Chapter 7 - The Church of the Living Dead

Chapter 6 - The Church of the Living Dead



"Huff.....puff....."

Climbing the rocky area of land was no easy task for Chris. Plate armour wasn't the best clothing to be wearing for such a task.

However, he soon reached the top, and took a deep breath.

"Huff.....huff....I must have walked at least 2 or 3 miles....." he thought, looking back the way he came. He was greeted by the breeze of the night air, the sight of Lake Angelis on the horizon. The full moon in the night sky was reflected off the calm waters of the lake.

Chris took out the magical map, and noted that his position wasn't too far away from a mountain, which the map labelled as Mount Aurora. Michelle's location was ON the mountain, and just southeast of the peak was no less than Avalon.

"I'm running out of time...." thought the knight worriedly. However, he'd been walking all day, and he needed to rest. He wouldn't be much use to Michelle if he was fatigued. Also, from the looks of things, Michelle had also stopped to take a rest. Climbing the mountain would not be an easy task.

"I'll have to take a quick rest somewhere....but not out in the open." Chris shivered, realising that it was a pretty cold night. "I'll freeze if I try to sleep out here."

The young knight left the cliff top, walking onwards into a small, patchy forest.



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The coldness she'd known for too long washed through her being. She could still hear the horrible cries of those she had killed, and seeing them become just like her.

She pressed herself against one of the cold stone pillars, desperately wanting release. Not until the monsters she'd created were stopped could she rest in peace.

“Please……..someone help…….set me free……”



She felt some kind of presence approaching, someone full of strength, and a heart that was beating with powerful emotions, someone who fought for good. Perhaps this person could end her nightmare……



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An eerie wind greeted Chris as he stepped into a large clearing. The trees here were sparse, and the ground seemed almost dead. There was also a thin mist covering the area. It was not a place anyone wanted to be on a cold night.

"There must be somewhere I can sleep!" exclaimed Chris, who had had no luck in finding shelter. The cold was getting to him, even through his warm underclothes.

It was only then that Chris spied some stones, of all shapes and sizes sticking out of the ground. At first he couldn't make them out because of the mist, but as he got closer, he discovered that they were gravestones.

“A graveyard.....” he said quietly. “And where there's a graveyard, there's a church! I could take shelter in it.”

However, as he started to walk past the gravestones, he noticed something rather peculiar. They appeared to be unmarked. He checked two rows of them, and they were all the same. It was as if nobody was buried in them.

“That's odd……” mused the knight, frowning in puzzlement. “Gravestones are always marked with the person buried. It seems rather disrespectful to the dead not to mark their graves.”

A saddening thought came to him. If he didn't save Michelle, she would end up in a grave too……

“Urrgh!” Chris rebuked himself for thinking negatively. “That is not going to happen!”



The lone knight continued through the cemetery, scanning the horizon for the all important church. The mist was hampering his search, and he was also getting a bad feeling from the whole place. There were no sounds of animals, and the wind's spooky moan was starting to unnerve him.

Just then, Chris thought he heard a noise behind him. He whirled around, but there was nothing there.



“OK………it's just the wind, Chris……” he told himself, laughing slightly.



The young knight walked on a little further, but he really wanted to leave the place. The graves looked creepy in the mist, dark shapes jutting out from the ground, and he was sure he was starting to hear things.

Then, at last he spied the church, not too far away from him. It was a relatively small church, with white walls and grey roofing. A tall clock tower was its main feature, and it rose into the mist, the top disappearing above the whiteness.



“At last!” sighed Chris in relief, and he started to head for the holy building.



Then he heard another sound, like something scrabbling at dirt.

He quickly looked around him, his senses alert and his right arm ready to draw his weapon.

However, he saw nothing…..not a soul.



“There's nothing here………nothing at all.” he thought nervously. “I'm just imagining things……”



Suddenly, he felt something grab hold of his right leg. Gasping, he looked down and saw what appeared to be a human hand clutching it. The hand looked like it had rotted away, and he could see muscle where there should have been skin.

“Ugh!!! Get off me!” he yelled, shaking his leg, but the hand held him in an iron grip. No matter how hard he tried, Chris couldn't get free.



“Think you're so tough, huh?” Chris frowned, and drew Michelle Memoria, slashing the hand off at the wrist. The dismembered limb fell off his leg and stopped moving.

“Phew………” Chris sighed, looking at the hand. “What WAS that?”



The ground next to the hand suddenly began to rise up. Something was coming out of the ground! The knight stepped back, readying his sword for whatever it was.

The soil fell of the figure that had risen from the earth, which looked blankly at Chris. Its eyes were decayed, like the rest of its body. It was a human body, but the skin was rotted away and dead. It looked like a corpse………and it was. It had risen out from in front of a large gravestone.

Chris knew of only one creature that looked like this, having been taught about many of the beings that inhabited the world, and looked worried, for this one was very dangerous. “Zombies………the living dead………” he spoke under his breath.

The zombie uttered a low and deep moan, which made Chris's hair stand on end. It stretched its arms outwards at Chris, and began to lumber forward. There was only one thought inside the brain of the walking corpse………to eat tasty flesh.



Chris knew this also. From his Knight training, he knew that zombies fed on the flesh and internal organs of humans. They would quite literally eat a human alive.

He also knew that they were incredibly difficult to kill, if not impossible. There was no documented method of killing the creatures. However, a powerful attack would temporarily stun them.

He had to be extremely careful, however. If a zombie managed to bite him, he would slowly die. It was believed to be some kind of poison that naturally existed inside them, and was transferred to anything they bit into. Chris would die, and would become a zombie himself. Obviously, he had no intention of being a meal for a walking corpse, or becoming one himself.

“I think it's time you went back to sleep!” said Chris to the zombie, thrusting forward with his weapon. The divine sword pierced the undead's chest exactly where the heart was located. A normal human would not survive such a hit.

The zombie groaned, and as Chris pulled Michelle Memoria free, it fell to the ground.

Chris watched and waited. “Maybe Michelle Memoria can kill one of these?” he hoped inwardly.



His hopes were dashed a few moments later, as the monster rose slowly back to its feet. It moaned again, continuing its attack on Chris.

“Damn it!” cursed Chris, backing away from the thing. “Looks like swords aren't going to work!”

He stopped moving as he heard more moaning behind him. From the way he'd come and to his sides, more zombies began to rise up from their graves, each wanting a piece of him.

“You invited a few friends, huh?” said Chris to the first zombie, sweat beginning to appear on his forehead. He couldn't go back the way he came, towards the exit. He had no choice but to head for the church.



Quickly, Chris ran at full speed towards the only refuge against the growing horde of the undead. “I sure hope it isn't locked………or I'm worm food………” he thought, as the moans of his pursuers filled the air………

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At the very edge of the area around the church, where the tiny wood met greenery, Michelle and her kidnapper could hear the wailing of the zombies that they'd long since left behind.

“A-are they coming for us still???” said Michelle in a fearful voice. She hated appearing scared in front of her enemy, but her experience with the undead had left her deeply frightened of them.

“You don't know much, do you your Highness?” laughed the black hooded figure. “Those zombies are only staying around that graveyard. Those moans are simply their echoes, and it means they've found some silly fool to snack on.” He grinned evilly under his hood. “It'll be whichever Knight that's been trailing us ever since we left the castle.”

“What?!” exclaimed the princess, her mouth open in surprise. “Somebody is following us?”

“The Knights of the Crown are all pathetic generically trained knights, but at least one of them will have managed to stay on our tail. He or she is now no longer a problem.” The villain snickered, enjoying the prospect of his pursuer meeting a grisly death. “I'm sure the zombies will eat well tonight.”

Michelle nearly threw up, thinking of the poor soul who was trying to save her. “You………you're sick……” she said, her hand shaking with fury. “And you don't know that he or she is dead! They'll get past those monsters, just you wait! When that knight catches up with us, you'll be sorry!”

“My dear Princess………how naïve you are.” grinned her captor, stepping closer to her. “None of those fools can take me. The Knights of the Crown is only a great unit because I was in it! Without me, they're nothing! I deserve more recognition than being shunted behind those wannabes!”

He was right next to her now, his cold breath almost touching her face. “Let me show you the true Knight of the Crown, the one to really be fearful of………”



With one swift movement, he pulled back his hood, revealing his face.



Michelle gasped, unable to believe what she saw. “I-It's………YOU!!!!! H-How could you………?”

The hood came back over the villain's face as he gave a triumphant grin. “If your hero or heroine catches up to us, he or she will know the power of a true knight! We move now! Avalon awaits us, Princess!”

Michelle didn't even resist as he grabbed her wrist, her hope fading fast.

“He's too powerful………they wouldn't have a chance against him………he killed that knight at the castle………” she thought sadly. As she was dragged onwards yet again, she closed her eyes. The cries of the zombies were still echoing through the night air.

“Whoever you are………please be alright………please………”



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Sprinting as fast as his armour would allow him, Chris finally reached the church door. He spun round, and a ghastly sight greeted him. Out of the mist, the shadowy silhouettes of the hungry zombies lumbered forward, each one hell bent on eating him alive.

His hand reached for the door's handle. The door itself was a large iron set of double doors, and looked strong enough to hold off the zombies. Without a second's thought, the knight pulled at the handle.



Nothing happened. Instead, he tried pushing the door in.



Again, nothing happened. The door wouldn't budge.

“Locked?!” gasped Chris, cursing his luck. He turned and saw that the zombie horde was getting closer. He was running out of time, and fast.

“I've got to get this door open!” he thought, but he had to do it carefully. His sword would break the lock, but the doors would be left open allowing the zombies to enter the church. If he used Grand Memoria, the doors would be destroyed.

The windows could be broken, but the zombies could probably climb through them.

“There's nothing I can do………” Chris' hopes fell quickly. It looked like he was going to die in this place………

The young knight faced the undead massing near him. In a few moments, they would be all over him, and he'd be nothing more than their midnight snack. The monsters moaned loudly, smelling the sweet taste of human flesh.

Chris looked up to the heavens, his face full of anguish. “Is this how it's meant to end, Goddess?! Do these powers mean absolutely nothing at all?! Is Michelle doomed……?”

The zombies started climbing the stairs towards the door, their dead eyes looking upon their meal.

Chris stared at the monsters, wondering which one would have the honour of killing him. “I promise you, I won't die easily!” he shouted, raising his weapon and backing against the door.

The zombies walked up to Chris, their arms stretching out to grab him. Chris got ready to fight a hopeless battle………



There was a noise behind the doomed knight. The huge double doors opened, and an arm grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back and inside the church. As quickly as they'd been opened, the doors slammed shut with a loud clank.

The zombies, denied their meal, started to bang against the door furiously.



Ignoring the sounds of the zombies, Chris noticed the surroundings inside the church. It looked bigger than it did on the outside and the vast hall was full of wooden pews, all stood in two rows in front of the altar, which was made of marble. Stone pillars held up the ceiling, standing tall and proud.

“This place is still intact, as if it was never touched by time or people.” Thought Chris, wondering how that was possible. “Surely the zombies must have been in here at some point!”



A footstep brought him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see a woman standing next to him. She was rather pretty, and looked around her late twenties or early thirties. Her hair was lengthy and blonde, and she wore a plain dress, which was black around the chest but purple everywhere else. Through dark green eyes, she looked at him as if sizing him up. Chris could also see the fear in her eyes.

“Thanks for saving me from being a chew toy.” he said, smiling at her and trying to put her at ease. “I am Christopher Appleyard of the Knights of the Crown. Who are you?”

“It was no problem, Sir Knight.” replied the woman, stepping closer to him. “I could not leave another to be ripped apart by those monsters. My name is Amy Laverne, and I am but a prisoner within these walls.”

Chris rubbed the beck of his hair uncomfortably. “Ummm………it's just Chris, I hate titles. How long have you been trapped here?”

“About………two weeks.” answered Amy, flicking some hair out of her eyes. Suddenly, her voice became shaky and scared. “I………I was walking around this place………and then those things outside attacked………I barely managed to make in here………and I've been trapped ever since. I-I can hear them at night, w-when they moan………w-when th-they kill………I saw them eat s-someone alive………” The frightened lady began to cry, shivering and sobbing uncontrollably.

"There, there......." Chris gently cuddled Amy, letting her cry on his shoulder. “I'll get you out of here, I promise.”

“There's………there's no way out………” sniffled Amy, letting the knight go. “They rise up when I open either the front or back doors………”

“These things………they can't be invincible, can they?” said a frowning Chris, remembering how a sword stab hadn't fazed one. “I know a little of zombies, but how can a dead corpse be immune to any attack?”

“Search me………” Amy shook her head, sighing hopelessly. “However, at least that magic of yours can take them down for a moment. What was that you did, anyway? I've never seen anything like it!”

“It's not magic, exactly………” said Chris, avoiding her gaze for a moment. “I'm not really sure what it is myself, but I have that power. That's another story, though. All you need to know is that I'm trying to save the Princess of Galatea.” He didn't really want to tell anyone about his meeting with the Goddess, and the powers he'd received.

“I didn't know about that………but, now that you mention it, I saw two people in the graveyard a couple of hours before you came.” said Amy, touching her chin thoughtfully. “One of them looked really beautiful, like a princess. She was about to get eaten by the zombies, but this guy in a black cape blasted them with fireballs and took her to safety.”

“That was them………” Chris was disturbed to hear that Michelle was still in his foe's hands, but relieved that she'd been saved from the zombies, even if it was by his enemy. “She's anything but safe right now.”

“Oh………I see………” Amy went silent for a moment, going deep into thought. She looked Chris up and down again.

Chris could sense that Amy wanted to tell him something. “Amy, is there something you want to tell me?”

“Y-yes………” she answered nervously, walking over towards the altar. Chris followed, noticing something about her as he did. She didn't seem tired or hungry. If she had been here for two weeks, she would be dead from starvation or thirst………

“Amy, how come you aren't hungry or thirsty?” he asked, looking at her quizzically.

“Ummmm………there was a store of food in the back of the church.” answered the blonde woman rather quickly, blinking at him. “I could get you some if you like. There was a good supply in there, so we'd be OK for a while.”

“No thank you. “said Chris politely, shaking his head. “I'd rather hear what it is you have to say.”

Amy put her hands on the altar. “There are some catacombs under this church. There are only a few zombies down there and also some kind of weird room.”

“What do you mean by weird?” asked Chris, scratching his head.

“It had scientific stuff in it, like potions and that sort of thing.” spoke Amy, looking up and remembering the room. “It looked like a laboratory.”

“A laboratory?” Chris frowned, a bad picture coming into his mind. “It seems a bit strange to put a laboratory under a church………it could explain the zombies, however.”

“Yeah………but who would create such awful things………?” Amy closed her eyes, shivering at the thought of the inhuman creatures wanting her flesh. “Anyway, I found something else too………the first of the zombies.”

“The first of them?” Chris said, still frowning. “How do you know that?”

“It was different than the rest. Faster, stronger and smarter………” Amy rubbed her arm gently. “I barely got out of there alive………”

“That was brave of you.” smiled Chris, guessing what she was trying to tell him. “You want me to go down there and kill it, don't you?”

“Yes………” replied Amy sheepishly. “If you kill it, all the rest should die. It's controlling all the others. I know this because when I discovered it, the rest of the zombies down there came after me. I think their brains are linked together somehow.”

“I see.” Chris nodded, but was worried. “The problem is, how do I kill it? I can't even kill a normal zombie, let alone the leader.”

“I know you can do it, somehow.” said Amy, smiling. “I believe in you………there's something about you, Chris.”

“Heh, maybe………” Chris smiled, because Amy was right. Yet so far, his Love enhanced powers had been unable to kill a single zombie. Maybe his powers could hurt the master zombie, however.

“The entrance to the catacombs is underneath the altar.” said Amy, gesturing at the holy object. “We'll have to give it a push.”

The two survivors put their hands on the same end of the sacred monument, and pushed as hard as they could. The altar slide to the side slowly but surely. It hit against some kind of stop with a clank. Where the altar had stood there was a flight of small steps leading down.

“I survived getting down here last time………but whether we'd be able to escape again, I don't know.” Amy looked at Chris, with new hope in her eyes. “We'll be better protected with you in front. I'm not being a coward, your powers can hold them off! So………lead on, Chris!”

The young knight nodded, and led Amy down into the catacombs………



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As Chris and Amy left the safety of the church and headed down the stairs, the little light that shone from the opening left by the altar faded, and soon they were covered in darkness. Neither the knight or the lady could see in front of them.

Chris tried to continue, but he walked straight into a wall. He stretched his hands out, feeling his way along. His arm had barely stretched when they both met solid rock. They were in a rather narrow tunnel.

“We can't go on like this!” said Chris in Amy's general direction, as he couldn't see her. “We need some light! How did you manage to see down here?”

“I-I had a torch.” replied Amy, who also had her arms stretched against the tunnel walls. “I lost it when I was running from the zombies last time I was down here.”

“We'll have to turn back.” sighed Chris. “We'll be sitting ducks for those creatures if we go ahead like this.”

“Wait, Chris………your sword………it's glowing………” A dim white light shone onto Amy's face, and it reflected off Chris' armour. She pulled Michelle Memoria from its hilt and handed it to him.

The moment Chris touched the hilt, a brilliant white light enveloped the blade. It was powerful enough for Chris to see ahead of him. In fact he could look in all directions at a limited distance.

The knight was impressed. “It looks cool, it's the perfect weapon for me, it has the Grand Memoria and now it can even act as a torch. What more could a knight want?” He grinned, and took Amy's hand with his left hand while holding his new torch in his right.

Together, the two of them continued through the winding passage, and Chris wondered just how many more abilities he and his divine sword were capable of………



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It waited patiently, alone in the darkened room.



It hadn't eaten in many years, yet it didn't really matter. Its body needed no sustenance, for it was already deceased.

Yet the mind of the creature hungered. Its one desire was the flesh of humans………their sweet tasty skin and juicy internal organs.

The first of the zombies knew nothing of the person it once was. All it wanted now was to feed………and it could sense the juicy morsel heading its way………



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The tunnel finally ended, and opened up into a vast room. The darkened, empty chamber stretched for further than they could see, and arched pillars held the entire place up.

“The catacombs………” said Chris, his voice echoing through the cavernous room.



The massive, seemingly never-ending room was made of orange brickwork, and was supported by rows of arched pillars. There were cobwebs on the walls and between the arches, and the bricks look weathered and worn. Chris guessed that the place was several decades old, at least.

“Amy, do you remember where the laboratory was?” asked Chris, who could barely see along the darkened catacombs despite Michelle Memoria's light.

“Yes………it was actually straight ahead.” answered his companion. “These catacombs aren't as big as you may think. It's just an illusion.”

“Right………but I can hardly see any further than that pillar just in front of me.” Chris looked at Amy, and motioned for her to come closer. “Stay close, we could get lost very easily.”



The two of them walked further through the aged chamber, their footsteps leaving light echoes. The floor beneath their feet didn't produce much sound.

Chris felt his spine tingle, as if someone was watching them. He was nervous because they hadn't encountered any zombies in the catacombs yet.

“I thought you said there were zombies down here?” he said to Amy, who was busy watching their backs.

“It was like this when I first came down………then I found the lab, and they all attacked.” Amy held onto Chris' hand still, fearful of letting go and losing him in the darkness. “B-but there was an iron door. I forgot to shut it, but if we shut it this time it should keep them out.”

The knight nodded, and continued to walk in a straight line. They passed rows after row of arches, and Chris began to wonder if it was never-ending.



Suddenly, he heard a low moan. The knight froze, scanning the surroundings with his keen eyes. “Amy, get ready to run………it looks like they prepared a welcoming party………”

Just as he said that, the shadow of a zombie fell across the pillar in front of them. Quick as a flash, Chris sliced his weapon to the left, striking an outstretched and rotted arm. The arm was ripped clean from its owner, who didn't even flinch. The light of Chris' sword reflected off the dead eyes of the undead monster, and it moaned louder.

“RUN!!!!!” yelled Chris, tightly holding Amy's arm and running in the direction they'd been going. Their frantic footsteps were soon joined by the eerie shuffling of many dead feet, as the whole pack of zombies in the catacombs began to zero in on the two humans in their domain.

Keeping their light in front of him, Chris ran as fast as he could without making Amy fall, as she seemed to be having trouble keeping up with him.

Just then, light reflected off a surface a few yards in front of him. Straight in front of Chris and Amy was a sturdy iron door. It had to be the one Amy had mentioned.

“I see the door!” cried Chris, stretching his arm out ready to pull it open. They had to be quick in opening it, or they were next on their pursuers' menu!



Suddenly, one zombie jumped out at Amy from the side. It missed, but she screamed and let go of Chris' hand, falling to the ground awkwardly. The ravenous undead heard and saw her fall, and focused their attention on the woman.

Chris screeched to a halt. “AMY!!!!!” he yelled, his horrified voice filling the empty chamber.

Amy looked up to see several pairs of decayed hands reaching for her body. She screamed in terror and squeezed her eyes shut.



Chris quickly took aim at the creatures with his blade. “I hope to the Goddess this doesn't hit Amy………” he breathed, before charging up for his attack. “GRAND MEMORIA!!!!!!!”



The Love powered attack filled the catacombs with a brilliant pink coloured light as it smashed into the group of zombies, blasting them well away from Amy just as they were about to take hold of her.

Chris quickly ran over to the fallen lady and pulled her up. Thankfully, his aim had been true and he'd completely missed her. “Quick, we've got to open that door!”

The two of them ran with haste to the door and began pulling at it. They discovered that the door was rather heavy, but it was coming open quite quickly as there were two people pulling at it.

Just as the metal door came open, the zombies clambered to their feet. Groaning loudly, they began to converge on the door, and Chris and Amy had only just gotten it open. Now they had to close it.

“Ugh………mmmm………” Chris groaned as he and Amy frantically pulled the door back in. It was closing too slowly………

A zombie reached the door just before they managed to close it, and it stuck its arm through the gap. It swiped at Chris, trying to take hold of him. The door then crashed shut, ripping the arm from the zombie. The arm dropped to the floor, no longer a threat.

Chris collapsed against the wall, breathing deeply. Amy did the same, yet she didn't seem as scared as she had done before. The zombies banged furiously against the silver iron door, but it held against their might. After a few moments they gave up, knowing that their prey had eluded them.

“Nice work, Amy………” Chris got up from the wall and grinned at the girl. “Are you OK?”

“Yes………” Amy replied, but her tone of voice wasn't convincing. She seemed a little off, like she knew something.

“Amy………is there something you know?” Chris cocked his head, waiting for an answer.

“No………why would there be?” replied his companion, shaking her head. “The lab is just through that door.” She pointed at an identical iron door just in front of them.

“OK, you stay here.” said Chris quickly. It would be too dangerous for her to be in there as well, with a powerful zombie trying to kill them both.

“No, I'm coming with you!” cried Amy suddenly and desperately.

“Are you crazy??” growled Chris, frowning. “That thing will kill you if you step in there! I can't protect you and fight it at the same time!”

“Please!!!” sniffled Amy, beginning to cry. “Don't leave me here, all alone………it's not like I can get out of here without you………if I have to die down here, I'd rather die fighting the thing in there………”

The girl's sadness abated Chris' frustration and anger. “All right………if that's what you want. I promised you I'd get you out of here, though. I will kill that thing.”

Amy sniffled a little more and smiled. “Thank you, Chris………”



The young knight smiled slightly and placed his hand on the lab door. “Are you ready?”

Amy nodded silently, her face becoming one of courage rather than fear.



Chris nodded too, and pushed open the door………



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“So………it IS a lab………”

Chris and Amy were greeted by a circular room, which was rather small but large enough to allow freedom of movement for several people. There were desks all around the room, with papers and glass vials and other such laboratory equipment on them. It all looked rather primitive to current standards, but from what Chris could see somebody had been up to something big in here.



It was then that his eyes saw something standing in the middle of the room. It wasn't in the light, so he couldn't see what it was.

“Chris………that's it………kill it now!” urged Amy, who looked nervous about something.

“It's not moving………but now could a good chance to take it down.” said Chris in acknowledgement. He was going to stab it through the heart, hoping that if it was inactive, it would simply die.

He pointed Michelle Memoria at the first zombie, and was about to strike, when the light of the blade illuminated the thing's face………



Though decayed, Chris could see long blonde hair and green eyes. Patches of pure skin still remained around the rotted face, and Chris saw the curves of breasts and hips. The zombie was a woman and there was no mistaking the face………



“Amy?!!!!” he gasped, nearly dropping his sword.



He stepped back, but turned around and saw Amy looking at him sorrowfully. “I'm sorry, Chris………this deception was necessary………”

Her body began to flicker, and a white aura appeared around her. “Chris, I am the cause of all of this………I am the first of the zombies………”



“Finally, I've got the formula! This must be right, everything fits!”

The female scientist took the vial of liquid that she'd created, and held it up in a moment of triumph. All her years of hard work were about to pay off. She'd finally created a potion that would grant eternal life to its drinker.

Amy Laverne smiled, thinking back to when she'd first started working on her project. It hadn't been easy, and she'd needed to hide her secret from those who were less virtuous than she was. Anyone would try to steal the secret of eternal life and use it for evil ends. Amy simply wished to end the suffering of people ravaged by disease, and to lead mankind into a golden age of prosperity.

Now, she had the means to do that. Immortality would no longer be a myth! Amy had decided that she herself would be the first to drink the sweet nectar of eternal life.

Nervously she held the vial up to her lips. “Immortality, here I come!”

In one swift movement, she downed the entire contents of the vial, and put it down.



A few moments passed, and nothing felt different. This she had expected, and there was only one way to test if she was truly immortal or not.

Taking a knife from her desk, she closed her eyes and sliced across her arm. However, there was no sharp pain and she opened her eyes, astounded.

“I………I've done it!!!!” she cried. “I'm immortal!!!!!”

Just then, she saw that the cut on her arm was still there, and blood was still trickling out of it. The wound wasn't clotting as it should.

Amy was worried, but was confident that the potion would kick in and heal the cut. She held her arm tightly around the wound………but she didn't feel anything. Her fingers were touching her skin, but she couldn't feel it.

“Wh-what's happening to me………?” she gasped, beginning to panic. She frantically looked around the room as if looking for a cure………but she knew there was none.

She looked at her arm again. The skin was beginning to peel away, as if she was rotting away like a corpse!

Amy screamed, her mind clouded by fear and panic. She dashed around the lab in a state of extreme distress, knowing now that her experiment had gone horribly wrong.

Something began to gnaw away at her mind, a single desire. Amy grimaced and collapsed to her knees, holding her head in her hands. “What………is………going………on???” she spoke, finding it harder to talk.

She then looked at her fresh right arm, untouched by the curse she'd inflicted upon herself. A strange thought occurred to her, one completely horrifying to humans. “My skin………looks………so tasty………”

Before she knew what she was doing, Amy sank her teeth into her right arm, tearing at her own flesh. She ripped a huge chunk of it free, swallowing it and leaving her mouth coated in blood.

Her arm began to bleed horribly, as she'd severed an artery with her teeth. The scientist's head was spinning, and realised she was becoming some kind of monster, one that had a craving for human flesh.

“Ugh………no…………nooooooo………th………is…………can't…………be-e…………” were her last words, as she slowly bled to death………



“Amy? Amy where………What the?!!!”

A colleague of Amy's entered the lab to check on her, only to find his friend lying dead in a puddle of blood in the middle of the floor. He knelt down beside her, noticing she had some kind of horrific bite on her right arm. Her left was somewhat decayed, which was puzzling.

“What in the world happened her?” thought the male scientist out loud. He stood up and examined Amy's desk.

As he did, there was movement behind him. He turned around and gasped. Amy had gotten up, as if she was alive again!

“Amy?! How the………?” he gasped.

However, the face that looked back at him was not that of Amy Laverne. The body that was once hers now belonged to something evil, something that desired only one thing………

Before the scientist realised what was going on, zombie Amy grabbed hold of him and bit deep into his neck. His screams were not heard by anyone………



“I tried to help this world, but I had no right to mess around with the natural order of life………” Amy was saddened as the memories of that night came back to haunt her again. “Instead of bringing eternal life, I've brought eternal suffering to the souls of everyone turned into a zombie………most of all my own.”

“No-one should try to achieve eternal life, Amy………” said Chris, shocked that someone else would try such a thing. However, Amy wasn't a selfish fool like Geoffrey Eridanus had been. “I know you were trying to change the world for the better, but you can't play the Goddess.”

“I know that now………the irony is, I and the zombies are all immune to pain and death, since we are already dead………” She looked at the monster that was once herself. “What you see there is my body, what I was once. You're speaking to my soul………I've been trapped here, because I cannot move on knowing that those things still plague this world. Only the destruction of my former self and all the other zombies will set me free.” Her eyes pleaded with Chris, as she flickered once more. “This is why I brought you down here………please, Chris………set me free!”

Chris sighed, but nodded. “You should have just told me. I know you had a good heart, Amy. Had you been influenced by greed and desire I would have walked away. You've suffered too long………and so have the people turned into shadows of their former selves by that creature. I promise I will set you free.”



Suddenly, there was a moan. Chris and Amy turned to see the zombie Amy moving. It looked up, straight at Chris. Unlike the other zombies, its eyes were firmly focused on him. They were decayed, like the rest of its body, but they indicated that this zombie was not a typical one.

Zombie Amy stretched its arms out, and began to walk towards Chris, with the slow shuffle now familiar to his ears. It emitted a low female moan in Amy's exact voice.



Chris watched as the creature came closer, and Michelle Memoria was already in his hands. Then, he rushed forward. “Dinner time's over, lady!!!”

The divine blade sliced across zombie Amy's outstretched arms, but it bumped across them as it hit. The blade didn't cut through Amy's arms at all!

“What the………?!” gasped Chris. His weapon should have gone clean through! It was as if her bones were made of metal!

`Amy's' right hand gripped Chris tightly around the neck. Chris struggled to get away, but the zombie held him with an iron grip, and pulled him closer to it. The ravenous creature was going to take a bite out of his neck, if he didn't choke to death first.

“Chris!!!!” screamed the real Amy, powerless to help him. She had no fancy powers or weapons to use.

Chris choked, desperately trying to breathe, but his airways were blocked by `Amy's' crushing fingers. He punched and kicked at his foe, but it felt no pain.

The zombie moaned loudly, reaching in to take the fatal bite of the knight's neck.



In an act of desperation, Chris managed to get Michelle Memoria, which was still in his hand, to point at `Amy'. He knew this move would probably hurt him worse than his attacker, but it would get him free.



“Ugh………acckkkk………Gr-Grand………Mem………or………ia!!!”



The sound and light from the Grand Memoria resonated through the tiny room, ripping Chris free from `Amy's' grip, but blasting hard against the wall, where he fell onto a desk below. It crashed to the floor in a heap taking the knight with it.

`Amy' was hit into the wall as well, but it didn't faze the zombie in the slightest. With an angry sounding moan, it lumbered back towards Chris.



A dazed Chris got back up, his armour having absorbed most of the blast. He felt a little woozy, however. “My sword can't get through it's skeleton, Grand Memoria didn't even scratch it.” he thought quickly. “Think, Chris, think! There must be something you can do!”

An idea came to him. “The one part of a zombie I haven't tried aiming for yet is the head. Maybe, if I kill its brain, I'll kill its consciousness!”

He ran at `Amy' once more, with his weapon poised to slash downwards onto its head. It would be messy, but it looked like it was the only way to kill the creature.

He dodged to the side to avoid the undead monster's arms, then crashed his sword down on its head. It banged off it, like it was hitting plate armour.

“Damn………the skull! I forgot………” Chris cursed his luck, and there was a sudden scream from Amy. “Chris, look OUT!!!!!”

He was too late to see `Amy's' arm swing into his face, knocking him for six. He smashed into a length table just behind him. It felt like being hit by a sledgehammer, and he winced as he got back to his feet sluggishly.

“It's………it's too strong!” he yelled, seeing `Amy' lumbering over for another attack. “I can't even hurt it………”

“CHRIS!!!!!!” Amy's voice was panicked, knowing the knight had no chance now.

The zombie Amy loomed over Chris, groaning as it reached for him. Here was no way Chris could escape from its clutches this time………



Time seemed to freeze for Chris, as he stared into the dead face of Amy Laverne. “No………NOOOOO!!!! I haven't come this far to die!!!!!” he shouted inside his head.



Suddenly, the particles of Love that he'd seen when he'd been with the Goddess of Love began to swim around him. There was only a few at first, then they began to increase. Suddenly they rushed into his chest, where his heart was located. A brilliant pink light surged outwards from him, becoming bolts of energy lancing around him. They struck the floor and the wall near him, brightening every second. Then, an even brighter light shot out from his chest. Chris was now blinded from everyone's view.

When the light faded, Chris finally came back into view. However, Love particles whizzed around him, and his armour looked slight different. On his breastplate there was a shape of a heart, and the design of his armour looked very different, almost holy………

Amy looked at him, gasping in amazement. “Chris………? What in the world………?”



The transformed knight had no time to be shocked. Through focused eyes, he sighted his enemy.

“I'll send you back to where you came from!” he spoke. He readied his sword, which had the angel wings unfolded, something that only normally happened when he used Grand Memoria.



`Amy' pounced, lunging for Chris with a sickening moan.



Two words entered Chris' thoughts, much like they had the first time he'd used Grand Memoria. He got ready to unleash his attack. A powerful light began to shine out from Michelle Memoria's blade.



“ARC………RENDER!!!!!!!!”



He swung Michelle Memoria to his side, and then over his shoulder, bringing it down upon `Amy's' head. Energy ripped through the blade, leaving a trail of pink in the air and bathing the room in light. The sword tore through the zombie's decayed body, splitting it in half all the way down. The energy from the blade expanded outwards and vaporized what was left of `Amy'.



As soon as Chris had delivered the killing blow, a light flashed out from his chest again, filling the room. It filled the entire room, and as suddenly as it had appeared, it faded away again.

Amy opened her eyes, and saw that Chris was standing there, back to his normal self. Chris himself was a little shocked, having no idea what had just happened to him.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Elsewhere, all the zombies around the church suddenly exploded into dust, their minds disconnected from their master. The old church was finally free of the undead, and their souls could rest at last………



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



“Chris………you did it! You did it!!!” Amy ran over and hugged him. However, she passed through him as if he wasn't even there.

“Oh………I forgot………” she said, smiling. “Now that my body is dead, I've lost the ability to touch. I really am dead now………”

Chris looked at her, giving her a reassuring smile. “You can go to the afterlife now. I'm sure they're waiting for you in Heaven.”

“I deserve Hell………” said Amy sadly, looking away from him. “I tried to give humans what they should not have, and created a nightmare in the process. I deserve to be punished………”

“No………you stayed here to try and prevent this nightmare from consuming the whole world.” said Chris, comforting her. “If it wasn't for you, who knows what might have happened………”

“Your words are kind, Chris.” Amy nodded, and smiled brightly. “Perhaps there is hope for me after all. You taught me that………”

Her body began to fade away, but this time for good. “I'm going now Chris, to my eternal rest. Good luck in your quest………and thank you………for setting me free………”



“Farewell, Amy………” Chris waved goodbye to Amy as she finally left the world………



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Upon stepping outside the church, the picture was very different. The cold mist had vanished, and the moonlight shone down on the church and graveyard. The place was truly a sacred one again.

Yet, Chris was thoughtful. “Looks like I have a new power………” he mused. “Yet, what happened to me down in that lab? I looked different………I felt so full of power, and something else………”

He looked up towards the full moon, which shined brightly in his eyes. “Goddess………was that your doing? Or my own………?”



The knight pulled out his magic map. He noticed that Michelle's dot was on top of Mount Aurora. It seemed that she was still climbing the peak, and Chris could possibly catch up to her before she was dragged into Avalon, and used for whatever nefarious purpose her captor had planned.

“Hang on, Michelle………I'm coming!” spoke Chris into the night air. He looked into the distance, and he could see the massive peak on the horizon, not very far away from there.



As the determined young knight headed towards the mountain, he looked back at the church and said, “Rest in peace, Amy.”



Little did he realise, someone was watching him leave, standing next to the old church.

Amy smiled, and replied into the serene night, “I will, Chris.” Then, she vanished, leaving the world behind………

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