Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri; 31 December, 2011, 2000 hours local; Countdown: 4 hours

Former Chief Warrant Officer Eric Stahl unconsciously rubbed the melted bronze amulet between his fingers. The metal was unnaturally warm in the cold night. That wasn’t really surprising considering the amulet was some sort of holy artifact that could burn vampires like a brand. It did something to him as well when fighting those monsters. Stahl was faster, tougher, and more capable. Which was a good thing in the chief’s opinion. Zombie Strike fought two of the vampires, and Stahl was sure there were more running around St. Louis.

"Well that’s odd," Special Agent Tredegar murmured, looking at the monitor of his C3I device. The C3I looked like a netbook computer, but it was wired into the U.S. military’s battle network and gave Zombie Strike access to the latest intel feeds as well as the ability to call for support. As Stahl looked over the lanky FBI special agent’s shoulder, he could see the countdown until the military unleashed the Omega directive, the continuous nuclear bombardment of St. Louis if Zombie Strike failed.

"Define odd," Stahl said, looking out at Zombie Strike’s small defensive position in front of the Gateway Arch. They cobbled up some pre-fab armor into a four-foot wall around their position. Stahl and Tredegar were in the center. Tredegar was there because he was the one who would call for air and fire support. Stahl was acting as the team’s defensive commander. Mateo, the field commander, was working on exactly how Zombie Strike was going to finish this. Stahl let him cover the team’s rear facing the cold, black waters of the Mississippi.

"There’s some weird distortion according to the AWACs," Tredegar answered. The FBI special agent froze for a brief second before launching into furious tapping on the C3I’s keyboard.

"What?" Stahl asked quietly, searching the darkness. He knew that the Truth’s minions and gollums were out there somewhere. Were they coming in to attack?

"I looked at the direct feed. Same kind of distortion as when someone’s throwing around a lot of magic," Tredegar said, manipulating a video clip. From the angle, it was taken either from a recon plane or satellite.

"Was Quentin wrong about the site?" Stahl asked, keeping his voice barely audible outside the two of them.

"I don’t think so. I think this is the Truth fighting off more vampires," Tredegar said, almost excitedly.

"Too bloody right," answered a familiar voice from just past the perimeter. Stahl’s head shot up as he berated himself for not watching the perimeter. Not that he intended to be nice to the ones who were supposed to warn him. Stahl was paralyzed for a moment as he saw the man standing in front of them. That was impossible. The man was dead. He was killed by the biggest non-nuke bomb the Air Force could throw.

"Collin?" Mateo asked from behind, his voice shaky. The rest of the team was staring in muted shock. Well, everyone except Evan. The young soldier had been looking the wrong way and was quickly bringing his carbine to bear on Collin.

"Yes Mattie, I’m alive. Been in the care of the Truth since that little episode in Italy," Collin said with that typical British understated tone.

"You finally escaped?" Jess asked excitedly.

"Not exactly," Collin answered, cryptically. "Would you ask the boy to lower that gun? I worked hard to stay alive just to have him scatter my brains about this night." Stahl motioned and Evan brought his weapon to low ready.

"What are you doing here Collin?" Stahl asked, finally overcoming the shock.

"The Truth was attacked by vampires. Tougher than the normal ones the Truth have been skirmishing with for a while now. We think these were sent here specifically to stop the Golden Rite from being initiated."

"We? Are you working for the Truth now? Is that how you’re here now?" Mateo said his voice a tightly controlled neutral. Collin knew the rage behind that tone better than most.

"In a matter of speaking," Collin said. He held up a hand to forestall Mateo’s eruption, "Mattie, I’ve been fighting them since they took me. Until we came here. We need the Golden Rite to save the world from the vampires, and the Truth is the only ones who can do it. Castle asked me to trot down here and ask for your help in hunting down these vampires before they can stop the Rite from being performed."

"Well, I guess we know who the Betrayer is now," Jess said.

"It’s not the role I wanted girl, but it’s the role I have," Collin replied. He turned back to Mateo. "So what’s your answer?"

Concord Apartment Building, Downtown St. Louis, Missouri; 31 December, 2011, 2045 hours local; Countdown: 3 hours, 15 minutes

Chief Stahl looked up at the tall, dark building and swore under his breath. If what Tredegar told them was correct, he was going to be lugging the heavy machine gun up ten stories. The M-240 weighed enough on its own. Add four hundred rounds of 7.62 NATO in the box and another box on his back and Stahl was feeling his forty years. It didn’t help that Evan didn’t even look bothered under the same weight.

"Why couldn’t we have just let the Air Force drop twenty or thirty JDAMs on this place?" Stahl muttered. Tredegar turned to answer, but Stahl stopped him. He already knew the answer. They had to make sure this nest of vampires was wiped out, and that meant invading their little hidey-hole. At least they had a pretty heavy force. Like the last time they fought the vampires in Panama, Mateo wasn’t with them. He and Giant were back at the Gateway Arch acting as sort of mutual hostages. Stahl was commanding the Zombie Strike contingent as well as in overall command. Collin was leading the Truth’s ten minions and dozen gollums. Shattering glass brought everyone’s heads up. Two forms were plummeting out of what looked like the fifth floor. Zombie Strike and Collin immediately spread out. The gollums screeched with battle lust. The minions stood in the street unsure of what to do.

"Get out of the bloody way you pikers!" Collin yelled at the minions. They were barely moving when the two vampires landed with an explosive thump. The vampires cut down two minions before anyone could react. The minions stampeded away from the monsters.

"Let ’em loose," Stahl told Collin. The tall man nodded and pointed his ring at the two vampires. The gollums launched themselves at the two monsters. Stahl finally understood why the gollums were created. The five-foot tall wiry humanoids were almost as fast as the vampires, completely fearless, and almost indestructible. Zombie Strike learned how to take away their mystical protection by breaking the gollum’s stone medallions. The vampires couldn’t do that. The medallions were holy symbols of Xipe Totec. When one of the vampires managed to grab ahold of one, it burned like Stahl’s amulet.

The slightly shorter vampire was quickly buried under eight gollums. Each of the Truth’s attack creatures hacked wildly at the vampire with their obsidian-bladed axes. Finally taking enough damage, the vampire collapsed to the street. It was engulfed in a burst of intense flame. The gollums wobbled off the burnt shadow of the vampire but were otherwise unhurt. Stahl was impressed. If the Truth’s gollums could dispatch a vampire this easily, why did they need Zombie Strike? His question was answered as something blurred into the fight. Stahl heard the familiar screams of gollums who’d lost their medallions and their protection. Two of the rune-covered creatures were torn off the last vampire by something moving too fast to be seen. The rest jumped back in what seemed to be terror. Nearly half were missing their medallions. The amulet suddenly blazed with heat. The blur stopped and dropped two decapitated gollums.

The girl standing before his team was so perfectly beautiful, that it almost hurt to look at her. Even covered in the messy remnant of gollum, she looked exquisite. Her dark straight hair framed a china-white face. Large dark eyes scanned the people around her. As soon as she saw Stahl, her eyes locked on to him. The amulet burned hotter forcing Stahl to take it out from under his armor. The girl – the vampire – cringed when the amulet came into view.

"I thought you might be down here," the girl said, with a slight Spanish accent. "I saw what you did to my sister in the jungle. I will not make the same mistake she did." The girl fell into a fighting stance.

"If you’re thinking you can fight me, then you’ve already made the biggest one," Stahl said, unslinging the machine gun. As he did, he slipped the amulet from around his neck and held it in his hand. He raised his fists just as the girl blurred into action.

Zombie Strike Part 11 Chapter 116

St. Louis, Missouri; 31 December, 2011, 1930 hours local; Countdown: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Castle woke with a start as the acolyte burst into room. He was surprised when he realized he actually fallen asleep. He checked his expensive wristwatch. The gold timepiece was one of his few vanities. The acolyte was almost vibrating with excitement as Castle settled himself back into the waking world. The acolyte serving as Castle’s attendant handed him a thermos of coffee. With the steaming liquid working its magic, Castle motioned for the messenger.

"My lord, Zombie Strike came under attack by the two of the Little Death," the acolyte said, "Both of the Little Death were destroyed, but the Great Champion believes there are more in the City of the Dead." Castle nodded at the news, but he didn’t say anything. He needed to maintain his appearance as the wise chosen leader of the Truth. Why did Alan have to get killed in Ukraine? Castle needed the wizard’s ability to know which of the prophecies were coming to pass. Alan would have warned him of the Little Death. Castle put away the recriminations and stood up. He would deal with the path as it was, not as he wanted it to be.

"If there were only two that attacked Zombie Strike, then there are definitely more," Castle said, getting up from the recliner, "Did they manage to kill any of Zombie Strike?"

"We think so, but the Great Champion didn’t allow our people to get too close," the acolyte answered, leading Castle to Mikhail’s impromptu command center in the center of the abandoned department store the Truth was using as their headquarters. Mikhail, the Great Champion of the Truth, stood at the center of the command center. He was dressed in his fighting clothing, the tight fitting jumpsuit Zombie Strike mockingly called his "ninja suit." The Whip of Xipe Totec was coiled at Mikhail’s waist. The seven-foot tall man stood completely still as he studied two large monitors.

Much to Castle’s surprise, Collin DuBois stood next to Mikhail. The former Zombie Strike second-in-command had been the Truth’s prisoner for many months, although his teammates thought he was dead. That was going to be a nasty shock for them. Collin was the worst type of prisoner – intelligent, trained, and utterly ruthless. All of his resistance stopped the moment that the Truth’s force came into St. Louis. Collin wasn’t a believer in the Truth, but he was a believer in stopping the Great Death. For the moment, Collin believed the only way to stop the Great Death was the Golden Rite. That was fortunate, because Castle was sure Collin would be the Betrayer, one of the four Pillars. The four Pillars – the Champion, the Betrayer, the Undecided, and the Chooser – would be needed to channel the power of Xipe Totec unpicked by the Key. They would do so by sacrificing their very lives. Castle reached into his satchel and drew out the baseball-sized orb of obsidian. According to the prophecies, the orb was supposed to be the Key, but Alan couldn’t get it to work to test it. Perhaps it would only activate when the Pillars were in place. Castle replaced the Key into his satchel as Collin and Mikhail noticed him.

"My lord, we’re searching for the rest of the Little Death right now. I have several of my Champions spread out between here and the ritual site," Mikhail said.

"How many do you have guarding the site?" Castle asked.

"None," Mikhail answered, "We don’t need to." Castle wanted to scream at his Great Champion, but kept his calm. Not trusting himself to speak, Castle made a motion for Mikhail to elaborate. Before Mikhail said anything, Collin cut in.

"Zombie Strike’s pretty well forted up where you wanted to cast your magic spell," Collin said, motioning at one of the monitors the pair were studying when Castle walked in. "The boys and girls dragged a bunch of weapons and ammo off those boats and some other stuff. They managed to cobble up a pretty impressive little fighting position. Quentin’s missing though. I imagine he bought it when those two vampires attacked." Castle nodded. Quentin was the walking mountain of a man who was Zombie Strike’s primary resource on the deciphering the prophecies. Castle almost smiled at the man’s death. He knew better to do so if he wanted to keep Collin in line for the time being.

An explosion from the front of the store ripped Castle from his thoughts. Castle started to look down the main concourse, but he was pulled back by a pair of gun-toting acolytes. More explosions rocked the store punctuated with screams of pain and terror. Castle could barely make out yelled orders from his Champions guarding the front. The dozen or so Champions manning the command center grabbed their various artifacts and braced for whatever was attacking their comrades. Mikhail uncoiled their god’s whip and let it dance in his hand. Some of the Champions were emboldened by their leader’s easy confidence, but Castle knew better. The constantly moving whip showed Mikhail’s discomfort like the tail of a cat. The only one in the room who truly seemed to be calm and ready was Collin. Three bodies were tossed clear across the command center before smacking into the far wall. Castle watched as they fell to the ground like meat sacks. They were dead, but that didn’t mean they were useless. Speaking a few words under his breath, Castle reached out to their corpses with the powers given to him by the Flayed One. The three rose and waited for his command like flesh statues. Sharp intakes of breath around him brought Castle’s attention to the front.

Four un-evolved Little Death stood in front of the command center. Three were the normal seven-foot tall furry demonic mix of man and bat. The last one was much taller. Its head was barely below the ceiling. It was more powerfully built. Castle could feel the otherworldly power radiating from the quartet. There was a tense moment of almost silence as the two forces stared each other down. Castle wasn’t sure which happened first, but one of the smaller creatures lunged at the Champion nearest to it as the Champion unleashed a blast of mystic energy from a small silver scepter. The bright blue beam struck the Little Death but did little besides some singed fur. The monster lashed out with a clawed hand and neatly decapitated the Champion. Castle growled. That one was useless. The Champions unleashed their various artifacts as the Little Death attacked. Castle didn’t pay attention to the melee. He was too busy reaching out with his powers. There was something different about these creatures. They were not like the previous Little Death he encountered. Some of his power was animating the corpses of his fallen Champions. The rest was calling his warriors to him.

"Give me that bloody gun," snapped Collin, snatching the assault rifle from one of Castle’s guards, "Your magic isn’t slowing those buzzsaws down much." Castle didn’t have to look up to know Collin was speaking the truth. The various artifacts didn’t seem to have much effect on these Little Death. Collin brought the weapon to his shoulder and unleashed a burst of fire into the closest Little Death. The creature screamed in sudden surprise as the bullets tore into it. Black blood spilled out onto the linoleum floor.

"Attack them physically," Mikhail ordered, his voice booming over the screams and snarls. He snapped the whip across another creature’s back leaving a three-foot black gash in its pelt. Castle smiled as his few remaining Champions attacked using their artifacts as impromptu weapons. Collin changed magazines and poured another torrent of gunfire into the same Little Death. Then, the screeching battle cries of the warriors filled the command center.

"About time you used the gollums," Collin commented, using Zombie Strike’s nickname for his warriors. The half-dozen wiry, slate-skinned creatures, blue runes painted over their bodies, leapt at the Little Death. Their obsidian-bladed axes bit deep into the creatures’ bodies. The Little Death Collin shot was brought to the floor by two warriors. They kept chopping at the monster as it fell. Less than a second later, the Little Death was consumed in a ball of fire. Collin stepped back from the intense heat and brightness. The warriors, protected by the Flayed One’s power in their stone medallions, staggered away from the ashes and promptly leapt onto the large monster. The three remaining Little Death managed to throw off the warriors besieging them. In the blink of an eye, the three creatures disappeared. Collin gasped in shock and started pointing his gun around the command center. Castle stepped up and put his hand on the weapon.

"They’re gone," Castle said.

"Those weren’t like the Little Death we fought before," Mikhail said, surveying the carnage around him. All but two of the Champions were dead and most of the equipment was destroyed. Castle could feel a few more of his Champions fighting to stay alive. They wouldn’t make it.

"Yes, they were something altogether different," Castle agreed, focusing on raising the corpses around him. As soon as he accomplished the task, Castle turned to Collin. As much as Castle hated the thought, the path must be followed.

"I think it’s time for you to meet back with your former allies. We’re going to need Zombie Strike’s help in finding these Little Death and exterminating them before they can stop the Golden Rite." Well, if Castle was lucky, most of them would be killed in the process.

Zombie Strike Part 11 Chapter 115