20. Zeke

The battle was relentless. No tactics, just desperate, ragged survival? Cillian and I charged straight into the carnage. I just goy my jacket off, flung to the floor before the first Hybrid got the drop on me. The risk of having so many new recruits; enemy scents were not obvious. A risk clearly being exploited by Rising Star.

Cillian and I fought as a pair, just as we had taught the recruits. To take on a hybrid solo meant death. For hours Shadowlands fought for survival. Chased up and down the valley, darting in between trees, never able to catch a breath. The howls were deafening. Especially the ones of agony.

We struggled with one grey-furred hybrid. With its golden eyes flashing we knew its original spirit’s human had been one of Rising Star’s prize Beta Warriors.

This bastard was savage. As it resisted defeat it struck out in fury to claw and maul my shoulder. I howled in agony before twisting around to help Cillain. I ripped apart its underbelly, clawing into the glossy red,