"Mum. "
"Did you see that. " Czar gulped.
"Is this the apocalypse??" He murmured as the previous scene replayed in his head.
The officer exuded pride and confidence as he picked the unconscious woman, dashing forward. It happened at that moment. The abominable giant threw a slab that covered the great distance instantly, and it went through the officer's body as though it were paper.
Czar's eyes could barely track what happened. One moment, the undead lunged its hand, and the next moment the officer's life sizzled into nothingness.
"Aaron." The leading officer cried, almost falling off his wyvern as his hands slipped from the rein.
"Not good. " His forehead twitched, sensing an impending doom. Straining his muscles, he steered his mount, changing direction just in time.
A heartbeat later, his previous position burst with an untamed kinetic energy, shattering space itself.
"Shit." He cursed. "It's an intelligent type. "
''Damn, damn. This was supposed to be a normal patrol after my promotion to an Ace Officer."
"Why is a class F-5 Undead on a Sky City?"
Bizarrely enough, when everyone thought the undying giant would go crazy and waste everyone, he vanished — just like that. And the scarlet rays returned.
People shielded their eyes from the sudden contrasting light. Before they could adjust to the crimson rays though, a final and devastating tremor rippled across the ground. Cracks sprawled like interwoven spider webs, flesh and bones crumbled, both the living and the dead. And so were their harrowing voices.
Czar's body was flung into the air like a kite caught in a storm, he collided with another body midair and a crack sent a blinding pain to his head.
"Argh!" he shrilled, hitting the ground. A chunk of flesh peeled off his leg, exposing bones and blood vessels.
"Czar." Elira grunted, her voice faint, barely awake. Her legs were buried in debris and corpses. Tightening her muscles in defiance, she pushed a rock off her feet, panting.
Ava and Aliyah lay next to each other. Perhaps luck was on their side as they only suffered a few bruises on their skin, although their faces were bloody reflections of their old self.
"Argh!" Czar shivered as cold air brushed his wound, sending piercing chills down his spine.
"I'm okay. " He grimaced, warm tears dripping down his cheeks beyond his control.
"No, you're not, stupid." Elira's arms tensed as she dragged herself from the ground, the debris falling to the side. She crawled towards Czar, her face warping in pain. With a ruthless resolve, she tore her cloth and wrapped a piece on Czar's disfigured leg.
"This should help for now." She threw up.
Elira retched for a few heartbeats, almost spitting out her viscera before getting a hold of herself.
"Can you walk?" she massaged her forehead, feeling light-headed.
"Not right now."
"Mum and Aliyah??" Czar looked in their direction, his face etched with worry.
"Still breathing. " Elira looked in the same direction.
"I think we're in the wastelands. That last tremor… "
"It felt like two Sky Cities ran into each other. " Elira observed her surroundings warily. Rubbles stretched out to the end of her sight. The scarlet sun gone, replaced by a thin fog. The air smelled rancid, accompanied by an uncomfortable silence.
"My guess too. " Czar picked a stone, bringing it closer to his eyes.
"Wait!" He flickered the stone.
"If we're in the wasteland, that means. " He facepalmed.
"Yes, the undead." Elirah whispered, her tone ladened with unease.
As if fated, the dwellers of the unknown left them not in the dark. A minute had barely passed since their arrival on the wasteland, and the first visitor crept forward.
A dangling figure about the height of a grown man. He looked pale and shrivelled, with bones almost popping out of his flaky skin. The enigma gazed at a motionless child, his prey.
Czar held his breath, his heart pounding against his chest. The creature inched closer to his target, his steps random and unbothered. He could swear his thin face morphed into an uncanny smile, appearing before the boy. What followed was a scene Czar would never forget till he breathed his last.
The undead brought the arm of the boy close to his mouth and he bit off the fingers, ripping them from the knuckles.
"Arghh" the pain woke the boy, his eyes snapping in horror. His face was plastered with clot and deep gashes, but these were the least of his worries.
The pallid creature's mouth slithered into broken laughter, and he brought the arm to his mouth again. He munched.
A gut-wrenching howl left the boy's throat, but the undead didn't stop. His cracked lips curled as he ate the boy slowly — alive.
Finishing with one arm, he licked his lips, his gaze fixed on the frantic boy. Squealing, the boy's throat collapsed. He jerked his head. His eyes pleaded, and pleaded, and pleaded, begging for this nightmare to end.
However, the undead turned a blind eye to his plea as he gnawed his other fingers. Blood and tears blurred. The boy grew limp. He kicked against the ground, a final attempt for survival.
When the undead finished with that arm, he finally met the boy's pleading gaze, leaving him with a sinister glee. And then… he gorged out the boy's eyes from their sockets, gulping them in one go.
Satisfied with his boon, he twisted his prey's neck and rip off the neck.
"Chum."
*Chum."
The mushy sound of teeth grinding against flesh and bones made Czar's skin crawl. He wanted to puke, but he held back with all he had. Cold sweat drenched his back. He tightened his palms on his mouth, not daring to make even the tiniest sound, afraid he would attract the sinful wrath.
Nothing made sense any more. That boy was barely nine. Yet, he died. Not a painless one, but a brutal and dehumanizing one.
Czar's head throbbed in fury. Baleful thoughts flooded his mind. He wanted to kill the evil creature in the most cruel way possible. But he was weak. Forget vengeance, he couldn't even save himself should the undead lock onto him.
As though jinxing himself, the undead turned. His lips curled as his eyes met Czar's.