“But why would an extinct parasite from Africa be here?” I asked as we stepped from the bridge and into the Old City proper.

“No idea,” Sarah answered. “I couldn’t even figure out how they showed up in Africa in the first place. The sightings started around 2000 years ago and then they were hunted down and killed. There’s no record of them from before or since.”

“Well some of them must have survived, I guess,” I said.

“Or we’re barking up the wrong tree,” Ajax interjected. “Maybe it was some kind of shapeshifter, something that could look like anything it wanted.”

“Maybe,” Sarah said, biting her lip. “Most of the shifters I read about had limited abilities though. They could shift into one specific form, like a werewolf. Doppelgangers can shift into specific people, but that doesn’t explain the teeth.”

The conversation trailed off as we made our way further into the Old City. We decided yesterday to try to push further into the zombie infested ruins. Between our investigation currently at a deadend and waiting for a warrant for the last alchemical supplier, we didn’t have much better to do.

We had paid Roach for his tip on the cloth merchant, plus a bit extra for hunting us down and leading the way. We also paid to have some kids keep watch on the three alchemical supply shops. Between the track and the shops, the lookouts would eat into our earnings, but it was worth it for getting another shot at the killer. Hopefully having a physical description would help the River Rats spot him.

I shrugged and stepped forward to engage a zombie shambling from an alleyway. I fell into a basic cutting sequence; intending to just keep it busy until Ajax could line up a shot. A cut to the head to distract, a shield bash to disorient and set up multi-weapon fighting, a cut to the thigh to cripple, and finally a cut to the neck to force it to fall back or be decapitated.

What I didn’t expect was my sword glowing a bright purple during the second cut. Instead of cutting through the zombie’s ruined pants and crippling the leg, the shamshir cut through the limb entirely. There was no resistance, as if I had cut through a milk jug instead of flesh and bone.

My follow-up cut sailed harmlessly over the zombie as it crashed to the sidewalk. It recovered from the surprise first and sank its broken teeth into my leather boot. I kicked the damned thing off and took a few steps back.

The zombie tried to scramble after, but Ajax put a bullet through the back of its head.

“The hell was that?” Ajax asked.

“Best guess? My new weapon enchantment,” I said, tapping the embedded gem. I walked over and inspected the severed leg. The desiccated flesh wasn’t even bleeding. The cut was unnaturally flat and perfect, like a medical cross-section.

“Huh,” Sarah commented, inspecting the cut and taking notes in her tome.

“Gross,” Ajax said with a grin. “Lets see if we can do it again.”

We spent the next few hours pushing further south and testing the enchantment on any zombies in our path. By my rough math, the enchantment activated about every third cut. It seemed truly random though, sometimes activating many times in a row, while other fights it didn’t activate at all.

The effect was always the same though. The gem would flash purple and the blade would cut completely through whatever I was hitting. Lopping off zombie parts was surprisingly cathartic. I honestly found I was enjoying myself. The fights still got my adrenaline going and I still made sure to be careful, but there was something supremely satisfying about decapitating a zombie.

I did get into a bit of trouble once during our experimentation. The enchantment activated while I was striking straight down. The sword carved through the blocking arm, skull, and collarbone, but became lodged in the chest. The zombie died instantly, but I was forced to spend the rest of the fight fending off enemies with just a buckler. Apparently the enchantment activated for a length of time, maybe half a second, not for an attack like I had thought. Either way, I was quite happy with the improvement.

Ajax still got more kills, of course. Even if the enchantment activated on every cut, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with his precision headshots. If he didn’t need to reload, I doubt he would need me at all. For the regular zombies that is. We were deep enough into the Old City that I expected to encounter tougher enemies at any time.

We decided to stop at the remains of a park for lunch before pushing any further. We had learned early on to avoid the buildings. The crumbling walls gave the illusion of safety, but made it too easy for zombies to sneak up unnoticed. A zombie crawling through a shattered window had led to Ajax’s death the other day.

Since then we tried to stick to open areas like parks and courtyards. While Ajax and Sarah chatted about where to go next, I experimented more with my shamshir. I tapped the blade repeatedly against a stone bench. The enchantment activated, but failed to even leave a mark on the stone. As awesome as the enchantment was, it had limits. My dreams of cutting through enemy swords might have to wait.

After lunch, we headed further south. We could see a church spire about a half-mile away and Sarah wanted to check it out. We were just finishing off a small pack of zombies when we heard the barking.

Three dogs came barreling down a sidestreet, baying and snarling. They were huge, the size of great danes, but gaunt and sickly. Their ribs were clearly visible and large patches of fur were replaced with oozing red welts.

They were headed straight for us and I planted my feet to meet the charge. Ajax knelt next to me, leveling one of the dueling pistols. He slowly breathed out and fired. The bullet took the lead dog in the skull, dropping it instantly.

The second dog jumped over the corpse without slowing, but the third beast paused. Ajax leveled his second long-barrel pistol and took aim. This shot was worse, hitting just above the right leg. It made the monster flinch, but it came on. There wasn’t time for a third shot and the beast lunged at Ajax.

I stepped up to intercept, force shield snapping into existence on my arm. The dog crashed into me with plenty of momentum, but I was braced for it. I shoved the beast off with my shield and followed up with a cut. The enchantment didn’t activate, but the blow still landed with enough force to crack it’s skull.

My following shield bash broke teeth, scattering them across the cobbles. The beast was stunned by the attacks, giving Ajax plenty of time to draw his revolver. He put two rounds in the head, killing the creature.

I looked for the third dog, ready for another charge. Instead, I saw the monster tearing a large strip of flesh off the first corpse. Apparently it was hungry enough to resort to cannibalism. At least, that’s what I thought before it started growing.

As it gobbled up scraps of red meat from the fallen beast, the dog’s bones elongated, tearing already stretched skin. It finished its meal and glared right at me. A chill crawled up my spine as we locked gazes. The damn thing had grown to almost my height.

The standoff was interrupted by Ajax’s bullet. The shot carved a furrow in the beast’s skin and blew off one ear. The monster dog charged.

I braced for impact, but it wasn’t enough. Whatever eating the dead had done to the beast, it was a lot heavier than the first. It bowled me over and started biting.

Only my force shield shoved into its mouth kept me from getting chewed on. It jerked back and forth, trying to wrench the shield free, but couldn't get purchase on the smooth surface. It’s teeth would just scrape off and snap together.

I kept interposing the shield and dropped my sword. There was no room to wield the shamshir, so I drew my knife and started stabbing. Distantly, I could hear the report of Ajax’s pistol.

The creature’s blood was boiling hot. It burned as it cascaded down my face, arms, and chest. It sizzled and spat where it hit the street.

Having enough of being stabbed, the demon dog scrambled over me. My knife got caught and twisted out of my hand, still embedded in the creature. I snatched up my shamshir and pushed to my feet, worried that it was going after Ajax or Sarah. My companions had retreated, and Ajax was frantically reloading.

The beast wasn’t interested in them though, it was limping away.

“Don’t let it eat the other corpse!” Sarah shouted.

Belatedly, I realized what I had missed. It wasn’t running away, it was going for another meal. I charged and focused on the second dead dog. Narrowing my push spell came instinctively and I shoved out.

The basketball-sized wall of force hit the dead dog just before the limping monster reached it. The spell sent the corpse spinning away down the street. Not as far as I would have liked, but far enough.

The monster was moving slowly now, blood gushing from a dozen or so wounds. It snapped at me as I got close, but it was a simple matter to dodge. I cut down at the beast’s neck, decapitating it with a flash of purple light.

I checked our surroundings for more enemies, but with the three dogs dead, we were alone for now.

Ajax helped me wash the blood off while Sarah studied the corpses. The sticky red liquid left behind welts and red irritated skin. We weren't sure if it was just from the physical heat or if there was a chemical component, but Ajax and Sarah were careful to keep from touching it.

When Sarah finished her research, we prodded the corpses into a nearby storm drain. Probably not the best disposal method, but we didn’t have the tools to bury or burn them, and none of us liked the idea of just leaving them in the street. The last thing we needed was for another pack of dogs to find them and go berserk.

We made it to the church without further incident. When we arrived I realized I recognized the building.

“This place was in the intro, I could see it from above,” I said, remembering the church getting overrun by zombies.

“God, I should have realized how messed up this game would be from the intro,” Ajax said, walking up the church steps. “Getting eaten by a zombie is not how you show off your game’s immersion.”

“You got eaten?” Sarah asked. “I just ran away until everything faded out. Then I was above the city with the title card.”

We crawled over the caved-in doors and into the church. The inside was fairly torn up. The pews were in splinters and most of the stained glass was broken. Sarah started taking notes while Ajax and I checked for enemies.

Finding no signs of zombies, I returned to find Ajax frowning at a plaque. It read: Saint Michael’s Roman Catholic Church.

“Why would there be a Roman Catholic church here?” he asked. “Shouldn’t the Church of England be founded by now?”

Sarah looked up from her book. “Not in the game’s timeline. Apparently King Henry the 8th still tried to secede from the pope, but it didn’t go well. He got excommunicated.”

“So?” Ajax asked. “Why would that stop him?”

“Because the pope recalled all the Crusaders, Holy Witches, and Inquisitors from the country. Plus cut off the supply of banish arrows, holy water, and swords from the Vatican armories.”

“Banish arrows?” I asked.

“They have little barbs that deploy in flight to prevent through and throughs. Once stuck in the target, the enchantment incinerates the arrow and its victim in holy fire,” Sarah explained. “Anyway, it took less than a year for the nobles to overthrow Henry and put his 12 year old daughter on the throne. The Protestant Reformation still happened, but both sides compromised instead of splitting.”

“So the undead changed history enough to make the Church of England not exist, but kept the line of succession exactly the same? Wouldn’t all of human history change if the undead were always a threat?” Ajax asked.

Sarah shrugged. “I’m just telling you what archives say.”

Ajax stalked off muttering about genre conventions. Sarah went back to writing notes and studying the church. I wallowed in the uncomfortable silence for a moment before deciding to explore the rest of the church.

In the room behind the altar, I found a set of stone stairs going down. The door was long gone, but the rest of the structure seemed to have held up pretty well.

“Hey guys,” I called. “I think there is a basement over here.”