David knew where he wanted to have the final confrontation; right here, but first he had to clear up the zombies. Now that the enemy was moving he threw himself into using his empowered Halt even as he watched for zombies to reach him. His goal was to clear the departure gate area completely.

  The zombies outside still shambled, but after their initial movements they began to organize, still agitated it was possible from above to see the moment they started to funnel towards the entrance to the Jetway below. Given direction, even if their purpose wasn’t changed.

  Those already around him and the other surviving raiders weren’t given the chance to organize.

  “HALT!”

  Then a head shot to keep the death screams going and ripping the rest out of their hosts to refuel.

  Then there was an odd lull, the zombies below were funneled into the building but something was holding them up as they took some time to climb the stairs to reach his level, he could hear the seething murmur of the Nath, grinning he listened in.

  Move, you, you, you, lead, no hunt together…

  The fast zombies were trying to organize and direct the others. Mostly just to get them all moving in the right direction but also he guessed to create a screen to let them get close. He fancied he could almost hear their frustration as they struggled to control their enraged lesser kin.

  Hunt, hunt, hunt…

  Exactly as expected the other zombies were just reacting to the attack, barely controlled by their leaders.

  Then he heard her, the blind woman, her command was stronger, louder yes but radiating authority.

  Slow, hunt together, subdue it. Like before…

  They actually listened, at least he thought they did. So David prepared himself. This was the part which was really going to suck. He started slowly backing away from the entrance as the tide of zombies approached, organized now. As he did he caught his reflection in the glass of the window, he looked ridiculous.

  A solid black tactical helmet on his head, not one but two bullet proof vests draped over his body with extra protective padding wrapped around him and held in place by packing tape. Holsters strapped to each thigh. A pair of knee pads he had found in the security center and fingerless gloves to give his hands a little protection. A knight stick style baton hung from a loop in the second vest he had thrown over the first for extra padding over his vitals.

  He looked like a fat kid’s idea of ‘extra cool armor’ for a SWAT trooper Halloween costume. With emphasis on the extra.

  The zombies were onto him breaking like a tide and fanning into the area. He waited, then threw a weak spell.

  “Halt”

  He shot as he fell back, the single report sounded like a starting gun and the zombies streamed towards him. He could hear the two fast undead moving like sharks though the tide of zombies. Waiting for an opening.

  Move, move, closer…

  Then one of them burst from the pack, and he felt a surge of sound as it leapt towards him with incredible speed and strength. David reacted barely in time.

  “HALT”

  All the power of that utterance was aimed at a single zombie and he shut it down easily, even as his resources dropped sharply. There was a problem though. It was airborne, flying towards him. His magic didn’t change momentum, and he had time to widen his eyes as inevitably the fast zombie crashed into him bowling him over.

  He was falling and he barely held onto his drawn pistol. If the thing had been able to move the fight would likely have been over as he tumbled backwards to the floor with the creature on top of him.

  As it was with the rest of the enemy less than ten yards away, he had to make a choice. The fast ones had to die, but he was still too close to the jetway, and the tide of zombies hadn’t revealed their leader yet.

  Fuck it, he went for the kill. Looking at the dead milky eyes of the thing from less than a foot away he brought the pistol up to its head and pulled the trigger, twice.

  There was a dribble of disgusting fluid and a loud death scream as he twisted frantically to get the thing off him even as he scrambled backwards.

  The zombies were almost on top of him when he threw another controlled spell out to buy space.

  “Halt!”

  The power was enough zombies tumbled and he was able to make another couple of precious yards still thrashing and with a twist start to get to his feet, cursing the weight of the padding and armor he was wearing. It had been a pretty stupid idea to pad up like this, protection had seemed like such a good idea until he felt like a turtle on it’s back unable to rise.

  “HALT”

  That blast had been closer to full power because he had seen a flash of smooth rapid movement, the other fast zombie was close…

  More zombies fell, he couldn’t tell where the fast one was as he levered himself to his feet. His reserves were getting low, probably only a couple more big power words now unless he started ripping Nath to feed his spirit pool…

  He watched as the zombies fanned out moving down all three aisles of seats and back peddled as fast as he could. Two small ones before the big burst and phase two of the plan…

  He really needed to get at least one more fast zombie before then if he could.

  Raising the pistol he squeezed off a couple of shots, just to keep them interested even as he stumbled back into the wider open area just beyond the three double rows of seats for those waiting for boarding at this gate.

  He took a stable stance and looked and listened for the fast zombie. It thought it was being clever, moving near the back of a cluster of its lesser kin. But his spirit had been tracking it since before the fight began, it only took a moment to confirm its location then he struck.

  “Halt!”

  The blast was carefully aimed this time, tendrils of will lashed out to exclude the fast zombie. As its advancing allies locked up and toppled over it found itself alone, isolated and about twenty feet from him.

  Almost hearing Carl speaking to him David raised the pistol. Stable stance, extend the weapon in two hands, brace it and let half a breath out. Hold, sight and fire.

  In that time the fast zombie had pitched forward from the shuffling gaint it had been mimicking to the leaned, eager stance it naturally seemed to favor, its legs tensing to spring mouth opening.

  “Halt”

  David let the rest of the breath go as he hit just one zombie, just enough to stop it.

  The creature froze and David fired.

  He missed left. Corrected and fired again. The creature shuddered as he hit its right shoulder.

  One more shot, ignoring the tide of zombies spilling out of the other two rows to engulf him, ignoring the sense that the other fast zombie was approaching rapidly. He took his time, this had to count. One breath, sight, hold.

  Then he shot.

  The bullet slammed into its forehead opening a third eye, David smiled even as the death scream sounded like music to his ears.

  Then he was hit by the zombies that had spilled out of the other two rows he had not been focused on.

  The first blow staggered him, the second tore the pistol from his grip and the third slammed into the vest knocking him back and further off balance. Damn, they were strong, he hadn’t really appreciated it given how they moved but they could hit hard. Spinning he grabbed the baton from the loop at the bottom of the vest drawing and swinging in one smooth movement.

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  The zombie closed in and took the blow to the head, staggering even as a shock travelled up his arm.

  Then everything was chaos as he kept falling back, his baton moving to buy time and get the zombies to dogpile him.

  As he was staggered by blows, he considered how smart it had been to strap and tape all this extra armor to himself. The blows were being blunted by his Toughness and his Reinforce skill. The problem was that his Health had been trickling away without a new beating and was now dropping at an alarming rate.

  Health, 23%. Then seconds later it plunged to 12%. Then another blow - 6%.

  He struggled to focus as he felt the fuzzy, woozy sensation of his concussion, still not resolved apparently, starting to press in on him.

  Desperately he focused on his spirits, There. The spirit tracking the other fast zombie showed that it was making its move, he couldn’t see it in the press of bodies, but he could hear its approach as it moved to take him from behind.

  Before he could pass out, he threw everything into his next attack.

  “HALT!!”

  The power streamed out of him stopping the beating instantly, even as the lunging fast zombie shuddered to a halt. Then for the first time in this phase of the fight he gripped harder with the tendrils of his willpower and started to rip.

  This time there were no screams as one, two, three Nath came free and were fed into the woodchipper of Convert to fuel his powers. The wrench came with a slick feeling and a loss of control as the Nath wriggled against his will. He had overextended and there were just too many for him to hold them all still and rip Nath free.

  One slipped free.

  Fresh zombies were already moving in from further away when pain flared and his knee collapsed. Hit low by a fast, the powerful body that slapped his baton aside as he tried to bring it down on the attacker.

  He was falling as he had a moment to contemplate the fact that the attacker had come in on all fours to get under the baton. Clever bastard. Then it pulled back before he could attack it.

  Then a big foot, in a grey sneaker was swinging at his face and there was an explosion of pain as it connected.

  David twisted and thrashed gasping out his next spell.

  “HALT”

  The power streamed out of him and ripped more Nath from their moorings, not caring that he let some zombies go to kill others even as he fed himself the power to cast again.

  “HALT!”

  Desperate this time as he thrashed to get out from under the fallen corpses. He had to find the fast zombie…

  Then it was there. Rearing above him, hands balled into fists.

  Desperate, he swung the baton up to block even as he screamed.

  “HALT!”

  He had it in his grip and he tried to rip it free. To his horror, where the others came free easily this one held on to its host, like a well embedded tick resisting probing finger, then the tendrils of his will slipped, and the fists crashed down pressing his baton across his throat as the thing bore down on him.

  Worse, he hadn’t stripped any Nath from their hosts to replenish his resources. He struggled to breathe and with a desperate heave managed to get the thing up and the baton away from his throat for an instant. He gasped out.

  “Halt.”

  He could feel the things triumph as the wave of power washed over it but failed to lock up its muscles.

  Coldly it started to press down again, bearing towards him to bring the baton back where it could close his windpipe.

  David pulled back his power then before his air could be closed off again threw out another Halt.

  Again the spell washed over it and he could hear a single, contemptuous thought radiate from the zombie.

  Weak. I have it.

  He wrenched his will back again and felt the surge of power from convert. Larger this time, he felt something shift and resisting the press to breathe became a little easier. He smiled, the overflow was counting now.

  “HALT!”

  This time the strength was higher, and he ripped immediately and with confidence.

  More power streamed in and he felt it flooding his system. Breathing was easy now despite the weight on his chest and the pressure on his throat. It was like he was made to endure this burden. Even his knee felt less troublesome, more stable.

  Stop, you fool, kill it! Kill IT!

  The scream in his head came from the woman, and it caused both of them to pause for a fraction of a second.

  The creature was faster. It released the baton and, in a blur, smashed a backhand blow into David helmeted head.

  He saw stars for a second, then another blow smashed in. He felt his jaw creak but it held. Grimly he ground out “HALT!”

  Again the power washed past the fast zombie to the Nath around him allowing him to use them like fodder ripping them free and cannibalizing them to rebuild his Magic, Stamina and Health.

  He felt the next blow rock his head to the side. David spat blood and tried to bring his baton into play. The zombie stopped him with the hand still gripping the weapon even as it drove its fist towards his face and he had to roll his head to try and deflect the punch.

  “HALT!”

  He started to wrench when he felt it. The woman had finally moved closer. Then she hit him with her magic.

  “DARKNESS!!”

  His sight drained away as shadows fell over his eyes. He had to sell it. He cried out.

  “Aaargh! I can’t see. I can’t cast! What have you done to me?”

  He felt it was a bit of overacting. The woman ate it up.

  “Arrogant fool, thinking you could use our power against us! We hear the music, we speak the words! Not you, whatever you are!”

  His health was dipping, He could feel the blows, sense the wordless killing intent pouring off the zombie on top of him. 50% Health. More blows as he struggled. 40%

  Then his spirits told him she had slipped closer.

  “Here let me show you why you were doomed, a final gift…”

  “Halt!”

  For the first time David felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of his power word. His muscles locked up, refusing to obey.

  Now he can’t squirm crush his skull.

  The contemptuous instruction rang through his spiritual hearing and David felt a cold surge of panic. This was what it felt like. Only he was blind as well. He could gamble on reinforce or he could do something. He remembered Charlie breaking his halt. This could still work.

  Desperate he focused on his spiritual hearing, trying to track all the pieces in the battle. He wouldn’t get another chance.

  David played his trump card. The reason he had carefully culled zombies on the way here.

  Mana Sight.

  He desperately infused Stamina into the ability, one he planned to use to overcome blindness. Perhaps it would break Halt as well.

  With a flash of power his sight shifted, the darkness was still there but now he could see it for what it was – nothing but a film of mana over his eyes. Eyes that had now adapted, the skill interpreted darkness, indeed all mana as though another set of photoreceptors had been born in his eyes.

  The result was shocking, the surge of Magic to trigger the ability washed through him weakening the grip of Halt, but not freeing him entirely. The wave of new input allowed him to see the film of magic over his eyes, to see the concept of darkness – which was exactly as weird as it sounded and compartmentalize it as a magic signal, for his new sight, not his old.

  Light flooded back to show him the zombie reared over him, both hands knotted together in a double fist that was starting to descend towards him face with all the creature’s considerable strength.

  The blind woman gloated even as the death blow fell.

  “Die, knowing you fell to the R’Nath the true masters of…”

  With a surge of adrenaline and a desperate burst of willpower David shattered the lingering effects of Halt and unleashed a devastating two-word combo of his own.

  “Katie! NOW!”

  Then a lot of things happened at the same time.

  David tried ride the blow, twisting his head but unable to get completely out of the way. He saw stars for a moment despite his massively elevated Reinforce.

  The blind woman whirled around sensing movement and lifting her already crooked arms to shield her face.

  Katie rose up from where she had been lying playing dead.

  The zombies near the woman moved to shield her responding to her soundless command.

  Protect me!

  The gun Katie had been lying on came up and the woman instinctively used her first word.

  “Darkness!”

  The power washed over Katie but was answered by the thunder of gunfire. Fully automatic gunfire.

  They had only found one submachine gun, but one was enough. The woman was a little over four paces from Katie, two zombies were moving to shield her, but too slowly.

  The trap closed as hot lead tore through the space around the unprotected woman. Most missed, recoil pulling the muzzle up but not before the woman took multiple hits.

  Hip, stomach, chest, shoulder. The rising barrel stitched a line through the strange woman as she staggered backwards.

  “No, No…” No, No, NO! KILL, KILL THEM BO..

  “HALT!”

  The cry began, choked and soft in David’s physical hearing, then continued louder and louder in his spiritual ears. Until he lashed out interrupting it with his magic.

  Power streamed from him. Targeting the dying Nath, he had to silence her, he reached out with every iota of his willpower, tendrils wrapping round the presence that was so easy to hear, for him at least.

  He gripped and pulled, she didn’t budge, clinging to her dying host, silent for a moment as he felt her surprise and then twisting tendrils flowed from her to grapple him.

  She twisted against his will and he grappled her, yanking and pulling. He needed more. Without thinking he sacrificed spirits, not to fuel his power but to free up the strands that let him grip things Nath related with his bloodline and which bound his spirits to him.

  She was sliding free of her body and still struggling, trying to slip free and away like an alien birthed from the death of its host. He dimly felt another blow rock his face then amidst the renewed surge of power as he burnt the last of his captive spirits, leaving him with only his original ghost.

  Then he felt her grip loosen on the dying body as he pulled.

  She was heavy in a way none of the other Nath were. It almost reminded him of his first spirit, of that strange helpless feeling. Acting on instinct he pulled her close and as he felt her resistance turn into gleeful eagerness everything changed as she rushed to enter his body.

  Her thoughts reached him for a moment.

  Fool, you open your host up to me!

  Before she could start to fight for ownership he twisted her trajectory, pulling her down and feeding her into convert.

  What are you… No, no, no…

  This time there was no escaping the death wail as, still partially free of him, her spirit dissolved into mana.

  Nooo!!!

  David felt the surge of energy and opened his eyes.

  The quick zombie was still striking him but the battle in the real world was languid, slow compared to one waged at the speed of thought.

  Energy was brimming up within David’s system a flood far larger than any he had gained from consuming spirits before.

  It made his next word so easy.

  “HALT”

  The fast zombie had no choice, it froze watching David with helpless rage. He reached down and after a moment of awkward stretching pulled the second pistol out of its holster on his thigh.

  Lifting it he looked at the creature, hearing its rage echoing out of it in his spiritual hearing.

  “You know what this is? Don’t you? I don’t know if it was you, but you broke my friends fucking hands to stop him doing this…”

  The creature raged to the end still and helpless as David put two in its head.