Chapter 18
Day 59
The night went on without incident. Zaynabi took second watch as I tried to settle down to sleep. I had been plagued by nightmares I can't remember. They had started just a few nights ago. I would wake up the same, scared and on the verge of tears. I had thought that maybe my nightmares could mean something. But I also thought that maybe it was the beginning of my mind deteriorating. I had been trying not to let my situation get to me as I needed to concentrate on living, but it was getting harder as I the days dragged on.
"Darius! Wake up!" Zaynabi was whispering and shaking me. I opened my eyes and grabbed the sword that lay by my side. I was up before Zaynabi could even move back fast enough. "Wh-whats going on?!" I yelled and looked around. Zaynabi had rushed to her feet and clapped a hand over my mouth.
"Shh! There's something going on in the village." Zaynabi motioned to the stairs. I checked to make sure the door was secure and followed her. Kharjo was still fast asleep, the treck here took its toll on him. We got the the top of the tower where we kneeled and peeked over. You could see guards lining up and drawing weapons. They all faced towards an opening in the mountain, a mine from the looks of it, and readied themselves. Another guard came in front of them, must've been the captain, and began shouting something. Though it was quiet I couldn't make out what he was shouting to the others. Then we saw them. The shambling corpses that we had seen as Mistwatch Keep came stumbling out of the mine.
Another line of guards formed up behind the others and readied arrows. They fired at the mass of corpses and though most arrows found a mark, the creatures kept moving. The archers readied again and though I couldn't hear the captain, I could tell their voice was cracking. Another volley of arrows only succeeded in bringing one of them down. From where Zaynabi and I sat there seemed to be no end to them as they poured out of the mine. The captain shouted something else and we could see the archers draw other weapons and they all charged at the undead. It was hard to see anything clearly in the mess but I could make out swords cutting off limbs and limbs being torn from guards. It was like a zombie movie from my world had mixed with Skyrim.
A few of the guards had gotten out of the mess and began to run the other way. The others stayed or had no choice to stay as the undead began to circle around them. It was like watching a predator circle prey, only the predator was shambling and groaning. I wanted to help them, but what could I do? These where trained guards, I was just a child compared to their experience and they where getting wiped out.
Zaynabi and I watched as the remaining gaurds where torn apart. The creatures feasted on their bodies and retreated back into the caves.
"Wait. Their going back in?" I wondered aloud. If they are going back into the mine then that means that someone was controlling them? Or where they intelligent? I looked at Zaynabi and we seemed to share an understanding. "We need to get moving again soon. Can you see if Kharjo is able to?" Zaynabi nodded and headed back down the stairs. I tightened my grip on the sword I held next to me and stared at the village. What where these creatures? They looked like walking corpses but they had unbelievable strength and kept on coming after being stabbed or shot with arrows. It looked like it took many blows from swords and arrows to take down just a few.
Zaynabi touched my arm and I almost jumped out of my skin. "He's still too exhausted from yesterday and I'm worried about his wounds." I looked around and noticed a chair in one corner of the tower. I grabbed it with my free hand and brought it downstairs to shove against the door. I also made sure the barrels where pressed firmly against it. Zaynabi also brought a chair from the corner of the room and did the same. "That might hold those things for a little." Zayabi said as she opened a barrel. "Lucky for us. There's some food" She brought up some apples and tomatoes. In the other barrels there where also apples and one even had meat. The meat was packed in something so it didnt rot.
"We'll let him rest one more night. But we need to get out of here soon. I don't plan on being the next victim to these things." I bit into an apple and settled onto the ground. These things, what where they? What exactly had happened at the Keep? We had only shown up in the middle of everything, as far as I could tell anyway. I needed more answers, but like usual lately, I'm just getting more questions.