“What? Me!” Yin stares at my cleaver over her shoulder as the red-haired wraith of her friend creeps closer. Even from this close, it’s hard to tell that Crassia is undead now. The telltale giveaway of her invisible footsteps and drowned appearance are slight enough to be ignored by most. If it wasn’t for the fact that my companion, James, once almost died to a Drowned Soul himself when we first started adventuring, I wouldn’t know this crucial detail. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I told you. She died in that river. What you’re seeing is no longer human. Just a corpse reanimated by the virus. If you kill her, you can become a Hunter, like I was. Like I am.” I correct myself as I remember that I accidentally hit Lvl 1 saving their party. “Either you kill her, or she kills you.” I push the cleaver closer to her hand. When the wooden handle bumps her hand she pushes back abruptly.

“There’s no way…look she’s…she’s fine…” Yin stares at her friend as the shambling Drowned Soul comes into the open. A ray of moonlight illuminates Crassia’s face and reveals the true extent of the damage. Her skin is utterly white, all traces of color lost to the river bottom. Only the mud caking her ragged clothes is dark brown under the moonlight. An expression of intense longing fills her forlorn face. When she opens her mouth to gasp for air, it sounds like she’s speaking from underwater. Yin gasps as she sees what has become of her friend. “N-No! You were fine! How did this happen?”

“I-so-so…cold…can’t…breath.” Crassia hisses, her bloated fingers reaching out as if to grab onto the shore. She plods towards us in a way that’s almost dreamlike. I shake my head, bonking Yin on the back of her head with my cleaver.

“HEY!” She swings around. “What was that for?” Sighing, I just drop the cleaver into her hand, forcing her to hold onto it or risk dropping it. “I told you, I’m not going to-“

“Your choice. In five seconds, she’s going to try to kill you. Either you listen to my instructions and learn how to kill her, or I’m going to leave. Then she’ll kill you and after she’s done with you, she’ll go after the rest of your friends.” My dark words cause Yin’s face to tighten. She glances at me, trying to confirm if I’m serious or not. Something in my face must tell her the truth because her knuckles tighten on the cleaver this time. “You’re running out of time. Decide. Now!”

“You…look…warm…” Crassia fixes her undead gaze at Yin. From this close it’s like being stared at by a deadly predator. Any second, it might attack. That is all she is now. Just one the undead, even if she possesses the same face and voice. Yin needs to realize the truth of this cruel world. Or perish along with her friend. “Can I…touch you…I just want…to be warm…again.”

“Please. I can’t do this. Help me!” Yin’s voice grows panicked as she realizes I really will walk away. She turns rapidly from me back to her friend over and over. I shake my head as Crassia takes one more step.

“Too late. She’s coming.” I whisper, before falling away from her. Yin stares at me with wide eyes. No doubt in the reflection she can see what is coming for her.

“GIVE IT TO ME! YOUR WARMTH!”

Crassia surges forward, her red hair flowing backwards in one smooth motion as the undead virus in her compels her to attack her friend.

Yin stumbles back, holding my cleaver out as if it will ward off evil. Unfortunately, it is not very long, and while I keep it sharp, it’s hardly going to impale a Drowned Soul without any force behind it. The cute girl shrieks, helpless as she realizes her mistake.

“Heeeelp!” She screams. The Drowned Soul’s arms have an unnatural speed to them. Now that she has cast aside her disguise as a person, she is unveiled for what she truly is. Just a predator controlled by the virus. Lunging forwards, she grasps for Yin’s throat, desperate to drain her lifeblood. Yin lands on her butt, and I hear a gasp as the hard ground knocks the wind out of her.

“G-I-V-E M-E!”

Crassia’s short legs are empowered by death. Her bloated fingers reach for Yin’s throat and the beautiful girl desperately rolls sideways to get out of the way. Okay…that was a little impressive. Maybe you do have some promise after all. However, a Lvl 5 Drowned Soul is much faster to recover than the clumsy Fresh Undead. Though Crassia misses, she lands on her hands and knees and is back on her feet in a flash long before Yin can regain her own footing. Staring at the cute girl’s terrified face, I feel a tinge of pity.

I remember my first fight against the undead. My heart pounding in my chest. I had the same weapon.

Looking down, I see Yin has had the sense to keep holding onto my cleaver. Lucky for her, it’s her only chance.

“I can hold it down for you. But only for a second. After that, I will let go and I won’t interfere again.” I step forwards towards the undead. Crassia hisses like a feral cat. Black river-water seeps out along with coagulated blood and bits of her torn lungs as she breathes heavily. I never understood why the undead still do that sometimes. Breath that is. They don’t need to. The Drowned Ghoul turns to me. I ask Yin one last time, “Do you understand?”

“Just…get it away!” Yin tries to get to her feet while holding my cleaver. I snap out a punch at the undead girl’s forehead, careful to avoid striking anywhere near the mouth. The bite of the undead is a death sentence. As a Lvl 5 undead, Crassia senses my punch and immediately lunges towards me. But I expected that. Retracting my punch before it hits, I follow her center of gravity, moving sideways and ducking underneath the Drowned Ghoul. A moment later I’m behind her. My hands come up like steel traps, curling underneath her neck and locking together.

Gotcha

It’s a disgusting feeling, her bloated body is too soft, yet oddly swollen in the wrong places. I can feel cold river water leaking onto my arms, my chest. It’s like clutching a frozen, rotting, fruit. The smell of an undead invades my nostrils as Crassia flails in my grasp trying to turn around and bite me. Her nails scrabble against my coatsleeves, failing to tear the fabric. I steer the undead around, so she faces Yin, who stands there with my cleaver in hand, at a loss for what to do. Yanking up against the undead’s chin, I force Crassia’s snarling mouth up towards the sky, baring her neck. Yin’s eyes widen as she realizes she can finish this.

“You can’t be serious!”

“Last chance.”