"Ahhh, guys!"
Carmilla heard the panicked edge to Laura's shout and turned around immediately to see a humanoid skeleton burst out of the ground in front of a prone Laura and menace her with a rusty sword.
Her world became narrow. There was Laura, the skeleton and the distance between her and them. She raced forwards, shovel in hand. Someone yelled out Laura's name, it might have been her but that wasn't important. What was important was how long it would take to get to Laura versus the time it would take for the sword to slash downwards.
Her eyes locked onto the skeleton's rusty sword. It was short and curved wickedly, Carmilla dearly wanted to believe that the dirt covering it indicated that its edges had been dulled in however long the sword and its owner had spent under the hilltop cemetery, but the cynic in her knew otherwise.
The blade began to slash down. Too far away! Her narrowed world now seemed to slow down as well, much like it would when she had vampiric speed to aid her. Her running gait was a lope. Legs moving as long as possible with every stride just like a predatory big cat on the hunt. She had to get there, she had to get there.
Laura shrank down away from the blade, providing what in Carmilla's adrenaline rush felt like an extra second but was probably much less than that. She dived forwards in desperation, shovel extended outwards in her hand. The shovel travelled over Laura's body and the blade clanged off of it with a metallic clank!
She breathed a sigh of relief and then just a breath from her short burst of hyper, desperate exertion.
The skeleton turned its empty eye sockets to Carmilla as she lay on the ground next to Laura, shovel still held protectively over her body. Even without eyes in its sockets it felt like it was glaring at her balefully. It raised its curved sword again, this time clearly meant for her.
But then with a sickening crunch it had the point of a shovel embedded into its rib cage. Carmilla looked from the skeleton to Laura and saw that Laura had taken the opportunity to find her own shovel and stab with it as hard as she could. The skeleton jerked back, eye sockets fixed down on the shovel that was now inside of it. It dropped the sword and reached for the shovel with both hands in an effort to pull it out.
With a cry Carmilla picked herself up and swung as hard as she could. Her shovel connected with the skeleton's skull and smashed it right off its shoulders. It flew off the edge of the hill to crash down on the grass land somewhere below.
Laura jumped to her feet and pulled her shovel out of the now headless skeleton's ribcage. Bits of bone came out with it and the skeleton collapsed the ground, hopefully dead for good this time. Carmilla hugged Laura tightly for a moment before urging her towards the sarcophagus.
"For one second, I look away for one second! And suddenly there is a monster right at your feet. You know, maybe your dad had the right idea after all. I'm getting you a suit of armour, a tank to sit inside, a moat of lava, not water and if anyone but me tries to cross it-"
"I hardly see how its my fault if a literal undead skeleton decides to burst out of the ground in front of me." Laura complained back to her.
"Of course it's your fault. If three hundred years of experience has taught me anything about monsters, its that they always go for the cute ones first, cupcake."
Carmilla kept her eyes on Laura as they bickered, searching for any sign of injury.
"Ahhh, guys?" Amaya said from the sarcophagus.
"I'm pretty sure 'Ahhh, guys' is now my line. I earned the copyright when a skeleton came out of the ground and tried to kill me."
"I don't think that was the only one." Amaya continued, ignoring Laura and gesturing around the hilltop cemetery.
Carmilla tore her eyes away from Laura and looked around the cemetery.
The whole ground shook around them and in puffs of exploding dirt more skeletons with rusty blades and glaring eye sockets burst out of the ground.
The dirt that covered the skeletons gave them a brown appearance at first. But as they moved the dirt sloughed off revealing them to be a pale white. There were at least a score or more in total, coming from all directions in a circle around the sarcophagus. A few had small circular shields and all but one had the same kind of curved sword the first one had. The odd one out carried a menacing spiked metal mace.
They moved towards them in slow but purposeful strides, the ones closest to the sarcophagus would be on them in a matter of moments.
They were surrounded and had only shovels for weapons.
"Well shit." Carmilla said.
"What do you know Horny, it turns out those rumours of curses and hauntings were right after all. Just instead of it being the house it's the cemetery packed with all the fun."
She looked at Laura.
"We still need a bone."
Laura gestured at the oncoming skeletons.
"Well it looks like we're in luck."
"Aha, good one, at least you'll have jokes a dad would cringe at as we get cut to pieces. Another silver lining is we won't have to travel far to find graves for our dead selves. Go help Horny get the sarcophagus open, I'll hold off the undead anorexics."
Laura looked like she was about to debate but one look at Carmilla's eyes was enough to dissuade her.
Amaya stood over the sarcophagus searching for a way to open the lid. When Laura reached her Carmilla could hear the Satyr anxiously babbling about her attempts to open it. She had first tried to slide the lid open without success, then ran her hands along the sides in an effort to find a groove. She'd found one and had pressed her fingers into it to try and lift the lid off but she wasn't strong enough to budge it. At that point she had spotted the newly rising skeletons and raised the alarm.
While she babbled the skeletons moved ever nearer. Carmilla focused on the closest two, one to her right with a sword and shield and one to her left with just a sword. She was never much for waiting for her opponents to strike first.
She went at the one on the left, shovel held outwards like a spear. The shovel was longer than the curved sword and she was faster than the slow and measured skeletons. She smashed the shovel into its face before it could react and it crumpled in a heap. The one on the right tried to take advantage of the opening with a vicious horizontal slash but she ducked under it and brought the shovel point down on its foot, cutting everything from the ankle onwards off. The skeleton dropped both the sword and the shield to clutch at its ruined foot with its hands. It hopped away, eye sockets glaring at her angrily as it did so.
The next closest skeleton was on the other side of the sarcophagus. Coming up behind Laura and Amaya as they attempted to use their shovels as leverage to get the lid off. She yelled at them to make way and slid over the stone coffin feet first.
Her momentum carried her into something of a sliding mid air kick into the advancing skeleton's sternum. The skeleton was knocked prone on its back and it dropped its sword. It slowly turned over on its stomach and began to push itself back to its feet.
Carmilla got to hers first and used the shovel like a club, smashing the flat part of it down on the skeletons skull. The skull collapsed into bits of bone and dust and the skeleton lay still.
She concluded that crushing the bone and going for the skull seemed like the best way to go about fighting these things. She looked around for the next closest one. It came at her from her left, much nearer than she expected. This time it was the skeleton that struck first, a vertical slash at her face. She blocked it with the handle of her shovel and pressed the handle forwards into its skull face, stunning it for a moment and driving it back.
But it wasn't dead yet and another had appeared to her right as well as one coming up on the other side of the sarcophagus towards Laura. She couldn't hold off them all.
She readied a swing at the one she'd stunned but pulled out of it as she heard or perhaps felt yet another skeleton stalking behind her. It slashed at her back and she twisted away. Unfortunately this placed her directly in front of the one coming from her right and she just barely brought her shovel up to block its slash. Now recovered from her blow the formerly stunned skeleton went for a stab at her midsection she had no time to avoid.
But the stab never reached her as another shovel came out of nowhere and flashed downwards edge first, chopping the arm holding the sword off and onto the ground.
Laura followed up by swinging as hard as she could at the skeletons skull and it crumpled to the ground.
Carmilla rounded on her angrily.
"I told you-"
"You need help." Laura said forcefully. "We got the lid moving, Amaya can get it open the rest of the way. I'm helping you now." She gave her a face that Carmilla knew to mean there would be no further argument.
It turned into something of a dance after that, one of slashing curved swords and swinging shovels. She noticed that all the skeletons fought not only similarly but exactly the same. The exact same movement for a vertical slash, to raise a shield upwards or to stab. It was as if the skeletons had only a small set of actions they could take and simply chose the action best suited to what they were doing at the time. More like automatons than monsters.
Not for the first time she marvelled at Laura's bravery. She doubted Laura had ever been in a fight like this, well, to be honest, she had never been in a fight like this either technically. She rarely had needed a weapon before. She had fought sword wielding enemies a few times in her life though.
But despite her inexperience Laura battled hard and with a great deal of grit. Her movements were clumsy and she stumbled many times but she never gave up. Perhaps all that yoga was useful after all and wasn't just something that made it a visual pleasure every time she crossed into Carmilla's vision, particularly when she was wearing a tank top, or was sweating, or was sweating while wearing a tank top. Yeah she really preferred that state of affairs-
Focus Karnstein she chided herself angrily as a skeleton almost got the drop on her.
She swung her shovel again but this time her target got a shield up and it clanged off harmlessly. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that the skeleton with the spiked mace had finally joined the fray. It was taller and moved differently to the others, with more flexibility and intelligence. It advanced around the sarcophagus towards Laura's back. Laura hadn't noticed it, being in a rather engaging fight to the death with the skeleton in front of her.
Carmilla swung again at the skeleton with a shield and this time connected with the skull, it came off at the shoulders and landed next to Laura. She shouted as she did so.
"Laura behind you!"
Laura was too busy with her skeleton attacker to comprehend what she said, she beat it away for a moment and looked towards Carmilla questioningly. She took a step towards her and promptly tripped on the decapitated skull. She fell at the exact moment the tall skeleton behind her swung its mace. The brutal looking weapon missed her and instead utterly annihilated the skeleton in front of her, its right arm and ribcage disintegrating from the blow.
She wanted that mace.
She extended a hand to Laura to help her up.
"You really make clumsy yet brave such an interesting combination, sweetheart."
She strode towards the tall mace wielding skeleton.
Unlike the rusty curved swords the mace gleamed in the overcast air. A black ball studded with silver spikes. The tall skeleton raised its mace towards her and opened its arms outwards to its sides. A very human gesture that set it apart from the other skeletons further. Its challenge to her clear in both movements. The skeletons around them gave them a wide berth, slowly moving towards Laura instead.
Well once challenged like that she rarely backed down from a fight. She launched forwards, now confident in her superior speed. But the tall skeleton surprised her, it was much more nimble than its brethren and dodged with graceful skip to avoid the blow. The mace swung in the same action and she barely ducked backwards, one of the silver spikes drawing blood from her cheek as it passed by. Now more cautious she crouched down slightly and held the shovel defensively in two hands.
The mace flashed towards her again, a downwards strike from its right hand to her left side, she didn't trust the shovel to block it so instead she dodged to her right and stepped forwards in an attempt to get a swing at its face. But again its speed surprised her and it followed up its downward swing with backhand aimed at her rib cage. Remembering the way it destroyed the skeleton attacking Laura she threw herself to the ground desperately to avoid it. She rolled onto her back and swung the shovel as hard as she could at the tall skeletons legs. The blow swept it off its feet and it crashed to the ground next to her. She raised her shovel into the air and stabbed downwards onto the tall skeletons right arm, cutting it off and relieving it of the mace.
Gleefully she wrenched the mace out of the now disembodied arm and with a vicious cry brought it down on the tall skeletons body.
The tall skeleton's ribcage disintegrated just like the previous one. Though unlike the previous one a ear piercing shriek ripped out of its grinning skull as it happened.
The rest of the skeletons stopped in their tracks, motionless.
"Hah, I knew that one was important. And that I wanted this mace."
She patted it affectionately, careful to avoid the spikes.
She felt a wild spike of adrenaline. It had been too long since she had bested an opponent in a hard fight. She felt flush with triumph, challenge her it had thought to. Countess Karnstein did not get bested by some walking husk of a creature, whether she be a vampire or not. She let the elation wash over her. Her body tingled with adrenaline. Without thinking she found herself looking over at Laura. She looked so good, breathing heavily and smiling at her. A hunger of a kind made its presence known, if she was still a vampire she was sure she would be growling.
She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes, clamping down on feelings that could only be described as primal or even bestial. Where had that come from? She shook her head and tried to clear her mind. Funny enough looking at Laura helped with that as well.
"You okay?" She called out to her.
Laura nodded.
"I've almost got it." Amaya said and with a yell of effort she finally pushed the lid off the sarcophagus.
She reached down into the stone coffin and with a crunch she came back up with a bone in her hands and triumph on her face.
"What is that a humerus?" Laura asked.
"Who cares? Its a bone and we should get..." A rustling sound behind Carmilla interrupted her thoughts.
She turned around and saw the shattered bones from the tall skeleton's ribcage float off the ground and into the air. White dust and broken pieces of bone connected and reformed in the air before settling back down into the body and locking back into place. Around the cemetery the same was happening with all the skeletons they had put down. The sole exception being the first skeleton they had encountered whose skull was apparently having trouble finding its way back from the bottom of the hill.
The tall skeleton sat up with another ear piercing shriek and the unmoving skeletons sprang back to life. The tall skeleton waited for its right arm to reconnect and pointed at her specifically with its fingers, eyes on the mace.
It wanted it back.
"Going." Carmilla finished.
The skeletons resumed their slow and purposeful advance from all directions. But this time they were taking the time to form a solid line around them, once they attacked it would be all at once.
Carmilla looked to the gentle path they took up the hill. But the tall skeleton followed her gaze and its pointing fingers went from her to the path. Immediately a large group of skeletons began heading in that direction, blocking the way to an easy exit.
"Carm." Laura called to her from the sarcophagus. "I think I have an idea."
Well that was either fantastic or terrifying, probably both. She took one more look at the tall skeleton and ran to the sarcophagus where Laura and Amaya were arguing about something.
"Have you lost your mind why would we do that? That's even if we could, this lid is seriously heavy and what purpose would it serve?"
"It's not too heavy, the two of us can drag it while Carm holds them off. We only have to get to an edge, there isn't even that many to get past if we go that way." She pointed towards an edge of the hilltop. The advancing circular line of skeletons was indeed at its thinnest in that direction.
"Laura, honey, dragging what please?" She'd only heard a small part of it but already previous experience screamed this was going to be one of those plans.
Laura tapped the stone lid of the sarcophagus in response.
"Your plan is to drag this lid to the edge of the hilltop, while skeletons attack us from all sides, how would that help in the slightest? What would we even do with it once we reach the... oh."
Realisation dawned on her and her eyes widened.
"Laura no! That is insane, this is an insane plan. Do you have any idea how risky that would be, that slope-"
"Is steep not sheer, we can make it work." Laura said. "Does anyone else have a better plan?"
"I don't even understand what the plan is!" Amaya said.
The skeletons were closing in, they would be on them in a matter of moments.
Carmilla took a breath. Laura was right and once again an insane plan of hers was the best one they had. She nodded to Laura and looked to Amaya.
"Do as she says Horny, help her drag the lid in the direction I'm going."
Without giving Amaya a chance to argue she charged towards the skeletons between them and the hilltop edge Laura had pointed to.
She heard grunts of effort and a screech of stone sliding over rock behind her as she charged. The mace made short work of the skeletons in front of her. One tried to use its shield but the mace smashed straight through it, ruining the shield and disintegrating the skeleton behind it.
Once the way to the edge was clear she helped Laura and Amaya with the lid. It was incredibly heavy, made of hard solid stone. She doubted even the three of them together could have lifted it but dragging was possible. Finally with their muscles close to breaking point they reached the edge. With an almighty effort they tipped it over to have its inside facing up and left it partly over the side of the hill's steep slope.
"Okay so uh, now we get in." Laura said, trying to inject her words with as much confidence as possible and failing miserably.
The sarcophagus curved slightly inwards on its inside, giving it the appearance of a rather shallow bath tub. Amaya finally worked out Laura's plan.
"Oh my God! No this is crazy, this is what a crazy person would do. No way, you're insane."
Carmilla couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yeah she has that effect on people. Don't worry, take it from me I've been saying that since the first plan she involved me in. We're both still here and it was only that one time were one us actually died."
For some reason that didn't seem to put Amaya at ease.
Carmilla leaned over the edge at the slope. In Laura's defence it was steep not sheer like she had said, but only just. If this went wrong none of them would last long bouncing against the hard rock. But then again they wouldn't last long against the horde of advancing skeletons either. She pointed to them and to Amaya said.
"Either get in or enjoy looking like those guys by the time they're done with you. Your choice."
Ashen faced Amaya sat in the lid. Carmilla nodded to Laura.
"Okay now you."
Laura panicked.
"What? No we get in together, Carm, we stick together. If your thinking about doing some kind of heroic self sacrifice shtick you can think again!"
Kissing Laura was really becoming the go to course of action when she was panicking, Carmilla thought to herself wryly. Unfortunately this one had to be quick, the skeletons were almost upon them and this time there was nowhere to go.
"Cupcake, I have no intention of staying here at the rock and bones party, its just someone needs to push the lid off the rest of the hill before getting in."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"So I should just stop talking and get in so we can go."
"That would be good yes."
As Laura got in Carmilla turned around to find the tall skeleton with her eyes in the advancing horde. It had divined their plan with the sarcophagus lid and was hopping up and down angrily, exhorting its brethren to advance faster upon them. But luckily it seemed slow and purposeful was their fastest, slowest and average speed all in one.
She gave the tall skeleton a wide snarl of a grin and raised the mace over her head in a farewell wave. She threw it off the hill as far as she could.
Guess you don't get your mace back after all asshole.
She crouched down behind the lid and pushed with everything she had. The lid slid over the edge and Carmilla barely had time to dive in as it began tumbling down the rocky slope.
And so began the high speed sled ride from hell.
The world turned into a multi coloured blur as the hard stone slab of a lid crashed down the hill at what felt like a million miles per hour. The indent wasn't deep enough for them to fit comfortably inside and staying seated as the lid bucked and shook violently took all of their efforts. It was as if the sarcophagus lid was upset at being used in such a ridiculous fashion and was doing all it could to get revenge by throwing them all to their deaths. Despite the intense disorientation Carmilla tried desperately to keep a hand pressed down on Laura's shoulder, as if somehow one hand could counteract every other force battering them about as their stone sled continued its path down the hill.
The lid hit a jutting rock and twisted violently. Carmilla felt herself being thrown out the side before Laura grabbed her arm and barely they both stayed in. This couldn't go on, sooner or later their luck would run out and they would all be thrown out of the lid and smashed against the hard rocks. Crazy thoughts began entering her head, mostly wild ideas on how she might keep Laura alive if they did get thrown, each one as unlikely to work as the last.
And then abruptly and to her complete surprise they reached the foot of the hill. The lid hit one last rock at the bottom and finally it shook them out. They flew a few metres forwards and landed hard in a heap on the soft grass.
Against her every expectation, they had made it. Carmilla took a few breaths where she lay and reached out a hand towards Laura. The movement was mimicked by Laura and their hands met on the grass.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Yeah" Laura said back, the word come out between heavy breaths.
"I'm fine too if anyone cares." Amaya was somewhere near them but Carmilla could quite find the strength to move her head to find the Satyr.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, huffing out hard breaths as they lay on the grass.
"Horny, tell me you still have the bone."
"I still have the bone, rude pale lady."
Laura let out a slightly wild sounding laugh.
"Well okay then, I Laura Hollis, declare this operation a complete success. Everything went absolutely positively completely as planned."
Perhaps it was the left over adrenaline but this struck Carmilla as hilarious and as the horde of thwarted skeletons, the tall one at their head watched on sullenly from their hilltop cemetery, all three of them began laughing up at the grey skies above them without a care in the world.
