Chapter 50: Massacre
Shawn looked out over the settlement's houses toward the village center. When he saw the building in the middle of the village, a grin spread across his lips, his eyes glowing red.
A tall building appeared before him, much taller than any other house in the village. At the top of this building, a large, rusty bell was being struck by the raindrops, emitting a crisp 'clang, clang' sound.
"A church."
"A tall, stone building. The path to the second floor is narrow. Even Ferals won't be able to swarm up all at once and attack from both sides."
"This is it!"
Shawn made an immediate decision. He would face the second Blood Moon in this church. As he walked toward the woods at the edge of the village, he thought to himself, "There should be at least two hours until the Blood Moon starts. Before the Ferals are drawn here, I need to set some things up for the church."
He immediately got to work. Using the cover of the downpour, Shawn chopped down some trees and used the wood to make some 'spike traps'.
He circled around and came to the front of the church. The Blood Moon was now extremely close to him. Looking up, a sliver of the Blood Moon hung behind the tall church. The rain was torrential. The whole scene had a grotesque and mysterious air.
Shawn pushed the door open. The tall wooden doors let out a long 'creeeak'. He stepped inside, his feet heavy with rainwater, and saw seven or eight figures sitting on the pews. They had been sitting quietly, but the moment they heard him step inside, they began to move. Their heads turned as if driven by sluggish mechanical parts, taking several tries to fully turn around.
Shawn looked at the clothes on these walkers. A priest, a wedding dress, a suit... combined with the burnt-out white candles and the bible in front of the altar.
"So it was your wedding. My apologies for intruding. I'll send you all on your way now. Consider it my wedding gift."
Shawn gripped his Stone Sledgehammer with one hand and pointed it sideways at them.
"ROAR—!"
The bride in the wedding dress was the first to let out a low growl. She tore at her tattered dress and trotted toward Shawn.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Of course, the bride gets the first blessing!"
A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Shawn's lips. He gripped the sledgehammer. Something flowing in his veins seemed to finally be released, cheering and celebrating wildly.
Facing the walker bride, he gripped the handle with both hands and swung upwards from below!
'THWACK—!!'
By the time the walker bride reacted, she was spitting out a mouthful of blood, her head turned sideways as her entire body flew into the air. With a 'thud', she landed on the ground. She tried to move, but her lower body felt strangely unresponsive. She felt no pain, only a dazed confusion as she looked up at her own missing lower half and the rotten intestines spilled all over the floor.
"HOME RUN!!!"
Shawn couldn't help but cheer. He swung the Stone Sledgehammer in a circle over his head and, using the momentum, passed it to his left hand. The whole process was extremely fluid.
'CRASH—!'
Shawn smashed the hammer down on a pew, shattering it along with the walker that had just been trying to get up. A large chunk was missing from the wooden pew. Looking along the sledgehammer, the walker had been turned into meat paste.
"WOOHOO!!"
Shawn hugged the sledgehammer and broke into a crazed dance, as if the roars of the walkers and the sound of the downpour were the perfect background music. His eyes grew redder and redder, his rationality suppressed to the very bottom, his mind filled only with the urge to vent and rampage.
"Groom, groom, groom... how could I forget to toast you?"
Shawn knocked his knuckles against his own head. He looked at the strong man in a suit trotting toward him, the corners of his mouth lifting, but his heart grew colder, as if all passion had been extinguished.
'CRACK—'
Shawn reached out and, with a single hand, grabbed the tall groom walker by the neck. He lifted him straight up off the ground like pulling a radish from the soil. He tilted his head, watching the groom's pale fingernails continuously scratch at his skin, his arm beginning to bleed, his health bar dropping bit by bit.
"What, not enough for you?!" Shawn's voice was vicious as he slammed the groom to the ground!
The sledgehammer followed, landing right on the groom's face.
"NOT ENOUGH! NOT ENOUGH! NOT ENOUGH! NOT ENOUGH!!"
Shawn smashed his face to a pulp.
Hearing the low growls from not far in front of him, Shawn, without even looking, actually abandoned his hammer. The muscles in his lower body tensed, and he leaped forward. He looked at the priest he had pinned to the ground, his hand pressing down so hard the priest's head couldn't turn.
Shawn bared his teeth, which were faintly itching. But in the next moment, he still chose to use his fists.
One punch...
Two punches...
Three punches...
...
The priest walker's skull scraped the flesh from Shawn's knuckles. Only when it stopped moving did he slow his movements, gradually coming to a stop.
Shawn knelt on top of it, his head bowed, his fists clenched, gasping for breath. The rainwater on his body was now being evaporated by his rising skin temperature, turning into puffs of white steam that rose from his head and shoulders.
He remained in this position.
Only when the time reached nearly midnight, did Shawn abruptly look up as if waking from a dream. He said nothing, just dragged his sledgehammer and walked step by step to the second floor of the church. There were no walkers here; it was just where the priest used to live. The ceiling was connected to the large bell.
Shawn placed the 'wood spike traps' in a staggered pattern on the stairs he had just come up. When he reached the top of the stairs, he used the remaining wood to build a wooden wall at the landing.
He left only a two-block-high gap in the center of the wall. The gap was just big enough for him to swing his hammer through, but not so big as to let walkers get in directly. Using this method to deal with the Ferals one by one would minimize the damage.
He took 2 'antibiotics' from his backpack and swallowed them without water. Shawn watched as his virus infection status disappeared, replaced by an icon indicating his injuries were gradually healing.
And at that very moment, the sound of the downpour outside suddenly quieted, quickly disappearing. The large bell above his head swayed violently.
'DONNNG—!'
The heavy toll of the bell instantly spread throughout the entire village and the surrounding forest. The bell rang only once, then fell silent again.
It felt like something was wailing inside Shawn's ears. He listened closely, and the sound grew from small to large in just a few seconds.
The stone floor beneath his feet began to vibrate slightly. The eager, low growls of walkers echoed up the narrow stairwell.
Shawn abruptly looked up, his eyes completely red.
"They're here!"
*****
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