Chapter 2

The next day, to Fenwither's surprise, Wibear's condition suddenly started taking a turn for the worst. The small wound on his left arm, instead of getting better like his other scrapes and bruises, had turned a purple hue, and the tingling he had previously felt from it had changed to sharp stabs of pain all over his body. He was sweating heavily, had developed a fever, and was suffering from rapid and irregular heartbeats. Fenwither couldn't explain it- he had been up to this point doing very well, and the Infirmary Keeper couldn't think of a reason for this sudden drastic change in his patient's condition. He tried the best he could to make the Rat comfortable, but there was very little else he could do for him.

Roan, Sergeo, and Vilnos had visited the Infirmary a number of times, to see how Wibear was doing. Each time they visited he always seemed to be worse than the previous visit. At the exact same time Wibear's condition was worsening, the feelings Sergeo was getting from him were growing more ominous as well. He still couldn't identify what precisely was being felt- only that whatever he was feeling was fast approaching. They checked in on him again, and, like the previous times, his condition was worse than the last time they'd visited.

The trio watched as Fenwither put a paw on his patient's head to feel his temperature again. The Infirmary Keeper felt it, and then frowned sadly. "Still burnin' up." he said, gazing at Wibear. "For the life of me, I can't explain how or why this is happening."

"Zombies." Sergeo suddenly said, with an expression on his face like he was momentarily off in the clouds. The other three looked at him. He remained like that for a few seconds, and then looked back at them. "What?" he asked, when he finally seemed to notice they were staring at him. "What are you looking at me for?"

"You just said 'Zombies'." Roan said. "What's a 'zombie'..?"

"I said what?" Sergeo asked, confused.

"'Zombies'. That's what you said." Vilnos said.

"I don't remember saying that," Sergeo said, frowning. "What's a 'zombie'?"

"That's what we were wondering," Fenwither said. "What are 'zombies'?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Sergeo said, shaking his head. "I was just looking at Wibear for a moment, and contemplating what he could be suffering from, and then I noticed ye all were staring at me."

"Odd," Fenwither muttered. At this moment Wibear groaned and opened his eyes slightly. "How do ye feel?" the Infirmary Keeper asked him.

"Terrible," Wibear said, his face contorting for a moment due to another sharp stab of pain. "Absolutely terrible."

"Do ye have any idea what could have happened to ye to cause this condition?" Fenwither asked. "Something you might have come across, or some event that occurred?"

Wibear shook his head as much as he could without stirring up the stabs of pain. "I just remember them," he said, and shivered. "Them..." he said again.

"Who is them?" Roan asked. "You've mentioned them before, but never really been able to tell us who or what exactly they are."

"They, I, It . . . It was..." The Rat sighed, and his face contorted again from another stab of pain. "I still can't say it," he said, dejected. "I just . . . can't."

"That's alright," Fenwither said, adjusting the blanket. "Ye can tell us some other time, when ye're feeling better."

"Does the word 'zombies' mean anything to you?" Roan asked, wondering whether the odd thing Sergeo had just said and then couldn't remember saying might somehow be connected to the Rat's condition.

Wibear paused for a moment. "I don't think..." he started, and then stopped when another stab of pain went through him. "Zombies . . . Zombie . . . No, I don't think..." He winced as a stab of pain came again. "I'm-I'm sorry. I don't know anything like that." He winced again, and then sank back into the Infirmary bed, his eyes starting to close.

"Poor creature," murmured Fenwither, patting Wibear's paw. Vilnos, Roan, and Sergeo decided to leave and let him try to get his rest. They started for the door.

Wibear slowly began drifting back into unconsciousness, thoughts flying around and through his mind. Zombies . . . Why couldn't he talk? What was stopping him..? Suddenly vivid thoughts shot through his mind. He felt a shock, and suddenly could remember every detail of not only that night, but also his terrified running through Mossflower Woods. He remembered his friend Minkaw going down under those things, those . . . zombies. That was what they were called. It all made sense. He could nothing for his friend, who screamed loudly as the zombies tore into him. He could only scream and run- and run and run and run . . . Into Mossflower Woods, away from the camp, away from the carnage. He'd stopped for a breather, and was wondering what to do next. Had any of the other members of the horde also managed to get away? He had no idea. Despite the terror he had experienced, and still felt in his mind, he'd slowly begun to drift off asleep. Right before he had fully nodded off, he'd heard a rustling nearby. He'd jolted instantly awake, und peered into the darkness. The rustling continued, and he was just able to make out a dim outline of some creature, and was going to call out to them when he smelled it- the rotting, fetid odour of death. He'd started slowly backing away from the sound, when he's suddenly heard another sound in the direction he was heading. From the increase of the smell, he had been able to tell that another one of the zombies was coming from that direction too. Almost immediately he'd heard more rustling, and the rotten stench of decaying flesh reached its unbearable maximum as he found the zombies all around him, slowly closing in on him. He'd had absolutely no time to think. They were almost upon him when he'd suddenly made a last-ditch attempt to get away- tackling the nearest one, pushing them out of the way, and making a break for it. But as he'd started running away from them, one of the zombies in his path bit into his left arm. He'd cried out in pain, but kept running, and eventually found himself alone in the forest. But this time he had not stopped, and kept running and running and running until he was at the doors of Redwall Abbey. And then he'd woken up here in the Abbey Infirmary. Everybeast here was real nice, and they had been caring for him.

He remembered the bite mark on his left arm, and how originally it was tingling. He thought about how the tingling had suddenly turned into the sharp stabs of pain, and then suddenly something clicked in his mind. There was no other explanation, he realised with utter horror- he was turning into one of them! Into one of the zombies! He had to warn the Abbeybeasts! He couldn't let what happened to Minkaw and the rest of the horde happen to them here too! He had to warn them...

He suddenly sat up in the bed. "Wait, I must-" he cried out, startling Fenwither and the other three, who looked back over at him. "I-They . . . are . . . must-" But he couldn't stay conscious, no matter how hard he tried to, and fell back into the bed. He felt like he was falling backwards into a river. He couldn't get any other words out, and slowly he drifted down into the river, further and further into it until it had almost completely covered him and only had his eyes left to wash over. His eyes slowly followed his body, and finally, with not another sound he eyes fell beneath the surface of the river and he drifted down into its abyss. His actual eyes closed finally, for their very last time whilst he was alive.

Fenwither shook his head again at the poor creature, and adjusted his blanket again. Sergeo shivered involuntarily at something he still couldn't understand yet, and the three young 'uns left the Infirmary. Fenwither decided to settle down into his chair, and take a short nap...

It was lunchtime again at Redwall Abbey. The three young 'uns were having lunch in the Orchard in the same spot they had sat yesterday. Roan was looking over at a nearby tree, where Eleadir could be seen having his lunch by himself again. "I wonder if we should invite him to sit with us...?" he said, thoughtfully. "He looks awful lonely."

"Oh, let 'im be," said Vilnos, taking a bite out of his apple. "You know he's still upset about Abbot Marnian. They were very close, those two."

"I suppose so," said Roan, and went back to his own lunch. He looked over at Sergeo and noticed that the Otter wasn't eating. "You all right, Sergeo?" he asked. Sergeo started, and then looked at him. "What did you say?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you were all right." Roan said. "You seem awful distracted lately."

The Otter frowned. "It's these feelings I keep getting." he said, nibbling a piece of cheese. "They keep getting worse, and then there's that thing I said up in the Infirmary- Zombies. I still don't understand what happened there, and-" He was cut off by the sound of a squeaking pack of the dibbuns running by, playing their game of Here Come The Big Bad Bogey Beasts.

"Woooooooo..." Levo said, wiggling his fingers. "They're comin' to get ye, Barbra! Wooooooooo!" Barbra squeaked, and the whole group of them ran off together laughing and giggling.

Sergeo and the other two watched as the dibbuns ran off playing their game. "It's good to see somebeasts are having fun," Roan grinned. "I remember that game and- Sergeo? What is it?" Sergeo had gotten this haunted look on his face. "Another feeling again?" Vilnos asked.

"This one is different. This one is-" The Otter suddenly looked up towards the Infirmary. "Something's happened," he said, a hint of panic in his voice. "Something..." He shook his head. "We need to check on Fenwither and Wibear." The other two nodded- so far their friend's odd sensing ability had proven accurate, and if something had happened, they should definitely check it out. The three got up and made their way to the Infirmary.

As the foot of the stairs, they narrowly avoided running into Brother Melidos, the Abbey Recorder. He was carrying multiple scrolls. "Well, hello young 'uns!" he said, looking at them through his spectacles. "Where are you three off to in such a hurry?"

"To the Infirmary, Brother," said Roan. 'We're going to go check on Brother Fenwither and his patient."

"Well, it's right that they should be checked on." Melidos said, chuckling. The three looked at him with some confusion. "I just heard some great crashing and yelling sounds coming from the Infirmary." he said. The three young 'uns looked at each other, gravely worried expressions on all of their faces. "I would have gone to check on them, but I'm somewhat occupied at the moment." He indicated the scrolls. "Let me know if he needs anything up there." And with that he continued walking off with his scrolls.

"Let's go," Vilnos said, to which the other two nodded and they all made their way up the stairs to the Infirmary door. At the door they stopped and listened. Inside they could hear a strange sound, like that of somebeast eating a pie or something similar. They opened the door slowly and looked inside.

The Infirmary was chaotic. Various medicines and equipment were all scattered about, some things broken and in pieces, others still mostly together but askew in some way or another. The bed that Wibear had lain was knocked over on its side, the pillow and blankets nearby. Brother Fenwither's chair was knocked over also, and to the side of it...

The trio gasped when they saw what was beside it. Beside the chair was Wibear. The Rat had his face plunged into the Squirrel Infirmary Keeper, and was devouring his stomach and chest messily. Brother Fenwither had this look of utter terror upon his dead face, or at least what remained of it, which had also been deeply gorged into. "Zombies." Sergeo said again, but this time he seemed to remember it after he had said it. The thing that had once been Wibear the Rat had not at first notice them, but at the sound of Sergeo's utterance he- it- heard them, and stopped eating to pull its head up and look at them. Its face was covered in the squirrel's blood, which ran down the Rat's ragged tunic and splattered onto the equally blood-covered floor.

The zombie made a gurgling sound, and started slowly lurching towards them. They screamed, closed the door, and tore down the stairs to get Brother Melidos and the other Abbey Elders. Sergeo now had an answer to what the ominous thing he had been feeling the last few days. And it was joined by another one- this was only the beginning.

Happening at the exact same time as this, outside Eleadir had finished his lunch, and was wandering about in his thoughts. He was just passing by the East wall gate when he heard a noise from the other side which startled him and caused him to stop and stare at it. Who could that be? "Hello?" he said, addressing whoever was there. "Who is there?"

He heard the noises again. "Who's there?" he asked again. The noises continued. Who was it? he thought again. He decided to open the gate. "I'm opening the gate," he called to whoever was on the other side. When he had opened it and seen who was on the other side, he was speechless.

There on the other side of it was, to his surprise and amazement- old Abbot Marnian, standing there outside the door. He was gobsmacked. How could this be?! He looked at the old Mouse again to check to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. The Abbot had died. How could this be?! "Abbot Marnian!" he said, still shocked, "How...? Oh, I've missed you so much," he ran and gave the Abbot a warm hug. Or at least, it was warm from his end. Something seemed wrong with the old Mouse- something . . . The Abbot responded to this hug by biting deeply into Eleadir's shoulder. Eleadir screamed and swiftly stepped back, recoiling in horror from the dead Abbot. Now that he looked closer, he could see what was wrong. The Abbot was covered in dirt, his flesh was a deathly hue, and there was a clear smell of decay emanating from him. Eleadir's blood dripped from the dead Abbot's face.

The Abbot began to step slowly towards him. He screamed again, clutching his bleeding shoulder, and hastily ran back into the Abbey and bolted the door. He had to warn the Abbey Elders. Something absolutely horribly wrong was going on. With the door securely bolted, he ran back into the Abbey, yelling to raise the alert for everybeast.

Back at the East wall gate door a slightly knocking sound could be heard from the other side of the door. It was followed by a low groaning sound. The zombie Abbot was trying to get in...