The Zombie Reaper

The black morph suit merely made vanishing into the night easier. In all actuality, it was a skill he had possessed long before the Order of Saint George had found him. It was a skill that all of the members of their elite order possessed. It was a point of pride for the others. For him, it was simply a fact of his life. Moving silently forward, the man followed the sound of the barest whimper. He knew the others hadn't been able to hear it. Hopefully, the other one that was moving in their direction would skirt around them and go towards one of the other hunting groups.

Normally Silence would have stayed with them to deal with the threat, but at the moment, there were more important things to deal with. After all, he had made a promise to Lynuel and he had a feeling that now was a time he could actually make good on that promise.

The girl was lying on the ground, curled up. The whimper was barely a sound. Her bright eyes were glazed and her body was frail, not even appearing even alive anymore. Silence moved up to her slowly. How one person could be alive at this level was beyond him. He knew what it was though. She had been deprived. She couldn't have done it to herself. She had to have help if she had done it voluntarily.

She could barely even move.

At least that was what he thought until he got close. She was quick to latch onto him. Her hands moved over the suit, nails scrapping against the lycra. The whimpers grew louder as if she couldn't find what she was looking for. Silence wrapped one arm around her to keep her still as he used his other hand to uncover his head. He took one of her thin wrists into his hand and pulled it up slowly so that she could touch his face.

A little smile touched his lips as she calmed visibly. He understood now. She needed human contact, tactile reassurance. And she had been deprived of that for God knew how long. Her breathing began to calm and he watched as she seemed to drift off into a kind of sleep-like state. He waited until he was certain she wouldn't regain consciousness before he pulled his hood back over his head and gathered her into his arms.

This girl was no monster. Of that he was absolutely certain. And if anyone said so, they would answer to him. It was a foolish move on his part, but Silence honestly didn't give a damn. No one deserved to have this happen to them. He had been close to it once in his life. He had vowed that it would never happen again and now that he saw it...

Maybe Lynuel was right after all.

Keeping the girl close to his body, Silence started to move back to Marcus and Lynuel. The last thing the boys needed was to be alone. Especially with the lack of sound that was coming from their direction. At least it had been disturbingly quiet until a cry of joy rent the air. Silence's stomach twisted with anxiety as he realized what was being said.

Running forward, Silence was careful as he kept the girl in as small of a space as possible. It made the run to the two boys who were still on the path where he had left them rather daring at best. Lynuel was on his knees on the ground before a prone body when Silence rejoined them. The Nzombiy there was much like the girl he held in his arms, except for it was clear in his eyes that the male before the acolyte was dead.

Marcus seemed so excited. He was waving his arms around and crying out his joy completely oblivious to the fact that there should have been a second Nzombiy that they would have to watch out for. Silence shook his head as he rejoined the two younger men. "Shut up," he hissed at Marcus.

The boy jumped and turned back to look at Silence wide-eyed. "Dear God!" the blond cried. "Wh-what-"

"If you call this poor girl an it," Silence said in a low, calm tone. "I swear to God that I will teach you a lesson that has been a long time in coming boy," he vowed. "Now why don't you get on the radio we slipped into your pack and signal the others that the threat has been neutralized."

"Neutralized," Marcus said with a snort crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Yeah, you guys killed those two things in less than five minutes. If that's-"

"She's not dead," Silence hissed. “And she won't be either,” he vowed. “Now. Radio. The. Others.”

Marcus frowned but finally pulled his pack off and started to search through it until he found the mentioned radio, shock lighting his features as he realized that Silence hadn't been lying when he said they had stuck the radio into his pack. His cheeks colored with something like embarrassment or annoyance as he flipped the radio on and relayed the message that had Silence had given him.

Silence gently laid the girl on the ground before resting his hand on Lynuel's shoulder. “You did what you had to,” he reminded the boy in a quiet whisper. “You can't take it back.” He knew that the words weren't of any comfort to the boy, but it was the best he could give. Lynuel started to look back at Silence but froze when his eyes landed on the girl.

Silence's hand tightened on the boy's shoulder. “Let me take care of it,” the whisper came out as more of a hiss. Lynuel started to say something but then clenched his jaw and gave a curt nod before he forced himself to stand up, clutching one arm to his side with the other and leaning heavily on his uninjured ankle.

The older priest couldn't help but admire the restraint that the boy was showing in this moment. Especially since he had seen the look in those hazel-green eyes. It had taken all the self-control he possessed in him to walk away. Silence understood Lynuel more in that moment than anyone else could probably have dreamed possible. He could only hope that Lynuel didn't meet his fate.

Turning away from the acolyte, Silence gently picked the girl up once more and turned towards the entrance of the park where he could hear the two other groups coming towards them.

“I suppose we have you to thank for such a quick resolution,” Father Marcio called eying Silence carefully. “And none of our own the worse for wear I hope?” His eyes lit on Lynuel and Marcio frowned. “Or perhaps not. Father Grayson if you please?”

Grayson nodded and moved forward, pulling Lynuel to the side and helping him to the ground so the man could assess his injuries. Though not a Revered Father, Grayson had been appointed their medic since he had trained to be one of the healers once upon a time. “Actually,” Silence spoke up. “Brother Lynuel is as much to thank as I am. He dealt with the male while I was tracking this one,” he explained gesturing to the girl.

Fathers Thomas and Marcio exchanged looks. “Now this is a story that I must hear,” Thomas said, a smile touching the man's lips even if it didn't make it quite to his eyes.

Silence shook his head. “One thing must been seen to first,” he insisted. “I claim the girl.”

“Claim?” Marcio asked arching an eyebrow. “Which claim do you make Honored Father? Certainly not-”

“I do,” Silence cut the other man off. “And as none of you have the right, nor the authority to refute my claim: it is done.”

Marcio's face was a mask of fury for a split second before a smile touched his lips. “Of course,” he agreed with an imperious nod. “Now why don't you tell me what happened while.”