Genesis 2.0 (Monster Apocalypse Survival) Sci-Fi/DarkFan/Horror

Chapter eleven

Sand was literally everywhere; included, but not limited to, places it shouldn’t have access too. My butt cheeks felt like they’d been scrubbed with an S.O.S. pad by the time we came upon the little chunk of dirt Daniel called Al-Qurah. We’d walked about three miles from our arrival point, but it was far enough that I never wanted to see another desert again.

My lungs felt like they’d been scrubbed with sandpaper and if it hadn’t been for the water flasks Aeriel had thought to bring, my throat would’ve been equally raw. I swear I’ve never tasted water so pure, cool or crisp. I lifted the flask to my lips and sighed when I felt that sweet iced salve coating my raw tissue as it traveled from tongue to stomach.

Thankfully the angel warrior twins had taken their invisible forms just outside of the southern Iraqi town, in case any survivors still lurked about. It hadn’t mattered much to me, I was still able to hear them, so their absence did nothing for my peace of mind. It did, however, bring out the crazies.

A zombie ambled out of a bullet-hole riddled building about twenty-five feet from us. I stopped walking and merely held still. It didn’t see me at first, because its milky-white eyes surveyed the area like a blind person seeking the direction of a particular sound. But when a slight breeze whipped past me, the corpse lifted its exposed nasal bridge to the wind and then snarled before throwing its flopping upper body in my direction.

“Great,” I mumbled and took a retreating step. My boot heel caught on a chunk of the crumbling concrete pavement and the weight of my backpack was too much to keep me upright. My ass hit the ground and air whooshed from my lungs.

Daniel wasted no time in appearing between me and the zombie, his sword hilt gripped with both hands. Silverish-blue flames licked along the length of the steel and unfamiliar symbols appeared under the glow of fire. I looked up from where I lay sprawled and noticed Daniel’s lips moving silently.

“What are you doing?” I asked, still a little breathless from the fall. “I can handle one of them by myself.” I will admit that I sounded more sure than I felt.

Aeriel materialized with her back resting against her partner’s and strode toward me with her hand extended. I frowned at her before taking the offered assist and grunted when she effortlessly tugged me to my feet.

“There’s more than one,” she replied softly. “Daniel tapped into his blade’s powers and created a force-field to shield us from the herd,” she explained and turned her back on me. “Stay behind us no matter what,” she called over her shoulder and lifted both hands, palms up, toward the sky.
She chanted a few words that sounded like something a Wookie would yell during battle and black clouds grew heavy above us. They rolled and swirled, the darkness ranging from black to light blue, until a vortex opened up, forming a center. A lightning bolt shot down, hitting the ground mere inches from Daniel’s feet. Dirt chunks sprayed through the air like bullets, one effectively knocking the zombie to the ground in a flailing wail.

“What are you doing?” I yelled. But the roaring wind swept my voice away as if I hadn’t spoken at all. “Stop!” I cried. “You’re going to hit Daniel!”

I took a step toward Aeriel, my upper body leaning into the oncoming gale to keep from being flung away when I stopped short as if I’d hit a brick wall. The wind still hit me full force, but I couldn’t budge another step. Squinting my eyes to keep sand and other debris out, I saw Aeriel’s right hand – palm first – held out at me. That’s when I realized.

These angels were more powerful than I’d ever imagined and I’d been a dick to both of them.

“I said stay back,” Aeriel’s voice boomed over the rushing coil. “Let us do our jobs,” she added and turned back to the swirling funnel now touching down between Daniel and the large herd of undead ambling our way.

I inhaled sharply, my heart lodging in my throat. There were hundreds of them in every stage of decay and rot, dragging rubbery, broken limbs in an effort to get the fresh meat staring on in shock.

“Now,” Aeriel shouted at Daniel and he turned away from the oncoming horde. With his sword still held firmly in his grasp, he strode toward me, shoving through the gale force wind as if it were a gentle summer breeze. I expected him to grab my hand and drag me in the opposite direction, but instead he merely stopped before me and opened his arms.

“I am your shield,” he announced and pulled me into his embrace. I struggled to get a better look at what Aeriel was doing, but Daniel merely tightened his arms around me, giving me only a small crack to see through. “Trust us,” he added forcefully. “Some angels sing, but we were created to wage war.”

A massive wall of sand emerged from the ground between us and the shuffling mob. The sand shimmered and moved as it took on a life of its own. And like a conductor leading the orchestra, Aeriel let the elements do battle for us.

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