Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Chapter 244: Necropolis

If Las Vegas had been known as "Sin City" prior to the outbreak of the apocalypse, due to all manner of degeneracy that was not only had, but celebrated within its boundaries. Than Los Angeles, the so called "City of Angels" was in reality hell on earth.

That was before the undead virus spread across the globe and wiped out nearly all of human existence. Now the city was a ruin, a grave, so to speak, for the millions of dead who walked lifelessly within it.

Yet, this Necropolis, as Lilith had renamed it, was far from being as decrepit and ruinous as the name implied. Quite the contrary, Lilith was a true visionary, an innovator like none of her siblings. She remembered what it was like to be human, and the luxuries she had enjoyed prior to the gift of death.

She also learned from the living human beings, which had opposed her in the initial days of the apocalypse. Her servants had rebuilt the damage inflicted upon the city. Even things such as electricity and running water were fully functional.

But more importantly, the Port of Long Beach was open. Allowing trade to flow between herself and her siblings in the East, and in doing so, strengthen the alliance that existed between Lilith and her siblings.

Of course, Necropolis was a city which no living being could even look upon without fearing having their flesh devoured by its inhabitants. Or one should say that this was the case for all living beings except one.

Sitting within the back of a functional taxi, a taxi driven by a common revenant, was a living human woman. Her appearance was concealed by a white veil which obscured her features. Yet her sinful body was quite openly displayed by the revealing and unusual choice of attire which she wore.

The woman remained silent as her companion sat by her side. This companion remained silent as the dead, for she was one of them. Though she was escorting this living beauty to the realm of the dead, she was by no means here to ensure the living woman's safety, rather, she was here to ensure her compliance.

Eventually, the taxi stopped in front of a skyscraper, which, like most if not all of the other buildings in Necropolis, had been repaired from the damage it had endured during the initial days of the apocalypse.

Damage, which the living woman had personally witnessed, happen. If she had not seen all the other buildings that had been restored to a state which denied any destruction had ever occurred, then perhaps she would be shocked at the sight.

Yet it was not disbelief that overwhelmed the woman as her companion helped her out of the taxi. But rather anxiety and dread. She stumbled and trembled with every step she took. Ultimately relying on her undead companion to shoulder the burden, aiding her with each step she took.

However, there were only so many steps this living beauty could take before her legs failed her. And they did so as she approached the entryway of this lavish building, where two Vampire stood at attention, clad in blood red armor, and wielding two great swords as their sanguine eyes pierced through the soul of the delicate meal that lay directly at their feet.

But before either of the two guards could make a move, the undead companion of the living woman hissed, the sound muffled by the white shawl she wore, as she dragged the living beauty to her feet, before eventually escorting her into the elevator.

Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours as the elevator climbed to the top floor of the tower where the penthouse lied. And when the doors opened, an alluring, and charming voice called out to the living woman who fell to her knees, and dusted the floor with her forehead.

"Valeria, My Pet… You're late!"

The so called Goddess of Elysium threw off her veil, revealing the staining of her makeup which had occurred from the tears which fell from her eyes. She tried her best to apologize for her tardiness, but the fear in her voice caused her to suddenly go mute half way through.

"Master, please forgive this lowly pet-"

Lilith did not make a move. There was no attempt to punish Valeria for her sins. Rather she had one of her own handmaidens, which looked identical to the shawl'd woman who escorted the Goddess everywhere she went, pour her a glass of thick red liquid which she silently drank from.

When Lilith's eyes saw the liquid, she knew what it was immediately. Blood, fresh human blood. No likely drained from one of her many citizens who was shipped off to Necropolis to act as a food source for the dead.

Elysium was not the only human farm that existed across the former borders of California, but it was by far the largest. And was most certainly the only one that was permitted contact with the outside world.

Lilith was, after all, a visionary and an innovator. So many of her siblings were stagnant, no longer capable of growth. And why was this? Because they had foolishly depleted their food supply. After all, the more human flesh an undead consumed, the faster their rate of growth was.

They would not die a second death of starvation, but the limits to their powers would forever be capped should they never feast upon the flesh and blood of a living human being. Lilith had solved this petty little problem.

How did she do this? By sparing millions of human survivors, and breaking them up into smaller "ranches" where they were led to believe they were safe and protected from the undead.

Where they were properly cared for until the time came for them to be butchered for their blood and meat. Elysium was the largest of these farms. Its prosperity was a lure to all other living beings out in the wasteland.

Those other settlements which struggled could find refuge in Elysium, only to further add to the food surplus of the undead within Necropolis. And naturally, Valeria, the so-called goddess of these human cattle, was fully complicit in this conspiracy.

After all, it ensured her own personal survival, and she was afforded every luxury she could possibly desire. The only downside to this arrangement was once a month, she would have to kneel before Lilith and give her a status report on what was happening among the communities of the living.

It was not surprising, Valeria possessed something the Undead did not. The trust of other survival communities.

By spreading her trade routes long and wide across the western United States, Valeria had established a vast network of information on the living human settlements, which eventually made its way back to Lilith. Information that was invaluable to her plans to surpass her siblings, and become the foremost powerful Horde King in this world.

And because of this, Lilith was willing to forgive Valeria's tardiness, just not without an intimidating display first. She walked over to a nearby freezer, where a severed human limb was, and pulled it out. Biting into its flesh right in front of Valeria's eyes and consuming it raw before tossing it aside.

Once she had done this, Lilith leaned down and spoke to Valeria, the stench of blood and human meat fresh on her lips, as she forgave the woman for her sins.

"I'll forgive you this one time, little pet… But make me wait again, and you will end up as my meal, just like this petty little prey has. You may think that your are irreplaceable, but that is merely your own delusion. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Valeria broke out into tears and kowtowed once more before Lilith, thanking her for her mercy.

"Thank you! Thank you, Master, for sparing this little pet's worthless life! I promise you I will not make the same mistake again!"

A wicked smirk appeared on Lilith's flawless face as she grabbed Valeria's chin and raised it so that the living human woman could meet her eyes. After doing so, she was quick to ask the question which had been plaguing her as of late. And in doing so, revealing the reason why she had brought Valeria all the way to Necropolis to meet with her.

"So… This Zane Graves you fought at Tahoe… What is he like?"

Valeria was shocked that Lilith was asking about Zane, of all people, causing her to scoff in disdain before speaking her true thoughts about the man.

"He's a nobody, he just got lucky, that is all!"

Evidently, this was not the answer that Lilith was looking for, as her yellow eyes flashed with rage. A nobody? How could Zane be a nobody? He was mother's favorite? Or so her siblings liked to claim! And if he was really their mother's favorite, then she would need to tear him apart, or force him to kneel before her and worship the ground she walked on.

Hence, Lilith made a peculiar demand of Valeria with a smug smile on her flawless face.

"Is that so? Well then, I guess you will have no problem inviting him to Elysium for a diplomatic visit, now will you?"

The astonishment on Valeria's face when she heard Lilith speak was truly a laughable sight to behold. What happened next would be a conspiracy against Zane, one that he would, out of ignorance, walk right into.