After getting a good look at their undead opposition, the group quickly pulled back a distance to discuss the situation they found themselves in.

"I don't see why we're hesitating." Eve huffed immediately. "They're just zombie; They slowly shamble our way, we bonk 'em on the head. Easy as pie, right?"

"That really depends on what type of zombies we're dealing with." Jane said dryly, shaking her head. "This really makes me wish John was in here with us- he could probably quote all the theories about zombies off the top of his head."

"Theories? Seriously?" Eve scoffed in return. "How many 'theories' can there be about zombies?"

"About as many as there are about vampires." The humor clear in Oliver's tone as he grinned beneath his mask. Turning to look at Jane, he ignored the petite vampire's pout. "I can take a stab at it, if you want?"

"More video game knowledge?" Jane quirked an eyebrow at him, before waving off her own question. "Please do; I'm actually curious to hear your assessment."

"I would be happy to." Oliver chuckled softly. "Though, please keep in mind that anything is possible- the theories I know are basically just what humanity has come up with over the years, and it is very possible that there are things I do not know..."

"First thing that needs to be covered: Origin." He said, holding up three fingers. "The topic of zombies has been covered in folklore, books, movies, television, video games... But there are three basic origins that are discussed: Viral, Fungal, and Magical."

"Now, those are broad categories. Viral could mean a naturally evolved zombie virus, or one created by some government or mad scientist, where magical... is actually a very, very broad category. Curses, necromancy, the legions of Hel-"

"I thought Hell was all demons and stuff?" Eve asked, before smirking at Oliver. "And isn't that supposed to be the domain of ' The Devil'?"

"I said Hel, with one 'L'." Oliver said, throwing her a glare. "In Norse mythology, Hel is the daughter of Loki and the goddess of death. The underworld where she rules is called Helheim, and is the place where people that died peacefully or of sickness went."

"Now, if there are no more interruptions..."

"Actually, I have something to add- though I do apologize for interrupting." Oakheart said suddenly, stopping Oliver from continuing. "My grandfather told me stories of when he helped to subdue a necromancer. I do not claim to be an expert, though I remember much of what he told me... and I do not believe these undead are being controlled by a necromancer."

"We have records of a necromancer incident..." Jane added slowly. "I don't know all the details, but from what I remember of the reports... that sounds about right."

"I agree." Oliver nodded gratefully at the pair's contribution. Seeing that Jane wasn't willing to explain more on the 'necromancer incident', he quickly moved on. "If a necromancer was present, I don't think he would allow his minions to stop for a snack- for that matter, I doubt that zombies raises by a necromancer actually have the urge to snack on people."

"I mean... technically, it's possible..." He shrugged slightly as he considered it. "Anything is possible, really, but I'm confident we can rule out there being a necromancer- and probably the Legions of Hel, too. From the stories and folklore that I remember, those options don't seem likely to be eating the people they kill."

"I'm also going to go ahead and rule out the possibility of fungal zombie." He said hesitantly. "I mean, it's still possible, but I didn't see any sort of growths that would hint at it."

"I'm... going to need a little more clarification." Jane said slowly, a small grimace flashing across her face as Eve nodded in agreement. "Fungal zombies? I don't even know what that means- I mean, the name implies some sort of fungus, but..."

"The idea, as humans on this planet know it, is actually based off zombie ants." Oliver supplied, trying to hide his humor at the subject- while he had no idea if the video game knowledge picked up from his friends was applicable on a multiversal scale... If anything was possible, then maybe it did apply in some way. "Basically, it would be some variant of a pathogenic fungus that would infect people and use them as a means to spread itself- hence, the urge to attack nearby living people..."

"Of course, fungal zombies wouldn't be interested in eating people- again, I can't guarantee that; I'm just going off of theories and logic." He shrugged again; even if he couldn't guarantee his answers were accurate... theory crafting a zombie apocalypse was fun. "So... probably not fungal, or Hel's Legions... Probably not a necromancer- though it is possible the zombies were created by a necromancer, who then either lost control of them or died..."

"That was one point my grandfather was quite specific on." Oakheart was quick to add. "Killing the necromancer does not end the threat, it merely removes his control from the undead- if anything, removing their control can make things more dangerous, as the undead become roving bands of mindless slaughter."

"Another good point." Oliver acknowledged, glad to have the along for more than just his sword. "So... Eliminating what is less likely... the most likely cases, as far as I am aware, are viral zombies or possibly a dead necromancer."

"That's interesting, I guess..." Eve said, impatience clear in her voice. "So, can we go kill them now?"

"No, Eve." Oliver sighed, not sure why he was trying to give the chaotic vampire a chance- well, no, he did know; Poli asked him to give her a chance... But reigning in the little psycho was starting to be exhausting. "That whole speech was just about their origin; there is a lot more to cover."

"Like what?" She huffed.

Jane rolled her eyes at the vampire. "Like their capabilities and what we may have to deal with? You know, little things like that that could mean the difference between us living or dying?"

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"Exactly." Oliver nodded, shooting a warning glance at Eve- which he could only hope she understood. "If they were created by a necromancer, that would mean there could be other types of undead: skeletons, ghouls, ghosts, mummies, spectres, wraiths... Honestly, the list is long... And it is possible some of them can have magic."

"On the other hand, viral zombies aren't a simple list either." He sighed softly. "I mean, maybe we're lucky and it's just the classic slow, shambling zombies... Or even the crazy zombies from something like 28 Days Later, which can sprint..."

"Those are honestly the less threatening possibilities."

"What are the more threatening possibilities?" Jane asked with a hint of concern.

Oliver shrugged, suddenly feeling like this theory crafting wasn't as much fun. Talking about all the possible zombies was one thing... but realizing they would actually have to fight the things put a bit of a damper on his excitement- but only a bit. "Well... Mutations caused by the virus are a commonly used and debated theory, especially in video games. It's possible we could run into all sorts of crazy things caused by a mutation: slow zombies, fast zombies, zombies with overdeveloped leg muscles that can pounce on us from a distance... giant, hulking zombies that can absorb a lot of damage..."

"Hell, for all I know, we could run into zombies that spit acid, breath fire, turn invisible... I mean, who knows, right?"

That statement seemed to sober even the boisterous Eve, and a grim silence fell over the group... Until Jane snorted dismissively.

"It doesn't matter." Seeing 'The Devil' tense at her words, she raised a hand apologetically. "Not your explanation; that could actually be very useful going forward. What I meant to say is that we're here to deal with it regardless of what 'it' is. We just need to continue to do as we have been: move carefully, analyze the situation, and make a plan to deal with it."

"And speaking of a plan to deal with it..." She turned a wolfish smile towards the Devil. "Are you any good with that bow?"

Oliver sighed, even as he nodded. "Let me guess... To minimize the danger- and the chance of contamination, if it is viral- you want me to take out zombies from a distance while you three protect me."

"As long as you can handle it." Jane nodded, then glanced at Eve. "If the zombies get close, you'll be the first up to deal with them- the extra reach of the spear should help keep them at a distance."

"And, as a vampire, I shouldn't be affected if it is a virus or whatever..." Eve reluctantly agreed, before a thoughtful and worried look flashed across her face. "You mentioned necromancers being able to control undead... Does that include vampires?"

"Indeed." Oakheart chimed in, concern and a hint of sympathy in his voice. "My grandfather mentioned the necromancer enslaving numerous vampires, including a vampire lord..."

Jane sighed softly- and even she glanced sympathetically at the vampire. "Our records say the same thing. Honestly, I'm surprised you don't know about it- even if it was before your time."

"I try to avoid interacting with older vampires." Eve said primly, not looking at any of them. "Aside from being crusty old farts, they treat younger vamps like little more than slaves- and those are the decent ones..."

"I'm actually a bit curious about this 'necromancer incident'..." Oliver started, only to be cut off by Jane.

"I'm not surprised." She sighed, shaking her head. "I also can't tell you much; those records are older than the FBI... They are old files from the War Department, literally labeled 'Confederate Necromancer Incident of 1863'..."

Oliver whistled softly as his imagination ran wild at the thought of a necromancer being loose in the Civil War. "Damn... I can only imagine the US Government loosing their minds over something like that. Do you know how they dealt with it?"

"They didn't; The Confederates did." She let out a wry chuckle. "Apparently, slavery was fine, but raising the dead was too much for them..."

"That's... kinda fucked." Oliver said; Honestly, he didn't see necromancy being too bad- as long as it wasn't abused. But slavery was just pointless and dumb...

"That's seriously fucked! Slavery is way worse than necromancy!" Eve grumbled, unknowingly mirroring Oliver's thoughts.

"I find both concepts to be detestable, and debating the moral or ethical superiority of them to be both pointless and unnecessary." Oakheart added simply, though he looked uncomfortable at the subject- Oliver imagined his discomfort came from having recently worked with Devils who regularly practiced slavery, even if Oakheart didn't know that before he took the job.

"Ok, enough getting sidetracked." Jane cut in, a note of command creeping into her voice. "This pocket won't clear itself, and I want to deal with those three zombies before they wander off and we have to find them again."

"They're still in the same spot." Oliver quickly confirmed. Seeing the glare Jane directed his way, he shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, I agree with you; I just wanted to reassure you that they hadn't moved."

"Fair enough." Jane nodded, then gestured towards the corner. "Ok, where do you need to be to take your shot?"

"I'll use the two crashed cars for cover..." Oliver said slowly as he considered the distance. "I'm not Olympic archer, but, at a hundred feet, I'm confident I can put an arrow through their heads."

"Good enough." Jane shrugged- while she had some experience with weapons besides firearms, archery wasn't something she had studied.

She would just have to trust that this 'Devil' knew what he was doing.

"Oakheart, I want you to stay behind the corner and watch our backs, please. Eve and I will take position behind the vehicles and be ready to cover Devil if the zombies get close." Jane said, laying out their plan. "Everyone ready?"

Sneaking back to the corner didn't take long, and Jane was certainly glad to see that the Devil was right about the zombies not having moved. With the zombies attention fixed on their 'meal', Jane was the first to dart around the corner to scurry over behind the mass of the beige van.

Pausing for a moment to see if the zombies noticed, she quickly waved over Eve when nothing happened...

Then it was Oliver's turn.

As he hurried over to join them, he was surprised that his heart wasn't racing. Not from fear or nervousness, but excitement; Every guy- at least, every guy that he knew- had, at some point, discussed what they would do during the zombie apocalypse, and how they would handle fighting zombies...

And he was about to do it instead of just talking about it- it was practically a nerd dream come true.

The sight of the dead body being gnawed served to blunt his rising excitement.

Standing slowly- and glad that the bulk of the van served to conceal his figure- Oliver quickly fitted an arrow to the string before inching out around the vehicle. Inhaling slowly, he drew back, his eye locked on the simple pin sight for his compound bow- at a hundred feet, he knew it was as simple as putting the dot on the zombies head, then a controlled release...

Loosing the arrow, he didn't wait to see if it hit before nocking the second arrow. As the first zombie collapsed, arrow clean through it's temple, the other two lurched to their feet, turning in his direction...

Oliver grimaced as his second arrow took a zombie in the eye- he had aimed for the nose, but pulled the shot slightly in his hurry to get it off. Taking another deep breath, he calmly pulled a third arrow as the last zombie lumbered in his direction...

It never got close to him.

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