Stuart Meczes - The awakening

The bike shuddered as she started to pull the gun triggers. There were squeals and the unmistakeable sounds of bodies collapsing. The gun blasts seemed endless, again and again the sound filled my ears followed by the feral screeches as the Depraved fell.

“Bend!” I shouted over my shoulder. I heard the clatter as Gabriella dropped one of the guns into a side well. She wrapped an arm backwards around me, knotting my shirt material in her fist. We hit the sharp turn low, power sliding in the slick road, so close to the ground we could touch it. The turn opened up onto a cross road. We rocketed out — tyres squealing — and missed a bus by a few inches. The driver had a look of pure shock as he swerved out of our way. I turned and watched as he ploughed into a group of Depraved, sucking them under his wheels and spitting parts of them out the back.

The Sorrow didn’t stop. It snapped the rusted chains and forced the Unicorn to vault onto the roof and gallop its length. When it jumped off, the bus had lost a third of its height.

“Faster!” yelled Gabriella above the gunshots. “They’re getting too close!”

I looked down and saw that the throttle handle was tight in my white knuckles. The speedometer was pointing towards a space beyond the numbers.

“We’re at top speed!”

“Damn.” She carried on pumping the triggers and then I heard the guns click. She swore loudly and threw them away. She leaned down and retrieved one of the Crimson Twins from the side holster. “Plan B,” she shouted. “Slow down.” “Are you mad?” “Trust me.” I let the throttle slip a bit. The speedometer sunk downwards. The Depraved caught up with us. They tore alongside the weaving bike, pink jaws open and salivating.

One pounced for us. I jerked the bike to the right. Gabriella swiped downwards, severing its head with a single blow. The two parts bounced separately along the road for a few more yards. Another tried its luck and was similarly dispatched. A third somehow appeared in front of us. It dived directly at me. I swerved the bike to the left and without thinking, ducked down and retrieved the second sword from the holster. I stuck it out to the side. The Crimson Twin unseamed the Depraved from the jaw downwards, sending its innards splashing over the road. Several other Depraved slipped in the gore.

But they kept coming, and I could tell Gabriella was struggling to take them out fast enough. All the while the looming mass galloped ever closer, its hooves pounding their death knell on the tarmac.

I need to find somewhere!

I gunned down the road; scanning for anywhere I could lead them. Houses flashed past as I sped up again. A crack of thunder boomed over my head. I looked up to see a swirl of red clouds gathering overhead. Each bloom of lighting exposed more streaks behind the clouds, like veins under blood-stained skin.

Behind us the pack grew within touching distance.

I found what I was looking for. A construction site closed for the holidays. Through the fence I could see covered cubes of bricks, abandoned diggers and large hills of dirt. Most importantly, there were no people.

“Hold on!”

I spun the bike in a tight 180 degree turn. We drove straight through the pack. Gabriella sliced and hacked her way through the Depraved. At the far end, The Sorrow lifted its colossal sword with both hands, waiting to strike. I swerved the bike away as the blade guillotined down. It hit nothing but air.

We smashed through a chain link fence and into the construction site. I slowed the bike and we both jumped from it. The unmanned bike wobbled and upturned, sliding into a dirt mound with a burst of wet soil.

Gabriella and I stood next to each other, Crimson Twins raised in our rain slicked hands. The Depraved reached the entrance first — but didn’t enter. They stayed still, watching us through their dark eyes and twittering in their unknowable language. They parted away from The Sorrow. Above, the thunder was deafening. A bolt of lightning hit a JCB in a shower of sparks. It left a large scorch mark on the yellow paint. “What now?” Gabriella asked. “We have the Crimson Twins. We have to try and kill this thing.” “Alex, listen. I mean seriously, if we don’t make it through this…” “I know,” I said. “You too.”

The Sorrow stopped a few yards away. It jumped from the corrupted Unicorn, which snorted and stamped its hooves on the ground. Then it retreated to where the Depraved were gathered like some demonic audience.

The Red Storm had settled right over our heads. A thick pool of darkness, surrounded by swirling red clouds, hovered directly above. A constant stream of lightning smashed down around us. Each blast was so loud; they left ringing sounds in my ears. Small fires ignited where the bolts struck the ground. The dancing flames were black and grey — as if nature had forgotten to colour them in. Rather than extinguish, the torrential rain seemed to fuel the flames, making them grow fiercer.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. My heart threatened to hammer through my chest. The suit clung to my skin. Gabriella’s dress was as slick as oil and her hair now hung around her shoulders in wet ropes. I wrapped my other hand around the hilt of the sword, raising it up like a baseball bat. Gabriella copied.

The Sorrow unsheathed its own gigantic blade. Every one of my senses went into overdrive. I could smell the dirt in the pools of rain, could make out every individual drip as it slid down The Sorrows rusted armour. I could see the rise and fall of its colossal chest. For what seemed like an eternity, no one moved. We stayed locked in our positions. Statues.

Then The Sorrow curled two fingers into a taunting ‘come here’ gesture. I felt Gabriella’s body tighten.

“Wait!” I warned, but it was too late. With a scream of pure hatred, she charged.

“ Gabriella, stop!” I screamed. But it was as though she couldn’t hear me. She continued to charge forward, Crimson Twin arched above her head, ready to unleash a devastating blow.

It was a bad move — one borne out of hatred rather than years of honed practice. Gabriella sliced the sword down in a streak of red. The Sorrow deflected the blow with its own. The force of the impact drove the blade from her hand. I sprinted to help her.

I was too late.

The sound of Gabriella’s flesh being pierced was the sound of my soul tearing apart.

Her body jolted. The tip of The Sorrow’s sword appeared through the middle of her back. Blood pooled to the top and dripped to the ground. More followed, until it became a steady stream. I watched in horror as the life drained from my soulmate, into a red puddle at her feet. A noise that was barely human escaped my lips.

Gabriella slumped to her knees, sword still skewered through her body. Placing a foot on her shoulder, The Sorrow yanked its blade free, sending Gabriella rolling backwards along the dirt. She stopped just short of my feet. I fell down next to her. The world sieved away, and all that remained was Gabriella. I gathered her on my lap. A horrific wound stretched from her chest to her belly button. It pulsed out blood. She coughed and more seeped from her lips. Barely able to see through the tears, I placed my hand over the wound and closed my eyes, trying to heal her. I waited to feel the surge of electricity.

Nothing happened.

Come on! Work! Oh god, please work!

I concentrated harder, but still I felt nothing happen. I opened my eyes and looked at Gabriella. Her eyes were half open. She stared at me, with a look that burned into my soul. It was a look of pure sadness. Tears streamed down my cheeks and splashed onto her arms. She placed a hand on my face. I nuzzled into it. “I can’t heal you…it won’t work,” I sobbed. “It’s okay,” she whispered in a voice so small it was barely there at all. “Ella, please don’t leave me alone.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “You need to run, while you still can.”