Saturday, November 5th, 12:00 a.m.

By the time Vergil and Lisa were able to bring Blujh back to consciousness, they were well into the night. In the meantime, Lisa continued to question The Invader called Vyth. Once they'd primed the pump, he had been surprisingly forthcoming. Vergil felt bad for the little guy. Vergil too had been on the other side of Lisa's wrath and he wouldn't have wished that on his worst enemy.

And Vyth certainly qualifies.

Lisa hadn't been able to learn anything more about the two Invaders reason for coming to Earth, or anything more about where they came from. However, she did figure out what they'd slathered all over their blunt knives. Vergil didn't understand the mechanics, but the gist was they pressed a button to alter the state of matter of the metal into a gas right before contact. 

They were instruments they used for non-lethal means of capturing and incapacitating wild animals. The toxin was nothing more than a paralytic, and the approach they employed was quick administration to the bloodstream in an effort to reduce the chances the user would get injured in its application.

Being a med student, Lisa asked a question that I never would have thought of. If it's a paralytic, then wouldn't his diaphragm stop moving as well.

Vyth extolled the virtues of his creation by saying that the serum only affected the peripheral nervous system and the functions necessary for life well enough alone.

Lisa nodded in approval and asked why they didn't use longer instruments.

Vyth simply responded with, "the alloy we use is comprised of metals so precious, that The Miasma had to employ exorbitant resources so that we both may have one. Besides, the longer the weapon, the less efficiency it possesses," he added with a tone of condescension Vergil didn't care for.

Vyth hypothesized that Albert should be up and about in a matter of hours. Neither Lisa or Vergil felt the need to add that Albert was a telepathic dog, the last thing he needed was to be the object of their scientific explorations.

Blujh's face turned an unhealthy looking shade of purple when he regained consciousness. Vergil couldn't tell if it was at his companion or the fact that what he considered a lower life form had gotten the better of him. He liked to believe it was the latter; Vergil could've used a win. The Invader also didn't seem overly thrilled at the fact Vyth had agreed to return back to their world, but the scientist explained that their options were limited if they wanted to finish this expedition in one piece. Lisa threatened dismemberment at one point in her questioning, and the scientists skin flushed the yellow of a jaundiced patient.

Vergil was dragging his feet to continue their journey to the drive-in. Despite his hermetic ways, introspection was not a strong suit of his. He suspected that may have to do with the fact that Lancet Falls was all that he knew in his entire life, and his decision to leave his town behind as well as his dimension. At this rate, he wouldn't even be able to tell his best friend goodbye. He imagined the scolding the dog would exacted upon him when he woke up.

"Do you truly believe you would last longer than a matter of moments without my guidance? Of all cockamamie notions you've had in our time together, this surely takes the cake."

Maybe it's best he doesn't wake up, he'd probably be able to talk me out of it. 

"Vergil, it's time we get moving. I can't stand to be with these little creeps for another second," Lisa said jolting Vergil out of his reverie.

"You're right, keep the Mace handy. I'll carry Albert, hopefully he doesn't wake up. I don't think his pride would be able to handle the blow of being carried like a baby," Vergil replied.

Lisa offered him a smile. In their short time together, Lisa had come to love the dog. His persnickety nature had a charm to it, probably because deep down, the dog had a big heart beneath the bluster and sarcasm.

Man's best friend and all that jazz.

"Let's go big guy, before I kick your ass into the next dimension," Vergil said although the threat was a bluff. He'd spent a dangerous amount of energy in his scuffle with The Invaders.

Blujh offered Vergil a withering glare that promised he'd hang Vergil by his insides if given half the chance, but the effect was undermined by the enforcer's red, Mace-riddled eyes.

When they were finally ready to leave, Vergil and Lisa took place behind the two Invaders, and ordered them to march out of the building. They would lead the way to the drive-in in a slow and methodical manner as not to raise any suspicion on their journey. The last thing any of them needed was to start a commotion at this stage of their plan. Vergil wanted to dispose of them quietly and efficiently and be done with the matter.

Stepping outside, Vergil realized the error in that train of thought. Chaos dominated the streets of Lancet Falls. The evening was illuminated with the glow of a roaring fire in the distance. There were far more people in the streets than Vergil would have expected at midnight.

Something about them gave Vergil the creeps, maybe it had to do with the fact the second his group stepped out onto the street, everyone's swiveled towards them at once, or it could have been the fact that most of them were wearing varying degrees of their pajamas. Vergil saw Police Chief Geller wearing nothing but boxers depicting chocolate donuts with sprinkles, Veronica Noonan in a baggy T-shirt that looked like a gown sporting no hint of underpants, and Brian Coach wearing a red, lacy shift that he could have only gotten from Victoria's Secret. None of them were wearing shoes.

Those three started advancing on Vergil's group while another cluster of four seemed interested in a black truck, or something underneath it.

"This is fascinating!" Vyth said in an excited fervor that Vergil would not have believed the Invader capable of.

He wore a monocle over his face with a violet cast to the lens.

"It seems as if the Resonator's mutagenic properties have extended to the natural flora and fauna of this world."

When no one replied, he continued, "Oh, by that I mean some breed of parasitic worm has wrapped itself around the nervous system of these humans. If I had to venture a guess, I would say it is in complete control of their faculties."

"That's great," I replied, "But what's that mean for us."

"Parasitic organisms usually have specific life cycles, but I would say at the rate at which they've infected all the humans in the general vicinity, they are most concerned with propagating their own species for the time being. There are already hundreds of offspring in a larval state waiting to be transferred to a new host. It is my professional opinion we keep them as far from us as possible," he said as the three parasite-riddle pedestrians continued to advance towards Vergil's group.

I couldn't help but notice, their eyes were still locked on me.

Blujh reached into his overcoat to grab something.

"Hey buddy, we're starting down this path again. I've got plenty more Mace left," Lisa said brandishing the weapon.

"Give me a hooking break," the Invader cursed, "You could use a little help. Vyth is as worthless in a fight as a Cruston during mating season, and Wonder Boy is on his last leg. I want to save my own skin, and if it means saving you louses too, then so be it."

"If you make one wrong move, your eyes aren't the only thing I can have fun with."

"If you should be so lucky, human," Blujh said pulling out something that resembled a pistol.

As opposed to the sharp angles that Vergil was used to, it seemed like the weapon was one smooth cylinder with a violet coil in the place of the hammer. Blujh pressed a button on the side and the coil started to glow with a vibrant light that Vergil was becoming all too familiar with.

Fifty feet separated the three denizens of Lancet Falls from Vergil's group. The street lights played over their faces, and Vergil realized he couldn't see the whites of their eyes. Their pupils dominated the surface of their eyes giving them a predatory, alien quality caused Vergil to shiver.

I need to think of something fast that doesn't involve killing my friends and family.

"Cool it Terminator, we're not using lethal force. I've known these people my entire life. We're going to incapacitate them until someone can find a way to remove those parasites."

"I'm afraid that pacifism isn't an option at this point. They've quite ingeniously taken root in the brain stem. At best, extrication would leave these people comatose, but more than likely, it would result in their immediate demise.

"You don't know that!" Vergil shouted.

Chief Geller led the pack, and he'd just dropped onto all fours thirty yards away.

"If you don't have the stomach for it, close your eyes. I'm not going to go down, because some human can't do what it takes even if it means his own life, and the life of his woman," Blujh said his weapon radiating a brilliance so powerful it hurt Vergil's eyes through his peripheral vision.

A beam of light traveled from the nose of the weapon to chief Geller's iconic bald head. Vergil couldn't help but think about how the town used to call him old "Cue Ball" as the projectile hit the man between the eyes.

From the point of contact, his face started to melt like it had been made of wax. The rapidity at which solid flesh and bone liquefied and slopped off his shoulders and onto the pavement didn't feel real. In fact, it looked like a movie with a cheap special effects budget, as the viscous material, with fleshy chunks took the place of his head. A milky white substance that looked like egg yolk intermingled with the viscera, and Vergil noted in some faraway place that those had been Geller's eyes. Black wormlike, creatures wriggled around in the puddle splashing like kids on a summer day.

If the loss affected, Veronica or Brian they gave no sign of it. The only change in their behavior was they skirted the puddle on the ground as they continued their approach. They also dropped to all fours, their methodical approach replaced with galloping strides.

"Hold them off while this thing charges up," Blujh ordered them.

Vyth sighed and pulled out a collapsible rod that looked like a quarterstaff, but it was just made of metal. The material didn't look any different than your run of the mill steel you could get on Earth.

Interesting. 

Lisa held her Mace up like a priest would a cross in order to hold back vampires. Vergil was the only person that didn't have anything to defend themselves. Close combat was all he could manage, and being up close and personal with these things didn't seem like a good idea, even if when he was fully charged. A cowardly instinct, deeper than conscious thought, wanted to run. The people of Lancet Falls were who Vergil fought for, if he stood by and watched them get killed, everything he'd done up to this point would be rendered meaningless.

"No more killing. I have an idea!" Vergil shouted.

"Vergil, I love these people as much as you do, but they're gone," Lisa said.

"We don't know that! They seem to be attracted to me, I'll lead them inside Hampton's and lock them in. If they've gone full animal, they may not be able to open doors! While I distract them, you guys see what's under the that truck and find us a ride out of here. I don't think we're going to make it to the Nueva Vista on foot."

"Feck that," Blujh said, but his weapon still wasn't fully charged.

"Listen to the boy, the Molt is only useful for single targets and not groups," Vyth said.

Blujh nodded, "Carry on."

Vergil placed Albert in Vyth's arms with a reverence that he never would've have shown if the dog was alert and made a break from the group. He could feel the weariness in his limbs that accompanied using too much of his power, but he had enough left in the tank to give them the runaround.

I'll worry about the ramifications later.

Vergil tried not to notice the cluster of citizens around the truck, seeing their faces wouldn't make anything easier, especially those black, beady eyes devoid of the people they used to be.

Movement registered out of the corners of their eyes. They abandoned their prey and started into motion. Their attention on Vergil, like other predators they preferred their prey fleeing.

With six of them following him, it reminded Vergil of a playground game. The game started with one or two people "infected." The goal of the game was for them to infect everybody until one person was left standing. Like clockwork, Vergil had always been one of the first to succumb to the "zombies."

Even without energy expenditure, years of cycling as his only mode of transportation had paid off, and his loping strides started to slough off the lactic acid accumulating in his muscles.

Vergil led the creatures through the alley that Vergil had followed the Invaders through just last evening, but it had felt like it happened a lifetime ago, to another Vergil. The narrow alley forced his pursuers to go through two by two, so they couldn't fan out and flank him.

The door to Hampton's was still open from when Vyth and Blujh had entered. Vergil dashed through the door, leaving it open so the creatures could follow him in. He dared not look behind him, looking behind him was sure to come off as a sign of weakness.

In the office, Vergil would've sworn he could feel hot breath on his heels, but he persisted. He didn't have a choice in the matter. This was the moment of truth, and he feared what the others would do without him. A corner of his mind knew that Lancet Falls would surely succumb to this threat if Vergil did not cut it off at its source. This Miasma would stop at nothing to achieve their goals even if it meant destroying the whole world, not just Lancet Falls.

This one time, I can't afford to fail. 

In the main showroom floor, Vergil knocked over another coat rack, hoping they'd be enough of a hindrance to give him the boost he needed. Lisa stood at the front entrance, she'd showed up to the open the door, but realized it was locked. Now she stood outside the glass soundlessly pointing at something behind me. Vergil noted Albert stirring in Vyth's arms.

Vergil juked to the left as something lunged past his right side. A heaviness settled over his chest as he got to the door. He pulled on the handle to no avail. Apparently, it was locked on this side too, and now he was trapped in a room full of people that wanted nothing more than cornered prey.

All of them had dropped to all fours. Snarls contorted their faces. Veronica Noonan's famous pearly whites seemed to glow in the darkness.

Huh, I guess those whitening strips really do work.

If he attacked one, it would leave an opportunity for the others to jump him, not to mention the fact he would have lost the vestiges of energy he had stored up. In retrospect, punching the pavement really hadn't been a good idea.

Vergil thought about blasting through the glass double doors, but they'd be back to square one with the nothing holding the monsters in.

One option remained to Vergil, and it was one of those all or nothing affairs. He needed to leap over their heads and cross the distance between the office and the outside before he collapsed in a heap of lethargy. He didn't know what he would do to fill up with energy, but he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

If on some miraculous off chance I get that far. 

Vergil pooled the last little bit of energy he possessed into his thighs. He didn't have enough for the rest of his legs. Brian Coach lunged at Vergil. Vergil jumped. His sneakers sailed over the grasping limbs of Lancet Falls' most prominent real estate agent. 

For a sinking moment, the archway of the door seemed to be moving towards Vergil far too fast for his liking. At the last moment, he dropped below the barrier and felt the top brush his hair. Upon landing, Vergil felt the slightest trickle of energy flow back into him, enough to do what he had to do.

This time, he chanced a glance behind him. The predators were already on the move. Vergil lurched towards the door, his legs slow to obey his commands. The distance to the door felt like miles, and the rate at which Vergil crossed it felt like that of a snail. 

The sound of bare skin slapping against the floor gave Vergil the kick he needed. He passed the threshold and slammed the door behind him. He let his body sink to the ground against the cool wood. 

The sound of a doorknob turning above Vergil's head made flinch in fear. They retain their memories or at least enough to make them smarter than the average bear. 

At that moment, Vyth appeared from the around the corner and grabbed Vergil by the arm. 

"Let's get out of here. I've procured a mode of transportation," said the scientist. 

"Why are you helping me?" Vergil asked. He didn't trust the Invader's sudden show of altruism.

"I've done a cost-benefit analysis, and you're far more useful to the group alive. In addition, I would not like to see the result of one of these parasites getting ahold of you. The interactions between your physiology with their predatory nature would be catastrophic," the scientist said panting. 

 Vergil doubted physical exertion was Vyth's forte. Even with the man's help, Vergil found walking painful and awkward, as if his limbs were made of stone, and the fiber of his being protested the disregard of its nature. His joints felt like they were filled with grains of sand that rubbed against each other with every movement. 

He heard the squeal of rusty hinges announce the predator's escape. Vergil pushed himself harder than he would have thought himself capable. He didn't do it for himself, but for Lisa, Albert, and all the people of Lancet Falls. 

I'm not done yet.

Vergil broke free of Vyth's grasp and dashed forward. A black truck was running at the end of an alleyway. Lisa held Albert, his legs kicked spasmodically as his the dog was having an unpleasant dream. Blujh was behind the wheel of the vehicle. He looked pissed off, but not at the situation. The enforcer's eyes tracked Vyth, and worry lines creased his forehead. Vergil didn't like such open displays of emotion; they humanized the Invaders in ways he didn't feel comfortable with. It made it that much harder to demonize them. 

 Vergil noted the suspension of the truck was sagging near the bed of the truck, and a rotund belly peaked over the edge. An open door was waiting for Vergil, and Lisa helped him jump into the backseat, and the two of them pulled in Vyth. 

Blujh put the pedal to the metal, the forward acceleration slamming the door shut. 

 Adrenaline seeped out of him like a sagging balloon. Vergil's eyelids felt so heavy. He didn't want to expend the effort to keep them open. 

 Vergil welcomed the darkness.