Chapter 4(Orphan)

Sister Mary smiled to herself as she saw Franklin sleeping in his orphan bunk for the first time in weeks. The trick with tickling his ears had kept him from ejaculating the entire day, and he was once more allowed to sleep in a bed rather than on the hard floor as punishment.

He sure was sleeping deeply, nuns had been tickling his poor little ears all day long, and it had really tuckered him out. It was so good to see him finally having some success in managing his problems.

Sister Mary smiled fondly at the sleeping child, and continued on her night patrol of the orphanage, to ensure no children were out of their beds.

The weather outside was frightful yet again, with crashes of thunder and screaming winds lashing the windows with rain. The light kept changing, with bright flashes of lightning brilliantly illuminating everything, only to then be swallowed up by blackness. Her eyes couldn't adjust properly to this ever changing light.

Sister Mary looked out a window at the tall razor wire perimeter fence in the distance that secured this high security orphanage, and looked out past this fence, at the endless dark forest beyond. This orphanage was in such a lonely location.

The closest settlement of any kind was over 200 miles away, through a dark forest full of dangerous carnivorous predators. This was by design as a security measure, as the inmates of this orphanage were considered high security, as they were the children of heretics after all.

The local population of this planet had not been happy to have the children of heretics on their planet at all, fearing that the mere presence of these children would spiritually corrupt them. The Orphanage of Strict Chastisement had therefore been built as far away from people as possible, in the middle of a carnivorous forest with often terrible weather.

The only safe road through this forest was guarded by Sisters of Battle at regular checkpoints. Other than this road any intruders would have to walk through 200 miles of forests infested with lethal carnivores. She doubted that anything short of a Space Marine could survive such a journey.

The thunder rumbled again, and Sister Mary felt sorry for the squad of Sisters of Battle that had to be out patrolling the fence line in this appalling weather!

Sister Mary shook her head softly and continued on her patrol of the orphanage interior.

The Orphanage of Strict Chastisement was built like a stone castle. It was surrounded on all sides by a deep moat, and it's stone walls towered over the surrounding forests.

To get anywhere near this Orphanage, anyone unwelcome to be here would have to brave first the deadly forests, then get past the razor wire fences, then get past patrols of Sisters of Battle, then scale the 50 meter high stone walls, and then get unseen past the nuns who patrolled the corridors at all hours of the day and night.

It was not just difficult. It was impossible.

Sister Mary was deeply glad of this fact, she hated the thought of anyone breaking in here to kill the children. Decades ago some of the more superstitious local citizens had actually formed a lynch mob and tried to attack the orphanage to kill the children. These locals didn't make it within 190 miles of this place before the Sisters of Battle were alerted to their presence and gunned them down to a man.

Really the only thing Sister Mary had to look out for on these patrols was children out of bed. She wasn't even armed with anything more formidable than a sturdy wooden cane.

The thunder sure was crashing loudly outside right now. Sister Mary could have almost sworn that that had just sounded like an explosion!

Well, the lightning was striking very close tonight. It was little surprise that it sounded like explosives were going off out there!

Sister Mary put the tempestuous local weather out of her mind and continued on with her patrol. This weather might wake up some of the children and make them more likely to get out of bed. She had to keep her eyes peeled for the little scamps.

The thunder roared louder than ever outside, and Sister Mary flinched from the racket it made. She went to a window overlooking the courtyard.

The rain was so heavy that she couldn't see a thing in the darkness. She peered squinting into the dark, trying to see anything at all.

Lightning flashed bright overhead for an instant, and just for a moment she thought she saw a colossal figure standing in the courtyard! Sister Mary flinched with shock, but the sky went dark again and she couldn't see.

She continued gazing at the spot she had thought she saw the figure, but when the lightning flashed again, no one was there.

She must be seeing things.

Sister Mary shook her head and moved away from the window. She was just getting jumpy for no reason.

For some minutes she walked through lonely dark corridors, trying to tune out the sounds of the terrible weather. She could hear the sounds of wind and rain ahead, and walked to find the main courtyard doors wide open.

She gazed out into the driving rain that filled the courtyard, wondering if someone had just gone out there. She couldn't see anyone, and closed the doors. Perhaps one of the children had gotten up and opened it?

She turned around and looked down, and then stumbled back in fright! There were wet bootprints on the floor! HUGE bootprints!

Sister Mary's heart was pounding, THIS wasn't the work of out of bed children!

Sister Mary fled, she had to find Mother Superior, had to wake the entire faculty!

She fled through the corridors, seeing huge wet bootprints everywhere! Someone or some THING was in here!

Sister Mary ran with all her might, and turned a corner to see another nun standing with her back to her ahead in the dark!

Sister Mary called out to the nun, but she didn't move.

She grabbed the nun by the shoulders and spun her around.

Sister Mary screamed herself hoarse and staggered back!

It was Sister Martha! Her belly was slit open! Her own intestines were tied around her neck, hanging her from a ceiling beam like a noose!

She was dead!

Sister Mary screamed shrilly!

Something was written on the wall.

It was written with Sister Martha's blood!

It said

FRANKLIN SEVENSON, YOUR FAMILY HAS COME

Sister Mary shrieked in abject terror.

The Night Lords were HERE!

***...

Franklin Sevenson woke up to the sounds of piercing female screams. He was disappointed to find that he had had another wet dream during the night.

The screaming continued, and the children all sat up in bed. This might be an emergency.

Groups of hastily dressed nuns ran past the sleeping bunks, running towards the sounds of the screaming, and then these nuns were suddenly screaming too!

This was something serious, the nuns might be in trouble!

The boys made a judgement call and got out of bed, running to give aid to their beloved nuns!

They could be punished later, they were not going to let their nuns be hurt!

Franklin and the other boys ran in perfect ranks towards the screaming of the nuns, ready to die to protect them.

They found the nuns standing in a crying huddle, looking at a scene out of a nightmare!

Franklin filled with holy rage, some monster had murdered one of his nuns!

The boys immediately formed up in a protective circle around the surviving nuns. If a murderer was at large then he would have to get past them first!

Then Franklin saw the writing on the wall...

FRANKLIN SEVENSON, YOUR FAMILY HAS COME

Franklin staggered as though struck, so horrified by these terrible words that it temporarily faltered even his perfect discipline.

Chaos Lord Luke Sevenson was HERE!

HE WOULD RAPE THE NUNS!

Fury filled Franklin, cold burning fury. He would die before he let that monster defile these precious nuns!

The boys moved closer around the nuns, trying to provide them with a human shield. They pulled the nuns back from this dangerous place, they had to get them to safety!

More of the nuns were running towards the commotion now, as more came to investigate the screaming. The boys opened ranks briefly and absorbed these new nuns into the protective huddle in their centre.

The nuns in the huddle informed the new arrivals of what happened. The new arrivals screamed too.

The boys moved straight for the nun quarters, methodically collecting every nun in the orphanage into their protective ring.

The weeping nuns clung to each other, and let the boys lead them.

The boys headed straight for the courtyard, and led the nuns out into the pelting rain.

The boys led the nuns through the courtyard to the drawbridge at the far end.

The boys lowered the drawbridge.

The boys led the nuns across the drawbridge and towards the barracks of the Sisters of Battle.

The boys found the barracks doors ripped off their hinges!

They entered to find a scene out of hell inside.

Beheaded Sisters of Battle filled the barracks! None of them were alive!

Written in blood on every wall was one word repeated over and over again

SEVENSON!

The nuns all screamed again.

The boys searched for weapons on the Sisters of Battle. But the bodies had already been looted for weapons by the villains who did this!

The entire barracks had no weapons or ammunition left anywhere inside it!

The boys did not linger.

They led the nuns to the vehicle depot, they would evacuate the nuns to safety in a vehicle themselves.

They found an armoured bus big enough to fit everyone inside, they loaded the nuns in first, then entered behind them.

Franklin tried to get in the drivers seat, but Mother Superior pushed him away and sat in it herself.

"Needs someone who knows how to drive," Mother Superior told him in a strained voice.

Mother Superior activated the bus, and drove off into the rain, heading for the forest road.

Hopefully they would encounter a surviving garrison of Sisters of Battle at a checkpoint somewhere along the forest road.

The bus found the vehicle gate through the perimeter fence blasted apart. They saw no one.

The bus drove through the ruined gate, and sped off down the forest road.

They heard demonic howls of rage off in the distance behind them.

Mother Superior accelerated to full speed and the bus tore down the forest road too fast for even Night Lords to pursue them.

For now at least they were safe, but a terrible foe now hunted them!

Apart from checkpoints, the nearest settlement was 200 miles away...

***...