Loretta of the Lamp

How to behead a zombie

"Then we must beat them," Akil said, passing him a torch.

"You don't need to worry about me," Loretta told them sweetly, but she was looking at the edge of the balcony.

A withered hand had reached up over the top, and now gripped down on the ledge and on one of the burning coals. There was an ear splitting shriek as flesh burned, and a wild scrambling as the creature fought to take another hold.

Akil sprung forward with the torch and brandished it over the edge. The Jin howled and cried in rage as it cowered away from the flame.

"Akil! Watch your back! Bennou cried out as the second Jin dropped down from the roof of the balcony, avoiding the burning coals. It fell right beside Akil, but did not even look at him as it twisted back upright and stalked across the open space to Bennou and Loretta.

"Come!" Loretta called.

"Shut up!" Bennou yelled at her, as he swung the torch wildly to hold the monster at bay.

It swayed and bent away from the flame, its entire body so broken and withered that to fall flat down to the floor and bend back upright, pelvis first, was not a problem.

"Holy mother–" Bennou lowered the torch in horror, raising it quickly as the creature turned to make a fresh attack. Behind it, there was a dying howl as the first Jin fell from the balcony to the rocks below after a direct hit from Akil.

Akil spun just in time to see the third Jin stalking across the floor on its hands and feet from the door towards Loretta and Bennou. It almost made it to the column where Loretta was tied before Akil brought the torch down hard on its head. The neck snapped under the force of Akil's blow and the creature's head twisted clean around.

"What are you doing?!" Loretta screamed at Akil in anger.

"Saving your miserable self!" he snapped at her, as he kicked the flailing creature, and almost completely severed its head. The kick sent it reeling backward with its head flopping uselessly about, barely attached by the remaining sinew.

"I'm going to be sick," Bennou announced as he glanced over his shoulder, still holding the other Jin at bay by brandishing his torch wildly. As he turned he swung a little too far, and the creature took the moment to reach in and make a grab for him.

"Watch out!" Akil shouted.

Bennou twisted the torch around and connected with the Jin's arm. It reeled back, roaring and clutching its wrist. The thin flesh and muscle around its mouth tore as it opened its throat wide, and its shrunken eyeballs rolled wildly inside its skull. The red pupils disappearing completely. Bennou jabbed it in the chest with his torch and shoved hard, forcing it back toward the edge of the balcony, but the second time he shoved, the creature was ready for him. It grabbed the shaft of the torch with both hands.

Bennou kicked wildly, making contact with the wrist where it had already been burnt.

Akil meanwhile had knocked the legs out from underneath the other Jin, and was ramming the torch repeatedly down on its chest. Its head came off completely and began to roll out toward the edge of the balcony. With a well aimed kick, it went flying over the top of the balcony and out into the desert.

Turning back to the rest of the creature, he found it scrambling about on its knees, sweeping the ground in search of its head.

In the background he could hear Loretta yelling at him. But the creature no longer needed Akil's help to make an exit. The sound of the head thunking into the sand below was audible to its ears alone, and it responded by sprinted forward and leaping over the balcony after it.

As Akil turned on the last remaining Jin to help Bennou, the light in the sky was beginning to flicker pale. Dawn was coming, and the Jin knew it. It backed away from Bennou and Akil, hissing wildly. Before they could take another swing at it, it also threw itself over the edge of the balcony, taking half of the burning coals with it.

Bennou and Akil ran to the edge. They had heard the sound of the creature hitting the rocks below, but when they looked down, there was nothing to be seen of any of them.

Daylight came about very suddenly. Akil was the first to breathe a sigh of relief, looking up at the lamp sun gratefully before he turned to Loretta.

She was fast asleep, still tied to the pole.