The third day, yet again another start as before, Shawn’s eyes opening, him sitting, though this time an arm would hang down next to him, Ellie’s arm. Standing, he’d look back throwing his shirt on seeing her asleep, then seeing the train moving even though it was dark out, “[What the? Why are we moving in the night?]”
Slowly sliding the door open and walking out, his head moving around glancing, then stepping left going forward, moving into the next car only to see Francis, “Hey uh, Francis, why are we moving in the middle of the night?”
Francis would turn, a rather serious yet not angry look on his face, at least at first, his teeth gritting, slowly muttering, “It isn’t… we’re in the village.”
“What do you mean?”
Opening a side door, a bellow of smoke would roll right inside for about three seconds until Francis shut it up quick, “It’s eleven right now… the city, burned.”
“What!?” came the gasp of Shawn.
A door up ahead quick to roll open, Steven jumping in, “Francis, we- oh good, Shawn’s up, he can come too.”
“What’s going on sir? Why did the city start on fire? What’s going on?!”
“When we rolled in the dome was shattered and smoke was bellowing out the top like a volcano. We’re about to pull up out of the smoke cloud and need a team ready to go out and survey the area.”
“How did this happen?!”
“We don’t know Shawn, truly we don’t… but we suspect it might have been a malfunction with the grid, letting the Darkling inside to attack.”
“I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen!?”
“The Church is dispatching the Black Guard here immediately to dig deep, at the moment, no one knows what happened.”
A rumble, sending Shawn flying forward into a stumbling Francis and sending Steven back, the train coming to an abrupt halt, sending people rolling out of their beds, then movement on top of the train from the White Guard moving quick.
“Now what?” Steven would growl stumbling up walking to the door, opening it only to hear shouting and splatter of liquid, shock filling his eyes, “It’s the city’s main center, it’s in total ruin!”
“So the chance for survivors is-”
“We can’t dwell on that now. For now, we must act quick and get out there. Shawn, you and Francis wake up the others. Come on Francis.”
“Right.”
Opening the door, both would quickly fly outside into the smoke and ruble, practically disappearing as Shawn walked up to the door, shutting it. Stepping back and leaning against the wall, breathing in heavily, he’d look around just in time to see Stevenson, Erin, and Dawn walking into the car.
“Bro, what’s going on?”
“We just arrived at the place and… the whole dome is shattered and the town is on fire. Steven thinks the dome malfunctioned or something.”
“But that can’t be!”
“No way-”
“Where are Steven and Francis?”
“They both went out with the White Guard to look around.
“Then what are we waiting for, let’s get going!”
“We need the three angry jerks first.”
The sound of gun shots outside, quickly making Shawn turn and rip the door open with a bolt out, stepping down onto black ash and some dirt, quick darting glances around till the next set of shots, moving quick towards them as Erin and Dawn would spill out, “Shawn, come back!”
Dawn running first, then followed by Stevenson and Erin heading right towards the source in formation, arms pumping, weapons forgotten by Shawn who in turn was seeming to be reckless with this approach. Skidding to a halt, his face turning blue, before him, a mound of burned corpses, some burned to the bone, some with the skeleton burned black and cracked, the lingering scent of rotting flesh leading to him to drop forth to his knees and heave.
The sound of spray splattering on the ground with his heave, while the others would run up though also stopping, seeing the sight.
“Oh god.”
“What even?”
“Huh!?”
At that moment, the skeletons would roll, black figures bolting up, looking like liquid yet solid at the same time type black, the Darkling!
“Oh shit, enemy attack!”
Three would be sent flying overhead from the right, flung shrieking as Steven slammed down, holding a light staff, “COME ON YOU BASTARDS!” Beside him, Francis with Light Gauntlets, lit up and ready to tear into something. Turning round, “Shawn, quick!” Dawn would shout, tossing forward a Light Sword to him, just as those under the skeletons launched themselves.
Round and catching, he’d twirl and slash out to hit all three, in doing so they were truly hit and would shriek in pain from the hit.
“There’s a fucking army of these things, get back to the train!”
Steven would turn around with Francis, rushing forward as an army of the bastards shot forward, crawling on four legs looking like giant insectoids. Taking on a fair portion with the White Guard closing in behind, Shawn shot forward, Erin stumbling back with two flanking her. Darting around and a swift swing, Shawn split one down the middle and then another to stab right into the brain of the second, green ooze spraying on Shawn’s face as he ripped the blade out, standing defensively.
“Get back to the train, now!” he’d shout, backing up as the others began to run quick, Shawn remaining in defensive form. It wasn’t long as three more Darkling came rushing forward, twenty-nine of them. Turning to run with the group, they’d make a complete launch for the train door, Stevenson and Dawn getting to it with Shawn close behind that is, until the scream, “Help!”
Turning back, Erin flopped, tangled in some form of thread, making Shawn stop and bolt back much to the horror of Dawn, “Shawn, no!” Jumping and swinging out yelling, he quickly cut into one, swinging wildly to cut down two more, then to impale and side slash another for a kill count beginning to climb. Swinging left, then right, thrusting forward, repeating keeping them off as he stood over Erin, shouting while swinging down cutting the thread, “RUN!”
With a nod, Erin crawled towards the train and bolted though as doing such, Shawn would quickly find himself surrounded by shrieking Darkling. Behind him, rushing out, the trio, eyes wide with shock, Ellie looking around then seeing Shawn.
“What does he think he’s doing!?” Zedd would shout as if angry.
Standing his ground, swinging out, a few leaping at him and only to cut them down, that is until the thirteenth shot into his back pinning him, the others quickly swarming on top digging their legs in and stabbing him, his yells of pain lasting only momentarily as in a mere moment, a burst of light smacked into the Darkling, sending them flying, a staff sticking in the ground, Steven’s. Rushing up and grabbing him, Francis, then Steven nearby with the staff, “ON THE TRAIN!”
ns 15.158.61.20da2
