Chapter 17: Silas

A few hours later, the three mercenaries reached the clearing where the battle took place between the Zombies, Robots, and Bears of Alpine. There were bullet shells littered about, the majority of the grass was burned, and two distinct mounds stood. One had a strong stench to it, while the other had no scent at all.

"Do you think the Zombies will come out if we dig up their mound?" Gavin asked, looking at Aonghus.

"I'm sure the Bears knew what they were doing," Aonghus replied. "Let's have a look around the clearing before we attempt to dig the mounds up."

Matthias nodded, and went to search the area around the clearing. Gavin made use by examining the bullet shells while Aonghus looked carefully at what remained of the grass for any signs of movement. They went about this for a while until Aonghus found a couple of rope-strands near the edge. Gavin and Matthias immediately came over and all three of them examined the strands closely.

"The edges are black," Gavin said after feeling the ropes with his gloved hands. "Like they had been burnt off."

"Well, there is the strong scent of gas in the air," Matthias said. "I'm guessing that one of the Robot Pyros got knocked down in the fight, and so one of the Scouts used his Flame Thrower to free himself, and then the weapon got buried along with the rest of the Robots."

"That would explain why these ropes don't have any burn-marks," Aonghus said, looking at the second set of rope-strands.

"But where did they go? How did they slip away without being noticed?" Gavin turned to the mounds again. "Unless one of those sons of b*****s buried under there killed them."

"That might be possible, lad," Aonghus said gravely. "And if so, we came all this way for nothing."

"Now hold on a minute," Matthias said, looking at the ground near where the rope-strands were found. "The grass around here is bent, like someone was crawling around."

Aonghus snapped his finger in exclamation. "That's how they got away! They crawled their way out of the clearing!"

"But we don't know that for sure," Gavin said, then he shrugged his shoulders. "Though that would explain why the Bears didn't see them."

After Matthias had examined the grass further, he started to move away from the clearing. Aonghus and Gavin followed him, though they were both confused. Matthias said nothing as he moved along, and then he stopped as the trees started to thin out.

"What's wrong, Matthias?" Gavin looked at his companion with a mix of worry and puzzlement. "Lost the trail?"

"No, I haven't lost the trail," Matthias explained, and pointed to the area beyond the trees. "It's where the trail leads to that worries me."

Ahead of them stood a large mansion surrounded by graveyards and dried-up cornfields. A few warehouses and sheds stood about the place, and a tall clock tower loomed across from the mansion itself, which had a large stain-glass window with a big 'R' in the middle of it. The three mercenaries didn't have to think long to know what they were looking at.

"Damn! That's Mann Manor!" Gavin exclaimed.

"Gerald told me this was where Merasmus got most of his Zombies from. You think the Scouts went there?" Aonghus wondered, turning to Matthias.

"It would seem so, judging by these crawl marks we've been following," Matthias replied. "Unless I'm mistaken."

Gavin scratched his head underneath his helmet and said, "Either something was chasing them, or they were driven by madness to come to this godforsaken place."

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While the three mercenaries decided to make camp before planning the next move, Mickey and Patten were hiding out in the library. The Zombie Scout that wanted to eat them had followed them there despite how quietly they had crawled the night before. When they saw the ghostly lights of Mann Manor, the Scouts were initially afraid to go there, but then when they heard footsteps coming behind them, they ran across the dry cornfield and into the open front door of the mansion. After locking it, they ran around the house till they found the library, locked the double doors, and hid on top of the shelves. They heard the Zombie Scout tearing the place apart with his Boston Basher Bat, but he never seemed to come near the library. After a while, the Scouts lost track of time, and soon fell asleep. They were awoken when a loud crash and bang told them that the doors to the library had been broken in.

"You knuckleheads ain't even worth the effort," the Zombie Scout said, stepping over the knocked-down doors. "I know you're hiding in here."

Panicked, the two Scouts lay very still as the Zombie Scout searched behind every bookshelf. When he found nothing, the Zombie Scout climbed up the ladder, which hadn't been knocked away, causing Mickey to silently curse. Unfortunately, he said it loud enough for the Zombie Scout to hear, causing him to look up. When the Zombie Scout saw Mickey lying down on the top of the shelf, Mickey cried out and ran to the edge of the shelf. Meanwhile, Patten crept backwards towards the window, where a moonless night sky shown through. Then suddenly, Patten hit something behind him, but he was too scared to turn and see what it was, because the Zombie Scout was climbing onto the top of the bookshelf. He didn't see Patten, but he started to walk slowly towards Mickey, who didn't have anywhere to run.

The Zombie Scout laughed triumphantly. "If you had just let me eat your brains back at the camp, you wouldn't be in this situation."

"Mickey! Jump!" Patten shouted, causing the Zombie Scout to look at him.

At first, the Zombie Scout grinned and ran toward Patten, but then his eyes widened and stopped. Patten was confused, and then he looked behind him and saw why. A ten-foot tall skeleton was standing on the shelf near the window, wearing a torn black cape, leather gloves and boots, a Jack-o-Lantern for a head, and carrying a large battle-axe. Immediately, Patten jumped down as the giant skeleton swung the axe and decapitated the Zombie Scout. Mickey followed Patten's example, and the two ran out of the library, but were soon cornered in a room with a large gaping hole near the wall.

Then a white ghost emerged out of the hole, which frightened the two Scouts causing them to turn back, only to see the giant skeleton standing there. It held its axe out towards the ghost, and a strange blue substance left the axe and became a part of the ghost, which changed from a white blob into a see-through Scout. In turn, the Scout thanked the giant skeleton and vanished. Next, the giant skeleton turned to Mickey and Patten and moved towards them.

"Well I'll be damned," the giant skeleton said in a deep throaty voice, looking down on the two Scouts with interest. "I've never seen men with all their flesh entirely on them since the days of RED and BLU, unless you two work for Merasmus."

"Uh, no," Mickey said, trying to sound brave. "We do not work for Merasmus. In fact, we're escaped prisoners of his Zombie army."

This seemed to puzzle the giant skeleton, and then he raised his axe. "Do not lie to me, mortals, or I'll cut off your heads before you speak another word!"

"We're telling the truth," Patten spoke. "If we worked for Merasmus, we wouldn't be terrified of you."

"I suppose, but even Merasmus is afraid of me." The giant skeleton lowered his axe till he was pointing it at Mickey and asked,"So what are you if not servants of that damn wizard?"

"Well," Mickey paused, and then said, "We're Scouts, for starters, and we're from Harvest."

"Harvest?" the skeleton man looked away for a moment, then he asked, "Have you seen a ghost wearing a top hat on Halloween nights?"

"Uh, not personally, but I've heard others claim to have seen it."

"So my brother still roams this earth," the giant skeleton said to himself. Then he shook his Jack-o-Lantern head and thrust the axe blade closer to Mickey. "Don't distract me, mortal scum! What is your business at Mann Manor?"

"That Zombie you killed chased us here, and so we had no choice but to hide."

"But what led you to Mann Manor in the first place? No mortal man has dared to set foot on these grounds since the wars ended."

"As I said before, we were kidnapped. My friend and I were traveling with a group of companions, and then an army of Zombies attacked us at Hydro. We did our best to defend ourselves, but one of our comrades fell in battle while my friend and I were taken away. After a few days of non-stop travel, we met up with a group of Robots and stopped by a clearing near the mansion a couple nights after. Then yesterday, a group of large men attacked the Zombies and Robots, so I freed myself by burning the ropes that bound me with a Flame Thrower that was still on, and then after freeing my friend, we crawled away. The rest you already know, but what were you doing in the library? Shouldn't you be in a grave?"

At that, the giant skeleton laughed, which made Mickey and Patten shutter.

"If you think I'm some kind of ghost or Zombie, I am neither," the giant skeleton replied. "I am a Headless Horseless Horsemann, but you may call me Silas. In the old days, I rose from the Underworld to slay mercenaries like you on Halloween night. But as the wars ended, fewer men came here, and so I went back to the Underworld, then Merasmus changed everything. He robbed the graves of this area, and reanimated the bodies that should've stayed dead, which made the ghosts of those fallen men restless, including myself. So now I sleep during the day in this library and at night I watch over the spirits of Mann Manor along with the others."

"Others?" Patten gulped. "You mean there are more creatures like you, Silas?"

"Of course. How could I kill dozens of mercenaries in a single night? I'm not the Grim Reaper." The giant skeleton, Silas, put the battle-axe behind his back, and then he picked up the two Scouts. "Now since you two don't seem threatening, I don't think you work for Merasmus, but I will let The Wizard decide what to do with you."

"The Wizard? I thought Merasmus was the only one," Mickey tried to struggle, but Silas' grip was stronger. Patten, on the other hand, had passed out from sheer fright.

"He was, but not anymore," Silas replied, and carried the two Scouts to a dim-lit living room. "This new wizard is more…agreeable."

End of Chapter 17