Chapter 79

A tiger came charging from the fog. It came in low and fast; I barely had time to turn to face it when it jumped. It collided with my shield with such force that I was knocked back several steps. In my present condition was more painful than usual. It was still clinging to my shield, its paws holding to the sides and its head biting into the top of the shield. But I was trying to drag the shield down with its body weight, but I was holding it firm.

I quickly dropped my axe and drew my gladius. This was close in work. The tiger was still standing on its hind legs and made a perfect target that I could not ignore. I drove the blade into its site and drove it deep. The creature yawled in pain as I twisted the blade as viciously as possible and withdrew it. The tiger jumped back simultaneously and began circling, the wound on its right side causing it to favour that side.

“That’s right, I not dying easily today!”

I did not bend down to retrieve my axe as I knew that would be suicide at the moment. Anyway, my gladius was the better weapon for this threat as when he attacked, it came in close quickly. I was forced to ignore the woman as the tiger was the aggressive one here. When the fight began, I noticed that she had moved further back, giving room for the combat. I was okay with that.

I stay focused and continue to circle, hunched, ready to pounce. This turbocharged grave chill slowed my reactions noticeably as every joint in my body seemed locked from the cold I was feeling. For the moment, the fear I had been experiencing was driven into the back of my mind and my anger was burning hot, trying to counter the cold. It was having limited success and I was shaking from its effects. I was battered, both physically and mentally, was the best way to describe it.

The tiger was waiting for an opportunity, but I wasn’t willingly giving it one; it decided to try anyway. I noticed that it was about to jump at me and I did something equally reckless in the spirit of the moment. As it jumped at me, I propelled myself forward.

The collision was painful; it got worse each time I absorbed another.

I caught the tiger as it jumped and it went headfirst straight into my shield, knocking it back. However, my right arm and shoulder received the brunt of the force of the shield's impact.

I press forward with the blade along the edge of the shield. The tiger seemed stunned by the force of the impact and I did not give it time to recover. As it turned to face me, I got as close as possible, driving my blade into its skull near the hilt.

I could see its eyes. I could have sworn it was surprised that it was dead. That freaked me out for a reason I could not say. I gripped the blade and followed it as it collapsed lifelessly on the ground. When I was sure it was dead, I tried to pull the blade out, but it was stuck. I was forced to use my foot on its body and a brace to remove the blade forcibly. The blade came free with a grunt from me and I staggered back. I cleaned the blade on my leg and put it back into its sheath.

I had come to understand that these tigers were only a real danger to the untrained or when they ambushed. They were not that strong or tough but were fast and take that away; they were easier to kill.

Turning, I walked over and picked up my axe. I swear I can hear my joints creaking. I am aching and moving slower than usual. The woman’s voice had battered me good and hard.

I looked at the woman’s figure in the fog to see what she would do. She is still standing there watching me with the same passive look she arrived with. I stood ready again, telling with my actions that I was not changing my mind. I don’t bother attacking as my instincts tell me I would be dead in seconds. I was getting major danger vibes from her that I was not going to ignore.

She lifted her hand once again. Swearing under my breath, I looked around again to the best of my ability while not taking my eyes too long off her. With a quick cutting motion, she dropped her hand.

A ghoul came charging from the fog just to her left. The ghoul was a heavy-set male, which did not impede how fast it moved. I had only seconds to respond to its attack.

I charged forward and met it head-on.

The impact of the collision shook my whole body again. I rammed into it using the flat side of my shield and my right arm and shoulder took the brunt of the impact force. My whole arm creaked under the force it encountered. I felt the pain through the cold gripping me. We both were knocked back several steps by the collision’s force. The ghoul’s face had hit my shield as it was shorter than me and was a bloody mess. Black blood smearing its face. The stench was worse than normal; I was forcing myself not to throw up.

I knew it would not stop it and was proven right as it attacked again. It lashed out with its clawed hands, trying to rip through my armour. I moved back, using my shield to block or knock aside these attacks. The chill affecting me was slowing me down to a dangerous degree.

I kept moving back, trying to get the ghoul to overextend and present me with an opening, but it continued pressing. Material splinters flew from my shield as its attacks were blocked. This composite shield proved to be more robust and durable than I expected.

I am tired. I need to do something different to win this.

I block another attack away and charge forward. We collide again and more pain follows the impact. The shield once again impacts with its head. This time it staggers and gives me the opening I need. I swung my axe at the head, but the ghoul twisted, getting its arm in the way. The axe sliced deeply and I ripped it back. I might have heard a cracking sound on the impact, but I was unsure. Black blood oozed from the wound.

The ghoul roared in rage and pain, backing away a meter or two and separating us. We glare at each other. I am breathing harder than I would like; exhaustion is a concern I have to face. Cardio training and adrenaline can only take you so far. Its arm might be broken from the way it hangs at its side. God, I hope so.

We charge each other again.

Before we clashed, it dropped down to a knee and slashed my leg. I was not expecting this and could not reposition my shield in time; its claws sliced through my right thigh armour.

Pain flared. Stopping me fast.

“FFFuuccckk!” I screamed out.

I hit out with my axe as I pull back but miss the head as the ghoul ducks further down, clipping a shoulder. It gets back to its feet. I limped back as fast as I could with my injury. Burning pain surged from the wound. I cannot put my full weight on it right now. Being my right leg meant I could not lean on it when I had a full-body blow to block or bash with my shield. Not good.

We circle each other.

Moving helps me not at all. The wound is bleeding and I feel the blood running down my leg. I have no idea how bad the injury is, as I cannot risk inspecting it.

It comes at me again.

I step to my left but not enough. The ghoul hits my shield with its body. My leg almost gives out under the force of the impact; I am gritting my teeth from the pain. The ghoul, however, knocked off course as I was moving, rolling it to the side.

I spin, screaming in pain from my leg and swing my axe. This time my axe hits true, the axe blade hitting the back of the ghoul’s head as it passed me. It embeds deeply and the skull collapses in part. The body continues another step or two dragging my axe from my hand, then drops to the floor.

I breathe hard from the fighting and pain.

I limp to the body and pull my axe from the head. I find it challenging, but I get it out with effort. Everything is hurting, with my leg being the worst. This injury means I will not be able to run now. The extra training I have been doing has paid off here. A ghoul like this would have easily killed me a few years ago.

I turn to favour my right leg to face the woman again. She still had a passive look but seemed interested in what she was watching. She raises her hand again.

I do my best to get ready for whatever is coming next. She seems to be in no hurry to drop it and I take this opportunity to assess my physical condition quickly. The heated pain from my leg contrasts sharply with the cold and the rest of my body. All my joints are hurting and my lower back is throbbing mainly from the shock impacts. I am probably bruised all over. It is clear to me that I’m in a bad way.

Her arm falls again and the new figure emerges from the fog and a more casual pace to the ghoul. As it emerges from the fog, I get a good look at it. It was one of those armoured things from Rome that ripped through the defensive line in front of the Vatican. I start swearing like there’s no tomorrow under my breath.

The humanoid figure walked with a calm and measured stride toward me. Its body was covered with the unknown substance that made up its armour plate sections reflecting the little light from the sun and flares. What light was reflected was distorted, like the surface was covered in oil. Its two glowing red eyes were clear to see through the fog and focused on me through the visor slit. Its head was encased in an old-fashioned helmet with no gaps around the mouth or ears, just the visor for the eyes. Its two hands were also armoured with the extended claws that I had seen rip through armour and bodies like paper.

I glanced over its body again and noted that the armour was in segmented sections. Similar to how a Roman legionnaire’s armour was worn, this is part of its body. What flesh I could see was a dull grey and looked coarse or even dead. I knew the stuff was strong and hoped like hell that my axe could penetrate it.

It was roughly the same height as me and male in its physical build. I raise my shield and axe, ready, looking over the edge as this thing approaches me. I quickly assessed this new threat and came to one conclusion. I could not stand and fight it as it would rip me to pieces. Brute forcing it into submission was utterly out of the question due to its armour. I needed to move and do my best to force it to give me openings to hit back. The problem was my right leg.

When it was a few feet away, it suddenly went on the attack. I was ready and quickly stepped to the left. It lunged at me with its clawed hands striking upwards from the waist. One hand, I altogether avoided. The other grazed my shield as I deflected its course. I arch my back to prevent the claws from making contact with my body as its angle cut through the shield at the top leaving gouges I could see through.

I quickly backed up several more steps to give myself more room. My leg talked to me with pain the whole way.

My opponent turned and faced me calmly, noting my movements.

Then it was moving again.

I nearly forgot how fast these things were.

It struck again and this time, I moved to the right. My leg screamed in protest. I grunted in pain, almost losing my footing. I rolled with the blow again from the claws, but this time part of the top section of the shield was sheered clean off.

I continue backing away, gritting my teeth through the pain.

Once again, it simply turned and faced me and began following.

Then attacking.

This time when I tried to get out of the way, it grabbed my shield with one hand and lunged over it with the other. I barely had time to thrust my arm forward and arch my back away from it but not fast enough. His clawed hand raked across my helmet and I could feel it penetrating. My faceplate was ripped clean away as the claws narrowly missed my face.

I pushed forward with my entire body weight and pushed the thing back slightly as it was heavier than it looked.  It let go of my shield and allowed itself to back up several steps.

I quickly backed up again as well to get more room to move.

Blood was trickling down my head and onto my face.

The faceplate was no longer in front of me and I could feel the damp air of the zone on my face. Clouds of steam were reproduced from my mouth as I was breathing hard. The fear and adrenaline make my heart rate pound. My leg pulsed in time with it.

I will not be able to continue much longer.

The thing was too fast, too strong and my armour would not hold up to its claws. Running was a no-go due to my leg. So, I would have to attack it as it was my only option. Against this thing, a damn shitty one at that.

Before it could start walking forward again, I attacked. Ignoring the pain in my leg, I charge forward.

I don’t know if this surprised it because it made no reaction as I swung down with my axe striking its shoulder armour. I had aimed for the head, but the pain from the wound in my leg had me off target.

My axe collided with a shoulder plate and just bounced off. I quickly recovered and struck again and again, but the axe bounced off the armour plates I hit each time. With a casual flick of his arm and wrist, this creature sliced my axe head cleanly off the handle.

This shocked me; I was forced to back up quickly. I was still holding the now useless handle in my hand and looked at it, still not fully grasping what had just happened.

I dropped the axe handle like it was electrified and quickly grabbed for my gladius.

It took a few fumbles to get my hand onto the handle and I quickly drew it. All the while, I was looking over the reduced top of my shield at my opponent.

It did not move during this time and only watched me. It was not mocking in its stance, more like studying.

We were close enough that the fog didn’t impede my vision. I quickly looked at the areas that I’d hit with my axe and did not even see a hint of damage.

Fuck!

The attack did not come without cost to me, as my right leg was now in almost blinding pain. It was getting harder to move in any meaningful way or put weight on it.

The cold, logical part of my mind told me I was not getting out of this one. I have faced death many times, especially in the last two years, but this was different I felt. It wasn’t just the chill fog in my mind and sapping my strength, knowing this was something different. I looked at all the possible angles I could think of and they all led me to the same conclusion.

So, I did the only thing I could think of, I smiled. I did this for the simple reason that this mama’s boy is one stubborn son of a bitch and was not going down easily.

It came at me again and I went forward as fast as possible to meet it. I got inside its guard as I realised that the claws were its primary offensive weapon, but if I did get close, I could reduce their effectiveness. I pushed past the pain from my leg and propelled myself on, which surprised me as much as my opponent.

I thrust my gladius from the hip slightly upwardly, looking for any way through the armour. We collide, but I still keep thrusting, trying to find a way to wound this thing.

Suddenly the plate finds what I was looking for a slide under one of the armour sections and into the beast. I put all my weight on my bad leg, pushing the blade deeper, right up to the hilt. My opponent makes them sound, but I feel its body tense from the injury. It pushed me back with a forearm forcibly and with my bad leg, I staggered and grunted in pain. My leg almost gave way again. I managed to stay standing, but not for much longer at this rate.

My blade is still in its side and I can see black blood oozing from the wound. I do not get along to enjoy my victory as it thrust forward with one of his clawed hands. I barely get my shield up in time as the claw punches through the shield. Pain erupts from my right arm as one of the claws skews right through the shield and my arm. The armour plate on the arm did nothing to stop the claw blade and I looked down; I can the triangular claw protruding a few inches through my arm.

“ARGHHH!” I scream out in pain.

The claw is withdrawn, blood is now pumping freely from my arm, and burning pain is far eclipsing my leg. But my right arm and leg are in bad shape, and I know this will soon be over.

Part of me is relieved at knowing this.

I stagger back, cradling my arm as my left hand desperately searches for my final weapon, my trench knife. I find it, wrap my hands around a knuckle duster, and pull it free, the blade facing down. I have no time to treat the wounded arm, and I will probably bleed out if this carries on any longer.

I’m starting to see black spots in my vision as blood loss and the punishment I received today are taking their toll.

I am so weary.

Not just from the fight but all of this.

The wounds I have received compete to tell me that they are the most serious, with different levels of burning pain. I can barely stay standing, staggering like a drunk.

It’s getting harder to see.

I can hardly focus.

I look around, knowing that no help is coming, but part of me still looks and still hopes against hope.

But all I see is the fog and those from it who wish me dead. Or worse.

The flares are still in the sky, giving everything a red tint.

I realise that the creature is advancing on me.

It’s so hard just to stay standing. I don’t think I got any fight left.

It’s getting hard to see now and the cold has drowned out the pain.

All I feel is the cold.

Desperation is a savage mistress, but it gives me one more idea.

My last throw of the dice, again.

I fake that I am worsening to get this thing close. Which in my condition isn’t hard.

When I think it’s close enough and make my final move.

I push forward with everything I have, jumping forward and feeling something go with my leg.

Come on! Come on! Come on!

I collide with this thing and again, I think I surprised it by the sheer stupidity of my move. Pain erupts from my left chest, but I keep going by sheer momentum. I angled the blade in my hand, forcing it forward with my body weight behind it. The handle is just under my collarbone.

I think I used up the last of my luck with this one manoeuvre.

The blade slides into the visor slit, right into one of its eyes. The impact of my body weight knocking over and driving the blade down to the hilt. We hit the ground with me on top. It spasmed under me and the pain on my left side increased.

Looking down with great effort, I see one of the clawed hands had ripped into my side and is still there.

This could be better.

I start quickly coughing up blood, a lot of blood.

…….

I can’t move anymore.

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Breathing... hard.

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Thinking…. hard……. again.

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Getting…. dark.

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Time to sleep.