“HALT!”

  Even as his magic snagged and immobilized the nearest group of zombies David started to pull, working to tear the Nath out of their hosts and claim them.

  The man was moving clearly ready to make a futile rush on the zombies between him and the girls.

  Billy was outside with Bessie, rushing towards the door the family was fleeing towards. Two of his other scouts had followed were now in the departure hall, guns raised to try and cover him and the man. Shotguns wouldn’t be enough. They might get the man out now the zombies he initially stunned could move.

  “MOVE, come here and for pities sake shut up.” One yelled as the zombies around the man started to move.

  Ignoring them the man yelled again. “OVER HERE!! HEY, YOU, UGLY!!” Then in a quieter voice, “we have to distract them from the kids”

  Seeing the family moving for the exit the other scout swore before raising her shotgun and taking aim at one of the mobile zombies. There wasn’t time for anything but desperate courage and forlorn hope or ignominious flight.

  It seemed David wasn’t the only one stepping up. Even as event played out with frantic urgency David focused on claiming the new Nath.

  It was shockingly easy, energy flowed out of him, seeming to thicken the tentacle-like connections he sensed from himself to the immobile zombies and with a wrench he felt them come free. One, two, three.

  He felt resistance that became confusion, then obedience. He could do this, far easier than before.

  He glanced up, the family were almost to the exit, once they got out Billy would be able to help them, they would be safe.

  Realizing the same thing the family group put on a burst of speed, the mother outdistancing her daughters and rushing for the door to get it open.

  Then the little girl, trailing behind her sister and mother slipped and fell. Her scream cut through the chaos. Everyone paused, horrified, as the closest clusters of zombies all oriented on her and started to move. Everyone ran towards the little girl, a race all the survivors seemed destined to lose.

  Her father was yelling and running, trying to catch attention and distract the monsters. It didn’t work, something about the pitch of the girls ongoing cries seemed to hold the attention of the zombies. They ignored the commotion behind them and continued to close in on the girl who was still on the ground screaming and clutching her leg.

  David didn’t even realize he was running until he overhauled the man, Stamina allowing him to achieve a flat-out sprint without apparent effort. Then he was unleashing his magic, he could feel the increased weight of his words, not just the desperation he felt but power, he was throwing everything he could into this.

  It was shockingly easy to dominate the Nath in front of him as he ran.

  “HALT!”

  The power flowed out of him and he immediately began to pull again, ripping Nath out of their shells even as his scouts continued to fire. Everyone was rushing to try and get to the little girl.

  This time there were death screams, not when David tore them out of their hosts, but when the scouts executed Halted zombies.

  Even through his desperate fury David sensed the shift, familiar ripples of sound reaching his spiritual hearing as the Nath reacted to the deaths of their brethren.

  He couldn’t pause, against all odds the girls sister had reached her, but couldn’t get her up on her feet. He just threw his power at the zombies that threatened these kids, their mother was running back screaming and trying to get her daughters to their feet.

  David was literally experiencing tunnel vision. Even as more zombies approached David lost track of what he was doing, stopped caring about what he used to fuel his attacks and reached for power, any power. He ripped at cluster after cluster of Nath, both throwing his voice and his spell further than ever before and being far more savage with the ropelike connections once he established them.

  He had reached the fallen girl and her sister even as her mother managed to get her up into the air, half carrying, half dragging the screaming child. He stepped past them all and he formed a one-man bulwark as enraged zombies approached.

  More were spilling up the silent escalator from the arrivals area below and some even began emerging from deeper in the building.

  “HALT! HALT! HALT!”

  His Magic plummeted followed by both Health and Stamina as he started using Convert to fuel his rampage. Compared to the struggle he had to manage even three castings when he first gained this skill this was easy.

  “HALT! HALT!”

  Still his resources plummeted as the enemy fell and his body became bloated with harvested spirits. As he drained the last of his health and stamina and felt aching weariness flooding him as the fuel for his superhuman state failed. He desperately reached out to the one area that was bloated and full pulling on the energy of his spirits to keep going.

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  Impossibly it worked.

  “HALT! HALT! HALT!”

  He could feel spirits withering and dying feeding him streams of energy that he directed outwards to strike at more Nath.

  The power started to chain, by snuffing out the spirits he had just claimed he could fuel his next attack. He settled into an inevitable, brutal tempo.

  “HALT!”

  It was easier with each repetition; he could build more power snuffing out a dozen spirits to capture all the approaching Nath and rip them free, the influx of new spirits again bloating him and starting the process anew.

  “HALT!”

  It was exhilarating, and cathartic as he raged against the dying world. He raged against the monsters and he, for this moment, was enough to turn the tide and save some goddammed children.

  In his frenzy he didn’t even notice as the mother pulled her crying daughter out through the door or as Camila, Carl and the others streamed into the building weapons raised.

  Zombies died and the thunder of gunfire, far more than his small group of scouts could manage, finally pulled him out of the manic fury he had descended into upon seeing the screaming girl cut off from escape.

  Charlie’s voice reached his ears. “David, dude! Ease up and leave something for the rest of us to do. We got this, save your magic man!”

  The focused fury snapped, David looked around and started to think again. The raid group were spread out fighting zombies, even as more streamed up from arrivals below.

  An arc of fallen corpses in front of him was mute testimony to his offensive. Dozens of zombies without a mark on them, still and lifeless.

  Dozens.

  He turned and looked at Charlie, seeing shock, awe and just a little envy in the younger man’s eyes.

  “Holy shit dude! Like where did you pull the juice to do this? I thought I was the hammer in our little group, and I can’t hit that sort of sustain. When did Halt turn into power word fucking kill?”

  David could only stare, breathing hard. His reserves of Mana, Stamina and Health were shot, while his spirits were full.

  Without anyone helping he had eliminated dozens of zombies. He could feel the power bubbling in him, spirits pressing to get out.

  By all rights his lack of Magic, Stamina and Health should leave him out of this fight… But he was sure he could continue to cannibalize his spirits to cast Halt, then rip new spirits out of their hosts to replace what he had just lost. It felt like cheating…

  He slowly grinned, maybe this was the limit of what the half-step evolution combined with his bloodline could do. Maybe it wasn’t…

  Still, he wasn’t alone. Now he felt a surge of new confidence. They could do this…

  Turning back to the fight he prepared to cast. He was on overwatch, making sure the team wouldn’t get overwhelmed and he assessing the tactical situation, making sure he was where he needed to be as the others spread out to get room to work.

  With everyone deployed the fight was short and ugly. David looked round at the fire teams, who were now resembling actual teams and marveled at the adaptability of people. Sure, there were a couple of the new people looking sick and hanging back but he knew that Mark would scoop them up when his support group arrived.

  There were more zombies coming because of the death screams, but for now the area was under control.

  “Search for survivors! Y’all need to cover them if they are still out and mark where they are for support. Any more who are moving get them outside!”

  Carl was already taking charge, calling the play and adapting to the changing situation. People started to spread out weapons ready.

  David focused on his spirits, allowing them to mimic the rescuers, searching to give him a more accurate sense of the Nath in the area, it was easier now and he heard the agitated murmurs in the background, allowing it to guide his dispatched spirits.

  A few seconds later he was calling out reports. “Incoming, heading for the escalator at this end of the terminal. Charlie, can you move a group to deal with them?”

  Then “There are a lot more through at the departure gates, but they seem to be having difficulty getting back here. Someone watch for them.”

  Soon Mark’s team was moving up now. Though slower as they were with the vehicles and seemed to have difficulty getting through the partially blocked access road.

  Still they were here and a trickle of still comatose survivors were now being rescued and moved back to the convoy.

  The next commotion was another welcome one. They found someone hiding in the women’s restroom, it took a while to calm her down but she was hustled outside.

  At this point Mark checked in with David, his deep voice serious. “David, with the people we rescued who are awake we need more supplies than we brought. They need food, water and attention we weren’t prepared to give. I want to break into the vending machines and when we head downstairs clear out the street side shops too…”

  “Sure, sounds like a plan. Why are you telling me?”

  Mark looked at him oddly, “you’re in charge. Directing all the groups…”

  It made David pause for a second as he realized that while they had never said it that was effectively what he was doing.

  Their discussion was halted by sustained gunfire from the direction of one of the escalators to the arrivals level. David waved goodbye to Mark as he moved quickly towards the commotion.

  More zombies from below were streaming up the stationary escalator. Which was going extremely poorly for them. David immediately saw an opportunity.

  “HOLD FIRE!! Let them come up and clear the top of the escalator then fire! We don’t want to block them off, let them come to us in a nice steady line and pick your shots. Rotate people through so everyone is taking a turn and getting practice.”

  With that the fight devolved into little more than an XP farm and training session. It even got to the point where Charlie was offering tips about where to put your overflow XP to get the best benefits to those waiting for their turn.

  The apocalypse was becoming shockingly routine, their tactics were working and perhaps conditioned by years of media and movies the zombies were no longer scary, merely fodder, like targets in a first-person shooter.

  Rescuing people, especially children, both those who were awake and the comatose had pulled the group together. Everyone was confident and once the tide of zombies from below died down they all gathered to push into the lower parts of the airport.

  David moved down with his scouts again, the assault going smoothly as the bottom of the escalator was clear, there was a rush down the stairs but having been attracted by the deaths above the zombies were clear of the base of the stairway and soon most of the fighters were flooding into the arrivals area, picking off stray zombies and spreading out while the support teams scoured the check in zone for any more survivors.

  Again it was all becoming easy, routine. The zombies had no kind of tactics and what was horrifying for someone alone with no weapons became merely disgusting and a test of nerves when you were surrounded by armed people some of whom could throw literal bolts of fire, ice and the like.

  As they progressed confidence grew, a steady stream of survivors were being found. They fell into a pattern. Fight, win, repeat. Celebrate each person saved and ignore the churning in your gut and dehumanize the zombies to keep going.

  It felt almost comfortable.

  That lasted until they pushed through into the secure, planeside areas.