City of the Dead: Desolace Series IV

Introduction

Up until now, in the Desolace series, we have come to know the serial killer known as The Headhunter. He is likely the most terrifying individual you have ever encountered; a prime example of what true evil really is. He abducts, tortures, and maims his victims, keeping their heads as gruesome trophies. Then he taunts the police by leaving the headless corpses of his victims displayed for the entire world to see.

Two high school seniors find out about him after fooling around with an Ouija board one night, accidentally contacting a real spirit, the ghost of one of his victims. The apparition leads Katie and Julie through the woods to show them her killer, and the girls make a startling discovery. They recognize the man as their school bus driver.

A strange entity enters the picture, introducing itself to the killer as the Black Knight. He enlists the aid of The Headhunter, bringing him through a portal into the parallel world of Desolace.

He awakens in this new world and is instructed by the Black Knight to abduct people to work in a place known as The Factory. Doing the Black Knight's bidding, his resentment grows every time he restrains himself from killing.

Back on Earth, Katie has what she believes to be a dream. In this vision she meets a tall, pale sorcerer that calls himself Edward the White. He begs for her assistance, citing the fact that evil has gained entrance to his world from her own and he needs her help to vanquish it.

When Katie awakens, the shimmering spirit that led her to discover the identity of The Headhunter is in her room, beckoning for Katie to follow her once more. She follows, stepping through a portal into what she thought was a dream world.

As she meets the sorcerer who appeared in her dream for the first time, he informs Katie that they must form a group of people, comprised solely of individuals from Earth. The only catch? They must all have talents which are unique within the group. This group will consist of: a magician, hunter, warrior, healer, and some type of religious person.

After speaking with Edward at length, Katie soon realizes there is a possibility that her friend, Julie, has been brought to this world. She agrees to help him for the time being. In return she asks for his help finding her friend.

Edward agrees to help Katie and they soon set off on their quest. During their travels, they encounter many strange creatures, the likes of which Katie had before considered myth. They also come across more portals that lead to Earth, each seemingly associated with different points in time. They discover that each portal leads them to a specific individual, one whom they will need to form the rest of their group.

After entering a strange telephone booth, the group finds themselves transported to a future version of Earth; one decimated by an unknown virus which has turned nearly every living soul into a zombie. When Katie realizes they have come out of the portal and landed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she suggests the group head south—hoping to find a way out of this new hell—back at her childhood home in Misty Hollows, Ohio.

Along their journey the group is forced to fight for their very lives against the never-ending tide of the undead, but near Detroit they find the final piece of their group, a red-haired former priest studying the ways of the shaman. Shortly thereafter the group encounters a southern man, fleeing to the north to escape the stench of death and the zombie hordes, hoping to find Canada more hospitable.

The group convinces this man, Chris, to give them a ride to Ohio, and after a terrifying ordeal they finally locate an active portal back to Desolace hidden in the Headhunter's old killing grounds. Fighting to get to the portal before they are swallowed by the flood of zombies surrounding the park lodge, the story continues ...

Chapter 1

Katie and Edward watched in astonishment as Jack disappeared after going through the doorway. Was it the portal they were searching for? Even if it wasn't, it was surely better than being lunch for the pack of hungry zombies, which were bearing down on them at this very moment, only a matter of twenty feet or so from them.

She looked at Edward and shrugged her shoulders. This felt a lot like when they'd followed Melissa through the underground portal. They could only hope for better results this time. Dragging Brian with her, Katie plunged through the doorway. Edward took one last look at the zombies, hoping he would never encounter such vile creatures again, and stepped into the opening after them.

The strange sensation he remembered having when stepping through the portal with Katie when he'd first met Melissa hummed through his body for a moment. Seconds later, when his eyes adjusted, he saw the glow of several monitors.

Oh my God! What is that fucking stench? he heard Katie shout. It took a minute, but he soon realized where he was. Right back where they'd started from! The Outpost they'd been in before they'd gone down the stairs to the underground river.

Yes! he yelled happily, knowing now that at least he was back in his own world. Suddenly he had the urge to run outside and kiss the ground. He went to the door and placed his hand in the familiar handprint that he knew would open it. Twisting his hand in the mechanism, he felt a slight tingle of electricity as the door began to slide to the left.

It was dark outside, but he didn't care. Come on out here! he shouted to the others. Moments later, they were all standing outside in the much better smelling air. The bank of floodlights atop the Outpost suddenly flashed on, temporarily blinding them.

Together, they moved far enough from the building that the lights turned off again. Edward fell to his knees and looked up at the familiar moons above him. Thankful to finally be back home, he began kissing the ground, causing Katie to burst out laughing.

You're not glad to be back, are ya? she teased.

I can't imagine being any happier, he told her, spitting dirt and grass from his mouth and laughing as he spoke.

Katie grinned happily. "It'll be so nice to be able to sleep again, without having to worry about zombie attacks."

Something isn't right, Brian announced. I'm starting to get that feeling again. His breathing was becoming labored.

Maybe you're picking up on that, Katie suggested, pointing to where the mechanical horse stood near the far corner of the building.

Edward looked worried. He knew the six-legged, two-headed monstrosity had been there the entire time since their return to Desolace. Why would it take Brian that long to pick up on it?

As if to confirm his fears, they began to hear banging coming from inside the Outpost. Maniacal laughter began to echo in the stillness of the night air. Moments later, they heard a whooshing sound. The floodlights above the building popped back on, bathing the area in bright light.

Squinting his eyes in hopes they would adjust to the brightness faster, Edward stood and moved a few steps closer to the building. Just as he suspected, the door was open! He could see intermittent sparks coming from inside. After a few seconds, the nightmare scenario from his recent past came to life.

Zombies began to stream through the open doorway! Obviously, the portal on Earth was still active. He tried to think quickly on how to handle the situation. If the portal were still open on the other side, what would prevent a non-stop flood of zombies from entering this world? How could he stop it from happening? Was there a way to destroy the portal?

Katie scrambled backwards when she realized what was happening. She had thought this nightmare was behind them, but apparently the zombies had followed them through the portal. She searched the nearby grass and an awful thought occurred to her. She had no weapons! Glancing briefly toward Brian, she saw that his light blue irises had disappeared, his eyes getting that glazed look to them again.

Jack stood next to Edward, growling in fury at the approaching zombies, coiling his back legs beneath him as if he were about to launch himself into battle, saliva dripping in a steady stream from the sides of his mouth.

An idea popped into Katie's head. It was a crazy one, but if it worked she could get everyone away from here. She darted out a hundred feet or so, running parallel to the building at first, then turned toward it. She was trying to get to the mechanical horse without drawing the attention of the zombies. If she could get to it and figure out how to make it move, she could then swoop in and pick up Edward and Brian, saving them from becoming zombie food. In theory at least.

Out of the corner of his eye, Edward saw Katie running toward the horse. What the heck is she doing? A few of the zombies had spotted her and were now shuffling in her direction. He had to do something, fast! Hoping that his magic had returned upon his arrival on Desolace, he concentrated on summoning an ice spell; the same one he had used so long ago when they had encountered the massive column of bugs, hoping he could freeze them in place to give Katie a little extra time to do whatever it was she was attempting.

His hands grew so cold that he could barely feel them at all, telling him his magic had indeed returned. He thrust his palms forward, a cone of frost spewing out from them that worked perfectly. Within seconds the zombies, which had come shuffling out of the building, were frozen solid like grotesque statues.

Moments later, the Outpost burst into flames. For a few seconds, Edward was unsure what had happened to cause the fire, but then remembered about Brian's ability; the one he had used back at Katie's old house. He looked around and quickly located him. Just as he'd thought, Brian was acting the same way, his hands outstretched to the sky, his eyes glazed over, uttering something in a language he couldn't understand.

It became obvious that the fire engulfing the building was of the same type Brian had used at Katie's house. The flames that should have been baking everything within a couple of hundred feet were giving off no heat at all! The zombies outside the Outpost remained encased in ice.

With so much rage built up inside of him, Jack couldn't hold himself back any longer. He leapt forward, slashing his way through the zombie popsicles, shattering them with his powerful claws. The pieces of each zombie that he struck literally exploded on impact, littering the landscape with blood, guts, and body parts. His rampage only lasted for a few minutes, but when he returned to Edward's side there was nothing left standing.

Edward stood in awe, taking in the devastation which his small group had caused in such a short time. He hoped that the destruction of the Outpost would close the portal for good. He resolved to stay here until the building was nothing more than a pile of ash, just to be sure that the zombies would stay safely tucked away back on Earth.

Hey, stranger. Feel like getting out of here and finding a nice inn somewhere? Katie teased in a sultry voice.

Edward turned around at the sound of her voice. Apparently, while he was distracted by everything else, she had managed to figure out how to operate the mechanical horse. She smiled down at him from her place in the saddle.

He smiled. In a little while, perhaps. First, I want to make sure this evil place is destroyed.

Brian and Jack joined them. Together they watched as the burning timbers of the Outpost began to break apart, hoping that the Black Knight was witness to their triumph.

Chapter 2

Jumping down from the mechanical horse, Katie was greeted by an expansive hug from Edward. She closed her eyes and relished the relaxing sound of his heartbeat as she rested her head on his chest.

Sighing deeply, he looked down upon her dark brown hair, shimmering in the glow of the fire from the burning outpost, knowing there was a tremendous age difference between them, but still having the urge to kiss the top of her head. The tender moment was broken as he caught movement from the corner of his eye and quickly gave Katie a light shove so he could prepare himself.

What the hell? she asked in confusion.

Edward didn't offer an explanation, but instead corralled her with one arm to a place behind him. A strange light was approaching their position very rapidly from the forest, and after all they had been through lately, he wasn't about to underestimate the potential danger. His hands grew ice cold as he began to concentrate on the most reliable defensive spell in his arsenal.

I'm not a defenseless child you know, Katie complained, peeking around Edward to see what was happening. At first she was unsure of where to focus her attention, but judging from his reaction he was putting himself between her and whatever threat he perceived. By the time she realized what had startled him into his defensive posture the strange light had slowed its approach enough for her to see what it was.

What are you doing, Katie? Have you gone mad? The tone of Edward's voice was nearing panic as he helplessly watched her rush past him just out of his reach, speeding toward the light as fast as her feet would carry her.

Skidding to a stop before the familiar figure she tried to throw her arms around it, but they passed right through, making Katie look as if she were inside of an invisible straightjacket. Amber! I thought I would never see you again, she exclaimed happily. Why didn't you follow us through the portal down by the underground river?

Smiling, she replied, I missed you, too, Katie! The portal turned to dust as soon as you went inside. I feared I had lost you forever!

Come on, Katie motioned with her hand as she turned around. I'm sure the guys will be thrilled to see you again!

After a few tense moments Edward began to relax, allowing the brewing spell to dissipate. Watching as Katie turned and walked back toward him, with what he could only assume was Amber right behind her, his lips creased upward in a grin.

Startled slightly by the unexpected hand on his elbow, Edward turned his head to see Brian. "I've got a weird sensation coursing through me. It's not as if I feel the way I did when we were dealing with the