Godead

LXXIII

Suddenly, it all made sense. Abby's actions. Her twisted behavior. Her psychotic murders. They weren't due to her transformation. Amanda had transformed, as well, and was a strong, righteous companion till the end. It wasn't Abby's metamorphosis that made her insane. It was the life she led before the apocalypse that drove her mad. The abuse she'd suffered at the hands of her parents turned her into a monster. A monster far worse than Flood's needle ever did. As the countless zombies surrounding the town drew near, Abby looked on, soon turning to Blair with a faint smile.

"They've almost arrived. My chirping drew them here," Abby said. "I could kill you where you stand, but you're hardly worth the effort, cop lady. No... I think I'll let my darling children tear you limb from limb." As Abby spoke, Blair sadly looked to Claude, gently closing his eyes with her hand. She then steeled her resolve, wearily standing up before turning to Abby. As the two stood in the rain, Blair clenched her fists, the countless waves of zombies nearly upon them.

"Abby. Let me ask you one thing," Blair said. "The murders. The destruction. The chaos you've left in your wake. Do you regret any of it?" Abby stood in silence, still as a statue as she coldly stared Blair down.

"Not for a second," she replied. "You see, the world and everything in it is trash. All of it must be cleansed, and I am the one who will do this. I will destroy it all, and rebuild a new world atop the ashes."

"But there must be some part of you that's still capable of feeling! Of compassion! You loved Claude! I know you did, Abby! I saw it in your eyes!" Blair exclaimed. Abby briefly paused, eyeing Claude's corpse before giving a shrug.

"...Maybe," she replied. "I loved him until he attempted to kill me. That's when I realized the feeling was never mutual. And besides, love is a bourgeois concept. It exists only to massage our own miserable egos. I no longer have such a thing. I've risen above such petty constructs as ego and conscience. I exist only to kill, and won't stop until I'm the last living soul on Earth." As Abby laid it all out, Blair listened on with growing rage. "But enough of this. I've wasted enough time on you, maggot. It's time for you to enjoy a slow, painful death at the hands of the zombies. After all, you deserve nothing less... Blair Nightingale."

As Abby concluded her response, she raised her wings, taking off high in the sky. As she stared down at Blair, Blair looked up, a crash of lightning illuminating the sky. As the two gave each other one final glare, Abby turned around, taking off into the darkness.

Blair then looked to the street, left alone amidst swarms of the undead. As one of them drew near, it raised its arms, groaning as it lunged forward. Suddenly, Blair cringed, dodging before taking off down the street. She ran as fast as she could, zombies in all directions through the pouring rain. Just then, Blair turned a corner, suddenly pausing as she looked on in shock. There, less than fifty feet away was wave after wave of zombie, all groaning as they steadily approached Blair. The policewoman turned around, dashing in the opposite direction through Berkfield.

As she continued running, she winced, body still in pain from Abby's earlier attack. As she neared an intersection, she froze, zombies closing in from both directions. Blair grimaced, swiftly running through them as they moved in like pincers. Blair realized the zombies were everywhere, far more than she'd ever seen in her life. Big ones. Small ones. Fat ones. Thin ones. Clothed ones. Nude ones. Male ones. Female ones. All moaning, all closing in at an alarming rate.

Blair ran and ran, soon feeling as though her lungs would burst. As she turned another corner, she stopped, soon realizing she was totally surrounded. She looked all around, watching as a sea of zombies crept forth. She gave a weak sigh, considering resigning herself to her fate. Maybe she should just let them kill her, she thought. After all, Claude was her raison d'etre. With him dead, Blair had little reason left to live.

As the zombies closed in, however, Blair suddenly clenched her fists.

No.

She wouldn't give up.

That's not what Blair Nightingale was all about.

She wasn't a quitter, and wasn't about to let Abby get away with murdering Claude. Though the zombies and the rain did their best to douse her hopes, a fire burned inside Blair. A fire, bright and strong raged within her. It was the fire of hope. It was the fire of vengeance.

It was the fire of life.

As the zombies drew near, Blair paused, giving a firm, knowing smile. She sized up her situation, eyes darting around as she formulated a plan. As a zombie suddenly lunged at her, Blair dodged, soon running past the mangy creature. As she ran toward a building, two additional zombies closed in. As they crept forward, Blair stopped, raising her leg before roundhouse kicking them both square in the face. As the zombies staggered and fell, Blair leapt over them, darting toward a nearby flower shop.

As hordes of zombies closed in from all directions, Blair jumped up, grabbing onto a drainage pipe hanging down the building. She held on tight, using it to scale up the wall. As the girl climbed the building, the zombies raised their hands, missing her foot by mere inches. Blair climbed the pipe, soon reaching the top of the building.

As she stood on the roof, she looked down, staring at the gang of countless zombies clustered below. Blair gave a wry smirk, leaning in before spitting down at them.

"...Punks!" she said defiantly.

Blair then turned around, staring off at the horizon as the storm began to let up. She'd escaped the zombies alive. And now, she had a new mission in life. As the sun broke through the cloudy sky, a single, radiant beam of light shined down on her. She would track Abby down to the ends of the Earth. She would find her wherever she was and put an end to her existence. She would avenge Claude and her other fallen comrades.

She would have her revenge.

As the rain finally stopped, Blair ran off into the horizon, hopping from rooftop to rooftop as she made her escape.