My shoulder was a constant ache that I forced myself to get used to. After the fight with the fiend pack we hadn't encountered any others. From the fight with the fiends we moved further into the West district to a more residential area. It was far more quiet here and darker too. The soft cries of someone in the distance were unmistakable.
The street was filled with rubble from the surrounding buildings. With all of us on guard we moved closer to the cries. Under the rubble we found a woman holding her child. Her legs looked to be crushed. She looked towards and reached out to us "Help" she whispered in a weak voice.
"It's going to be okay ma'am" said Erwin as he held her hand "We're gonna get you out"
"We need to lift the rubble carefully or we risk killing them both" said Lach as he surveyed the wreckage. Owen cracked his knuckles "Nothin' hard" he walked forward and grabbed the rubble "On the count of three you pull them out, okay?" Erwin went to the opposite side to help balance the weight.
"One, two, three!" on three the two of them lifted the rubble easily and Lach and I grabbed the pair and pulled them out. Her legs were crushed and completely useless. She wouldn't be able to walk on her own. The child in her arms was unconscious. They were both covered in dirt and minor cuts and bruises.
"We need to get her doctor ASAP" said Lucas. There was movement to our left. I pointed Ignis in the general direction "Erwin and I will provide cover fire while you help them"
The fiends came into view. They looked like deformed humans. They were many of them as they slowly trudged towards us.
"Shit, open fire" said Erwin. We released a hail of bullets on the the zombie army. Our bullets were anti-fiend rounds that were meant to slow down a category three fiend so these small ones were blown to bits easily enough. The problem however was their numbers. Owen got the mother safely on his back while Lucas held the child in his arms.
"Lets go" Shouted Owen. His axe in hand we begun retreating backwards. That's when the zombies lurched forward with a burst of unexpected speed. I emptied my gun on them and ripped my sword from my back ignoring the searing pain. Erwin hit the closest zombie with the butt of his rifle. I hacked at them with my sword. My sword cut threw them like butter.
Erwin let out a battle cry as he threw his rifle aside and released a burst of solflux that blew the zombies away. His right arm was now covered in dark yellow scales. He let out a roar as he punched and the air shook. The force of the punch blew apart most of the zombies in the front. Limbs were flying everywhere with blood raining from the sky.
In the front Lucas and Lach were battling others that were already surrounding us from the other buildings. Lach spun his stuff in the air until it started glowing a dim blue at the tips. He struck the ground with the bottom tip and a shockwave of solflux burst outwards. It blew away rubble, cars and zombies alike. He then split the stuff into three different segments held by a solflux charged chain.
He charged forward into the swarm of zombies. Owen charged on hacking the zombies with his axe.
"Run!" Shouted Lach from the front. We ran out of the narrow street onto the wider ones we had come from when a powerful shockwave from the distance shook the ground. A large dust cloud was heading our way. It covered even the tallest buildings in the area. In the dust cloud I caught sight of large glowing red eyes. I tripped over my own feet as my body froze up again.
"Hold on to something!" yelled Lucas. I jumped onto the side walk and held onto the wall of a building. Erwin dug his hands into the ground and lowered himself belly first to the ground. The shockwave came soon. The blast of air caught me of guard as I was unable to breathe. Cars, fiends and people flew by. Without augmented strength I was unable to hold onto the pillar for long. My shoulder gave up on me and I screamed in pain. I could barely see Erwin through the dust, only his legs flapping about in the dust. My own body was flapping about in the wind. Even through sheer will my right hand's grip on the pillar weakened and gave up entirely. Desperately I tried to hold on a little longer but, the strength left my arm entirely.
I was caught up in the wave and blown away. My body felt weightless as went along in the wave. I screamed to no avail with every part of my body alight with fear. I could see nothing through the dust or how far I went. All I knew was surviving this was going to be a miracle. Suddenly I slammed into something face first. Pain exploded throughout my whole body and before I could scream, something slammed into me from behind. I felt it hit me and everything went black.
When I opened my eyes I was in a dark space. I felt no limbs or body to move and I was sure I was dead until a voice whispered to me in the dark.
Do you want power?
I couldn't tell whether it was female or not. The voice was ancient and powerful. I thought the question over in head. Yes, I wanted power. I wasn't going to survive a second longer if I couldn't regenerate, that is if I was still alive. Yes, I whispered to the shadows.
What are you willing to sacrifice for it. The price of this is heavy and you shall carry it for all your days. Are you willing to suffer the toll of power?
I would pay for it, like I was paying for signing that contract and if I ever came to regret it? That was tomorrows problem. Right now I needed to survive, I needed power.
Sensing my will, the voice only said So be it, before my left hand burned in blue flames. I watched as my hand slowly vanished leaving pain behind. I screamed in pain as my head began to hurt. My head was being split open and all the memories in my head came crushing down on me. The pain was searing as I lost sense of self under the rush of memories and information.
But with the pain. I felt power I rise with it.