Quagmire glanced from left to right; the leaves and trees were shaking compared to their tranquil state moments ago. There was definitely something wrong, and it meant business. A few dozen ghouls would not shake the entire forest much, but these movements were too much for comfort. There was something bigger out there, much stronger, that was about to come to this location.
Moreover, he checked the few hundred meters around him and was sure there weren't any ghouls, which meant, beyond that, the ghouls that heard his gunshots were the ones coming for him. Considering that the sound of gunshots only traveled up to a kilometer or two—more if the gun was very powerful—but his pistol was not that powerful.
Even so, his most likely problem was that he was currently in the water, which would make his movements clumsy and could make his weapons malfunction if water ever got in them. With that in mind, with the pistol tightly held in his hands, he moved out onto the riverbanks and headed inland.
The bushes moved ever so slightly; there was no time. He would not make it wearing his new clothes, and so he would have to fight completely naked, all the while facing the danger of getting his family jewel bitten off or his flesh easily ripped apart. It was quite unfortunate, but he persisted in facing the experience.
He brought the pistol near his head and got into a shooting position. With water dripping down from his body, he proudly showed his mighty Excalibur to slay its foes.
His eyes dimmed as his focus became surreal. A few dozen meters ahead, he saw that a hand was coming out. He swayed his pistol, refocused, and then pulled the trigger. The ghoul was shot in the head as a blossoming rose came out of the back of its skull. The ghoul fell to the ground lifelessly, with blood gushing out of its holes.
He was delighted by his shot and by how quick and efficient his movements were. Unfortunately, he did not have much time to be delighted, as there were more coming. Three ghouls emerged behind the tree line. They were a bit slower, but they were fast.
Remembering the number of shots he had fired earlier, he had shot ten times at the living algae in the water, then another one at the first ghoul he shot just moments ago. Therefore, he still had five more shots to go. If all went well, then that would mean two would remain after shooting those three ghouls that emerged.
With a few quick movements, he realigned his body and positioned his pistol swiftly and efficiently. When the first ghoul was lined up in his sight, he immediately pulled the trigger without any hesitation. The shot echoed, and the bushes were sprayed with blood, almost looking like a complete abstract art of modern times, which was vile and horrendous to behold.
The ghoul fell to the ground. Once again, he swayed his hands and pulled the trigger. With that shot, another rose was born, splattered all over the ground. Finally, for the last ghoul, he aimed his pistol and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, the ghoul had watched the entire thing earlier. All the ghouls seemed to have some form of intelligence, even the slow ones.
The ghoul was able to realign its body so that the shot went through its torso, not its head. It was now dangerously close to him. With that in mind, he readjusted his position and began to fire once again. However, the ghoul was close, and it leaped toward him as he fired. Thus, the shot missed its intended target and only hit the body again.
Its body was now leaking blood from the two earlier shots. Unfortunately, the ghoul did not even seem to care. It leaped. Sensing danger, he immediately changed position to dodge. The ghoul landed, but its prey had dodged. It was now close to its target. It saw the target pointing the object toward it again, so it brought out its hands and grabbed the target's hand.
Quagmire was baffled by the ghoul's action. Thankfully, he did not fire the pistol, as only one round of ammunition was left. Almost immediately, he pulled his hand back, but the ghoul did not budge and proceeded to counter him. Fortunately, with his quick instincts, he let go of the pistol and had the other hand catch it in time.
Now the pistol was freed, and this time, he was the one who grabbed hold of the ghoul's hands. With a swift movement, he pointed the pistol at the ghoul's head and pulled the trigger. Once again, another rose was born, and he was stained anew by the blood. It seemed like he needed to take another bath.
The final ghoul was down, but he did not let it get to him. He glanced from left to right, but when he was about to look behind him, a branch was stepped on. Quickly, he sprung into action, aimed at another ghoul, and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, it only clicked. He was out of ammunition, the worst possible time.
It leaped toward him. Taken aback by the events, he stepped back but quickly regained his footing and rolled over to his side. Mud and grime once again stuck to his body. With effort, he stood up, but the ghoul was once again near him. Fortunately, before the ghoul could attack him, he moved forward and slammed the bottom of the pistol onto the ghoul's head.
The ghoul fell backward, and now he had the opportunity to counter. He removed the magazine, brought out another loaded one from the inventory, and slid it back in. With a fully loaded gun, he pulled the slide back to chamber the first bullet, aimed at the ghoul's head, and pulled the trigger at point-blank range.
The ghoul did not get the chance to stand up, such was Quagmire's speed and efficiency with his reloading scheme. Unfortunately, he did not have time to celebrate, as the one that shook the forest arrived—and the ground trembled in fear.