Chapter 11:
Hamlet of the Damned
Unfortunately, the problem for future versions of their selves was already on them. The hamlet just outside the castle was in much the same state. Green fog descended upon it. The inhabitants already started their transformation. The group made their way through the streets as quietly and inconspicuously as they could. Screams could be heard echoing through the streets. Survivors somewhere nearby were fighting for their lives. Nicholas made sure to direct the group away from the screams; everyone assumed it was so they could avoid the zombies that surely were the cause.
Judy gripped Nicholas's hand pulling him around to look at her. "This way, Bard! The streets are wider, so we're less likely to be wedged in if theses..."
"Zombies," Nicholas urged. "You can call them that."
"Blasphemy! Necromancy is a forbidden art, sir." Judy responded.
"That doesn't make it any less possible," Buja groaned, leaning against a hitching post in front of one of the many shops.
"Are you alright, Mage?" Benjamin reached up to touch her face.
"Buja." Her strong gaze found him but she didn't pull away from his touch.
"My apologies, Buja" There was a concern in the cheetah's eyes. "You're cold and clammy. The spell has taken a considerable toll on you."
"Yes, we have to find a way out of this fog; I don't know how much longer I can hold the spell." Buja closed her eyes and shuddered against the pounding in her temple. "Whatever we're planning on doing, we must make haste, ma'am."
Aza took a few steps away from the group to keep an eye out. Gideon and Finn followed her example heading the opposite way, keeping an eye out for zombies. He was still close enough to the rest of the group to hear them talking, even in their hushed voices. They were working on what their next course of action should be.
"I agree with you about the wider street thing, Carrots. Just hear me out, the front gate is quite a distance from us and would require us to go down the main street. I can't help but imagine what we might find there." Nicholas pulled his hand away from her, gripping his knocked arrow.
"As much as it pains me, I have to agree with him, Captain." Buja groaned, her eyes still locked on the Cleric, who was finishing whispering a prayer. "That won't work on me, Friar. I don't believe in your goddess. She has forsaken me, as well as so many of my kind."
"There is love in her heart for all, even a dark heart." Benjamin offered her a calm smile. If it had been any other mammal, she might have been offended but something about his calm nature kept her relaxed.
"We cannot stand around for long, they will be on us." Benjamin gripped his broken ankh, drawing whatever comfort he could.
Finn gripped the baker fox's ear sharply. Gideon let out a grunt and looked up at the small fox. He was touching a finger to his lips, shushing him. Then he pointed down the shadow darkened street. Two figures shambled out of a doorway into the street. A tall cow dressed in a skimpy dress, one breast hung free from the ragged fabric. A courtesan, Gideon assumed by the way she was outfit. There was a ravaged patch on her chest, a bite mark. The other figure that shambled along with her must have been her client.
"Do you see them?" Finn whispered.
"Yeah, what should we do?" Gideon took a step back.
"Get a move on." Finn turned around on his shoulder to check the rest of the group.
"It's not like there's another way out of the kingdom, fox." Judy tried to keep her voice low, there was a frustration setting in.
Beyond, the Hyena stood vigilant holding her axe. Gideon could see another small group of shamblers filling up the mouth of a nearby alley. Some even wandered out into the street luckily, they hadn't notice the group. Aza sneered as she looked in the direction the bunny had suggested they go. A count of fourteen zombies now shambled the streets. There was no telling how many more hid in the shadows. That was when Aza saw steam rising up from a grate in the ground several feet away. A crude smile came to her lips as she regrouped.
"I thought you knew the city, Carrots. I was depending on your knowledge." Nicholas held an affectionate tone. It was less of an argument and more that he was just teasing her.
"We should take the sewers." Aza interrupted.
"The sewers!" Nicholas snapped around to look at the taller hyena. "Now, that's a plan."
"Then I suggest we go!" Buja pushed herself away from the hitching post swaying dizzily.
Gideon wrapped an arm around her waist helping to keep her steady. "I'm crap with a sword, so I can carry you, if you need me to."
"You may have to at that, round one." Buja leaned on him long enough to gather her balance.
Once everyone was ready, Aza led the group back around the corner, pointing towards the grate in the street. It was much further than she initially thought it was. A rather large group of shamblers teetered around the opening. Hanging from a wooden beam above them was a wooden sign, etched with a goblet wrapped up by a dragon, a tavern. It seemed that all the patrons had turned and were now looking for something else to quench their thirst.
"Twelve arrows," Nicholas whispered looking at Judy, who was quietly counting the zombies that lay ahead.
"Eight throwing knives," Finn said jumping from Gideon to the heavy cheetah's shoulder.
"Not much to go on. There has to be at least twenty of them between here and there." Judy sighed.
"Let's not forget about the ones hiding in the alleys between here and there." Aza added.
"Finn and Benjamin will cover our rear. Aza and Nicholas will take the lead. Everyone conserve your ammo until the very last moment. We really only have to focus on the ones around the grate." Judy ordered as she drew her sword. "I'll stay close to Buja and Gideon and keep them safe."
As the group moved down the wide street, it didn't take long for them to gather the attention of the zombies. These ones moved a bit faster than the ones in the castle as if they were heartier, or healthier. Nicholas waited until the zombies were almost upon him before he took them out. Not missing the opportunity to show off his skills, he made sure each arrow went through the eye taking them out for good.
Aza's argument was that cleaving them in half worked just as well. Her swings were violent and dangerous. Often times, Judy was put on the defensive, dodging the large steel axe as it was swung. What started off as defending the group, quickly descended into a game of who could kill the most zombies? Finn wasn't far behind in joining with the merriment. Gideon was impressed to see how fast he could throw a dagger and how deadly his aim was.
"Eight." Nicholas chided, knocking another arrow as they made their death march.
"Six, Seven," Aza said, jerking her axe free from the cold stone wall of a nearby building.
"You must stop this foolishness." Judy ordered stepping forward, long enough to severe the legs of a closing zombie.
"Three." Benjamin chuckled, drawing the ire of the captain.
"Good job, Friar." Finn joked, another dagger cutting down his fifth kill.
"Y'all need to keep your voices down." Gideon grunted under the growing weight of Buja.
Nicholas knocked another arrow sending it into the growing group shambling around the grate. Before the body even hit the ground, the rest of the shamblers turned and started towards the group. The bard's green eyes went wide. His smile faded along with his merriment. Aza felt her own smile fail as she slowed her pace. Judy bumped into her back, forcing her to look around the hyena's broad back. Her ears slipped back against her head. The group of zombies tripled in size and they were coming to intercept the small group.
"They're coming." Benjamin sighed, Judy turned to see another large group of zombies coming up from the rear.
Another thwang from the bard's bow thunked next to her feet. The bunny looked down to see the zombie she'd dismembered earlier was reaching for her feet. A surge of emotion flowed through her. These things were no longer the citizens of her city, just as her guards were no longer her subordinates. Nothing could be done for them, no more mercy could be offered.
"Carrots, I'm out!" Nicholas gripped her shoulder.
"Last one!" Finn said, throwing a dagger through a niche he'd found in the armor of a merchant's bodyguard.
"The portal is just right there." Buja grunted tiredly.
"Yes! But there's only thirty or so of them bastards between here and there." Nicholas snapped, pointing towards the group of zombies that were growing before them.
"Leave them to me." Benjamin said peacefully, gripping the broken remains of his ankh before stepping past the group.
"No!" Aza gripped his bicep pulling his back.
"Sister, you must have faith me, just as you have faith in Galstar. She will keep me safe and help me lead you all to safety." Benjamin smiled.
Aza hated the calm smile on his face, almost as much as she hated how right he was. When she let him go, her eyes followed him closely. At the first sign of him being in danger, she would be there to help him. The chubby cheetah touched the ankh to his chest and took a deep breath pulling his shirt up over his muzzle. Then he passed through the blue sphere that protected them. Judy watched in horror, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Gideon heard Aza start whispering a prayer of protection for her brother.
"Goddess, bless all of your children. Bring forth the light unto us in this our darkest hour. Turn away the evil from this place. TURN away the darkness from this place." Benjamin lifted the broken ankh in his hand.
A blinding light radiated from the splintered wood, a light brighter than the sun. It was a piercing heavenly light, so bright that the rest of the group was forced to look away. Gideon held his arm up over his eyes watching as the zombies before them halted in place as if they'd been turned to stone. The closest of them collapsed on the ground, turning to dust. The others were paralyzed in place.
"Come." Benjamin whispered to them.
Using the holy light, he guided his companions through the mob of undead to the grate in the street. Nicholas and Finn launched into action, pulling the heavy iron grate away from the hole. A foul smell greeted them, leaving Nicholas without a joke to accompany the stench. The cleric grunted, slipping down to one knee.
The heavenly light started growing dim. "You must hurry." He panted.
Gideon moved as soon as he saw Nicholas disappear into the darkness below. He pulled the hem of his shirt up over his muzzle watching the other do the same. Once everyone was covered, he lowered the Mage through the hole into Nicholas's waiting arms. He wasted no time in following them down. The light from Benjamin's ankh illuminated the sewer enough for the baker fox to watch Judy and Finn follow behind him.
Aza stood next to the Cleric watching as he started to succumb to the power of the divine. His face grew as pale as the dimming light from the ankh. She touched the side of his face and smiled at him.
"You did good brother. Let's go."
Without another moment of hesitation, she gripped his hand and helped him down the ladder into the sewers below. As soon as the light faded, the zombies were starting to move again. Without wasting another moment, the hyena lowered herself in, only stopping long enough to pull the grate closed behind her. One of the zombies managed to reach through the wide opening on the grate to grab her arm. Aza let out a gasp and slipped from the slick iron rungs of the ladder, falling. The weight of her muscular body tore the zombie's arm off, sending a shower of viscous blood all over her. The last thing Gideon could see before the holy light went out completely was an angry tight-lipped hyena peeling the fingers of the zombie's hand from her arm.