Surrounded By The Dead

If Maitho stopped to pay attention to the sheer number of draugrs in the parking lot, then he was afraid he might not have taken a single step forward. But his instincts kicked in. His brain began to collect information from his surroundings; finding opportunities, safe routes, and even defenses, should he require them.

So far, all he could see was the exit to the parking lot waiting for him. All that stood between him and the open air beyond were at least two dozen draugrs. At least, that's what he could estimate based on a casual glance. Each of the creatures held a melee weapon of some kind. One had a sword in its hands while another carried a spear. Still one more held a combination of a shield and what could only be considered as a long knife. They were all armed with their own unique bladed or blunt weapons.

One of the draugrs began walking towards the elevator doors. Within the next few seconds, he would reach the automatic glass doors that provided a meager barrier against the undead outside. No doubt the creature could simply break through the glass if required.

Maitho looked at Epona, who gave a quick nod.

Seeing as there was no other option, Maitho raised his handgun to eye level and moved forward. He was ready for the first undead. The glass doors opened. He followed his muscle memory and allowed his hands to guide him. The result was a quick shot that punched a hole in the draugr's forehead. The creature's head snapped back before it returned to its original position. For a moment, Maitho thought that he would have to deliver a lot more damage.

Eventually, the light in the draugr's eyes seemed to fade out. With a last gasp of mist exhausting from its eyes, the creature collapsed to the floor, where it began to turn into dust.

Seeing its fallen companion, a nearby draugr screeched. The sound seemed to be a mix between a throaty hiss and a roar that reminded him of a cheetah. Maitho had barely any time to react before the draugr had leaped towards him. It was fast. If it weren't for the position Maitho had already assumed, he would not have been able to defend himself. He didn't aim for the head. Instead, he used a double-tap; two shots in rapid succession. That stopped the creature midway. When that happened, Maitho took that brief opportunity to adjust his aim and fire a shot through the creature's head.

Two down. Many more to go.

The rest of the draugrs began to move towards them in unison.

"Get on the horses," yelled Epona. Saying that, she summoned two of the majestic beasts right next to each of them. The horses were already kneeling down, waiting for riders to mount them.

It was a great plan, but it couldn't stand up to the sheer numbers of the draugr army. One of the undead leaped forwards like a feline, sinking its claws into the horse. The animal disappeared into mist and its companion faced the same fate in the hands of another draugr.

Maitho fired, sending the first undead back to being dead.

One of the draugr leaped at him, but found its journey stopped short by an arrow that punched through the side of its head. The creature toppled sideways, the arrowhead half projecting out of its ears. It instantly dissipated into dust, leaving the arrow falling to the ground.

There was no time to retrieve the falling arrow as the other draugrs closed in around them. Maitho considered using his powers, but he knew that he had only mere seconds to react. Looking into the future, however brief that was, doesn't stop time in the real world. Two draugrs leaped at him. Rather than try to avoid them, he shouldered into one.

Big mistake. The creature was stronger than it looked. Maitho felt the weight of the draugr slam into his shoulder. Pain ran up his arm, but he gritted his teeth and held on. The second draugr swung its sword, trying to catch him in the side. A quick double-tap stopped its attack. Taking the opportunity presented to him, Maitho aimed his gun up as the draugr he was pushing against and pulled the trigger. The side of its head explode into dust before it too crumbled into millions of tiny specks. Maitho thought he had enough time to dispense of the other creature. But he was so wrong. It had recovered faster than he had predicted and swung its sword. Maitho leaped back out of sheer instinct, missing a fatal blow but not avoiding the tip of the sword from slashing across his abdomen, leaving behind a tear in his shirt and a thin red line across his body.

He didn't know who attacked next. All he experienced was a burst of pain on his head and an explosion of stars in his vision as a blow landed on the back of his head. He couldn't control his balance, but he still managed to put out his arms in front of him. His reaction was probably the only factor that kept his face from meeting the parking lot floor. For the next few seconds, his vision failed to gain clarity. He started to panic, wondering about the many ways he would be impaled by a weapon or perhaps beheaded by a draugr.

The sound of a neigh made him realize that Epona had acted quickly. He looked up to see a horse distract the draugrs. The animal didn't attack them. Rather, it maintained its ghostly form and charged through the draugrs. The undead tried to attack the animal, but all their weapons passed through the animal. While the undead were not affected by physical blows, the fact that an animal had run through their bodies distracted them for a few seconds.

That little moment of distraction would be their mistake. Another horse appeared. This time, the creature maintained its physical form. It began tackling the draugr, throwing them aside one after the other. It managed to flip the third draugr in the air before the fourth managed to slash downwards with a spear, sending the animal disappearing into mist.

Maitho looked at Epona and saw her clutching her shoulder. Blood seeped through her fingers and she still held on to the crossbow.

A draugr leaped at him. Maitho fired, but only realized too late that he had fired on a shield. The bullet bounced off the large slab of metal. Maitho could do nothing but raise his arms to protect himself. The shield slammed into him. Pain exploded in his forearms and began to spread towards his shoulders. He watched the draugr move away from him as he was thrown backwards. His flight seemed to take forever but eventually, he felt his back collide against a solid surface.

It was the glass wall surrounding the elevators. He slid to the floor, but began to pick himself back up. When his hand pressed against the glass for balance, he felt unusual indentations. He checked to see that there was a huge crack in the surface of the wall right where he had struck it.

He didn't have time to evaluate the damage. Epona was alone. She swung her crossbow around, pushing back advancing draugrs. She began to walk backwards to where Maitho lay. Two horses appeared before her like bodyguards protecting their leader. They raised their hooves in the air in an act of threat. It managed to halt the progress of the draugr. Epona began to back away even more. "We neit tae head back," she said. "Let's find a way through ane o the top floors."

"We'll be trapped," said Maitho, but he already knew that they had no other choice. "But I suppose we don't have a choice. You're right. Let's go."

When they turned to face the elevators, they stopped in stunned silence.

It was already moving down. Towards the lower floor.

"Bevan," said Epona.

"Or Brigid," said Maitho. "Or both."

Growling sounds made them face the draugrs again. The horses had disappeared, which only meant that they did not survive the sheer numbers of the undead. Epona began to scan the parking lot, as though somehow she might discover another way out of the building.

"I'm guessing there are no other exits?" said Maitho.

She shook her head, biting her lip. When her attention turned to him, her face was a mask of concern. But she was trying real hard to keep herself together.

While still seated, Maitho raised his gun and took him. When he pulled the trigger, the bullet found the face of one of the draugrs. This seemed to stop the other creatures. But they began to look at each other. Maitho understood their reaction. They were preparing to risk everything to reach their target.

Maitho pushed himself to his feet. If this was indeed the end of the road for him, then he won't go down without a fight. At least, he won't drag anyone else with him. "Listen," he said. "Thanks for everything you have done. But I'll buy you time to escape."

"Ye are jokin. After aw this?" She revealed the disbelief in her voice without any filter.

"Both of us dying here does not make sense. I have just days left to live. You, on the other hand, have time to save yourself at least."

"Where am ah gaun'ae gae from thare?"

"Anywhere," said Maitho. He kept his eyes on the advancing draugr. He shot another one down, but that didn't slow down the creatures. If anything, they kept advancing. "You make your own path. You can do it, Epona."

The draugrs had almost reached within striking distance. A few more steps and they could land a mortal wound. Maitho and Epona were both on their feet, their weapons ready to take the first creature that came close.

That's when they heard the roar of an engine. It was faint at first, but gained volume every second. Even the draugrs had stopped to look around in confusion. The sound increased in intensity. Just when it nearly reached deafening levels, Quinn sped into the parking lot, skidding when he reached the bottom of the ramp.

He had turned himself into a large SUV, which almost looked like a truck. But there was something different about him. Attached to his front was a plow, like the ones that are used to remove snow or move earth. The lower part of the plow was oddly shaped as well. It had spikes that were longer than usual.

Without coming to a stop, Quinn aimed the truck at the horde of draugr and accelerated. He raised the plow to hip height as he sped forwards like a vehicular bullet. In an instant, he had smashed through the draugrs, splitting their bodies into many parts and turning them into dust soon after. All Maitho could see was explosions of black dust as the vehicle raced through the draugrs. When Quinn had managed to eliminate one group of the creatures, he spun around to face the remaining draugrs. Without waiting, he accelerated once again. The remaining draugrs turned to dust by the time Quinn stopped in front of Maitho and Epona. The side doors facing them opened on their own.

"Need a ride darlings?" came the playful tone of Quinn.

Maitho and Epona looked at each other, then began chuckling. "You have impeccable timing," said Maitho.

He walked towards the open doors and allowed Epona to enter first before joining her in the backseat.

No sooner had he done that when the doors of the elevators opened.

Brigid and Bevan entered the parking lot.