Chapter 44: Backfire

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Backfire This is it? Blaze tilted his head. He would have expected such a reaction from civilians, but not trained soldiers. Weren’t they supposed to have trained to keep their mentality strong under pressure? What was with their sudden surrender? This was why Blaze wanted a larger crowd to attack him. This small group barely explored his lair and was pushed to this extent. He wanted to be entertained, and the mopey crowd was incapable of that. What was the point of letting Jade go? Unfortunately for them, their fear angered Blaze. He wouldn’t let them leave anymore, but that was only a part of the reason. The four of them were chosen. That alone was enough for Blaze to turn them into his pawns. That was also why he was excited to fight them. What a disappointment. Blaze raised his hand. There was no point in holding back. The sprinters and the frogs will kill them. But then something unexpected happened. BANG! The man with a sniper rifle... shot a bullet at Blaze. Shards of bones flew everywhere as the bullet hit the throne, missing his face by an inch. He smiled. Now this is entertainment. *** "He’s... smiling?" Arby couldn’t believe it. The zombie barely survived, and it dared to smile back at him? He shook his head. He had more important things to worry about, like how his hand wouldn’t stop shaking. Arby was a trained shot, one of the best, and had dedicated most of his life to the art, and yet he missed. Just by an inch, but he did. Fear had taken hold of them, and it was too much for him to handle. Still, he tried. That alone gave the others’ guts to fight back. Right... there’s nothing to be afraid of. They are just zombies, after all. Hailey thought. A bullet to the head was all it’d take to kill them. They had only lost their meat shields to the undead. They were still strong without them. "Sir, I have an ability. It might kill them, but it takes a while to charge." Arby said, interrupting his thoughts. "Then we’ll buy time for you. Barry, in front," Hailey instructed. "Hana, you’ll stay in the middle alongside Arby, help him stabilize. I’ll take the rear, just in case those zombies change their mind." He then turned to Arby and continued, "Arby... go for the head. It doesn’t matter whose, just kill those zombies. I’ll handle the rest." "Roger!" he nodded. "Let’s show these rotting bastards who we are!" Barry nodded and hit himself in the head. He couldn’t believe they gave up so easily. What was there to fear? Yeah, they just look scary... but without their heads, they are all the same. Dead. Hana stood last, biting her lips till blood drizzled out. The pain dulled the fear in her heart long enough to help Arby. If they die, at least they’d die fighting! Their morale was back up. It was fragile, but at least they hadn’t accepted death without putting up a fight. For them, it was an achievement. For Blaze, it was a chance to be entertained. Breaker, you’re up. "ROAR!" The giant jumped in front of Blaze. Killing the humans would be easy, but since they wanted to put on a show, it would be rude to stop them. So, he just sent Breaker ahead on its own. Toy with them as you like, but don’t break their morale. I don’t want to be bored. Breaker thumped its chest twice before charging towards the humans. Blaze tilted his head, wondering what the humans had in store for him. "Incoming!" Barry roared, smashing his makeshift shields together. "Ten seconds more!" Arby replied as the rifle’s barrel began glowing. Everyone began counting down in their minds. 10... 9... 8... Breaker’s footsteps shook the ground. All the while, Barry didn’t take his eyes off the giant. 7... 6... 5... Blaze leaned in, not expecting much from them, but hoping for a show. 4... 3... 2.. Breaker leaned forward, about to slam against Barry’s shield, but was distracted by the bright glow behind the human. 1! A beam of light shot out from Arby’s rifle, heading straight toward Blaze. Breaker wasn’t his target, he never had been. Everything was to kill the leader, not the grunt. Unfortunately for them, the grunt had grown loyal to its master. Breaker jumped sideways, taking the full brunt of the bullet on itself. It raised its arms to block the beam, but it proved to be too much. Its arms were made to stop bullets, not pure energy. The beam melted through the arms. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and the next second, Breaker’s entire left arm was blown clean off. The beam of light shot into the air, disappearing from sight. Breaker sacrificed its arm, but changed the direction of the unstoppable beam, protecting its master. However, the humans were rejoicing. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t kill Blaze. Arby could hurt them, and that was more than enough. "Charge again!" Barry exclaimed. "I’ll make sure not a single one of them gets past me! You heard that? I’ll bash your skulls in, you undead freaks!" Barry kept taunting, but no one joined him. Something was off... He turned around, and his eyes widened in horror. Hana was on her knees, healing Arby’s missing right half while she was missing an arm of her own. As for the rifle, it burst open, breaking into innumerable pieces. The attack was too much for both of them to handle. But then, he saw the most gruesome sight. Hailey was on the ground. The rifle’s barrel was buried in his head. What remained of Hailey’s face was twisted with disbelief. No one expected their redemption attack to backfire on them like that. Barry couldn’t hold it together anymore. The shields slipped from his hands as he fell to his knees. That was it. They lost their only chance at survival. No, they never had a chance. It was all their delusion. But even they weren’t as mortified as Blaze. Not because he almost got killed, but because those fools destroyed their precious bodies!