Rise

　　Jeremiah was unfazed by the horror of the nine bodies spasming and climbing to their feet, but he recognized it all the same. Heads lolled on flapping throats that opened like great red mouths.

　　Weapons.

　　The bodies reached in belts and under bed rolls, producing swords, daggers, and hatchets clutched in the iron grip of the dead. Jeremiah retrieved his discarded spear and thrust it into the hands of the man he had failed to kill. A body he now commanded. Jeremiah stacked the bubbles of the zombies with practiced ease. Space, there was so much space in his mind now. The months of work and toil had stretched the boundaries of his mind, creating far more room than before. He kept the spearman separate, a personal bodyguard.

　　March. Protect.

　　Nine zombies formed a circle around him, and together they marched through the door Bruno and the others had exited through. It led to a long hallway lit by guttering torches that flicked shadows over two bodies lying sprawled as if sleeping. Their throats were cut as well.

　　Rise.

　　Two rooms adjoined either side of the hallway, within them four more corpses.

　　Rise.

　　Their bubbles joined the others. Jeremiah was vaguely aware of how easily he had come to handle this growing hoard. They were fresh, as fresh as could be. They moved with a limberness he had never experienced in the long cold corpses he`d normally worked with, their bubbles vibrant. His zombies closed ranks around him as he ordered one of them to open the door.

　　There was a hiss of surprise and a spear punched through the zombie`s torso. The zombie proceeded into the room unabated, and Jeremiah found his friends backpedaling quickly. Jeremiah`s army spread out in formation on either side of him, his spearman by his right hand.

　　"I`m ready," he said.

　　His friends` eyes darted over the zombie hoard before settling on him. Bruno stepped out behind Allison`s raised shield and approached Jeremiah slowly, with tentative steps, his whole body coiled like a spring.

　　"We okay?" he asked.

　　Rise.

　　Bruno sprang into the air like a startled cat as the bodies in the room began to tremble and twist. He landed with a squelch in a pile of sloughed off flesh left by two new skeletons.

　　"Now we are," said Jeremiah with a wicked grin. The two skeletons and four new zombies stood at the ready, fresh blood pouring from their throats. Delilah backed away, her spear tip twitching back and forth.

　　"Alright," said Jeremiah, "you`ve got seventeen zombies, two skeletons, and one necromancer. What`s the next move?"

　　Bruno was about to speak when they heard a scream of terror coming from somewhere far behind them, followed by more shouts of alarm. A bell began to clang frantically from somewhere in the fortress.

　　"Shit!" cursed Bruno, abandoning the whisper. "Alright, it was good while it lasted. Jay, we need those things to watch our back and provide a distraction. Form up and move with us, do what you can. Allison, the sneaky side of things is over, so you`re in-"

　　"CHAAAARGE!!!" Allison yelled and slapped down the visor of her helmet, becoming a faceless juggernaut. She began spinning her flail, her weapon`s piercing scream following her as she stormed into the next room. Jeremiah, Bruno, and Delilah raced after her, Jeremiah sparing a thought to command his hoard.

　　Spread. Kill. Quickly.

　　Then to his spearman:

　　Follow. Protect.

　　The hoard turned and began shambling as quick as dead legs would carry them back the way they came. The skeletons armed themselves with short swords and sprinted away, their boney feet making a staccato clattering on the stone floor.

　　The next room the party entered was in the process of responding to the alarm. Most of the men never got the chance to fully wake up. Allison careened into the room with her flail screaming and whipped it into the rising forms of the nearest two men, breaking necks and caving skulls without skipping a beat. The other men scrambled away from her like frightened animals.

　　Allison charged them as they packed against each other at the far door. She struck them down like the fist of an angry god as they raised their arms in futile efforts to block her flail. Delilah covered Allison`s left flank as some men regained their wits enough to bring their weapons to bear. She drove her spear into their stomachs, driving them back against the wall. Bruno covered Allison`s right, darting in and out with flashes of his blades and hammering throwing swords into those who tried to maneuver.

　　Jeremiah sent his spearman in to support Allison, and the zombie tore into the mass of enemies with a fearlessness that only the senseless possess. The remaining bandits` retaliation was frantic and weak. Clumsy sword chops bounced off Allison`s armor and knife stabs to the zombie`s chest did nothing but pierce its stagnant heart. The last bandit shielded himself behind the body of one of his comrades. Allison crushed the body, then the arm holding it, then the bandit`s skull.

　　"PUSH!" she bellowed. Jeremiah had been busy during the fighting, and only had one body left to raise before moving on.

　　Rise.

　　Eight new zombies and two skeletons. He sent the eight zombies to reinforce the rearguard, which he sensed had finally encountered resistance. Confusion, screaming, killing, panic. In the drunken dark of night, men encountered familiar faces, and were set upon.

　　Jeremiah glanced out the window and saw people scurrying about the courtyard. He sent the two skeletons leaping down to cause more havoc. Their light forms landed with ease and immediately began running down bandits and tearing at them with bony claws and steel knives.

　　Allison sprinted along an empty hallway, Delilah running behind her. Jeremiah and Bruno fell in step. Allison kicked open a door on the left, revealing an empty room. She turned and kicked the opposite door open and, seeing nobody, continued her charge down the hall. Delilah followed closely.

　　Jeremiah and Bruno both saw what happened next but were too far behind to help. The door on the right had rebounded far too quickly. As Delilah passed, hands jumped out and seized her. Bandits hauled her into the room and slammed the door.

　　"Allison!" shouted Bruno.

　　Allison was already skidding to a stop. She shoved Bruno and Jeremiah away from the door and began ramming it with her shoulder.

　　"Hurry up and kill the bitch!" came a voice from inside the room. There was a strained reply. "Stop trying and cut her damn throat!" They heard Delilah`s piercing scream.

　　"FIGHT HIM, DELILAH! WE`RE COMING!" Allison screamed as she slammed against the door.

　　Jeremiah ordered his spearman against the door as a crack of light appeared in the jamb from Allison`s efforts. The zombie shoved its arm into the narrow space even as the door was shoved closed from the other side. The zombie`s arm was crushed, but each subsequent ram from Allison allowed it to force more of its body inside.

　　The zombie`s shoulder and chest widened the gap, and Jeremiah could sense and see someone stabbing relentlessly at its flesh. The man behind the door shouted triumphantly as he impaled the body over and over again, only to scream as the sword embedded in its chest did nothing to impede the zombie from clawing his arm, leaving red bleeding furrows and whole fingernails behind. The man was forced to release the blade that had become stuck in the zombie`s sucking chest.

　　Allison`s next blow forced the door open, and she rushed inside. A mace blow to her helmet immediately sent her stumbling. The door guard retreated to block the rest of the narrow room. He was a brute of a man, braced behind a tower shield and raising a mace high above his head. The zombie lurched at him, and he swung the mace downward. The zombie`s shoulders splintered as it was driven to the floor. With its remaining strength, the zombie dragged itself towards the man and bit into his ankle. The man roared in pain and swung his mace again, crushing the zombie`s skull to pulp. The bubble in Jeremiah`s head popped.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

　　A bellow of pain drew their attention. A second man had Delilah pinned against the far wall, his forearm across her throat and a curved knife raised over his head. She was gripping him by the wrist with both hands, trying desperately to redirect the knife. One of her cheeks was a bloody flap, her hands and forearms were covered in tremendous cuts. But the cry of pain hadn`t been hers—the man`s face was a mess of blood, with shards of glass embedded in his flesh and eyes.

　　As Jeremiah watched in horror, the enraged man forced the knife down toward Delilah. The blade pierced her throat right above her collarbone and drove deep.

　　Jeremiah screamed as Delilah`s blood squirted outward in a geyser. Bruno darted at the shielded man blocking their way, but was forced to dodge backwards to avoid being crushed by the mace. Allison caught the head of the mace with her flail and pulled with all her might. The brute lost his footing, and Bruno took the opening to slip past the brute, and thrust a dagger up into the base of the man`s skull. He dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

　　Delilah`s captor had enough vision left to see what happened. He spun, knife to Delilah`s throat, ready to finish the job. Delilah was hemorrhaging blood and weakly clawing at the man`s hand.

　　"Now, let`s not go crazy!" he said, his eyes manic. "Maybe this little sweetie can still live yet, eh?" He sidled his way over to a window. "Oi! I got em up here!" he called down to the courtyard.

　　Jeremiah, Bruno, and Allison spread out and advanced on him.

　　"Let her go now and you`ll just be overpowered` and live to see tomorrow," said Bruno. "You don`t want to end up like your friend, do you?" He gestured toward the crushed zombie.

　　"Pitch that!" the man spat. "I got time on my side!"

　　Come.

　　"Your girl is fixing to bleed out any second—"

　　Kill.

　　"—and you want to have a little chat!? Put your weapons down and maybe, just mayb—"

　　Skeletal hands, the rigid fingertips blunted from climbing the walls, reached through the window and seized the man`s face. Fingers sunk into his mouth, eyes, and nose, and wrenched him backwards, his flesh flensing and tearing. He cried out as they pulled him backwards through the window, his hostage forgotten as he flailed for the window`s edges. He screamed all the way down.

　　Allison caught Delilah before she could hit the ground. "PRESSURE!"

　　Jeremiah rushed forward to press his hands hard over the spurting wound. He could feel Delilah`s blood pulsing between his fingers.

　　"You`re gonna be okay hon, drink this now." Allison poured the crimson potion down Delilah`s throat.

　　The slashes in her face and scalp began to close, but Jeremiah could still feel the pump of blood against his hand. "Another!" he yelled.

　　Bruno crouched next to Delilah, pale and fumbling through his pockets. "I can`t - I forgot which - she`s bleeding so much&" He finally produced the vial, and Allison snatched it from his hands. Moments later, the gashes across Delilah`s face and arms were healing. Jeremiah pulled away briefly; the geyser of blood had slowed to a gush. Delilah`s eyes were starting to brighten again.

　　"One more!" said Allison. Bruno had backed away and was staring at the scene with his hand over his mouth. Jeremiah removed his hands from Delilah`s wound to retrieve his own potion. Upon pouring it into Delilah`s mouth, the gushing finally ceased.

　　Color slowly began to return to Delilah`s cheeks. She started trembling, which Jeremiah decided to take as a good sign, then she summoned the strength to pull bottles of her own. A sizzling white powder that foamed on the remains of her wounds, a golden vial that she downed in a gulp, and a terrifyingly large syringe filled with a clear liquid that she jabbed dispassionately into her leg.

　　"Okay," she croaked. "Okay." She suddenly sobbed and held her face in her hands. Allison hugged her hard.

　　"We can`t wait," said Bruno, and they knew he was right. They`d be swarmed soon. Jeremiah realized his hoard contained fewer bubbles than before, but even now the feedback from his remaining undead was pure carnage.

　　Allison helped Delilah to her feet. She still looked unsteady, but she fixed the others with a stern gaze. "Come on, we need to finish this." She flipped up Allison`s visor and put her hands on Allison`s face. "I`m okay. Al, we need you in berserker mode right now. Can you do that for me?"

　　Allison took a breath and nodded. She flipped her visor down. "No more dying, any of you. That`s an order. Move out!"

　　Before following the others out of the room, Jeremiah peered out the window at the at the man who had nearly killed Delilah. His broken body lay far below, flat in the dirt.

　　Rise

　　The extra distance made his head swim a little, but the effort was worth it. He sent the zombie off to kill.

　　Allison rampaged through room after room. Her screaming flail struck like a viper as the bandit resistance grew stronger. Delilah defended her flank, keeping her from being overwhelmed, and Bruno`s arrows and throwing swords covered any other openings.

　　More bubbles popped among Jeremiah`s rearguard of zombies. The bandits were rallying and beginning to overcome their confusion, but with each room Allison and the others cleared, he sent more undead back as reinforcement. He also changed up his commands.

　　Spread. Scatter. Kill.

　　Now the zombies would break off from the main group to attack previously safe areas. It wouldn`t take them long to find new prey.

　　Jeremiah`s head was finally starting to feel crowded. He sensed countless confrontations. He paused to look down at the bodies strewn across the courtyard. A skeleton heaved someone off the top of the wall. The body bounced lifelessly off the ground.

　　Bruno joined Jeremiah at the window as a bandit sprinted across the courtyard. "Come on," Bruno muttered, "come on, do it you scared little rabbit." The man reached the fortress gate and, in an impressive terror-fueled feat of strength, heaved the massive wooden locking beam out of place. He shoved the doors with all his might until they opened just enough to allow him to escape into the desert night.

　　"Yes! We`re on a roll now!" said Bruno. As he said it, Jeremiah watched two more bandits break for the exit.

　　"PUSH!" ordered Allison, and the others fell in with her perpetual charge. She powered into the next room where a group of men were struggling to fend off some zombies and made short work of them. Her skill and speed were startling next to the sluggish, clobbering undead. They came to a rough stone staircase, and she raced downwards, smashing the neck of another man as she ran.

　　Rise.

　　Allison kicked in the door at the bottom of the stairs and they streamed into the room just as a bear of a man charged through the opposite door. He collided with Allison, toppling her backwards, then continued his charge over Jeremiah, then Delilah, then Bruno. A swarm of bandits streamed in after him, leaping on Allison as she swung wildly from the ground, breaking a shin in half before they pinned her down.

　　Jeremiah tried to climb to his feet, but a bandit bashed him upside the head with a truncheon. His vision flashed red and swam. He curled up and covered his head with his arms as smashing blows rained down on him.

　　A weight settled on top of him. A man was sitting on Jeremiah`s chest, pinning him on his back. The bandit was screaming in rage, his mouth opened wide. Drool dripped onto Jeremiah`s face as the man wrapped his hands around Jeremiah`s throat and squeezed. Blackness and panic immediately set in. Jeremiah kicked his legs and clawed at the hands choking the life from him, but they were solid and strong. His eyes bulged and the man started to laugh and lick his teeth, lustful with murder.

　　A furious croak came from Jeremiah`s robes as blackness crept in the edges of his vision. A moment later, the pressure on his throat lessened. Jeremiah gasped for air and blinked. His vision cleared enough to see his attacker seizing Gus, a line of puncture wounds seeping blood from his wrists. The man hurled the toad across the room, then returned his attention to Jeremiah. But his fingers didn`t respond when he tried to wrap them around Jeremiah`s throat. His hands were inert lumps of meat.

　　The man stared at his limp hands. Jeremiah could almost see Gus`s venom coursing through the man`s system as his body slowly stiffened, his face frozen in horror, then toppled sideways off of Jeremiah`s chest.

　　The bear man was pummeling Bruno in a corner. A skilled pugilist by the looks of it, he stayed right on top of Bruno and bashed him in the guts with a gauntleted fist before lifting him clear off the ground and body slamming him. Delilah was just getting to her feet; the man who had tackled her was clutching his eyes and screaming, white smoke wafting off a pale yellow liquid that was smeared across his face. Allison was fully pinned by a group of bandits, her arms outstretched as a dwarf woman repeatedly smashed her chest plate with an axe, which bounced off harmlessly.

　　"Lift her visor, I`ll pith her fucking brains out!" the dwarf screeched, switching the axe for a metal awl. She laughed and slammed the awl into the joint at Allison`s hip. She licked the weapon clean and then stabbed it into her shoulder, gleefully sampling the blood again.

　　Jeremiah charged the bandit pinning Allison`s weapon arm, ramming him with all his might. It was only enough to roll the man back, and he threw a wild elbow into Jeremiah`s jaw as they fell. But the respite was enough. In a flick of the wrist, Allison stole the dwarf`s awl and planted it between the ribs of the man pinning her shield. He died with a gasp. She was free.

　　Allison took out her rage on the dwarf. She tore the bandit`s face to ribbons with her clawed gauntlets before raking her throat open. Jeremiah turned away from the gruesome display only to watch Delilah charge her spear into the fleshy belly of the man grappling Bruno. It pierced all the way through him. The man gurgled a pitiful moan and went limp. The room was quiet.

　　Bruno clutched his ribs and winced. Delilah produced a tiny paper parcel and held it under his nose. "Sniff, hard."

　　Bruno inhaled through his nose and stumbled back, face drawn in silent agony. His eyes squeezed shut, then suddenly opened wide. "Holy shit!"

　　Jeremiah comforted a grumpy but uninjured Gus. Allison retrieved her weapons, growling to herself, "Careless. Stupid. Weak. Bandit bastards." She noticed the man who had attacked Jeremiah, still frozen in the same position. "Yours?" she asked Jeremiah.

　　"Gus`s," he replied. He glanced around the room at the new cache of bodies.

　　Rise.

　　The room opened onto the courtyard, where chaos was in full swing. Jeremiah sensed his minions all around him, in every hall and room, tearing people apart and being destroyed in turn. Screams and the sounds of battle permeated the desert air.

　　Rise.

　　More bandits were sprinting for the gate, but not enough. The party moved out into the center, and Jeremiah took a moment to spur his undead on. His minions were pulling him in countless different directions, but instead of being overwhelmed, he felt strong. His focus was unified despite being fractured into so many pieces, and he found he could impart his will in every direction it was needed without diluting it.

　　His minions spread through the fortress like a wave of death. For the first time in his life, Jeremiah felt truly powerful.