Chapter 1: The monastery.
Occitania, Kingdom of France, October 1349
A ghostly silence enveloped the entire area: not a voice, not an animal sound, only the wind was audible. The only person present was a girl with long green hair and golden eyes, who was on the edge of a forest. There was a house not far from her. Approaching it she scrutinized it carefully: it was a one-story building, made of wood with a thatched roof and the hood of the stone fireplace. It was surrounded by a small fence, but there was a passage that could be accessed. She entered with an uncertain step, positioning herself in front of the entrance door. She tried to knock, but nobody opened.
"Is anybody there?" He asked, without receiving an answer.
She tried to open the door, but it was locked.
That they shut inside to protect themselves from the plague?
She wondered.
She moved to the back of the house. Here she found a woodshed loaded with logs, a large log placed in front of it with a hammer and a ladder on it.
It could be useful.
She placed it on the facade and climbed onto the roof. From there she could see the surrounding landscape, a bare and lifeless countryside: there were no men or animals, domestic or wild.
Looking to the left she saw a small window which was however barred.
Damn...
Using the hammer she had taken earlier, she broke the bars. Peering inside she saw a burning fireplace and near it a small pile of wood. She slipped into the crack, then landed on the floor with a leap. She looked around: a table with an overturned jug on it, some fox skins hanging on the walls, an overturned stool, a wooden beam that blocked the door (which she removed) and finally a trap door on the floor. She opened it and went downstairs via a staircase, finding hERself in the cellar. It contained a wooden barrel containing water, some sacks that she did not bother to check and finally the corpse of a girl with long brown hair, who lay supine on the ground.
She barred the door to prevent anyone from entering, then took refuge below to die ...
She thought, sad.
Outdoor exit she reached a small cemetery located near the house. There were only four tombstones, probably victims of the plague that was devastating France and the whole Europe.
A family of five people... Four died, the fifth buried them but remained infected and then died in turn. Judging by the fire and the state of the corpse in the house, this happened recently.
Leaving the house behind she started wandering the countryside. She should have been horrified by what she had seen, but she was used to seeing people die, especially at that time ... She had visited various European cities such as Venice, Paris, Florence, and everywhere death and desolation reigned. People died in the streets, in the houses, in the churches ... Both in the cities and in the countryside. And there was no escape for anyone: peasants, soldiers, churchmen, nobles, even kings and princes died of the epidemic. The inhabited centers had become open-air cemeteries, with piles of corpses scattered here and there. Besides her, only a few doctors were wandering around those places. After a quarter of an hour's walk, she came to a crossroads: on the right there was a small abandoned and ruined village, on the left stood a monastery. She went to the latter.
Arriving in front of the wall that surrounded the building, she met a young monk, with short blonde hair and black eyes.
"Hello, foreigner. What brings you here? " He greeted her cordially.
"I'm looking for a place to rest."
"Are you going to stay long?"
"Some day."
"I just need some company ... Follow me, please."
He invite her.
He led her across the lawn, then brought her into the building which had two floors plus a tower, making her visit the various rooms: on the first floor the prayer room and a crypt that contained a stone coffin with a crescent engraved on the lid ( it contained the founder of the monastery, who lived about three centuries earlier), the kitchen and the canteen, the second with the dormitories, and finally a library, which contained various types of volumes.
"This book is interesting ..." said the young woman.
"It is the Liber Chronicarum, an 11th century tome written by the venerable monk Simon, who built this building with the help of some confreres."
As she leafed through it the green-haired girl noticed an illustration that represented a strange flying object that darted in the blue sky over a green hilly countryside.
"What is that?" Asked.
"That? I honestly have no idea. Simon said he saw something in the sky, although he could never explain exactly what it was. "
Suddenly the young monk clapped a hand on his forehead.
"But where do I have my head? I haven't shown up yet! My name is Ewan."
"I am CC."
"A strange name ..."
"But it's mine."
"However, you are welcome as long as you want to stay."
"Thank you."
"Nothing. Some questions?"
"Where are the other monks?"
"Most died from the plague. Those few left fled."
"And why did you stay here?"
"Because it's an abandoned area. Precisely for this reason it is safer. I don't risk contagion. And to tell you the truth, you are the first living person I meet after three weeks. "
"Don't you suffer loneliness?"
"Solitude is better than the plague."
"True…"
"Would you like to take a look at the tower?"
"Tower?"
"Yup. It is the highest point of the monastery. From there the view is beautiful ... Or at least it was before the advent of the plague. Do you still want to have a look at it? "
"Why not?"
"Well, follow me."
Ewan led CC first into the corridor until he stopped in front of a staircase that led upward. They went up to their destination, a bare room with various windows that looked out. CC leaned against the stone balustrade, looking south, where she could see, in addition to the vast countryside, also a small village (certainly depopulated) and a river near it.
"It's not a good show, is it?" Ewan asked her.
"I've seen worse." The girl replied.
"Take away a curiosity ... How old are you?"
"20."
If I tell him my real age he could call me mad girl or witch ...
"Young."
"Already…"
"I'm 25 years."
But who asked him?
CC wondered, irritated.
The boy looked her up and down, licked his lips, then put a hand on her back. She said nothing, not even a word, let him do it without looking at him. Ewan, noticing any reaction, went down to the bottom-back, creeping under her skirt.
"But don't you monks have an obligation of chastity?" Green-haired girl asked ironically.
"I didn't even want the cassock… I was forced to start my ecclesiastical career by my parents, since my older brother was already destined for the career of arms. It happened five years ago, before the spread of the disease obviously. "
"And why should I offer you my body?"
"It's the price for my hospitality."
"Ok... I don't like the idea of spending the night in the open."
Ewan smiled at that answer, and suddenly lifted her skirt, showing off her firm buttocks.
"Know that it won't end soon ... I haven't been with a woman in years!"
That said, he started kissing her on the neck.
Evening came. CC and Ewan were having dinner in the canteen, a large room that housed a series of chairs and tables.
"So what do you think of my mashed lentils?" He asked her.
"Delicious!" The green-haired girl replied happily.
"Glad to hear it. It's the least I can thank you with, since you've quenched my cravings for hours and hours."
"You must have been very hungry ..." She commented, winking.
"I told you, I haven't been with a woman since I took my vows years ago."
Suddenly a noise, coming from outside, alarmed them.
"Is there anyone else here?"
"No…"
"So who or what made that noise?"
"I'm going to see ... You wait here."
That said, the young man stood up and left the room. Five minutes passed, then ten…
Why he don't come back? I don't wish he had come across any attacker ...
CC thought.
At a certain point she heard a human cry that froze the blood in her veins. It was definitely Ewan. What could have happened to him? The girl swallowed as she thought about what to do. A part of her told her to stay where she was ... But the other reminded her that there was a person out there who had given her hospitality, when she could have chased her away. She could not remain hidden while he ran who knows what danger. So she took courage and stood up.
Outdoor Exit CC began looking for Ewan, calling out loud.
"Ewan!"
She got no answer.
"Ewan, where are you?"
Still silence. Around her it was pitch dark, illuminated only by the light of the moon and that of the stars.
Damn ... Why he don't answer?
She asked herself anxiously.
She looked around until she saw a figure lying on the ground, face down. It was Ewan. Alarmed, she approached him, kneeling beside him.
"Ewan! What do you have?"
She turned it over, noticing only then his pitiful state: his face was swollen, his right arm broken as well as his legs. Whoever the attacker was, he raged ferociously on him. Watching him he saw that he was no longer breathing, he was dead. The killer had broken his neck. Panicked she stepped back but suddenly someone grabbed her by the hair and lifted her in midair. Terrified she tried to free herself but whoever took her broke her left arm with disarming ease. CC let out a heartbreaking scream. The stranger then punched her hard in the back, breaking her spine. Another scream came from the young woman's lips, in the grip of the most atrocious pains. Angry, the assailant threw her to the ground smashing her skull with a kick. At that point, for CC, everything went dark.
If CC had been a normal person she would have died. But she owned the Code, the only reason she managed to heal from any wounds. When she regained consciousness it was already dawn. The first thing she saw was Ewan's battered corpse, and on seeing him she remembered the events of the previous evening. Afraid, she sprang to her feet and looked around. Besides her, there was no living soul.
Who or what was the one who killed me?
She wondered, shaken.
She stood still for a few minutes, then looking up to the sky she saw a flying object with a discoid shape, similar to what she had seen on the book yesterday. The object fly into the sky, directed from north to south. in fear, CC ran as fast as she could. She just wanted to get out of that place, now abandoned by everyone, and infested with unspecified entities.