Chapter 104

We push into the fog quickly. We still had some distance to travel until the junction and now we were out of support from across the canal. The fog would not cross the canal for some unknown reason which was a bit of a mixed blessing for us. We both knew that all the danger was now going to come from our left as the map indicated that there were quite a few open fields between us and the junction.

We quickly moved along the road, focusing most of our attention on the left. The graveyard that was covered in the zone was soon left behind us. As we passed, we have not seen any sign of danger from that area. Again, another quite strange oddity with this all being a grave type and regularly spitting out threats that had to be eliminated by the perimeter guards.

We were both far more vigilant and on edge now. We both kept glancing to our right at the canal. A few trees and bushes were scattered along its edge that could, in theory, hide something, but the moment seemed benign.

As always, everything was covered in a zone's typical layer of dampness. The air was thick with fog and little sunlight was getting through to illuminate the area. So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

“Sports complex up ahead.” Schmid indicated to assign on the road we were travelling.

“Understood.” This was my first main area of concern when I saw the map. A series of hedgerows and more trees blocked the open spaces beyond—a great place for an ambush.

We continued moving steadily as we knew the support team was not long behind us and we needed to cross the distance to the breach. This meant we didn’t move stupidly, just as efficiently as possible. We both had our primary weapons drawn and shields ready.

We quickly passed the road entrance and noted a few abandoned vehicles. There was a lot of debris from an evacuation scattered around and it seemed that this was a rallying point for the civilians that had pulled out of the area when the zone was expanding.

“We need to check this.”

“Agreed.” Schmid was morose but focused.

It only took a few minutes to check the building and the vehicles. Thankfully we didn’t find anything nasty or hostile. I quickly indicated that we return to the road and carry on, to which Schmid nodded in the affirmative. We promptly assumed our previous positions as we walked down the road. Something here was starting to worry me. It was far too quiet.

“It’s too quiet.” I decided to voice my worries to see how he would react.

“Hard to tell. The support teams and perimeter guards have been gunning down several hostiles in the last few days. The zone may be tapped out at the moment.” Schmid speculated. That was possibly the longest and most coherent statement I’ve gotten out of him so far.

I look over at him again as we walk. He is paying attention to the surroundings and his stance indicates that he is ready for trouble. But he is still……twitchy. Since entering the zone, it had become a little more apparent and I was frankly getting worried.

There was not much I could do, so we pushed past a baseball field. The only reason I knew it was there was because it was marked on the map. The fog was completely obscuring it. The only thing I could see with any certainty was the back net to catch any stray balls.

We pressed on and still, we encountered no threats. I was getting a bit freaked out now but decided just to roll with it. I knew it was a case of when, not if, we were attacked, so it was with the time worrying about it. But truthfully, I still did worry about it.

The fog was not the thickest I had ever seen in a zone. Pay more attention to it; I realised it was pretty light compared to most zones. It was letting in more sunlight than usual. I wondered if this was because we were on the edge of it, skirting along, not travelling deeper like we usually did. Another thing I was going to have to chalk up to the weirdness of this particular zone.

“Agricultural College ahead.” Schmid said bring me back to the task at hand.

“Okay, same as before. We check the entranceway and it is clear we move on.”

“Understood.”

We didn’t take long to reach the edge of the road entrance to the college. The trees and hedges here were thicker and higher. We saw no movement or hints of any threats or ambushes along the road. Not even any vehicles in this area.

Once we reached the turning, I poked my head around the corner and up, looking to see if there was anything there. Again, there were some abandoned vehicles, like at the sports centre, but there were no signs of movement.

“Looks clear.” I say to Schmid. “We’ll go up and confirm as far as that building.” I indicate to a building we can just make out in the fog. It is to the right of the road and only a few metres along it into the college.

“Okay.”

Again, the vehicles and the building were empty, with clear signs of a hurried abandonment. There were some signs of damage and violence in the area, but nothing was left now and the constant dampness dissolved any stains.

“Clear?” I asked Schmid.

“Clear.” He agreed.

We returned to the road we were following, knowing that the junction where we would be turning was only a short distance away. It didn’t take long for us to reach it as the distance from the entry point of the college was only a few minutes walk. The road bridge over the canal was smashed. Whether by an airstrike or a demolition charge, I couldn’t tell.

“Okay, we turn left here and follow the D 79 up until we reach the D 60.” I say out loud more to myself than to Schmid.

“Let’s get going.” Was his reply. He sets off up the road and out, looking for a few seconds before shrugging my shoulders and following. Several buildings emerged from the fog to our right. The cream-coloured walls and orange files were suffering under the effects of the zone. The last building and its front door open and it was clear that the house had been abandoned in a hurry. The potted plants that covered window ledges, part of the pavement and a few hanging ones were all sickly looking.

As we passed the last house, we saw a lot more trees and hedgerows ahead of us, both to the left and the right. We have become far more cautious here as it was a perfect place for an ambush.

“Contact!” Schmid calls out and my head snaps to the right. There was a small turnoff to the right just at the end of the last house and three ghouls came charging out of it.

I quickly turned an advance to meet them with Schmid. And due to the short distance between us, we promptly clashed. Two of the ghouls seemed to focus on me, while the third went for Schmid. They both lunged for me and ironically got in each other’s way. Though they didn’t trip or fall over each other, they did bounce as they collided, knocking off their attack. I quickly deflected one with my shield while sidestepping the other. I was pretty close to Schmid and his combatant and had to be aware of them. Grave chill came with them and quickly tried to seep into my bones and my mind.

This collision had presented an opportunity. One that I had sidestepped, I quickly turned to follow. They had now passed me and were trying to arrest its forward motion, which suited me fine as I rammed my axe into the back of its head. Brain matter and black blood flew from the injury. The back of the skull caved in with the force of the blow and the ghoul quickly fell. I made sure to keep a good grip on my axe handle and pulled it back as the body fell forward.

I turned once more to face the second goal as it crashed into me. My shield took the brunt of the blow and was knocked back. The goal was clinging to the shield, trying to pull it down so as to get to my head. It seemed it was a she and a lot shorter than me by almost a foot. I use my height advantage without remorse. I began hacking at it with my axe as he gripped my shield. These were badly placed and understrength blows because it was so close. But I didn’t intend to do fatal damage but to force on the defensive.

It eventually worked after nearly half a dozen blows as the creature was forced to back off. Its arms showed signs of the injuries and one had even clipped the side of its head. Black blood was flowing freely from many of these wounds, but it didn’t seem to be weakened from them. The sickly yellow eyes glared at me with unbridled fury and hate. The….brown hair? It was matted, covered in dirt and God knows what else. That was all the details I could absorb, for it was attacking again.

This time, however, I was far more prepared. As it charged forward, I lept to meet it with my shield and being used as a ramming implement. The ghoul collided with a sickening crunch sound and I received a kinetic shock travelling up my arm. It was knocked back by the force of the collision and black blood was smeared across his face wet nose had collapsed and several teeth seemed to be broken in its mouth. Before it could attack again, I went on the offensive this time. It didn’t react fast enough as my axe quickly collided with its skull right in his forehead. The skull collapsed, as it had with the other, with brain matter and blood flying in different directions. Thankfully none of it splattered on my visor.

The ghoul was not getting up again as I withdrew my axe. I quickly turned to look at the other fight. The ghoul was beating back Schmid. Extensive damage to his shield was clear. I quickly turned and engaged the third, catching it by surprise as I came in from behind it. It did turn in time to stop my axe from colliding with its head, but it did get its arm up to block the head blow. The force of my impact caused the forearm bone to shatter and the ghoul to scream in pain. Schmid used the opportunity presented around his long sword into the side of the ghoul’s head. It collapsed quickly and I was sure it was a fatal blow.

Schmid stood there, breathing hard from the adrenaline of the fight. I noticed it was far more twitchy than earlier. I could put it down to the fight he had just been through, but something inside me was saying something was wrong with him, but I couldn’t explain why. I quickly looked around to see if there were more hostiles or dangers we had to be aware of. Again, it came to me how much I had changed. The fight usually would have been a close-run thing for any other group of operatives. The sheer speed and ferocity of the ghouls would have overwhelmed most. Now to me, they were a lot slower and not as strong as evident from the fight.

Damn it! I was not even breathing that hard.

“You good?” I asked Schmid. It took a few seconds, but he did answer as he was getting his breathing under control.

“Yes. That was close.” It was now looking around at the battle site we had just gone through. I frown quickly covered his face as he counted the number of goals we had faced again and realised how fast they had been taken down.

“Okay, let’s move on then.” I told him, trying to pre-empt some uncomfortable questions that were forming in his mind. I turned, began walking along the road towards a destination and heard him catching up after a few seconds.