Claws of the Witch
I'd ended up inside a zombie apocalypse novel. It seemed smart to start by thinking about the Witch's characteristics. Later on it would turn into nothing more than a regular mob, but in these early stages the Witch was an incredibly powerful variant. Unlike the Boxer, which you could handle if you didn't let your guard down, the Witch could seriously injure you even if you stayed alert. It mixed clawing attacks with charges. The clawing was completely unpredictable. It would just flick its hand and rake you with its nails. But the most important thing was predicting the charge attack.
"...................................."
It lets out a blood-curdling scream, pulls its hand all the way back to its chest, then dashes forward with its arm extended. If you don't predict it, you die. The nails stab into you, and the Witch's strength knocks you down. What happens next is obvious. It pins you underneath and claws your face to shreds. Then it gouges out your eyeballs, and the last thing you hear is the Witch's laughter. It was obvious even without seeing it. Dozens of people in the novel had died that way with their eyes ripped out.
"Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Fuck!"
The Witch screamed and charged at me in an instant. It looked like I'd be too late if I tried to stand properly, so I hurled my body to the side. I scrambled up and swung the bat without hesitation. There seemed to be real power behind it; with some luck, this single blow might finish the thing off.
"Huh?!"
But the Witch lightly deflected the bat with its left hand. Then it raked at me with its right. I blocked with the baseball bat and a spine-chilling scrape rang out. Come to think of it, this bat was aluminum. Baseball bats come in wood and aluminum, each with their pros and cons. Wooden ones are sturdier than aluminum but can break when it counts. Aluminum ones are less sturdy than wood but don't snap easily. Block something sharp like those nails, though, and it tears right open.
"Shit!"
I quickly retreated and checked the bat's condition. It had a slight scratch. I'd thought it was still okay, but I was wrong. Looking closely now, it was damaged in several places from being used for too long. It looked like I'd have to say goodbye to this baseball bat after the fight.
"......................"
The Witch stayed relaxed the entire time. That made sense. I was tired and injured. My stamina wasn't anywhere near full, and one mistake would mean death. Still, it was manageable. I wasn't exhausted to the point where I couldn't fight back. So I readjusted my grip on the bat and glared at the Witch.
It naturally swung its left arm. I stepped back to dodge, prepared to block the right, and swung the bat hard. But the Witch crossed both arms and stopped the blow. I kicked it in the stomach with everything I had, but it didn't seem to feel anything. I needed a method. A way to deal meaningful damage.
".........................."
The glass wall. I didn't know how strong it was, but if I could make the Witch charge into it, that might work. Bracing myself to take a hit, I created distance and smashed the glass wall.
"...................!"
This was reinforced glass. I'd hit it pretty hard, yet it only got a small scratch. That trick was off the table. I'd have to find a new way.
While I was thinking, the Witch got into position and let out a roar.
"Kieeeeeeeeeee!"
"Too slow."
Now that I was paying attention, it didn't seem that fast. If I stayed calm I could dodge it. Blocking was a bad idea. If I tripped and fell, that would be the end. Dodging like a bullfighter was the best option.
"......................................."
Its arm swung naturally. I avoided the nails and retreated a few more steps, then struck hard before the Witch could pull its arm back.
"Kie."
"Ah, fuck!"
The hit landed cleanly, but the baseball bat got caught on the Witch's nails. It was ruined now, so I threw it away, pulled out my expandable baton to full length, and charged. The plan was to smash its head before the Witch could react. With luck, this blow could kill it instantly.
But the Witch twisted its body slightly, just as I had, and dodged the baton. It shook its arm to fling the baseball bat away and got back into stance.
"......................"
Our eyes met. Without needing to decide who went first, we both swung. The Witch with its arms, me with my baton. We each fought with everything we had to kill the other. But neither side dealt meaningful damage. The Witch's nails were too short to hit me while I dodged at full strength. My baton, on the other hand, was easily blocked by the Witch's arms. In the end we just kept facing off.
A stalemate where we only threw meaningless attacks through the air. Naturally I was at the disadvantage. The Witch didn't tire, but I did. And if those nails landed even once, my odds would plummet. A human couldn't fight properly while bleeding everywhere. I had to make a decisive move, and I saw the chance right away.
"Yaaaaaaaah!"
I swung the baton wildly, driving the Witch into a corner. Instead of defending, it seemed to be waiting for me to tire myself out while being pushed back. That's why it retreated so obediently. But it hadn't kicked the baseball bat far away.
"Kie!?"
"Hah, die!"
The Witch slipped on the bat and sprawled flat on the floor. Thinking I'd die if I missed this opportunity, I dove forward and drove my knee into its stomach. Then I frantically pinned its shoulders with my knees so it couldn't move its arms.
"Kie...! Kie.....!"
"Die, you bastard. Just die!"
A situation similar to before had been created. The Witch clawed and stabbed at my side with its nails to survive. I pounded its head repeatedly with the baton to survive. It hurt like hell because it was attacking the side the Boxer had already beaten, but I had no choice. It was better than getting impaled by those nails. I'd learned from the fight with the Boxer that hesitating over a little pain only led to greater suffering.
"You! Fucking! Bitch! Die already!"
"Kie....!"
Normally the Witch should have died by now. My poor physical condition seemed to be the reason it hadn't. And this fucking bitch was shaking her waist right now, trying to throw me off. Something even the Boxer hadn't tried. I was holding on by force, but the situation could reverse at any moment.
"Mom!"
My body suddenly floated up and I rolled across the floor. The Witch had thrown me off without caring about its own body. Of course it had injuries here and there because of that, but it was a zombie and I was human. I tried to get up to hit it with the baton again when sudden agony exploded in my solar plexus.
"Ugh!"
My breath caught and gastric juice burst from my mouth. My vision spun and pain made me dizzy. I knew why. The Witch had thrown itself at me and driven its elbow into my stomach and chest. Gritting my teeth like I was in a pro-wrestling match, I forced myself up. In the process its swinging nails lightly scraped through my hair. Thinking about what would have happened if they'd hit my head, I struck the Witch's head with everything I had. Its head whipped around and it fell backward. But I hadn't knocked it down completely, so I needed to create distance first. Then I'd go back in to finish it.
My decision not to press in was correct. As the Witch got up it was already swinging its arms wildly in front of it. If I'd charged to end it immediately, I would have been counterattacked right away. In the end the stalemate continued.
But we both knew how to break it.
"Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Come on!"
The Witch charged with a roar. Its speed was on a completely different level from the previous rush. Simply twisting my body wouldn't be enough to avoid it completely. I had even less intention of diving out of the way. I was getting more and more tired. If I dragged this into a long fight I'd lose. So I had to end it here.
When the Witch charges it thrusts both arms forward. If I could hit its head with the baton before those arms reached me, that would do it. That was one of the solutions written in the novel, and right now I thought I could pull it off.
"......................Ack!"
The strike succeeded. The Witch's head was completely crushed and it slumped down. But it wasn't a perfect success. The Witch had managed to land a final blow on me. With a trembling hand I released the baton and pulled the nails out of my abdomen. Ten neat holes had been punched into my stomach.
"Fuck......."
I picked up the baton again and pressed hard on the wounds with my free hand. Hoping it would help stop the bleeding, I slowly descended the stairs. There was definitely some plastic wrap on the second floor. Why plastic wrap? Simple. It was written in the novel. If the Witch's nails punched holes in you, first wrap the wounds with plastic wrap. After a few minutes the bleeding would stop for now, then you could take further measures.
So I tore open a pack of sanitary wrap and hurriedly wound it around my stomach.
"F-fuck....."
My bruised back and side screamed in protest. But to stop the bleeding I had no choice but to carefully press on the area while wrapping the plastic.
After I finished, the bleeding miraculously stopped not long afterward.
"Wow, it's still bright out."
I wanted nothing more than to rest in the PC bang right away, but I couldn't. The zombies were only getting stronger, so I had to finish cleaning up before that happened. After doing some simple first aid at the pharmacy, eating a meal with the supplies I'd brought in my bag, I gripped my baton and headed for the second floor.