章節 29: Two halves

(Rody)

The big Deathless was glaring at him. Rody instinctively pulled out his hammer but it suddenly looked like a child's toy in front of the monster before him. His knees wobbled slightly. Large drops of sweat ran down the sides of his head. His chest heaved heavily every time he breathed.

With a loud grunt, the bearded Deathless started walking towards him. Rody froze. His body refused to listen to his brain. It wasn't similar to when he hesitated back at the bus. This time the cause wasn't just fear, it was a feeling of futility. Rody did not believe he would survive a fight with this Deathless. His huge built would have been intimidating even if he was still alive. Now that he was amongst the living dead, it made everything that much worse.

"Hold on, Rody!" Ray called out loudly, "We'll be right there. Leon, move your ass!"

That somehow managed to snap Rody out of his frozen state. The feeling in his limbs returned. He realized that he wasn't fighting alone. If the three of them fought together, they might have a chance.

Rody gripped his hammer tighter. He couldn't hesitate here, not again.

The Deathless was now only a few feet away from him. Gritting his teeth, Rody rushed forward with his hammer clenched firmly in his right hand. The big brute shot out an arm towards Rody which he managed to dodge by a hair. Managing to keep his posture, he struck down with his hammer onto the man's shoulder but it merely bounced off.

Rody clicked his teeth in annoyance and stepped back.

'I need to go for the head.' He reminded himself.

From the corner of his eye, he saw that his friends were balancing on the edge of the pool border and were slowly moving along it. They seemed to be trying to get behind the Deathless. Rody craned his neck and saw that Ray's weapon was lying down beside the brute. He understood what he had to do.

"That all you got?" He taunted the monster, "Come at me! I'm right here."

Rody didn't know if Deathless could still understand human speech but it seemed to have had some effect on his opponent. The bearded man opened his mouth and snarled, revealing a set of dark teeth, tainted by blood and dirt. One heavy step after another, he made his way towards Rody for a second time.

Rody walked backwards towards the opening in the fence. Half of him wanted to run outside and hope that The Deathless got baited into chasing him. That would give his friends enough time to escape. He was quite sure he could outrun this Deathless and make it back to Ray's flat. This one looked strong but didn't seem to be quick on his feet. But if the brute lost interest midway like the other Deathless and went back, Leon and Ray would be in an even worse situation. Rody needed to keep its attention on him. At least long enough for Ray to collect his javelin.

There was a soft thud, followed by "Ooof, shit!"

Leon had fallen down after making it onto the green pool mat. Ray jumped over him and ran towards his weapon. The beefy Deathless hadn't noticed them yet despite Leon's clumsiness. His focus remained fixed on Rody.

The brute then took two quick steps and raised both arms in the air. Rody realized what he was trying to do and hopped back a second before it slammed his huge fists onto the ground. Seeing a possible opening, Rody raised his hammer into the air. But the Deathless swerved and stood back up before he could land a blow.

Rody grimaced. This monster's movements were very different from the regular ones he had fought so far. It almost felt like this Deathless was aware of his weakness and was intentionally not allowing Rody an opportunity to strike his head.

'Great… smart AND strong. Can he breathe fire too?' Rody thought sarcastically.

Just then he noticed that Ray had scooped up his weapon. He clutched it in both hands and walked quickly towards the Deathless. When he was close enough, Ray raised the weapon high and brought it down hard in a stabbing motion. The point of the javelin pierced through the back of the brute's foot, just above the heel. The bearded Deathless gave a surprised grunt and dropped down on one knee.

Rody saw his chance and jumped into the air. He swung his hammer in a downward arc, similar to a tennis smash, and walloped the top of the Deathless's head. Rody felt the weight of the impact in his fist. His fingers stung a bit but that was a good sign. It guaranteed that the strike had been a solid one.

Feeling proud of his attack, Rody looked up only to have his minor elation shattered in an instant. The Deathless was scowling at him. He stood up slowly and menacingly. Rody gulped.

The bearded Deathless drew back his huge fist and threw a deadly punch. Rody managed to move aside in time but got grazed by his elbow. That slight contact itself sent a shockwave of pain through his abdomen. He dropped his hammer and fell to the side, clutching his stomach with his hands.

The Deathless turned and towered over him. He opened his mouth wide and started to bend down.

'Oh shit!' he thought, 'not like this…'

"Rody!" Ray shouted and ran up to the brute.

He thrusted his weapon sideways but missed the head. The javelin went straight into its neck as a splash of blood erupted from the wound. The Deathless seemed unfazed. He lifted an arm and brought it down hard. Ray's weapon immediately snapped into two jagged pieces and fell to the ground.

A stunned Ray stood rooted on the spot as the Deathless went for a backhand swing.

'Oh no! He can't dodge that!'

Just then, Leon darted forward and pushed Ray out of the way, taking the blow in his stead. Rody watched his friend get tossed backwards from the impact and land hard on his back.

"OWW! Fuckkkkk!" he cursed loudly in pain.

The Deathless turned towards the fallen Leon and crouched down on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He opened his disgusting mouth and moved forward for a bite.

Seeing this Rody immediately found the strength to get back on his feet. Beside him, he noticed that Ray was standing upright as well. He had picked up both pieces of his broken javelin and held them in either hand. He tossed one over to Rody which he caught.

Ray nodded. Rody did as well.

Together they charged at the crouched Deathless with the splintered weapon in their dominant hands. Rody went to the left of the brute while Ray moved to the right. Rody clutched the base of the weapon so hard that his hands began to go white. When both of them reached on either side of the Deathless's head, they used all their strength and impaled the two halves of the javelin straight into the beast's brain.

The Deathless froze a few inches away from Leon's neck. For a frightening second, Rody thought that even this attack hadn't been enough. But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, the Deathless leaned sideways and toppled to the ground with a loud thud. Rody instinctively moved his foot away to prevent it from being crushed.

He panted heavily as he looked down at the lifeless monster. He had done it. They had done it. They had taken finally taken it down.

Rody cheered loudly and rushed at Ray, embracing him tightly as he hopped a few times on the ground.

"YOOO, WE DID IT!" He yelled.

Ray laughed softly, "Yeah, still can't believe we managed that to be honest."

"Uhh—guys," Leon groaned, "Mind celebrating after helping me up?"

"Ahh, my bad..." Rody said.

He and Ray grabbed either side of Leon's shoulders and helped him to his feet. He clutched his chest in pain but managed to straighten himself.

"That was some blow you took." Rody said, "Will you be able to walk?"

"I think so," Leon said weakly, "Ah fuck… it hurts so much."

"I owe you one, mate." Ray said, "I would have been a goner if that had hit me."

"Don't mention it." Leon replied, "You came to the pool just to save me. Consider this my way of paying you back. Oh… And also as an apology for smacking you in the face."

Rody looked over at Ray and saw a red swelling on the side of his face. He was also soaking wet. Leon was too. Rody hadn't noticed this before as he was too focused on the massive Deathless that was trying to eat him.

"Woah, what happened to you two?" he asked before turning to Leon, "That big mark on his face… that was you?"

"Long story. But yeah, that was me. On accident, of course. I hit him with a mop."

Rody couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"A mop?" he asked, "Okay, I'm curious now. I need to know how it happened."

"No, you don't!" Ray said, slightly embarrassed.

"I'll tell you later." Leon promised with a wink.

Ray shook his head.

Almost immediately after their conversation ended, Ray's phone began to buzz. He picked it up and placed it against his ear.

"Yeah, Momo" he answered, "We're all safe, don't worry. We managed to—"

"Yeah, I saw." Meghan interrupted, "But listen… You need to get back. Fast! The horde is coming. It's heading towards our building!"

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