Twelve

1 – Jessica

   Regardless that Jessica admired Melissa’s do-good attitude, she couldn’t say she was entirely sold on the idea of risking her life to save what little survivors remained on the mountain. It might have been the heroic thing to do, but if everyone were a hero than no one would be. If a shooter came through a shopping mall guns blazing, surely no one would fault a survivor for not finding the courage to disarm them. They had the chance to make it through all of this and live, protected by the apparent veil projected by the Water Lily. Surely that was a better way to honor the victims than a half baked attempt at saving them that would only result in their deaths? Melissa seemed adamant in her intent, however, and, in a way, that made Jessica feel stupid enough to go along with it.

   “They make their rounds, but I would call it sporadic, at best,” Jessica replied, answering Melissa’s desire for information about the robed figures and their rotation. “I don’t know if its that curiosity finds the better of them and they want to go and look around for themselves or if they are crazy enough to chance it, but every now and again a group of them will venture out and explore the mountain.” Their venturing was actually how Jessica was able to find their hideout at all, following the first robed man she had seen.

   “Then we will have to wait it out until then, or when there is enough distance to make our move,” Melissa explained.

   “Make our move? There is no move to be made, only suicide!” Jessica replied in a shouting whisper. Melissa’s scheme was nonexistent. Her heart was set on the radio tower only a short ways away from the group. It was the same radio tower the woman had used to inform everyone of their imminent demise. It wouldn’t be difficult to reach it. The woman hadn’t went back to it since and it would be a while before nightfall came, but once they used it, they would surely be on their tail, ready to hunt them down and kill them. Either that, or they would force them out from the veil.

2 – K.J

   Something appeared to have changed in Officer Davis McIntyre when he saw Crystal’s remains. K.J. had seen her once or twice at the University, but Officer McIntyre appeared to have taken it as a personal defeat. The anger radiated off of him and K.J. didn’t relent to offer him the shotgun she had found at the checkpoint. All she cared about was survival and killing the motherfuckers who had brought the apocalypse to Mt. Kass, and Officer McIntyre would be better at head shots.

   Officer McIntyre ran point in-front of K.J., with the middle-aged man creeping his way forward with the shotgun readied encase one of the Kudos soldiers revealed themselves. The sky was starting to darken, becoming that blood-like shade of red it had the night prior.

   K.J. could feel the cold air as it brushed against the back of her neck, feeling her hair stand up and her body shiver. Although the adrenaline had brought the edge off, the fear was making her jumpy and paranoid, reacting to every twig breaking in two beneath her own feet as though it were a demon about to grab her ankles and drag her to the depths of hell.

   Against everything they had met at the mountain, the shotgun would prove to be nothing more than security theater. No different than the nonsense protocol at an airport to prevent bombers, it only created the illusion of something, it didn’t make it any better. If a group of horsemen arrived, swinging swords, then, their firepower would be extinguished and their throats would be slit. The only ones the shotgun would mean anything for was the woman who started it all, whoever she was.

   “Stop,” Officer McIntyre commented, extending his hand out in-front of K.J. for a reason she knew not.

   It was a small sound. K.J. heard it now as well, but she couldn’t say for certain what it was. They stalled their breathing, but soon realized that would not be enough. Whatever it was, it was headed their direction at a brisk, attentive speed.

   Officer McIntyre looked down at the shotgun, perhaps wondering whether they should chance their survival or run. The shotgun had only four bullets to spare.

   Soon, the creature revealed itself. It was an armored soldier for certain, but this one was different. This soldier wore a helm that resembled a lion’s head and armor that resembled a dull gold color. It looked familiar in a way that K.J. couldn’t dignify, clearly belonging to an important Kudos soldier. His armor was bloodstained and it did appear as though he was limping slightly.

   Officer McIntyre readied the shotgun and fired off a bullet in the soldier’s direction. The soldier nearly fell to his back as the bullet met its mark but managed to keep his balance enough to save himself.

   “Run!” Officer McIntyre yelled, as he turned his back from the soldier and high-tailed it through some tree branches, disappearing in the forest.

   K.J. did as she was instructed, running in a direction opposite the Officer. She ran as fast as she could. As nice as the Officer seemed, she hoped her speed convinced the soldier to target the older of them.

   That didn’t appear to happen, as the moment she turned around, she could see the man with the lion-head chasing after her. The way he moved wasn’t human. His movements resembled that of an animal, a fact only fitting given his ensemble, but K.J. sensed something beyond that as well. The way he moved with such force made it seem as if he could bulldoze over anything, like he could slash through whole trees if they came in his way.

   It wasn’t long until it became clear her attempts were merely that. The man with the lion-head soon had her in his clutches, mounted on her with the backdrop of the devil’s sky behind him.

   The armored man hesitated, reacting to a sound from behind him. Shortly after, K.J. was left awestruck by the sight of the disfigured man; his face no longer obscured by his helmet. It was Officer McIntyre’s doing, knocking his helmet off with the handle of the shotgun. Officer McIntyre readied the shotgun again and fired. This time the blast did more than merely ricochet off his armor. The soldier’s head was blasted off his shoulders and, soon after, his entire body faded into ash.

   K.J. looked over at Officer McIntyre, who was breathing heavily.

   At last, his breathing calmed, “You’re safe, kid.”  

3 – Melissa

   Melissa led the way in-front of Jessica, turning her head to look back on occasion to make for certain Jessica hadn’t ran off. They had nothing to fight with. They had no knives, no guns, and Melissa felt grabbing a stick would only slow them down. The objective was straightforward and simple, whereas the outcome depending heavily on chance. They hurried onward. Of the ten cult members, three of them had wandered from beyond the veil, whereas the others remained at their post. By Melissa’s estimate, they would only have about five or so minutes to flee from the radio tower before the robed cultists arrived to kill them.

   There were metal steps that wrapped around the pillars and beams that carried the radio tower to a higher elevation. Melissa’s boots stamped down on the steps, and, as she did so, she observed how they elevated about fifteen-something feet elevated from the ground. She carried on. Jessica hadn’t said a word to her for a while. The poor girl was likely steaming with anxiety by now. No matter, Melissa didn’t have it in her to stop and comfort her. She, at last, arrived at the door leading to the inside and walked in.

4 – Officer McIntyre

   “If I could have everyone’s attention. The ones responsible for all the fucked up things running around the mountain are at the very top of it. They summoned the creatures and there is a veil that is projected around them that keeps them safe from what they unleashed. Either you come join us, or you will be dead by nightfall. There is at least ten of them, so, be prepared. Good luck.”

   There was static on the other end, like the individual was too busy scrambling to concern themselves with whether their voice was still on-air or not. Officer McIntyre could swear he recognized the voice on the other end. It was the woman at one of the checkpoints who helped him bandage up a walking corpse, he believed. However, she sounded different some way, and he couldn’t be for certain if it was the same person.

   Whoever it was or for whatever the reason, Officer McIntyre was grateful as he and K.J. carried onward. Mt. Kass no longer played by anyone’s rules, it seemed. It was a navigator’s worst nightmare and that would make it difficult for them to find where the top of the mountain even was. By all assumptions, it should have been obvious. Detective McIntyre looked in-front of himself at all the trees and how it appeared they were headed upward. Unfortunately, when he looked behind himself, the same could be said. On a larger scale, his surroundings appeared like he was on a piece of paper beginning to fold in on itself, or like a ramp at a skate park. And, yet, above all of it, the red sky looked down at him, which suggested there must have been a beginning and an end.

   A small flicker of light shot off in the distance someways ahead of him. Someone had shot off a flare by the looks of it. This must have been where the woman had spoken of. It had to have been. The light was fired off from the very end of skateboard ramp of a mountain. That must have been the peak. This would be where they were headed.

   “It could be a load of shit, a way of trying to cleanup any unexpected loose ends,” K.J. commented. “Not saying we shouldn’t go though.”

   “Right,” Officer McIntyre replied, “It sure beats whatever will happen to us if we stand around and don’t do anything at all.”

5 – Jessica

Jessica grabbed Melissa’s hand the very second her final words escaped her lips, barely even letting her have the opportunity to fire off one of the flares she had snatched up from one of the compartments in the small building. The robed freaks would be after them now, and even if she hadn’t seen them carrying weapons, they very likely had them. She tugged her forward, breathing heavily as she did. 

   Melissa yanked her arm free from Jessica’s clutches. Jessica looked at her with frantic worry in her eyes. Melissa motioned toward the bloodstain on her ribs, “I’ll need a little more of an advantage than that if I am going to outrun them.”

   She turned and, a moment later, without hesitance, she made the ten foot leap off from the radio tower, landing on the grass in a rolling position as she did. She climbed to her feet and continued forward, without apparent injury.

   Jessica took in a breath and braced herself to do the same. She hesitated for only a moment. Heights had never been a specialty of hers, perhaps it would have even been faster to take the long way around, after all. The last thing she heard was a bullet being fired off.

6 – Melissa

   Melissa could only look on as Jessica fell, killed by what appeared to have been a long-ranged weapon of some kind. It was different than when any of the creatures had been killed. It had been realer on some level. Jessica did not fall away to ashes, but, instead, fell against the metal floor with a thud, bleeding a very real liquid.

   She didn’t mourn for Jessica, even if she had been braver than she had any right to expect, that would have to wait until later. Instead, she turned around and she ran. She would need to venture away from the robed figures, but make certain to stay close enough that the Water Lily’s veil wasn’t left behind. Seeing where its coverage ended would be easy enough. The mountain actually still looked like a mountain when she was under the veil and not a madman’s molded creation.

   She ran forward, favoring her injured limbs, but doing her best to fight beyond that. Jessica’s death was unfortunate, but it could have offered Melissa an opportunity. Maybe it had taken them time to ready themselves before they sniped her out? If so, maybe they hadn’t seen who had spoken into the intercom and, therefore, maybe they didn’t know there was a second person to search for?

   Melissa held onto that thought for a few seconds and used it as a means of comfort. But this was Mt. Kass and it doesn’t deal in comfort. 

   Bang!

   The loud sound of a bullet being fired off struck her eardrums. She dropped to her knees, looking on as the bullet met its mark – severing a shard of bark cleanly off one of the nearby trees.

   She couldn’t stop now though. She fought back to her feet again and ran onward. Another bullet was shot. It missed once again. It would seem the sniper was something less than a trained marksman when it came to moving targets. She continued forward, taking a left and then a right, until she felt comfortable the sniper wouldn’t be able to reach her.

   The rest of her attackers would be pursuing her on foot, but she had hopefully bought herself from distance from them.

   Her body felt beaten, battered, and exhausted, like she could fall on her face at any given moment. Her eyes surveyed the area, but came up short in finding a proper hiding spot. How she longed for a hollowed tree she could crawl into and sleep through the end of the world, but she had neither the time nor will to stop and search.

   The mountain changed around her. She had went too far. She turned around and began to head back. This was the invisible boundary mark, it seemed.

   The footsteps made her hesitant, however, and, only a moment after, she now saw a handful of robed figures heading in her direction. She turned herself back around and ran again.

   They weren’t stopping. They were either smart enough to know she would find a way to circle back around and re-enter the veil or angry enough not to care about the risk.

   She could hear loud expletives and what sounded like rocks thrown her way, but did not hear any bullets being fired. Perhaps the person with the sniper rifle was the only armed man. Either that, or they hadn’t taken the time to retrieve their weapons.

   In time, her running was reduced to a fast jog, the exhaustion was becoming unbearable and the stabbing pain in her side was immense.

   Before her, the mountain was changing again.

   Rain began to come down. It soon worsened, evolving from a light drizzle to a heavy downpour. The sky began to darken.

   Melissa turned and looked back at her pursuers who were as taken by the result. Leafless trees sprouted out from the ground loudly at odd angles, like thorny acupuncture needles, as unkempt and sporadic as the bristles on an old hair brush.

   Melissa held her stare at the robed men, using the opportunity to catch her breath. She hoped they would turn around and leave her behind, but that didn’t happen.

   They continued. There was five of them. As they did, however, one of them soon lost their balance as the land began to tilt inward. The others and Melissa all managed to keep their composure.

   The heavy rain drenched her body, and it was becoming harder and harder to see.

   Melissa let out a small whimper as she searched her surroundings, and that fear was soon amplified by what she heard next – horses.

   A bullet went off, catching her by surprise as it grazed the side of her arm. She dropped to the ground, landing in a large puddle of mud that nearly engulfed her. The rain would surely drown them all in the end.

7 – Officer McIntyre

   Officer McIntyre ran point as they approached the mountain’s peak. This was around where the flare had been fired off. He had the shotgun readied. It carried only four bullets with it, and he intended to make every single one of them count.

   The rain was coming down hard. No doubt this would be the “end” the first woman on the intercom had yammered about. Personally, Officer McIntyre was more concerned about the second woman he’d heard on the intercom. She must have went to great lengths to deliver the message she did. Officer McIntyre wanted nothing more than to shake her hand, or, at the very least, try and help her survive.

   “Davis,” K.J. said, acknowledging the three figures a short ways in-front of them.

   The figures were soaked and their black robes were soggy. Officer McIntyre could see the difficulty they had moving around.

   “…,” Officer McIntyre opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words. Instead, he carried on forward, keeping his weapon prepped.

   The very second the robed men became aware of his presence, they flinched, preparing to flee.

   “One more step and I lodge a bullet into each of you!” Officer McIntyre yelled over the rain.

   The figures remained still. After everything that had happened, they had to have known better than to think he would hesitate to shoot.

   Each of them wore masks, although they appeared ruined and disfigured by the rain.

   “How do we stop this!?” Officer McIntyre yelled.

   “It can’t be stopped,” One of the figures, a man, said, in a voice that sounded muffled by the rain.

   “What!?” Officer McIntyre yelled, motioning for him to take off his mask.

   The man obliged. It was a young man whose eyes looked sunken in. His dark hair was unkempt and went partly over his eyes. “The only way it can be stopped is by sacrificing one soul for each Aeonian. That is the only way to stop the oncoming flood, but it is too late now.”

   Officer McIntyre looked down, feigning as though he was truly reflecting on what the robed man said. He wasn’t, however. 

   Instead, after a moment, he looked back at the man again with fury in his eyes. He fired off a round that ended the robe man’s life as though it had been nothing at all. And, as the second and third person turned to make their leave, he fired off a bullet into each of them as well. The whole act was morbidly therapeutic, no matter how cruel it might have been.

   Officer McIntyre looked down at the fallen with admitted satisfaction. His eyes wandered over to K.J., who appeared startled by the ordeal but far from in disarray. He found a beauty in the poetry of it all, the way he had discarded them like nothing was not unlike how the Kudos soldiers had done everyone else on the mountain, slaughtering outright and fast.

   They weren’t far from where the flare had been fired now. The shotgun only carried a single bullet. That meant if the other cultists came to investigate, they would have to either be quick on their feet or cleverer than them.

8 – Melissa

   Melissa opened her eyes and felt the rain come down, having to fight her best to see the red sky above. Then, something sheltered her from the rain – peculiarly, it was a shield.

   Melissa tried to fight back to her feet and failed. She felt herself being restrained and shushed. She looked around herself. She saw an army of men surrounding her, but these weren’t the Kudos soldiers. Melissa smiled for a moment, the cult had brought the worst of the mountain back from death, it only made sense they would bring back the other combatants in the Great War.

   They led her without saying a word, and, after everything, after all she had been through, she wasn’t in any state to try and be a conversationalist.

   She didn’t know whether it was out of kindness or instinct, the same way she didn’t know if the Kudos soldiers slaughtered for cruelty or because they were brought back for that purpose. To them, she might have been no more than a component in a game of Capture the Flag, but she liked to think otherwise.

 As they carried her, her ears could hear screaming, and without needing to look, she felt confident the voices were the plaintive cries of the cultists. Times of war brought out the worst of us, after all.