The fresh tracks on the dry dirt scattered all around the path, east to west, west to east, north to west, and so on. At first glance, it looked like multiple people came and went about searching or patrolling the area.

  Gale saw otherwise. It was only two patrols at most. They moved in a predefined pattern of east to west, then going back to the town, then repeat. He didn't even need to lick the dirt to know that these 2 patrols didn't even sleep. They just went on and on, not taking a break at all.

  Rachel's eyes widened. "Blue Haven?"

  Gale lowered his voice, "Remember this, don't aim to kill. Cut off their limbs. Immobilize instead."

  "Why's that? Thought we were supposed to kill them and not let last time happen again," Ollie said.

  "Remember Marcus and the shadow?" Gale asked.

  "Yeah, what about?" Ollie and Rachel said in unison.

  "When they died, they turned into ghouls."

  "Why didn't the ones we killed before not turn then?" Rachel asked.

  Caught off guard, Gale couldn't respond. Why did those ones not turn? They weren't in the dead forest. Instead, they were in the forest that teemed with life. But Drew turned into one of them… so why?

  "I can't say for sure. But it's better to be safe. Trust me."

  "Ok. Sheesh." Ollie sighed. "Guess I ain't shootin any bullets then."

  "Alright. So knock them out. My specialty. But what's our plan if they're patrolling this area?" Rachel asked.

  "We should be fine. These footprints is just 2 of them, and it's way out of the way from Blue Haven. Just stay on your toes," Gale said.

  "Right. Let's go then." Rachel turned toward Ollie. "Marble."

  Ollie flicked up the marble into the air. It spun, then pointed to their 12. They were going the right path, just as Gale had guided correctly. It was a bit further from the main gates of the town and more of a direct path to wherever the marble was leading them.

  "Looks like we just keep going straight, boss," Ollie said.

  "Then let's," Rachel walked back to the main group.

  Rachel moved to the back of the convoy, and then the people began to move again. Ollie and Gale led the people straight towards the dead forest, with tracks clearly imprinted on the dry soil.

  "Don't look down everyone, just keep looking straight. No need to pay attention to the footprints that definitely don't seem menacing," Ollie said to the convoy.

  No laughs. Just a child stumbling, then supported by his mom. None of the older folks wanted to comment either. Not like they had a choice.

  As the convoy crested above a hill, the terrain became a downward slope. Looking down, roots and rocks jutted out from the ground. There weren't many footholds. This was going to take some time.

  It was here that Gale saw something move at the corner of his eye.

  "Did you see that?" he whispered to Ollie beside him.

  Ollie furrowed his brows. "No. But was never one for having the heebie-jeebies."

  It was clear on Ollie's face. He definitely saw something. Or at least felt something. It was too obvious. And the way his eyes darted all around. This boy was the opposite of having no heebie-jeebies.

  "Keep your eyes open," Gale said.

  The group began the slow descent of the slope. They hadn't taken a break since the stone tower. A man in his mid-20s climbed the slope slowly. Annett caught him immediately as his sloppy footing stepped on a loose piece of rock. The children weren't any better, now completely relying on their parents as they held hands tightly.

  When most of the convoy reached the bottom of the slope, Ollie called to halt the convoy's movement. He crouched low, hiding himself in the thick dead dry underbrush. The convoy members crouched behind him as well.

  "What is it?" Annett whispered.

  Ollie pointed towards the other side of the hill. "Definitely saw something moving. Human. A patrol. Probably. Most definitely. What do?"

  There weren't many things to consider. Exposed at the bottom, there was no way to turn back. Literally behind them was a steep slope. Their backs were against a wall. Any option coming out of this predicament was a bad option.

  "We need a distraction," Gale said finally.

  Rachel came up from behind. Her hands flickered with a small ember. "A distraction? I can create one."

  Looking around the area, dry twigs, dry bark, dry wood, dry soil, dry everything. Gale immediately held her hands tightly. A smack on the head wouldn't be enough to remind Rachel of the danger of fire in a place this dry.

  "W-what are you doing?! That's dangerous!" Rachel pulled her hand back.

  "Everywhere, dry. Fire might spread too quickly, and that'll get us into trouble."

  Rachel looked into his eyes for a bit, her face completely flushed. "Oh. Right. Sorry… I forgot."

  "It's fine," Gale said.

  "The eyes," Anna disrupted the conversation, her pupils dilated. "They're watching. Always watching. It's near. Watching. It's near. It's near."

  Hailey, holding Annett's hand, hid behind her, whimpering softly.

  "Hailey?" Anna called, her eyes back to normal. "Hailey, where are you?"

  The girl pressed closer to Annett, hiding from Anna.

  Before anyone could respond, a shout from across the clearing rang out. The patrol had spotted them.

  Gale quickly scanned the area. Any cover was good cover. At their 1 o'clock was a small upward slope. It could be used as cover like a trench.

  "Everyone, stay low!" Ollie hissed, drawing his gun.

  Gale drew his bone sabre as the first of Blue Haven's patrol crossed the clearing. The convoy huddled together, forming into a tight pack as they moved through away from the slope they had just crossed just minutes before.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Muffled voices, murmurs, and the sobs of children didn't make the situation any better. Even if they covered themselves in the trench, they still gave away their positions with those annoying vocalizations.

  The patrol was near. The tendrils spread out through the clearing that was about to become the combat area. He wasn't sure if immobilizing was going to be easy in the middle of fighting for his life. Gale looked at Rachel's glowing hand. Heat spread from it, as well as an idea.

  "Rachel," Gale whispered. "Can you use your fire to blow the dust up into a smoke screen?"

  "I can try," Rachel replied.

  "Ollie, Annett, and I can hold them off while you guide everyone."

  "I can fight!" Rachel said.

  "You have to guide. It has to be you." Gale looked into her eyes.

  "Fine…" Rachel went to the front of the group. "Come on, Hailey."

  Annett went to the front, softly shaking off Hailey. But the girl resisted.

  "No… don't leave me," Hailey cried as she grabbed onto Annett's arms and looked up.

  "I'll be back in a jiffy, ok? Be a good girl and follow that fire lady over there." Annett patted Hailey on the head.

  "You promise?"

  Annett held up a pinky in front of Hailey. "Of course. Knights always keep their promises."

  Hailey twisted her own pinky with Annett's.

  "Tell you what," she said. "Why don't you be my special helper? You can keep an eye on everyone and make sure they stay close to Rachel. Can you do that for me?"

  Hailey nodded.

  "Now go. She's waiting for you." Annett ushered the little girl to the rest of the group along, just behind Rachel.

  Rachel's hands glowed a bright yellow.

  "Do it now!" Gale clenched the hilt of his sabre. The patrols just about reached the edge of the clearing where the group was.

  Rachel punched the area, and a massive gust of hot air pushed up all the dust around them. She held up a hand in the air that glowed through the cover of dust. The rest of the convoy scrambled to their feet, rushing to follow that light.

  Gale, Ollie, and Annett spread out, forming a defensive line between the retreating convoy in the small trench and the advancing scouts. The first of the Blue Haven patrols emerged from the dust.

  Ollie raised his gun, his finger steady on the trigger.

  "Remember, immobilize only," he muttered, more to himself than the others.

  The scouts charged forward. They just ran forward like they were in a track. Fast by mundane standards, but slow by awakened standards.

  Gale met the first one head-on. Blade went straight through the thighs of the oncoming body. Tendons, veins, muscles, and bone were all sliced through cleanly, and the body dropped onto the ground with a thud.

  Beside him, Annett raised her hand, her face contorted in concentration. The air around the nearest scout seemed to thicken, and the body running at her slowed down. Ollie fired two rounds. Bullets trailed to home in on a kneecap each.

  Another body jumped at Gale. Its mid-air pounce crawled to a slow. Gale slashed four times in less than a second. Arms and legs fell off the oncoming body.

  More came. A seemingly never-ending amount of silhouettes covered by the smoke screen ran at the trio. A non-stop fight of cutting off legs and arms for Gale. Ollie only fired off shots whenever bodies filtered through Gale's onslaught. The sight of it all was a strange dance of lightning-fast slashes and oncoming bodies coming to a slowing halt.

  "We need to fall back!" Gale called out, parrying a pounce from a scout.

  Ollie fired off another shot. "Shit!"

  Suddenly, the tendrils showed him one of the scouts convulsing on the ground. Its body twisted and contorted.

  "Ollie," Gale said with a tight voice, "did you hit the head?"

  Ollie's stuttered. "I-it was an accident!"

  The scout's skin turned darker. Eyes hollowed out. Its jaw dislocated, and that was when a guttural screech echoed through the clearing.

  The ghoul lunged forward with its inhuman speed. Gale barely had time to raise his saber to block its claws. Its strength was double or triple what it once was. Though it was stronger, the baseline was still mundane. It wasn't a danger as long as they weren't flooded by the ghouls.

  "Fall back!" he shouted. "Get to the convoy!"

  Ollie and Annett did as told. They retreated back towards the trench. The remaining scouts seemed to have retreated. Breath of the Void fed him that the unturned scouts had retreated back to where they came from.

  The ghoul clawed across Gale's chest. Sabre blocked the nails that didn't seem to snap against the bone.

  He ducked another swipe at his head. Sabre immediately swung at the ghoul's knees. Its limbs separated from its body. But it wasn't done.

  The ghoul used its arms to propel itself to Gale, swinging claws mid-air. This time, Gale also cut off the arms by the stumps of its arms. Its body became just a torso with a head while its jaws snapped at him.

  Gale looked all around. The surroundings were darker than usual, of course. The dust hadn't settled yet. It was then he saw a small light glowing beyond the veil of the dust screen.

  "Gale!" Rachel's voice came off clear through the darkness. "This way!"

  He didn't need to be told twice. Mustering his strength, he sprinted towards her voice.

  Behind him, the scouts that they had cut the limbs off of began to turn. The sound of bone crackling, contorting to what would eventually make a ghoul, reached his ears. Shrieks cut through the air of the dead forest as each one of them turned.

  Though the ghouls' screeches grew fainter as Gale closed the distance to where Rachel led the group. Her hands glowed, providing him a clear direction.

  Gale soon reached the light. Rachel breathed raggedly, holding out a hand to him.

  "You okay?" she asked.

  "I'm good." Gale stepped into the ending of the trench. It was clear from the footprints that the convoy was further up ahead. They had covered a lot of ground. However, they were slightly off course from the straight line that the marble had pointed.

  "The ghouls… it might be this forest that makes them turn like whatever that is." Gale stepped over a jutting root. Glancing over his shoulder, he sent out the tendrils. Nothing. The ghouls hadn't followed. At least not for now.

  "It might be. They didn't become those things when we killed them back at the forest," Rachel said. "Come on. The convoy is just up ahead."

  Rachel jumped over a small boulder, so did Gale. The convoy members nearest to the boulder they jumped over shrank back, then sighed in relief.

  "At least give us a warning when you're gonna do that," a man said.

  Gale ignored them and jumped down from the boulder. Rachel followed suit. He reached over to the front of the convoy where Ollie sat on a log.

  "Let's go," Gale said.

  Ollie stood up, sighing. "Alright folks. Let's get movin'."

  Suddenly, Breath of the Void fed him information. Three different fast moving objects followed their trail. His earlier internal comments jinxed them.

  A ghoulish shriek tore through the air. And in an unwanted reply, a child screamed and cried from hearing the sound.

  "Something's coming!" Gale shouted. "Go! I'll hold it off!"

  "But-!" Rachel shouted.

  "Rachel! You guide them. We work as a team!" Gale cut her off.

  "Everyone! Let's go!" Rachel shouted, picking up the older members that were sitting on the ground. "Ollie, go!"

  The convoy moved slowly but surely. Gale jumped over the boulder and ran towards the oncoming ghouls. At his back, the last members left were the rear full of the women survivors.

  The first ghoul met him head on. Sabre already drawn. Claws met against bone. Shriek and spit crashed against Gale's face.

  Another swipe swung from the claws, aimed at his flank. Gale sidestepped. These things had one dimensional thoughts. All of it predictable. But there were three of them.

  The second one caught up fast. Mid air. Claws out. Aimed at his face.

  Sidestep. Sabre slashed along the second's trajectory. Flesh and bone were cut right in half from the beginning of the hand and then decapitated through the shoulder.

  [Tainted Cultist (Ghoul) felled.]

  [A foreign entity from another world enslaved by the Blue Moon.]

  [Extracting Origin from prey…]

  The third one from the side tackled him onto the ground. This one was missing legs. Gale rolled with it and kicked the ghoul off of him. Sabre whistled twice. Its remaining limbs flew off.

  The first and only remaining ghoul rushed at him from behind. Gale stepped to the side again and allowed the ghoul to meet his blade with its own momentum. Its unhinged open jaw met with the blade's edge, decapitating itself.

  [Tainted Cultist (Ghoul) felled.]

  [Extracting Origin from prey…]

  Wait... the head? Gale looked at the remaining ghoul that had no remaining limbs. It thrashed around on the ground. Hollowed eyes stared at him, jaws also snapping open and closed.

  Sabre swung down onto its head. Skull split open and brown shit looking liquid spilled onto the dry soil.

  [Tainted Cultist (Ghoul) felled.]

  [Extracting Origin from prey…]

  The head. It was always the head.

  And if you like, please join my discord server and give me a boost on TopWebFiction: