“Let’s go take another shot at them,” The Lich Lord said and picked up his own blade from the battle scene. He swung it a few times and smiled. “This is deadly.”
Darlene nodded but put it out of her mind. There’d be plenty of time for them to figure out all of this. They had more pressing matters right in front of them and the horde was growing bigger each minute.
“Use another one of those attacks and you should be able to wipe out a big portion of them,” The Lich Lord said.
“Why don’t you do it?” Darlene asked. She knew what The Lich Lord was trying to do. Make her expend all of her energy so he didn’t have to. “I think it’s your turn.”
“I guess you’re right,” he said. He put the blade down and held his hands up in the air. They began to glow a greenish hue. “I hope they’re ready.”
The Lich Lord motioned with his hands and the green glow expanded as it shot across the parking lot, doubling with every ten feet.
By the time it hit the invisible barrier between them and the zombies, it had been at least two hundred feet long.
“That didn’t work,” Darlene said.
“Excellent deduction,” The Lich Lord said and swung the blade, now back in hand. “Maybe we go in the old fashioned way and chop some heads off.”
Darlene swept her arm. “After you.”
“Age before beauty,” The Lich Lord said and walked over to the line of zombies, getting within a few inches of them. He looked at Darlene. “Why do I get the sneaking suspicion this either isn’t going to work or, by striking, I’ll unleash a thousand zombies at me?”
Darlene took two steps back and smiled. “There’s only one way to find out.”
The Lich Lord lifted the blade and swung. An inch before it would’ve connected with a zombie the blade bounced back, slipping out of his hand.
“That went about as well as I expected,” Darlene said. “What about your powers?”
“Be my guest, my dear.”
Darlene walked as close as she dared to a zombie and tried to control its mind. She was blocked. She tried poking the zombie with the sword but it wouldn’t get further than an inch away.
She stepped back and shot a laser beam from her finger to blow the zombie’s head into pieces but the bright red ray was deflected off to the side.
“Maybe if you play nice? Try to pet one,” The Lich Lord said.
“Seriously?”
The Lich Lord shrugged. “It can’t hurt.”
Darlene reached out but she was blocked an inch away. She ran her finger up and down the invisible barrier, even hovering in the air to find the top. When her hand felt no barrier she began to move. She was now standing on top of the invisible wall, an inch above the tallest zombie’s head and still no closer than when they’d started.
“Walk it to the back. How far does it go?” The Lich Lord asked.
“Meet me on the other side,” Darlene said and began to walk slowly, making sure it didn’t suddenly end. She got to the last row of zombies and dropped to the other side but they were protected from the rear as well.
Not the zombies still approaching, though.
Darlene swung the blade, expecting resistance as a zombie walked up, but she cut its head clean off. Another swing and she’d put down another. And then another.
The Lich Lord joined her, trying to intercept the zombies before they stepped into line and were protected.
“There’s too many coming at once and the line is too stretched out,” Darlene said.
For every one they each killed at least four stepped into the barrier and, as a rank was filled, the protective bubble moved to protect them.
“We need to use more power to destroy them,” The Lich Lord said. “Before they’re protected.”
Darlene swept her hand out and used her powers to slice through the necks of two dozen zombies, but more were coming and they were too far away to attack before they were within the ranks.
“How many can we kill? Not enough to make a dent,” Darlene said. She could feel her powers starting to fade. She’d need to stop and recharge. If she kept going, she knew she’d be depleted. She went back to using the sword even though it wasn’t making any sense and stopping only a few at a time wasn’t worth it.
The Lich Lord began blasting with fireballs and energy beams, ripping trenches in the ground in front of the approaching zombies. “If we can cut them off, they’ll be unable to go further.” Glowing arrows shot forth from his fingers. “Those are called magic missiles. I read about them in Dungeons & Dragons. Not very powerful but they’re doing the trick.”
Darlene ran to her left, as far away from The Lich Lord as she could. She didn’t want him to accidentally hit her with a fireball and test her defenses.
She was getting tired. It wasn’t a physical exhaustion. It was mental. Her brain felt like it was overloading with each swing and she felt sluggish.
“This is getting us nowhere,” The Lich Lord screamed and tossed a flurry of magic missiles from his fingers like the end of a great fireworks show, the small explosions from the white missiles lighting the sky as zombies were struck and fell.
The ditch he’d dug with his firepower was already filling with zombies and the next wave was simply stepping on the backs of those that had come before and getting into protected lines.
Darlene knew they were fighting a losing battle.
“Time to cut our losses and find out who’s trying to kill me back at home,” The Lich Lord said. “Are you coming?”
“No. I need to stay and monitor this mess. They could move at any moment. There could also be another group of zombie assassins on the way,” Darlene said.
The Lich Lord sighed and stared at the wounds that weren’t healing. “You need to be careful. Keep the lines of communication with me open at all times. I’ll update you on my situation and you do the same. With any luck, none of these zombies move an inch and I find out who is conspiring against my authority and squash it quickly and quietly.”
“Good luck,” Darlene said.
“You as well.”
Chapter Thirty One
“Tell me again where we’re going,” Tosha said to Terry as they walked down a dark street. It was still a few hours before first light but her eyes had adjusted nicely thanks to the moonlight. If anyone moved on either side of her, she could hopefully see them and shoot before she asked questions.
Anyone wandering around tonight was looking for trouble.
“You asked me about rebels,” Terry said.
“This isn’t Star Wars. I asked you about a group conspiring to kill The Lich Lord. People up to no good. A delusional group that thinks they can make this a better place by killing the one thing holding us together and keeping us alive,” Tosha said.
Terry looked like he wanted to say something but turned his head away instead, suddenly more interested in trying to read the street signs.
He’d been sitting in her living room with a shotgun over his shaking knees but hadn’t shot her. Yet.
Tosha had been around the block enough times to know she’d be a target for anyone who wanted The Lich Lord dead, and she had a sneaking suspicion, if they thought she was a huge threat, they’d try to eliminate her right before or in conjunction with their attack on her boss.
She also knew he could deal with it on his own. She just needed to stay alive and hope April was still back there in the dark following along.
Terry had quickly told Tosha about the plan to kill The Lich Lord but said the rebels were holed up in a seafood restaurant and hours away from executing their plan. He’d been vague about how he’d come across this information but he had no problem taking Tosha to them so she could deal with the problem.
Of course, she’d readily agreed and told Terry to lead the way.
“Can you give me some names so I can prepare myself for who I have to kill?” Tosha asked.
Terry stutter-stepped before recovering. “I’m not sure. There are so many people now. Hard to
know names. I think you’ve seen some of them before, though.” Terry cleared his throat. “None of them work with me on the wall,” he quickly added.
“Then where do they work?” Tosha asked.
“A couple of them are drivers,” Terry said. He was smiling now, his shotgun balanced over his shoulder, mimicking Tosha. “I don’t know them all that well.”
“You mean like your fat buddy, Whopper? Isn’t that his name?”
Terry shrugged and picked up the pace. “I don’t know him all that well.”
“My bad. I thought I remembered you guys being best buds. Playing cards together,” Tosha said and frowned. She knew they’d invited Mitch to be a part of their poker party. Had they invited him for his marksmanship?
“People come and go at the card games,” Terry said. “Do you know the name of everyone you meet?”
“Yes,” Tosha said to fuck with him.
Terry looked uncomfortable and was nearly running as he moved.
Tosha kept quiet as she kept pace with Terry, wondering when he’d make his move. They were headed down A1A but they had guards on the walls on the beach close enough to see them and definitely near enough to hear a gunshot. She didn’t think Terry had it in him to pull a knife and try for hand to hand combat with her. He was too big of a pussy for that.
It was a long walk. Tosha wanted so badly to turn around and see if April was still back there but she couldn’t risk it.
The easy move would be to bend down and tie her shoe and have Terry’s head explode but she needed to know who else was involved and what their plan was for her. Killing Terry, as exciting as it sounded, was last on the list. If she could get him down and willing to chat before she ripped his left nut off, all the better.
It took way too long to get all the way to where they were going. This was Ponce Inlet, where they’d set up the fishing fleet and the fishermen lived with their families.
The wall surrounded it on three sides. The inlet itself separated The Promised Land from New Smyrna, which they’d eventually expand into.
Here the wall was actually built into the waterway so the fishing boats were protected on this side.
This late at night everyone in this part of The Promised Land was either asleep or working on a ship.
Terry stopped and pointed at their destination.
“So, this is the place?” Tosha asked, staring at the dark ruined restaurant. The side decks had collapsed into the river and even with only moonlight she could see how damaged the floor was.
Tosha, still holding her shotgun, slipped a hand into the side of her jeans for her .22, hoping Terry wouldn’t notice.
She felt the pistol touching her temple and wondered what Terry was packing.
“Don’t fucking move, bitch,” Terry said.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, babe,” Tosha said and smiled. “Looks like you tricked me. Now what?”
“Now I shoot you and dump you in the river,” Terry said.
“Don’t you want to fuck me first?”
Terry snickered and pushed the barrel hard against her temple. “I don’t need you alive for that. You’ll still be warm.”
Chapter Thirty Two
Mitch knew, even as he pulled the trigger, what a huge mistake this was.
He’d waited until The Lich Lord entered the arena, stopped pacing and finally sat down on his overlarge chair, sitting in darkness. He looked preoccupied, which was even better for Mitch.
If The Lich Lord had glanced in the direction of Mitch, he probably would’ve seen him without a problem.
Mitch, wearing his night vision goggles, had made sure his shot didn’t miss.
It had struck The Lich Lord in the right temple on a slightly downward trajectory.
It had enraged The Lich Lord based on the way he’d flown out of the chair and raised his hands in front of his face while spinning in the air.
The zombie was levitating in the air.
Mitch pulled the trigger again, the round bouncing off of an invisible field.
You are now totally fucked, Mitch thought and slid down the back of the bleachers, knowing he was way too loud but too panicked to think about it.
“Is this really the best you can do?” The Lich Lord asked.
Mitch froze for a second but knew if he didn’t keep running he’d be dead. He was probably already dead.
An explosion behind Mitch jarred him as sharp pieces of heated metal flew past, a couple of shards lodging in his back.
“You can run but you can’t hide,” The Lich Lord yelled mockingly.
Mitch glanced over his shoulder and was unnerved to see The Lich Lord grinning.
“The smart move would’ve been to wait until daylight. Shoot me from the door and run like Hell. See if you could get outside before I blasted you to bits. I would’ve given you a head start, too. Maybe a count of three before you died,” The Lich Lord said.
Mitch pulled himself from behind the bleachers and headed for the exit. He wondered why he’d set up so far from the door and how fucked he really was.
“Are there more of you?” The Lich Lord said, suddenly standing in front of Mitch and blocking the doorway.
Mitch couldn’t talk. He felt dizzy. He’d been under direct fire in his military career but it all paled in comparison to being so close to someone who could rip you apart in so many different ways… with his mind.
The Lich Lord nodded. “Thanks for laying them all out for me in your head.”
Mitch wanted to scream. Images of each member of the group flashed through his head and he imagined them all dead…
The Lich Lord smiled. “That was almost too easy to bluff you. I hope they didn’t hire you for your shooting skills because, frankly, they are lacking.” He pulled a dented round from the side of his head and tossed it to Mitch, who leapt back like it was a cobra. “I know they didn’t hire you for your brains, either.”
Mitch wanted to turn and run but this was the only exit he knew of.
The Lich Lord tapped the side of his head where the bullet had struck. The wound was already closed. “Brains… get it?”
Mitch decided to make a stand and see if he could get another shot off but when he tried to lift the rifle it wouldn’t move.
“I’m going to give you to the count of three to run,” The Lich Lord said. He held up three fingers.
“Is there any way you don’t kill me?” Mitch asked.
The Lich Lord shook his head and took one finger down.
Shit. Mitch turned and started running, down the hallway and towards the door he thought he’d come through. Hoping it was the door he’d actually come through. At least then he might have some backup. If everyone else hadn’t already figured out he wasn’t going to walk out with a smile and a bloody zombie head in his hand.
“Two,” The Lich Lord yelled.
Mitch hit the nearest door and came outside about fifty feet away from where he’d entered, waving his hands.
He saw Maxine, who waved when she saw Mitch running.
When she saw the look on his face, she turned to run.
“Time’s up,” The Lich Lord said from behind Mitch.
Mitch knew pleading for his life wasn’t going to do any good. He fell to his knees and closed his eyes, hoping it would end quickly.
Someone was stupidly shooting weapons at The Lich Lord. Mitch figured it would be his luck to catch a stray bullet instead. He thought he might deserve it, too. Why had he gone in with this stupid plan?
“The Lich Lord has gone berserk,” Marty was yelling. “He’s going to kill all of us.”
Mitch heard more gunshots and then a scream.
He tried to squeeze his eyes tighter than they’d close, covering his face and shaking. He curled up into the fetal position and prayed for death.
More gunshots, these further away.
Mitch hadn’t been hit by a bullet or a zombie yet.
He opened his eyes and flipped over onto his stomach.
The Lich Lord was a
bout a hundred feet away and staring in his direction.
Mitch closed his eyes again.
Gunshots rang out from all directions now.
I’ll be back for you later. First I’m going to burn down this city. This was a mistake. Humans are beyond help. You want war? You will be annihilated. I’ll let you be the last one, The Lich Lord said in Mitch’s head.
Mitch opened his eyes again and got to his feet.
Dozens of men and women were rushing at The Lich Lord, who stood his ground as the bullets bounced away only a foot from where he stood. Some of the ricocheted shots hit other people.
The Lich Lord swept his hand and people just… exploded, blood and guts shooting into the air. He turned and whipped his hand around and a woman carrying an AK-47 looked like she’d been pressed into the ground before her blood shot into the air like a geyser.
The parking garage next to The Ocean Center began to shake, bricks falling off the building but not hitting the ground. The bricks began flying through the air, striking people or other buildings.
People were dying and their attack had no effect on The Lich Lord. He was literally pulling The Promised Land down around him as he began to walk down A1A, destroying everything in his path.
Mitch had brought the real end of the world upon them and he didn’t know what to do.
Maxine, her intestines trailing behind her body, put her pistol in her mouth but passed out from the pain before she could pull the trigger.
Mitch stepped over and put her out of her misery. It was the least he could do. He wondered if he should do it to himself but decided to suck it up and remember his training and act like a man and…
He was losing his fucking mind.
Everyone around him was dead.
Mitch heard the explosions and the gunfire in the distance and remembered Kuwait and Afghanistan. The sounds hit him like a brick. This was a warzone but the enemy couldn’t be killed.
His shot had awoken the anger and the monster hiding behind The Lich Lord’s smile.
No one could stop him.
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