Chapter Twenty Eight
“While the regenerative properties of HBRS-15.21 stand without equal, it only recovers injuries sustained postmortem.
“The cause of infection will forever leave its Mark on us.”
–Mother, “Notes on HBRS-15.21”. 3 Years After.
* * *
This couldn’t be allowed to continue.
Another chill was in the air, and the azure sky had blurred into a solid grey, threatening to send the next ice-cold storm that always seemed to strike the moment they became too comfortable. Though there had been plenty of shelter to hide within a few days back, that was before they’d reached the mountains of Northern California. Compounded by the higher elevation, thinner air, and now chiller winds, what recovery Leah had been on track to make had woefully been set back. Her fever grew and waned, and there was little to be done in this state.
Liam studied his daughter as she lay inside the mobile that Ezekiel carried. Like a prisoner strapped to a fabric cage, her skin had grown unnaturally pale, and her otherwise plump cheeks had flattened from all the exhaustion. She’d lost the will to so much as raise her voice in protest against their movements anymore.
And yet, Ezekiel continued his slow march, blind to the truth that sat on his back.
Leah was dying. Slowly, inexorably. The sheer exertion this journey burdened her with would soon lead to her death.
Unless her father were to do something about these dire circumstances.
Liam followed behind his captor, masking his true thoughts. His wrists no longer burned after so much time wrapped up, though this bore an even greater risk. His fingers had first turned red due to a slackened circulation, followed by twisting to an even purple the longer their journey wore on. While Ezekiel untied him every so often, the sustained exercise was slowly killing the flesh in his fingers. It wouldn’t be long before he risked losing them to gangrene.
They reached another road. Cracked and broken like the rest of this destroyed world. A landslide had claimed one direction by the looks of things, while the other merely winded around the bend before disappearing into a net of overblown brush.
But it was the object on the side that captured his attention most. A car sat rusted where it collided with a tree, splintering its windshield into a hundred dust-covered shards. Vines choked out from the chassis after so much time left derelict, and the fabric had decomposed from rot.
Liam let out a painful wheeze. “Hold up, mate.”
Ezekiel paused. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s this damned mountain air.” He fell into an exaggerated coughing fit. “There’s too much exposure out here.”
“Liam, if you are stalling for time again…”
“Just for five bloody minutes, alright? Not all of us can walk with your infinite stamina. Let me rest from the wind, and we’ll all be better for it, yeah?”
He stared blankly. “Where would you like to go?”
Liam nudged over his shoulder. “That old car is as good as anywhere.”
“Fine. But only for five minutes. We still have many miles to cover.”
You can say that again. By Liam’s count, they would reach the California basin sometime in the middle of the next century. Hopefully later, all things considered.
Liam hobbled over, hacking up bile from the depths of his throat. Ezekiel walked to the car first, slid his arms into a cap on the driver’s side door, and strained them into action with a grunt. His muscles bulged. With a hiss, the door popped out from the rest of the car. He tossed it aside without another word.
Liam gulped. Once again, he reminded himself of the tenuous nature between the two. Though the undead lost significant muscle mass upon hollowing, this behemoth seemed to have compensated by practicing his technique. His current strength would put most bodybuilders to shame, and he never tired.
Liam held up his tied hands. “You mind?”
“I do.”
Worth a shot. Liam nudged his way through the opening and plopped onto the seat. The smell of mold and dust was thick in the air, but the feeling of fabric proved an unexpected godsend once his leather hardsuit kissed their surface. Oh, how he wanted to close his eyes and drift away…
But Liam had come in here for a different reason. He rolled into a better position, letting his hands slip out of view while Ezekiel waited silently outside. Even as Liam exhaled in relaxation, he pried his numbed fingers around the car seat. A tangle of debris and torn cloth met him, but he managed to find his tool before the end. He curled his palms into fists, burying the object inside.
Ezekiel tapped the frame a few moments later. “Time’s up.”
Liam grimaced. “I’m just getting comfortable here. Can’t you take a few hours off? I’m sure Leah would love this space too.”
“No,” he said with a tone incapable of change.
“Very well then.” He floundered out of the car in the most melodramatic protest he could muster. “After you, mate.”
Ezekiel rolled his eyes while Liam once again found his place behind. The voyage continued.
And kept within the privacy of Liam’s closed hands, a shard of glass waited patiently for use.
* * *
It took well over a day before Liam found his moment.
The way he figured it, he’d only have one opportunity to make a move that’d count. As an enemy, Brother Ezekiel had the strength of a professional wrestler, the dexterity of Hunter, and neither slept nor rested unless forced by his more frail companions. Unlike other rezzers, he seemed little deterred by the effects of hollowing or a desire to taste flesh, and approached all aspects of their capture with a cold indifference as a result. The only time he slackened his watch was to perform “meditation” while Liam slept, and he only happened to catch that moment once by chance. Ezekiel proved more perceptive than he’d liked, and would forego the act altogether if he sensed Liam faking sleep.
It should not have borne surprise. From what he’d been told, this monster was the best killer the Beholders had to offer. The leader of their Inquisitor ranks. If Leah was known far and wide as the greatest Hunter, then Ezekiel stood as her foil. An immortal guardian, second to none.
And just as it would be difficult to surpass his good undead friend, finding an opening against him proved quite the challenge indeed.
That was what made this moment so useful.
Leaves rustled in front. Hisses and moans followed.
Ezekiel grunted. “Sinners.” He drew his cudgel and studied its length. The bloodied stains of his defeated enemies clung to its form, ready to claim more victims.
“Not much visibility here,” Liam pointed out. “Might be hard to respond if we get jumped again. Do me a favor and untie me, yeah? Just this once. It’ll be safer for us both.”
“No,” Ezekiel repeated, lassoing Liam’s rope around a thick, immovable sequoia. He calmly laid Leah’s carrier by his side and anchored it in place. With a grunt, he marched into the brush to murder the hollows.
Then they were alone, and Liam finally had the opportunity he’d been waiting for.
Liam slipped the glass shard out and went to work. The edge was weathered and his fingers were numb after this long day’s march, but with the aid of his weight pressed against it and the adrenaline in his veins, progress came quickly. First one cluster of strands ripped out from the rope, and then another layer sprung free. Liam rubbed the sweat from his eyes and moved faster, tearing through each strand with all his might.
The rope tore off completely. Liam wasted no time in unraveling the rest, ripping his hands free. He winced as blood flowed back into his damaged wrists. Raw meat burned where his binds had chafed against his skin.
A tear rolled down his cheeks, but he bit back the agony and went to Leah.
“Time to go, love,” Liam whispered, undoing the binds around her carrier.
His daughter blinked from within the mobile. How he wanted nothing more than to give her a hug.
Leaves rustled behind. They were close.
Too close.
Liam lurched to his feet. His heart sank.
Though more hollows were closing in, Brother Ezekiel had made a steady retreat. He stood at the edge of the clearing, his reddish eyes free of all but judgment. The glass shard quaked in Liam’s hand as he held it forth. How would he defeat this monster now?
Thunder cracked through the sky. Flesh burst out from Ezekiel’s shoulder, with more ichor splattering against the hollows behind.
Time stood still for an impossibly long moment as the two remained frozen. Ezekiel studied the wound he’d just sustained, his eyes widening as the impact weighed in.
Another gunshot erupted, but Ezekiel responded quicker, thrusting the nearest hollow in between. More bullets flew in rapid succession. His shield moaned as the rounds struck harmlessly against an unintended target.
Ezekiel grit his teeth and vaulted into some nearby brush. Silence followed.
Only for others to quickly close in. Liam floundered on the ground as another group entered the area, eight total. Their outfits were a mix of military and casual, with flak jackets over tracksuits and camouflage, and automatic weapons in hand. One rezzer inside a ghillie suit lowered his sniper rifle, red eyes blinking in astonishment as he inspected Liam.
“Well, I’ll be fucked,” the rezzer said. “Looks like they weren’t kidding.”
“This guy’s a living human, Declan?” another shouted, this one clothed in forest camouflage and a helmet on top.
“Sure is, Oscar. Shit, I outta kiss Stein when we’re done. This might be the best contract we’ve ever taken.”
He caught sight of their silver badges, cast in a canine skull shape with crossbones behind. Hunters, Liam realized. Thank goodness.
“Careful,” Declan said, once again raising his sniper rifle against the brush. “Injured or not, those hollows we lured won’t keep that big guy busy for long. We need to get him before he calls his friends.”
“He doesn’t have any,” Liam said.
“Oh? Heard there were three more of ‘em when they chased you down.”
“Not anymore. I took out the rest when they came for us. Ezekiel’s the only Beholder alive. Be careful though. He’s got a hand crossbow, and he’s damn good at using it.”
Declan raised a shriveled eyebrow. “Well, shit. Looks like you’ve done most of the work for us.”
Liam laughed. “I’ll make sure that Leah throws in a mountain of books if you give me a place to sleep tonight.” This could not have been going better for them.
“Leah, huh?” Declan said, the shadow falling over his face for a beat. His rotted cheeks pinched into a smile. “Sounds like a fair trade. Alright, everyone, you heard the man! We’ve got one more of these cloaked assholes to Hunt. Hammer, Cheese, you two set up a flank. Oscar, you move with the main group. I’ll stay here and keep overwatch. Down every hollow you see. This guy can’t stay hidden for long.
The Hunters nodded and rushed into the brush, with Declan standing guard behind.
Liam unzipped Leah’s carrier and pulled her in tight. His eyes closed, and his breath moved in sync with the shallow rise and fall of hers. The two finally enjoyed a moment of peace together. Even as gunshots roared again, it did not matter. They were safe.
The sortie continued off in the distance.
“Dammit!” a Hunter yelled. “Just lost him.”
Another grunted. “Shit! He took out Peyton!”
“This guy’s quicker than he looks!”
“Someone get eyes on him!”
“I’m hit!”
“Over here!”
Leah stirred in place as the commotion dragged on.
“There, there,” Liam said. “It’s going to be okay.” He stroked the tufts of his daughter’s hair, doing what he could to ease her racing heartbeat, along with his own.
“What’s going on in there!?” Declan shouted, his rifle twisting this way and that.
“We’re down three, boss,” another Hunter shouted, “but we’ve got him corn– Fuck! He’s on the move again!”
“Cheese is down!”
“For fuck’s sake, who the hell is this guy!?”
Liam blinked. He better not win this. If Ezekiel could take out an entire crew of Hunters on his own…
Declan’s sniper rifle suddenly lit up with a pair of pings.
“Target down,” he declared without remorse, only to grimace a moment later. “No, wait. He’s still moving!”
“I got him!” another roared.
“Hold him still…” a third said. “Yes! Take that, you fucker!”
“Looks like that’s that,” Declan said. “Bring him over here! I want to have a good look at this hard motherfucker before we get to business.”
Within moments, Brother Ezekiel was dragged back into view, his body leaking ichor from a dozen different wounds and leather armor that was all but destroyed. Of the original group that had gone into that forest, only three Hunters remained. But that was more than enough now that Ezekiel was the one to be tied up. His arms were wrenched behind his back, and his legs buckled under the weight of itself. The others wrangled him about, a bull shepherded by a group of matadors.
Liam breathed easy. It was over. It was actually over…
Declan walked up to Ezekiel. “Those were some good men you just purged, asshole.”
He said nothing, only watched bask with the determination he never removed.
Declan grinned. “Boy, am I going to have some fun with you.”
“What are you doing?” Liam asked. “Aren’t you going to kill him?”
“Oh, after what we’ve gone through to find you, we’re just getting started.” He turned around. “You know what to do, men. We’re going Western style with this one.”
The Hunters fell into motion, quickly wrapping a rope around Ezekiel’s neck while Declan tossed logs and sticks into a pile nearby. An unsteady mass grew, and the Hunters hoisted their prisoner on top. With one final tug, the rope around his neck lurched him upright.
Ezekiel shifted back and forth, his platform uneven. He grimaced as the truth of his circumstances grew, but he did not speak.
“Ezekiel, is it?” Declan asked. “We’re going to play a little game with you. Try your best to stay where you are. With the weight of that sack of meat you call a body, I don’t need to tell you what’ll happen to your neck the moment you fall. Think you can stay still f–”
Declan paused, his lips suddenly shaking. He took a few steps closer. His eyes widened. “Motherfucker! I didn’t notice at first glance, but now that I see you strung up… Yes, I’d recognize that crown-of-thorns tattoo anywhere. How the hell are you still alive!?”
“What are you talking about, boss?” Oscar asked.
He burst into laughter. “Do you people have any idea who this guy is? No wonder he was so hard to bring down.”
The other Hunters looked from one to another in silence. Ezekiel grit his teeth, brow furrowed.
Declan jeered. “This Hunt just got a whole lot more interesting. We didn’t happen upon only one legend revived from the past with this living human over here. We’ve got a second right in front of us!” He held up a hand. “My good friends, may I introduce you to one of the best Hunters that Pandemonium has ever seen: Zeke!”
“This guy’s a Hunter?” one of the others asked.
“Not just any Hunter either,” Declan explained. “He was Hades’s go-to lieutenant when the Styx first came up. Purged hundreds of folks during the rise to power. We even thought he was gonna replace Leah one day at the top of the food chain, but then he went off and disappeared one day, never to be seen again. Man, did I never think I’d see him again.”
Liam watched on, dumbstruck. Ezekiel, a Hunter? It can’t be… His normally passive demeanor shattered under the reveal, his black lips barely containing the clenched teeth beneath.
“You lie!” Ezekiel spat. He cringed as the logs beneath him shifted, but he did not fall.
Declan flicked him in the face. “Don’t play dumb, Zeke. I might’ve just been a scrub manning the turrets when we founded Pandemonium, but I worked real hard to get my Rez to where it is now. A fish never forgets the shape of the sharks in the ocean.” He leaned in. “But it seems you might’ve. Tell me, Zeke. What the hell happened to you during all those long years? What could make a motherfucker as tough as you become like this? No more than an asshole traipsing around the woods with a stick and cape.”
Ezekiel closed his eyes and began muttering. Liam could only capture a few words of it, but he recognized the sound of prayer.
Declan yawned. “What a bore.” He picked up a tiny rock and threw it at his face. “Come on, guys. We came here for fun. Let’s have it.”
The others joined on, pelting Ezekiel with rocks of their own. He shuttered with each hit, the platform they forced him onto shaking and losing size, even as the rope around his neck held firm. Liam could see the trap. The longer this exercise wore on, the more likely he’d fall and break his neck.
Declan glanced over his shoulder. “You’ll be a good sport with us, at least. Right, human?”
Liam clutched his daughter closer. There was something off about the way this Hunter spoke to him. As if he intended to be sympathetic, but with an insincere undertone that still leaked through.
But this need not be overthought, so long as they brought them back home.
“Are you sure he’s a Hunter?” Liam asked. He just couldn’t believe it.
Declan nodded. “Tried and true. Tough as nails. Or was, anyway, until becoming whatever-the-hell this is.”
Liam swallowed the lump in his throat. It was true that he’d wanted to escape Brother Ezekiel since the moment he’d arrived, but there was something about this moment that wrenched his heart. Even though he towered above, this revelation did not seem to bring him any comfort. As his legs quaked with a rope around his neck, he’d never seemed so small as in this moment.
Liam frowned. He shouldn’t worry about his captor’s plight. “You wouldn’t happen to have brought a vehicle with you, Declan? Somewhere to keep my daughter warm? It’s been a tough journey.”
He shook his head. “Afraid not, what with the whole war and everything.”
“War?”
“Oh, right. I forgot you’ve been stuck out here, all alone.” He stroked his chin. “What the hell’s your name again?”
“Liam,” he said. “Liam Fenix.”
“Liam,” Declan repeated. “So you’re the one who Leah kept as a pet, huh?”
“It isn’t like that. She’s a good friend of mine. We go back together.” He stroked his daughter’s hair. “What did you say about a war?”
He nudged over his shoulder. “Zeke’s Beholder friends ramped up pressure back home. Launched a surprise attack against Pandemonium and everything. We’d already set out on this Hunt, but it was total carnage from the way they tell it back at Seaside.”
Liam grimaced. “Surely, they would’ve been fought off with Pandemonium’s weaponry.”
“I’m sure they did.” Though he didn’t sound quite so certain.
There it was again. That glint in his eye. That deep, hungry ogle. His eyes probed Liam and his daughter like fingers slithering around their bodies.
Not just him either. The other Hunters were tossing their rocks at Ezekiel as he swayed back and forth, but their attention never drifted far from where Liam sat. Their eyes bulged from their sockets ever so slightly, and their mouths salivated.
“I don’t think I like the way you’re looking at us, mate,” Liam said.
Declan beamed. “What can I say? This has been one hell of a day for us, and you smell real fine, Liam. You and that sweet little thing in your arms.” His nostrils flared, as if to accentuate the point. “Who would’ve thought that a crew like us would come across someone like you after all this time. And Zeke too? This might as well be two lottery wins in a row.”
Liam’s heart began to race. “Just don’t forget why you came.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t. A Hunt is a Hunt, and it’s our job to see it through.” He licked his lips.
Liam inched back, his heart racing. “That’s right. The Head Huntress would never forgive you if anything happened to us. Hell, she’d go to the ends of the earth to enact vengeance if she thought you had something to do with it.”
Declan stroked his chin in thought. “Yeah, that’s a good point you got there. Leah isn’t the type you’d ever want to get on the bad side of, especially now that she’s moved up in the world. The thing is, Liam… We didn’t just hear about the attack but also who got killed during it. Turns out the Head Huntress died when they attacked. Got crushed under a landslide the moment they charged.” He smiled wide, his teeth like razors. “Looks like it’s just you and us out here.”
No, that can’t be. Leah was practically indestructible. She’d know how to get out of a scrap like that.
But he couldn’t even think about that. Not right now. Not when these monsters were right in front of him.
The Hunters had stopped their stoning and focused onto him alone. Declan first drew a knife, followed by the rest of his companions. Their eyes all burned with glee for the feast that lay in front.
And Brother Ezekiel stood where he’d been left. Eyes downcast, silent, barely paying the rest of them mind. While the Hunters were growing in their bloodlust, he remained completely undeterred.
Without thinking it through, Liam set Leah aside. The shard of glass trembled in his numb hands as he stood back up and pointed forth.
Declan guffawed. “What do you possibly think you’ll be able to do with that, Liam? There’s four of us and only one of you.”
Wouldn’t be so sure of that if I was you, mate. Liam launched into an attack, ramming the nearest Hunter out of the way. The others recoiled from the sudden charge, and Liam pressed his luck. He lunged for the nearby tree with his shank.
A sharp pain burned through his side as a Hunter stabbed his chest. He gasped, his arms locking up. Another followed, sending a fresh wave of agony throughout his spine. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. The pain deafened him to the world beside.
Except for Leah. His daughter. Out there alone. Unsafe. With his last remnant of strength, he drove the shard down. The rope snapped free, and he dropped into the leaves below. Dust and dirt filled his throat as he coughed through the agony. The others rose around him, their forms blurry.
Save for one.
Ezekiel stood behind, his visage again locked in conviction. The rope swayed from his neck where it had been cut free.
“Oh, fu–” a Hunter started, only to be silenced when Ezekiel drove his foot through his skull.
Another turned, again too slow. Ezekiel rammed him upwards and into an exposed branch. His body twitched where it landed, the branch now jutting out from an eye socket.
The next managed to get a few swings in, but Ezekiel bobbed and weaved before they could land. With one final roundhouse kick, he finished what he’d started. The Hunter’s body held its ground for a few more seconds, even as his head tumbled behind.
“Not another step, Zeke!” Declan called out.
Liam squinted through the pain and his heart skipped a beat. Leah bawled between the Hunter’s arms, his knife pressed against her tiny neck. Her father tried to call out, but the air was trapped in his lungs.
“Put her down,” Ezekiel ordered, his tone hard and unyielding.
Declan scowled. “She’s the one you care about, eh Zeke? Well, you make the slightest move for me, and I’ll tear her throat out. Got it?”
“I won’t tell you again.” He took a step back and began circling around.
His body traced his movement. “You were the most ruthless killer I’d ever seen, Zeke. The hardest motherfucking out there, ready to destroy anything without mercy. The embodiment of a wolf in a world of sheep. Shit, most of us Hunters wanted to be just like you. We wanted to do what you did and roll in the pics while spending night after night in Elysium, as is our right.” He pivoted another foot to keep Ezekiel in sight.
Liam realized the trap getting set. With Declan focusing on Ezekiel, he was blind to where Liam lay. The other Hunters were dead nearby, their weapons free for anyone to grab. He strained his wrist and reached for the nearest pistol.
“But look at you now!” Declan barked. “All this skill as a Hunter, and you’re walking around the woods in that shitty little cloak, putting your life on the line for… What? A couple free meals? Some stupid fucking book? Why? What could have possibly happened to make you abandon all that power and prestige?”
Ezekiel sighed. “I found God. Just as you will too.”
Liam reached for the pistol and took aim. Declan looked over his shoulder when he caught his meaning, but it was too late.
The bullet pierced his skull before he could react.
Leah tumbled from the dead Hunter’s arms with a squeak, but Ezekiel had already dashed forth. She landed harmlessly between his thighs.
“Did any blood get on here?” Liam gasped. They weren’t out of the woods yet. Even if Soft HBRS pseudo-cells were rarities in blood, such risk of infection could not be overlooked.
“No, Liam,” Ezekiel said after a moment. He grinned wide. “Not a single drop.”
It’s over. Liam prostrated himself against the nearest tree and let out a breath of fresh air, even as his lungs shuddered in agony.
“Thank you, Ezekiel,” he said with a wheeze.
He let Leah down as she started bawling again and wriggled from his restraints. “You have nothing to laud me with praise over, Liam. Thank the Lord for his intervention.”
Liam laughed. “Just take the compliment, mate.”
Whatever came next, they had at least survived this day.
Together.
