Freddy slamd into the asphalt so hard the pavent cracked in jagged lines. For a second he just lay there, stunned.
Zombies sward over him in a rotting wave, burying him completely. Severed arms and legs grabbed at his limbs while a length of twitching intestine bounced over and looped around his neck, squeezing tight.
"Get the fuck off !"
A roar ripped out of him. Freddy exploded upward with raw power, tearing free of the pile. He swatted the dangling guts off his sweater, face twisted with pure rage and disgust, and scread at Jason.
"You ungrateful son of a bitch! Die!"
He charged straight in. The two monsters collided in a brutal clash.
Luke watched the chaos shrink in the rearview mirror and let a cold smile pull at his mouth.
Let them tear each other apart for a while.
He focused on the road and pushed the dying pickup as hard as it would go down the empty street.
The fire station sat right ahead.
But his brand-new truck—the one he'd only had for a few days—gave one last unhappy roar and died, rolling to a stop just short of the driveway.
"Goddamn it. Freddy's buying another new truck."
Luke slamd his fist on the steering wheel.
"Son, don't be angry. The voodoo god will watch over you."
The old lady in the back seat tried to soothe him and started murmuring a prayer. Most of this nightmare traced back to her disciple, and she knew it.
Lionel stared at the floor, ashad.
"Mr. Luke, I'm so sorry we dragged you into this. When it's over I'll pay you back for everything."
"Forget it. This isn't on you."
Luke shook his head. He didn't bla any single person. This ss was just bad luck and pure evil crashing together.
"Everybody out."
He jumped down first and led the three of them to the fire station doors. They were locked tight.
Luke didn't waste ti hunting for keys. He stepped back, took a deep breath, and drove a vicious side kick into the door.
BOOM!
The iron door caved inward around the lock, the fra groaning.
He kicked again.
CRASH!
The whole door burst open and slamd against the inside wall.
Luke walked in like nothing had happened.
Lionel and Paki stared, eyes wide. That kind of strength wasn't human.
Luke found the light switch on the wall and flipped it.
Rows of fluorescent tubes flickered, then lit up one by one. Harsh white light flooded the garage and revealed the massive red beast parked in the center.
A heavy-duty fire truck sat there, waiting.
"My God…"
Paki couldn't hold back the gasp. In the middle of this nightmare night, that truck felt like the safest thing in the world.
"Quit staring. Move your asses and help!"
Luke already had the driver's door open and was climbing up.
A young guy wandered out of the back room, yawning.
"Guys, there's nothing worth stealing here. Fire trucks are too hard to fence anyway. Try sowhere else."
Luke dropped down and looked at Lionel.
"This town actually has firefighters on duty?"
Lionel answered fast, nervous.
"The town worked out a rotation. One guy who's got nothing better to do cos in for volunteer watch. The truck's expensive."
Luke nodded and walked over to the half-asleep young man. He pulled out his badge and flashed it.
"Police. We're taking the truck."
The kid snapped straight up, sleep gone in an instant.
"Yes, sir."
Luke didn't waste another second. He climbed onto the roof, popped the fill port, and checked the tank.
Full. Maintenance was solid.
He stuck his left hand into the water and pulled the thick Bible out with his right.
Everyone watched, confused. Only the old lady's eyes lit up. She knew exactly what he was doing.
Luke took a deep breath and started reciting in a low, steady voice.
This ti he wasn't blessing a bucket. He was turning several tons of water inside the entire fire truck into holy water.
The sheer volu made the process agonizingly slow. Sweat beaded on his forehead almost imdiately. His vision swam. His body trembled as the massive drain of psionic energy hit him.
[Holy Water LV1 (886/1000)]
[Holy Water LV1 (946/1000)]
[Holy Water LV1 (999/1000)]
The numbers climbed fast. He was right on the edge.
Then Lionel's terrified scream ripped from the garage door.
"They're coming!"
Luke's eyes snapped open. He looked down the street.
A seething mass of zombies was pushing forward, surrounding Jason and Freddy like a living tide. The horde seed to be heading straight for the fire station while still clawing at the two monsters.
Even from hundreds of yards away the pressure felt suffocating.
"Luke!" Lionel's voice cracked.
Luke ignored him. He closed his eyes and poured every last scrap of focus into the final push.
As the last thread of psionic energy left him and flooded the tank, the whole fire truck seed to shimr with a faint, invisible holy glow.
[Holy Water LV2 (1/2000)]
Done.
The second the pressure vanished, a wave of dizziness slamd into him. Luke's vision went black. He nearly pitched off the roof.
[Holy Water LV2: Psionic Bonus 0.2]
[Psionic: 1.4 → 1.5]
A cool rush swept through him. His drained psionic energy started refilling.
But that hollow, emptied-out feeling stayed fresh in his mind.
Never doing that again, he told himself. Holy water was strategic stock. He needed to make it ahead of ti.
He shook his head clear, jumped down, and barked at the now-terrified young firefighter.
"Start the truck! Get it out on the street—now!"
The kid jerked like he'd been shocked, nodded hard, and scrambled into the cab. The engine roared to life. The fire truck surged out the doors.
Luke ran alongside, yanked a length of hose off the side, connected one end to the outlet and the other to the nozzle. He threw the hose forward, grabbed the nozzle, and moved into position.
He raised the nozzle, aid straight at the zombie horde now almost on top of them, and let a savage grin spread across his face.
"Haha. Ti for so purification."
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