Page 85 of The Curse Trilogy

I feel my invincibility covering me, and the fangs of one of the vicious fiends snaps off as he tries to bite into the unforgiving flesh I purposely exposed.

I turn to rip his throat out, and his tainted blood covers my hand before drying to dust.

“What the fuck?” I gasp.

Blood shouldn’t turn to dust. What are these mutants?

I slash through more throats to see what happens, and the dusting repeats. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

“What the hell are these?” I yell.

“I don’t fucking know, but-”

He’s interrupted as one knocks him to the ground, and he flips the beast over to snap its neck with his legs.

“Call Clay. We need help,” I scream, and then I continue walking through the hoard that can’t touch me for a little while longer as I fire away.

I keep reloading the rounds I should have packed more of, and then I hear the solemn click of the emptied chamber I can’t refill anymore.

“Shit,” I grumble.

They keep swarming in, and I know no one will survive if I don’t at least try to stop them.

“I’m going to knock them outside the walls, and then you need to get everyone back in case this gets bad,” I yell to him as he tangles with several at once.

“No. We can stop them,” he counters, and then his gun clicks its empty promise as well.

“Not without any fucking ammo. Just do it,” I blare, and then feel the power building as my eyes gauge each and every monster in sight.

I know I’m not strong enough to do this without backlash, but it’s a risk I’ll have to take. I take a deep breath and they’re suddenly lifted into the air as I launch them over the wall. I rush to the edge, and I leap back and forth between the double wall to flip over the side and join the herd.

I’m shocked when I see people standing beside dark sedans, as if they’re watching the show, and an armored truck is sitting idly by as well.

It’s them. They did this.

The armored truck peels out when I come into view, but several of the others stay to aide the monsters now that they see someone is strong enough to stop them. I begin lifting boulders, cars, and anything else I can all at once to launch at the beasts, and then I feel the explosive power building after I exert too much energy.

The objects whirl through the air, and the bodies of the infected turn to dust when my attacks connect. I force out more power, and then I feel the fire becoming unbearable. I can’t hold it back for much longer, and I pray I don’t knock down the whole fucking town I was trying to save.

“Araya, look out,” Brazen screams, and I feel the burn as a hailing cloud of bullets spiral through me.

I scream out, and then I see the tan face of my attacker. He’s not infected. He’s… I don’t know what he is.

More bullets fly through me, and I feel the weary pain consuming me. Then I see the tattoo on his arm that has haunted my dreams for five years. It’s a scorpion ripping a bird to shreds, and I gasp in disbelief. My mind flashes back to the dark memories of a dank, stone room - my hands clasped in chains above my head as electricity burns through to my soul.

They’re still alive. They’re still at work.

I see more of them rushing up as the living infected continue their attacks as well. Brazen is still fighting tirelessly, and I can hear voices behind us as the cavalry arrives. It’s too late now though.

My haunting visions of the excruciating volts of electricity burning through my veins stings my eyes, and the only light I have left is shining on that fucking symbol they all wore so proudly. I showed no fucking mercy when I ripped their fucking hearts out through their throats before lighting them on fire. Now they’re back for more.

My drunken state of mind comes to claim me fully, and I lose myself to my devolved state- my savage emerging to handle the pain my sober mind can’t endure. The explosive promise leaves as I gain control over my abilities, and his body splits into as I use the full strength I only have in this state.

With a small flick of my wrist, heads snap off their shoulders, and I begin ripping limbs off the standing few just for a sadistic sense of pleasure. I smile as I slowly stalk between them, and then I pull my hands down to obliterate the rest into pieces.

I turn to see Brazen and several others rushing toward me, and I smirk as I launch them all backwards.

“You can’t fuck with me,” I scold, and then I see Clay pulling out a vial of that disgusting medicine.