Darren,Benjamin and Marcus all sat on rocks in the forest next to their camp. the afternoon sun was shining down on them and it was the height of summer which was shown by the greeness of the forest.

Over the years they had developed a camp here they even had a few hammocks stretched across the trees, they were bandits and always had been they had never known another carrerr partly because they enjoyed their jobs and also it provided a steady income, if they robbed a particually wealthy person they wouldn't need to hold up another cart for months. They were know throughout the various villages as the "triglyphs" this was beacause of the matching tattoos they had on their arms, It was a serious of black swirls which had dagger at the centre of them. All three of them didn't know where the marks had come from as they had all grown up being taught by their adopted father, they weren't brothers but they were all very close.

"We should've took the money off that monk" Marcus said, he was dressed in his green leather armour which was like a vest and it displayed his muscular body showing him to be the brute force of the group, he used a halbered and often joked in various taverns that he could cut a man in half with it. his hair was shaved off and his face showed him to be a man of power but it also showed his intellect was quite low as it looked like he'd managed two facial expressions, anger and confusion but the confusion was so great it looked like it was hurting him.

"We already renouned to the local sheriffs we don't want the church after us as well." Benjamin said as he slunk back aganist a rock. Benjamin was much the opposite of the two between him and Marcus, He favoured his speed over his strength, his clohes added him in this his shirt was plain black with a white crucfix across it, as before he was taken in by their adopted father he'd been to the holy land with his real father who was a knight but was killed in combat, the shirt was all he had left to remind him of is real father. On his hips hung his two daggers and his ammo belt for the crossbow he also weilded. He was also the only one in the group who wore a cloak, He'd had it a while and the end of it was ragged and torn he wore it in such a fashion that it covered his face just below his eyes. his hair dangled from his head in a messy fashion and it came down to below his eyes and overlapped the cloak slightly it was seperated into curtains in order for him to see properly whilst aiming. He also had an amazing knack of hiding any where, which the group took use off and often got him to clime a tree above the cart they were raiding just encase the owners of the cart decided to fight back

Darren was the leader of the three he wore a tabard that had a lion on it, making it easy for him to pass as a soldier in the army which was useful

in certain situations. He wore chainmail under this and he his arms where covered with plate mail, almost making it look as though he had metal arms. He weilded a sword and sheild and was very adept at fighting.

"Ben's right, Marcus put some more wood on the fire" Darren said

Marcus did as he was bid.

Ben was fumbling with his crossbow making sure the string came back smoothly. Darren was sharpening his sword whilst Marcus simply sat and watched the sheep they had killed earlier cook.

suddenly Ben snapt round and looked around the forest, he could thought he heard something approaching. His whistled to Darren and Marcus like a bird which was their code to be silent. Marcus' pained expression came back on his face.

Ben slid the crossbow back and slotted a bolt into place.

Many times before the local sheriff had tried to send men after them and they were about due with an encounter with some more men.

Suddenly the bush spewed open and a monk toppled to the floor in front of them. His hole body was covered in what appeared to be bites.

Marcus and Darren jumped up weapons in hand, Ben had to stop himself from firing the bolt straight into the heart of the monk.

"Jesus," Ben exclaimed "It's that monk we let go last night" he contiued as he stood up to expect him.

"Please, help me they-they're with the Devil" the monk gasped clasping his arms which was bleeding heavily.
"Nah, these two may be ugly but they aren't devil worshippers they're God fearing men." Darren laughed trying to add humour to the situation.

"Not them" the monk struggled he then indicated with his tumb behind himself, "There are people-posessed-with the devil, they are eating people."

Ben frowned and looked at Marcus and Darren, "I thought monks were supposed to not lie" he said

"I do not lie, look at my arm" Ben looked back at the monk and flinched backwards when he saw the ravaged limb, there was very little flesh on it and what was, was daggling of it, it looked as though his whole arm had been ripped of the flesh from the elbow down.

Darren suddenly went pale as did Ben. Marcus looked as though he was about to faint.

"oh" Ben gasped. "I don't think he is lying guys"

"Okay, Brother come here" Darren said bidding the monk to sit with them, "We need to chop of that arm"

The monk came and sat by the fire.

"Marcus you hold him down, Ben get a log from the fire and get ready to burn the wound."

they all knew the arm would have to be removed and then burnt to stop the monk from dying of blood loss or infection but Ben knew it was possible the monk could die from the pain.

Marcus held the monk aganist the rock and held his arm in place. Darren raised the sword above his head and swung down severing the arm just above the elbow.

The monk howled in pain, Ben quickly lept in burning the end of the wound which gave of a disgusting singeing sound and a smell that remined Ben of roast pork for soom reason.

the monk conitued to howl, whilst Macrus held him down.

Ben and Darren tried to comfort him and ease his pain as much as possible.

Eventually the monks cries resorted to small groans and he looked as though he was drowzy. Marcus let go of him and Darren and Ben let him rest. They wrapt him up in a blanket and carried him to a hammock where he fell asleep. Marcus offered to watch over him to make sure he was still alive.

Ben and Darren went back to the fire and began carving up the sheep, although they didn't much feel like eating after what had just happened but you had to eat whenever you could when you lived in the forest.

"I wonder what these people look like" Darren said as he carved some meat of the sheep. the meat fell off into the wooden bowl he was holding out, which he then handed to Ben.

Ben took the bowl and began to pick at the meat, "I don't want to know after what they did to him."

"I think we he wakes up we should take him to that monastry not too far from hear at least he can be with other monks".

Ben agreed and the two began to eat in silence.

after they finished they carved some meat off for Marcus and then took the bowl over to him.

The monk was sound asleep and had been for a while.

Marcus smiled as he took the meat and began to eat rapidly, "I wonder what he was doing out int he woods last night." Darren said looking over the monk.

"Well you can ask him when he wakes up."

As if on cue the monk opened his eyes and looked at the group, his eyes were different and seemed hazy, his skin seemed to be pale too.

Ben flinched backwards, "Jesus, you've got a habit of making me jump."

The monk took a deep struggled breath, "I don't have much time" he gasped.

"What are you talking ab-" Darren began

"Be silent," the monk interrupted, "The monks have the-peice of the-cross, I don't know why-but they said it was the only thing that could stop them"

Darren frowed but let the monk continue.

"They- are no-longer with God-they worship Lucifer."

Ben and Marcus exchanged glances and then looked to Darren.

"Why are they doing-" Darren began again, but the monks eyes went from hazy to empty, he was dead they all knew it they'd seen countless and created a few themselves.

"Oh great now we have a dead monk in our camp" Marcus said.

"That's not the only problem" Ben said, again his keen hearing had got the better of his friends. "There's several people approaching extremly fast as well, listen!"

The all went silent and they could hear the approaching footsteps of a people, people who were running.

"It could be those people he was talking about" Marcus whispered.

"If so it will be their mistake messing with us" Darren said drawing his sword and picking up his sheild.

Marcus followed suit and picked up his halbered, Ben got his crossbow ready and aimed it at the direction the footsteps were comming from.

They set up their normal formation, Marcus and Darren side by side at the front and Ben a few meters behind.

Then they waited, and waited. The footsteps got closer and closer, each step made Ben's heart quicken for the first time in a while he was scared, not just scared terrified he had no idea what to expect from these people. He never had bothered to much with religion but the thought of people worshipping the devil made his skin squirm.

Suddenenly the bush flew open and three people stumbled in, their clothes were typical of a normal village person but they had all been ravanged they all had bit marks across themselves, their eyes were completly white and their latest activites were visable by the blood that seemed to stream down their chins.

Ben let his first bolt fly, sticking into the first man's heart knocking him to the floor, and Ben assumed he was dead.

The other two rushed at Marcus and Darren.

Darren plunged his sword into the leading man's chest, Marcus swung his Halbered and brought down a crushing blow onto second man knocking him the the floor.

Darren was shocked when the man he had impaled on the end of his sword began to pull the sword towards him and slid along the blade, his mouth snapping at him trying to latch onto any open skin. Darren raised his shield and smacked the man on the bridge of his nose knocking him backwards. The man fell to the floor but began to get up again.

There was a twang as Ben let another bolt fly into the man he had shot originally, apparantly a crossbow bolt to the heart wasn't enough to kill him.

None of them had noticed that the monk had risen from his death bed and was advancing on Marcus. Marcus himself was preoccupied with the man he had knocked to the ground. The monk leapt at his back and sunk his theeth into his shoulder near the neck. Marcus screamed from the pain and feel bakcwards onto the monk.

Darren leapt forward a impaled the man he was fighting to the ground and turned to help Marcus.

It was too late their was two men on him biting and gnawing at his throat, suddenly his screams went from a deep howl to a high pitched squeal as his vocal cords were riped from his throat.

"MARCUS" Ben cried and a bolt flew out taking the man ontop of him in the head, it fell down next to him not moving again. Ben then threw his crossbow to the ground and drew his daggers and rushed forward at the man he had put two bolts into.

Darren rolled Marcus over and placed his foot on the monk and drew a dagger from his boot then thrust it into the monks brain. the monk went motionless. Ben leapt at the remaining man and dug his daggers into his chest just under his shoudlers he then jumped in the air and fell inbetween the man's legs toppling him over and throing him right over Ben's head. The man hit the gorund and was instantly trying to get up but Ben turned and plunged at the man and forced both his daggers into the man's head. A silence then settled over the camp, they had won aganist the thing but at a cost Marcus was dead.