Chapter 5

It was curious to him how the night had a way of using half-shadows to make a benign looking area as sinister as the lair of a murderer. The sides of the squat structures cast long and deep areas devoid of light and perfect for the hiding place of one of those creatures. He moved quickly but quietly, remembering what it was like to walk through the deadly unknown of the Dry Canals. The washbasins passed on his left, fading out of his peripherals. Then he heard a type of sound that he would forever associate with one action.

He rounded in on the noise, using it to navigate through the small village to the outer houses. It could only be described as a slurping akin to what a heavy liquid sounded like as it splashed out of a small container. Just before the brown weatherworn wood of the girl’s cart loomed into view, he wedged the still-burning torch in-between the broken shutters. The stacks of grain sacks and baskets full of produce blocked anything further from sight and he was forced to get closer.

With one foot shuffling silently front of another, he hunched down to keep his profile hidden by that of the cart. One of the baskets had fallen from its place before he arrived and he used the cart to steady him as he stepped over it. A small hand touched his own and he nearly yelped in surprise. His free glove flew to cover his mouth and he bit down on a finger to keep from breathing heavily.

He crouched down and whispered into the cracks between the wooden sideboards. “Stay hidden, make no sound. I am here to help, Bridget.” The trembling hand squeezed his fingers and he continued stalking to the front.

The back end of a grey donkey loomed into view. It wriggled violently and Aiden could see the squatting bodies of the undead. He rose enough to see as they ripped into the donkey’s internals again, this time putting too much force into it and causing the corpse to tumble to its side with a sickening thud.

One of the undead glanced his way and he held his breath, certain that it had seen him. Red dribbled down its face and it bit down on a long swath of intestine. Then, strangely, it looked away from him. Almost as if the creature had dismissed him. Unable to ponder the oddity of the situation, he crept back to the cart and began lifting the first barrel from the back of it.

Two, then three and four, he stacked the barrels carefully one on top of the other and her leg became visible. Miraculously, she had wedged herself so deep into the pile of goods that she had been completely hidden from view. That didn’t mean she should wait all night with the undead prowling about looking for her. If they could hear then they would have surely heard her screaming earlier and would come back for the midnight treat.

Her boot shuffled toward him and he leaned in as far as he could, offering his hand so that she might be pulled out. The girl was young, far too young in his estimation to be driving a cart alone. At least she had the sensibility to wear pants instead of a dress. Wordlessly, he picked her up underneath her arms and lowered her to the ground. No more than ten, she came just past his waist.

He checked the undead again, relieved to see the pair digging into the animal. Aiden led her from the area, plucking the torch from the shutters as he went and continuously looking back over his shoulder and around to either side. The noisy smacking of fresh meat hitting dead tongues echoing off the wall to his left abruptly stopped. Silent encroached in on him, burying him with the promise of danger. Briget’s fingers inched into the palm of his glove and he forced himself to meet her moist brown eyes. She sniffed quietly to herself and raised her chin a little higher. Touched by her resolve, he forced himself to give a reassuring nod.

*SMASH!* Aiden jumped back a couple of feet and looked around wildly. *SMACK-SMASH!* A stray panel from one of the wooden shutters nearby was ripped from side to side by a sudden and fierce breeze. He almost laughed, clamping his jaw together as he remembered the undead somewhere nearby. The donkey, He asserted to his doubts. Those things are still eating that donkey. The wind died down again as if to let the silence mock him openly. The sounds of feasting had long since stopped.

He tugged on Bridget’s hand and continued forward cautiously. The circular arrangement of the buildings left little cover for them to reach the well and he intended to use what was given to them.

Small fingers dug into his arm and he looked down to her. Her whole body trembled as she pointed to the left where a shadow partially hid the form of an undead. Was it really waiting there for them? Could it be possible that these things knew tactics? Aiden licked his lips and considered the situation. If they ran now, that thing was close enough to grab her from his side, but if they staggered, it may distract the creature long enough to allow at least her to make it to the doorway. What he would do then wasn’t clear, but Aiden had already given himself up for dead once and come through unscathed. It was entirely possible he could do so again.

Kneeling to her level, he took her by both arms. “Bridget listen to me,” He whispered. “I’m going to run out there and distract it. When you see me pass those washbins,” He pointed the objects so that she would look and know where they were. “You run like no tomorrow to those big wooden doors.”

Immediately she began shaking her head, “No, no, don’t make me do it alone.” She whimpered, so near to tears it wrenched at him. So young, like his step-daughter at home.

“Look honey, you’re a strong, smart girl. You hid from them back there and I know you can do this.” He searched her face for some sort of agreement. “If we run together, it will go for you. It will take you somewhere and do to you what it did to your donkey.”

She sucked in a terrified breath, her eyes wide brown ovals in the night and he wondered if he had gone too far by mentioning the possible and very real outcome of the situation.

After a moment or two, her head nodded slightly and it was enough for him to put the plan in action. He removed his pack and slipped the straps over her slender shoulders, thankful that he had taken out the heavy items earlier when setting up camp inside. If nothing else let it be that the creatures take a hold of that pack first and grant her a few more seconds to escape. He tightened the straps.

“Take this in with you, when you get to those doors you bang and yell as loud as you can so they know to open the doors. You scream when you reach those doors. Do you understand?” His voice went raw with his own fear, but he locked eyes with hers. “Remember, when I reach the washbasins you run to the doors.” He said, but it was mainly to himself. Aiden sucked in deep breaths of air to try and calm his heart but to no avail. Then there was nothing left to do but run.

The safety of the building’s shadow fell away as he ran. His eyes tracked the undead form as it slithered into view and cut him off near the wash basins. Aiden skidded to a halt, turning his body so that he would be able to block it if it ran for her. The creature’s gnarled claws grasped out toward him as it lunged and he sidestepped. Showing a surprising agility, it recovered and sprang at him again.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her small form streak past. Good, he thought, let that be something I’ve done right. The creature pulled back and turned to look. Panic coursed through him, he was the target, not her! Reaching down he wrenched one of the washbasin’s side planks loose and brought it crashing down onto the thing’s skull.

It tumbled forward and he didn’t waste a second. Aiden took off past it when another skulking shadow broke off from the building to his left and tackled him. The familiar smell of putrid flesh burned in his nose and he rolled the thing over. He wriggled his trapped hand loose and turned its gnashing teeth away from him, holding the head at an angle. His legs were mostly free and he put them to work, digging his knees into the ground and pushing the creature down. One of its free arms pounded at his back wildly.

A few feet away, Bridget pummeled the door with her tiny fists, crying and yelling for the doors to open. Long moments past and the wooden entryway remained closed, condemning her to a slow death. That was unless Aiden found a way to help her.

The flicker of flame caught the corner of his eye and he looked to his right, seeing the torch burning low on the soggy ground. He let go of its head, winding back and punching its face with as much force as he could manage. His hand free he groped for the torch end. The creature hissed and snapped its jaws toward him, right as he brought the torch, flame side down, into its face. The thing howled and wailed, flailing not to kill but to escape the endless heat. Its hair sizzled up instantly and the fire spread.

Aiden didn’t stay to watch the rest of the show. He tossed the torch aside and began banging on the door for it to open as well.

“Let us in you bastards!” He bellowed, rage making the pain of his knuckles against solid wood miniscule compared to the knowledge that they had been betrayed.

Behind him, he heard the undead roaring still, even as it burned, wriggling around on the ground, leaving a trail of black ooze in its wake. He turned and saw as the one he had hit began standing.

He stopped banging and drew his long dagger, preparing to fight it off as long as possible. The whoosh of air being sucked in and the loud creaking of the wooden door being opened stole his attention. He grabbed Bridget by the arm and barreled into the building, pushing past the crowd of people and stopping only in the middle of the room. His hands went to his knees and he panted. Aiden stared at his trousers where the brown saliva of the undead had wiped off his glove and stained the fabric. Shaking, he pulled off the gloves hastily and threw them to the ground. He turned his hands over and over again, seeing for the first time how his hands had dried out with the skin cracking.

“Alden, let me see you.” Came Mira’s voice, her assertiveness distinct from the other women’s cries and shouts of joy. Bridget was safe and he was alive, what could Mira possible want with him now?

Wordlessly, he glared at her. “Why didn’t anyone open the doors immediately when Bridget reached them?” He demanded, yanking his hand free from her grasp. Her shoulders fell and she gestured to the crowd behind him. Spinning on his heel he shouted, “WHY?” Everyone but the small baby in the corner quieted. The child cried and the mother cooed it back to sleep.

“Why didn’t any of you open the doors? She was there for minutes before I could make it.”

“We couldn’t be sure it was her..” Came Richard’s weak excuse.

“You what?” Aiden growled, taking a step forward. “You what?” He repeated.

“We couldn’t know it wasn’t them trying to trick us!” A woman exclaimed and he whirled to face her.

“Are you so simple minded as to think that they can do those things?” He glared at the audience, receiving few who would meet his gaze. “Whatever they were before, they are not human any longer. Wake up and realize what’s going on around you. The whole world is coming under attack and no one is prepared for it!” He snarled. “You think you have it so tough, there were maybe four of them. Only four! Other places, Haybridge and Willowpine have been completely destroyed. There are warning signs and blockades to keep idiot people from trying to go there. Everyone there was dead!” He paused to take in a breath.

“There were only four of them?” One of the villagers asked and he replied with a nod.

“What do you expect us to do then?” A man snapped angrily. “Take our pitchforks and shovels and hunt them down?”

The blocked window to the left shuddered and beyond it, the sound of clawing and growling could be heard. The villagers reacted like a herd of frightened cattle, huddling close to one another and taking a few collective steps backward.

Aiden mulled over what the man had said. What did he want them to do? His eyes wandered past the people to the door behind them and to the coils of rope that wrapped around the large wooden block that secured it.

“We set traps.” He responded, ignoring the screech of rage from behind the shutters. A few winced at the noise but he didn’t flinch. The only reason those things would be screaming is because they could not find a way in. It was a good sign.

“What sort of traps?” Mira asked. She had been waiting in stunned silence as he lectured them. Now she came to stand beside him.

A plan formed in his mind, Aiden gave her the sort of grin that a hunter gave to a compatriot as they set up for the kill. “How much rope do you have in this village?”

Richard exchanged words with his fellows, coming to an agreement. He stepped forward. “We’ll help you, if you know what to do. Everything we got you can use and we can start at dawn when the critters leave.”

“You’re sure they never come out during the day?” Aiden asked.

Richard gave a confident nod. “Never.”

“Then we start at dawn.”