NBB3 - chapter 8: Looking after the Lethargic Ones

Gregor groaned as he rubbed his itchy back against the wall of the building. The closed door beside him creaked as it was pushed open, and a thick-boned skeleton walked out.

"No trouble?" Gregor asked as he finally found the itch and vigorously rubbed his back against a loose stone.

The skeleton stared down at him. Its red eye sockets flashed twice; then it walked away without saying a word.

"Guess not," Gregor shouted after him without any effect.

Stupid skeletons, Greggar thought, keeping his mouth shut. It would only get him into trouble, which he didn't need.

"One more job, and you can evolve," he said, mimicking a high-pitched, female undead's voice. "Sure, Lir, sure. One more job. But why this one!"

He groaned as he prepared for another long stay in front of the building. Such a useless job: sitting in front of the building to make sure none of the lethargic ones would leave. Why couldn't he just have a tower-guard job to gather the last cores he needed. He was so close to his third evolution. Bored, he pulled up his small status-screen. It was the first skill he had gained, a miniature version that showed him his status. Rumors were that Solus had the full version of it, as did the AI, but if they did, they were sharing.

Name: Gregor

Age: 23

Sex: Male

Race: Zombie

Type: basic

Class: Scout

Strength: 8/8

Constitution: 10/10

Dexterity: 11/12

Endurance: 10

Intelligence: 9/10

Wisdom: 6/8

Charisma: 2/6

Mana-field: 399/420

Physical density: 500/500

Skills: 0

Inscriptions: 1/6

Mana generation: 3

The simple beige screen hovered across the dusty roads, and he sighed as he looked at his mana-field's value. His intelligence and dexterity had been stuck at one from the cap for a long time now, and he had no idea how to raise his wisdom. So close, but still so far. For what he wanted, he'd need to max only his mana-field out, or he would be left with a basic pattern again, but he couldn't help but wonder what he could get if he maxed it all. He hadn't realized the consequences of higher attributes the first time he evolved and had ended up taking the first pattern he could.

Although he couldn't complain too much about that.

Due to his quick actions, he had been able to join a small group of relic hunters and gained massive stat increases as well as his first batch of cores. Due to those, he had been able to join a group looking for newly awoken.

Not that I got to know them that much, he thought as he tried to recall their names. Only one popped up, Birsi, another zombie scout. She and the rest hadn't survived the wyrmling ambush in the city they had discovered.  A sudden bout of sadness washed over him, and it took him some effort to push it back down.

Can't wait to have some control over those, he thought. Not too much though, unlike some of the other zombies, he enjoyed the emotional outbursts they were prone to. For some reason, it always left him with a better feeling afterward.

As he sat there, a group of a dozen undead, half zombies moved towards him. Four of them were massive, towering things with dull, slate-colored armor that covered their entire bodies except for the joints. Their faces were rigid, and although they spoke like zombies, their flesh seemed inflexible. The simple zombies moving with them were quiet for zombies, their eyes fixated on the ground as they followed the four.

Another batch of those Goliarn, Gregor thought, quickly averting his eyes. Although slow and dull, they were prone to fits of anger. He examined them when they passed him, noting that each had a large, unwieldy mallet with them. 'Followers of Solus' they called themselves, saying that he was likely a similar evolution when he started out.

Everyone knows Solus was a zombie, then something unique, Gregor thought.

He looked at the zombies, shaking his head.

Brainless simpletons.

They had probably been in the outer district, and against better judgment, were enticed by a promise of mana-stones to join the Goliarn to one of the battle inns. You won't win those mana-stones, he thought, turning his attention to the other side of the street. The cleaners would have a busy evening again, picking the remains of the zombies from the walls and ceiling.

Dozens of groups of undead passed his watch over the course of the day, the only relief from his boredom. Then, when the sun was red in the sky, signaling the end of his shift, the thick-boned skeleton came back, pulling along a zombie by the ankle. Gregor got up, stretching his sore muscles and groaning as some of the flesh that had dried ripped.

"Another one? That's three in a day…" he muttered, not expecting a reply.

"Four. I brought one before you came."

The emotionless voice echoed around his head as the skeleton turned its red eyes on him for a moment before opening the door.

So he can talk, Gregor thought.

"Is it just me, or has there been an increase in these Lethargic ones lately?"

This time the skeleton didn't reply but dragged the zombie into the room. The door slammed closed behind him, and Gregor was left, staring at the door until it finally opened again. The skeleton exited alone.

"Be back tomorrow, at the same time. If you are late, I'll tell Lir, and she will deduct it from your pay," the skeleton said.

Gregor sighed, then nodded. "Alright, alright. I won't be late. What do I call you anyway?"

The skeleton bolted the door shut before standing beside it, ready to take the night duty. Gregor was about to turn, annoyed at being ignored, when the voice reverberated around him.

"Udru."

The skeleton said.

"Gregor," Gregor replied before walking away. Now he had to walk through the entire city to his own little place. Still, it was better than finding a free place in the outer city on the plains. He would probably get attacked by something to get his cores, not that he was carrying those around. He wasn't that stupid.

The trip through the town was long and mostly uneventful. When he reached the edge of the city center, heavily guarded and a place that he wasn't allowed in, he passed Solus' square. It wasn't officially called that, but in the center stood a massive bone statue of Solus. The older of the undead said that Skull had the Bonemenders make it because he became alone and wanted something that reminded him of Solus. Behind the statue stood one of the massive inner walls, not the biggest, but still towering above most.

Images were carved out on the sides, depicting the history of Skulltown.

Starting on the left, it showed Solus creating the first buildings and the first war. Rumors spoke about an undead able to block other undead's powers, but Gregor didn't trust those. It continued with dozens of carvings showing everything that had happened to Skulltown, and Greggor ignored that. Halfway through was his favorite part, the battle with the Kaots, when the chaos portals had still been growing and multiplying. Solus disappeared shortly after Skulltown won that, and his statue stood roughly in front of that section.

As always, a bunch of undead of different types were standing and sitting before the statue. Ever since Solus left, rumors had spread about him. One of them, a stupid one if you asked Greggor, was that if you stood in front of his statue for a long time, you would gain a pattern. Who started it was hard to say, although some said it was Norg, another of the city's more powerful undead. Even though he was a notorious prankster, lots of undead still believed it. Primarily those who had bad luck and no way to gain mana-orbs besides leaving the city, which was dangerous even for those that had evolved twice.

Numbskulls, and brainless bile stains, Gregor thought as he passed the group, gazing dumbly at the statue.

Not a single person had ever gotten a pattern like this from what he knew. As he turned to look ahead, he saw something sit on the ground before the statue, previously hidden by those standing behind him: Skull, the massive and probably most powerful undead in the city. The skeleton was staring at the statue silently, a slightly dangerous aura hanging around him, causing none of the undead to dare step to close. Gregor looked at him for a moment, wondering if he should go over and say something. Skull would be able to get him the mana-orbs he needed, but the chances of the other doing it were slim. With a shrug, he kept moving.

As he exited the square, he didn't notice how Skull turned to look at him for a moment. For a moment, the massive skeleton seemed ready to rise; then, it turned its attention back to the statue.

--

Tirella skirted across the barrier that lay across the planet. Far below was the surface, any details obscured by the distance. She wasn't looking at the planet that was now her home, however. Instead, her gaze was on an odd wave of light traveling from a great distance towards them. It was only visible in her mana-overlay, and she wondered if anybody else could see it.

Why can't I figure out if it's dangerous? she thought.

After a moment, she decided against going out to see what it was. It seemed safer to hang below the barrier and see what the wave would do. It was going to reach them in a few minutes anyway.

A slight movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention to the massive cloud of energy particles that hung far from the planet. Her vision zoomed in as she focused on it. It was drifting through the solar system, likely skirting the ice giant that was the last of the planets orbiting the sun.

Neptune.

The unfamiliar word bubbled up, together with images of its blue surface and thick band of methane clouds. Looking through the information, she realized all of it was eons old and probably less than helpful. Still, the blue marble looked beautiful to her, and she wondered if there were undead on it.

After I wake up, I'll be going there to see if there are undead, she decided. She felt the incredible urge to explore this vast new area around the planet. A solar system; another bit of knowledge told her as it bubbled up in her mind. She had the distinct feeling she would be able to travel between the planets-

A massive mana storm crashed against the barrier right in front of her, and she dodged down, startled by the multicolored light that erupted from all around her. When the barrier showed it would hold, she hovered back, inspecting it. The barrier was cracking and shaking under the onslaught, and one of the types of mana, moving faster and more chaotic than the rest, managed to seep through. It was a sickly pale color, and when she looked at it, she felt angry and sad at the same time.

Below the barrier, the white mana was like a thin fog, but the longer it lasted, the thicker it became. It eventually coagulated into a dense cloud, and after a long time, when the onslaught on the barrier stopped, a few thick clouds of the sickening white mana hung below it.

Disgusting, Tirella thought as she hovered closer, but making sure not to touch it. The clouds thickened, condensing, and some merged until a dozen large ones began sinking to the surface of the planet.

What are these things doing?

Tirella followed one of the clouds, the largest, as it sank towards the surface. After a while, it floated sideways, across the empty and desolate wasteland below. It almost seemed as if something drew it in.

Tirella flew after it, and more images flowed into her mind, of beautiful thick clouds covering the world, releasing rain. It doesn't look much like that, she thought, taking another look at the sickly cloud of white mana.

The cloud descended until it was less than two thousand yards above the grey and barren wasteland. Tirella had no idea where she was, except that it was far from where her body was resting and thus far from Skulltown. The area below was mostly empty, with only a long, winding gully leading from left to right, branching off twice to create forks. A river, another bit of knowledge told her.

Wait… is that a?

Tirella saw something next to the dry and cracked river bed that piqued her interest. She zipped forward, leaving the cloud far behind. The closer she got, the more excited she became. She had seen right! A thick wall of bone, tipped with skulls every few hundred feet, encircled a small town. It was nestled in the elbow of the dried-up river, and she saw a construction built to the side that led down into the riverbed. It looked like a combination of ramps and ladders, meant to slide down and climb back up. Figures moved across the wall, and a massive bone gate was partially open, allowing a group of undead to exit.

A few seconds later, Tirella stopped, hovering beside the undead. They were a group of seven plate-covered skeletons, each wielding a club of bone with a smoothed piece of rock on the tip, wrapped into place by thin tendrils of bone. The one in the lead was bigger than the others and carried two clubs, each dragging across the ground as he walked.

Something about the skeletons seemed familiar to Tirella. She frowned as she moved closer, circled them. For a moment, her mind wouldn't work, then she realized what it was. Their bone armors weren't like the ones she had seen in Skulltown! Instead, they more closely resembled those she had seen in Bastion so many years ago. How had any undead on this world gotten patterns from another?

The undead were slowly moving away from the gate, and she followed them. They all had the basic green glowing eye sockets and were looking at the bone and stone ramps and staircases that led down into the river bed. Their projected voices echoed around them, and she listened to their mostly emotionless voices.

"Why do we have to be the ones to go back down?" a deep, bored voice asked.

"Because the boss said so," a dull voice responded. "Besides, the others are needed for defense."

"Do you think we will find another of those large mana-orbs down there?" A squeaky voice asked.

A large mana-orb? Tirella thought, floating closer to try and determine who said what. Do they mean a mana-core?

"It doesn't matter what I think," the dull voice said, and Tirella guessed it was the larger one, the leader. He was moving towards the construction fifty yards away, near the edge leading down to the river.

"If the boss thinks there are more, we will go and search for it."

The group followed him, and Tirella looked between them and the town. She wanted to roam the small town, but she also wanted to know where the skeletons were going. Her curiosity warred, and she was about to follow the skeletons when she saw the cloud of white mana drift into view. It would reach the small city within minutes.

It's moving here, she thought.

Her small, transparent face frowned as she looked around. It was the only logical thing. It had been making a beeline this way, and with nothing else in the vicinity it was too much of a coincidence. Her curiosity for the undead faded, and she let the skeletons move away as she zoomed up and over the wall.

Dozens of skeletons patrolled the twenty-foot thick wall, and she recognized some of the patterns as belonging to skeleton mages. She zipped across the wall and over buildings in the city. All of them looked like some form of a skull, and for a moment, she grinned.

I should bring Solus here. This looks more like a skull town than Skulltown does.

Then she saw the only three-story building in the center of town. It was also a skull, but it was as big as any other ten combined, with two lines of three eye-sockets on each side. Just looking at it gave her the creeps.

It's a Kaot Lord skull, she thought, recognizing the eyes and the angular cranium. Without waiting, she shot towards it, keeping an eye on the cloud. The edge was reaching the town wall.

Only skeletons, she thought as she crossed a square that surrounded the center building. Figures were moving around massive stacks of bones, picking them up and bringing them to a row of figures standing to the side, placing them on the ground. The figures were short and stocky skeletons with three arms, one on each side and the last on their back sticking out from over a shoulder.

As she watched, the stocky skeletons began waving their hands, and small streams of green mana revolved around their palms. The massive bone began shuddering and then cracked and split apart. Within moments it had changed from a massive, unwieldy bone into a pile of neatly stacked bone-white planks. The skeletons to the side ran in, grabbed them, and started carrying them towards the gate.

Tirella continued onward, noticing that the eye sockets were windows that showed only empty dark rooms. She was about to float above the city when she heard a high-pitched scream from inside the building. The skeletons on the square stopped what they were doing, turning their attention to the center building. The scream came again, then another, and another. Within moments, a cacophony of angry screaming deafened everything in the city, but the skeletons turned back to the bones.

What is going on here? Tirella thought, starting to get worried. She looked around, listening to the infernal screaming. It was real screaming, not projected, meaning zombies made it or other fleshies. Where were they?

The thick mana-cloud was now hovering above the city, and it had stopped moving. Its presence blotted out the small golden-colored mana-particles that streamed from the sun. As soon as it stopped moving, a drizzle of small white mana-drops fell from the cloud. The screaming increased in volume, this time so loud the walls reverberated with it. The drops of mana moved as they fell through the buildings, almost seeming to be drawn by things inside.

Tirella surged towards the main building, swishing through the wall and following a few dozen ugly white mana drops. She shot through two layers of rooms, filled with stacks of bone planks, crates made from them, and weapons and armor similar to those she had seen on the skeletons. Then she reached a room below the ground and stopped. Hundreds of zombies were chained to the walls with long tendrils of bone attached to more bone behind them. They were screaming and raging, the flesh on their faces ripping apart at the seams and that on their arms stripping away as they tried to rip free. A red haze of Kaot mana hung around their heads, pulsating. White drops of mana floated from the ceiling, increasing in speed the closer they got and fusing with the different zombies. Each time one did, the zombie's muscles bulged, and the red haze of mana around them grew thicker and denser.

Tirella hung close to the ceiling, confused as she stared at one of the zombies who made a ripping motion and ripped the bone tendril around his right arm apart. She expected him to free his other hand, but instead, it reached for one of the other zombies near him. It grabbed the zombie's arm, and yanked it near, snapping and snarling at the other, who responded similarly.

For long minutes Tirella stared at the zombies that became even more frenzied as they tried to bite each other. Finally, two managed to rip free and rushed the others, causing fights to erupt. As more of the zombies freed themselves, Tirella noticed green mana behind the single door in the middle of the farthest wall. It was without windows or handles, showing no way of opening it, and she flew forward and through the door. The sound of the screaming dulled but remained ear rattling. Two massive skeletons stood on the other side, barely fitting in the nine-foot wide hallway. Both wore, what looked like, crafted plate armors, bound together by more of the bone tendrils while tightly gripping two short cleavers. Their green eyes were fixated on the door.

The hallway behind them led to another closed door, again without any way of opening it.

Tirella hung above them, confused and worried. Part of what was happening was obvious to her, but not all. The white mana caused the zombies to go crazy, but not the skeletons and the skeletons had locked the zombies away. But why not just end them? What was the reason for keeping them locked down here? After a moment of deliberating, she floated towards the next door and through it. Six bright glowing-red eye sockets stared straight at her. They lined a wide, toothy face, and startled, she shot up to the ceiling. The monstrous skeleton below her showed no reaction to her presence, and she looked down at the bulky, four-legged, four-armed, and black-plated thing. It was tapping its wide chin with a taloned hand, muttering to itself in the otherwise empty room.

"The reaction is far stronger than the last time... There was also, yet again, no indication of a reason. They just started screaming. Something has to be happening that is outside my perception range, but what?"

The skeletal undead began pacing through the room, its long, white talons tapping on the stone floor as the room vibrated from his heavy steps. Tirella gazed at him, barely believing what she saw.

He has evolved three times. How? Although it wasn't impossible, she had seen only a few three times evolved. Without wyrm-orbs, it was incredibly difficult. She continued to observe the undead, wondering who or what it was. She could only imagine this had to be the leader of this small city.

The undead continued muttering to itself, most of the time variations of the same questions as before. Tirella was about to leave when he sighed and said something that made her freeze.

"I guess I'll have to send a messenger to Scathia and ask what she knows of this."

Tirella barely believed what she heard. Scathia? She had ended that horrible monstrosity, ripped her to pieces with her bare hands! How could she possibly still be around? Her interest in the odd white mana and the screaming zombies faded to the background as rage and hate bubbled up. As it did, she felt her hold on her position weakening, her mind slowly drifting away as if drawn to where her body was.

Perhaps there is just another undead with the same name? she thought, trying desperately to calm herself. Grasping for straws, she suddenly thought of Solus. Thinking of the massive green-haired elemental, she focused on their connection, trying to distract herself from her anger. It was still dull and unresponsive, and she suddenly wished she could speak with him. Perhaps Solus would know what was going on. As her mind wandered to Solus, she felt the burning rage disappear to the background, clearing it.

The zombies stopped screaming as suddenly as they had started, and the four-legged undead stopped pacing, turning to the door.

"About time. Let's see how many are alive this time! It should be a good harvest!"

The monster walked towards the massive door and pulled it open, moving through the hallway. At the other end, the two skeletons turned to him, and one nodded.

"Gulder, it sounded like all of them got free this time. Do you want us to stay and help?"

The voice was almost emotionless, but with her experience in dealing with skeletons, Tirella made out a slight eagerness. However, it was well hidden, and she didn't think the one called Gulder had heard.

"No! Now get out," Gulder hissed. There was an odd growl underneath his voice, almost as if two things spoke as one.

Both skeletons immediately turned and stomped towards the other side of the hallway before exiting and disappearing from view.

"Like I would give you a chance to steal my orbs," Gulder said, turning to the door. "I don't need any help with you weaklings."

He pulled the lever of the door up then towards himself, and with a soft groan, the door opened.

Tirella looked at the room, curiously turning on her mana-overlay. Only five red mana-auras were left in the room, and as the door opened fully, she saw body parts, white puss, and green ichor covering every surface. It even dripped from the ceiling atop five zombies that stood in the middle of the room. They were blearily staring at each other, but when the door opened snapped to attention. Their faces were torn to shreds, and a few missed eyes and noses, but a thick cloud of red mana hung around them. It was so thick that Tirella had to turn off her mana-overlay to clearly see what was going on.

Gulder moved inside the room, blocking the door. As he did, the zombies turned to him and growled.

"Don't be angry. Just stay quiet until you turn back to your silent state," Gulder said, followed by a laugh.

A zombie to the left, one that still had both eyes, snorted and spoke, surprising Tirella, who had thought them incapable of that.

"Why did you lock us up down here?" The zombie's voice was wet, and pieces of flesh and ichor sprayed from between its teeth.

Gulder didn't respond but gazed at the zombie with interest.

"You can still talk? My, my. That's a first. Perhaps I'll have to keep you around and see if you can withstand a second time!"

Gulder's words had barely finished when the leftmost zombie collapsed onto the ground in a twitching heap.

"There we go," Gulder said. "No one attacks me, and you all crumple this fast. Trust me; it's much more pleasant this way. Ahhh... if only it was this easy every time!"

As he spoke, four more zombies fell on the ground until only the one who had spoken was still up. It looked at those beside it, then to Gulder.

"What did you do? Let me out of here!"

"No," Gulder said, shaking his head. "I went through enough effort to capture you. So why should I release you?"

The zombie growled, lowering itself into an attack stance.

"What? You think you can fight your way free?" Gulder's six eye sockets burst alight, burning red.

Tirella growled angrily. This Gulder was getting on her nerves and reminded her of some of the Kaot Lords. Something about him made her want to rip his six-eyed head off.

A bright flash came from the zombie as his eyes burst with a burning red light. It was similar to Kaot mana, but not the same, and Tirella frowned as she turned her mana-overlay on again.

It's not Kaot mana, she thought, startled.

It was red, yes, but not the same as the Kaots mana. Less sick and disgusting, and more hot and fiery. It took her only a second to realize what it was. Fire affinity! Suddenly her desire to intervene grew. Besides Gulder making her angry, elemental affinity undead was rare, and perhaps it was the reason this one had regained the ability to speak?

"You don't stand a chance," Gulder said as he moved towards the other, stretching out his four thick, plate-covered arms. It reminded Tirella of the images of crustaceans she had seen in Viridi's gifted memories.

A red flash burst in the center of the room as a fiery-red mana-field erupted around the zombie. A simplistic pattern lay sprawled across three sections, but as it appeared, burning white sparks burst all across it, tracing a new pattern.

Gulder cursed, but before he could move, a pattern flared up, growing brighter and brighter. The temperature in the room increased at an absurd pace, and the strewn around zombie parts slowly began igniting and melting.

The elemental zombie was standing in the middle of its pattern, frozen solid as its skin turned into a dull glowing red with bright yellow veins throbbing across it. Its previously flaxen-white hair sparked then burst alight with fire. Yellow, orange, red, and white threads grew down until they reached his shoulders before stopping.

How did he do that? Tirella thought as she gaped at the zombie in stunned silence.

She had seen many undead create patterns on a whim, Drys being the most gifted, but nothing like this. Nobody had found why some undead could create patterns while others could not, but one thing was the same. Inscribing it cost time, usually hours, but even the fastest one, Solus had needed minutes for even the simplest ones. This had taken seconds, if that long.

"I don't know how you did that, and I don't care. What I do know is that you must have a very good mana-orb," Gulder said as he moved forward and stepped into the mana-field inferno. The heat didn't seem to bother him. On the contrary, his black plates grew darker and thicker under the raging fire.

He can't fight that thing. He is only a two-fold evolved, Tirella knew as she watched the fire-undead snap its gaze to Gulder. The mana-field disappeared as it jumped forward, making a clawing motion at Gulder. Its fingers drew fiery streaks into the air. The massive skeleton snorted and raised its arms, blacking the attack with ease. Then it moved forward, grabbing for the fire undead.

The fire-undead tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. The points of Gulder's claws raked across its left arm, and red, steaming liquid squirted from the wounds as the fire-undead howled in pain.

Tirella growled, wishing she was there for real so she could destroy that horrendous thing. Something was going on with that white mana, and this fire-undead was the only one she had seen that managed to resist it. How was she going to figure out why? She wanted to move, do something, anything! The angrier she became, the more she felt her mind begin to rebel against being confined as a specter, a bodiless being.

Her anger caused her mind to drift down again, and she wanted to howl. If only she could have a body, any body! As Gulder rushed after the fire-undead, slashing at its nimble shape, she noticed the three undead that had fallen unconscious. If those would wake, they could distract Gulder! She swooped forward, no plan on how to wake but deciding to try anything.

The three zombies lay unmoving on the ground, one of them swirling its eyes but seeing nothing and the other two with their eyes closed.

"Wake up!" Tirella roared, getting no response. She swooped forward, slapping her immaterial arms at the zombie's head. It didn't respond, its eyes just lolled around.

"This is infuriating!" Tirella screamed, then shot through the zombie's head towards the next. This one's eyes were closed, and she roared in its ear with no reaction.

Gulder laughed softly behind her.

"Stupid, useless Zo-" she screamed as she kicked the zombie in the head.

Her voice was cut off mid-sentence as she felt like something slammed her on the side of the head. For a moment, everything turned black. Then she heard an odd, dissonant ping from her status window. Pain flared up all across her body, and she felt a weary, tiredness spread throughout.

Pain?

She shot up, feeling her skin blister and crack as she groaned in pain. She stupidly raised an arm, a white, blister-covered thin appendage. What was going on? She gazed up and saw the fire-undead slammed against the wall, long bleeding lines across its chest and three scratch marks across its face, slicing through the center of its nose.

I'm in that zombie's body, she thought, and with it came the realization that she had to act fast. The body was disintegrating in the heat and wouldn't last long.

"Runaway, you brainless bilestain!" she shouted as she scrambled up.

A male voice came out of her mouth, dull, cracked, and enough to cause her to pause in shock. Still, it had the desired effect. Gulder turned, looking at her with his rows of red eyes. The fire-undead took one look at her, then flashed along the wall and towards the door.

"Now, where do you think you are going?" Gulder said dismissively as his four legs carried him forward in a scuttling motion.

Tirella jumped forward, her borrowed body screaming in agony. She ignored it and jumped in the path of Gulder. The massive skeletal undead bellowed and slapped at her. In a flash, she realized she wouldn't be fast enough to dodge, and instead, she braced herself. As the fist hammered into her chest, she wrapped her arms around it.  She was almost whacked away but barely managed to cling her weak fingers behind the plate of Gulder's left forearm.

"What?" Gulder's disembodied and confused voice echoed through the room.

He grabbed her with all of his arms and ripped her off. She felt her ligaments tear and two ribs snap as the massive monstrosity pulled her in two directions before hurtling her back through the room against a wall. Her skull -no, not her skull!- cracked against the wall with a sickening crunch, and she felt a moment of excruciating pain then nothing. A moment later, her small transparent form drifted up from the now mangled zombie body.

She knew right away it had been ended, but she didn't care. Her mind felt bruised, and her thoughts became foggy and unclear. She felt the sleep try and reclaim her, and it took all her effort to stay awake. If she fell asleep now, who knew when she would wake again? Hovering at the spot, she was just in time to see the fire-undead disappear through the door, quickly followed by Gulder, who was roaring in anger.

You better make it out, she thought as she quietly waited for the weariness to pass.