Chapter 11: Obstacles
Knowing the danger Brandon always faced, Millennion had equipped the necrolyzer's van with a first aid kit. Unfortunately, the box never contained necrolyzation serum because the organization feared that those vials of green liquid might draw unwanted attention.
If his flesh hadn't attracted microbes like sugar did to ants, Brandon wouldn't have let Albert cleanse and bandage his wounds. No serum meant no accelerated healing process, while every second counted in reaching William.
After putting on his t-shirt and greatcoat, he picked up Bonehacker and bolted past Albert and the van.
"Where are you going?" Albert asked.
Brandon kept running.
"Don't tell me that you're heading to the enemy's base by yourself!" Albert shouted. "That is insane! Look at your axe and think."
Brandon halted and stared at the axe in his hand. Millennion had crafted Bonehacker to replace his Cerberus, one of the few firearms in the town that could easily bring a necrolyzer to its knees.
"You get what I mean?"
Looking over his shoulder, Brandon nodded.
"Then ask Millennion to send reinforcements." Albert took his phone out of his pants pocket and gave it to Brandon. "Here."
Brandon looked away and shook his head. As if I can't figure out a way to overcome the problems by myself...
"Are you out of your mind?"
"I am not," Brandon retorted. "Anti-Necrolyze men have families. If they die, they'll leave their wives and kids behind. When that happens, how can those innocent, vulnerable souls survive in this cruel town?" He resumed his run.
"You forgot something." Albert's rapid footsteps drew closer. "You have a kid, too."
Brandon stopped. For a moment, the street became unnaturally quiet...
Then a deafening smash broke the silence. Glaring at the street lamp he'd just kicked down, he grumbled, "Look. I knocked this thing down by myself. With a kick. In just a few seconds. A bunch of humans couldn't do this."
"I get that you're strong, but it won't hurt to have a few Anti-Necrolyze squads with you. You'll become an even bigger threat to the enemies."
Brandon turned and pointed his axe at Albert. "Shut up!"
"You dare to hurt me?" Albert crossed his arms. "We're both men of Millennion." When Brandon approached him, he only said, "I know what kind of person you are. You won't dare."
Brandon gave Albert's head a light tap with the bottom of his axe handle. Once the driver slumped to the ground, Brandon placed Bonehacker between his teeth and hoisted the unconscious man back to their van. His height let him place Albert on the roof of the vehicle.
With his hand free, he opened the door, grabbed Albert's body and tossed him into the van. The layers of metal would grant the driver more protection than lying there on the pavement.
Remember your wife and kids. Brandon looked at Albert's body with a teary eye. They need you.
Before closing the door and leaving with Bonehacker, he opened the window a little so that Albert could still receive some oxygen.
Throughout his journey, he kicked down street lamps and left them on the middle of the road. With so many obstacles, nobody would reach him before he slaughtered the enemies.
He couldn't tell the time from the full moon. The environment didn't help either; while he only needed a group of humans and some speeding cars to know the time, he found none wandering around the path to the mountains.
No. That didn't matter. He only aimed to reach William before the enemies killed the doctor.
The surroundings blurred as he streaked along the road. William once said his top speed rivaled that of a hunting lion's, but unlike that beast, he could keep running that fast for at least two hours. As long as he received his therapy, his muscles could store so much oxygen that his body would take a long time to start producing fatigue poisons.
Squeak!
Brandon didn't have time for that.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The inharmonious chorus drew closer. With gritted teeth, he stopped and whirled. Rats. Big, fat rats with needle-like incisors. From their gleaming red eyes and knife-like claws, he could tell that these were no ordinary pests.
This would take some time, but if he didn't deal with this swarm of tailed furballs now, he wouldn't arrive at his enemy's base in perfect condition. The rolling wave of black would leave a lot of bite and claw marks upon crashing down on him.
He charged at them and with two mighty swings, he sent blood and chopped rats flying everywhere. Some survived, one of which he seized with his teeth. He gave its bones a good crunch before flinging it away.
Something gnawed at him below and sent beads of sticky fluid down his leg. Looking down, he found a colony of rats clinging to his left thigh. What an annoying bunch of furballs! He scraped his axe across the infested limb several times, shaving off slices of furry flesh.
With the rats gone, Brandon resumed his journey. Those pests' claws and fangs never dug too deep into his sinew, so he could still bolt along the road. The stickiness around his left leg bothered him a bit, though.
The wind howled. Everything around him blurred as he ran. These usually put humans and even necrolyzers in a bad position due to unclear hearing and vision, yet for Brandon, they were nothing. Living with only one eye for a year had enabled his ears to filter unimportant noises, and growing up in the streets had given him good intuition.
"Help!"
A child's cry came from nearby, at which Brandon stopped. His eye widened momentarily when he found himself standing on a mountain pass. A cliff, separated from the path by a worn railing, rested beside him. A grassy terrain lay on his other side.
When he looked back, he found a gigantic woman and girl lying like fallen trees on the verdant ground. Their eyes were shut. Their tattered clothes showed much of their green skin, with the woman looking more yellow than the girl. Much like a wilting plant, Brandon thought.
However, the skin color didn't surprise him as much as the realization of who these necrolyzers were. When he approached them, he recognized them as Christina and Nina. What the hell had the enemy - or perhaps Bernard - done to them?
"Help me!" Nina screamed, her stiff limbs thrashing like those of a malfunctioning robot's. "It's so cold! I can't breathe!"
Brandon's eye watered at the sight. The girl brought him back to what happened last year. After Dr. Tokioka's death, Brandon could no longer receive the therapy. A few days later, whenever he ventured the streets at night, the wind chilled him to the bone. His muscles gradually stiffened as well, hampering his breathing and mobility.
Poor, poor kid; she had to experience the pain of decomposition at such a tender age!
Kneeling beside her, Brandon racked his brain for a solution. Perhaps he should bring her to Millennion, but would the organization help the child of a wanted criminal?
"I can't open my eyes... Is someone there?" Christina spoke.
"Yes?"
"Brandon?"
"Yeah."
"Thank goodness," Christina replied. Somehow, Brandon could sense her invisible smile.
"Mommy! Mr. Brandon!" Nina bawled. "Help me! It's so cold!"
Brandon put down his axe and pulled Nina into his one-armed embrace.
"I still can't breathe!" Nina cried out, scratching across the bridge of Brandon's nose by accident.
Much to his sadness, Brandon couldn't help her when it came to breathing issues. The stiff chest wall would go away by itself in three days, but how could he comfort an agitated child with only words? Besides, Nina would've died before that.
"Our necrolyzation is about to expire," Christina muttered, tears forming around her closed eyes, "but a child like Nina couldn't possibly endure the pain." Her already shallow breathing became even weaker.
Brandon hugged Nina even tighter, tears trickling down his eye as Nina continued wailing.
"Brandon, please end Nina's pain..." Then her breathing ceased.
No! As much as Brandon wanted to scream, he resisted the urge for Nina. The little girl had had enough. Unfortunately, Nina slipped away from his arm during the moment of disorientation.
"Don't leave me, Mr. Brandon!"
He had never encountered such a distressed child. If only there was a way to help her... When he looked down, he spotted his Bonehacker and thought of an idea. No. I don't think I can do that to a child.
"It's getting cold!"
I have no choice. He picked up his Bonehacker and raised it. Nina, if you still can open your eyes, don't open them now, please. His hand grew unsteady as he brought his axe down, which forced him to take a break. Breathing heavily, he told himself, I can't do it.
"Help!"
More tears streamed down his face. He had to end her pain now; that was what Nina's mother wanted, too. Closing his eye, he raised his axe and brought it down.
And the cry died away.
Brandon remained still, wondering which bastard had the heart to do such a thing. William? Unlikely, because he actually necrolyzed Bernard out of love. Bernard? Brandon didn't know a lot about this doctor, so he couldn't be sure.
But whoever did this to Christina and her daughter had to die. Standing up and averting his gaze from the bloody mess, he looked at his axe. The crimson fluid dripping off its bit reminded him that he had to kill the perpetrator now; else Mika's blood would stain the blade as well.
Never! Unsatisfied, he let his rage burst out of his mouth. "That will never happen! Never!"
He set off. A mile later, he spotted silhouettes in the distance.
Hadn't he wasted enough time already? First, Albert tried to stop him. Then, a swarm of rats ran after him. After that, he had to deal with the necrolyzed Christina and Nina.
Now, he had a pack of hellhounds in his way, along with three overgrown gray-haired men.
With a bestial roar, Brandon cut a swath through the hell beasts and their bipedal companions. Blood and severed body parts flew everywhere.
Bang!
Sharp pain shot up from Brandon's left side and sent him face-first to the ground. He supported himself up with his arm, only to fall back down immediately. The wound burned like hell whenever he breathed.
"You're being careless, aren't you?" a man's voice came from the left. "How unusual. But that's good for me."
Lying on the ground, Brandon stared at the source of the noise. A gray-haired giant stood on the branch of the lone tree by the railing, his eyes concealed behind a pair of shades. He had an anti-necrolyze rifle in his hands.
"We meet again, Mr. Brandon." The man hopped off the branch. "You remember me?"
Wincing, Brandon shook his head. Breathing more lightly relieved the pain a little, but the inability to inhale enough oxygen would soon take a toll on his body.
"I'm one of the basement guards." He grinned. "I died when I took those girls to West District."
"Nick!" Brandon suddenly screamed, which intensified the burning sensation from the wound. "You-" Another jolt of pain cut him short.
"I listen only to Dr. Bernard now!" A click echoed as Nick slid the pump handle. "I won't let you pass until he's done with his work!"
Brandon cried out loud as a bullet struck him in his left shoulder. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as his heart hammered wildly at the pain. If only he had Cerberus... No. Things would also be easy if he could shield himself from those hazardous projectiles.
When he heard another click, he placed Bonehacker between his teeth and crawled towards the mutilated corpses of his enemies. He seized a decapitated body and held it up to block the incoming bullet. Nick cocked the pump and fired again, but he merely scored a hit on the corpse.
Nick trembled as he took a few steps backwards.
Even though the wounds stung, Brandon forced himself to his feet. Shield up, he charged at the terrified Nick.
"Get lost!" Nick screamed as he slid the pump handle and fired a potshot. "Scram!"
Brandon rammed Nick down and kicked the anti-necrolyze rifle away. After discarding the corpse, he grabbed Bonehacker and raised it.
"Wait!" Nick hid his face behind his arms. "We're friends, aren't we?"
Brandon's axe cleaved through arms and skull alike. "You said you listen only to Dr. Bernard now. Millennion has no place for a disloyal man like you." Recalling Nina's necrolyzed form and Nancy's lethargic face all of a sudden, he winced. "I can't tolerate your stupidity either. You ruined those twins' lives with it."
With Nick gone, Brandon resumed the journey. However, he could no longer run. The invisible fire in his lung seared everything around it. With the pain amplified by walking, he had to breathe even more lightly.
His vision began to blur and darken. To prevent collapsing, he grabbed the railing beside him and continued his walk. It didn't take long until the worn metal snapped. With the support gone, Brandon finally fell.
Must...keep...going...
Brandon inched ahead, the toil causing the invisible fire and needles within to amplify each foot he managed to drag his body. It didn't take more than five minutes for the pain to send him to oblivion.