warning: blood, gore and general body horror. expect more of that in the next chapters.

"Talanah."

"Zzzzz… cauldron… cauldron…"

"Talanah!"

"Overrides… mmmm."

"TALANAH!"

"Cauldro - wha…?" I slowly raised my sleepy ass up wiping drool from my mouth. I looked up at who just barked my name interrupting my beautiful dream of making machines into my little bitches. Oh, it was Yulia.

"Sorry about that. You wouldn't wake up no matter how many times I called your name." she said as I stood to my legs stretching my body feeling a couple cracks in the process.

"Man, she slept like a Behemoth." Mumbled one of the guys emitting a few giggles from the others.

"Mmm what time is it…" I slurred as I opened my Focus to determine the time based on the system used by the Old Ones. "7:15 am…"

"What?" asked Yulia as if she heard me saying a dirty joke.

"Oh nothing! Who's hungry? I'll get us some breakfast!"

There it is. Glowing in a bright orange shade thanks to the Focus detection function was a wild boar that was peacefully oblivious of the arrow darting in its direction. With a pained squeal, it dropped dead for me to take the kill back to the warrior farmers.

When I volunteered to hunt breakfast to them, they were awfully reluctant of letting me go, saying that I have already helped enough. But I insisted I'd go. Didn't want them injured folk to go hunting and potentially agitate their wounds however small they seemed. Not if I can help it. But in return, one of them would accompany me for a bit of assistance, which was fine by me. Because, on the other hand, their injuries were far from severe and so there was no danger if they did some of the smaller tasks while I do the heavylifting. That little arrangement made for a nice compromise.

"Found some berries, T!" I heard my current assistant; Maki - the one with the bandaged forearm – approach me carrying an armful of the fruits.

"Nice! That should be enough. Let's head back." I said with a grin at our findings. And so we made our way back, him carrying the berries and me effortlessly dragging the boar from its hind legs.

"We'll be having our bellies full thanks to you! Tsulu should have the fire prepared by now." So that's the other guy's name…

"By the way, haven't seen Ahmik since this morning." I mumbled with furrowed eyebrows.

"Oh he said he'll go look for breakfast too. Wasn't necessary if you ask me. I mean, look at us!" he chuckled raising the berries in front of him as if proving a point.

"Hmmm…" I didn't comment but my eyes steadily grew wide. Why am I having a bad feeling about this?

Ahmik. Don't you fucking dare do anything stupid, or I will kill you myself.

"We're back!"

"Who's ready to eat?"

Both Maki and I happily exclaimed respectively as we were close enough to camp. I left the boar next to the large fire spit to everyone's delight. We cooperated on skinning the boar and hung it over the flames using a long stake penetrating the whole length of its body. While Yulia went to make jam from the berries.

"Thanks a shitton, you two!" Grinned Zohha as she eyed the food hungrily. Her hands were still wet from having washed them after cleaning up the boar. "I could eat that thing from now!"

"Yeah thanks indeed." said Tsulu rolling his eyes as he slowly stirred the boar over the fire. "That hungry animal over there wouldn't shut up about her rumbling stomach."

"How about I eat you, instead?" she clapped his shoulder playfully and he dismissed her with a hand wave as if silently telling her to fuck off so she flicked some water droplets at his face in retaliation.

"Now now, guys. Ahmik should be back by the time the food is ready." Said Yulia turning to us after she was done with the berries.

"He's… not back yet?" I narrowed my eyes raising an eyebrow. I got the dreaded feeling that my fears may be true after all.

"No. He actually left a few minutes before you woke up." Well, that can't be good.

"Which way did he go?"

"He went over there." pointed Zohha. "Now that you mention it, he's taking too long."

"I'll go find him. See what he's up to." Then I made a mad dash for the Clawstrider who has been wondering on its own since yesterday. I wonder what goes on inside that thing's head when I leave it alone.

Before anyone was given the chance to so much utter a 'wait a flippin'second', I was already off on my mount heading to where I was pointed to.

Goddammit, Ahmik.

Something kept telling me that it wasn't breakfast he was looking for. It was fucking trouble. Even if he was doing it unintentionally. I haven't known the guy for more than 12 hours and I could already sense his impulsive nature from miles away. If he was looking for breakfast, he would have been back by now. The area is already abundant with food material so it shouldn't be too much trouble to get something to eat. But if he really has set off early as Yulia had said and hasn't come back yet, that would mean he's been gone for close to 45 minutes. That's not normal for a small hunting trip unless you were a newb, which I knew he was not. Add that to his seemingly excited and stubborn nature and it wasn't long before I pieced it all together.

I followed the trail of the small purple triangles and human silhouette holograms being revealed to me by the Focus that marked his footprints, passing by machine sites and ignoring their orange eyed confusion. And the further I went, I realized I was going in the same direction he pointed at yesterday when he was complaining to me about the rebels. Oh, no. Don't tell me…

My fears were confirmed when I stumbled across a bow that I recognized as Ahmik's. I saw him using it yesterday when he broke off the Grimhorn's frill causing its death. I dismounted my raptor and knelt next to it for a better look. Yup. Same pattern. Same type.

A hunter bow that was designed for balanced strength and draw speed. Strangely enough, that was a Tenakth bow. How did Ahmik get that? It was broken in half with the string torn off. As far as I'm concerned, the animals here don't fight you and break your equipment. Something else has done it.

I hastily searched the surrounding area with my scanning device but all I found were more footprints heading, sadly, in the same direction. I hoped on my mount and rushed off to where the hologram shapes were leading me. Where the hell are you, Ahmik?

"WHOA!" I pulled on the blue cords surrounding my mount's neck with all my might otherwise we would have run straight into a shock tripwire trap. As I directed my ride around it, I was eyeing that thing recognizing it as yet another one of the Utarus' tools. I remember seeing that thing on the weapons rack yesterday and I should have put two and two together sooner when I saw it missing from the rack this morning. There's no way he was hunting for food. You don't waste traps on an animal that could easily be taken down from a single bow shot. Combine that with the far distance he has crossed and the broken bow and you won't need cauldron science to figure out something was wrong. It didn't take a long time of trotting a few more steps ahead until I saw something that made my heart drop.

Blood.

"Where are you, Ahmik?" I whispered as I eyed the crimson stains on the grass and dirt and my breath hitched at the sight of an arm. When I got closer to examine it, I realized it was holding a Lancehorn's drill horn in its stiff grip. For a second there, I thought it was Ahmik's but then I noticed how that arm looked old yet the blood on the horn was still fresh which must have meant they can't have belonged to the same owner. I followed the blood stains realizing as I moved forward with my Clawstrider following closely behind that they formed a trail towards…

A Tenakth outpost.

Don't you just hate it when you're right sometimes? Cuz I sure as hell do.

"AGH!"

"Ahmik?" I raised my head in alarm. Before I made a move, my machine companion screeched and charged towards the settlement. I ran after it knowing full well I might be in for a nasty surprise.

I shot my arrow running it through the head of the first Tenakth I saw, another was bitten in half with my Clawstrider. I was just about to nock another arrow to my bow when I noticed something off about an approaching Tenakth. He was walking slowly and… he was missing his arm. The stump was rotten and caked with dried blood yet his expression was sleepy and uncaring. My thoughts instantly went back to the severed arm I found outside but I was more focused on the weirdo in front of me.

"Dafuq happened to you?" I growled raising an eyebrow. Then all of a sudden, he dashed in my direction before he fell to the ground, arrow going straight through his throat. What weirded me out was that he didn't express aggression or anything. He was literally running at me with his head hanging backwards with the same blank face like a creepy doll.

I adjusted my bow on my back after shooting that freak. Well, that was weird. Those guys are no nonsense when it comes to intruders. And they sure as hell would keep weapons on them but so far, they came at me unarmed and missing a body part. One of them was staring at us blankly before he was cleaved by my machine. Have they gone insane?

Savage as those guys are, their ferocious fighting style makes a dangerously perfect mix with a calculated attack patterns using their weapons with utmost efficiency. They wouldn't just waste years of training by jumping you like a bunch of psychos or standing there looking stupid.

But I gotta worry about that later - first thing is first. Where's Ahmik? He has to be here. I'm certain of it. That scream from earlier was definitely his. I wanted so bad to call out his name but that would be a dumb thing to do when you're in enemy territory.

As I made my way deeper into the outpost keeping an eye out of anyone else, I noticed that there were not much people here. The ones we have killed earlier were the only ones around. But this place seemed… deserted.

My thoughts became further confirmed the more I explored. The entire outpost, just like any other, consisted of wooden sharp-edged structures occasionally accessed by sloping passages and ladders. But unlike any other, the weapon racks were half occupied with bows and knives yet no one was around, which was funny considering the Tenakth are almost never seen without their weapons. The classic telltale sign that this place was abandoned in a hurry.

But what were really unnerving were the corpses I find here and there. They were stiff and stained with dried blood against their blue and red tattoos. But it can't have been Ahmik. Simply because they were missing parts of their bodies as if they were gruesomely mutilated. Unless Ahmik was a deranged killer and I didn't know, there's no way this could have been his doing. The bodies were just unbelievable to look at.

This one had her limps missing. While you could literally see a lung inside that one's body through his exposed ribs. This one had his vertebrae visible. There weren't many bodies but that didn't mean it is any less serious.

In fact, it's even more serious when I spotted a head staked at the top of a pole. The owner of the head was tied to the base of the same pole making it seem like the guy had a really long neck.

My breaths were getting shaky as I walked by this massacre. I've seen lots of dead bodies in my line of work and never have I patted an eye. But seeing corpses in conditions this bad implies something exceptionally horrible is going on.

The first culprit to come to my mind was the machines but I quickly brushed that off. What would bring the machines – overridden ones excluded – to an outpost when the nearest machine site is miles away? The machines mind their business most of the time unless they were too close to human settlements. And even they wouldn't be that brutal. Machines leave you alone as soon as you're dead. They don't tie your headless body to a pole, or splatter your organs on a table cuz… that's what I saw next. It didn't take me long to find the body that used to contain the entrails. It was hanging from a hook and split wide open from pelvis to neck.

"Holy. Shit." I mumbled as I spotted the fresh blood dripping from it. This one was recent. Oh fuck me. The blood was dripping into a bucket that became so full of the red liquid, now thickened to blackness, that was leaking and thin lines of blood were streaming down its sides and to the ground.

Yup. Definitely scratching the machine off the suspect list which wasn't long to begin with. Don't know any group of folk crazy enough to play with human remains.

I felt my Clawstrider slowly clanking close behind me. Glad I wasn't alone in this. Its company felt nice and reassuring in this morbid as hell atmosphere. I knelt next to one of the corpses to examine it, trying to at least assist her injuries and come up with reasons behind the cause of death. Her face and left eye were littered by small sharp pieces of wood. I'm beginning to think the Tenakth have officially lost their minds because frankly? I can't come up with any other explanation. I was about to stand up when, for a second there, I saw a weird glint in the body's lifeless right eye. I leant further narrowing my eyes and focused my attention on the face.

"AH!" my shriek could have been heard by the entire Forbidden West as the DEAD woman suddenly pounced to her feet and clung to me with cold hands. I quickly reacted by stabbing her in the chest with my spear but fuck! The damn thing was still moving. Her head was hanging but the arms were still jerking violently. I didn't even know what creeped me out more: that or her being completely silent with no voice coming out of her. Not even a grunt. I removed the spear and stabbed the chest again but she didn't even twitch an eyebrow. Another thing I have noticed was how there was little to no blood coming out. The corpse has been there for days and must have been drained by now. I withdrew my weapon and took a few steps back watching the supposed-to-be-dead woman staggering and falling down. Oh yeah, I didn't notice the missing foot but that's not the problem right now! I have a zombie case on my hands! I learnt the term from the Old Ones when I'd watch their movies.

Fine. If there's one thing I have learnt from those ancient flicks is that if it won't die, go for the head. Or as the saying goes: shoot them in the head!

And for the head I went with a clean stab penetrating straight through the skull. The zombie lady stopped moving instantly after that but I refused to be fooled again. I pulled my weapon off and kept it pointed at her in case she forgot she's dead again but I guess that final blow reminded her of that.

"And stay dead this time!" I snarled as I gave her a small kick and walked away. But not without spotting my raptor examining her curiously with orange lens flare marking its confusion. My heart beats barely had time to calm down before I heard it.

"Guuhhh." I jumped at the sound of a suspicious groan. Oh what the fuck now? I carefully followed the voice with my bow ready, string straining as my tension filled arms kept the arrow nocked ready to strike the next target.

I rounded a corner to find a small cell underneath a large hut. Inside the cell was another Tenakth whose back was facing me. I stood with more apprehension waiting to see what other surprise that fucker had. He slowly turned to face me and hello! This one was missing his nose and forehead skin revealing bits of the bloody skull underneath. But somehow, that didn't seem to bother him at all.

"You. What's going on here? What happened to this place?" I knew my attempt at interrogation wouldn't work with someone who seemed why too calm when missing a batch of skin.

"…." He didn't even look at me. He was staring at nothing with the eyes of someone whose everything inside him had died. His mouth was loose and dry and expression remained blank. His head hanged limply between his shoulders and would slightly pounce every time he shifted yet his eye pupils were still focusing on one direction.

"Speak, you shitface." I barked. One more try couldn't hurt, no? My body was frozen in the ready position cuz I wouldn't be surprised if that nutcase broke through the cell door.

But then I began shaking with dread when his neck suddenly bent at 180 degrees with a sickeningly audible crack yet he could still move with the same creepily nonchalant facial expression. How? He should have been paralyzed from the neck down by now if not dead. But his body seemed as if some unseen force was keeping it upright - or at least as upright as someone with a twisted neck could be – like he was being controlled by a string akin to what the Old Ones used to call a 'marionette'.

I began to further question what I am really up against when I saw the weirdo casually grabbing a rusty knife, casually staring at it before casually running it straight through the bottom of his lower jaw. He gurgled small mouthfuls of blood before his body went limb and lifelessly fell right on the knife causing it to go in deeper.

I waited for a few more seconds waiting to see if he is going to stand up again. If he's gonna survive having his neck snapped, surely a knife through his jaw wouldn't be too lethal, yes?

But no. he laid perfectly still this time. I allowed myself to relax as my arms began to hurt from staying in the same strained position for so long. But instead of sheathing my armament, I lowered my arms keeping the arrow nocked and carried on with investigating this hellhole of an outpost. I've seen enough to keep me on high alert from now on.

I spotted a supply crate and proceeded to get a hold of its contents. Well, at least they left their stuff behind which worked for me. Machine muscle, metal bone, shards, potion, and ridge wood. Yes, come fill up my inventory. As I was rummaging, I thought I saw something from the corner of my eye. And just like that, I got the terrible feeling that I was being...

Watched.

I hastily got up and aimed my arrow at who-the-fuck-ever was standing there but I saw nothing. Unless my brain has officially fried from all that terror, I think I spotted what looked like some kind of a shadow. And it vanished instantly the second I looked.

Please let that be my imagination…

I turned on my Focus to check for anyone but it captured nothing. I kept it on to see what else is gonna creep me out but I wasn't prepared for this level of creepiness written on the glyph I spotted on the bloodied dirt. What I read next almost made me hyperventilate.

Handwritten glyph

They're back to life!

They were dead when we brought them in. We were sure of it. They were missing fucking body parts for goodness sake. No human would survive such severe injuries, much less untreated. But they sprang back to life the moment we brought them to the camp and started running around and even attacking us.

Have you seen someone trying to bite you with a missing jaw?

Or maybe trying to beat the shit out of you by swinging a single arm?

And I can't even decide whether to describe the sight of someone hopping on a single leg as terrifying or hilarious.

As for that guy missing both his eyes, I wouldn't even go there.

We managed to kill off some of them while the rest ran away somewhere. Their bodies were too decomposed to hurt anyone but they wouldn't die easily no matter how many times you chop away at them BECAUSE THEY WERE ALREADY FUCKING DEAD. It's like they didn't feel anything. One of them didn't even blink when I impaled him in the heart so I sliced his head off instead which seemed to do the trick.

We even had to jail Malik, one of our scouts who went to explore the Haunted Grounds to see if we could question him but the fucking psycho was just standing there and tearing at his own face with a knife. He was amongst the dead when the scouts brought the others in on a cart and all of a sudden… it's as if some spirit got ahold of him and he jumped right at me alongside the others. We were especially terrified to discover that the dead ones weren't the only targets of the curse. Two of our soldiers have gone deranged with madness and attempted to attack us like wild animals as they started foaming at the mouth. They were significantly stronger than the dead ones and their assault came at full force. We didn't want to risk fighting back lest we become infected by whatever is causing this fuckery and made a run for it.

We had to evacuate this cursed outpost and never come back again. Before we left, we took cover on top of the hills overlooking the settlement and kept watch on the post from afar to see how bad things have gotten. To our terror, we saw the living scouts take the ones we killed and sliced them to pieces. One of them even staked a head on top of a pole. It's like they enjoyed toying with flesh and using it to decorate the place. Another one cut up a corpse into pieces and began EATING IT! The dead ones simply dragged their feet around and kept on self-mutilating with whatever sharp object they find before eventually feasting on whatever they cut off. Me and everyone else swore to never set foot in that place until our final days. I managed to at least return and sneak the note here to be found by the next poor soul who might stumble across this hell.

I shudder to witness the dark fate of our fallen comrades, yet it tears my heart to leave them behind knowing that none of them will ever receive the honorable burial they deserve.

Just what the hell was at the Haunted Ground that started all this? Were we being punished by the spirits by sending our dead after us? Was this rebellion a big mistake? What would The Ten have done in this situation?

The hologram screen displaying the horrifying text closed leaving me in a tranced state of shock.

What. The fuck.

So all this time I've been fighting against dead people?! That would explain their blank expression and bizarre movements. The woman that woke up suddenly. And that Malik guy. All of them were physically impaired and devoid of any form of emotions no matter how much they get beaten up. Because they weren't alive to begin with. What did the text say again?

As for that guy missing both his eyes, I wouldn't even go there.

Haven't found whoever fits the morbid description. Yet. Imaging stumbling across someone looking like that in a dark cave. Now THAT's a sight I wouldn't wanna see. Then again, since when have I ever been that lucky?

They wouldn't die easily no matter how many times you chop away at them.

Wait a minute. I shot one of those guys in the neck when I got here. Does that mean he might still be sauntering around with an arrow running through his throat?

As if some spirit got ahold of him.

The spirits, huh? Going back to that again? Then I suddenly remembered the note retrieved by Ahmik… holyshit! Ahmik! I forgot about him!

I quickly turned around to find the missing idiot with my weapon still ready in hand and Clawstrider in tow. As I hastily waked on, more vital information from the text kept popping up in my head.

Two of our soldiers have gone deranged with madness… We didn't want to risk fighting back…

"Fuck, this is bad news." I hissed. It means that those two might still be around here playing with whatever meat they could find. And what's worse was that they were most likely stronger than the others – at least possessing the physical strength of a normal Tenakth - since they were alive and healthy when they got that 'curse'. I must be extra cautious.

"GET OFF!"

"Found you!" I muttered as I ran to where I heard Ahmik's voice coming from.

I spotted the moron I've been searching for struggling against a Tenakth on a raised wooden platform attached to a tree. The latter had Ahmik pinned on his back and clawing at him wildly in a manner completely unbecoming of a highly trained Tenakth. But I don't think that foaming madman was in the right state of mind to care about his image.

I carefully aimed my arrow so I wouldn't hit the wrong target and it shot right through the upper chest. Dammit, was meaning to aim at the head but it was hard to get a good aim at such a writhing target. But at least it gave Ahmik the chance to kick off his assailant off the platform and he landed right on his head.

"Talanah! Good to see you!" but I was barely paying attention as my eyes were completely focused on the eerie scene before me. The corrupted Tenakth was kicking and squirming on the floor, barely a shred of skin connected his head to his body. The bones of his neck could be seen jutting among the streams of blood.

That fall should have killed him. He shouldn't have been able to survive this. But there he is, struggling to get up but his body wouldn't support him anymore. He should have been dead. But if what was written on the glyph was true then he must be already. And just to be sure, I analyzed him with my Focus and my heart beat spiked at the sight of two simple words against a red screen:

No data.

So it was true after all. All the folk I've met here so far were already dead but something was keeping the corpses moving. Whatever that curse was, it seems to partially lose control if the victim becomes crippled enough. Felt good to know that the curse had limits after all.

The Tenakth's legs were moving rapidly in an abnormal spasm before ceasing to a stop when my spear cut off what little linked the head to the body. Might as well rid the poor bastard of his misery and it seemed that complete decapitation was the safest way to do it. He must have been one of the living considering how rapidly he moved. Now that I could no longer worry about him, I gotta keep my eyes open for the other one – wait, what was that? I felt like I saw some kind of misty mass crawling away from the dead Tenakth. The kind of thing that's barely visible that you can't see unless it was moving. I stood there staring at whatever that was and wondered if I should worry about that too.

I heard Ahmik climbing down the ladder of the platform and felt him approaching from behind me. When I looked at him, I saw a large gash on his thigh. Great. Another injury. So that's what made the blood trail I followed to this shithole graveyard. Gotta ask him what happened when he left camp earlier but first…"Ugh, that was brutal. What is going o-hmph!"

"Shut up and eat." I said dryly forcing a mouthful of medicinal berries into his maw.

"Wat yo boin hei?"

"Eh?"

"What are you doing here?" he said after quickly swallowing. "I mean I know what you're doing but how did you find me?"

"Followed the scent of trouble, that's how." I sneered as I turned and kept an eye for whoever might still be alive here. You don't know who else might be running around with their intestines poking out or something. "I'll yell at you later but at the meantime, get down!" I hissed as I snatched him with me into the red leave shrubs and listened as someone was coming.

I could hear Ahmik breathing shakily yet silently next to me as we waited in apprehension for the newcomer. He looked like he wanted to belch out a hundred questions – I know I want to do the same - but found it safer to keep his mouth shut at the meantime. Because frankly? What we saw next stunned us both into silence.

A Tenakth champion walked by with his entire front body ripped open revealing the interior anatomy within. Ripcage, intestines, liver, you name it. All of them and much more were left in display for us to see… and smell.

"Hmf!" Ahmik clamped his hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up. And when I got a whiff as well, it's like I got punched in the face by a Fireclaw. And when I strained to look through my gradually tearing eyes, I saw that the organ colors had a darker shape. That explains the nice odor – they were rotten!

And it didn't even help when an organ – was that a spleen? I couldn't tell anymore – had dropped from the walking corpse's body right in front of us with a loud splat which to us, it was more like a stinkbomb falling from above.

I wiped the tears off my burning eyes to see the guy's face, to at least check for any expression but there was none. Just like the others, his face looked as dead as the rest of him. One eye was half lidded and his nose was crooked and surrounded by dry blood. When I looked at Ahmik, he looked about ready to cry. I suppressed a giggle when he covered his entire face to block away as much of the scent as possible. I couldn't stand the smell anymore myself either so I threw a rock as far away from us as possible and hoped that those things could at least respond to sounds.

Clank!

To my surprise and utter relief, what's left of the champion turned towards the sound. Some weird groaning noises came out of him like has trying to say something out of his decomposed throat but he couldn't. But I don't give a Clumberjaw's ass what his problem was, I wanted him to fuck off already and take his putrid odor with him! I don't think I could hold my breath any longer!

I allowed myself a sigh of relief when the Tenakth finally dragged his decayed feet to the source of the noise. Smell gradually lessening the further he went. "Hurry!" I whispered to my Utaru companion soon as we were at a safe distance clutching him from his wrist, making sure not to accidentally slip on the organ the Tenakth champ had dropped, and hurried towards the exit. I dunno what the scenario would have been had that thing saw us. He may not be strong enough to fight us considering his deceased physique was barely 'keeping it together' but I had zero interest in getting chased by a guy whose organs splatter out of him. I'd rather take on three healthy champions over that any day.

"Pfff!" I raised a fist to my mouth suppressing a wheeze at the sight of Ahmik's red eyes. "Hehe! You look like you got sprayed on your eyes by Bristleback acid!"

"Oh speak for yourself, smartass." He rolled his eyes playfully. "You too look like an angry machine. Damn, that thing stunk so bad." He wiped at his face before we proceeded with the escape.

I was eager to get out of here that I wouldn't have noticed the scene if Ahmik hadn't pointed me to it. "Talanah!" I heard him whisper in a panic when we stopped to see one of the undead with her face down into the blood bucket beneath the hanging gutless body. And when she raised her head to us, the blood mask she had on might as well be seen as another face paint. The main problem was that that was the jaw-less one yet that didn't stop her from trying to lap at the blood. So as a result, she made… quite a mess. She made no move to attack us and carried on with her useless attempts at downing the blood. Well, good luck with that, pal.

I tugged Ahmik from his wrist and we sped walked towards the exit to avoid any detection with the sound of running. But we flinched badly at yet another Tenakth standing in the way. Remember the one missing his eyes? Yup. Found him.

He was just standing there with his head hanging limply. He looked more hideous than I thought seeing as it wasn't just the eyes he was missing. It was the skin of the entire upper half of his face that got torn off revealing a greyed skull. We carefully walked around him from a wide radius, neither releasing Ahmik's wrist nor taking my eyes (no pun intened) off of the blind corpse in case he heard us. And even then, I doubt he'd do anything beyond staying dead. I never realized how pale those guys have become until I took a proper look at him. It was barely noticeable what with their crazy tattoos and tan skin.

We rounded a corner and I used my Focus to help with any surprises here and there. I could have sworn I saw what looked like a shadow and I sharply turned my head to its direction but found no one there. I KNOW I saw something but my Focus can't detect it for some reason. Nevermind that, I could see the opening in the large fence surrounding the settlement which marked the exit.

"Ow!" I stopped as I heard Ahmik grunting. Oh right…

"Shit. Sorry. How is your leg?" I looked at his thigh where the wound was. The bleeding has stopped albeit a bit dripping but the injury wasn't getting any better. We must have walked too fast for his wounded thigh to handle.

"Mm." he didn't reply but his lips pressed together. Poor guy must be in pain. I mean I've seen the amount of blood that came out of the wound.

"Sorry, Ahmik. I didn't mean to push you too hard. I just want to get us out fast."

"It's alright. I can still walk." He swallowed hard before we carried on with our slow escape. I feared he might agitate his injury even more so I let him lean on me. He was sweating badly and I feared he might get dizzy or even lose conscious.

"There's the exit." I pointed with my head over there. I dared look behind me but we weren't being followed. Even if we were, I don't think those guys are in the right state of mind to start trouble anymore. I mean how can you think and plan with a decomposed brain? I looked at Ahmik and saw him wiping sweat off his forehead. He's another reason why I wanted to avoid more fights and make a beeline for the exit. He needs treatment and I can't afford to waste time with my injured companion around. "How are you holding up?"

"I'll live…"

"We're almost there. Time to get out of this meat festival". The exit is right there. Just a few more steps aaaaand…

"Guuhh!" Of course! Of course I had to go and jinx it! Of course I forgot about the other living Tenakth… who was dashing RIGHT AT US!

If you were looking for the one whom I had shot in the throat when I first got here, that was him. I barely had two seconds to let go of Ahmik and grab my spear before the rotting Tenakth suddenly tumbled to the ground. I thought he was just being a klutz but then I saw the arrow sticking out of his torso. I heard Ahmik happily exclaiming to someone and when I saw the direction the arrow had come from, I found the other Utarus who had followed us out there. Among them was Zohha who was holding her bow and the others praised her aim. I grinned wide when I found Maki riding on my Clawstrider! You know my distraction must have been that bad when I completely forgot about my own mount. But in my defense, I was surrounded by moving corpses. That alone was enough to keep me busy that I wouldn't notice its absence. Just when did it leave the post?

"I'm glad to see you gu-" I started when Yulia pointed at the Tenakth with a shaking finger.

"Watch out! He's still moving!" no one had the time to say anything else as I impaled the former warrior in the head with no hesitation. That oughta shut him up.

"How the hell was that possible! I shot him straight in the lung! There's even another arrow in his neck!" exclaimed Zohha waving frantically at her target.

"They must be cursed! That's how!" replied Maki as he hopped off my raptor.

"Can we all just head back to camp and talk later?" I said impatiently as I helped Ahmik rest atop my machine. "He's not the only one. The camp is infested with those freaks. You need to leave now." I urged and ushered for my machine to go. The others began to follow it but stopped when they noticed I wasn't making a move to come along.

"Talanah, what are you doing?" questioned Yulia.

"Just beat me to camp. There's something I have to take care of." They looked at me anxiously as if silently asking for more explanation. "This outpost is dangerous. I'm beginning to think some sort of disease is spreading and it had affected the Tenakth here. I'm going to completely demolish it before anyone else gets infected."

"What kind of sickness that awakes the dead, Talanah?" questioned Ahmik as he firmly grasped the blue cords of my Clawstrider.

"They don't come back to life. More like there's something that moves the bodies. Whatever that thing is, I gotta destroy the entire settlement alongside it. It's the best way to ensure it doesn't spread." As I was talking, I spotted the same transparent mist surrounding Tsulu. Then all of a sudden, he began coughing. The others looked at him funny asking if he was okay. But the coughing stopped as suddenly as it began so everyone brushed it off.

"If you need assistance-" started Yulia.

"Trust me. I already know what kind of help I'll get. Now go. I'll catch up with you." I reassured them.

"But, T. Those guys look dangerous."

"Don't worry about that, Maki. They're too dead to stand properly, let alone put up a fight. Just ask Ahmik." That seemed to ease their worries so, to avoid wasting time, they all took their leave and headed to where we came from. I stood there watching them getting smaller the more distance they covered, longingly watching my Clawstrider carrying its patient on it. I'm missing the big guy already.

I think now is a good time to mention that this whole disease thing was just a theory I pulled out of my ass. But it sure as hell beats this whole curse and evil spirit baloony. I prefer to analyze a situation using practical methods without relying on myths to make things easier to understand. But before I get down to the bottom of this shitstorm, I gotta clean it up first.

I took a deep breath and prepared to execute my plan. Welp, time to find me a Tremortusk.