Chapter Five – From the Darkness came Light

Zanatos sat up with a start. He looked around the roof. The corpse of the monster he, Merc and Sara had killed was there, immobile, dead. Zanatos got to his, let out a small cry of pain as his weight came down on his damaged leg. It still leaked that weird black liquid, and even a quick look revealed that the mark was still there and very noticeable. Even a brief look around told him that the mark was everywhere. It also told him his companions were gone. He had no way of knowing that right at that moment they were walking towards the school. But he did remember watching them go, even as the pain tore through him. He knew that it had been pure pain that had knocked him out…it had cooked him down to his nerve endings, made the dark world explode with light as he had passed out. It was unholy, that pain…
A quick look around told him he was alone. "Oh, smeg…I'm going to have to walk all the way to the bloody school, aren't I?" He began to move over to the stairs. Several minutes later he was at the junction where a lot of his problems had started, when he's been ambushed. The two grey things had gone, and so had one knife, but the one that had got him was still there.
Zanatos kneeled down next to it. It looked like a simple kitchen knife, covered in blood and some kind of white powder…could that be what had done all this to him? Zanatos didn't know, and really didn't care. He was much more interested in finding a cure than he was in what caused it. It didn't particularly occur to him that the cause could reveal the cure, but he kept the knife anyway. You never know.
He got back up, again wincing as his leg gave him problems. He continued dragging himself to the exit. It was as he reached for the door that heard it. Gunshots. Humans. The gun sounded like a high calibre pistol…a big colt or a magnum maybe. Zanatos didn't know what exactly, but he knew they had nothing like that in there armoury when he had been around…but that didn't rule out that it could be Mercurius or Sara. Whoever it was almost had to be human though…so he moved towards the sound. A second shot fired as he was in the small office, or a nightmare version of it, where he had found a little info on some kind of drug investigation. There was a sealed door at one end, or at least it had been. Zanatos tried it, and it opened up this time.
Beyond was what looked like the chiefs office. A fat man was standing at a desk in a police uniform. The desk was all that was left. In his hand was what looked a big Magnum Desert Eagle…a weapon that was barely legal. Around him were what at first looked dead cops, but when he looked closer the cops had some kind of lump on there back…rather disgusting. The fat cop noticed the door was open and raised his gun. "Who's there?"
Zanatos entered, one hand in the air, the other using the shotgun as a walking stick. "Don't shoot bud, I'm alive and normal. Well, except my legs damn near useless right now…my name is Zanatos Kell."
The cop looked at him. "Kell huh…well as long as your alive, and ya ain't out for a chunk of my ass, I won't shoot ya. Names Sheriff Knight, like the old English guys on horses."
Zanatos nodded. His eye had narrowed slightly at the mention of the name though. "Fair enough Sheriff. I was just on my way out of this shit hole. Care to join me?"
The Sheriff looked the ex-marine up and down. "Hell yeah. I already tried high tailing it on out of here, but my ex-employees made that a mite difficult. An' all the squad cars are bust. Can't get one of the hunks of shit to move. Then all the sirens and crap start, and I end up here." He looked over his desk. "Come on up, little lady. This man's a friend."
A young woman, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old, came up from here she had been hiding. She wore an old fashioned dress of blue, and had deep black hair. She looked terrified. The only light was from the light on the sheriff's shirt and Zanatos' own flashlight on the shotgun, and it gave the already freakish room deep shadows around the pools of light.
The big man took a hobbling step forward. "Don't worry little lady, I'm not gonna hurt you. Hey, just call me Zan OK? What's you name."
The terrified young woman moved forward slightly. "My names…Alessa."

Zanatos and the Sheriff stood outside the office, comparing notes as it were. "I don't know what happened," the big cop said, "I was asleep and then…boom! I wake up and find the whole city is hell. I thought I must have died at first, but then I found the girl…and I reckon she ain't done nuthin' that deserves damnin. I took from where I found, fought all the way to here. Hoped to find some boys alive. But they were all changed…so I took up a last stand, and by God I won it!"
Zanatos looked thoughtful. "Me and Merc, my partner, were asleep just before our car was stolen. I dunno about the woman we were with. What do you know about the girl?"
Knight shrugged. "I found her wandering the town. I reckoned she needed…help. That's my job, and I'm gonna do it til I can't no more."
The larger man nodded. "That's cool by me, Sheriff. But I want to hook up with my partner. We were meant to head to the school, but we stopped here and got fucked over. When we killed the thing on the roof they went back to the real world, but something kept me here in Hell."
The fat man looked at him sharply. He grabbed the massive Zanatos by the collar. "You tellin' me there might be a way back to the real world? The Light World? You better not be shitting me boy."
With a shrug Zanatos disengaged the cops hands. "No shit. I saw them go. They'll of moved on to the school, hoping to find a way here to get me out. Well, I sure as hell hope so…me and Merc never been in this deep before though." For the first time doubt entered Zanatos' mind. Merc wouldn't leave him, surely? But would you leave Merc? Maybe, in this town, courage isn't a factor anymore.
The cop looked at him warily. "We'll go to Greenwhich then. But you better be tellin me the truth, or it will go badly for you."
Zanatos shrugged, and turned. But as he moved he could have sworn the man had twitched.
Moving up to the young woman, Zanatos kneeled down in front of her. Even then he was a little bigger than her. "OK darling, were going to move on out of here. Were going to the school." He saw panic in her eyes. "Don't worry dear, Zan's gonna protect you. Me and Miss Nancy here," He said, grinned and held up his shotgun. The woman returned the smile, just. Deep shock, thought the Ex-Marine. He'd seen it on the field. He stood up and gestured for her to step outside. The three moved outside the police station. Although the air smelt terrible, of blood and rot and rust, Zanatos inhaled deeply. It smelled of Freedom too.
But once again Zanatos noticed a problem: the Sheriff had a leather jacket, but Alessa was simply in that dress, and the rain had already soaked through that. Shrugging off the big coat, he put it over he shoulders. She jumped. "Take it easy kiddo. You need this more than I do. Just be careful…its gonna drag along the floor some."
Alessa smiled slightly. "Thank you."
Zanatos grinned and winked. "Not a problem, lovely lady."
A noise made Zanatos spin. He caught a shadow at the top of his vision and dragged Alessa down. A nightmare flapped over the top of them. The ex-marine looked round at the retreating shape. The Sheriff fired two shots: but not at the creature. Looking around Zanatos saw something terrible. A huge, ape like creature, two gun shots in its chest was lopping forward. The cop took another step back as it leaped and fired again. It fell dead at his feet.
Zanatos rose with a groan. More of them were coming and he could hear flapping in the air. And something was moving towards them…big…nasty…evil…a sword dragging, metal grinding on metal. The other creatures moved away, or the shadowy forms he saw did. The Thing suddenly went of course and a huge blade sliced the air, cutting one of the flying things in half. Everything else moved away.
Looking behind him, over his shoulder, Zanatos saw they weren't blocking the way to the school. Not yet. "Run! Now!"
Knight began to move, but Alessa didn't. The cop looked round, came back and grabbed her. She screamed briefly. The Sheriff looked at Zan and with the girl under one arm, nodded and saluted. Zanatos nodded and returned the salute. Then the cop broke into a run, Alessa screaming at him to stop, that Zan couldn't run.
Zanatos Kell turned round again. The figure loomed in front of him [Sin]. It had a strange, Pyramid like helmet and a dirty bloodstained apron. It was destroying some kind of creature Zanatos had never seen before. He smelled death in the air.
The massive ex-marine raised the massive shotgun to his shoulder. "Who's the daddy, mother fucker?" Then he pulled the trigger.

Knight heard the roar of the shotgun as he ran. The young woman under one arm was barely anything. Although over weight, Sheriff Knight was actually fairly fit. He was very strong…but running was not his strong point. He was breathing heavily, and could hear his own heart beating in his chest, almost in time with every other shotgun blast. Then the blasts stopped.
He looked around, saw nothing there. So he put Alessa down. She immediately moved away and he grabbed her. She turned round, her eyes wide with fear. "Zan is still there! We have to go back!"
Knight slapped her. Hard. "He's dead. You're mine again. Come on, we have to find his…friends."

Zanatos swore as the gun went out. He was slowly moving back, firing as often as he could. His aim was to slow them down enough for the others to get away. He fumbled several shells, swearing. The monsters were drawing in closer. He was going as fasts as he could, but that was easily slow enough for them to slowly maul him. The only problem was the other thing was killing them as fast as he was, but they didn't dare go near that thing. They were very interested in killing him.
Finally he finished loading the gun, locked it up, and fired at the first thing that moved. Then he fired at anything else.
God only knows how long he fired. He didn't. All he could remember was firing, reloading, and firing again. And always that thing, lurking, just at the edge. Zanatos realised he was screaming at it even as he fired.
He looked around, desperate. A rotten sign hung over a door, but he could just make out the words, 'Elementary'. Could he of blasted his way all the way to the school? He checked his ammo. He only had enough for one more re-load. He did the only thing he could and, dragging his damaged leg, which had almost completely failed now, entered the school.
Slamming the door shut, he leaned against it, resting. He could feel his friends, somewhere here. And he could feel the thing, the Pyramid Head, outside…and inside. More than one? Maybe. He moved away again. He felt weak and ill now. Sweat ran from him, and he could smell the wound on his leg. It was killing him, but far faster than any infection could.
It was on the second floor he heard the voices. Knight and Alessa. He stopped and listened.
Knight: "You have to do what I say now, Alessa. Do it or you ain't gonna make it out of here alive."
Alessa: "No! You left Zan and now you want to do those…things to me!"
Knight: "It's the only way you gonna get out of here, darling."
There was a crash, a crunch of steel. Zanatos looked round, and saw Pyramid Head. Knight came rushing out, and said, "You!" But did he see me, wonders Zanatos.
The big man brought up his shotgun. "Get down!" The sheriff dropped. If he was shocked to see the massive Zanatos still alive, he didn't show it. Both barrels roared, but the thing barely shook. It continued forwards. Knight was up, and he fired that magnum at it. It moved slightly. The it swung that huge sword.
The flat of the blade slapped both men into the far wall, dazing them. The behemoth charged forwards and smashed them into the wall with the flat of the blade. Then through it. Both men plunged into the darkness, and Zanatos saw Alessa's pale face framed in darkness as the monster turned to face her.