Godead

LXXI

Abby's high-speed regeneration astounded the others. The three of them stood in shock, Abby calmly looking down at her arm. She carefully moved each finger, realizing her arm was good as new. Amanda then cringed, continuing to attack her deadly opponent.

She and Abby fought back and forth, evenly matched as Blair struggled to aim her gun through the rain. As Claude slowly rose to his feet, he looked around, watching as the zombies surrounding them drew ever closer. Just then, Abby jumped back, looking Amanda over with a cold stare.

"You're like me," Abby said. "You've transformed, haven't you?"

"Yes. That wretched scientist you killed earlier forced it out of me," Amanda replied. She briefly eyed Flood's corpse, soon returning her stare to Abby.

"You're strong. I'll give you that. But in the end, you're not much larger than a human," Abby said. "...I'll crush you."

The two resumed their attacks, lightning crashing as the duo fought tooth and nail. They continued evenly matched, but it wasn't long before Amanda began to falter. As she stood bloodied and bruised, Abby slowly approached her battered opponent. As Abby raised her wings, Claude readied his pistol, firing away at Abby. Several shots struck her, but not a single one pierced her skin. Abby then turned to him, swiping a wing as the boy was knocked twenty feet away.

"Claude!" Blair exclaimed, watching as the boy crashed to the ground. The policewoman hurried over, crouching down as she worriedly looked him over. "Claude! Are you alright?!"

"Mmm... Blair. Get out of here. Save yourself," he said quietly. Blair weakly frowned, slowly shaking her head.

"Oh, Claude... never. I'll never leave your side again. I've missed you so much. I'm so, so sorry for leaving back then. The truth is, I—"

Just then, a cluster of zombies burst out of a nearby alleyway. Blair raised her head at them, cringing as she readied her Tec-9. Suddenly, she opened fire, killing the group of creatures as they approached. She then looked to Claude, worriedly watching as she helped the boy to his feet.

"Thanks, Blair," he said gently.

"Claude...," Blair replied, the sound of the boy's voice making her weak. She'd forgotten how in love she was with Claude, the girl lightly blushing as the torrential rain around them kicked up.

Suddenly, Amanda shrieked, Blair and Claude turning as Abby landed a heavy blow on Amanda. Amanda fell to her knees, weakly struggling to stand as Abby stood undamaged. Abby then raised her wings, a shrill, deafening chirp filling the air. Claude and Blair cringed, covering their ears as the sound cracked and shattered the windows of nearby buildings.

As the sound continued on, Amanda froze, finding herself unable to move. Seconds later, she felt a strange sensation, almost as if her entire body was asleep. Her eyes grew wide, body tingling as it slowly began to shrink. As Abby's vile chirping came to a stop, Claude and Blair looked on, watching as Amanda reverted back to human.

The woman stood in utter shock, standing nude at the center of the rainy street. She slowly looked down, realizing she was suddenly back to normal. She blinked in surprise, looking herself over in amazement.

"What the...?!" she exclaimed, heart pounding as Claude and Blair watched from nearby.

"Amanda...!" Blair said in shock.

"...She's...!" Claude added.

"...I'm... I'm human again!" she said, overjoyed as her voice lightly shook with emotion. She then tensed up, standing defensively as Abby stepped closer.

"Interesting," she said. "Looks like I have the ability to change vectors back to normal. Bad news for you, I'm afraid. Now you really stand no chance against me."

"...Damn!" Amanda replied, nervously clenching her fists as she stepped back.

As Abby approached the girl, Blair and Claude suddenly opened fire. They aimed at Abby from afar, shooting her with everything they had. As the sounds of gunfire carried through the air, Abby stood unfazed by the barrage of bullets. Claude and Blair cringed, running out of ammo soon after. As Amanda looked on in fright, Abby raised her wings, charging up an oscillation.

"...Goodbye, feeble vector," Abby said.

Suddenly, she unleashed her attack, Amanda's eyes widening as it swiftly approached. As it struck her body, Amanda shrieked, suddenly exploding in a rain of blood and bones. As Amanda abruptly fell dead, Blair and Claude stood frozen in place.

"Amanda!" Blair screamed. Abby slowly turned to them, thunder crashing as it briefly lit up the land.

"...And then there were three," she said stoically. "Just as it should be. It was us in the beginning, and it's us in the end."

"...Abby!" Claude said angrily.

"Damn you, Abby! How dare you kill Amanda!" Blair shouted with rage.

"I'll kill anyone and anything I please. No one tells Abby Edelweiss what to do. Especially not a pair of lowly worms such as yourselves," Abby replied.

Blair violently gritted her teeth, she and Claude looking around as zombies completely surrounded the town. As Abby and the creatures steadily grew near, Claude heaved a sigh, giving a weak smile moments later.

"...Looks like this is it," he said.

"...Yeah. Looks that way," Blair replied reluctantly. Claude then looked to her, giving her his usual, kind smile.

"...Blair. I want to thank you for everything, and for returning. I'm glad I could see you one final time before the end," he said.

"Claude...," Blair replied, weakly frowning. "You took the words from my mouth. It's I who's the one who's glad to see you one last time. The truth is, Claude... I..." Blair paused, blushing as she gave a tender smile. "...The truth is, I... I love you, Claude Graves." Suddenly, Claude froze, blinking as he slowly started to blush.

"...Blair...!" he said in surprise.

"It's true," Blair replied. "I realized it not long after reaching Connecticut. My family was destroyed, my brother transformed into a horrid zombie. I was at rock bottom, and that's when I awoke to my true feelings. I love you, Claude. That's the one thing in this mad world I'm certain of."