Village Protection

-Haunted Village, just before sundown-

Wearing her typical attire of white long-sleeved button-up shirt with navy blue knee-length skirt and brown boots, Diana walked into the borders of Haunted Village just before sundown. She had been hired by the chief to help protect the village because it had been suffering from a string of zombie attacks that started just a week ago. The undead tried to force their way into the village and were beaten back each night, but the villagers were not soldiers and needed help to protect their village. She was hired to shore up the defensive line set up near the woods, where most of the attacks came from.

She saw men armed with lever-action rifles, bolt-action rifles, and shotguns manning a series of defensive positions made out of sandbags that were piled waist-high and had wooden tables that were stocked with ammunition laid on top of them. The fields had been cleared of crops so that the defenders had a clear line of sight on the woods and the undead attackers could not use the crops for cover.

As she walked towards the mayor's house she saw groups of men and women arming themselves with rifles and shotguns for the long night ahead. Torches with long handles were being placed in the ground so that the villagers had light with which to see and shoot at the undead that were going to descend on them when the sun went down.

Diana walked past another series of sandbag barricades set up along the approach to the mayor's house. She eventually reached the structure and knocked on the door. The slot in the door opened and a pair of eyes peered out at her. The slot closed and the door was unlocked and opened to let the blonde in. Diana entered the home and the door was closed behind her.

-Inside the mayor's house-

"Hello again, Miss Winchester. You've come just in time." The mayor said to her. He had concern etched on his face as he sipped from a cup of tea. He set the tea cup down on the saucer and spoke to her.

"We've been unable to retrieve the dead from the last job you completed for us because the undead have become rather active lately. We can't get anywhere near the woods because they teem with zombies, especially at night. We have to look to the defense of the living before we can worry about the dead." The mayor explained to her. Diana could not argue with that logic. If the village was overrun by the undead, there would be no one left to worry about the dead farmers from a few weeks ago.

"What do you need me to do?" Diana asked him. He grabbed a wooden cane and pointed towards a map of the village mounted on a corkboard. He then traced the tip of the cane along the map and ended at the first defensive line, which was about 300 meters from the woods that the undead emerged from whenever they made a nighttime attack.

"I need you to help out at the first line of defense we've set up near the woods. You've fought the undead more than once and you know how to deal with them. If we can keep them out of the village until sunrise, we'll be safe." He explained to her.

"We've got plenty of weapons and ammunition, but what we don't have is trained fighters. We have a few hunters, but most of the people here are just farmers. If they feel they're in danger, they might run for safety instead of stand and fight. That's why we need you to shore up our defenses by helping stop the zombies before they reach the village." He added further. Diana nodded to him. The people of Haunted Village were brave and willing to fight, but they were not trained to stand their ground against a swarm of undead. That was why she was needed at the front line, so to speak. The mayor wanted her to inspire the villagers by example as well as pick off any zombies who came out of the woods.

"I will help you." Diana said to the mayor. He almost looked hopeful as he smiled at her. She could tell that he was grateful for the help. While hope was a powerful emotion that could do a lot of things, hope alone was not enough to fend off the zombies that would be attacking. The villagers would also need the will to use the firepower they had. Diana would help the farmers fend off the attackers and protect the village until sunrise.

"Excellent. There isn't much time to waste because sunset is a little less than an hour away, so I won't hold you up any longer. Just be careful." He said to her. Diana nodded to the mayor. She turned to leave and he walked ahead to open the door for her.

"Good luck." He wished her.

"Thank you." Diana said just as the door closed and was locked behind her.

-In Haunted Village, thirty minutes before sunset-

Diana saw the armed people scrambling to set up more sandbags, more torches, and more tables with ammunition before the sun set and the nightly attack began. Glass lanterns were set up outside of homes to provide more light for the defenders and to serve as a psychological boost for them. The atmosphere was emotionally charged; Diana could feel desperation and fear radiating from the villagers, but she could also feel resolve and determination in equal measure. She calmly walked past sandbag barricades and walked through the recently cleared fields to take up her assigned position at the barricade in the field closest to the forest.

Soon the attack would begin and the calm before the storm would be shattered. Diana walked behind the barricade and took her place in the middle next to two teenage males with bolt-action rifles. Torches were placed to the left and the right of the sandbags and were ready to be lit when the sun went down. Soon darkness would fall on the village.

[Word Count: 1,050]
[Total Word Count: 1,050/7,000]

-Haunted Village, 15 minutes later-

Diana stood in position at the sandbag barricade that was the first line of defense for the village. A cold wind began to blow and whip her hair about, but she ignored it because the sun was getting ready to set. As soon as it set the fight for the village's survival would begin. The villagers around her knew it and were preparing for the upcoming fight in their own ways: some were piling ammunition nearby for a quicker reload, some were checking their weapons one last time, and others were whispering what sounded like prayers under their breath. Diana could not help but feel respect for the villagers who were not mentally ready to face the undead but stood ready to fight anyway instead of leaving the defense of the village entirely to her.

Diana took a deep breath and looked into the darkness with her special vision modes to see if any ambitious and overly intelligent zombies were trying to jump the gun by massing for a rush out of the darkness before the appointed time. She cycled through her vision modes and no ambulatory corpses were gathering in the darkness... yet. She was glad for that because the torches had not yet been lit. The yawning darkness in the woods was unnerving some of the villagers because they had to fight to stay focused on it.

Diana wondered if the zombies were being controlled by someone or if the zombies of the Haunted Village area had developed a primitive intelligence of their own. During the last job she took here she seldom encountered lone zombies; she almost always encountered groups of them during her search in the woods. They also had the sense to stack the bodies of the farmers they had killed inside the cave, where the cooler temperature would keep the bodies reasonably intact. Diana was troubled by those signs of higher thought processes, but she could not dwell on them because soon there were be bigger problems to contend with. Soon she would be fighting an army of zombies who might have increased their intelligence since the last time the blonde had fought them.

-10 minutes left until sundown-

Diana looked around her and felt the tension filling the air. The villagers could barely stand the wait and just wanted the fight to start so that the unbearable wait would be over. She could hardly blame them for feeling that way. Facing the possibility of impending doom could make anyone feel nervous. The villagers were doing their best to hide their nervousness and put on a brave face but did not always succeed.

The blonde heard whispered words of encouragement being passed back and forth between individuals. They were being passed from father to son, from brother to brother, or from friend to friend. One teenage couple was hugging one another and whispering; whether they were brother and sister or boyfriend and girlfriend were up in the air, but it was clear that they were trying to find the strength to stand their ground against whatever came next. Diana sort of wanted a friendship like that but quickly dismissed the thought because it was so far out of reach that it might as well be on the moon. She had chosen a lifestyle in which she would live alone and ultimately die alone.

It was for the good of the world that people like her were fated to die alone. The world did not need her to reproduce and make another generation of contract killers. Someone else would pick up the slack she would leave by opting to not reproduce.

-Five minutes to sundown-

The sun had almost sunk from the sky but was barely hanging on. The morale of the villagers was in the same position: steadily sinking and barely hanging on. They were doing their best to keep their spirits up and be ready for the struggle that was about to ensue. Diana remained calm because she was looked to as the anchor of the defense, the one would would inspire the others to hold their ground. She looked behind her and saw that another line of defense was set up halfway across the field.

The sandbags had been hauled into place and set by the hands of sweating farmers with bolt-action rifles slung across their backs. The same farmers quickly stabbed long-handled torches into the ground and hurried wooden tables into position. Box magazines of rifle ammunition and boxes of rifle rounds and shotgun shells were carefully placed on top of the tables to minimize the chances of them rolling off or getting knocked off during the worst possible time. Once the position was ready a dozen men and women hurriedly manned it and got ready for the attack.

"LIGHT THE TORCHES!" A strong mage voice bellowed.

"LIGHT THE TORCHES!" The call went out to all the defensive positions.

One by one the torches were lit and final preparations were made. Some people laid secondary weapons out in front of them so that a loaded weapon would be within easy reach when their primary weapon ran dry. Others checked their weapons one last time in the hope that their weapons would not fail them during the attack. Still others whispered prayers and loaded ammunition into box magazines for people who used bolt-action rifles. Diana herself cycled through the vision modes at her disposal to check for zombies who were massing ahead of time. So far the woods were clear, but they would not remain that way for much longer.

The torches to the left and right of her barricade were lit, signaling that the fight would begin soon. Everyone who had not yet loaded their weapons did so and set up ammunition and other weapons within easy reach. Diana's weapons did not require reloading in the traditional sense, so she did not have to take ammunition from the people who really needed it. She brought out Silent Hunter and waited for the sun to set. The scoped rifle would serve as a good weapon for the first stage of the attack because it had the range and stopping power to bring down enemies long before they reached the barricade.

-Sundown-

The final light of the sun faded away and was replaced by a sliver of moon peeking above the trees that resembled a human fingernail. She began to hear moaning come out of the woods and the sound of shuffling grow louder and louder. The villagers got into ready positions and waited for the undead to begin their assault.

"GET READY!" The same strong male voice from earlier called out. Any torches that had not yet been lit were hastily lit and the torch-bearers retreating to safety or taking up positions on the firing line. Soon the fighting would begin.

[Word Count: 1,150]
[Total Word Count: 2,200/7,000]

-Sundown-

Diana heard moaning float out of the woods as the undead began to mass just out of sight behind the protection of the shrubs. Whether they deliberately sought the protection of foliage or the foliage's presence was a fortunate bonus was not known, but what the humans did know was that soon over four dozen zombies would be attempting to swarm their defenses. The humans waited for the attack to begin, which it soon did as the front rank of zombies started to sprint with axes in hand. Diana aimed at one of them and fired a Full Metal Jacket round to the head, bringing it down mid-sprint and making it trip an ally as the downed zombie rolled to a stop.

Diana watched the other villagers begin firing their weapons at the attackers with varying degrees of success. One rifle shot ripped the arm off of a zombie and made it fall onto its back. Another shot punched a hole in the forehead of another zombie and caused it to stand still long enough to be shoved out of the way by another one rushing in for its prey. A third shot to another zombie grazed its shoulder but otherwise did not harm to it.

Diana fired another Full Metal Jacket shot and brought down another enemy in mid-sprint. As powerful as Silent Hunter was, it could not fire fast enough to stop zombies like she needed to. Diana dispelled Silent Hunter and brought out her Suppressed Assault Rifle. The new weapon would have the power, range, and rate of fire to thin out the oncoming horde more effectively. She raised it and selected Semi-Auto firing mode, which would fire one shot with each pull of the trigger.

She then aimed the weapon at the head of a zombie that had its eyes on her. She fired once and hit it between the eyes. It fell forward and the mage quickly shifted to another target, one that was barrelling towards the teenage male to her left. He was reloading his bolt-action rifle and needed a bit more time, so she aimed and took the shot that brought down the running corpse by tearing off its head with a single shot. The villagers were starting to improve their aim and bring down some of the enemies without her help, but there were still slightly over three dozen zombies in the first wave that were still a threat.

Diana continued to hold her ground and the villagers were holding their ground, firing at the oncoming enemies and doing their best to aim for the head. Their shots hit the zombies but did not always strike the head; some zombies had their arms ripped off by rifle bullets and holes blown in their chests by shotgun pellets. Those shots were not lethal, so the running corpses remained a threat until they received a headshot.

She aimed and fired at another zombie who had its eyes on her, shooting out its left eye and dropping it like a sack of potatoes. The remaining enemies had sprinted across the halfway point between the woods and the sandbags, which meant that the villagers really needed to start killing more of them. The villagers aimed and fired another volley, bringing down three of the zombies and harming three more. One hapless zombie had its left leg blown off below the knee by a shotgun: a second shotgun blast to the head killed the crawling undead before it could crawl four steps.

Slightly under two dozen zombies remained, but they were closing the distance. Diana shot and killed another one, then shot and killed two more in as many seconds. The rattle of weapons fire from the other humans killed two more zombies with headshots, but their aim was starting to suffer as the attackers drew closer. Diana would have to pick up the slack to keep the barricade from being overrun.

Diana placed the red dot of her scope on the head of one and fired, hitting it in between the eyes for a kill. She aimed and fired at one approaching the teenager to her right, making it pitch forward in mid-stride and plow the field with its face for two feet before its momentum ran out. There were about fifteen zombies left and they were closing fast. They had passed the three-quarters mark when they did something astounding.

"They're turning around! They're running away!" The teenager to her left shouted. The villagers stopped firing and stared in amazement at the sight of the zombies turning around and running back to the safety of the woods. Diana aimed and fired at the back of the head of a zombie and brought it down just as its feet hit the brush. They had repelled the first attack, but another one was inevitable.

"Reload your weapons! They'll be back soon enough and there'll be more of them!" An older man in a red flannel long-sleeved shirt and blue jean overalls with dirt-covered boots and a shotgun advised everyone. The defenders obliged, reloading their weapons and checking them before the next wave started. Diana dispelled her Suppressed Assault Rifle and looked towards the woods to keep watch as the villagers prepared for the next attack. She glanced around her and was happy to see that no one had been killed during the first attack. That was good... the front line would need all the manpower it could get.

Diana was surprised that the zombies knew enough to retreat and come back for another attempt. She thought back to her earlier theories of either the zombies being controlled by someone else or simply developing an intelligence of their own. She was not sure which theory was the right one. That did not matter because the treat was still out there. Once sunrise came and the attacks stopped the blonde would be able to discuss her theories with the village's mayor.

Diana took advantage of the break to stretch her legs and breathe for a moment. The villagers were much less nervous now that they had actually seen and fought the zombies. They were still nervous but were still ready to push back the threat.

[Word Count: 1,050]
[Total Word Count: 3,250/7,000]

-Two hours later-

Diana and the other villagers had been keeping the threat at bay with rifle and shotgun fire, shooting any zombies that had gotten close to them. The undead had set aside their massed charge and had sent probing attacks of two dozen zombies per wave to see if the humans still had the resolve and the ammunition reserves to fend them off. The probing attacks had gotten to within a stone's throw of the sandbags a few times but did not break through.

According to the village clock tower's enormous numerals, they had six hours left before daylight came and the attacks ceased... for tonight. So far the villagers still had plenty of ammunition and their morale was fairly high after withstanding the first attack, but six hours still remained before the attacks ended. Everyone would have to stay on their toes if they wanted to get through the night alive.

With her night vision view mode enabled, Diana had her Suppressed Assault Rifle at the ready and was peering into the woods in advance of the next attack when she spotted another large group of zombies forming up for an attack. The eyeball count ran to at least thirty enemies, if not more. Diana wordlessly raised her rifle and flipped the selector switch to Semi-Auto, then put the red dot of her scope on a zombie's head and pulled the trigger. Its forehead exploded as a single shot went through it for a kill.

Diana continued to thin out the wave with potshots until the main attack began. She only had enough time to down three more zombies before the others decided to attack, but the humans had a tiny advantage because the enemies did not have time to form up... they made the attack with the numbers they had on hand. The defenders began to fire their weapons with steadier aim than they had the first time; half the headshots aimed at the zombies actually hit, making Diana's life easier since the burden of killing all the zombies did not fall on her.

The mage continued to shoot at the steadily thinning ranks of the attackers and cover the two teenagers beside her whenever they reloaded. The system was working because the twenty-eight strong wave of zombies was had dropped to fifteen before they reached the halfway point. Diana fired off two more quick headshots to drop the enemy count to thirteen that crossed the halfway point.

"We've got them! Just keep shooting!" The male beside her exclaimed in excitement. He raised his rifle and fired another shot, hitting a zombie in the left eye and making it pitch forward as it raised a rotting hand to the wound before falling onto its face and stopping all movement. The male to Diana's right fired a shot that was less dramatic but every bit as effective. His rifle round to the forehead simply decapitated the target and caused its head to roll in front of a running zombie's feet; the zombie kicked it and the skull with its open jaws landed just in front of the sandbag like a macabre soccer ball.

The rattling of weapons fire continued until only six zombies were left to cross the three-quarters mark. Diana picked off two of them and the villagers finished off the rest. A cheer sounded from the defenders, who had successfully fended off another wave of enemies.

"Reload your weapons and check your ammo! They'll be back soon enough!" The farmer in the red flannel shirt from earlier advised everyone. Diana switched to Silent Hunter and began to look for individual zombies to pick off while the villagers reloaded their weapons. Being proactive and thinning out the zombies before they gathered for swarm attacks would be the key to helping the villagers survive the night.

Diana switched to Night Vision mode, knelt to steady her weapon on the sandbags, and began looking through her scope. She spotted one standing near a small clump of brushes and absentmindedly staring into space. She took advantage of its lack of focus to put a suppressed Full Metal Jacket round through its forehead. She saw another zombie shuffle over to where the first zombie dropped and put a round through the side of its head. Yet another one stumbled out of the brush and nearly tripped over the corpses of its colleagues.

Diana shot it in the forehead and watched it fall backwards over the body of a fallen friend. A fourth shuffled into range and the blonde led it a bit before firing. A round punched through the side of its head and brought it down just like the rest of the zombies that had been shot. This was less of a fight and more of a shooting gallery. The people with her were quick to notice the blonde's prowess in combating the zombie menace.

"You've fought them before, haven't you?" The brown-haired teenager with a bolt-action rifle asked her as another zombie received a shot to the head and spun dramatically before faceplanting onto the ground.

"I have fought them twice before. They can be intimidating, but they are easily disposed of." Diana answered calmly while sighting another one of the enemies. She lined up the shot and squeezed the trigger, sending a Full Metal Jacket round through the side of its head and causing it to flop to the side with its arms splayed across the body of a previously killed zombie. This was a shooting gallery compared to dealing with the zombies in the forest during her last job in the Haunted Village region.

"You can say that again. You're picking them off left, right, and center. You don't need us here." He said to her. Diana aimed the crosshair on the forehead of a female zombie and fired at the spot just above its nose. It was flung backwards and was sprawled over a tall bush.

"That is not true. I will need your help and that of the others to hold the line once the attack gets started." Diana politely told the youth. As good as her marksmanship was, she was not infallible. She would need the help of the other defenders to hold the line. The zombies would need a considerable numeric advantage to breach the basic defenses that the villagers had set up. The defenses were not set up by military engineers, but with the mage helping them by thinning out the horde before attacks even got started, the village's defenses did not need to be military-grade as long as a large group of zombies did not rush the first line of defense.

"Has everyone reloaded? Does anyone need to change weapons?" The old farmer asked while Diana stood up and stretched her legs. The defenders gave their responses and brought ammunition out of the storage boxes placed under the table to put on the table for easy access. The blonde took a deep breath and dispelled Silent Hunter. She took a break now so that she could stay focused for later.

[Word Count: 1,200]
[Total Word Count: 4,450/7,000]

-Two hours later-

The defenders were halfway through the night and still had plenty of ammunition to spare ever since a supply run by a pair of runners brought them more over an hour ago. They had successfully fended off another wave of zombies and were getting tired but were still on their feet and still able to fight. Diana brought out Silent Hunter and took a knee, then began to look for more undead to shoot before they massed for another attack. She spotted one just emerging from the bushes and shot it in the forehead, making it flop onto its back in a spray of blood. Diana was looking for more when she was interrupted by the farmer in the red flannel shirt.

"Um, excuse me, miss. When you were looking around through your scope, did you happen to see some weird guy in black robes in the woods earlier?" The farmer asked her. Diana was curious enough to look up from her scope and towards the farmer.

"I am afraid not. Why do you ask?" Diana asked the man.

"I keep seeing a strange man floating in the distance whenever those zombies attack. Whenever we kill them all, the man disappears and comes back with more of them. I think that man's controlling the zombies." The farmer suggested to her. The teenage male to her right was quick to chime in.

"He's right. I keep seeing some floating guy with glowing green eyes raise a finger just before those zombies start running at us. When we kill them all, the guy goes away." The teenager added to the conversation.

"Have you told the mayor about this?" Diana asked the men. Maybe the mayor had an idea of what to do to help with the situation.

"We did, but the mayor can't do anything because we don't have the manpower to go look for some weird guy who might not even be real. We're too busy fighting the zombies." The old farmer answered. Diana did not argue because he made a valid point. If the village was overrun and all the inhabitants killed there would be no search for the black-robed man.

"That is a fair point." Diana conceded to the farmer. Suddenly he grabbed his shotgun and pumped it. Moaning erupted from the woods.

"There's more of them! Look alive!" The farmer warned the others to get ready for a fight. Diana overlooked the poor choice of words and brought out her Suppressed Assault Rifle. She would need speed and firepower for this fight because five dozen zombies were sprinting out of the woods. The humans opened up with rifle and shotgun fire in response while Diana aimed and began to track her target and fired, bringing it down with a shot to the forehead.

"These zombies are fast!" The teenager to her left commented. He aimed for the head and fired, tearing off its left ear but not scoring a kill. He aimed again and fired, this time tearing its head off with a shot in between the eyes. The villagers were making a few kills, but over fifty zombies were still on their feet and had just passed the quarter mark. Diana shot and killed another zombie and bowled over another when it tripped on the zombie she had just killed, but she was not killing them fast enough.

Some of the defenders were having to reload, which meant that more zombies were still on their feet and approaching the halfway point. Diana picked up the pace and killed two more zombies while the people next to her frantically reloaded their bolt-action rifles. It took them about fifteen seconds to reload and the forty-five zombies still on their feet crossed the halfway point, causing mild panic to set in.

"I'm not sure if we can hold them this time..." The teenager to her left opined. Diana kept quiet and did what she could to hold the line, but more and more of the defenders began to have unsteady aim. Their shots were starting to tear off limbs and inflict non-lethal wounds instead of hitting the head to stop them for good. Diana stood her ground and killed three more with single headshots, focusing on the zombies that were closing in the quickest since the undead army did not have a uniform running speed.

"I'm not sure either." The teenager to her right voiced his agreement. He worked the bolt to chamber a shot, then aimed and fired a shot that hit a zombie in the right eye. He worked the bolt to chamber another shot and aimed at another zombie, hitting it in the forehead and knocking its head off. Thirty-seven zombies survived to cross the three-quarter's mark.

"We might have to retreat to the second line of defense." The farmer in the red flannel shirt said. As if to punctuate his point, more moaning sounded from the woods and a new group of zombies that was fifty strong burst from the woods. Diana fired her weapon and killed two more zombies, but the arrival of the new group caused even the blonde to grow a bit worried.

"There's more of them?!" a young woman in overalls with a lever-action rifle asked.

"Get the ammunition and go to the second line! GO NOW!" The old farmer shouted. The defenders each fired one last shot, then grabbed the ammo boxes and ran for the second sandbag line. Diana held her ground and fired off three more shots, getting one headshot and two non-lethal shots to the chest. The old farmer hobbled to the second line while Diana stayed by his side and covered him.

The twenty-nine zombies that survived the gunfire rushed the unoccupied sandbag defenses and slammed into them, knocking them over and tripping up some of the zombies that ran in behind them. Diana took advantage of the zombies falling down to kill four of them with headshots as they struggled to get up. The two teenagers with bolt-action rifles returned and each loaned the old farmer a shoulder.

Diana continued to cover them and kill the occasional zombie, but she was distracted by the sight of a floating black-robed man with solid green eyes peering out of the hood of the robes. It was the man the defenders had told her about earlier. He noticed that he was being watched and looked directly into her eyes, then faded from view.

"Don't just stand there, miss! Hurry to the second line!" The farmer urged her as the teenagers hustled to get him to safety behind the second line of sandbag defenses. Diana fired a few more shots at the horde before following their instructions and hurrying to the second line of defense.

[Word Count: 1,150]
[Total Word Count: 5,600/7,000]

-The second line of defense-

Diana and the other villagers manning the first line had retreated to the second one after an unexpected second wave had rushed the first line while the villagers were busy reloading. They had retreated with their weapons and ammunition just ahead of the first wave of zombies that had crashed into the sandbags. Now they had regrouped and were beginning to fire at the attackers again. Diana was busy trying to help them shore up the second line by taking out zombies closing in the fastest.

The blonde was making headshots on the aggressors but was not making them fast enough to really stem the tide. Fortunately the defenders had regained their nerve and were beginning to make headshots again, typically bringing down five zombies per volley. The fighting resembled the style of fighting employed in warfare centuries ago in a faraway land, but when one was fighting for their life they were hardly concerned with style points. They just wanted to live to see the next day, which was about five hours away.

The survivors of the first zombies were finally gunned down, but the second wave was not too far behind them and was poised to crash onto the second line like a tidal wave. Diana picked off three of the zombies with headshots but was not able to do very much as they rushed at the second line. She watched the defenders fire off one last volley before drawing pistols or picking up shotguns and shovels for the hand-to-hand combat that was about to ensure.

The close-range fighting was frenetic as neither side backed down. She heard gunshots ring out, zombies moan as they grappled villagers, and a lot of screaming as humans either killed their attackers and shoved them back or were dragged down and bitten. Diana did what she could to help, but it was not a whole lot because the zombies were too close to the villagers. She did not want to fire into them and hit humans by mistake, so she tried to think of something else she could do to help. Her eyes turned towards the woods and she saw the floating man with solid green eyes.

Diana immediately flipped the selector switch to full-auto and ran towards the necromancer. Maybe she could draw off some of the zombies and give the villagers a fighting chance against the undead. Diana ran away from the second line of defense and sprinted towards the first line. Some of the zombies that were not engaged with the defenders began to chase her, but the mage was ready for that and stopped, then fired her weapon and killed three of them before running towards the robed man.

More of the zombies began to peel off from the fighting and run after her, but Diana was already three-quarters of the way to the first line and its torches. After a few more seconds of running she reached the sandbags and ran past them, making a beeline for the man as he had his hands above his head to rally more of the undead to his side. His green eyes bored into her own as she reached him and noticed a necklace on his neck. It was in the shape of a silver human skull with green eyes exactly like its owner's and pale green smoke was rolling out of its open mouth. She raised her weapon and fired at the necklace, chipping off the left eye of the skull and making the robed man yell in surprise and pain.

"You foolish woman! You will pay for your insolence!" He yelled at her as his green eyes narrowed. The man lowered his arms and rushed towards her as Diana fired at him to no effect. Her rounds could not affect him and he was being careful to prevent her from getting another chance to shoot the necklace, which seemed to be the source of his powers. A bony hand reached towards her neck and grabbed it, causing Diana to drop her weapon as a numbing chill spread throughout her body.

"I told you that you would pay for your insolence, foolish woman. I have already thought of a penalty that is appropriate restitution for your foolishness. I will absorb your soul and use it to increase my power." He promised her, his free hand pulling off the hood to show a skull with flesh on it around the eyes and forehead but otherwise being bereft of flesh. Diana involuntarily gagged at the sight and choked on rancid breath as the being opened his mouth and his eyes began to glow even brighter. Diana felt ill as something tugged at her heart and body... she had to escape before the robed figure made good on his threat to absorb her soul.

There was only one option left to the blonde. Diana did not like it, but she would have to use the magic power she was granted at birth, the very same power that had forced her into this lifestyle. Diana extended her right hand and focused on it until it was wreathed in unearthly blue flames that did not scorch her hand but would surely burn the enemy.

"What? What is this power?!" He asked while Diana grabbed the necklace with her burning blue hand and squeezed it. He screamed in agony as Diana tore the necklace off and then grabbed his skull with her hand, making him scream even louder. He quickly released her and flew back with bony hands gripping his head, which gave Diana time enough to grab the skull necklace and crush it in her hand.

"What? NO! NO! MY POWER IS TOO GREAT! I REFUSE TO DIE BY YOUR HANDS!" He yelled at her.

"That choice is not yours to make." Diana sternly told him, throwing the crushed necklace onto the ground and bringing a high heel down onto it with all her might. He began to shake as sickly green light erupted from his body. He looked at her and spoke with the last bit of his energy.

"I will see you on the other side!" He yelled a promise before his body exploded and the robes burned in green flames. Diana turned around and watched the zombies that were only three running steps away from her fall to the ground and stop moving. Diana watched the necklace spark and burn away in green flame, then turned back to the village and walked towards it. The village was saved... for now.

[Word Count: 1,100]
[Total Word Count: 6,700/7,000]

-Back in the village-

Diana walked back to the village and saw the outcome of the battle. She counted a total of thirty-three dead villagers and many more dead zombies littering the area around the second line of defense. The two teenage males from earlier were among the dead, their throats having been torn out by rotting teeth. Some villagers were standing by with weapons leveled at the heads of the fallen humans while others were building bonfires with which to incinerate the fallen of both sides. Bloodstains too numerous to count littered the area where the fighting had been the thickest.

Diana met the old farmer on the way to the mayor's home. He looked more than a little depressed about the number of lives lost but was also glad that the fighting was over.

"You killed that robed man, didn't you? Is that why all the zombies suddenly died?" He asked her.

"Yes. I apologize for making it seem like I was abandoning you, but I managed to kill the necromancer behind the attacks. Had I stayed, I could not have killed enough zombies to make a difference before another wave would have attacked the village and eventually worn everyone down." Diana calmly told him. The old man closed his eyes, then opened them again and looked towards her.

"I'm glad you did, miss. That man killed a lot of innocent people and wouldn't have stopped until our village was completely destroyed. You just saved us all." He said to her.

"You should go tell the mayor about what you did. He'll be glad to hear about the end of the zombies." The farmer suggested. Diana nodded and walked to the mayor's house, dispelling the weapon she had left behind now that she would no longer need it this evening.

-Inside the mayor's home-

"You did it, Miss Winchester. That won't completely stop the zombie attacks, but with their leader gone, they won't be nearly as big a danger to the village as they were." The mayor said to her after the mage recounted how she found and defeated the necromancer leading the attack. He appeared relieved that he still had a village to be the mayor of. Diana was just glad to have been able to save the village before it was too late.

The man handed her a large bag of Jewels, the reward she was promised for completion of the job. Diana took the bag into both hands and thanked the man.

"You're welcome, Miss Winchester. Maybe now our village can finally have a bit of peace." The mayor said wearily.

"I hope so as well." Diana replied. She turned to leave the building and return home when the mayor spoke to her again.

"Thank you for all that you've done." He said to her. Diana nodded and opened the door, then walked out and closed it behind her. With the village saved, it was time to go home and look for the next job to take on.

[Word Count: 515]
[Total Word Count: 7,125/7,000]