He still seemed to be chewing on his ideas. “We need to know more about the deathless. The beast says their shaping is different. How? What exactly can they do? The green bolt Irakesh hit me with was agonizing, and the wound was difficult to heal. I’m wondering if there’s a theme to their powers, just like there is to ours.
“Theme?” Liz asked. The possibility that their powers had one hadn’t even occurred to her.
“Shaping seems to focus on two primary areas. Mental powers, like fooling and controlling the minds of others,” Blair explained, sliding down the hillside to the next switchback. “The second is altering DNA. Changing my physical appearance, becoming a wolf. Possibly even altering the DNA of others.”
“Whereas females focus on ferocity and stealth,” she added, landing next to him in a crouch. “I guess there are themes.”
Conversation dwindled as they picked their way from switchback to switchback. Blair seemed focused on the village below, though she couldn’t say why. He seemed apprehensive, as if he expected to find something bad there.
“Do you see that?” he asked, pausing on a switchback near the valley floor. He stabbed a finger towards the edge of the village.
Something moved in the darkness. A lot of somethings. Dozens upon dozens of zombies shambled in their direction. A horde of ravenous corpses, all moving with the same driving purpose.
“They haven’t acted like this before,” Liz said, flexing her claws.
“They’re coordinated, like a swarm,” Blair growled, pacing restlessly as their foes approached. “This isn’t accidental. I can control minds, so it stands to reason that Irakesh might be able to do something similar. He left them to stop us. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, though. We can just go around them.”
“We can’t, actually. If we circle around, they’ll head back to the Ark and trash it,” Liz said, suppressing a sigh. “He out maneuvered us like children. They’re a threat and he knows it. This is a way for him to get ahead of us.”
“So I guess we deal with them,” Blair said, leaping to the next switchback.
There were perhaps two hundred zombies. Not insurmountable, but a definite drain on their energy. Exactly what this Irakesh had intended, no doubt. Damn the cunning bastard.
“We’re going to be too weak to pursue him if we cut them all down,” Blair said, with a frustrated sigh. “We’ll need to retreat to the Ark and tell the Mother what happened. Maybe she’ll have an idea.”
“How far away is he?” she asked, grinding her teeth. The last thing she wanted to do was face the Mother and tell her how badly she’d failed.
“He’s farther north by at least a couple miles and moving quickly. We could probably match his pace if we followed, but I don’t know if we could narrow the gap,” Blair said, clearly as annoyed as she was. “How do you want to handle this?”
Liz dove into the approaching zombies, rending and crushing a path. She vented her frustration, ripping off limbs and crushing skulls with powerful blows. Blair followed, cutting down any that got behind her as she tore a path through their ranks.
Chapter 18- Suspicious Behavior
Director Phillips clasped his hands behind his back, watching dispassionately as the room echoed with amplified gun fire. The wall screen showed the perspective of a helmet cam, its occupant manning the side mounted gun in a DC-16 Mohn chopper. The weapon streamed death at a young tourist in a floral print dress. Her auburn hair was matted with blood, and her pale shoulder bore long jagged scratches.
The woman took a half dozen fifty caliber rounds to the midsection, which tossed her body back like a toy flung about by a retriever. Yet she rose to her feet, giving a screech of rage despite the hideous wounds. She began limping towards the camera. The gun fired one more time, this time obliterating everything from the neck up. The body toppled to the ground and lay
“Theme?” Liz asked. The possibility that their powers had one hadn’t even occurred to her.
“Shaping seems to focus on two primary areas. Mental powers, like fooling and controlling the minds of others,” Blair explained, sliding down the hillside to the next switchback. “The second is altering DNA. Changing my physical appearance, becoming a wolf. Possibly even altering the DNA of others.”
“Whereas females focus on ferocity and stealth,” she added, landing next to him in a crouch. “I guess there are themes.”
Conversation dwindled as they picked their way from switchback to switchback. Blair seemed focused on the village below, though she couldn’t say why. He seemed apprehensive, as if he expected to find something bad there.
“Do you see that?” he asked, pausing on a switchback near the valley floor. He stabbed a finger towards the edge of the village.
Something moved in the darkness. A lot of somethings. Dozens upon dozens of zombies shambled in their direction. A horde of ravenous corpses, all moving with the same driving purpose.
“They haven’t acted like this before,” Liz said, flexing her claws.
“They’re coordinated, like a swarm,” Blair growled, pacing restlessly as their foes approached. “This isn’t accidental. I can control minds, so it stands to reason that Irakesh might be able to do something similar. He left them to stop us. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, though. We can just go around them.”
“We can’t, actually. If we circle around, they’ll head back to the Ark and trash it,” Liz said, suppressing a sigh. “He out maneuvered us like children. They’re a threat and he knows it. This is a way for him to get ahead of us.”
“So I guess we deal with them,” Blair said, leaping to the next switchback.
There were perhaps two hundred zombies. Not insurmountable, but a definite drain on their energy. Exactly what this Irakesh had intended, no doubt. Damn the cunning bastard.
“We’re going to be too weak to pursue him if we cut them all down,” Blair said, with a frustrated sigh. “We’ll need to retreat to the Ark and tell the Mother what happened. Maybe she’ll have an idea.”
“How far away is he?” she asked, grinding her teeth. The last thing she wanted to do was face the Mother and tell her how badly she’d failed.
“He’s farther north by at least a couple miles and moving quickly. We could probably match his pace if we followed, but I don’t know if we could narrow the gap,” Blair said, clearly as annoyed as she was. “How do you want to handle this?”
Liz dove into the approaching zombies, rending and crushing a path. She vented her frustration, ripping off limbs and crushing skulls with powerful blows. Blair followed, cutting down any that got behind her as she tore a path through their ranks.
Chapter 18- Suspicious Behavior
Director Phillips clasped his hands behind his back, watching dispassionately as the room echoed with amplified gun fire. The wall screen showed the perspective of a helmet cam, its occupant manning the side mounted gun in a DC-16 Mohn chopper. The weapon streamed death at a young tourist in a floral print dress. Her auburn hair was matted with blood, and her pale shoulder bore long jagged scratches.
The woman took a half dozen fifty caliber rounds to the midsection, which tossed her body back like a toy flung about by a retriever. Yet she rose to her feet, giving a screech of rage despite the hideous wounds. She began limping towards the camera. The gun fired one more time, this time obliterating everything from the neck up. The body toppled to the ground and lay
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