Chapter 21: The Zombie Horde

After Gerald left on the back of Krasnoye, King Terenti and his men marched out of Rottenburg's Main Gate, followed by the town's citizens with Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin trailing alongside. They climbed up to the top of the circular ledges where the Red Army Robins had landed earlier that day, and then they made their way through the thick pinewood forests towards the larger mountains in the distance, where DeGroot Keep lay. The first day went relatively smooth with no Zombies coming near them. Then the second day came, and the party found themselves at the entrance to the abandoned Sawmill area.

"Uncle, are you sure this path is safe?" Ivana asked nervously.

Terenti nodded. "Yes."

As Terenti led the way, Ivana fell behind until she was right next to Aonghus, who was carrying his Eyelander sword casually over his shoulder.

"Don't worry your pretty little head off, lassie," Aonghus said to Ivana. "Your father knows what he's doing."

"I hope so," Ivana replied, and then she noticed the red sash Aonghus wore against his blue Demoman uniform. "By the way, what is that sash for?"

"Ah, this is a memento from my beloved," Aonghus answered unabashedly.

"Oh." Ivana blushed slightly and then asked, "Is she beautiful?"

"Her eyes are like newly-polished ebony stones."

"I see."

Ivana then walked ahead of Aonghus, and eventually started talking with Gavin. He told her all about the Engineer life, including female Engineers, which were mostly regarded as myth because they wore the same uniforms as male Engineers. The only difference was that they wore bandanas on their heads instead of helmets. She laughed with delight, even when Gavin accidently tripped over his own two feet. Aonghus watched them from behind, and was surprised when he noticed Terenti walking up to him.

"She seems to have taken a liking to the Engineer," Terenti said, watching Ivana. "It is good to see her smile, considering what she's been through. Her parents died when she was young, her brother Ivan was banished, and now her cousin Terentius is gone. Unless Ivan and the other Bears of Alpine forgive me and return to us, Ivana is most likely going to be the next heir to the throne."

Before Aonghus could answer Terenti, Matthias waved from one of the rooftops ahead of them and shouted, "A small horde of Zombies are approaching Sawmill from the western side at twenty miles per hour!"

"Bloody hell!" Aonghus cursed. "Merasmus must've figured out that we'd left Rottenburg."

Upon hearing Matthias' words, the people stopped and started to wander around in circles nervously, causing Terenti to shout at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, look at me!"

The people stopped and looked to their king, including Ivana.

"Do not panic! That is exactly what they want! The three mercenaries, some guards, and I will stay here to fight off the Zombies while Ivana and the other guards will escort the rest to DeGroot Keep by way of the cave behind the waterfall."

Ivana hesitated. "But uncle—

"Go! Go! Go!" Terenti insisted, waving his Minigun in the direction of the waterfall.

So Ivana did what he said, and led the group of people towards the waterfall that stood behind a couple of sheds off to the side of the path that ran down the middle of Sawmill. Meanwhile, Terenti turned the Minigun on, causing its six shafts to spin, and the other two mercenaries took out their weapons. Matthias decided to stay on the roof, and waited with his Sniper Rifle fully-loaded. The Zombies came from behind a bend in the road, consisting mostly of Scouts and Soldiers. Matthias fired the first shots at the backs of their heads, causing them to instantly die. Then Aonghus and Gavin charged forward beating up any Zombies that came their way, with Terenti and his guards bringing up the rear.

Though the Minigun proved useful in mowing down most of the Zombies, some started to break off from the main horde and head towards the waterfall. Aonghus noticed and ran up along the nearby cliffs to where he was standing directly above the waterfall, allowing him a good view of the approaching Zombies. He then took out a Chargin' Targe shield he found in the storage-room back at Hydro, and threw it like a Frisbee at the first Zombie to enter the pool at the waterfall's feet. It cut the Zombie's head clean off in one stroke and made its way back to Aonghus.

"Oh, they're going to have to glue you back together…in Hell!" Aonghus shouted, getting the other Zombies' attention as he threw the shield at their heads, knocking them off in a similar fashion to the first one.

He heard footsteps behind him, and Aonghus turned to see a Zombie Scout running directly towards him. In self-defense, Aonghus pulled out his Eyelander sword, and raised it to cut the Zombie Scout in half. But the Zombie Scout proved quicker, and head-butted Aonghus right in the chest, causing him to lose his footing. Then just as Aonghus fell over the edge of the waterfall, he impaled the Zombie Scout with his Eyelander sword, causing it to kneel on the rocks in pain.

After most of the Zombies had been slaughtered, Terenti, Matthias, Gavin, and the remaining Heavies noticed that Aonghus was missing. So they picked up any surviving Zombies, and questioned them before killing them like the others. Eventually, Gavin got up to the top of the waterfall, and found the wounded Zombie Scout with Aonghus' sword sticking out of his shoulder. He was trying to pull it out, but this only broke what remained of his deteriorated arms further, until Gavin knocked the Zombie Scout down with the heel of his boot and pulled the Eyelander Sword out all the way.

"Thanks for that, tough guy," the Zombie Scout said, and then he yelped when Gavin stepped onto his exposed rib-cage and pointed the sword directly at his throat.

"Where did you get this sword, boy?" Gavin said in a low, growling voice.

"The one-eyed freak that was standing here had it, and then he stabbed me as he went right over the edge."

"You're not lyin', are you?" Gavin applied more pressure to his boot, which in turn caused the Zombie Scout's rib-cage to fracture.

"Aaugh! I swear I'm not lying! I saw him plummet off the top of this waterfall with my own two eyes, which your friend didn't have!"

At that, Gavin pierced the Zombie Scout's throat, causing it to make gurgling sounds.

"Oi, Gavin!" Matthias shouted, running up to him. "What did that Zombie say to you?"

"He said he saw Aonghus plummet off the waterfall, and he had this sword struck in his shoulder," Gavin responded, taking the Eyelander sword out of the dying Zombie and tossing it to Matthias, who caught it with both hands.

While Matthias looked at the sword in disbelief, Gavin proceeded to take his Jag Wrench out, and mash the Zombie Scout's head until it was nothing but a puddle of blood and decayed skin, which in turn caused the rest of the Zombie's body to go limp. By the time Matthias and Gavin told Terenti what happened, the overcast sky began to rain hard. So they went to the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, but they could find no trace of Aonghus anywhere. Puzzled, and ultimately sad, the remaining mercenaries, Terenti, and the other Heavies went into the cave behind the waterfall to catch up to Ivana and the rest of the people who were probably at DeGroot Keep by now, waiting for them.

A few seconds after they left, Aonghus emerged out of the pool gasping for air. He had hit a rock when he fell in, and was knocked out while the mercenaries searched for him. But he was too weak to call after them or swim to the shore, so he settled on a floating log. As the rain splashed around him, the pool's water level rose, and then Aonghus felt small hands drag him away from the log and into something that looked like a van.

End of Chapter 21