Revenant's Kiss (Chronicles of the Afterlife) (42 page)

"Damn," Jennifer practically leapt around a dark corner, her night vision was exceptional but this
was probably darker then anything she was used to, if there hadn’t been a flashlight lying on the ground
she barely would have been able to make out the frantic figures in front of her that were ramming all their
weight into the object in front of them. She could barely make out the noise drawing them but she was
pretty certain it was the sound of a woman crying, it had to be Marcia, either that or Malcolm had taken
up crying like a woman. "Hey," Jennifer hollered louder then was strictly necessary so she could be
heard over the crying and the banging. The flashlight at the revenants feet skittered to one side as the
one closest to the door froze, turning a stiff body to face her. The light hit it straight in the face but it’s
milky eyes were unaffected, it simply starred at its new prey with it’s mouth hanging open.

‘Since you’re where you need to be it might be wise to switch back to stealth now.’

Jennifer grimaced, but did look down at the Remington in her hands, it hadn’t brought these to
her but she supposed since she was soon going to be a party of three with two being potentially all but
useless she should try to avoid bringing hell down on them if she could. Irritated that Rou was back in
her head when she’d been so happy to be rid of him she grudgingly put her rifle away and pulled the
crowbar off her belt. This was not going to be easy, there were at least ten revenants in front of her, at
least six of which were taller then her and two of which had more girth. If Rou really wanted to be
helpful, whoever or where ever he was he could hall his ass down here, that was what would be truly
helpful at the moment.

‘None of these are Vampire-revenants if that’s helpful at all?’

"Screw you," she didn’t have time for more, the first one stumbled up to her all gnashing teeth
and long limbs, just another advantage taller people got. Doing her best not to panic Jennifer kicked a
knee cap hard enough to send the joint popping back in the opposite direction. Not that the revenant
cared, even while it came falling it kept snapping its teeth in hopes of hooking onto some piece of her
while it fell. She jammed the crowbar into it’s eye, hard enough on the first try that it stopped moving
but also hard enough that it was jammed into the socket. She didn’t hesitate, simply put her foot on it’s
face and pulled the bar free. The second one she didn’t even get time to see it was on her that quick,
she slammed the crowbar up through the chin, knowing she’d hit her mark when it’s handhold on her
shirt fell limb and it hit the ground. She pulled the Bowie knife somewhere in the interim, killing another
and another, so quick that she barely had time to glance at them. She took in quick details as she
planted the knife or crowbar through eyes, ear canals or mouths. One of the revenants lower mandible
had been torn away so she shoved the knife through the soft pallet, another the eye hanging limp and
deflated from the socket, which she promptly shoved the crowbar through. Each had something missing,
limbs, organs or chunks of flesh. They were on her faster then she would have imagined, so quickly that
she barely felt the motions, slashing and kicking, pulling her weapons free from skulls just to plant them in
another. She was down to the last, pulling the crowbar from an ear canal when it came up on her.
Jennifer lashed out with her foot kicking it back and hit fat in such large quantities that she felt it shift
under her foot when she struck, and it barely fell back. When she prepared to reach up and strike at it’s
head she paused again, it was not that much taller then her but at the same time it was so large in
circumference she didn’t think she would reach it’s head without climbing on it..

"You’ve got to be kidding me," she kicked out at it’s knees and wished instantly that she hadn’t
as all it’s girth immediately began to fall in her direction. She barely dodged it’s massive torso let alone
it’s flailing pudgy digits and she was more then a little disgusted when she landed back in a pool of filth
water that was lined with blood. As if that wasn’t bad enough instead of making any effort to get up in
any way it seemed to think that it could use it’s teeth to drag itself toward her. Shaking her head she got
up, sheathed the Bowie knife, hung the crowbar from her belt and slammed the heel of her foot down on
the revenants head. When that didn’t work the first time, probably because even it’s upper skull seemed
to have a layer of fat around it she slammed her foot down repeatedly, each time with more force until
the bulbous torso stopped twitching. When that was done she pulled the Remington back from its place
on her back and made her way to that sealed door. When she reached it she knocked because if they
were still armed it seemed like a stupid idea to simply attempt opening the door.

"Jennifer," she heard Malcolm ask from behind the metal grating.

"Well it’s not the pizza boy," she could have just said yes but given both his and Marcia’s idiocy
she wasn’t sure they deserved one.

"Thank God," the door creaked open much loader then Jennifer would have liked, before she
could react she was in a bear hug that had the Remington digging painfully into her bruised and broken
rib cage. When he pulled back he seemed to take note of all the nasty she was covered in, not that he
could judge when he was in the same condition. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, I was just about to ask you the same thing," he didn’t look injured and he even had his
9mm in hand, that was better then she’d expected. She waited and after a bit Marcia seemed to
stumble out of the dark in a daze. "Hey, are you good," she was going to be rightly pissed if anyone
here was bitten.

"We’re good," Malcolm answered for them both.

"No bites?" She hated to ask, but she figured one way or another Tom would find out and put a
bullet to them if they were missing any chunks.

"No," Malcolm answered the minute she asked, Marcia just stared at the bodies she’d put down
and started shaking.

"Marcia, hey," Jennifer took hold of the other woman’s arms and forced her to look at her,
"were you bitten?" After a pause in which she hoped it was just the words sinking in Marcia shook her
head.

"Good that’s all I needed to know, follow me alright, Malcolm are you alright taking the rear?"
He didn’t look like he particularly enjoyed the idea but he nodded anyway, "how are you on ammo?"

"Put in a new clip right when we hid," Jennifer nodded but handed him the crowbar off her belt
anyway, she would have given it to Marcia if she thought there was even a chance that the woman would
use it. Right now she could tell that the she was in shock, she didn’t think there would be much self
defense going on in that department.

"Alright, let’s keep it tight, should be just a few yards to the exit, should take us straight to Tom."
She still wasn’t sure if she should be concerned about that plan or not, she could only hope that he’d
give her people the same consideration he’d given her. She consoled herself with the knowledge that if
he tried to kill her people he’d have to get to them over her dead body, and if he managed to do so
without killing her first he would be the first person on her hit list from now until forever. Before taking
them forward Jennifer grabbed the flashlight off the ground and turned to Marcia. "Hold this," she didn’t
imagine it would do anyone any good given Marcia’s hands were shaking and the minute she wrapped
her fingers around the object she brought it tight to her chest but Jennifer at least hoped if worst came to
worst the woman would have enough sense to bash something’s brains in with it. "Just a few more
minutes Marcia and we’ll have you out of here." She nodded to Malcolm over the mediums head and
he returned the gesture, they would both do their best to look after her.

For some minutes they traveled through the dark, the sound of their footfalls almost a beacon to
reveal their presence in the flowing sewage. Jennifer knew they were heading in the right direction when
they suddenly hit a corridor with three doors. "Great," just what she needed right this minute a game of
frickin’ double jeopardy. She stalled in front of the door at the far end, it was a dead end after that, one
of these doors should lead into the lower levels of the building, for all she knew all of them did

‘Do not take that door.’

The mysterious Rou warned as she turned the handle, normally he would have warned her
sooner. The minute the handle was even half turned weight from the other side pounded it open, she
released the handle but it was too late, her hands were back on the rifle the instant it was open. She
fired off a shot, two but knew it was useless when revenants started pouring out liked they’d been
packed into the space to the point of overflowing. "RUN!" Jennifer shoved Marcia back, Malcolm
pushed her forward past him and when Jennifer made to hold her ground and give them time to retreat
he grabbed Jennifer too. Forcing her to leave him at the rear even when she knew it was where she
belonged. There was no time to argue over who should be where so Jennifer started walking
backwards, firing the Remington and reloading. If it had been Manson with her they might have taken
turns taking point and falling back but Malcolm either didn’t understand that tactic or refused to do it.
Yet another draw back of working with someone who was very possibly in love with you, tactics went
right out the window. "MALCOLM!" She fired off another shot when another one of the doors in the
corridor flew open. She saw Tom before heard him call for her. "MALCOLM RUN!" Jennifer
grabbed Marcia’s arm and forced her in front of her but halfway on their way down the pipe Marcia lost
her footing and fell, Malcolm was pulling her back to her feet before Jennifer could.

"Go, we’re right behind you," he shouted over the sounds of gnashing teeth, she was not going
to move without them. But then Tom was beside her, dragging her to the door he’d come out of, she
would have fought him if Malcolm and his own baggage hadn’t been right behind. "Faster," she heard
Malcolm shout just as she was pushed through the door. She took a single second to let her eyes adjust
to the light in the room she’d just been forced to enter before she turned back. Marcia came sprawling
through the entry and some of Tom’s people pulled her into the room, Malcolm inches behind her.

"MALCOLM!" Jennifer made to run for the door, tried to grab hold of his hand, he was just
inside, when Tom imprisoned her with his arms around her waist. Malcolm was just inside, the light
illuminating the terror on his face as hands emerging out of the darkness behind him, grabbing his hair, his
clothing. One minute he was there with them, and the next he was gone, Jennifer tried to kick Tom off
but he wouldn’t let go and she fell over with him on top of her back. The door slammed closed before
she could move again, the sound of screaming and chewing pounding through her skull. "Let me go,
Tom, let me go, get off me," he did lift himself off of her, even attempted to help her to her feet. She
scrabble up on her own, smacking his hands back when he tried to reach for her. She made for the
door again but he was in her way before she could grab the handle, "move." She was getting ready to
shoot him to remove him from her path when she noticed red flowing out from under the door, past
Tom’s boots. She took a step away from the blood as it seeped beneath the frame, the only sound
coming from behind that barrier now were not human, no screaming, Malcolm was dead, she had failed
him.

Chapter 28

There was no evident end to her failures, Tom had rambled on and on about some ‘thing’ that
was supposed to be inside her. Something that had been powerful enough to take out revenants and still
she was a failure, then and now. As a child everyone had been sacrificed, she’d lost everyone she’d
loved but her cousin and a man that she’d once loved like a brother. And here she was again, all lost,
her team was down to two people, and instead of finding someway to save what was left she’d done
nothing. Malcolm was dead and that was on her, because not only should she never have allowed him
to take the rear, but she was capable of stopping this somehow and she hadn’t. He was dead and she
could have stopped it, she’d saved Tom once, but for Malcolm there had been nothing. Maybe it had
happened too fast, she could probably come up with more excuses if she tried but she didn’t want to.
She was comfortable taking the blame, she was the person with the experience in the field and she’d let
him cover their retreat, let him protect her.

"It’s not your fault," Jennifer looked up as Marcia took a seat next to her on the abandoned
carousel. Tom had forced them back away from that door, probably afraid that Jennifer would charge
off to save body parts, or maybe he thought she’d lose her shit and explode all magical in front of his
people. In any case she hadn’t cared, she’d let him drag her away because what more could she do,
even if Malcolm hadn’t been killed he would have been bitten before she could get to him. One way or
another Malcolm was already dead, not that it justified the way he’d died, he’d deserved better.
"Jennifer it wasn’t your fault," Marcia repeated when Jennifer went about ignoring her. "The two of us
should have known better, I should have talked him out of it," if she was looking for Jennifer to tell her it
wasn’t her fault in return she was barking up the wrong tree. "But when he said that we could prove to
you that we were still a team I thought he was right, but those things, I wasn’t ready for those things."
The underlying meaning there being she’d probably thought she would be dealing with something
rational, what she’d gotten was a bonafide zombie.