Corpse Harvest, Chapter 11:
Cain remained silent as his group, consisting of his daughter, Anissa, and Selena, briefly traveled with Owen's group before they hit the diverging paths on Angela's property. He had quite a bit to say, but he could tell that the other group was in deep concentration, and he did not want to break it as his group talked to each other.
"Okay, Renee and I are going to check on our home and barn," Cain said as soon as the two groups split.
"Then that leaves me to check on my house and Selena to investigate the mill," Anissa stated.
"What if things are like you said and there would be more of those freaks out there?" Selena asked with worry as her grip tightened around the small polearm she was carrying.
"We'd be able to see them before they would see us," Cain said confidently.
"Let's just hope there aren't any more besides the ones in our town..." Renee said sadly. She secretly wished that this could have happened to someone else, but she did not like those thoughts.
Fortunately, as they crossed the bridge to Flute Fields, they could see from a glance that it was empty. Everything was still except for the running river and the turning watermill wheel. With the areas they were searching already set in stone, the group split up without a word.
Renee disregarded caution as soon as her eyes met her home. She took off and ran towards the barn that contained the animals that she so dearly cared for.
"Renee! Be careful!" Cain called out as he followed her. Most of the fields were visible, but there was Moon Hill that blocked sight towards the exit of town. He doubted that any of the rotting freaks would be lurking past the hill, but you could never be too safe.
With the area near his ranch empty, it was all but confirmed that the dead were isolated to this town... or at least if they were elsewhere, they were heading somewhere other than south. But he preferred to think that it was an event isolated to Harmonica Town. He'd rather there be no zombies at all, but it was better for only one place to contain them rather than have them running wild.
He entered the barn to see his daughter happily gathering up hay to feed their animals. He couldn't help but smile at her joy as she placed the hay in the bins in front of their hungry animals, petting them as she spoke to them.
"Dear... this isn't what we came to do," Cain said with a sigh. While he was relieved that his animals were okay, searching for the lost people took priority. The animals would be fine.
"Please, dad?" Renee pleaded. "I've been worried about our animals since this whole awful thing happened! Can I stay while you go look?"
Cain sighed. He still couldn't resist his daughter giving him the puppy dog eyes, even with two decades of experience with them.
"Fine," he said, shaking his head as he left the barn. Renee was too excited to even say her usual "thank you, daddy!" as the "script" established by these events would dictate.
As he left the barn, he walked up the hill nearest to his house. This would give him the best view of the area. As expected, he didn't see the carpenters around anywhere. As he walked back towards his barn, he figured either they knew about what was going on but didn't know that anyone else made it, or they were clueless. In the former case, they could be staying in one of their homes.
Cain briefly checked out his home, but nobody was inside. It was likely that they went out into the forest, since the whole mess started yesterday, which was the day of the week that all the businesses at the Garmon Mines were closed. If they were still in the forest, it would take the whole village to find them...
As he was heading back to the barn to get his daughter, he heard Selena call out "Toby! I found him!"
Waves of sentimentality crashed against Anissa as she walked down the path leading to her family's farm. If this were any other day, she would be returning home from a trip into town to surprise her family with some fresh baked food from the inn.
Anissa stopped approaching her home when she saw the bloodstain on the ground near her home. Suddenly she was viewing the past from the porch of her house, shaking in fear as she laid eyes on her father eating her brother, her mother wailing in so much pain...
He lay there so still but then he twitched and got back up the blood was still pouring out but he was alive.
Anissa began to shake as she clutched her head and fell to her knees. She tightly closed her eyes, trying to push back the invasive thoughts in her head.
They both growled like animals and went towards mother who screamed and ran back to me and begged for me to do something but I could only stand there paralyzed.
Tears began to well up in her eyes. She wanted it to stop.
Eyes white like snow but colder than any winter constantly watching them as she ran ran ran away where her feet took her there were more white eyes that kept showing up.
She felt short of breath, and the low, shaking sobs didn't help.
Father your hat is lopsided and you are covered in blood please don't look at me just go away no don't bring Taylor here please don't make it stop make it stop make it stop just go away I never want to see you again why can't you stay dead please no don't go. Little brother immature but with a good heart but now everything is black and you're just a mindless beast please get out of the way we need in there don't make us do this no Jin please don't. Spear in the eye snow now stained red everything is still so still why did this happen why can't I cry this is my family... family... family...
Anissa opened her eyes and took a deep breath. The bloodstain was not there. She could only feel her knees and legs damp from the still wet ground. It had rained early in the morning. The blood was gone. Gone like her family. But the blood had never been there in the first place.
Having gained some form of composure, Anissa stood herself up and hobbled over to her home. She knew it was not a good idea to enter her house after that episode she just had, but she needed a towel to dry her dress with.
Her parents were arguing again as she entered the front door. There may have been an actual issue to begin with, but now it was just nitpicking and attacks on the other. Taylor was probably taking refuge in his room. Anissa walked past herself in the corner trying to keep her attention on the book she held but it wasn't working.
She found a towel and began patting down the wet areas of her dress as her parents began shouting now. It wouldn't last. It never lasted. One moment they were a normal couple, but the next instant they were at each other's throats. Then within an hour things were back to normal. Pick a side: get a divorce or stay together. Stop putting your children through this.
Once her dress was less damp, she threw the towel down and walked towards the door outside. She moved briskly, but tried to remain quiet. It never worked.
"Where do you think you're going?" her father asked sternly as he noticed her trying to leave.
"Why do you think she's trying to leave, Craig?" Ruth snapped at him.
"Shut up," Anissa hissed. "You're not real."
"What did you say to me?" Craig growled as he began walking towards his daughter.
"No! Go away!" Anissa yelled. "You're dead! Get away from me!"
She opened the door and ran out of her house, slamming it closed before he could follow her outside. She collapsed on her porch, her back against the house preventing her from falling down. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.
Get a grip on yourself, she thought. You can't be weak. You must be strong... especially in front of mother. Keep it together.
Interrupting her thoughts was Selena's voice calling out from the distance. "Toby! I found him!" she declared.
Anissa opened her eyes and picked herself up without any difficulty. She patted the dirt off of her dress and smiled as she ran a hand through her hair.
"Good... something good happened today," she mumbled to herself as she walked towards the watermill.
Selena sighed when she saw the area she had to search. It was just a watermill and a house... then some forest with who knows what behind it. She hoped that she didn't have to look for long, but she probably wouldn't be that lucky.
She started with the closer watermill. It had a small building and nobody was inside of it. The turning of the waterwheel resonated particularly well inside of this small room, bringing an odd sense of comfort. It enticed her to relax for a bit, but she couldn't. People were lost, and some of the dead still walked the earth, including her mother...
She quickly left that building and entered the nearby house. She didn't recall that anyone lived down here, so she was curious if this house was owned.
When she entered, it was completely obvious who lived here. Gaudy curtains and posh furniture suggested that this was Julius' home. An armoire filled with all sorts of flashy, garish outfits confirmed that he lived here. Selena blushed as she closed the armoire. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her- normally she knew better than to root around someone else's things, especially if that someone else was her current roommate.
'Roommate,' Selena thought bitterly. Why am I thinking of that term when things aren't normal at all?
A brief glance of the house showed that it was empty. So why was she still staying here? Something had seemed off about this place ever since she entered it. She paced around the room, searching for what exactly was bugging her.
It was the curtains! They were closed shut! That seemed very unusual to her. From the stories she heard from the other villagers, the first attack happened here, with plenty of screams that could be heard throughout the fields. If that were the case, would Julius not first decide to open the curtains to see if he could see what was going on? Nothing in here seemed abandoned in a hurry...
Selena shrugged. Maybe Julius was at work or out in town when everything went down. She was one of the last ones that arrived at the inn yesterday, after all. Maybe her brain was just making up excuses so she would loiter long enough to where that sofa looked so cozy and inviting...
Selena shook her head and left Julius' home before she lounged around and took a nap instead of doing her job. It was grossing her out with how lazy she felt.
Then she saw a young man by the river, a straw hat held via its strap on his back. The slightly shaggy mop of silver hair was unmistakable. It was Toby!
Selena turned towards the rest of Flute Fields, cupped her hands over her mouth, and shouted "Toby! I found him!" Well, she didn't really find him, he just happened to show up, likely from past that bit of forest.
'Toby! Is everything okay?" she asked as she jogged up to him. She noticed that he had a fishing rod in his hand, and it was already cast into the river.
"Never felt better," he said calmly. "It's such a nice day for fishing."
"We were worried when there was no sign of you yesterday. It's good to know that- wait, what?" Selena asked, confused. "You've never felt better? Do... do you know what's gone on?"
Toby did not respond and started to hum. He sat down as he waited for a bite on his line.
"Toby?" she asked.
"Toby!" she heard Renee exclaim from a distance. Selena turned to see the rest of the group running over to her location.
"Hello, everyone! How are we on this fine day?" Toby greeted them, though he did not turn his head.
"'Fine day?' What are you talking about?" Cain asked. "We're lucky that you're alive and you have no injuries!"
"Do you have any idea where the carpenters are?" Anissa asked.
"I don't want to answer those questions," Toby said quietly.
"Toby, please. You need to come with us. We have a safe area at the inn!" Renee pleaded.
Toby looked at the four trying to persuade him with a fierce glare. "I said I don't want to hear about this! I just want to fish!"
"But... Toby..." Renee whimpered.
"Please leave. I'm fine. Everything else is fine. Good day," he said calmly as he returned his attention back to the river.
"I should just drag his ass back to the inn," Cain grumbled.
"With Ozzie still roaming around?" Anissa asked. "I don't think that's the best idea. He doesn't seem to be stable."
"Hey! What's the commotion about?" they heard Dale shout from further up the path. The sound of his voice instantly elated them.
"Renee dearest, keep an eye on Toby!" Cain ordered her. She nodded, and Cain went up the path with Anissa and Selena. There, safe and sound, were Dale, Luke, and Bo. They all had backpacks on their backs, and Dale's big shaggy dog, Chief, was at their side. It looked like they had been in the forest after all.
"Thank the goddess that you're safe!" Anissa exclaimed.
"Safe?" Luke questioned. "Did something happen?"
"You bet your ass something happened... and you're not going to believe us," Cain said.
"Where have you three been?" Selena asked. "We've been looking for you since yesterday. Well, any chance we could get, that is."
"We went hunting yesterday since it was our day off," Bo said. "We decided to go camping as well."
"Didn't find a damn thing," Dale grumbled. "But really, what's going on here?"
"Zombies," Cain said with a downtrodden expression.
"Zombies?" Luke repeated. A wide grin appeared across his face. "Cool! I sure hope this prank will be as neat as it sounds!"
"Really, now? Did something actually happen or are you just pulling my leg?" Dale asked.
"It's the truth!" Anissa cried out. "It's so awful..."
"We had no idea where you three and Toby were. And now we do. Only... Toby doesn't seem to be taking things so well," Selena said.
"I... I don't think this is a joke," Bo said with worry as he noted the expressions on their faces.
"Well, there's only one way to find out if it's real or not... we have to see one," Luke said.
"And you will... they're all at a place where they can't get to us. All of us are staying at the Ocarina Inn," Cain said.
"Then we need to go right now! But if you're playing a joke on me..." Dale said in a threatening tone.
"Well... we can't just leave Toby here," Anissa said. "He seems to be in a deep denial about everything."
"No, he'll be fine," Renee said as she walked up to the others. "I talked to him a bit more. He says he'll keep safe... he's just not ready."
"Oh, you got through to him?" Cain asked. Renee nodded.
"Then we have no reason to stick around. Let's hurry!" Dale exclaimed.
With that, the group took off to the Ocarina Inn. Hopefully the news of finding the lost four villagers would raise the spirits of everyone else...
ALIVE
Angela, Anissa, Bo, Cain, Calvin, Candace, Dale, Hanna, Hayden, Jin, Julius, Kathy, Kevin, Luke, Owen, Perry, Renee, Ruth, Selena, the Wizard (not present), Kasey (not present), Molly (not present)
DEAD
Chase, Chloe, Colleen, Gill, Irene, Jake, Maya, Mira, Paolo, Pascal, Ramsey, Samson, Simon, Taylor, Yolanda
UNDEAD
Barbara, Craig, Hamilton, Luna, Ozzie, Phoebe, Shelly, Sue
LOST
Toby, Vivi
