Fates of Grenora: Return of the Night

"We have to hurry. Zombies assault the city," Aldrin informed Evie, who stopped suddenly, then hurried by dripping a Health Potion along the backs of the victims to heal them.

"How did you find us? I thought we were going to die here," she finally asked, her voice not as bright and airy as it used to be.

"I was looking for my friends," Aldrin said.

That seemed to appease her curiosity somewhat. He pulled the sacks off the rest of them, breathing a sigh of relief since none of the people were Pierre. The relief also made his stress levels skyrocket with the thoughts of what if's because neither of them was here. Sadly, that was also true for Evie because none of the people she came here with were under the sacks, meaning only one of two things. The robed figures that left were Evie's party mates, or they were traded to Tanyth for his experiments. Both options left a sour taste in Aldrin's mouth.

"All this power and I'm still powerless," Aldrin whispered to himself, guiding the rest of the victims back through the tunnel and out of the abandoned house.

Finally free, the victims hugged and rejoiced with one another as fresh air filled their lungs. Evie was the only one who chose not to celebrate as she stared at Aldrin.

"How many?" She sidled up next to Aldrin, away from the others.

"Thousands with more inside the city, and I'm going to free them." Aldrin stated, allowing crimson glowing eyes to dilute his green ones.

Evie's mouth pressed into a firm line, then she knelt on one knee with her head tilted down.

"What do you ask of me, Vyncari?" She resolutely said.

"You know you are the second one to bow to me and offer services I did not ask for," Aldrin said.

"My tribe was once devout followers of the Vyncari, and to see one here so far from your homeland is an honor." Evie stated, not bothering to look up.

"If we make it out of this, you and I are going to have a long discussion about what I am."

"Yes, my Vyncari." She rose, her head still tilted down.

"You can stop. I really don't know anything about Vampires. I'm still fairly new at this still." Aldrin admitted.

Evie's head snapped up with wide eyes. "You are a new Vyncari? That would make sense..." She frowned.

"Perhaps you can help me understand better?" he asked.

"It would be my greatest honor and pleasure," she bowed deep again.

A distant roar interrupted their conversation, making Aldrin tug on the strand that was linked to the Zombies outside. "The city is infiltrated. Multiple Openings. The Horde rushes forth, Midnight Lord." Aldrin heard them speak in his mind, unnerved again by how cohesive it was.

"We must hurry. Your best bet is to get out of the city and find Jared if you can. Explain to them what happened, and they will take care of the rest." He closed his eyes, finding the strand of Pierre's link in his mind.

"And if I can't?" she asked.

"Head to Folos. That is our next destination."

"Thank you for trusting me with your nature and for saving me." She bowed once more and turned to help the people they rescued.

"Now, Pierre, where are you really?" Aldrin searched for the tug, still telling him he was in the area.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the people Evie led away, who spared him one last grateful look. He nodded to her and jumped up to the roof of the building they escaped from. He surprised himself more that he could clear it to get to the roof, almost as if it was second nature to him. From his perch, Aldrin viewed the city that was catching fire in areas close to the entrance wall as alarm bells rang through the city to muster a defense. Along the wall, multiple breaches were opened and, from what Aldrin's eyesight could see, streams of Zombies poured in. High Guards and Adventurers met the oncoming tide, but from what he could see, it was a futile effort.

"How ‌the fuck did they get so many so fast?" Aldrin stared in disbelief as the Horde seemed to be nonstop.

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It was a losing battle nonetheless, as the Zombies relentlessly charged forth from the breaches. He hadn't seen any of the Giant Zombies yet, and he worried how the city would fare once they arrived. A bright white light soon materialized in front of Aldrin, which shocked him out of the carnage he could see.

Curiously, he felt a new connection blossom. "Safe outside the walls. Find me when you can." Aldrin was relieved that it came from Jared.

Now, with one less thing to worry about, he put more effort into focusing exactly where Pierre was at. If Pierre could use the connection to follow along to Aldrin, then should be able to do the same in reverse. Of course, his first try landed him in the general area, which proved to be fortuitous, but not exactly what he was after.

On the other hand, it gave him some peace of mind that he might figure out what makes him different from other Vampires and if there were more out there somewhere. He closed his eyes, filtering out any distractions and focused solely on Pierre. It was slippery in his mind, and he had to try a few times to grasp it, but when he finally did, he almost leapt for joy.

Jumping back down onto the street, he followed it, leading him to a rundown, dilapidated church that had a few onlookers sitting on the ground in front of it. They sized him up, but whatever they saw on Aldrin immediately dashed their thoughts of easy pickings.

"I'm looking for a man named Pierre. Is he here?" Aldrin calmly asked.

None of them answered and looked anywhere but at him.

"You guys were about to rob me ‌a second ago. What changed?" he almost chuckled.

They shuffled closer together and continued to ignore him. Shrugging his shoulders, he moved past them and headed into the church. It was wooden all around, unlike the stone and concrete he had been used to in the city. Three rows of pews on each side sat facing a shrine of a marbled statue of a veiled woman holding, balancing scales in one hand and a sword in the other.

"Welcome to the shrine of Dremetica. How may this humble worshiper help you? A priest in dirty, graying robes asked from his left.

"I'm looking for a man named Pierre. Is he here?" Aldrin repeated the same question.

The priest's eyes alighted with joy. "Is he your friend? He's been quite helpful lately!"

"Yes, I need to speak with him. It's urgent."

A door opened to a side room with a startled Pierre standing in the doorway. "Aldrin? What are you doing here?" Pierre asked, coming out of the room that smelled of death, making Aldrin's nose crinkle.

"Pierre! We have to talk." Aldrin raised his eyebrows, hoping he would get it.

"About what?" Pierre confusedly asked.

"It's urgent." Aldrin flatly said.

He nodded, and they walked back outside and a few feet away from anyone who could hear them. "What's going on?" Pierre asked once they were a decent deal away.

"I started the Zombie outbreak," Aldrin admitted.

"How? Why? Wait, what about the plan?" Pierre fired off.

"It changed when whoever decided to blow up the inn with the people inside."

Pierre took a minute to process that. "You are the only one who survived?"

"I am, and in my anger, I started the Zombie outbreak. Right now, they have spilled into the first part of the city and will soon overwhelm the defenders at the breaches. Also, the Giantess, Evie, knows what I am."

"Can she be trusted?"

"She claimed her people and mine used to have a working relationship, so to speak."

Pierre grunted in displeasure. "Still, if she is around us, then we have to keep an eye on her until we know she's good."

"I am assuming you are also going to the Research District now?"

"To put a stop to the Queen's experiments, yes."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, get out of the city and meet with Jared. He is safe outside the walls somewhere."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Pierre, but I have to go alone. I have already doomed this city. You guys have been trying to redeem yourselves, and I don't want to drag you down. Get out of the city and meet ‌Jared. I will find you both when I can." Aldrin shapeshifted into bats before Pierre could argue more.

Flying above and looking at the destruction by the main gate, he saw the defenders losing ground as more and more Zombies poured in. A few said Zombies had maneuvered into storming atop the walls, subduing the Archers present there. Another skin-crawling moment was seeing some Zombies full-on sprint and dive into the defenders with reckless abandon from above at portions of the wall.

Loud thumping accompanied not soon after as a Giant Zombie shoulder charged into a section of the wall, bringing it down altogether. It rose from the rubble, letting out a terror-inducing roar that whipped the other Zombies into a frenzy. To make matters more dire, the shop, Hexes and Jinxes, which was where the slavers had their drop point, began to add more numbers to the Zombies as they flooded into the city from the shop, crashing through the front.

Spells from the Mages lighted the pockets of darkness the flames had yet to illuminate as the Adventurer groups banded together to stem the tide. It was no use, however, as a second and third Giant Zombie came through the hole the first made. That seemed to break morale when one of the Giant Zombies grabbed a handful of screaming people and popped them in its mouth like popcorn.

Doubts filled Aldrin's mind about the atrocity that he had a hand in committing. He knew if Lor-Vold survived, it would be a miracle, and he had yet to see if the Zombies had begun sprouting from the ground underneath the Research District. When that would happen, plus whatever horrible experiments were locked away were also unleashed, it would only be a matter of time before the city became overrun.