Henrick crashes into a light pole and lays sprawled on the ground, his vision spinning at the impact. He pushes himself off the ground and rolls away, narrowly dodging a vicious chomp that easily snaps the light pole in half. "David! Are you alright?!" he shouts, grabbing the top half of the pole, and swinging it into the reptilian-like creature's head with a meaty thud.
The reptile, dazed, is unable to dodge a searing bolt of electricity straight into its eye. "GRAAAAAHHHH!" it screams in pain and swiftly spins, catching Henrick with its tail. An audible CRACK can be heard as Henrick's ribs fracture from the force of the blow, sending him flying once more.
Henrick stifles a shout of pain as he flips in the air and lands on a car. He leaps out of the way as the reptile slices into the car with its claws, its speed vastly outstripping any foe he's faced thus far. He dodges another attack and swings his body low for a bone shattering, electricity enhanced, hook onto the monster's side.
The blow pushes the monster over on its side onto a truck, but it quickly recovers and throws the vehicle at Henrick. The soldier leaps into the air, the truck being too wide to dodge sideways, and widens his eyes when the monsters slams its head into him. A shockwave blasts out as Henrick is sent flying.
Suddenly, a tongue catches him in mid-air, constricting with bone crushing force as it flings him towards a building. The soldier slams into the wall and is embedded into the stone, the air completely knocked out of his lungs as he helplessly watches the creature charge at him.
Father David stirs and grabs his neck in pain, shakily pushing himself into a sitting position as he looks around. The pain is forgotten as soon as he sees the reptilian creature galloping towards an incapacitated Henrick. With a forceful shove of his hands, a concussive wave of force slams into the monster's face, sending it careening to the side and missing its target.
It goes through the building, easily crushing concrete as if it was wet paper, and continues for an undetermined length. The sound of the creature gets further away as it thrashes in pain, madness taking over it in its blinded state.
The priest, having nothing to brace on, gets pushed away by his own concussive blast. He skips and rolls across the floor, finally stopping once he smashes into rubble. "Ow..." he groans as he stands up as fast as he can and rushes towards Henrick.
Henrick dislodges himself from the wall and lands harshly on all fours, giving David a grateful nod. Looking at the massive hole where the monster bulldozed through, he shudders imperceptibly at the sight but shakes his head free of those thoughts. Spitting out a glob of blood, he stands up clutching his side. "How about Selene? Is she dead?"
The question makes David snap his head towards the ruins of a car, on which lies Selene's broken body. "I...I don't know." says the priest, hesitantly making his way to her body. Henrick follows soon after and almost scoffs at the shallow movements of her chest rising up and down. David, meanwhile does the sign of the cross and mutters his thanks to the Lord, as he then picks her up from the wreckage.
Just then, a distorted screech of a bird, cuts through the distant rampage of the reptilian-like creature. Henrick looks up and frowns at the gathering group of large mutated birds, their beaks sporting bony protrusions and their wings now looking more bat-like with feathers interspersed here and there.
"Are those...were those pigeons?!" asks the priest, his face paling at the sheer volume of mutated avians. Henrick wastes no time, and pulls them all into the convenience store that they were interrupted from going into. The duo quickly make their way deeper inside, keeping noise to a minimum as they settle at the furthest corner, the shelves concealing them.
Father David places Selene down, weary from everything that happened in just one day. A gash on the side of his head slowly heals as he makes himself comfortable. He mutters prayers, as Henrick slowly takes a knee and sits on the floor.
The soldier heaves as his fractured ribs slowly knit themselves together. "Go-ah damn it. Durability beats enhanced healing anytime of the day." Henrick says with a chuckle, catching himself on his curse and grabbing a bottle of whiskey from a nearby shelf. Father David raises a brow in confusion at Henrick's declaration.
Henrick catches the unspoken question and opens the bottle. "You know, the debate on which is better? I think durability is the way to go. You feel everything when you heal quickly, might as well not get injured at all with durability." the soldier says, taking a sip of the whiskey and smiling in satisfaction at the pleasant burn. He offers some to David but pulls back when the priest shakes his head.
"Thank you, but I prefer wine." the Father says as he pulls a bottle of red wine down, opening the bottle and savouring the aroma before drinking. Henrick just shrugs as they sit in the relative safety of the store, his focus now shifting towards Selene.
Father David notices and puts his drink on the floor. "She's getting better, if you're curious about that. Some of her wounds are closing." Henrick simply chuckles at that as he moves closer to the unconscious woman. "We'll have to set her limbs, make sure the bones are aligned. She'll probably wake up from the pain, so you need to cover her mouth." he says, an expectant smile on his face.
He waits for David to place a spare shirt over Selene's mouth, and with a wet CRACK, pulls one of her legs bones straight. "MMMMMMPPHHHH!!!" Selene screams into the shirt, her eyes tearing up as she convulses in mind-numbing agony. Father David's hands tremble with the effort of keeping her still, as well as fear when he looks at Henrick's face.
The soldier's smile widens as he proceeds with the other limbs, straightening them with savage intent. Selene simply falls back into unconsciousness as Henrick straightens her last limb, the pain overwhelming her senses. "Was...was this really necessary?" David asks as he slowly removes the shirt from Selene's mouth, his body trembling slightly.
Henrick shrugs and sits back down on his spot as he grabs the bottle of whiskey, his ribs noticeably less painful. "Don't know. Don't care." he spits out as he drinks some more to numb the pain. The priest sighs and slumps down as well, eyes filled with hatred as he looks outside at the sky.
"Why'd you save her?" The question makes Henrick look at David, a frown slowly settling on his face. He clenches his fist as he places the bottle of whiskey down, shame on his face. "I was just...angry. I lost my little brother a long time ago and it still stings. Elly felt like having a sibling again. It felt like I cared again." says the soldier, staring at Selene with hatred almost visibly pouring from his body.
That hatred turns into sympathy as he checks on her, his face marred by sadness as he takes in her brutalised form. "She just lost her brother. I understand more than anyone how that can crush your soul." he speaks, more to himself than to David. He grabs some protein bars and hands a few to the priest, clearly telling him to eat.
Henrick sits on the ground, his earlier sadness quickly turning into a mask of indifference. "What's important now is survival. She's useful, and now she owes me. I'll focus on that for the foreseeable future." David sighs at those words as he bites into a bar, understanding and pity flashing over his face.
There is a tense silence as the duo eat, interrupted sporadically only when Selene softly gasps in pain in her unconscious state. They freeze when they hear a soft rustle originating from the employee room at the back, the sound barely audible. Henrick stands, his ribs almost completely healed, as he slowly makes his way to the back with David.
The priest raises his hands in a defensive stance as Henrick opens the door. In the employee room lays a golden retriever, panting heavily as a wound bleeds profusely on its side. David gasps as he sees the poor dog and swiftly steps beside it, but almost screams as he sees that half of the dog is mutating heavily.
"No. No, this isn't fair." the priest says as the retriever whines in pain, its mutated half writhing and undulating grotesquely. Henrick is reminded of Toots as he kneels down next to the dog. He checks its collar and sees the name 'Leo' on it. "Hey Leo, you're such a strong boy." he whispers as tears threaten to spill from Father David's eyes.
Henrick pets Leo, feeling his pulse quickening and his temperature rising. He looks to David, a look of hesitation on the soldier's face. "No, Henrick. I can't do it. I don't have the strength. Please...make it quick." David says as he walks out of the employee room, his shoulders shuddering as a strangled sob escapes his lips. Henrick reaches for Leo's head as a lone tear falls from his eye.
"I'm sorry."
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END