Necrocide

Chapter 22

"Aaron!" Harry shouted, standing above Aaron. "Buddy, are you okay?!"

Aaron still lay on the ground in shock. His arm was still restoring itself, the new muscles and bones barely reaching the elbow. The bone and muscle tissue continued growing outward like vines, wrapping around each other to form the arm's internal structure.

"What's wrong with him?" Kyle asked.

"Nothing. He just went into shock."

"But he's a Deadman. He's not supposed to feel pain."

"But he can still feel fear."

"Harry, what's going—" Jade asked, passing through the curtain of leaves, but she immediately froze as she stared down at Aaron's regenerating arm. She then turned back to the leaves. "Edgar, whatever you do, stay where you are! I don't want you to see this."

"Why is Bloodletter treating the kid so harshly?" Kyle asked.

"It's Bloodletter," Harry replied. "When is he not treating anyone harshly? He earned his name for a reason, mate. In fact, that's why we started calling him the Man in the Red Mist, because it's more suitable for the children."

A loud boom filled the air, almost reminiscent of a hand grenade. Gunfire and pain-filled screams followed, along with messy splattering noises. Kyle ran into the field to check out the commotion.

"Oh shit," he said.

"What's happening, mate?" Harry asked, staying back with Aaron and Jade.

"One of those bangers went off. And it wasn't the DZI who set it off."

Harry's eyes widened. "Are you telling me that Bloodletter is using one of his blood bombs?"

"Yeah. It was just one small crimson sphere floating toward the others like a bubble. And then BAM!" Kyle made an exploding motion with his hands to emphasize the moment.

The gunfire and screaming continued in the distance. Kyle saw that Bloodletter had long red blades extending out of his arms as if scythes were fused to his forearms. He swung them at his attackers, removing a few limbs in the process. Blood splashed across his helmet with every hit.

"Now what?" Harry asked.

Kyle shrugged, his eyes focused on the distant carnage. "He's slicing and dicing, bruv. Ain't showing mercy, as usual."

Harry returned his view to a still-catatonic Aaron. Jade was crouched down next to him. The internal structure of his arm was restored, a bright red display of muscles replacing the hole. His hand and fingers had started growing back, the tendons and cartilage that made up its structure frighteningly visible. All he needed to complete the healing process was actual flesh.

"Aaron?" Jade asked. "Are you okay, bruv? Your arm seems to be fine now, but how are you?"

She snapped her fingers twice in front of Aaron's face. That's when he abruptly jerked up with an inhuman shriek. He continued staring out into the distance, searching for his humanity. He felt like something was missing and that was the only thing he felt made the most sense at the time.

"Shit!" Jade exclaimed, leaping off the ground in surprise. "He's up, guys."

"Yeah, no shit," Harry replied, covering his ears. "I can't tell if that was the scream of an animal or a little girl."

Aaron didn't pay attention to Harry. He looked down at his still-healing arm, studying the visible muscle structure as flesh slowly made its way up to his fingers. He wiggled his fingers around, watching in a mix of horror and intrigue as the tendons in his arm stretched and vibrated with the movement of his fingers like chords on a guitar.