Them.
"What a glorious night!" Angela cried as she and the clan had just awakened.
"Yeah, do you remember the city so quiet since we came to this century?" Lexington asked.
The others listened for a moment, it truly was quiet out there, a little too quiet. No traffic, no horns, no cries of ecstasy or horror carried on the night breezes. The average deafening noises of the city had silenced mysteriously since the night before.
"Uh-oh," Broadway groaned.
"We've been through this before," Brooklyn grumbled.
Sure enough the smell of smoke and gunpowder drifted from the streets below and a dying alarm bell brayed in the far distance; all indicating that something terrible had taken place while they slept through the day.
"So what is it this time?" Brooklyn asked. "Oberon come for a visit, or is Demona on Must See TV again."
The younger members of the clan chuckled with that comment.
Goliath growled, "come, we must investigate."
"Wait," Lexington said. "We should check the TV before we hit the streets."
"And risk being turned to stone by Demona's TGIF line up, no thanks," Brooklyn muttered.
"Do it," Goliath nodded.
Lexington went to the clan's old RCA, cranked the knob from U to three and turned the knob.
"No-nothing," Lexington said as he switched through every channel the TV's rabbit ears could pick up. Every station featured colorful cards indicating technical difficulties or simply a blizzard of interference as if the channel had never existed at all. "Every analogue channel in the city is down."
"Knew we should have sprung for satellite," Brooklyn commented.
Goliath's brow lowered, "you will come with me to get to the bottom of this problem and find Elisa. Hudson and Bronx will stay here… Hudson?"
It was then that Goliath noticed that neither Hudson nor Bronx had followed them in from the roosting ledge. "Stay here," the big Gargoyle ordered the others and went to his mentor.
"Something wrong, old friend?" Goliath asked when he touched night air.
Hudson stood at the ledge overlooking the silent streets below, his expression an unusual shade of concern. "Perhaps you should reconsider going into the city tonight," he eventually said.
Goliath took a surprised step, "what could you possibly mean? We cannot abandon our friends to danger and torment!"
"Danger and torment," Hudson repeated to himself and patted Bronx's head, the garbeast whined. "Of course I know, we cannot abandon our friends. Just be careful when you are out there. I smell an ancient evil on the winds."
Goliath gave him a confused look before turning to the entrance into the clock face, "be ready, we may need you before the night is through."
Grave, Hudson nodded.
"Uh-oh," Broadway commented as they landed at the front entrance of the 23rd Precinct Building.
"Yeah," Lexington replied in a whisper.
A police barricade had been erected around the building's parking area, but it had been shattered during some sort of severe fighting hours before. Bullet casings coated the pavement and an ambulance lay on its side, doors agape while its cherries were still spinning.
"Angela, Lexington, check that Ambulance," Goliath pointed. "Broadway, Brooklyn, take a look around this barricade and see if you can find anyone. Stay out of the shadows! No one go out of sight!"
Angela and Lexington nervously approached the ambulance, nodding to each other before throwing the doors open.
"Nothing's here!" Angela cried.
"Whatever happened we missed the party," Brooklyn reported.
"Demona," Goliath growled to himself as he looked around the desolate city, "what have you done this time?"
"What's that?" Lexington asked.
"Hmm, prepare to enter the building," Goliath said. "We will find Elisa and depart."
"If Elisa's here," Lexington commented.
"SOMEONE'S COMING!" Broadway called from the barricade.
The others rushed to the remains of saw horses and cars that had been formed to create the barricade. In the streets beyond many of the lights had been smashed and the buildings were dark, what few lights were left cast haphazard pools of illumination and shadows.
Deep shadows that could be hiding anything.
From the shadows there arose a strange cracking, creaking, noise. The noise first seemed to come from one source, then was joined by others, soon there was a symphony of creaks and cracks echoing from the streets and around the walls of the silent buildings.
"Hello!" Lexington cried into the dark until Goliath laid a and on his shoulders to stop him.
"Lexington, go with Broadway into the police station and find Elisa. Don't wait for us, just find her and return to the Clock."
Lexington and Broadway exchanged nervous glances before nodding, "sure."
In their wake the eerie symphony from the street had grown to sound like a forest fire. Creaking, cracking, crunching, was coming from everywhere, filling their ears and brains with fear. Unnatural images flashed from the few pools of light, things that should not exist. All three blinked and shook their heads to assure themselves of their sanity.
Brooklyn and Angela found themselves slowly backing away.
"I don't like this," Angela said to Goliath who had yet to move. "Whatever happened here it took out all the humans in less than a day! There are no fires, no bodies, nothing. This isn't a city! It's a tomb!"
"Uh, I have to agree with Angela on this one," Brooklyn said as he continued to step backwards. He slipped on something and fell.
"Broadway and Lexington only need ten minutes to search the police building, hopefully less," Goliath said. "No matter what's out there in the dark we can hold it off for that long."
On his butt, Brooklyn reached for what he had tripped over, he was shocked to find he had slipped on a human hand. Shaking, he tossed it aside and cried, "I found our first victim."
"Any chance we can help that person," Goliath asked, his eyes were still pointed in the direction of the strange sounds.
"No… no, not at all," Brooklyn stood. "But I found a flashlight."
Goliath nodded.
Brooklyn hesitated as he stood at the barricade again, "ever heard the expression 'ignorance is bliss?'" He asked.
"Come on, Brooklyn. Whatever is out there cannot be worse than what we have faced in the past," Goliath said.
Brooklyn sighed, "wanna bet?" He pushed the switch forward on the device, casting a plaintive ray into the darkness.
All three jumped at what was revealed, Angela gave a short cry.
Bones were revealed, but they were walking, sort of. Bones in the dark, bones that seemed encased in wraith saclike skin, dark gaps where the bones should have connected. Dark, unconnected but working in concert, some draped in rotted old clothes, one even seemed to be wearing the remnants of a wedding gown.
The streets were filled with these strange specters and none seemed to walk but glide a few inches off the pavement as if held up by marionette strings.
Hands shaking, Brooklyn shut off the electric torch and all three stood in stunned silence.
"That saying about not knowing," Angela's voice shook. "Whoever coined it was a damn genius."
"Black magic," Goliath grumbled. "Like I have never seen before."
"Ya think," Brooklyn whispered. "At least they haven't seem to have seen us, yet."
"I had no idea Demona had this kind of power!" Goliath growled. "I never thought she would sink so far!"
"Goliath! Focus!" Brooklyn hissed. "Guns and this barricade didn't save the defenders here. How will it help us?"
"We'll be fine as long we stay silent and invisible," Angela said.
A loud roar split from the direction of the police station and the Gargoyles ducked in instinctive surprise. Glancing back they could see the once darkened main doors blazing in the distinctive pattern of an automatic muzzle flash.
"Go back to hell undead scum!" Someone yelled from that direction.
"Lexington, Broadway, are you okay!" Goliath shouted.
"We found survivors, they shot at us by mistake, we're fine," Lex cried back.
"I wish we could say the same," Brooklyn turned the flashlight on the skeletons again.
The wraiths stopped their strange traffic jam and their empty sockets turned on the clan. They shifted direction in ghostly silence and the symphony of creaking bones began again as they marched on the Gargoyles in one great horde of an army.
"Lexington, Broadway! Tell the man with the gun that there are ten thousand skeletons coming this way," Goliath yelled. "Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated."
"What!" Lexington cried back.
"Just do it!" Angela added to the conversation.
"Uh, maybe a tactical withdrawal would be in order, Goliath," Brooklyn whispered.
"We'll hold them as long as we can," Goliath answered. "Fight and drop back toward the building."
"Yeah…"
It took a remarkably long time for the creaking bones to reach the barricade.
"Would you come on!" Brooklyn cried to the moldy undead. "I want to die sometime while I'm still young."
Both Goliath and Angela chuckled at that.
"Enough of this," Brooklyn cried and charged at the massed skeletons.
"Wait!" Angela cried as Brooklyn drove his foot into the first. It, and the two around it, exploded as if they were made of dust. He shattered another with his fist, laughed, then broke another by simply flicking his finger at it.
Brooklyn laughed and cried to the others, "hey! This is easy! Come on, we could shatter them all by morning."
Goliath and Angela exchanged a look before charging into the fray. They did not see the crowd of police and human survivors emerging from the Precinct Building with Lex and Broadway.
"Hey!" The Cop, or former cop anyway, with the machinegun cried. "Don't go near those things, they're toxic!"
Goliath, Angela, and Brooklyn, did not hear his warning.
"'till death do us part, bitch," Brooklyn laughed as he smashed the skeletal former bride.
Angela broke another one, "father, I know the humans of this century have forgotten their warrior tendencies. But no foe so weak could kill them all in less than a day."
"Agreed," Goliath said as one of the skeletons took a swipe at him. He dodged the attack and the sharp bones dug deep into a notice studded light pole.
At the same time Angela punched another skeleton and withdrew her hand in pain, shaking it. The skeleton she shattered opened little scrapes on her knuckles that bubbled tears of blood.
"Watch out! Their bones are sharp," Goliath cried.
Bright lights flashed, illuminating that they were nearly surrounded by living skeletons. Thrown rocks arched through the air and when they hit, the bone wraiths shattered, opening a path out. Humans saviors dressed in SWAT armor rushed in and grabbed the Gargoyles, pulling them back toward the police station.
"You need to get out of here, now!" One of the cops cried.
"Why! We could smash them by ourselves!" Brooklyn replied.
Not answering, the cops rudely pulled the Gargoyles back across the barricade and up the stairs to where the other survivors were waiting.
"In the damn building, now!"
All were pulled inside, slamming the flaccid appearing glass doors behind them. Boxes and furniture had been piled behind the doors to keep the skeletons out and a lantern was lit, brightening the room in a sunrise eruption of warm yellow light.
One of the cops pulled off his gasmask, "did any of them swipe you? Did you breath their dust?"
The gargoyles glanced to each other, surprised to be so easily included in the company of humans, surprised that they weren't being accused of causing this mysterious cataclysm.
"No," Goliath replied.
The cop exhaled in relief.
"Where is Elisa Maza," Goliath blurted.
"We haven't heard from her in an hour," he said. "In this city that is practically a death sentence."
"Where did she go," Goliath demanded.
"The worst place, the hospital."
He growled, "what is happening here?"
"Before she left Elisa said you would come and that you would help," the cop said. "Though she said she'd be back before you woke."
The Gargoyles glanced to each other again.
"The first cases came in just after dawn," the cop continued. "By noon the situation was out of control, some sort of virus, people being bitten by a strange insect, all getting very sick.
By three we were getting reports of graves opening and the dead walking the streets… I thought it was a fucking joke," he was silent for a moment. "By six it was all over. The boroughs were overwhelmed and most emergency personnel like cops, firefighters, and emts, were dead. There have been rumors of the National Guard coming to help, but I don't know. If things are really out of control and this illness or whatever is spilling out past the suburbs, the Army might decide to nuke it all and let god sort it out."
"Everyone is under attack by skeletons," Goliath asked.
"The skeletons are not the worse, not by a long shot," the cop said. "The ones outside showed up half an hour ago. If they cut your skin with their sharp fingers or if you inhale their dust something bad will happen."
"Like what," Brooklyn asked.
"I don't know, could it be any worse?"
"Good point," Goliath turned to his Gargoyles. "Lexington, will you get Hudson and Bronx? We will need them."
Lexington nodded quickly and went for the main doors that currently held out the skeletons.
"Use the stairs!" Goliath cried. "And be careful!"
"Right," Lexington turned and went to the interior of the building to where the main stairs was located.
"We need to find Elisa," Goliath said to his remaining warriors; they nodded gravely in response.
Goliath turned and looked at the cops and refugees packed into the reception area. All were pitiful, their clothes dirty and torn, their faces weary and emotionless after seeing too much carnage. It was sad looking at them as all were dressed as if this were a normal day, none had seen this catastrophe coming.
"I don't think it is safe to stay in the city," Goliath said to the cop. "Two of my warriors will do what they can to escort these people to safety. However, we have to find Elisa and I could use a guide who understands the unfolding situation. Will you help me find her?"
The cop, a sergeant, leaned close, so the others could not hear, "not on your life, Gargoyle. Mercy Hospital is the site of the worse slaughter. The Paramedics brought victims of the plague there before they knew what it was, they tried evacuating it at the end of the day after it all got out of control… the dead there look like they were put through a meat grinder."
"Your fellow officers are there, including Elisa," Goliath grumbled.
"You can judge me as much as you like, but, if I am lucky, I will go back to my family alive," the cop said.
"Then will you help lead these people out of the city," Goliath asked about the refugees.
The Sergeant shrugged, "sure."
Goliath growled and turned to his Gargoyles. Hudson, Bronx, and Lexington were just coming down the stairs.
"We are battling great evil here," Goliath said to Hudson before going to his other warriors. For a moment the leader felt conflicted, should he order the entire clan to find Elisa at the hospital? Or should they search for Demona in order to break this spell.
"We are going to the Hospital," Goliath finally ordered. "From what I understand the situation is very bad there. There are a great deal of these… zombies, and some are stronger than the skeletons we just faced. We'll use our wings and stick close together, with any luck we'll find Elisa quickly. If we are separated return to the Clock Tower."
As they turned to leave Angela shook her hand. It was tingling strangely and she wasn't feeling well otherwise. She decided this was not time for a stress illness and followed the rest of her clan.
"Zombies," Lexington said as they flew to the hospital, it was hard to judge the damage as the rest of the city was dark and silent below them. "I guess it could be worse. We could be up against vampires or werewolves."
"How do you know there aren't vampires," Brooklyn asked.
"Well…" Lex replied.
"We are almost to the hospital," Goliath grumbled. "Try and remain focused."
A moment of silence followed.
"In the zombie movies you watch," Goliath said. "How do you kill one of them?"
"Shoot them in the head, usually," Lexington answered. "These zombies seem easier than the ones portrayed in Hollywood. All you had to do was shatter them."
"Let us hope they're all that easily defeated," Goliath muttered.
Mercy Hospital was like the rest of the city, dark and silent; a derelict hulk at the bottom of the sea of night. The Gargoyles flew around it, no movement could be seen from the living or the dead.
"Could Elisa be hiding down there," Brooklyn asked.
Goliath growled, not liking the situation. " I want Lexington to stay on the roof and watch our backs."
As they landed Angela was shaking her hand viciously.
"What's wrong," Lexington asked.
"I don't know, my arm is going numb," Angela answered.
Lexington took her arm and looked it over, "I don't see anything wrong, no lacerations, no bruising, no deformations. Maybe you pinched a nerve when you were shattering those skeletons."
"Great, I have skeleton tennis elbow," Angela said.
"Yeah," Lexington chuckled.
"Angela, we are going into the hospital now," Brooklyn cried. "You know, dangerous mission, high probability of death. You can change Lexington's diaper when we get back."
Grumbling Angela went to the others, "I'll change your diaper, Brooklyn."
Brooklyn sarcastically shook his head, mocking her words.
"Knock it off," Goliath scolded. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Angela answered while holding her elbow.
Goliath hesitated a moment, studying her, suspecting something was wrong. Eventually he said, "let's go in, no one steps out of sight of the others."
For being described as a meat grinder of death, Mercy Hospital was surprisingly unremarkable. The power was off and the hallways were trashed, but they found no one living or dead.
"Maybe we got lucky," Brooklyn said. "Maybe everyone got out."
"Maybe everyone's on the lower floors," Broadway added.
"Be careful and be alert," Goliath cautioned. "We must be ready for anything."
Trailing behind the others Angela was not feeling so well. Her arm ceased being numb and was now hot and throbbing, worse, the heat of illness was spreading through her shoulders and seeping down her chest.
As they patrolled through the levels of the hospital she self diagnosed herself as having torn a muscle during the battle and that she was going into shock. But as they neared ground level she was beginning to doubt such a non threatening diagnosis.
She remembered that cop calling the skeletons, 'toxic.' Asking if any had caused cuts or injury, if anyone had inhaled their dust because something bad could happen if they had. Angela didn't remember taking any serious injuries but she sure was feeling one coming on.
On the final staircase to the ground floor she moaned miserably, "Goliath." She continued following the others, but walking was becoming harder. She slid along the tiled walls, stumbling as her legs were going numb and folding under her. "Goliath," she moaned again, falling to her knees.
Goliath heard the cries of his only daughter and turned to see her lying on the floor. "Angela!" He cried and rushed to her, distracting the others as they opened the final door.
The others glanced back and held their breath, the door opened to the ground floor and it was choked full of zombies. These were not skeletons like before, but the patients of the hospital recently turned into the walking dead. They wandered silently as if underwater, their heads at strange angles, shuffling as if in a noose line dance.
Brooklyn and Broadway exchanged a look before slowly shutting off their flashlights and then slowly closing the door between them and the ghouls.
Door closed the young Gargoyles laughed, "man that was close."
Soft sobbing interrupted them and they rushed to Goliath and Angela.
"What happened!" Broadway cried while taking Angela's hand, Goliath held her shoulders.
"That officer said the skeletons were toxic," Angela sniffed as big tears rolled down her cheeks. "They must have poisoned me."
"Damn!" Brooklyn cried. "Goliath, we have to get her out of here!"
"Leave me!" Angela's body seized painfully. "Soon I will be one of them!"
"How the hell do you know that," Brooklyn cried.
"I should have listened to my instincts before," Angela sobbed. "I am listening now."
"Oh, my poor Elisa," Goliath yelled loudly. "We must depart for now, but I will come back for you! I promise!" He scooped his ill, crying, daughter and carried her over his shoulder, taking the stairs back to the roof.
"Hey," Brooklyn whispered to Goliath. "What do we do if she does have this virus or whatever and does turn into one of them?"
"I will not consider such a thing!" Goliath bellowed.
"Goliath," Angela moaned miserably, unsettled by the yelling.
"I will get you home, my daughter," Goliath replied. "Just hold on."
Brooklyn sighed, "we have to consider it. What do we do if there is no cure?"
Goliath was silent for a moment, "then we will go to Demona."
"Demona! She wouldn't help us!" Brooklyn hissed. "She probably caused all this!"
"Hey, lady," Broadway cried to a nurse standing nearby on the stairs. "We're the good guys here looking for survivors! Where is everyone else?"
She did not answer.
"Must be traumatized," Broadway said as he drew a few steps from her. "Come on! We're going to get you out of here."
Brooklyn and Goliath looked up just in time to watch as the nurse jumped at Broadway, teeth chomping at the big Gargoyle's neck.