Shun

It was horrible to watch as Jackson's body convulsed from the mutated virus. Layfair had infected him with the virus through means of a specially designed gun, and I had thought that the bullet wound was just that; a bullet wound.

But it was wasn't till I saw Jackson's skin begin to crawl, and that Layfair explained to me what was going on, did I learn of what was truly happening. What was really troubling, was the fact that it was only Layfair and I trapped in this observatory room, and I knew once Jackson's hellish transformation was complete, he would no longer be my ally, and turn on me, only knowing that his purpose in life was to kill.

In my opinion, it was worse to become one of the Lucifers than a zombie, due to the fact that while you're a zombie, eating was only a mindless instinct, which was the one thing that remained in your brain after the virus destroyed everything else in it.

But the Lucifer virus was a whole different story. It turned into something that killed just for the sake of killing, not survival. It was sick. Jackson screamed out, burying his face into the tiled floor that was now soaked with the blood of three different people.

By this time, the wounds that Layfair had inflicted upon me had fully healed with much thanks to the serum, but I knew they would be reopened the moment Jackson turned into a monster and attacked. A thought then came to my mind, and I tightened my grip on the sword's handle.

I was about to bring the blade down on Jackson, thinking that killing him before he could turn would stop the virus. But just as I was about to try and end his life, Jackson ended up rolling over on his back, allowing me to see his face. The expression of pain and fear caused me to freeze in place.

It begged for an end to come to his suffering, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to move now. I was paralyzed by the sight of Jackson and his current condition. He arched his back up off of the floor as a new wave of pain hit him, and he let out another blood-curdling scream of agony.

The room was then filled with the sounds of bones cracking, and I watched in horror as the virus forced Jackson into the form of a monster. I took a step or two back, still staring at the suffering man with wide eyes. Behind me, Layfair was chuckling darkly.

"What's the matter, 388? Too much gore for you to handle?" he asked with a cackle. The veins in Jackson's neck were protruding out from the pressure that was being placed on his body. "You're sick," I hissed at Layfair. He ran a hand through his white and graying hair, and just grinned.

"I think of myself as a revolutionary. This could change everything forever," he said, as if the virus was something to be proud of. Jackson's screams had started to cease, but I could hear low whimpers coming from him. He wasn't going to last much longer.

My time was running out; I knew when Jackson turned, this fight would get even more difficult with Layfair and a newly-made Lucifer in the mix. I had to hurry up and get out of here, and the only way to do that was to kill Layfair, and quickly.

Although, it was clear as day that it wasn't going to be easy to kill him. So, my only other option was to leave the madman behind and try to get out of this room before the monster within Jackson came to. I hated to think that I was allowing this freak to get away once again, but the odds were stacked against me.

If I stayed here, I would surely never see the walls beyond this observation room. I charged at Layfair, blade ready to strike. He ducked to the side, the sword catching his arm, but he ignored the gash that had nearly severed the appendage again.

He then worked his way to my side, and ended up throwing me to ground. I landed next to Jackson, and when I did, I heard him draw his last breath as the last of his transformation was completed. Standing where the ex-assistant of Layfair had been, was now the grotesque monster of the madman's creation.

Its mouth was drawn back in a snarl, and a low, menacing growl reverberated from the beast. I stepped back, and could feel Layfair's twisted smile on me. "Well, I think you're about to have your hands a bit full, 388," he mused. The Lucifer sniffed the air, then locked its eyeless face on me.

The snarl on its face grew even wider as it lunged at me. I dodged the attack, but since the room was so small, the Lucifer was able to recover quickly and resume the chase with ease. With each dodge, the beast would skid a bit as he tried to slow down his momentum and halt.

The walls and observation equipment started to take on damage as the body of the Lucifer slammed into them. I stood in the center of the small room and watched as the monster turned around and faced me again. The beast let out a roar and readied itself to attack.

I was starting to grow tired, which meant that eventually the Lucifer would get its claws on me. I didn't want to imagine the agony that would ensue after that. Standing off to the side, was Layfair. His arms were crossed over his shoulders, and a smug smile was on his face.

He had nothing to worry about. He had made sure the Lucifers knew his scent, which was one they were not to attack. Layfair was just standing by and enjoying the show. The beast attacked once more, but this time in its rampage, it accidentally knocked Layfair over.

The madman landed on the floor, where he was covered in the blood that belonged to me and Jackson. "Watch where you're going you stupid beast!" the madman shouted as he stood up. His white lab coat was crimson red now, and the ends dripped in blood.

The Lucifer halted, then lifted its head up and began to sniff the air. Slowly, it turned its head towards Layfair, and crouched down into an attack position. Layfair stood there for a moment, confusion on his face. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked the Lucifer.

"Go on. Finish him." But the monster never tore its sightless gaze from the madmen. Something then clicked for Layfair, and he glanced down at his blood-soaked skin and clothes. His scent was masked. To the Lucifer, he was no longer Layfair, the one he was supposed to leave alone.

Now, we was nothing more than somebody else. The madman's eyes widened as he realized this. "It's me, you idiot!" he shouted, but it was of no use. The Lucifer only knew Layfair's scent, and now, that was gone and hidden beneath a mask of blood. I could see a hint of fear in the madman's eyes.

Now that I knew that I was no longer the target of the beast, I relaxed a bit. The tables were turned now. Rather than me running and Layfair watching, it was the other way around now. Although, I didn't wear his twisted grin; my expression was blank. If this was how Layfair went down, I didn't care.

So what if it wasn't by my own hands? The fact that it may have been by the teeth of one of his very creations, made up for that. The Lucifer lashed out its spiked tongue, and Layfair tried to dodge to the side to get away, but was not fast enough.

The spiked appendage shot right through Layfair's abdomen, pinning him against the wall behind him. A thin line of blood trickled down the side of his mouth, but I knew it would probably take a bit more to kill him. The monster that used to be Jackson, charged at the pinned Layfair and slashed his claws into the legs of its creator, severing them.

Layfair cried out, and I thought I saw pain flash through his eyes. As he stayed there, pinned against the wall and legless, I realized that he was not healing. It then occurred to me, that he had never injected himself with the serum that combated the Lucifer's virus.

He only had that which fought the infection given by the zombies. Layfair most likely felt that since he was indestructible, and that his scent would not be tracked by the Lucifers, that he didn't need the additional serum. His arrogance was now becoming his downfall.

The Lucifer buried its teeth into Layfair's shoulder, taking out a massive chunk of flesh. The madman screamed, tears starting to streak down his face as he felt a pain that he was supposedly unable to feel. Blood oozed from the Lucifer's mouth, along with drool as it enjoyed the taste of its creator.

In a way, I felt that this was Jackson's doings though. That somehow, he had regained some kind of consciousness in this monstrous state, and remembered who Layfair was, and what the man had done. Now, he was getting the revenge he wanted.

The Lucifer pulled its spiked tongue from Layfair's abdomen, causing the man to fall to the ground. Blood still poured from where his legs had been severed, and from where his arm was nearly torn off. There were still no signs of him healing yet, and this provided the proof that I needed to believe that the Lucifer's virus was the one thing that would do him in.

Just like the regular serum didn't work on Alice, it wasn't working on him. I then felt a hollow feeling form inside, and the threat of tears lingered. Now, I thought of Layfair's fate as even more fitting. Not only was he being killed by something he created, but he was also suffering at the hands of the very thing that took Alice away from me. He deserved what was happening to him.

The Lucifer then turned its head and looked back at me. Its snarl returned and its slowly stalked towards me. I had to remind myself that this monster would still kill me; it had taken no sides in this fight. I lifted the blade of my sword up, and when the monster charged at me, I met it halfway, and brought the blade down on the back of its neck.

It didn't sever the head from the monster's shoulders, but it was enough to kill the beast. It dropped dead on the floor, and I stood over it. As I looked down at it, I was unable to try and picture this thing as Jackson, or anything else, for that fact. Maybe somehow Jackson somehow did manage to regain consciousness, but I kind of doubted it.

All of this had been nothing more than a stroke of luck. Regardless, I was grateful for what happened. On the other side of the room, I heard the whines and moans of Layfair. He was laying there, blood still gushing out. Around the edges of the wounds that were inflicted upon him by the Lucifer, was beginning to turn black.

Infection was going to kill him. I stood over him, his glazed over eyes looking up at me. I told him coldly, "You know, when you turn into one of those zombies, I should just let you stay like that. Let you live out all of eternity as one of those mindless things. But lucky for you, I'm not that cold-hearted."

A spurt of blood shot out of his mouth, and his body went still. I walked over to the observation equipment and leaned against it as I waited for him to come back as a zombie. As I sat there, I looked at the room that now doubled as our battlefield.

Blood stained almost every inch of the once-white room. The corpses of Layfair's mangled body and the Lucifer laid haphazardly on the floor like a centerpiece. And against all odds, I was still standing somehow. A few more minutes passed, and I saw Layfair's body twitching.

His eyes opened, and I saw their milky, white color. Calmly, I walked over to him. His dead eyes looked up at me, and he made a noise. "You know, Layfair….This is pathetic….I expected a bit more from you," I said, mimicking how he had said that to me countless times.

I then rammed the end of the blade into his skull. The body jumped from the force, then went still. Forever. I stayed bent over for a moment, allowing the weight of it all to set in on me. He was really gone, never to come back and repeat any of this. But during all that time, he had achieved to turn us all back into monsters in one way, shape, or form.

In the end, even though Layfair was gone, his fingerprint would remain on our lives for a very long time. I let got of the sword's handle, and left it stuck in Layfair's skull. Slowly, I walked away from the body and headed over towards the shattered observation room.

The water level had risen tremendously during the fight. I began to look around and found Dan and the others trapped on the roof of what looked like a vehicle of sorts. But the water was starting to run over their safe haven.

I then looked down to the water right below the observation window, and remember that Layfair had thrown the serum to the Lucifer virus down into the water. Realizing that I would probably be able to find it, I climbed up onto the control panel and finished knocking the remaining glass out of the window.

I then stood there, looking down at the red water. The thing that cold save Alice was there, and I would try everything in my power to find it.

yup! i'm back and Layfair is no more! -throws a party- check out my poll if you have not done so (there is STILL A TIE IN THE POLL) Read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~