Chapter 7 – Unreal

Zanatos Kell lay on the bench in the examination room. It was more or less intact, but sagged slightly under the behemoths weight. The once immaculate room where doctors would of checked out less injured patients was stained red. The furniture was smashed and lay strewn, bar the bed.
But it was obvious someone had been here. Someone had tried to tidy the place. The floor, as dirt stained and ruined as it was, showed obvious footprints. Two sets, in fact…a man's shoes and the kind of shoe Sara knew nurses often wore. So…two people had been here. Sara knelt down, and looked closer, trying to get closer to the people who had been here. Had they lived? Had they died? Did they try and run, and if they did how far out did they get? All the way? But there were no answers…
Zanatos groaned and rolled. Sweat beaded his brow and he said something…but Sara couldn't tell what it was. Alessa whipped his head with a cloth, and he once again calmed down slightly. Her touch had almost magical abilities on the injured giant. She looked up at Sara. "Can't you help him?"
The older woman shook her head. "No honey…there's nothing here to help him with."

With a grunt Knight prodded at the body of a dead flying demon. "Someone blew its brains out…high calibre round, be my reckoning. Maybe there still here…an extra gun is always welcome."
'Especially' though Mercurius, 'If they happen to side with you.'
He reached for the door…and stopped.
Can't you help him?
No honey…there's nothing here to help him with.
The marine looked up. "We have to find drugs, bandages…anything that could help Zanatos."
The cop nodded. "Store rooms in the basement. Locked door, but that should be no problem. The locks just to deter those damned hippy junkies we get during the tourist season."
Shrugging, and not really caring about the problems of keeping this hell hole under control in the tourist season, Mercurius gestured to the door. "Fair enough…since you know where we're going, you can lead the way."

A few moments later Knight kicked the elevator doors in frustration. "Whole damn town's dead, even in this world. Alright…looks like we take the stares."
He opened the door and looked down the darkened passage. Cheryl peaked out from behind him. "Its…very dark."
"I know, but we gotta go." Slowly, hesitantly, he headed down into the darkness. Mercurius followed, one hand on Cheryl's shoulder as they went down. The door opened with a groan, and yet moved easily…
And behind it were…nurses. Or what had once been nurses. The pair looked at the new comers with dull eyes, slack jawed. There uniforms were covered in blood. As were the knifes in there hands.
Knight jumped back just in time to dodge the first slash. Mercurius yanked him back in time to avoid the second tearing his throat out. Screaming, Knight thrust his high powered handgun out with one hand and pulled the trigger. The slug should of blown the former nurse's head apart. Instead it staggered back, allowing its companion to stagger in and slice into the cop's arm chubby arm. He screamed as hot blood flowed, and Mercurius' rifle swung round. The shot hammered into its chest, and blood exploded. An inhuman squeal erupted…not from the woman's throat, but from something behind her.
The second was back on its feet. Knight charged into it, literally picking it off its feet and drilling it into the wall. It stabbed down, burying the blade in his shoulder, and he responded by ramming the gun under her chin and pulling the trigger repeatedly. Three high calibre slugs punched through her head before she finally slumped against the wall.
Mercurius cracked the second with his rifle butt, right in the jaw, and was rewarded with the sound of splintering bone. She fell, splinters of bone poking through her flesh. But it was what was behind her, on her back that caught the man's eye. A strange blob, shifting and wiggling as though it was trying to be free of her, stared at him with what could be considered an eye. Mercurius put the rifle to his shoulder and fired. Blood, but black as night, erupted from the thing. It and the woman it had attached itself too screamed. And then the nurse slumped. The thing wiggled crazily…and then it too died.
The sheriff groaned and yanked the knife from his shoulder. "Wha the hell are dey?"
Mercurius knelt next to the dead woman. The name on her nametag was Andrea Miraba. "I think…I think they were nurses here. I think something possessed them…those things on the back…and now they are being forced to kill."
Knelling next to him, Knight responded, "Great God in Heaven…I know this girl. She never been in so much as over night."
Mercurius stood up and picked Cheryl up out of the doorway. "Come on…lets go."
Knight nodded, walked over to a door, and fired two shots into the locked before kicking it open. Mercurius carried Cheryl past the dead woman and into the newly opened room. Inside, stacked high on metal shelves, was pills and liquids, syringes and bottles.
Mercurius set her down. "Alright…we need a sack or something. Anything that can be used to carry as much of this stuff as we can."
Wandering away slightly, Cheryl held something up. "Will this do?"
The ex-marine and the cop turned to look…and saw her holding up a body bag. Knight shrugged. "It'll do…those things are pretty damned tough. We'll be able to load it well."
They moved quickly, putting in anything that looked vaguely useful. Part way through the sirens began…and the world began to go dark and terrible.

Sara paced the room. There was nothing she could do here…and yet she could not leave Zanatos and Alessa here alone. Neither could defend themselves at the moment. Plus…she was afraid to go out, into the corridor alone. With everything quiet like this, when all she could hear was her own heart beating and the heavy breathing of Zan…. sometimes she could swear she heard moans. And screams. Far away. But each time just a little closer than before.
Alessa sighed. "I hate being so helpless…"
"So do I…but until we have someone with us who can fight, we have to stay where its safe. And protect Zan."
And then she heard metal grind on metal…and a vast blade sliced through the rusted door. But just before it did both Zanatos and Alessa spoke…Alessa said, "The Judgement…is here."
And Zanatos said, in his deep, powerful voice, "I am the Judgement."

Mercurius opened the door, to see Sara pointing her gun right between his eyes. "Whoa! Its me!"
With a cry Sara put the gun down and hugged him. "Oh, I'm so glad your safe Merc…I thought I was stuck here. That thing, the Pyramid Head…it was here. But then it just left…"
"Don't worry. How's Zan?"
The young woman let go and walked over to him. "He's OK right now, but he hasn't been conscious since we got here."
Knight gestured at the huge sword next to the bench. "Ain't that the monsters sword?"
Alessa nodded. "Zanatos used it as a crutch."
Moving at almost a blur, Cheryl was in front of her. "Be gone! We have no need of you!"
"It is not I who has cursed these people!"
"I have not done anything to them!"
"Will you two shut up?" Knight snarled at the young woman. "I got me a headache from all this crap, and firing my gun too close to my head."
Mercurius dumped the body bag next to Zanatos. "Don't worry buddy…we got all the heavy duty drugs we could find. We'll soon have you sorted out."
Sara moved over and began to sort through the drugs. "This will do…"
There was several moments' silence as she injected the massive man with something. "Morphine…it should help him with the pain."
Leaning against a wall, Knight said, "You know…I been thinking a bit, and I reckon we're alive for something."
Mercurius looked around at him. "What do you mean?"
"I think the town is keeping us alive for something. There were many tales of the cult of some Demon. Never believed it myself…but hell, look around you! We got Demons coming out your damned ass!"
"But what does it want us for?"
"To punish you." Alessa stepped forwards. "You all have sins…sins you know, that gnaw at your soul. Deeds truly terrible. To you, at least."
With a sudden, yet jerky movement, Zanatos sat upright and pointed at Knight. "Sinner…it is your time now. I know what you are…and what you plan." The monster of a man slumped to one side. Mercurius span around…and felt something sharp jab into his arm. Knight's face leered into his. "Goodnight Mercurius…sweet dreams. I'll take care of these lovely ladies."
He slumped down, his vision blurring he watched in slow motion as Sara dived for her colt, only to be smacked in the jaw by Knight. The smaller woman flew back. Knight pointed the gun at the fallen woman…and Mercurius' world went black.