"C'ome on! I even checked it for you, it should be safe enough."

  "How can I... be sure of what... lies beyond if you... are... imaginary?"

  Defeated, he sighs.

  We have been arguing for a while now and the rain outside hasn't stopped at all.

  "I'm going to...one of the stores... usually they have a room... in the back that can be... locked." Old words slowly enter my mind. I guess I didn't forget everything.

  "But the clock tower has a better view, you can be certain of your surroundings and make better plans for when the rain stops!"

  "Quiller... I am not going in there-!"

  Quickly I place my hand in front of my mouth and stop talking.

  I must have yelled too loud, because I hear something approaching us.

  Something dragging.

  Another walking faster.

  Shit!

  Taking out just one is already quite the feat, two might be impossible, especially in such a confined space.

  I've lived like this for years, but only thanks to knowing when to run and when to fight.

  After all... they aren't a lot like zombies from old moving pictures.

  And it certainly wasn't a virus that caught them.

  Not a virus any human or animal could have gotten.

  Quickly and quietly I hide behind a corner.

  I see the two- no... four!

  There's four of them!

  Goddammit!

  They're still scanning their surroundings.

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  I just hope they don't-

  The one that seems to be the leader looks straight at me, making a strange noise.

  Quiller is standing by the door to the tower: "I think this really is our safest bet."

  "You... you asshole, you knew didn't you?! You planned for this to happen!"

  I don't look at his face, I don't want to look at it.

  Wow, betrayed even by an imaginary fiend.

  I hold my spear in a way to protect myself as one of them lunges at me.

  Before I know it I'm surrounded.

  Their half decaying flesh, half robotic faces look hungry at me.

  "You assholes fight like... like bitches!" I yell at them, knowing full well the futility of it. The same strange words I recognize as curses leave my mouth one after another.

  How strange... but it feels right.

  Trying to give myself an escape route I slice off an arm from one of the creatures.

  With a sloshy thud it falls onto the floor and rolls away.

  Almost immediately a new arm starts to grow, one not made of flesh... but of some kind of metal.

  A dark liquid spills onto the floor, smelling like a combination of something rotting and machine oil.

  As I try to slice the new one off, I'm only able to dent it a little bit.

  I feel my hope sink.

  "I guess I have no choice but to use 'that'..."

  I take a small machine from one of the pockets in my belt.

  It's still a work in progress, but this is better than nothing.

  Do I really have to use my piece of hard-work here?

  Well... I guess it beats dying.

  In a swift movement I press a button and make it stick to one of my attackers' heads.

  I'm sorry...

  The creature starts to scream.

  A scream sounding more and more like that of a human it once was.

  I'm sorry...

  The others get alerted by the sound and start attacking their once fellow creature.

  I hate to do this, but a better decoy doesn't exist.

  Even if the creature had become fully human again, it would have died in an instant.

  I haven't found anything against that yet.

  Quickly and quietly I rush to Quiller.

  I give him a glare, saying: 'Fine... I will do it your way asshole!' and get myself through the small door in the ceiling.

  He seems to be slightly frightened by my cursing.

  It's a good thing I've gotten used to doing parkour.

  Jumping from one wall to the other and climbing up is nothing.

  I breathe a sigh of relief as I notice that it doesn't end in a small space to crawl through.

  I might have gone right back out if that was the case.

  It's open.

  I close the small door behind me, I really don't want those creatures getting up here and then I turn my flashlight on to look around.

  The room is mostly empty, except for the layer of dust and an old couch.

  The clock is the window, but it has gotten so dirty thanks to the dust, seeing through it is nearly impossible.

  I scan through the room with the light in my hand, I really hope there is nothing up here.

  There is a dusty, old couch in the middle and the only source of light is coming from the dirty clock, that's also somewhat of a window.

  Luckily there is no one here.

  "Hey, are you okay?" Quiller asks, looking rather worried: "You didn't get bit, right?"

  I shake my head, I better not answer him right now.

  Those creatures one floor below us, worry me.

  I carefully walk over to the couch.

  Maybe now is the best time to start reading that book.

  I take the old object out of my bag and open it.