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Description
Crossroad Zombie Breakdown

Melanie leaned against the hood of the car and wiped the sweat that had begun beading along her brow. It was the middle of October and it still felt as warm and sultry as the start of July. She and Will had been sent up to the delta region to take care of some strange energy emanating from a set of crossroads. Things so far had gone pretty smoothly, the only problems had been trying to find a gas station that had modern day conveniences. It wasn't strange though that they had had to make a day long trip over all this. It was October and that meant that most of the main offices of paranormal watch groups were up to their ears in investigating all kinds of freaky occurrences. Melanie and Will were just helping out where they could. Kate simply chalked it up as more practice. Will needed to focus on some basics anyways.

A whiff of smoke blew past were Melanie stood and the sent of sage was strong in the air. She turned her head to see Will passing about the crossroads with a burning bundle of sage. He was currently closing any dimensional portals and purifying the area. Sage smoke was an ancient tool and a bundle of sage was pretty cheap to come across. Melanie found the scent rather relaxing and she could really feel the energy of the place tone down. The crossroads were often the center of paranormal activity: wandering spirits, strange psychic phenomenon, even a rumor or two about them being the haunt of the devil himself. Melanie wasn't about to reach out and get in contact with anything that could be lingering about.

Will finished his consecration of the area and shuffled back to the car. He looked pretty worn out and Melanie figured that since this was their third one today that he was about to his limit on energy. "How about you take a nap in the back Will?" Melanie gestured to the back of the car. "I got this. It looks like it's only a thirty minute drive to the next town anyways."

"I guess, it definitely wouldn't hurt to catch a couple of Z's," he yawned and opened the back door and slipped into the car, flopping over on the back seat. "Man, it is way too hot to be autumn."

"You said it." Melanie slid into the driver's seat and started up the car, turning the AC on high. She pulled out the road map from the glove compartment and looked to see where they would be heading to next. The closest name on the map was what seemed to be a little farm town called 'Lambert'. Melanie had lived in the state her whole life, but really wasn't surprised that she hadn't heard of the place before. She was praying there would at least be a decent coffee shop in the town to grab a bite to eat. Beef jerky wasn't really cutting it anymore.

Melanie pulled the car around and headed south along the road which was more gravel than neatly poured concrete. She could feel herself becoming slowly hypnotized by the flat, lifeless scenery that surrounded the car. It was almost thrilling to see a few trees and a couple of cows every now and then. She and Will had done this last year and even though they had brought enough music to keep things lively, even that was starting to wear out.

It wasn't until she was twenty miles from where they had last stopped that she spotted someone walking along the side of the road. Melanie almost ran off the road at the sudden shock of spotting someone this far out. The sudden jolt of the car woke Will up from his nap. "Ngh, jeez Mel, what the hell happened? You hit something? Or somebody?"

"Shut up, Will." Melanie stuck her tongue out at him and then pointed to the figure ahead of them. "I saw that poor guy walking along the road. Should we pick him up?"

"It's pretty hot, I feel sorry for him. I don't know. You know what they say about picking up hitchhikers." Will scratched his chin and leaned forward to get a better look at the guy as they slowed to catch a glimpse of him.

The man was of medium height, African-American, and looked around his late twenties. He was wearing a pair of dress slacks and a white dress shirt. The blazer that should have gone with the slacks was thrown over his shoulder and on his head he wore a smart looking bowler hat. Melanie shrugged and pulled beside the guy and stopped. Will was right; it was too hot for anybody to be walking around. Plus the guy looked pretty harmless.

Melanie let the window roll down and yelled out to the man. "Hey mister! Excuse me, do you need a ride into town?"

The guy stared at her for a moment, almost as if he wasn't sure that the car was really there are not. He seemed just as surprised to see them riding along the road as they were to see him. "Oh! Hi! How ya'll doin' this afternoon?"

"Doin' good man! Freakin' hot! We'd be happy to give you a ride!" Will leaned forward and greeted the man.

"That's the best news I've heard all day. Where you both headed to?" the man asked as he leaned against the door.

"Just to the next town," Melanie gestured down the road, "to Lambert." She smiled and reached over and popped the door open for the guy. He slid into the passenger's seat and shook Melanie's hand.

"That's great! I was headed there myself."

"You live there or were you just passing through?" Will asked as he shook the guy's hand as well.

"Was just passing through you could say. I live in the county over. My car broke down on a back road and I've been walking for a few hours now. I've never been so happy to see random strangers in all my life." He gave a slight laugh of relief and leaned back in his seat, basking in the coolness of the car. "Though I hear there ain't much in Lambert."

"Oh, seriously?" Melanie groaned and thoughts of coffee and homemade pie left her.

"Great, there goes the chance for a real meal before we head back home." Will sighed as well and pulled out a couple of sticks of beef jerky. "We meet again old friend," he said as he glared at the dried meat.

"Aw man, could I take one of those off your hands?" the hitchhiker asked, reaching out.

"Sure thing." Will passed one of the packages to the man and opened his own. "So what's your name?"

"Robert Jackson, though my good friends call me Bones." He gave a smirk and winked at Melanie and Will.

"Pretty awesome nickname," Melanie giggled. "How'd you get stuck with that?"

"I was real skinny as a kid. I could eat a truck load of food and never gain a pound! My mother would just keep sayin' 'You ain't nothin' but skin and bones child!' and it just kinda stuck around the neighborhood." Bones smirked proudly.

"Cool," Will nodded enthusiastically. He started to say something else but he could see the small town in the distance and quickly hushed up. The sad thing was that it already looked like the whole place had closed up for the day. "Where the heck is everybody?"

"Good question," Melanie muttered, feeling that sinking sensation in her chest that always seemed to tip her off that something was definitely not right.

Even Bones seemed to get rather quiet and stern. "I don't think I should of let you guys take me here. Neither of you have anything to do with this."

"What are you saying?" Melanie slowed the car down and looked over at him, feeling her hands start to white-knuckle the steering wheel. She hated surprises.

"Look, I know you guys aren't going to believe this, but I'm here to take care of a severe case of zombies," he looked seriously into Melanie's eyes.

"Actually, we're rather familiar with the old Zombius Manicus ourselves." Will piped up and pulled out his wallet.

Melanie tried to reach out and stop him from pulling a small metallic card from his wallet, but it was too late. Will carefully handed it over to Bones, whose eyes grew wide soon after giving the card a close inspection. "Damnit Will!" Melanie hissed and lowered her head. First off, it wasn't that Bones didn't look like a respectable guy, but they had just met him. Secondly, it wasn't ever good to hand over your ID card without a few questions first.

The card was a thin sheet of steel, lacquered on the front in blue with the organization's striking 'A', for Aurora, in gold leaf. In the lower part of the 'A' was a small picture of a sun bursting over the horizon. On the back contained only a fingerprint of whoever owned the card and their signature. Those who were familiar with the rumors about the organization's intentions would know that to be a true member, you would need the card.

"It's okay Melanie, chill out. Nobody just randomly discusses trying to get rid of zombies. He's gotta be a legit guy." Will looked over at Bones, waiting for conformation of this.

"We couldn't feel him Will! If you're part of the organization you know it! Have you forgotten everything Kate has taught us, or do you just want us to have to dig ourselves out of a pile of shit?" Melanie stopped the car completely and wheeled around in her seat. She could feel the blood boiling in her chest from the frustration.

"Hey now, no need to yell at the guy… um what's your name?"

"Melanie."

"Melanie. Nice to meet you Melanie and William."

"Ah, no need for the fancy talk, just Will is fine."

"Will!"

"As I was saying," Bones handed back the card to Will and looked at both of them, "I didn't know you guys were from Aurora. You probably can't feel me because I'm just a human. I got my own fancy cards." Bones slipped a hand into his coat and produced two cards, handing one each to Melanie and Will.

Melanie glanced over the card which had a raised inscription in blue: Robert 'Bones' Jackson: Paranormal Investigator, Freelance Hunter, Exorcist. "Hunter of what?" she asked, looking up at Bones.

"Whatever seems to get out of hand around here. I know some basics." Bones sat back, turning to look out the passenger window. No one had passed by on the streets during this exchange. "Guess it wasn't a bad idea to bring you guys into this after all. I could always use a hand. It's your choice though, I know you guys probably have to check in with the higher-ups."

"Aw man! A zombie raid! Screw authority, we can keep this under wraps." Will started to pull out several spell components from his backpack. "I've been meaning to try out some new stuff anyways."

"Will! This isn't a field trip! Besides, if they're zombies and infested the entire town, we're looking at three or four hundred zombies." Melanie turned to Bones. "What were you planning to do? Blow up the town?"

"Something like that." Bones grinned and tipped his hat. "Fire is the best cleansing tool for this situation."

"So okay, a few serious fire spells? I won't even charge for that!"

"Will! First of all, why do we need to cause that much damage to the town? Also, we don't charge for our help Will, you know that." Melanie glared over at Will, clenching her jaw.

"The residents that hired me said that it would be the only way to strike the core. They could just rebuild the town later." Bones shrugged.

"That would give too clear a signal that something was wrong with the town. We have to find the core-creator without too much damage. We can't have outsiders coming by the town and reporting a whole place wiped off the map with no explanations." Melanie folded her arms and stared out the front window.

She examined what the town had to offer and it seemed that the town's rather elaborate meeting hall looked like the best place for the core to rest. The church wouldn't be likely since a black magician had to set up the core and needed a place to feed off the most human energy possible.

"So, no fire?" Will pouted.

"Oh, we're going to need quite a bit of flame." Melanie's eyes narrowed and felt the monster inside her cackle with bloodlust.

---

They had stayed by the car while the last hour of sunlight faded from the streets. Melanie pulled her sword out of the car and Will did his best to get whatever supplies he could together. Melanie felt Bones watching her every move and didn't blame him. Someone walking around with a short sword wasn't very common.

"Do you have something to fight with?" Melanie asked Bones as she shut the trunk, placing their valuables inside.

Bones gave a knowing smirk and pulled aside his coat and pointed to the holster which held quite an impressive firearm. Melanie wondered for a moment if it was custom or a magic item. Its pearl handle was etched with what looked like small flowers; Melanie had to guess that they were lilies of the valley. The metal of the gun was a deep black, a sharp contrast to the bone white of the pearl.

"I'd call that a weapon!" Will piped up, stepping out of the car with a small pack under his arm.

Melanie turned and looked to the meeting hall. "You got everything ready Will?"

Will stepped close to Melanie and placed a hand on her shoulder. She swallowed a lump that gathered in her throat, he could feel the banshee screaming inside of her. It was almost embarrassing sometimes to know he could see this side of her when everyone else was blind to it. It was so easy to hide, except from him. "Yeah, I got everything ready Mel," he whispered softly.

"You two okay?" Bones walked up to them, adjusting his hat. Melanie was starting to feel dumb about her hesitations about this guy; he really seemed like a great person.

Will dropped his hand away from Melanie and grinned at Bones. "Yeah, we're cool. It just always gets tense before a fight. We're still kinda new at this thing."

"I hear ya," Bones looked to the meeting hall, taking in a deep breath, "you never really get used to doing this kinda thing. You just roll with it. You get told as a kid that these things don't exist, but when you find out there is a boogieman you start wondering about all the other dark places in this world that were right under your nose."

Melanie and Will stared at Bones, feeling his words hit them straight to the core. Sure, their parents and Kate understood what they went through day to day, but hearing it from someone outside of their normal circle felt so comforting. Someone understood their fears about a world that was ready to swallow everything and the struggle of keeping the damn thing fed so it would leave everyone they loved alone.

Bones cleared his throat. "Sorry about that guys," he pulled out his gun, giving it a glance over. Melanie and Will broke their stare and began to check their own personal effects.

Before anyone could break the uncomfortable silence, a grizzly howl sounded from an alleyway. Melanie felt her blood run cold and she nodded to Will. "Bones, you and I will stay in front and just keep things out of Will's way. He'll have our backs as long as we keep them off of his."

"Got'cha!" Bones smirked and started to charge forward, removing his gun from his holster in one slick movement. Melanie charged after him, unsheathing the sword at her side and it felt as though an atomic bomb had flashed inside of her brain. The banshee knew that this would be the taking of life to the most gruesome extent. Melanie could feel her feet lift from the ground with each swift stride.

As they reached the alleyway a group of shadowy figures began to emerge and shuffle into the orange street light. The smell of rotting flesh filled her nostrils, but the banshee that now possessed her seemed to feed off it. She had to tell herself to remain calm; she couldn't let her emotions run too wild.

"Melanie! I'm ready to set it off!" Will yelled at her, she could feel his presence close behind her.

"Go!"

A huge wall of flame erupted behind the group of walking corpses. Some panicked and accidentally fell into it, bursting, as maggots flew from their split insides. Others moved forward and were quickly disposed of as Bones' bullets popped their skulls open like a ripe melon. "Bulls-eye, baby!" Bones cheered.

The flame soon dispersed and they continued charging forward as another wave came towards them. Melanie leapt over Bones and landed in the middle of the swarm, spinning her blade around in a mad dance. Heads and limbs flew as if in the middle of a wood chipper, it even made Bones jump back for a moment. Will jumped forward and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back as Melanie unleashed a violent wail that was like a machete of sound. The swarm crumbled and Melanie quickly moved past them.

Yes, she could feel it now that the night was alive with the howls of these unholy creations. She could feel the core beating deep in the meeting hall. It was almost too much to bear, she wanted to break off from both her companions and tackle it on her own, let the rotted, thick blood cover her and release her from her coil. She took a deep breath though and held this impulse down.

The soft popping sound of a few more zombie heads being cracked open by Bones awakened Melanie once more to her surroundings and she noticed that they were now on the steps of the meeting hall. It was a neat, red-brick, two-story building. It wouldn't be too hard to find this thing; it would have to be in the basement. The core could never touch the sunlight. Melanie could hear the bone-grinding movements of what seemed like thousands of zombies beyond the doorway.

"Will! Be careful with your fire, I need you to just use an air spell to shield us till we get to the basement, then I'll need you and Bones to fire at the core. I'll try to keep the overflow away from you guys." Melanie glanced at the entrance way, feeling her heart beat wildly out of her chest.

"Sure thing," Will nodded and kept behind Bones and Melanie. "You guys just get us to the basement. I've got something in mind for finishing this thing off!"

Melanie nodded and kicked in the rotted door. Bones jumped in and began firing at anything he could get a good look at. Light from the gunfire lit the room up like lightning and Melanie soon spotted a side door. It wasn't easy to get to it though as zombies crushed them as if they were in a mosh-pit. She had to fight the urge to throw up with how bad it smelled.

Stepping over the bodies they mowed down and with Will sending out a wall of air to keep their back safe, they finally reached the basement door. It took both Melanie and Bones to force it open finally and shut it back just as tightly. Will spied a well placed crow bar near a set of old tools and slid it into the door handle. "That should hold for a moment and buy us a few minutes."

They raced down a short hallway and found the stairs leading down. The feeling of dread was almost too much. It was the core, feeding off their energy. As they descended the walls, stairs, and ceiling began to look as if they had stepped into a slaughter house gone wrong. Every surface seemed to be covered in flesh and blood. Melanie could have sworn that it almost looked like it was breathing. "Oh god, there it is," Bones gasped, stopping dead in his tracks.

Melanie turned to see what looked like a fleshy cocoon. At first she thought that the outside was covered with giant earthworms, but on closer inspection she could see that they were human bodies. They were covered in some sort of yellow mucus. It pulsated ever so slightly and at the bottom they could see the tell-tale signs of how the core stayed connected. Large, red veins, like tree trunks burst from the top and bottom of the mound of flesh. A loud clap of the door breaking upstairs snapped them out of their trance.

"Will!"

"I'm on it!" Will stepped forward and emptied the bag at his side. Melanie could see road flares, matches, various powders, and charcoal being pulled out of the bag. "Bones! I need you to help me make a circle around this thing."

As Bones and Will began to set up the flares and powder around the core, Melanie turned back to the stairwell and rush towards it as the first couple of zombies ambled their way down. She pushed them back and began slicing at their heads quickly, rust-colored blood splattering onto her face. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Will begin to write a set of runes across the core. He would have to break the black magician's spell in order to set the core ablaze.

Melanie turned back to see a zombie about to claw at her face and jumped as its head suddenly exploded. She looked back to see Bones wink at her and continue to guard Will. She continued to push the zombies back up the stairs and as she cut down what felt like the millionth zombie, a huge rush of air seemed to burst past her. She looked back to see Will sweating, with a grin on his face. He had broken the spell.

"Will! You did it!"

"Damn right I did! Now for a few fireworks!" Will snatched up a road flare and tossed it to Bones, then picking up another they began to light them simultaneously. Aiming them at the core, fire burst from the flares and struck the core, causing it to writhe violently. The sparks splashed onto the powder circled around the roots of the core and they began to shrivel up.

Melanie jumped from the stairs as the horde of zombies began to burst into flame. The fire didn't seem to affect the surroundings; it was more like they had spontaneously combusted from the inside. She ran over to Will and hugged him from behind.

"You did it!"

"We did this together." Will said as they watched the core continue to burn down.

---

They trudged toward the car, brushing ashes and died blood from their clothes. "I feel like I could sleep for the next two weeks." Will yawned and stretched.

"I feel you," Bones yawned in return and stopped, looking back at the building. "Thanks for helping me out."

"We couldn't have done it without you. You were the one that was going to face this on your own," Melanie smiled at Bones. "I think you're the bravest of us all."

Bones waved his hand. "Anyways, you kids go on back home. I think the phones still work here so I'll get some help out here to clean this up."

Melanie held out her hand. "Sure thing, thanks for everything. If you ever need us you know who to call."

"Same here!" Will shook hands with Bones as well and walked back to the car.

Melanie waved one more time before turning back and climbing into the car. It would feel good to get home and take a long hot shower. "I guess this was what Kate meant by getting some practice in."

"I guess so. I'm going to hate to tell her she was right though." Will sighed and lay down in the back. He started to fall asleep before they even let the town slip from their view.

Description
Crossroad Zombie Breakdown

Melanie leaned against the hood of the car and wiped the sweat that had begun beading along her brow. It was the middle of October and it still felt as warm and sultry as the start of July. She and Will had been sent up to the delta region to take care of some strange energy emanating from a set of crossroads. Things so far had gone pretty smoothly, the only problems had been trying to find a gas station that had modern day conveniences. It wasn't strange though that they had had to make a day long trip over all this. It was October and that meant that most of the main offices of paranormal watch groups were up to their ears in investigating all kinds of freaky occurrences. Melanie and Will were just helping out where they could. Kate simply chalked it up as more practice. Will needed to focus on some basics anyways.

A whiff of smoke blew past were Melanie stood and the sent of sage was strong in the air. She turned her head to see Will passing about the crossroads with a burning bundle of sage. He was currently closing any dimensional portals and purifying the area. Sage smoke was an ancient tool and a bundle of sage was pretty cheap to come across. Melanie found the scent rather relaxing and she could really feel the energy of the place tone down. The crossroads were often the center of paranormal activity: wandering spirits, strange psychic phenomenon, even a rumor or two about them being the haunt of the devil himself. Melanie wasn't about to reach out and get in contact with anything that could be lingering about.

Will finished his consecration of the area and shuffled back to the car. He looked pretty worn out and Melanie figured that since this was their third one today that he was about to his limit on energy. "How about you take a nap in the back Will?" Melanie gestured to the back of the car. "I got this. It looks like it's only a thirty minute drive to the next town anyways."

"I guess, it definitely wouldn't hurt to catch a couple of Z's," he yawned and opened the back door and slipped into the car, flopping over on the back seat. "Man, it is way too hot to be autumn."

"You said it." Melanie slid into the driver's seat and started up the car, turning the AC on high. She pulled out the road map from the glove compartment and looked to see where they would be heading to next. The closest name on the map was what seemed to be a little farm town called 'Lambert'. Melanie had lived in the state her whole life, but really wasn't surprised that she hadn't heard of the place before. She was praying there would at least be a decent coffee shop in the town to grab a bite to eat. Beef jerky wasn't really cutting it anymore.

Melanie pulled the car around and headed south along the road which was more gravel than neatly poured concrete. She could feel herself becoming slowly hypnotized by the flat, lifeless scenery that surrounded the car. It was almost thrilling to see a few trees and a couple of cows every now and then. She and Will had done this last year and even though they had brought enough music to keep things lively, even that was starting to wear out.

It wasn't until she was twenty miles from where they had last stopped that she spotted someone walking along the side of the road. Melanie almost ran off the road at the sudden shock of spotting someone this far out. The sudden jolt of the car woke Will up from his nap. "Ngh, jeez Mel, what the hell happened? You hit something? Or somebody?"

"Shut up, Will." Melanie stuck her tongue out at him and then pointed to the figure ahead of them. "I saw that poor guy walking along the road. Should we pick him up?"

"It's pretty hot, I feel sorry for him. I don't know. You know what they say about picking up hitchhikers." Will scratched his chin and leaned forward to get a better look at the guy as they slowed to catch a glimpse of him.

The man was of medium height, African-American, and looked around his late twenties. He was wearing a pair of dress slacks and a white dress shirt. The blazer that should have gone with the slacks was thrown over his shoulder and on his head he wore a smart looking bowler hat. Melanie shrugged and pulled beside the guy and stopped. Will was right; it was too hot for anybody to be walking around. Plus the guy looked pretty harmless.

Melanie let the window roll down and yelled out to the man. "Hey mister! Excuse me, do you need a ride into town?"

The guy stared at her for a moment, almost as if he wasn't sure that the car was really there are not. He seemed just as surprised to see them riding along the road as they were to see him. "Oh! Hi! How ya'll doin' this afternoon?"

"Doin' good man! Freakin' hot! We'd be happy to give you a ride!" Will leaned forward and greeted the man.

"That's the best news I've heard all day. Where you both headed to?" the man asked as he leaned against the door.

"Just to the next town," Melanie gestured down the road, "to Lambert." She smiled and reached over and popped the door open for the guy. He slid into the passenger's seat and shook Melanie's hand.

"That's great! I was headed there myself."

"You live there or were you just passing through?" Will asked as he shook the guy's hand as well.

"Was just passing through you could say. I live in the county over. My car broke down on a back road and I've been walking for a few hours now. I've never been so happy to see random strangers in all my life." He gave a slight laugh of relief and leaned back in his seat, basking in the coolness of the car. "Though I hear there ain't much in Lambert."

"Oh, seriously?" Melanie groaned and thoughts of coffee and homemade pie left her.

"Great, there goes the chance for a real meal before we head back home." Will sighed as well and pulled out a couple of sticks of beef jerky. "We meet again old friend," he said as he glared at the dried meat.

"Aw man, could I take one of those off your hands?" the hitchhiker asked, reaching out.

"Sure thing." Will passed one of the packages to the man and opened his own. "So what's your name?"

"Robert Jackson, though my good friends call me Bones." He gave a smirk and winked at Melanie and Will.

"Pretty awesome nickname," Melanie giggled. "How'd you get stuck with that?"

"I was real skinny as a kid. I could eat a truck load of food and never gain a pound! My mother would just keep sayin' 'You ain't nothin' but skin and bones child!' and it just kinda stuck around the neighborhood." Bones smirked proudly.

"Cool," Will nodded enthusiastically. He started to say something else but he could see the small town in the distance and quickly hushed up. The sad thing was that it already looked like the whole place had closed up for the day. "Where the heck is everybody?"

"Good question," Melanie muttered, feeling that sinking sensation in her chest that always seemed to tip her off that something was definitely not right.

Even Bones seemed to get rather quiet and stern. "I don't think I should of let you guys take me here. Neither of you have anything to do with this."

"What are you saying?" Melanie slowed the car down and looked over at him, feeling her hands start to white-knuckle the steering wheel. She hated surprises.

"Look, I know you guys aren't going to believe this, but I'm here to take care of a severe case of zombies," he looked seriously into Melanie's eyes.

"Actually, we're rather familiar with the old Zombius Manicus ourselves." Will piped up and pulled out his wallet.

Melanie tried to reach out and stop him from pulling a small metallic card from his wallet, but it was too late. Will carefully handed it over to Bones, whose eyes grew wide soon after giving the card a close inspection. "Damnit Will!" Melanie hissed and lowered her head. First off, it wasn't that Bones didn't look like a respectable guy, but they had just met him. Secondly, it wasn't ever good to hand over your ID card without a few questions first.

The card was a thin sheet of steel, lacquered on the front in blue with the organization's striking 'A', for Aurora, in gold leaf. In the lower part of the 'A' was a small picture of a sun bursting over the horizon. On the back contained only a fingerprint of whoever owned the card and their signature. Those who were familiar with the rumors about the organization's intentions would know that to be a true member, you would need the card.

"It's okay Melanie, chill out. Nobody just randomly discusses trying to get rid of zombies. He's gotta be a legit guy." Will looked over at Bones, waiting for conformation of this.

"We couldn't feel him Will! If you're part of the organization you know it! Have you forgotten everything Kate has taught us, or do you just want us to have to dig ourselves out of a pile of shit?" Melanie stopped the car completely and wheeled around in her seat. She could feel the blood boiling in her chest from the frustration.

"Hey now, no need to yell at the guy… um what's your name?"

"Melanie."

"Melanie. Nice to meet you Melanie and William."

"Ah, no need for the fancy talk, just Will is fine."

"Will!"

"As I was saying," Bones handed back the card to Will and looked at both of them, "I didn't know you guys were from Aurora. You probably can't feel me because I'm just a human. I got my own fancy cards." Bones slipped a hand into his coat and produced two cards, handing one each to Melanie and Will.

Melanie glanced over the card which had a raised inscription in blue: Robert 'Bones' Jackson: Paranormal Investigator, Freelance Hunter, Exorcist. "Hunter of what?" she asked, looking up at Bones.

"Whatever seems to get out of hand around here. I know some basics." Bones sat back, turning to look out the passenger window. No one had passed by on the streets during this exchange. "Guess it wasn't a bad idea to bring you guys into this after all. I could always use a hand. It's your choice though, I know you guys probably have to check in with the higher-ups."

"Aw man! A zombie raid! Screw authority, we can keep this under wraps." Will started to pull out several spell components from his backpack. "I've been meaning to try out some new stuff anyways."

"Will! This isn't a field trip! Besides, if they're zombies and infested the entire town, we're looking at three or four hundred zombies." Melanie turned to Bones. "What were you planning to do? Blow up the town?"

"Something like that." Bones grinned and tipped his hat. "Fire is the best cleansing tool for this situation."

"So okay, a few serious fire spells? I won't even charge for that!"

"Will! First of all, why do we need to cause that much damage to the town? Also, we don't charge for our help Will, you know that." Melanie glared over at Will, clenching her jaw.

"The residents that hired me said that it would be the only way to strike the core. They could just rebuild the town later." Bones shrugged.

"That would give too clear a signal that something was wrong with the town. We have to find the core-creator without too much damage. We can't have outsiders coming by the town and reporting a whole place wiped off the map with no explanations." Melanie folded her arms and stared out the front window.

She examined what the town had to offer and it seemed that the town's rather elaborate meeting hall looked like the best place for the core to rest. The church wouldn't be likely since a black magician had to set up the core and needed a place to feed off the most human energy possible.

"So, no fire?" Will pouted.

"Oh, we're going to need quite a bit of flame." Melanie's eyes narrowed and felt the monster inside her cackle with bloodlust.

---

They had stayed by the car while the last hour of sunlight faded from the streets. Melanie pulled her sword out of the car and Will did his best to get whatever supplies he could together. Melanie felt Bones watching her every move and didn't blame him. Someone walking around with a short sword wasn't very common.

"Do you have something to fight with?" Melanie asked Bones as she shut the trunk, placing their valuables inside.

Bones gave a knowing smirk and pulled aside his coat and pointed to the holster which held quite an impressive firearm. Melanie wondered for a moment if it was custom or a magic item. Its pearl handle was etched with what looked like small flowers; Melanie had to guess that they were lilies of the valley. The metal of the gun was a deep black, a sharp contrast to the bone white of the pearl.

"I'd call that a weapon!" Will piped up, stepping out of the car with a small pack under his arm.

Melanie turned and looked to the meeting hall. "You got everything ready Will?"

Will stepped close to Melanie and placed a hand on her shoulder. She swallowed a lump that gathered in her throat, he could feel the banshee screaming inside of her. It was almost embarrassing sometimes to know he could see this side of her when everyone else was blind to it. It was so easy to hide, except from him. "Yeah, I got everything ready Mel," he whispered softly.

"You two okay?" Bones walked up to them, adjusting his hat. Melanie was starting to feel dumb about her hesitations about this guy; he really seemed like a great person.

Will dropped his hand away from Melanie and grinned at Bones. "Yeah, we're cool. It just always gets tense before a fight. We're still kinda new at this thing."

"I hear ya," Bones looked to the meeting hall, taking in a deep breath, "you never really get used to doing this kinda thing. You just roll with it. You get told as a kid that these things don't exist, but when you find out there is a boogieman you start wondering about all the other dark places in this world that were right under your nose."

Melanie and Will stared at Bones, feeling his words hit them straight to the core. Sure, their parents and Kate understood what they went through day to day, but hearing it from someone outside of their normal circle felt so comforting. Someone understood their fears about a world that was ready to swallow everything and the struggle of keeping the damn thing fed so it would leave everyone they loved alone.

Bones cleared his throat. "Sorry about that guys," he pulled out his gun, giving it a glance over. Melanie and Will broke their stare and began to check their own personal effects.

Before anyone could break the uncomfortable silence, a grizzly howl sounded from an alleyway. Melanie felt her blood run cold and she nodded to Will. "Bones, you and I will stay in front and just keep things out of Will's way. He'll have our backs as long as we keep them off of his."

"Got'cha!" Bones smirked and started to charge forward, removing his gun from his holster in one slick movement. Melanie charged after him, unsheathing the sword at her side and it felt as though an atomic bomb had flashed inside of her brain. The banshee knew that this would be the taking of life to the most gruesome extent. Melanie could feel her feet lift from the ground with each swift stride.

As they reached the alleyway a group of shadowy figures began to emerge and shuffle into the orange street light. The smell of rotting flesh filled her nostrils, but the banshee that now possessed her seemed to feed off it. She had to tell herself to remain calm; she couldn't let her emotions run too wild.

"Melanie! I'm ready to set it off!" Will yelled at her, she could feel his presence close behind her.

"Go!"

A huge wall of flame erupted behind the group of walking corpses. Some panicked and accidentally fell into it, bursting, as maggots flew from their split insides. Others moved forward and were quickly disposed of as Bones' bullets popped their skulls open like a ripe melon. "Bulls-eye, baby!" Bones cheered.

The flame soon dispersed and they continued charging forward as another wave came towards them. Melanie leapt over Bones and landed in the middle of the swarm, spinning her blade around in a mad dance. Heads and limbs flew as if in the middle of a wood chipper, it even made Bones jump back for a moment. Will jumped forward and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back as Melanie unleashed a violent wail that was like a machete of sound. The swarm crumbled and Melanie quickly moved past them.

Yes, she could feel it now that the night was alive with the howls of these unholy creations. She could feel the core beating deep in the meeting hall. It was almost too much to bear, she wanted to break off from both her companions and tackle it on her own, let the rotted, thick blood cover her and release her from her coil. She took a deep breath though and held this impulse down.

The soft popping sound of a few more zombie heads being cracked open by Bones awakened Melanie once more to her surroundings and she noticed that they were now on the steps of the meeting hall. It was a neat, red-brick, two-story building. It wouldn't be too hard to find this thing; it would have to be in the basement. The core could never touch the sunlight. Melanie could hear the bone-grinding movements of what seemed like thousands of zombies beyond the doorway.

"Will! Be careful with your fire, I need you to just use an air spell to shield us till we get to the basement, then I'll need you and Bones to fire at the core. I'll try to keep the overflow away from you guys." Melanie glanced at the entrance way, feeling her heart beat wildly out of her chest.

"Sure thing," Will nodded and kept behind Bones and Melanie. "You guys just get us to the basement. I've got something in mind for finishing this thing off!"

Melanie nodded and kicked in the rotted door. Bones jumped in and began firing at anything he could get a good look at. Light from the gunfire lit the room up like lightning and Melanie soon spotted a side door. It wasn't easy to get to it though as zombies crushed them as if they were in a mosh-pit. She had to fight the urge to throw up with how bad it smelled.

Stepping over the bodies they mowed down and with Will sending out a wall of air to keep their back safe, they finally reached the basement door. It took both Melanie and Bones to force it open finally and shut it back just as tightly. Will spied a well placed crow bar near a set of old tools and slid it into the door handle. "That should hold for a moment and buy us a few minutes."

They raced down a short hallway and found the stairs leading down. The feeling of dread was almost too much. It was the core, feeding off their energy. As they descended the walls, stairs, and ceiling began to look as if they had stepped into a slaughter house gone wrong. Every surface seemed to be covered in flesh and blood. Melanie could have sworn that it almost looked like it was breathing. "Oh god, there it is," Bones gasped, stopping dead in his tracks.

Melanie turned to see what looked like a fleshy cocoon. At first she thought that the outside was covered with giant earthworms, but on closer inspection she could see that they were human bodies. They were covered in some sort of yellow mucus. It pulsated ever so slightly and at the bottom they could see the tell-tale signs of how the core stayed connected. Large, red veins, like tree trunks burst from the top and bottom of the mound of flesh. A loud clap of the door breaking upstairs snapped them out of their trance.

"Will!"

"I'm on it!" Will stepped forward and emptied the bag at his side. Melanie could see road flares, matches, various powders, and charcoal being pulled out of the bag. "Bones! I need you to help me make a circle around this thing."

As Bones and Will began to set up the flares and powder around the core, Melanie turned back to the stairwell and rush towards it as the first couple of zombies ambled their way down. She pushed them back and began slicing at their heads quickly, rust-colored blood splattering onto her face. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Will begin to write a set of runes across the core. He would have to break the black magician's spell in order to set the core ablaze.

Melanie turned back to see a zombie about to claw at her face and jumped as its head suddenly exploded. She looked back to see Bones wink at her and continue to guard Will. She continued to push the zombies back up the stairs and as she cut down what felt like the millionth zombie, a huge rush of air seemed to burst past her. She looked back to see Will sweating, with a grin on his face. He had broken the spell.

"Will! You did it!"

"Damn right I did! Now for a few fireworks!" Will snatched up a road flare and tossed it to Bones, then picking up another they began to light them simultaneously. Aiming them at the core, fire burst from the flares and struck the core, causing it to writhe violently. The sparks splashed onto the powder circled around the roots of the core and they began to shrivel up.

Melanie jumped from the stairs as the horde of zombies began to burst into flame. The fire didn't seem to affect the surroundings; it was more like they had spontaneously combusted from the inside. She ran over to Will and hugged him from behind.

"You did it!"

"We did this together." Will said as they watched the core continue to burn down.

---

They trudged toward the car, brushing ashes and died blood from their clothes. "I feel like I could sleep for the next two weeks." Will yawned and stretched.

"I feel you," Bones yawned in return and stopped, looking back at the building. "Thanks for helping me out."

"We couldn't have done it without you. You were the one that was going to face this on your own," Melanie smiled at Bones. "I think you're the bravest of us all."

Bones waved his hand. "Anyways, you kids go on back home. I think the phones still work here so I'll get some help out here to clean this up."

Melanie held out her hand. "Sure thing, thanks for everything. If you ever need us you know who to call."

"Same here!" Will shook hands with Bones as well and walked back to the car.

Melanie waved one more time before turning back and climbing into the car. It would feel good to get home and take a long hot shower. "I guess this was what Kate meant by getting some practice in."

"I guess so. I'm going to hate to tell her she was right though." Will sighed and lay down in the back. He started to fall asleep before they even let the town slip from their view.