The first thing that she felt upon entering the restroom was the cool touch of gunmetal against her skull.

  Amy Tran slowly lowered the pistol in her grip. Quickly taking her in, Evantra noticed bloody holes in the woman’s right forearm. No doubt inflicted by the singular drinker that now lay motionless against the wall inside the restroom. It seemed like she had physically held it back to protect the other children, who were huddled up against the far wall of the bathroom. Beside her was her daughter Tai, a Liberty EZ Defender in her hands. A weapon previously wielded by one of the teachers that the bloodspawn had killed outside the classroom.

  Evantra crouched down to envelop a little girl in a hug. Tai was shaking, despite the stony expression on her face, a match for her mother’s.

  “Thank god, you’re ok,” Evantra whispered to Tai, before looking up at Amy.

  Hard as nails. Both of them.

  Evantra bit her lip as she watched the gun in Amy’s hand waver. The woman’s face contorted into a wince for a split second before her expression reverted. She felt a chill as she more closely regarded Amy’s injuries, seeing how the wounds the drinker inflicted had impacted Amy’s motor skills. She could see that she was having trouble retaining her grip on her weapon, her arm spasming at irregular intervals.

  “Amy, here.”

  Evantra withdrew a stim from her backpack. Ignoring the woman’s protests, she quickly administered it into her arm and watched as the bloody holes along its length began to close. She frowned when the spasms didn’t stop.

  Nerve damage?

  We need to get her to a medical expert ASAP.

  Once again, the familiar flash of rage and frustration burgeoned in her chest. Frustration at arriving too late, at not being careful enough, strong enough to avert this.

  It was a feeling that hounded her since Wisptown. She knew full well that there were times when you were unexpectedly backed into a corner and forced to take on challenges far greater than your capabilities. Taking on Caliburn had been a fool’s errand. But if she had not embarked on it out of bravery or foolishness, the entirety of the town would now be a graveyard, and Caliburn’s summoning would likely have succeeded.

  It was a reminder that none of her ‘potential’ of her magical girl abilities mattered when things came down to the line.

  She needed to bring her potential into fruition.

  Evantra forced her gaze past Amy and Tai. Behind them was a group of about ten other children huddled into the bathroom stalls. They ranged from about Lucas’ age to kids in their mid to late teens, but they all shared the same expression of fear.

  “Carmen said that a Ghostslayer is coming. You should have gone to the bunker,” Amy said, her voice concealing the pain she was undoubtedly experiencing.

  Evantra just shook her head, eyes fixed on the students cowering in the stalls.

  “I saw some others outside. I’ll lead them your way if the coast is clear. I’ll return if I can’t find them.” Evantra paused before thrusting her shotgun into Amy’s arms.

  “Don’t be stupid. If you’re going out there, keep it.”

  Evantra’s lips tugged up into a hint of a smile at Amy’s blunt words, but she nodded quickly, before making for the doorway.

  Just like Minh. Brave to the very core.

  She halted, feeling something catch on her backpack. Tai stared up at her with wide eyes.

  “I’ll be alright, ok? I promise,” Evantra said quietly, gently removing Tai’s hand but squeezing it with reassurance. Tai hesitated before eventually relinquishing the backpack.

  “Once you do, come right back here. The bunker is on the other side of the school, and more bloodspawn could have come through. Take this. If you find survivors.”

  Evantra accepted a spare Liberty EZ Defender among others that they had collected and placed in one of the sinks.

  “I’ll come right back if I can’t find them.”

  Without another word, Evantra quietly opened the restroom door. Creeping out into the empty corridor, she peeked around the corner of the wall.

  I need to hurry.

  Amy needs medical attention ASAP, no matter how nonchalantly she’s acting.

  In the short span of time since she entered the restroom, the air around her had turned into a red haze. She saw numerous tendrils of blood floating up from the corpses strewn about the school. Pustules were visible at a distance, hanging out over the courtyard. Beneath them prowled drinkers, the tendrils emanating from their bulbous mouths plunged into the corpses as they drank from the dead.

  The canteen immediately before her was devoid of Veilcreatures, save for the pustules that still hung in the air above. The courtyard beyond it, however, was a different matter.

  Seeing as Rosewood College was positioned entirely within the Megabuilding, the courtyard was the singular area that spanned multiple floors. It was an artificial clearing complete with lawns, a fountain and areas for students to gather.

  Evantra felt the ground shake beneath her. Ripples appeared in the puddles of blood coating the corridor around her. She felt a chill wash over her skin as she caught a glimpse of something striding inside of the courtyard.

  A single, bloody foot came into view. Blood poured from above in droves, her vision cut off from her vantage point. Evantra crouched, moving slowly into the canteen to get a better view of the creature.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  A lumberer

  The lumberer had proportions that vaguely resembled a human, but taken to an extreme. Its body was thin and tall, with limbs that were elongated to an eerie degree. Tendrils of blood snaked outwards from its torso, embedded into corpses lying about the school’s corridors. She watched as the tendrils pulsed, bulging as they drank from the corpses.

  It fed on the corpses strewn about the school.

  Probably a [draugr] ranked creature, or higher. The blood coating its skin provides it with some measure of protection.

  What are the chances that the pair of them managed to avoid it.

  Evantra clenched her fist, fingernails digging into the flesh of her palms. She looked down at the shotgun in her hands and tried to ignore the sickening feeling that welled up inside of her as she fruitlessly considered the skills at her disposal, each of them falling short.

  Helplessness.

  She was powerless to put a dent in it.

  Evantra’s thoughts were interrupted by the deafening sound of a sniper round. It sounded like an explosion that rebounded off the school’s corridors. She watched as a jolt ran through the blood coursing over the exterior of the lumberer’s skin, revealing deep, maroon flesh beneath. She crouched, moving out into the canteen to get a better view of the giant.

  Even as it reeled back from the apparent shot, she watched as it continued to burgeon in size as it drew desperately from the blood of the corpses around it. A second round shattered the brief reprieve of silence, and Evantra watched the giant fall to its knees.

  The Ghostslayer activated their blade the moment the lumberer’s skull was within reach. Evantra saw the edge of the sword glow orange with heat as they leapt forwards, cleaving the lumberer’s comparatively small head from its vast torso. She watched as the blood that came into proximity of the sword’s edge seemed to evaporate away, as if fleeing the blade’s path.

  The roiling blood that swirled in waves about the exterior of the creature’s body drew to an abrupt halt before falling to the ground in a crash. The blood splattered over the courtyard, coating it red.

  Operatives filed out from behind the Ghostslayer, soldiers clad in black armour emblazoned with the bright gold of Demeteria’s logo. They were a match for Caliburn’s own private soldiers that she had accompanied on the raid into the lost territories bordering Wisptown with Caliburn. She watched as the soldiers split in different directions, quickly and efficiently clearing the school corridors in search of remnants of Veilcreatures and survivors holed up in classrooms.

  It would make sense that Demeteria’s people responded, with the school’s affiliation and their presence with the continental greenhouses in the area. Not to mention… the kids of the corpos who attend it.

  Maybe this Ghostslayer works for them too.

  With the bloody giant felled, the Ghostslayer came into view. Cybernetic irises of bright yellow found hers, and Evantra found herself surprised at the appearance of the man. He held a single machete in his hand, the edge of the long blade glowing orange with heat. It looked like the implement that one might use to clear jungle foliage rather than using it to fell Veilcreatures.

  The man himself looked to be nearing his forties, with a wispy, brown beard. His skin was tanned brown, betraying years enjoyed under a harsh sun’s rays, and he wore a bucket hat with a line of string hooked loosely under his chin.

  Caliburn’s Ghostslayers had been the picture of professionalism, complete with discipline, a rigid leadership structure while possessing a degree of formality and gravitas about them.

  The Ghostslayer that Demeteria had sent looked more like a gardener who had quite unfortunately found himself in the proximity of a Veilsurge.

  There were two items that erased all manner of doubt from her mind.

  The first was the weapon slung at his midriff. A Wraithkiller Sniper Weapons system that he hefted after stowing his machete. The very same weapon that Benjamin the monk with a cybernetic hand had sported in their VR chatroom, only now in the flesh.

  The gun seemed to draw in the light around it. It was abyssal black, which would have blended seamlessly into the night, only disrupted by menacing ruby red lights that revealed the promise of death that its form so inherently embodied.

  The second item was a huge pack on his back that seemed to be stuffed to the brim with all manner of weaponry sticking out at odd angles from its haphazardly sealed canvas flap.

  The Ghostslayer waved to her with a grin.

  “G’day, I’m Jack.”

  An Australian?

  In this day and age?

  Jack the Australian Ghostslayer paused, turning to his side as his eyes narrowed, seemingly fixing his attention on the intel coming through from his comms.

  “What do you expect, mate. It’s a fucking lumberer. Let me do my job.”

  Jack tapped his comms, presumably deactivating it, before returning his attention to Evantra.

  “It’s easier dealing with the Veilcunts than those corpos, I tell ya,” Jack said, spitting to the side.

  “There are survivors holed up in a restroom. One of them, a woman named Amy Tran, is in urgent need of medical attention—”

  Jack smiled reassuringly, lazily waving a hand in the air.

  “Already guiding them out. Amy’s being taken care of.”

  “There were also other visitors, a boy and a girl—”

  The Ghostslayers scratched his brown beard, casually jabbing a thumb to her left. She watched as the young man and girl whom she had glimpsed before emerged. The man grinned at her, and as he came into view, Evantra made out long dreadlocks that made their way down the back of his neck. His dark skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat from his battle with the drinkers, but he seemed unscathed.

  Evantra felt a pang in her chest at the sight of his sister. As she came into view, Evantra was now certain that she was about Tai’s age.

  “You alright, mate?”

  The young man nodded at Jack and the Ghostslayer turned to Evantra.

  “Whaddaya say you two help me clear out the Veilcunts over in that surge over there. Can tell the pair of ya are rearin to be slayers.”

  Evantra exchanged a look with the tall man. She frowned as she saw his knuckles wrapped in a white, blood-stained fabric. The man stared incredulously at the Ghostslayer before turning to raise an eyebrow at Evantra. She simply shrugged in response.

  “Sir… what about your operatives?”

  “Yeah, nah. Most of Demeteria’s buggers are clearing out the other floors, we’ll get this done easy! Not every day you get to jump into a Veilsurge,” Jack casually waved away the other man’s question, before heading in the direction of the Veilsurge.

  “You can use these.”

  Evantra started, turning around to face a short woman who had crept up on them out of nowhere. Her blonde hair was tied in a tight bun, and she sported a pair of rectangular black glasses that framed dark blue eyes. At first glance, she seemed like a corporate secretary.

  “I’m Cindy, Jack’s secretary. Your names?”

  “Ade.”

  “Evantra.”

  Evantra and Ade, the young man, exchanged another glance. Jack called out from a distance away as he casually strode towards the Veilsurge. Evantra watched as he extracted two pistols at his side while a sling kept his Wraithkiller aloft, effortlessly gunning down a few floating pustules a distance away in the collge. Evantra watched as they burst, violently expelling blood shards in their final display of rebellion.

  “Gave Cindy a fair go when she applied for the position. No one else had the nuts. Eh, Cind?”

  Cindy pushed up her glasses before gesturing for them to follow Jack into the Veilsurge. She seemed perfectly poised and ready to carry out whatever task her Ghostslayer called for her to perform.

  This time, that task entailed producing two Nagantra machine pistols complete with holsters from seemingly out of nowhere, which she pushed into Evantra and the other young man’s hands. Evantra gladly traded it out for the Liberty EZ Defender at the sight of the familiar weapon which she had wielded for the bulk of her time in Wisptown. She temporarily stowed the other weapon in the back of her jeans with a wince.

  She watched Cindy dexterously evade Ade’s sister as the little girl tried to nab the Nagantra she was holding out to her brother. Instead, Cindy snatched her hand and calmly led her in the direction of the bunker.

  They watched as Jack halted before the Veilsurge. Evantra frowned as the Ghostslayer’s easy and relaxed demeanour intensified a degree as he focused on the Veilsurge.

  For a moment a complex expression crossed his face, before he turned to them with an easy smile.

  “We’re all about having a fair go over here,” he said softly, before entering the Veilsurge.

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