Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Sacrifice Lily? What a Joke! Perhaps if this was the old Zane, then he would not hesitate to knee cap the girl in order to ensure his own safety. No, even that isn't quite right. Lily's usefulness wasn't just as a team member, without her the entire food chain that Gravestone had so diligently built would collapse on itself.

Even if Zane was still a cold and heartless bastard child, he would not have abandoned her. She was too necessary for his continued survival, or at the very least, his continued comfort. Because of this, Zane shocked Gwen by launching a sneak attack on her back when she was focusing her efforts on Lily.

The twin sickles cut deep into the Horde Kings' flesh, rending her skin apart, and spilling her corrupted blood onto the floor.

The attack was so sudden, and so unexpected by the young Horde King that she was genuinely confused for a moment as she looked back in astonishment over the idea that her brother would object to her getting rid of the insect who had dared to interfere with their sibling playtime.

"You?"

But when she looked at where Zane had been, the man was gone. Instead, he had fetched Lily, who was so wounded by the sudden onslaught that she could not reasonably escape on her own.

Knowing that the girl was in a terrible state, Zane did not wait around to explain himself to the undead monster that so diligently referred to him by the moniker of "Big brother!" Rather, he quickly stabilized the woman's wounds by cutting off her bleeding.

He did this by cutting his own exposed fingers with his sickles and using his own blood to seal the wounds. After all, Zane had the ability to manipulate his own blood, and could change its form at will. Including to a hard, crystalline like structure.

Though Zane didn't realize this, his actions had undoubtedly caught Gwen's attention. The fact that he could manipulate his own blood like that was further confirmation in her eyes that Zane was actually her brother. And thus she increased her speed while sprinting after him.

"Big brother! Wait for me! I'm not done playing with you yet!"

Zane naturally ignored this call from the insane Horde King while he bolted off towards his army, which was still standing patiently in formation. All the while communicating with the girls in his squad via their radios.

"Abort the mission! The plan has failed! The Horde King was lying in wait for us! Lily and I were ambushed, and she was critically injured! Prepare the vehicle for extraction!"

This news was astonishing for the other girls at Zane's party. And while they screamed over the radio for more information about Lily's current situation, Zane didn't have time for their nonsense, because Gwen was still chasing after him with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Big brother! You wouldn't really care more about that little rat than our playtime, right? Big brother, stop joking and come play with me! BIG BROTHER!!!!!"

The intensity with which this undead bitch asserted that they were actually related was truly terrifying to Zane, and it was something he would have to explore at a later date.

But for now, what he needed more than anything was to get away from Gwen, and because of this, he shouted into his radio, demanding that the other women to shut the fuck up and do what he said. After all, they were still squabbling for answers like a pack of panicked hens.

"God dammit, we don't have time for this shit! Just do what I say!"

The sheer rage in Zane's tone was more than enough for Elena and the others to understand the severity of the situation, and because of this, they quickly did as Zane instructed. As for Zane himself, he dispersed his Ghoulish Acolytes, and his Skeletal archers.

But unfortunately, their escape would require some sacrifices to be made if it were to be successful. And it was with a heavy heart that Zane ordered his Skeletal Hoplites to hold the line in order to buy him and the girls for some time.

It was with this sentiment that Zane raised a hand in salute to his solemn soldiers and their last stand while he rushed past the phalanx with Lily in his arms. Though he did not see it, the superficial lambs returned their commander's salute, who they valiantly defended with their lives.

Once Zane had arrived at the Humvee, which was located in the rear of the formation. He handed Lily over to Angelica, who, along with the others, piled the girl into the back of the Humvee. Though it was a tight fit, the girl could receive treatment while Zane started the armored vehicle's engine and escaped from Gwen's pursuit.

Gwen was naturally not far behind. In fact, she had rapidly caught up to Zane throughout his desperate attempt to flee from her. Zane's dexterity was in the low thirties, which meant that his speed was well beyond the limits of an ordinary human.

But not only was he slowed down by carrying Lily in his arms, he also had to deal with the fact that Gwen was even faster than he was. Just what kind of freak was she? Her Strength and Dexterity were clearly much higher than Zane's.

And if that was the case, did she and her siblings really have a way to level up as well? If so, then did that mean she invested more into her personal abilities than she did her Horde?

This was the only reasonable explanation for why Gwen, despite having a smaller horde and domain than Eliza, was so much more powerful than Eliza had been as an individual opponent. Of course, Zane really did not have time to think about this more than on a surface level.

Because at this very moment, Gwen was trying to force her way past the Phalanx. Luckily for Zane and the girls, her focus was entirely on Zane, who was desperately trying to escape, and because of this, she was quickly surrounded by the Skeletal Hoplites who instantly began attacking her.

While Zane's Tier II undead may be more powerful than those which the Horde Kings used such as Leapers and Howlers, they were no match for a Tier I Horde King, especially one as abnormally powerful as Gwen, who having accepting Zane's escape, immediately burst out into a mad laughter as she tore the skeletons to pieces while in a fit of fury.

"How dare you! How dare you all prevent me from playing with my big brother! Just you wait, Big Brother, I will find you! You can't run from me forever! This game of ours isn't over!"

But her words fell on deaf ears, as the Humvee had already driven off back towards Gravestone. However, in the time it took for Zane and the girls to escape from her rampage, Zane had lost half of his Skeletal Hoplites. A steep price to pay, but a fair one for survival against such a powerful enemy.

As for the other half of his Phalanx, Zane quickly recalled them back into his horde management system, leaving the young Horde King that took the appearance of a teenage cheerleader to cry alone now that her Big Brother was no longer playing with her.

---

Lily awoke some time later to find that her wounds had completely healed. Despite near instantly recovering from the grievous injuries that Gwen had inflicted upon her, the woman who appeared significantly younger than she actually was had slept for several hours in an almost coma like state.

The last thing she saw before passing out from blood loss was the panicked expression on Zane's face while he was desperately sprinting towards the safety of the Humvee, which would help them escape from Gwen's mad pursuit.

While she fell asleep in his arms, Gwen could hear Zane's anxious voice as he assured her and himself that everything would be fine.

"Stay with me Lily! I'm going to get you to Angelica and she's going to make sure everything is alright! Lily! Lily, stay with me now!"

As for the first thing Lily saw when she woke up, it was Zane's sleeping head resting on the side of her bed. She instantly blushed and freaked out, not knowing where she was or how she had got there.

Though she didn't let out a scream, instead she looked around for answers, only to find that she was back in her room within the bunker. It was only when she realized that she was safe did the young woman finally sigh and shake her head.

With a bittersweet smile on her face, Lily pet Zane's black hair as he slept helplessly in front of her, while thanking the man for saving her from near certain death.

"It looks like I owe you one, huh, big guy?"