Chapter 3

It was a wild passage through the dark night, with the moon and a small lantern guiding our way. My breath loud in my ears and the rustling of the undergrowth as we moved through ferns, we rushed to Newham as fast as we could go, hoping that we could get there in time to help.

With so little light, we couldn't go that fast. Furious with my lack of ability, I stepped over a branch at a time, moving over mounds, all the time seeing the glowing red in the sky before us. It wasn't until it started getting brighter that we could start to jog then run onwards. Skipping over branches and clambering over fallen trees we moved, helping each other over the largest trees.

As we came closer to Newham we started seeing signs of trouble. A new pathway cut diagonally across our path, made by the travel of a huge group. Stopping a moment in the trampled grass and broken bushes, we tried to work out who it could be. The path was new, made in the last day. It was a group of humanoids, wearing heavy shoes and carrying weapons. A whole lot of people had come through, we guessed over a hundred. Bones and scraps of food were thrown here and there in their path. Animals had avoided the path completely.

A small army. Going straight towards Newham, ignoring the hills in the way.

Even worse, from the west. There wasn't anyone to the west. The only possibility I thought of was that some of the Necromancer's forces had gone around the Kingdom and entered from the rear.

Looking at each other in concern, the silence that deepened between us became worried and fearful. With little else to do but go faster, we followed the newly made trail rather than go around the hill.

As we got to the top of the hill Jessie ahead of me gasped, and as I caught up to her I did the same.

Devastation. Newham was destroyed, it's buildings razed to the ground, the ruins still smouldering. I had expected a bad fire, maybe several buildings burnt down, with people already clearing away the damage. But the only bodies I saw were strewn across the ground.

As the smell of blood, smoke, piss and fear blew across the wind over us, we looked for movement.

'Fuck... ' Jessie whispered, her voice almost breaking and about to cry.

My eyes watering slightly, I could only compare the sight to the last time I was here in winter. I tried to remember everyone I saw, then stopped when I realised they were probably all dead. 'What the fuck happened?'

My body tensed and I gripped Jessie's arm hard as she started moving downhill. 'Wait. They could still be here.'

With a quick look of scorn, she pointed to the other side of the village, where the trail of destruction went on to the east, down the slope by the river towards the valley. With a nod I followed.

We went down the hill at a run, eyes flicking over the horrific scene. As the smell of burnt flesh swept across me I gagged, suddenly thankful that I hadn't eaten much.

Rushing to the closest body I reached out, before retreating back and throwing up. Someone had carved off the flesh and removed the arms and legs, leaving behind the clothing. Beside it I could see a bit of flesh with teeth marks.

Next to me Jessie was breathing way too fast, looking faint. Since I could do nothing else, I just held her shoulder a moment until her breathing slowed, before going towards the middle of the village to find a body of one of the attackers.

Nothing. No bodies were wearing armour, the village defenders hadn't seemed to kill any. Whether it was just surprise or their skill, the attackers had destroyed the village with nothing to stop them. We hadn't made it in time.

I sank to my knees, crying silently for all the dead killed then mutilated.

I could see that they had all been herded into the town centre then killed, with a pile of discarded bodies laying testament to the massacre. Another pile of broken, useless, makeshift weapons lay next to the bodies.

My eyes running dry, I looked around for Jessie. She had followed me towards the centre of the village, and was looking round curiously for something. Picking myself up I walked over, looking a question at her.

'I thought I saw movement, over there.' She pointed past some gently smoking buildings and I saw a small child running towards the forest.

Breaking into a run I moved between the buildings, bouncing off a wall and lifting away a strut of wood before getting to the outskirts of the village. Calling out 'Wait a moment.', I carried on running. Ahead of me I could see the child wince, then stumble and fall.

Catching up to it, I slowed, then held my hand out. 'We're friends. Are you okay? Is anyone else alright?'

It was a young girl, maybe eight years old who looked up at me in terror, before seeing my concerned face. She hesitantly reached out to my hand, then jumped into my arms. Hugging her firmly, I sat and rocked back and forth as she cried until she finally fell asleep.

The young girl refused to loosen her grip on me, even sleeping. She was small with shoulder length blond hair, her face covered in soot and tears and wearing a nightgown.

Giving up on getting her to release me, I finally stood up and walked back to the village. I could see Jessie standing with another three people, one large man with a huge beard and curly brown hair, one young woman just a bit older than us with long hair now unkempt and dirty and a boy about Jessie and my age. The two guys were wearing everyday clothing but the girl was wearing the flimsiest clothing I'd ever seen.

Jessie nodded to me, smiling slightly at the sight of the girl wrapped across my body before introducing the other survivors. Pointing at the big guy she said 'This is Walter Green. He was, ahem, answering a call of nature when it started and when he saw the defenders not being able to hurt them decided to hide until it was over.'

Blustering and red faced, Walter protested 'That sounds bad. I didn't want to waste my life is all.'

Nodding in acceptance, Jessie continued introducing the survivors. She gestured to the girl, who was rubbing her left elbow with a wet cloth, wincing each time at what I guessed was a burn. Every now and then she went into a hacking cough. At any other time I'd be staring at her body in the flimsy clothing and at her breasts as they quivered with her coughing, but my stomach was still twisted up. 'This is Emily. She hid in the house until they left, even while the building burnt.'

I winced, guessing that she had breathed in smoke and been badly burnt. I made a note that she probably had seen who it had been. As I saw she was starting to shiver slightly I dropped my pack and pulled off my cloak, passing it to her. It was only when she put it on that I realised that it blocked my view of her and wished I hadn't. Her voice quivering, Emily thanked me before bursting into tears.

Looking slightly embarrassed at not doing that earlier, Jessie went on to the last person. 'And this is John.'

He nodded to me, and not knowing what to do I nodded back. 'So, how did you escape?' I asked.

I saw his eyes dart slightly before looking straight at me with deep emotion and sadness. 'I was helping defend the village but when we found we couldn't hurt them we retreated to the village hall. I was separated from the others and ran into the woods. Oh, why did this happen.' He covered his face and was silent.