandoned metal factories. The pattern was scattered throughout the city-town aside from the factory chain at the town's edge. Nonin was seen more as a town because of it's population. A few hundred at most lived there. Everyone knew one another. More than half the town was unoccupied. At town's edge was a big welcome sign, which introduced what the town should have been. "Welcome to glorious Nonin! Home of fresh ores!" the sign said. As Gore, Senisis, and Terror entered the town, several of the villagers stopped to behold them. If gore didn't know some Guild mates weren't in town he would assume they never saw new people before. The residents were mostly of lizard, some others lived there. They started a business and the town died, So they were trapped or had gotten used to life there. Seni and Terror took in the town but Gore was on edge. His mind cautious after Ian getting captured, he spotted something that made him draw his axes. Barely in the town five minutes and he rushed passed the confused citizens and held his axe above a zombie. Her hair was grey and in patched areas, and her brain, rotting and exposed. Her skin was equally grey and where no skin existed, fresh bone and rotting flesh replaced it. The stench of rotting flesh was almost unbearable. The zombie's maggot filled eyes didn't register him, or anyone for that matter. Gore was fueled by emotion and ignored it as he was about to fell the undead. "Nooo!" Someone yelled. A female lizard jumped in the way, protecting the zombie from harm. "Move." Gore growled, clearly not in the mood. "Gore! We have a job to do!" The normally cheerful Seni yelled. Seni's outburst was enough to make Gore look at himself. He truly looked at what unfolded before him and lowered his axe. "Sorry." Gore said quietly. "She won't harm anyone!" The woman yelled. Her eyes were fierce as she stared down the gator "I'm- We're from Beta." Gore's voice trailed. Gore blamed himself for what happened to Ian. His mind was still in Bronze pass, trying another approach. Seni decided that he would have to take charge. "Hello." Seni stepped past Gore, pushing him back. Gore simply took is and drifted to the background. "We're Gore, Terror, and Senisis-" He pointed to each respective member." -And we're from Beta. I heard a couple of our siblings were here on an investigation. I apologize for my comrade's rashness." The woman seemed to had calmed down but she shot a look to Gore. "About time you showed up." She said, acid dripping from each word. "The problem is...?" Seni asked, figuring the zombies weren't it. "Are you blind?" she asked, continuing her vile tone. "These were people that once lived here." she pointed to the zombie behind her. "This was once my aunt mayl. I love her, i always will." Her voice became soft."The stench is awful!" She said after a moment. "We want the magic binding them disbanded so we can properly burry them." "How do you know it's magic?" Senisis asked. "One of your people told us!" She almost yelled. The stress was obviously getting to her. "Where are they? Our people?" Seni asked. The woman nodded "They're in my hotel. I'll bring you to them and you can explain to the town what the problem is. I'm Bianca Estay" He said off-handedly." The Estay Hotel was big and gaudy but it looks as if it needed repair. Metal was rusting, paint was peeling, and as Gore looked up, he spotted a boarded up window. "My hotel is the best in town." She proudly declared, knowing there was no such thing as visitors anymore. "My workers have all up and gone so I do most of the work. Store man Nate sometimes comes down and helps me with the more critical repairs." Before the doors were opened a human boy popped his head out the window above. "Hey guys!" he called. The inside was equal to the outside: a shadow of its glory: There was a hole in a wall, the furniture looked worn, and the walls were crying desperately for a washing. Ms. Estay led them upstairs, to a room above the door. Inside were two humans. "Luke, Lyn!" Seni greeted them with an open smile. He shook Luke's hand, then pushed his hair back and straightened his shirt for Lyn.

Luke and Lyn were siblings, Humans at that. It was rare for humans to join. Including Ian there was five of them. Luke had sandy blond hair and glazed green eyes. He wore well worn leather armor. He had soft and young features. He was at the table now, a book in front of him. Lyn had long brown hair and light green eyes. She wore a pretty red frilly dress. She was sitting on the bed, several documents spread in front of her. "Senisis, right?" Luke asked, looking at him but not quite at him "Yeah, and you remember the guys, right?" Seni motioned to them. Luke nodded to Gore but frowned at Terror, who pretended to ignore it. "Help came?" Lyn asked, not looking up from her studies. "What are ya lookin' at?" Gore asked, moving in the room, It came out more rough than he intended.. "The town's history." She mumbled, shifting papers. "Trying to see if it's people rising from a period of time or times of death, or anything strange happened?" "Result?" Gore asked "A bit has happened." She explained. She continued to tell of the city's past. The issue with the town being divided, the papers leaving out the location of the other half of the town, though, and ignoring its condition. "Think the mind control bit is what might be bringing them back?" Gore asked Everyone had settled into the room: Luke and Seni were in conversation, the mouse explaining Ian's situation, Terror settled into a corner of the room. Ms. Estay silently watched the whole thing from the door. "That's what I thought at first." Lyn said. She pulled up a recent newspaper. "He died in the mines." She simply stated. Gore took the newspaper and read it over. He was mumbling the article aloud. "He was one of the first to show?" Gore looked up from the paper "Yes, yes. I sent Luke to watch them, because oddly enough they aren't hostile. He came back saying some junk about them attacking them." "Because they did!" Luke whined, his face showing distress. He stopped his talks with Seni to reply to his sister. "No they didn't!" Ms. Estay yelled back, her eyes looked desperate. "But they have one almo-." That was as far as luke got. "We've been here for days Luke. They don't even notice people, let alone attacking someone." "I did notice something..." Luke went into thought "There was a weird Cora I saw deeper in the desert. It was swirly and i-" "When he described it the first time, it sounded like it was in the mines." Ms. Estay explained, her arms folded. "Good, let's go." Gore was ready to put this to rest and help Ian. "We couldn't get near it. A Cor-based sandstorm as Luke called it is in the way." Lyn explained "Someone doesn't want us near the mines." Luke added. " I was working on a spell while researching. I figure someone has a reason for doing this." "We were deciding on an attack strategy that the six of us can tackle" "We needed to know who we got so we can disable the storm and prepare for the worse." "The sixth one, a recruit named Ian was captured, right?" Gore's eyes shifted back and forth. It seemed the siblings rolled off each other. Gore could see that they worked incredibly well with each other. Gore realized that they worked together for years to get this level of mutual understanding. Gore softly nodded. "It was under my watch, if he's hurt I'd-" "If it's any consolation, they sent an envoy to let us know he's fine." Luke said casually. His eyes were seemingly staring at a wall. There was a man in rags; he looked out of place from the normal townspeople. He asked a passing man a question and he pointed the man in the Hotel's direction. Senisis looked to Gore. "Can you keep control?" The mouse asked. He hated being serious but it seemed the time to be. Gore always questioned his leadership skills, and he punishes himself too hard when something goes awry. Gore softly nodded. "May i?" Luke asked.

Luke opened the front door steps before the messenger arrived. He looked spooked, he was obviously afraid of the zombies wandering around. "I'm Jason, messenger from th-." "Bronze Pass Bandits, I know." Luke was grinning, watching him closely. "We have one of you and we would like to negotiate the terms of his survival." Jason said Luke didn't stop grinning. "We won't be debating this." "What?" The man was obviously thrown off. "You have him but you're quite new at this. You don't know how to keep hostages." The lizard was put off by the boy's words. Luke was about fourteen and he was putting off a grown man. "Now look here boy." Jason started, stepping up the stairs. Luke moved fast, drawing his bow in hand. The bandit froze as Luke notched an arrow The man struggled with his words for a moment "If there's no reason to keep the boy alive, we won't." He said. His hand grabbed the hilt of his sword. Luke remained silent. "I'm merely the messenger; we'll send someone to negotiate tomorrow, at noon." He was looking around. His face seemed green, like he was ready to vomit. He took a step back, then another. It was nothing short of a full on run out of town and Luke silently watched. He closed the door and looked around the lobby and made a loud sigh. "That's nerve wracking." His face visibly upset. "You shouldn't take advantage of reading people, then." Lyn said, holding papers and transferring them to a couch in the lobby. "I know... but it was needed." "I agree." She said at length, and then she turned to Gore. "That's one of them?" Gore shrugged. "They knew better than to let us see them." Gore made his way to the door. "I'll follow him-. " "We need you here." Lyn demanded, he voice full of warning. "We will save the boy when we're done here, we have work to do." She had a reason for being so behind this method. She was captured once and she was saved, but she was more worried on her partners finishing the job. "We should gather info." Luke stated. "You should check on Store man Nate." Ms. Estay said. "He's been around for a while, will add human emotion to our history. "Yeah, yeah." Luke grabbed for Seni. "We'll go!" "Ha-ha, Luke. Slow down." Seni laughed the entire time as they went through the door. Gore raised an eyebrow "They were fast friends last year." Lyn explained. "Was the only time I've seen my bro loosen up and be a kid." She was a bit soft. "Terror, do some patrol, keep an eye on those zombies." Gore said. Terror remained where he was for a full minute and noticed Gore was not in a debating mood. Terror quietly complied. It was now Gore and Lyn to find work. "I'll take you to the mayor's office, then I'm going to the town square." Lyn said, feeling she was better at this point."He wouldn't listen to children, maybe you can have a go... being..." "Being what?" Gore asked. It was clear he was off his game today She looked back at Bianca then leaned in close. He saw a look in her eyes. "Big and strong." Gore got the compliment he needed, thinking the human girl coming on to him. His normal grin spread across his face. "I think i can get him to talk." He licked his chomps. "Lizards don't quite compare to a gator, see? He flexed his muscles. Lyn was only slightly impressed, having seen better. "Work the truth out of him." She spoke softly, seductively. Gore led the way out of the hotel when Lyn looked back and spoke to Bianca. "Men are so easy." She added a wink and followed after. The sun was setting in the sky, there was still at least an hour of sunlight left. As the light escaped, so did Luke's bravery. He was truly convinced that the zombies were on the attack.

Seni and Luke rounded the corner of an old factory building. There was a small crowd around Nate's shop. There was a single hole where a window was with a barrel of a gun pointing out. The seven or eight town people were yelling at the hole.

"You've always been a crook, Nate!" One yelled. "I don't care what you dead folks call me!" The hole yelled back. "You're all going to die." Luke and Seni nodded at each other. They decided to quell the situation. They stopped short of everyone and started in a loud voice. "What seems to be the problem?" Luke asked, trying his best to sound like a authority. "Nate here says that my dead brother Ruben tried to attack him." The one in front said, his face red with fury. Seni stepped forward to engage the man further while Luke stepped in between to interfere. "Talk to my friend Seni over there while I sort this out with Mr. Nate." Luke ignored their protests as he approached the gun hole. "He-" "Don't come any closer!" Nate yelled from inside the store. "You might be one of them!" "Nate, it's me, Luke. We met the other day, remember?" "Yooooou'rre one of them!" He yelled, the gun suddenly twisted at Luke. "Listen, Nate. Bianca sent me." Luke spoke softly. He knew they had a relationship and played on it. "I came here to find out what is wrong." Mention of the name seemed to calm him down a bit. " I was closing up shop last night when one of em' raisers walked in my store. I was right confused. They never so much as look at ya. But not this one. No-no nooo." His voice seemed shaky. " I had no choice. I didn't" There was a brief pause. Luke tried to talk but Nate went on. " It was the worst thing I ever saw in my 76 years on this earth. I'm still pickin' maggots outta ma hair." "You tried to talk to someone?" Luke asked. "I didn't get a chance to!" Nate yelled. "That lass alyese saw th' whole thin'. She ran screamin' 'fore I could utter a word. Then more came. They came. I had to barricade the store up. I don't want them in here. I don't want them after me! You're giving them attention!" Nate seemed to be tired of talking. "Noooow Get, 'fore I think you and Bianca are in cahoots with those no good zombies." The gun was loaded. Luke slowly backed away, not wanting to be shot. He bumped into Seni, who was thrown away. The mouse caught his balanced and stumbled to his feet only to crash into Luke. They would have laughed at that given lighter conditions. "Any luck?" Seni asked. "Only that I was right." Luke said smugly "We should get everyone together and hole ourselves up. The hotel should help everyone." "I don't think anyone is going to listen." Senisis looked back to the argument they were walking away from. "We should see if the rest of the guys will listen now." Seni considered but found no other option. "Let's go then."

Gore slammed the mayor into the wall of his office and a picture fell down. The mayor was smug up until that point. He had outright refused to give the full history of the town, even after gore careful explained the problem going on under his nose. He figured himself to be smarter than the gator and tried to play mind games. Gore had enough at one point and he thought would knock the bastard down a few pegs. The mayor was a young, fit, stuck up guy but he paled in comparison next to the big alligator. He lifted the man up with one hand. "Mayor Shore," Gore spoke in a slow, even tone. "Maybe being mayor in a dying town is good for you but, once yer dead, I won't be around to help. Now, I suggest you cooperate with me before the town's entire population is demolished by the threat within." Gore was choking the mayor a bit and he knew that, which is why he spoke slowly, to make him feel his options were being cut off as the sentence went by. True to Gore's tactic, Mayor Shore numbly nodded. "We don't write down what's hidden, for fear of what may happen." He seemed equally afraid of Gore and this unknown danger. "I don't know if it's related but..."

Lyn stood in the town square. As the center of this City-town, it had a fountain with a statue of the town's first mayor. The fountain was dry. 'It is the desert, after all.' She figured to herself. Store fronts and venders littered the center, all selling almost the same things. Her efforts to find the thugs of the town for underground info fell on deaf ears. She figured they were long gone, or didn't care. She had decent connections with the black market and such. She figured she should try the bars now that it was dark out. From the square there was Arnold's pub. "Perfect." The said to herself and started to make her way to the bar. She slowed to a stop after a few steps. She stopped a man passing by, "Has there always been so many zombies in the square?" She asked. The man turned around. At least two dozen wandered within the center of the city-town. "Now that you mentioned it.... No." He seemed to be a little alarmed. "Think what ol' Nate said was true?" "What did he say?" She asked. The bell struck for the next hour Dong! Dong! The man decided to wait until the bells stopped ringing to answer. Dong! Dong! The zombies seemed to twitch, simultaneously. Both Lyn and the man noticed it. "This is bad." Lyn whispered Dong! Dong! The gazes of the undead with eyes slowly began to focus. Those without, the sockets with maggots crawling within them seemed to come alive and made it all the more creepy. Dong! Dong! One step, second step, Third, The zombies suddenly seemed active. They made their ways to the nearest person: A woman who was closing shop. She was scared at their overall approach, Then wailed as the nearest one grabbed her arm and ripped its boney flesh right through hers. She was instantly slaughtered by all of them surrounding. When her screams died and she drew her last breath, all seemed quiet for what seemed for an eternity. They turned. Dong! Lyn took two nervous steps backwards and instead of the zombies following, they broke off into a run, limp, or hop; whatever their various stages of decaying limbs could allow. Lyn and the man kept grabbing at one another while trying to run, pulling each other on. They took a full two steps before being surrounded. One was right next to her. Lyn cried out and swung her wand. The wand stuck on the side of the zombie's head, the brains and maggots oozed out onto it. She screamed again and she kicked out to get free. As she stumbled backward she found herself in the arms of another undead beast. The man came to her rescue and tackled the zombie, catching her in the process. "Th-thanks." She muttered, getting up. "Let's go!" He yelled, pulling her along. The human girl noticed a symbol bouncing against his chest as they ran. It was two golden semi-circles that didn't touch. There was lines are one end point of both semi-circles: The sign of Infinity. They ran down an alley that divided into two. They lost track of the zombies. "This way leads to the church." The man said. "I have to find my friends." She stated firmly at the same time as him. They ended up pulling in two different directions. "You should come with me, miss. There is constant danger around. "I can take care of myself," She said firmly. "They were now back to back as the zombies closed in. "What are we going to do?!" She franticly muttered to herself, forgetting the man was with her. "When I give the word, you run through, got it?" He said Forgetting the danger, she looked to him. "What? And leave yo-" "There's no time, I'll be fine!" His hands were glowing white. "Try to get some people to the church." He said. "Lumi purge!" The holy energy escaped his hands and shot in front of them. The zombies blocking their path vaporized. Lyn was shocked by the man's power, and she wanted the spell as well. "Go!" He yelled, doubled over. His yell snapped her from her thoughts. Go against how she felt, she didn't want his efforts to go to waste. She ran through, chanting, and swinging her mace. She chanced a glance back and saw more zombies arriving on the scene. She knew there was nothing she could do. She lowered her head and ran on, to the screaming, hopefully, she could honor the man's words. She didn't even learn his name. She held the spell in the back of her mind and as she emerged to open street she spotted a family on the run. There was a large group of undead at their heels. "Hell's grasp!" She yelled and fiery hand of flames emerged, as tall as a man. It blocked the path between the family and the zombies. Not knowing how to see or detect magic, they ran right into its burning clutches. They were captured and instantly enveloped in flames. Lyn closed her free hand and lifted, the fiery hand reflected. "Go to the church! It's safe there. Spread the word!" She yelled, knowing it would risk her Phocus. It maintained though, and as her grip tightened, the flesh burned more until the hand exploded and burning, rotting flesh flew everywhere. Despite being covered in the zombie flesh, she felt good. She just saved a family. She put it beside herself though, She knew she had to find the others, or at least help more people along the way. She screamed as zombies and people started to flood the streets again. "The Church!" She yelled, delivering the desperate people hope. Luke's initial fear of the zombies forced them on the run, he was unable to think clearly. When the first zombies attacked he ran for the abandoned part of the city; the ruined factories. Senisis lost Luke for a moment in the chaos of other people. The mouse, being short, feared being knocked over and trampled so he ducked into the closest open door; and found himself in a gun shop. The mouse closed and locked the door just as a zombie tried to crash through the bullet proof glass door. The result was only clearing its own head off. Seni wasn't used to this. He was with Beta for about a year but he didn't go out on many missions. He knew he had to find luke, and remembered the last direction he saw the human headed in. Senisis knew his own Cor was low; he would probably only have enough Cor for two more element enchants, or a phusion. Lucky for him the store he was in was fit for all his zombie-busting needs. Seni found a bag and stuffed it with two shot guns, a pistol, and a ton of ammo for both. He found a solar powered energy ray and found it useless in the newborn night, he stowed it anyway. He was in there for a good half-hour stocking up crates. Another ten minutes later, he was frantic, worried about Luke. He placed the crates in front of the door, slowly unlocked it, then kicked it open. His first order of business was to shoot a shotgun shell straight through the zombie coming right for him. "Weapons!" The mouse loud, trying his best merchant voice "Get your weapons here!" He then kicked the crates down the ramp leading to the store while firing his shotgun. His second shot already made his shoulders sore but he knew he would have to ignore it. The people who at one point were refusing to hurt the zombies now jumped at the chance. They flocked to the guns, while Senisis covered them. Soon they joined in on the game. Now people had a way to defend themselves. "The church!" A man yelled, running by. A massive amount of zombies right behind him. Needless to say the zombies were instantly dealt with. The man was caught and he died but in the same breath the men took down the zombies. At their feet, the zombie mush grew, as Senisis looked around he observed that several Zombie and lizard bodies littered the streets. The mouse noticed something else. "You should all go to the church." Seni said. Fear creeping in his voice. One man finished reloading his gun and looked up at him. "Why go to a place that can't help us?" He asked. "With these, we own the night." The small mouse took two steps away from the store; he finally decided to run down the path he saw Luke go. He didn't know how he would find the human in the abandoned section of the city. He adjusted the heavy ammo on his shoulder and followed the trail as best as he could. Gore decided to head back to the hotel, figuring everyone would be smart enough to rendezvous there before deciding anything. He feared the worst when zombies blocked his path, and he was only angry when he got inside, bloodied up. The hotel was empty, Not even Bianca was around. Gore looked around and found, oddly enough, a shotgun in the cabinets in the kitchen. "My kind of weapon." The gator mused to himself. He always wanted one of his own but Beta wouldn't allow it. He now had a chance to play with it to its fullest. Gore turned around just as the yard door burst open. Zombies: eyes milky and hungry for flesh. The gator pumped his shotgun and fired, clearing the chest of one, and the arm of another. Gore pumped again and fired to finish off the second, then drew his axe for the third. He used the axe to cut the undead fiend straight down the middle. Gore figured there must be news of his comrades somewhere, so he decided to make way to what he first heard earlier; the church people seem to keep mentioning. Terror entered the kitchen and Gore fired out of reflex. Terror's massive frame went flying out of the room. Gore, after a minute of laughing, came in chuckling "You should announce yerself. You know I'm trigger happy." Terror grunted and pulled himself off of the table he destroyed. He was otherwise unharmed. "We have to find the others." Gore said. "I can't stand to lose another member of the team. Terror silently nodded. As distant the dragon normally put himself, he had to acknowledge that they were and will be friends. For this night, Terror put his personal issues aside. "I heard speak of the church." The dragon said "Same here." "Nobody will be there." Terror added a grin as they headed for the door. "Why not?" "The girl is worried for her brother, and so is the mouse. And true to my name, I saw the weakling fleeing the fight." "Why didn't you stop him?" Gore asked. "I'm no babysitter." The dragon growled. There was a silence that followed as they stepped into the street. Gore had maintained a stare at him; He knew terror better than that. Terror sighed. "I was covered in the damn things." He admitted. "Then let's follow the trail then." Gore and Terror set off after their partners, not knowing that the zombies Gore killed were forming back to unlife. Lyn had delivered the message to as many people as she could and started to look for safe haven herself. The streets were covered in zombies and she was trying her best to avoid them. She was sneaking behind some parked cars while a small group of them chased after a small animal. As much as she wanted to save the poor thing she knew she couldn't risk it. She ducked behind an alley as more came limping by and she waited a full ten count before sneaking around them. Then gunshots fired in the direction she was heading and the undead monsters turned around. "Shit." She cursed. She broke into a run. More shots were fired and decided to head there. The hotel and church were too far and that seemed to be the safest bet. As she ran the shots got louder. The zombies seemed to come from all the sides as they tried to grab at her, she screamed as she ducked under a boney arm. The action shifted her weight and she lost her balance. She fell and slid. She turned as the zombies tried to overturn her. She had no other option as the closed in "Cor Ble-ias!" She yelled and waves of grey energy flew from her body. It was pure core, unrefined. She knew better than to use this move passed down from her family but it was either that or die. She was almost all out of energy now, and to her knowledge only an hour or two passed. She didn't know how she would survive the night. The grey energy still surrounded her, It would remain for a few moments more, she knew she had to make use of every second. She made slow, agonizing, semi-conscious steps to the source of the gunshots. The zombies that tried to attack her were felled to dust instantly. What came into view was Nate's shop. The once gun-sized hole was now big enough for a small human or a hungry zombie to climb through. "It's fading." She whispered to herself as the Cor Ble-ias took longer to cut through a zombie. She put her weight on the side of the store and dragged her way to the front. "I'm alive." She managed to squeak to the person shooting from the inside. The shots stopped for a moment as the last zombie was shot down and Lyn stood in the hole. She slowly climbed in and one of the undead tried to attack from the rear. It was destroyed as the Ble-ias faded. The store was isles of ruined products, obviously something had gotten in and it took a bit of work for Nate to finish. The freezer was almost empty with drinks. "You okay there?" Store man Nate asked. He knelt down and checked her pulse. She was fine, otherwise low on Cor. "I'm getting better." She spoke more to herself than Nate. "Two minutes longer than last time." Nate looked up to the hole. He knew the girl wouldn't stay awake much longer. He had to seal up the hole and put her in the stock room to make sure she's safe. He was half-way through covering the hole when she crept up behind him. "Thanks." She said. Nate jumped and turned, pointing his hammer at her. She chuckled. "Sorry sir" The human apologized. He looked her up and down. "You looked as if you were about t'die. What a recovery." Nate turned and went back to fixing the hole. "Is that the only way out?" She asked, walking to the other side of the seal. "'Fraid so." He replied, not looking up. "No more of those undead jerks will be coming in?" Right as she asked, they can hear the walls and ceiling being attacked. There was something crawling in the vents too. "Can you hold a gun, lil' lady?" Nate asked, He looking up at her once more. "Do I have a choice?" She replied. "No. But if you start to act like one of them I'll take you out too." He reached behind himself and produced a handgun. "Ammo is in the cash register, we'll need to cooperate to live this." "You're just as scared as I am..." Lyn noticed. The old lizard was quiet for a moment. He bent down and picked up his gun. "S'pose I am." He admitted. Lyn took the gun and loaded it. They stood side by side as the vent was being broken in from the inside. "Remember girly, squeeze, don't pull the trigger." She nodded as she aimed her gun with both hands at the vents. It went quiet. Ten seconds passed, twenty, a whole minute passed with no sort of noise or action. Lyn didn't dare talk for the first minute. Her stance made her feel stiff so she readjusted. "Think there's help ou-." She didn't finish the question. The vents were torn in like a can-opener and two dog sized skeletons landed. Lyn screamed, panicked, and fired. The beasts jumped in opposite directions. Nate didn't react so rashly. Instead he kept his aim on one and waited for it to land. The gunfire clean blew off the first skeleton's tail. It was enough to disrupt its balance and it nearly tripped as it jumped again. Lyn shot again at the second only for it to easily jump out of the way. She fired and it jumped closer. Lyn broke into a run, hoping to find a way to outsmart it along the way. As she ran through the aisles The dog's agile leaps put it from one top of the isle to the other. She screamed as she heard something break and splinter. It was part of the hole Nate sealed up. That was the good news; No new holes. The bad news was that the zombie that crawled through now stood at the end of the aisle Lyn was running through. She skidded to a stop and turned to shoot the dog, only to miss again, and again. She turned and fired at the zombie and heard an empty click. She fired again To be sure she was out. She turned and ran just as the dog skeleton landed where she once stood. She knew she couldn't risk another spell but she had no choice. She started mumbling the outlines to the spell when Nate was at the other end. "Duck!" He yelled. Lyn fell to the ground and slid on her dress, under Nate's legs as he fired his own handgun. The first shot killed the second dog skeleton and the second shot went through the zombie's head. Lyn rushed to the cash register to reload when she noticed another zombie trying to crawl through the hole. She finished reloading, aimed, took a deep breath, and fired. The bullet cut through the zombie's head and knocked others back. The dog Nate took care of before helping her was still there, it was half-hopping: it missing a tail and one leg. She had her wits about her this time and calmly fired again. Nate caught up to her. "Good, yer getting' the hang of it." He patted her on her shoulder. She noticed his other hand was carrying a bag, He loaded the other skeleton dog into the bag and tossed it out of the hole, then he picked up more wood to re-cover the hole. "Cover me." He said. Luke's fear wasn't from the zombies themselves, it was from their Coras. It looked as if they were draining the Cor around them. He had a bad experience with a Cor drainer and he didn't want to risk his life on this. To be fair, though; He was afraid of the zombies. He didn't realize he left his partner behind until he was deep in the abandoned factories. Black, old, and rusting metals surrounded him. He chain-locked doors, gates and 'keep out' signs only put the boy on edge. He wanted to backtrack but he guessed the Zombies would be right behind too. He settled into an urgent walk. He was already afraid of running into more zombies, he jumped out of his skin when he heard something shatter like glass in the distance. He drew his light-blue bow and notched an arrow. He downgraded into a cautious walk. He heard something crow in the distance. Then something else broke. There was something definitely around. As ready for it as he was, he was not prepared for a zombie to be half limbering toward him. Luke let loose an arrow and he clean missed. That was unlike him, Luke was a great shot. He loaded another arrow, running backwards now, and missed again. Luke was making noises that could be only defined as whimpering as he loaded his third arrow. Luke tripped over discarded trash as he fell on his back and accidentally let loose an arrow upward. He kicked the trash under him as he tried to run, and he cried out as the Zombie fell , reached out, and took a bite out of his leg. He took an arrow and stabbed the undead monster in the head, while kicking with his free leg. His efforts held true as the head was shattered and Luke was free. He broke into a limp to the closest factory. He dug into a pouch pocket and produced a small arrow head. This arrow head was metal and shiny. He stuck the arrow into the padlocked gate and after a second of effort, he was in. He ran across the yard and did the same thing for the front door. The conveyer belts on the large metal machines stood as still as the air. Crates and boxes of product were scattered around the first floor. Luke was looking for the second floor, where he knew a manager's office where he could hide would be safe. He found what he was looking for: At the opposite end of the factory; a two flight metal stairway leading to a windowed office. Luke started to make his way to the office when he heard banging on the door. "No. No!" Luke couldn't see a Cora on the opposite side of the door and knew it was trouble. Then he heard more banging at the walls. Luke gasped and quickened his limp. He made his way up the first flight when the door was broken down. The zombies were pouring in full force. He knew they followed him. He aimed some shots and fired. He knew he had to keep his wits about him. He let loose several well aimed shots. He took out several of them but he couldn't take them all out. He made it to the office and shoved the desk in front of the door. Luke was at a loss; aside from holing himself in the office he didn't really plan it out. The door began to shake as he was huddled in a corner. He was sweating and his hands were shaking as the door was slowly being broken down. He couldn't properly hold an arrow to his bow. He looked out the window between the factories and noticed another window opposite of it, leading to another office. He still had a chance! He opened the first window and looked down. Zombies were running about, each trying to be the first to get a piece of Luke. The human had a silly sexual thought thinking those words and he leaned over to the opposite factory window and tried it. At first he didn't budge and nearly fell over but after his third try, and his fear, plus his stress giving him strength, he managed to pry it open, and eventually force it wide enough for him to climb through. It was awkward at first, climbing out the first window and started to crawl in the second window. As he crawled into the second dark factory he couldn't position himself upright and fell the rest of the way in the window. Luke jumped up and took a look around the room. It was almost exactly alike to the first one. Maybe the same contractors made the factories. He decided trapping himself wouldn't be the wisest choice and he decided to leave through this factory. He had to find his way to the populated part of town. Luke had to be quiet. The zombies were still pouring their efforts in to the factory he was previously. He left the office and made his way down the stairs, he was on the inside of the factory so he opened the first door. After getting out of the factory, the human seemed to run on forever with the zombies at his heels. He had no idea as to how far he had gotten. He was a wit's end, and out of arrows. He didn't expect to be attacked after he left the hotel and left the bulk of them in there. Luke made his way to a warehouse, with the gate already broken. Luke figured it to be the work of kids getting drunk in there one day and ran for it. It had a shutter gate and Luke managed to open it just enough to roll in and miss a zombie's hand grabbing for him by inches. The human jumped to his feet and slammed the gate down, and severed the fleshy arm. The human sighed in relief. "You found my trail." Senisis said. Luke nearly jumped out of his skin. "Oh. Seni!" Luke hugged his friend and they both fell. The warehouse was just a big storage contrainer, but it was empty aside from closet doors that probably were used at one point for maintenance. "Where have you been?" Seni asked. "I got trapped, and was on the run, I got bitten and..." Luke remembered the pain in his lag and reached down to feel it. "No don't!" Seni tried to grab his arm away but it was too late. Luke felt the blood on his fingertips. Luke was blind and only able to see Coras. He thought that solved his phobia of blood, along with fighting with a bow. As he felt it, his body instantly tensed up, and he fell to the floor, stiff as a rock. The mouse tried to break the human from his shell of fear but he wouldn't budge. Luke's fear was unreasonably great and it took a great deal of effort from Lyn to snap Luke out of it. Luke began to mutter incoherent words and sentences. Words that made no sense to Seni. Senisis defended the two for the entire night. It's not saying much because the zombies couldn't get in. He was almost upset that he didn't get much use for his weapons. It was near sunrise when the gate started to fold from the attacks, and the gate started to lift. The mouse picked up Luke and hid him in a closet and made sure his guns were loaded. Seni looked at his gun and had an idea for his final enchants. "Water with me." He clasped his hands together. He then waved his hands back and forth, coating the gate, and the ground with layers and puddles of water. "Lightning with me." He now chanted. His cor was drained and he felt near dead but he had enough to take out a majority of them. He was ready to die for his friend. The mouse aimed at the gate as it tore open and the zombies started to pour in. He felt the energy in his first shot and let it fly The bullet expanded and exploded upon contact, electricity dancing between the zombies. The first wave was instantly burned and a second wave overlapped them. Seni fire two more shots. The lightning wasn't as effective but it held them at bay. Seni cried out as one made its way in, grabbed its arm and clamped its teeth down. Seni dropped his gun and was forced to use his basic enchant to bash the zombie's skull in. He was instantly overcome as four more wanted to have a grab at him, and he was falling in the ocean of zombies. He thrashed and struggled but to no avail. What saved him was the morning's first light creeping in the warehouse. Their eyes glazed and they seemed to lose interest in everything. They all dropped Seni and began to slowly and quietly leave the warehouse. Seni was left there, bloody and confused. He knew he just barely made it out alive. He knew he had to see if the others were okay. He had no choice but to carry Luke back to the hotel. He carried the human out of the abandoned district and to Bianca's hotel, where Luke's sister could help him. Seni left the guns behind and carried Luke. The city was in ruins; Glass broken, bodies cluttered, blood and flesh everywhere, and some places were on fire. People limped along, some dying crying for help, all of them crying. The mouse couldn't help but feel useless as his bloody and tired frame was barely getting along himself. "My sis is gone..." Luke muttered out of the normal incoherent scheme he took.. Seni at first dismissed it but then it began to repeat while the mouse carried him. Luke kept repeating the sentence until he Squirmed out of Seni's grip and fell to the ground. Then he shot straight up, out of his mental shield and ran straight for Nate's store. Senisis wondered if what Luke mentioned was really true. Was she dead?