Chapter 8

I walked up to one of the zombies and then he tried to bite me. I widened my eyes and sucked his soul out of his body. The Zombie then fell over and attracted the attention of the other Zombies I walked through the horde of zombies while sucking all their souls from their undead husks to drop to the ground.

I did this throughout the town and followed the noise of Zombies running through the muddy water as the storm grew stronger with every step I took towards the graveyard where the horde of Zombies grew denser. A mist began to form around me, it grew into a thick fog that was hard to see through. I saw nothing but silhouettes of those undead beings that inhibited the graveyard I was walking to.

As zombies swarmed around me, a familiar figure emerged from behind me. "You came," I said. "Yeah, you seem to not bother with any other creature besides your target. So would it be alright if I take care of the rest?" he said. I then nod and he turns away and starts stretching. He then grabs a blob of black liquid from out of his shadow and starts moulding it with his hand.

He then charges a Zombie smashing the now solid substance into the abdomen of his target. He then disappears into the fog to continue his business. I continue walking down the path to my target and I finally get sight of those glowing blood-red eyes across all the rain and fog that made it hard to recognize the rest of the figure. Those very same eyes that were always filled with anger, violence, hate...whatever he has gone through, it's time for his soul to be set free.

I took a step forward and then he let out a loud growl before running at me and scratching my arm that I put up to block the attack that I anticipated. I then punch him away then grab his hard and push it down into the muddy ground. I then lift him and then slam him into the mud then got down on my knees while slamming him repeatedly into the sand and mud alike. His struggling slows as his glare grew more vicious than ever before. His eyes glow as he lets out a second louder growl. One by one, a bunch of Zombies rise from the ground around us.

My eyes widen as I let go and face the now rising Zombies. I squint my eyes at them then sneer at the sight of some of them. Then out of the fog, Danny jumped out from behind the group and grabbed a bunch of the new Zombies into the fog and let the black mass swallow parts of them and then spread to the next Zombie. Once all the Zombies were covered with the black mass, they were dragged away from me and towards Danny who nods while facing me before jumping onto the group of Zombies.

As Danny disappeared into the fog, I turn. my attention back at the Zombie king. He slashes through my coat and then I kick him in his nose. I unleash a barrage of punches to his abdomen then he catches one of my strikes and bites down into my hand. I throw him away and Danny dropkicks him back to me. I catch him by the throat and slam him through a tombstone.

Danny then uses his black mass to set him up on a tree then I raise my hands to the sky and a lightning bolt strikes the Zombie king. The tree starts to burn as a second and third bolt of lightning strikes the helpless soul and the fourth big one turns him into ash. "So...now what?" asks Danny. I turn my head to the side and the angel of death stands beside me seemingly appearing out of thin air. "Well done Deadman. Now it's time for us to go back," he said as his wings spread and he started to hum.

"Well then, I'll meet you on the other side big man," said Danny winking before consuming himself with whatever black substance he uses. I tip my fedora before leaving with the angel. The clouds began to clear almost immediately as the sun was revealed along with the clear blue sky.

We ascended then later descended much like the first time we travelled together some time ago and we arrived in front of an abandoned gas station. "Do you recognise this place dead man?" asked the angel. "This is the gas station me and my mother visited before she got sick, or at least that happened in a dream," I recalled. "You know she forgives you right?" said the angel.

"Yeah, I can't seem to forgive myself," I said while looking down at my clenched fist. "You don't need to forgive yourself right now, but you could make a reason to do so later on." said the angel. "Is that why you sent me here? To make me feel like I redeemed myself?" I asked. "If I said yes, I would be lying," he replied. "So why did you make me do it?" I ask.

He looked up to the sky. "You can ask the Lord, I was just obeying His words, Mark. If you obey him as well then maybe you can get all the answers you seek someday," he replied. "So you going to leave me closer to Glenn or Bethaney?" I asked him. "Whichever you prefer," he said. "Honestly, I ain't sure which one to prefer," I admitted. "I know it's tough, decades spent with their supposed deaths weighing your mind down. You have to be strong and pick the one you believe will let you into their heart and forgive you first," he said.

"Yeah, and sometimes you need someone in your corner just in case it all goes wrong," Danny said. I look at him and raise an eyebrow. He steps forward and points to himself. "I am the guy you want," he says. "How so?" I ask him. "You see, I compete with those two from time to time. I got a few connections and I can get you close to your siblings much sooner than on your own or the next best guy," he said.

"Are you sure about that?" I ask. "Yeah, so you want to give me a chance?" he asks. I nod in confirmation. "Right, come this way," he said as we walk away.