Pasha stood and began rummaging through a satchel that Reece hadn’t noticed before. Meanwhile, the three of them backed away from the Sand Skimmer. Reece pulled his two pistols, realizing he hadn’t the time to try and control any of the oncoming creatures. Following Pasha’s instructions, he backed away even farther, trusting in his friend. His mouth went dry as he saw the ghouls swarm toward them. Bjorn stayed one step behind Reece, ready to shield him from the worst of the ghouls’ assault.

Once the undead creatures reached the Sand Skimmer, Pasha started chucking objects as fast as she could. Reece fired his pistols, trying to buy her some time to do her thing. Through great aim, some luck, and a whole lot of adrenaline, he managed to hold the horde back...for about ten seconds. Bjorn placed himself between the monsters and his companions, ready to defend them with his sword and body if necessary. The creatures swarmed over the Sand Skimmer, obscuring the vehicle from view with their desiccated bodies as they tried to reach the trio. Bjorn roared, his first swing separating four ghouls from their heads and lopping the arm off another.

That’s the moment that the world exploded, or that’s at least what it seemed like to Reece. What must have been incendiary grenades began exploding all around Pasha. Dozens of ghouls instantly met their demise, as did Pasha. Her body went up in flames as she crawled forward, towards the badly damaged Sand Skimmer. Her charred body collapsed just before she reached it. That gave Reece and Bjorn a couple of seconds to catch their breath and Reece time to swap the pistol’s clips out for fresh ones. He wasted no time in slinging his newly loaded lead into every ghoul that dared come around or over the Sand Skimmer for them. It soon became apparent that Reece wouldn’t be able to keep up with the sheer number of ghouls swarming over the meager protection of the vehicle.

Machine gun blasts started bursting forth from where Pasha had fallen. The nude man stood up, a machine pistol in each hand, and annihilated every ghoul within ten meters. Easily over a dozen of the creatures fell to the vicious assault. Having temporarily cleared them out, he reached into one of the Sand Skimmer’s storage compartments and pulled out a couple more clips.

By this time, Reece and Bjorn figured that Pasha’s plan had been executed and they rushed back to stand with him in the battle. Reece reloaded on the way and picked off a couple more ghouls as the undead recovered and renewed their attack. Bjorn flanked Pasha on his other side, cutting down a ghoul that attempted to jump over the Sand Skimmer and land on the naked man. Bjorn’s sword cut the monster in two, the remains splattering bloodily on the Sand Skimmer. The vehicle was starting to look like it had gone through a war.

“Hey, it worked!” exclaimed Pasha, clearly surprised by the results of his hastily enacted plan.

Reece simply raised an eyebrow as he blasted another ghoul that had crawled under the Skimmer, catching it in the face as it hissed at them. Pasha chucked another couple of grenades he had stashed in the storage compartment and the trio started backing away again. The ghouls had regrouped, and as one, rushed the three quickly tiring men.

Reece and Pasha were liberally going through their ammo reserves, cutting down ghoul after hideous ghoul as they attempted to flank the men. Dozens lay dead around them. Meanwhile, Bjorn swung his greatsword in wide arcs, single-handedly guarding their front. He’d step into his attack and let out a mighty roar, hacking apart a couple more of the fast creatures, before backing off again. The backswing of his sword kept anymore from jumping into the breach while he recovered. One tried and missed, landing on its face.

Bjorn wasted no time in stomping the creature’s head into the packed sand with his thickly padded heel, busting its skull apart. As the ghoul’s brain was mashed to jelly beneath Bjorn’s thick bear-like foot, two more met their end with an overhead, crosswise chop of the deadly sword. Every move of the muscular bear-man was devastating to the relentless ghouls, yet the creature’s numbers allowed them to continue gaining ground against the man’s ferocity.

Behind Bjorn, Reece was lighting the ghouls up, firing as fast as his trigger finger would allow. Every shot took a ghoul in the head, but it still wasn’t enough. He found himself dodging claws and kicking one oncoming ghoul while he simultaneously shot two more in their heads. He wasn’t the best marksman, but the ghouls were so close that it was almost hard to miss.

A cry to his left told him that Pasha was in trouble. Looking over he watched as a ghoul retracted its wicked claws from a gaping wound in Pasha’s chest. Bjorn made one last heroic swing, cleaving three more ghouls in half. A fourth and fifth got through and he was brought down to the ground where the ghouls’ needle-like teeth dug into Bjorn’s flesh. The bear-man growled in pain, dropping his sword. He then began mauling them with his massive paws, claws digging deeply into undead flesh and shredding it. He was down but not out. Three more ghouls went flying as Bjorn regained his feet. Reece had been firing and backpedaling as fast as he could when he watched his two friends go down under the mass of hungry undead. He stopped in his tracks and started heading towards Bjorn, blasting the face off every ghoul that dared to touch the big man-bear.

Looking about, Reece saw close to fifty more ghouls closing in on them. He was nearly out of ammo and one look at Bjorn told him that the big man didn’t have much fight left in him. Then he saw it hurtling towards them, a flaming bottle. It crashed down and ignited the ground in flames. The conflagration scorched a handful of ghouls, lighting their desiccated skin on fire. More importantly, it covered Pasha’s body in the flames needed to return him to life. Only one person that Reece knew of had that kind of wicked aim.

A few seconds later, a ghoul’s mishappen face exploded outward, splattering the two men in bits of bone and brain matter. Reece and Bjorn glanced at each other with the same question. Pasha hadn’t resurrected yet, so who killed it? The question was abruptly answered as additional ghouls met the same fate, their heads exploding one by one in quick succession. Over the carnage, Reece heard the distinctive sound of a Spear rifle. Following the reports that the Spear made as it was discharged, he glanced up and spotted her. Somehow, Ciera had made it through the entire settlement and found herself a nice little perch on top of a single-story building constructed of brown bricks that sat only about twenty meters away. He wasn’t sure but could have sworn she was smiling as she continued to aim and fire the rifle.

Seeing the tide turn in their favor, the two men renewed their efforts. Between Bjorn, Reece, and Ciera, they quickly whittled down the ghoul’s numbers. This allowed them to regain their ground back to the ash pile that marked where Pasha had perished. As if on cue, a very naked Pasha sat up out of the ash pile. Bjorn and Reece both quickly looked away, concentrating on the last few ghouls. Hearing some clanking and rustling behind him, Reece turned to see Pasha slipping a poncho over her body. She just shrugged and smiled when he glanced her way.

Their little reunion was interrupted by the sounds of clapping. Not one or two pairs of hands, but complete applause. Looking across the now heavily damaged Sand Skimmer, Reece’s heart sank. At least two dozen well-dressed men stood on the other side of the vehicle. On his second glance, there were a couple of women there too, also well-dressed, but there was something off about all of them. The way they moved and held themselves and the odd looks on their faces, narrowed eyes, almost seeming to be in pain. Their mouths were cast down into sneers of the utmost contempt enhanced by the stylings of high society that their clothing lent them.

The moment they saw Reece look towards them, they parted to reveal Aika, Karina, Angel, and the twins. They were all heavily chained and being held by more of the unusual people. Then Reece realized it, these were all vampires. When he looked closer, their red eyes gave them away and added to their unnatural demeanor. Reece realized that there had to be over thirty of them.

Suddenly, he felt cold, clammy hands grab his arms as the last of the cunning ghouls took hold of him, forcing the guns from his hands. Four more of the creatures had overpowered the exhausted berserker. Bjorn’s bear-form had run its course and he was kneeling in the sand, while the ghouls held him down. Before Ciera could start dropping the remaining ghouls with her rifle, one of the vampires leaped from the ground to land near her. The thing quickly disarmed her. A moment later, it had her on the ground with the rest of the prisoners. The snare had caught them all. Reece couldn’t do anything other than shake his head in frustration.

Reece noticed movement off to the right and looked over, directly into the approaching face of Commander Rogers. As he stared daggers into the man, sweat dripped down his face, stinging his eyes. With the ghouls holding him still, all he could do is try to blink away the burning sensation in his eyes.

“Well, well, we meet again. This turned out a bit differently than the Cape, don’t you think?” asked Commander Rogers rhetorically, clearly mocking Reece.

“Call off your ghouls and let Angel go,” retorted Reece. “Then we can have a rematch.”

“Now why would I do that?” asked Rogers. “I’ll admit, you caught me off-guard, but two on one is hardly sporting.”

“Fair enough,” replied Reece. “Just me then.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” clucked Rogers. “While I have no doubt that I would prevail, I do not need to debase myself by doing battle with lesser men. That’s what these... ghouls did you say? I like that. That’s what these ghouls are for. You’re probably wondering why you’re still alive?”

“Not really,” growled Reece, refusing to give the commander any satisfaction in his victory.

The commander got a big smile on his face, taking on a conciliatory tone.

“I want you to look at your friends,” said Rogers. “They are all still alive. I want you to understand, we could have killed several of them and still had plenty of bargaining chips. Considering all the trouble you’ve cost us, that would be entirely reasonable on our part. However, I’m a nice guy. And, as a nice guy, I want to return all your friends to you, alive and well. All I need is the nightcore. That’s it. Then you can all be on your way. Oh, I will need a small favor from you and the twins. There’s a fragment of the nightcore somewhere beneath the red pyramid over there,” explained the commander as he pointed towards the pyramid’s peak a quarter kilometer away. “I need the three of you to get it for me. So, what do you say? One more task for your commander, for old times’ sake?”

“You’re not my commander anymore, asshole,” spat Reece.

“Fair enough,” replied Rogers, the gleaming smile only faltering for a moment. “Ciscero, kill a couple of the girls.”

One of the vampires headed towards Ciera and drew her head back, preparing to feed. The look of fear she gave Reece made his blood run cold. Everyone watched in horror as the vampire slowly craned his head back, brandishing his fangs to draw out the horrid spectacle. The commander just smiled the entire time.

“Wait!” yelled Reece, slumping to his knees in defeat. “Fine, you have a deal. Just leave them alone.”

“See,” exclaimed Rogers. “I knew you could see reason. Look. This is a win, win. Everybody goes home and we can put this silly war behind us, or… we could rebuild this world together. You’re a talented man, Reece. And quite resourceful. You could make a great life almost anywhere. There’s certainly plenty of room these days. And if you still have any animosity for me, then hey, you never have to see me again.”

“Whatever,” muttered Reece. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Sure. I do want you to think about my offer, however. I have further use of you and could make it worth your while,” he said, speaking of Reece as if he were a tool. “Perhaps, if you serve me well, I may let you rule over a part of my empire. One day, you may understand that this was all for the best. Very few people are meant for greatness. The strong rule over the weak. It’s the natural order. Our Order is just helping nature take its inevitable course.”

What the commander didn’t realize, was that Reece was playing possum. As Rogers talked, Reece prepared his mind for the next attack. He was going to use his ability on the commander himself. Just as he went to launch the attack, he suddenly received a splitting migraine, instantly ruining it. The commander eyeballed him curiously before nodding to the two ghouls holding him. They proceeded to pick him back up and hold his arms tightly again.

With that, the commander walked back into town, chuckling for Reece’s benefit. Reece just hung his head down, his mind seething with anger. The commander and his small army of vampires had defeated most of his friends in one fell swoop. He winced as the ghouls started marching him forward, digging their claws into his skin when he didn’t move fast enough. He glanced over at the twins, trying to commiserate with them. They stared straight ahead; defeat written across their features. Their eyes were downcast but narrowed, a fire burning there. Their shoulders slumped, but their hands were clenched in fists. Fists of defiance maybe? Reece was interrupted from his musings by the commander.

“Oh Reece, you’re going to love this,” said the commander before calling out, “Oh honey?”

A minute later, Reece watched as Sora walked out from one of the buildings. Reece was surprised when he felt another shot of pain lance his heart. He had thought he was beyond being humiliated any further.

“Yes dear?” she replied, smiling wickedly at Reece who just glared back with fury burning in his eyes.

“Why don’t you relieve our old friend here of something that doesn’t belong to him,” Rogers told her.

Sora sauntered over to Reece, swaying her hips for his benefit. She winked at him while sifting through his pockets. More than once, she grabbed his package and squeezed it. He could feel the bile rise in his throat from her touch. Finally, she withdrew her hand with the nightcore firmly in its grip.

“Thanks love. Oh, that’s right. You turned me down, so now I’m one of the commander’s lovers. Too bad you missed out on all of this,” she loudly declared while motioning to her body and pouting mockingly. “You had your chance to join the winning team. Soon, you’ll be dead. So sad.”

“Not necessarily,” cut in Rogers. “I gave Reece another chance to join us. We’ll even let his friends live.”

“Oh,” she replied, looking at Reece with a renewed interest. “Please consider his offer carefully. he can be very... giving... when he wants to be. You should say ‘yes’. I’d like that, and I could personally show you just how appreciative I can be.”

Sora winked at Reece, then giggled as she handed the nightcore to Commander Rogers. He took it reverently, holding it up to admire the curves and pits within the dark object. Reece could see the look of insanity in the eyes of the man. He just shook his head angrily at the display.

“Finally,” said the commander, savoring the feel of the nightcore in his hand. “This is the true nightcore, though I see you’ve added to it. Good. Now you’ll do it again. As I’ve already started to explain, a rather large chunk is hidden within the red pyramid and the three of you are the keys to unlocking its cage. Let’s end this rebellion and get this over with. Come.”

The commander and Sora walked away from them. The vampires and a host of ghouls hauled Reece and the twins after them. The walk wasn’t long. The red pyramid was only a couple hundred meters from the small smattering of buildings. Once they drew close, Reece could tell that the lower levels had been dug out of the sand and made ready for them to uncover its secret. As the commander and his minions led them around the western edge of the pyramid, his breath caught in his throat and a tingle went up his spine.

There, twenty meters below ground level rested the limestone sphinx from his dream. It was in pristine condition, obviously having been covered by sand for hundreds of years. A mountain of sand sat a hundred meters south of the pyramid, obviously excavated from around the sphinx to bring it back into the light of day. On either side of the sphinx was a pedestal with an onyx cube resting upon it. From his dream, Reece recalled that the twins had to do something with the cubes to gain access to the antechamber below the pyramid. He hoped that they knew what they had to do because he didn’t have a clue in Hades.

While the commander marched them down the sandy path, etched with the tracks of heavy vehicles, Reece took notice of the details of the thing. This sphinx was unlike any from the picture books. It had the form of a cat that was resting on its haunches. Its human-like face peered forward while a pair of eagle-wings were neatly folded against its body. What he took for limestone at a distance now seemed like an opaque brown glass, dulled by time and the elements. Its human-like hair was long and flowing, formed into braids that fell to its feline shoulders. It sported a long goatee and a foo man choo, all braided and hanging far past the thing’s chin. Wondering how the delicate-looking parts hadn’t been broken off, he saw that they were rusted chains. The same was true of the rest of the braids. It gave the entire sphinx an even more visceral look.

Following the chin-braids down towards the ground with his eyes, Reece noticed a circular impression in the bricked floor in front of the beastly statue. He felt a sudden pang in his gut when he saw the scorch marks. They were unblemished and dark, clearly fresh, and he somehow knew this was part of the defenses of this place. If the twins didn’t know what to do, he would end up as just another scorch mark on the stones below.

“Get them in position,” demanded Rogers.

The vampires instantly moved at the commander’s prompting, roughly pushing the twins towards the pedestals that flanked the sphinx. Despite the chains that were clamped to their wrists and ankles, they were able to move somewhat freely, though escape would be immensely difficult. They glanced at each other for just a moment before turning their faces back to study the cubes before them. The cubes looked out of place, resting upon the lightly pitted limestone pedestals. Reece could just make out faint scrollwork running the entire length of the meter-tall circular columns, giving them a pictographic appearance.

Looking back at the stone circle directly between the pedestals and below the face of the sphinx, Reece saw the same pictographic images carved in a circle pattern around the circumference of the perfectly round stone. Commander Rogers stepped up beside him and patted him patronizingly on the back.

“Don’t fail me,” Rogers commanded. “And don’t get cute. I still have your precious friends.”

His former commander stared at him before stepping back. Reece just continued looking ahead, not sure what to expect. He knew the score. Rogers had taken almost everything from him, from the world, really. But he still had a chance to get his friends back. Somehow, Reece was also going to put an end to him.

Of course, he remembered that the man standing behind him wasn’t even the real Abel Hargrove. Just a clone, a fake imitation that didn’t belong in the natural world. He needed to put an end to that capability as well. There were already enough assholes in the world...even now, without the need to duplicate them.