Death's Awakening

Chapter Fifty: The Witch

The group of infected was impressive.

The Dark One would be proud of her. Not only had she used her tracking to locate most of the guardians, but she had also been working on a very special new spell.

She was excited her plan had worked so beautifully. Getting rid of the evacuation site had been the most difficult part of her newest plan. It had taken a lot of infected to scare off the soldiers and such a large group of survivors.

If the three guardians had gotten on that transport, she wouldn't have been able to get to them very easily, but outside, on their own, they were much more vulnerable.

And thanks to Crash, the rest had simply fallen into place.

The Dark One had been right. Once she'd tracked down the guardians and established a strong connection with them through the stone, she'd been able to see their dreams as if they were her own.

The one called Crash had a very special talent with his dreams. He could see the future. Which worked out perfectly for the witch. It had helped her stay one step ahead so she could set the ultimate trap.

She knew he would contact the three guardians and guide them through the city.

Tonight, she had managed to round up five beautiful specimens for her experiment.

The witch walked down the line, inspecting each one thoroughly. The short, athletic woman would be agile and fast. The two tall, muscular young men would be even stronger once they were infused with her new spell. The fourth infected was an older woman with a thin frame and long, bloody fingernails. She must have been using them as an effective weapon against her prey.

The fifth and final infected, however, was the real prize. A giant of a man. Thick, rough skin. Bear-size hands big enough to crush a human head with a single squeeze. He was wearing a long black trench coat that made him somehow more frightening. The witch was anxious to see what her new spell would do to him.

"Your instructions are very simple," she said to them, still pacing like a commander in front of new recruits. "Kill the guardians."

The group of zombies groaned and grunted. She knew they would obey. It was the Dark One's magic that flowed through their blackened veins and gave them this life after death. They had no choice but to obey.

As the sun began to set behind them, a tingle of excitement traveled through the witch's body.

The Dark One had commanded her to keep the guardians apart. To get rid of them in whatever way she could.

It had taken the witch a full week to come up with a spell that would turn a zombie into a deadly weapon, but she had done it. More than three dozen infected had been lost during her experiments, but tonight, it would all be worth it.

Of course, these five would also be lost. Their bodies would corrode quickly once the virus was magnified inside them, but she was certain they would hold up long enough to get the job done. It wouldn't take long.

Soon, the guardians would be dead.

As individuals, they were powerful. But as a group of five, they would be nearly unstoppable once they reached their full potential. Killing even one of the guardians would be a victory.

The witch looked down on the office building across the street. Inside, she could see the guardians fighting the first wave of servants. They had already succeeded in killing more than half of them, but their swords and guns would have little effect on this new breed of zombie. When they left the shelter of the office building and emerged into the near-darkness of the twilight hour, her super zombies would be waiting for them.

It is time.

The voice of the Dark One whispered to her, and the witch turned to the line of zombie soldiers and smiled. She began reciting the spell she had perfected, calling forth the element of fire. Above her, the sky responded with a bright crack of lightning.

Storm clouds rumbled above, moving in fast and blocking out the sun's remaining rays. A great power coursed through her like electricity as she cast the spell. The blood in her veins turned to a fiery lava, thick and hot. She gave herself over to it, letting it burn from the inside out. She welcomed the pain, because with great pain came great reward. She had learned that during her weeks here in this world.

Words of magic spilled forth from her mouth and she raised her hands high into the air.

Lightning cracked again, this time connecting with her and flowing through her body. She screamed in agony as the power coursed through her, then fell to her knees when it stopped.

Slowly, she rose, eyes blazing with the power of pure fire.

Her hands dripped with a red-hot liquid that seemed to glow from within. The witch commanded the first zombie to open its mouth. The short woman fell to her knees and opened her mouth, and like a child receiving her first communion, she welcomed the magic potion as it poured down her throat.

The infected woman grabbed her neck in pain, then crumpled to the hard surface of the rooftop. Disappointment and fear flashed through the witch. This spell had to work. She had practiced it over and over again. It had to work. She could not fail the Dark One tonight.

Then, with wonder, she watched as the woman's body shook with a violent seizure. Her already damaged skin bubbled up as if her blood were boiling inside her veins.

The small woman's body stilled, then her head snapped up. Her eyes were no longer a milky blue, but instead glowed a deep and fiery red. Her teeth had grown longer. The skin of her face stretched as her mouth opened and closed with a horrible snapping sound. She was animal-like, hunched over on all fours.

The witch, confident now, instructed each of the zombies to drink from her poisonous fingertips. The tall men grew taller, their skin ripping apart to reveal their now elongated muscles and bone. The old woman's nails grew to a terrifying length, now as thick and sharp as daggers.

When the giant man in the trench coat drank, he let out a roar that rivaled the coming storm. He doubled over, his muscles rippling with the power of the virus. He cried out as his body transformed into a hulking brute of a thing. When he stood, he was well over seven feet tall. His muscles were thick and strong.

"Go and find the guardians," she told them. "Kill them for the glory of the Dark One."

With that, the witch walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. The guardians stepped out into the street below, the first wave of zombies defeated. Above her head, lightning cracked and rain began to fall.

She looked back on the new monsters she had created. They were beautiful in their grotesque new forms, their skin stretched to the point of breaking open. With her index finger, she pointed down at the guardians and the super-infected soldiers took off into the night to fulfill their morbid destiny.

The witch turned away. She wished she could stay and watch, but tonight, she had one more job to do for the Dark One.

We are getting so close to the ending now. What are your thoughts on the story so far? Hope you are loving it! I appreciate your votes and comments!