Day 280 - Captain Hawkins III

 Captain Hawkins III

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

Captain Hawkins was lost, but he could not tell that to Lady Hanbrook. He thought his courage, even if it was fake, was what kept her going. And her continuing on was what kept him going. It was a good enough circle, as long as they both believed in it.

Somewhere the forest had changed. The ground was moist and mushy. His boots sank with every step. And it was getting worse. It took more and more strength to pull his legs up and to continue on. But he had to. The forest had come to life before and attacked them. But now, it was as though the forest became a maze, where the walls were constantly shifting and moving. He had spent his childhood in these woods and had run every path, but now it seemed as though he was in a strange and foreign land.

Somewhere ahead were his men, waiting. They would lend protecting and safety. If only he could find them. Ben was to have first watch, but Hawkins had trouble telling what time of night it was. The moon shifted and changed, growing in ebb and flow, finding a new home in the night’s sky. In ways it was worse than the forest.

“Ben!?” he whisper-called, trying to seek out his men, but not so loud as to alert any possible enemy to his location.

Something stirred in the forest.

“Ben? Is that you?”

It was Ben, but not Ben. Unliving, he moved slow, covered in the much and mire of the swamps. This skin had turned brown and green. It looked like bark and leaves. His face much more like chiseled markings on an old stump.

It was his former companion. But what of the rest of his men, wondered Hawkins.

“We must go back,” he said to Lady Hanbrook. “Quiet so he doesn’t hear us.”

But it was too late. Ben the woodland creature turned his head and moaned in their direction. Above the crows danced and sounded their approval.

The shot from Hawkins’ pistol did little to nothing.

“We must run!”

They turned and struggled through the mud, hurrying in the other direction. Not knowing where they were headed, but away from Ben. That was enough for now. Away. Just away. Any direction that would mean escape.

The forest twisted and turned, not helping their cause.

When they emerged from the twisted woods, they were at the crossroads. There was no sign of Ben, but Hawkins heard the sound of approaching horse hooves. He turned in defensive anticipation.

And that was when they saw the ghost soldiers riding their way on apparition steeds.

Day 279 - The Outlaw II

 The Outlaw II

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

Selena had worked for years in the manor for Lord and Lady Winston as their housemaid. In her private time though she had met Dr. Manning and fallen in love with him, not that he would know that. He did pay her special attention insomuch as it fit into his need for special access to certain homes and certain locked rooms. It bothered her on and off, but over the years he had begun to reveal town secrets to her, and she took that an he had some small affection for her, even if it wasn’t what she most hoped for.

She found Brother Janus and the woman in the study, as they rummaged through a series of old books. Selena had prepared herself to deal with the woman, knowing she was a close ally of Doctor Manning, but she hadn’t realized a man of God was part of this. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. It seemed a shame to corrupt such a man into taking part in their unholy duty, but at the same time, perhaps his prayers and proximity to such deities might be handy.

“The doctor wanted you to see this…”

The woman turned just as Selena opened her mouth to speak. I must have made a noise, Selena thoughts. Gods, that woman is quick. She could have killed me in an instant if I had been any closer.

Selena extended her hand and held out a book.

“A bible?” questioned Janus.

A celestial book of some sort, thought Selena, but no bible. No, this was far darker and would have been written by something far sinister.

“No bible I’ve ever seen,” answered Selena. “An unholy read, full of magic, murder and false prophecy. But the doctor said you would find what you needed inside.”

The woman reached out and took the book. She began to flip through the pages. Janus edged closer to her and glanced at the pages.

“What language is this? Did the doctor say anything further? Like how we might find it?”

“No sir, only that you should destroy it before you let it fall into the wrong hands.”

“There are pages missing,” said the woman.

“I don’t know nothing about that. I just did as the doctor asked.”

Janus grew nervous.

“We should go, but not the way we came. The walls… the walls of blood. Why were they bleeding?”

He turned to Selena as if she could give an answer.

“How do we get out?” he asked.

There was a sudden groan and a loud thump. The three turned to find Doctor Manning, dead, his body thrown to the ground, a broken lump.

Selena screamed and could feel her eyes grow moist.

The room began to smell a foul sick smell of rot and puss.

The woman pulled a hatchet and pushed Selena behind her.

In the doorway were the Lord and Lady Winston, but they were no longer Lord or Lady. They were rotting flesh, propped up through some magic, lumbering forward, moaning as if in pain. Dead but undead. Alive enough to strike and kill.

“Are they…” Janus was in a state of shock, not sure what to say.

“Take Selena’s hand and don’t lose her. Follow close, we’re getting out of here.”

The woman swung the hatchet as she charged the evil corpses. She pushed the Lady aside and opened a path to the door. Janus wasn’t so lucky as the Lord was more aggressive. Rotting and broken teeth sank into flesh and Janus began to scream. Selena let go of Janus and screamed in fear.

The Lady approached. Selena was certain she would be killed.

The hatchet swung down and split the Lady’s skull.

“Come on!” screamed the woman.

A hand reached out and pulled Selena along. Selena couldn’t think, tears streamed down her face. Janus was dead. Manning was dead. This woman she hated because Manning favored her had saved her. It was too much. She couldn’t think straight, all she could do was follow.

Selena looked back, and caught a glimpse of Doctor Manning and Brother Janus, standing again, alive but not alive, dead but undead. Something else. Something evil. They began to lumber along, following the women.

Day 278 - A Brother Found

 A Brother Found

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

Brother Marcus followed the crows, thinking it was a sign from above, an insight into deeper meaning. The crows took him west, away from the monastery, towards the village. He followed the crows’ path, but he already knew where they were headed – the inn.

Inside, he saw a familiar face.

Reverend Harding had been missing when chaos overtook the monastery. Brother Kendrick had taken over his chambers and been turned into something horrific. Marcus had worried Harding was dead, or perhaps worse, had helped instigate the madness, a member of some nefarious sect, a brotherhood in league with the devils. But here he was, by the fireplace, with two of the village elders, Lord Hanbrook and Sebastian Skinner.

They huddled over a large tome, a registry of some sort, but Sebastian closed it as Marcus approached.

“Brother Marcus…?”

“Father… the monastery…”

“Yes?”

“Can we speak in private.”

“When I’m finished here.”

“It’s important.”

“So is this.”

Reverend Harding handed him a few coins.

“Pay for a room. Steady yourself. I will be along shortly.”

Marcus didn’t want to argue with the Reverend, but he didn’t know who he could trust and didn’t want to speak of the horrors he had seen in front of the other men. He could tell he was not welcome by them either. He took the coins and apologized for the interruption, which seemed like the polite thing to do.

The room was mostly bare. A bed and a desk for writing and a few candle sticks. Marcus knelt beside the bed and began to pray. He was sure Kendrick was beyond help or hope, but he prayed anyway. He prayed Reverend Harding would know what to do.

Marcus lit the candles and waited, but Harding was slow to arrive. Marcus grew restless with worry. Perhaps he should return to the inn library and see if Harding was still there. But he had already interrupted the men once and was afraid to do so again.

The light from the candles reflected in the windows and Marcus thought his mind was playing tricks on him. He would swear the glow was different. The flames danced back and forth, but in the window, they were still. Almost as if there were two glowing eyes outside his window, looking a back at him.

Marcus took a step closer and his reflection appeared in the glass, but it was warped and strange to behold. It was him, but not. A wraith or a shadow or some other sinister being, there to spy.

Something began scratching on the door and the floorboards creaked and the window pane moaned. Something was coming for him. A cold dead echo of the past.

Marcus ran to the door, but it would not open. He was trapped.

Day 277 - The Ghost Hunter III

 The Ghost Hunter III

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

The statue had touched Brother Darius. His arm was already turning hard and gray. They would have to kill him soon, though neither Abigail or Darius wanted to admit it. Nadia almost felt sorry for them. Perhaps they had been secret lovers, or perhaps Abigail simply had more humanity it her. Either way, Nadia knew what needed to occur. The transformation might be slow, but it was painful and was always complete. Darius would become one of them. And then he was a danger to them all.

Abigail moved to help pull Darius away from the statue, but Nadia stopped her, shaking her head no. For a moment it looked as though Abigail would cry.

Nadia grabbed the alter candle holder and smashed it against the statute. It had little to no effect. Nadia couldn’t risk touching Darius but she felt sorry for Abigail. She needed to try something else. She ran to grab the bible from the alter, hoping that some holy power could slow the stone creature.

The stone creature recoiled and loosened its grip on Darius.

They fled the church, out into the night.

The cat’s head perked up. Someone was nearby. Nadia noticed the cat didn’t hiss or make any defensive motion. The cat was strangely calm. The cat knew.

Sophie appeared from the shadows. She had several journal entries and a history book with a map of the old abandoned village outside town.

“We can’t go along the stream,” she explained. “The crows have taken over the night, and the covered bridge seems…” She paused, not wanting to say. “You’ll think me mad,” she continued, “but it seems haunted.”

Nadia looked at Abigail and Darius. Darius tugged his sleeve down making sure his arm was hidden from sight.

“No. There are many and more strange things afoot tonight. We don’t think you’re mad.”

“I can get us through the woods,” offered Darius. “I know all the old paths.”

“But is it safe?” asked Abigail.

“Nothing is safe tonight,” replied Nadia. “We have to try.”

Day 276 - The Shadows Grew Darker III

 The Shadows Grew Darker III

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

The crows were on the move. The wind kicked up and a dark laughter echoed from the hills through the forests and to the swamps.

Ben had been given the night watch. Captain Hawkins had wanted the men ready at a moment’s notice. Ben hadn’t been told why or where the Captain was going, but he was given orders and he followed them. While the other men rested, he kept an eye out for strange doings and unexpected threats. The Captain’s words stayed with him. The militia had to deal the thieves and outlaws and occasional vagabonds and raiders from the coast. But all the talk of strange and unexpected were beyond him. But he did his duty anyway.

Ben fought off his heavy eyelids. His head bobbed once or twice and his shoulders sank. The night seemed especially long and especially dark. Maybe it had been a dream, or his imagination playing tricks, but he would have sworn he saw movement in the trees. He had to investigate.

Ben moved closer to the trees. His foot sank in the mud. There was a putrid stench of waste and rot. There had been no rain. They were far from the river. But still the ground sank. Suddenly it wasn’t one boot in the mud, but two, and it seemed too soft for him to lift his feet.

Ben looked up and noticed a crow high above on a tree branch watching him. He reached for a lower branch and pulled himself up. He would need to be more careful. He looked at the ground and wished for more moonlight. There seemed to be a trail of slime.

Suddenly a twisted mud-covered appendage reached out and wrapped around him. Ben was pulled down into the abyss and swallowed whole into the mud below.

The crow on the high above branch called out into the night, then flapped its wings and flew off, on the move again.

Day 275 - The Outlaw

 The Outlaw

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

Brother Janus carried a pouch full of religious artifacts. The Outlaw carried multiple pistols on her person. They met north of the village near the farmlands.

“You’re late. Were you followed?” asked The Outlaw.

Janus explained that escaping the monastery had proved harder than expected. He brought the artifacts, but had crossed paths with the coachman earlier in the evening and they two had fought near the mill.

“We have to move. No telling where he is.”

The Outlaw led the way. They headed towards the wealthy manors just outside the village. They approached a dimly lit home, when Dr. Manning emerged from the shadows.

“You were to come alone,” he chided.

“Janus is on our side.”

Dr. Manning gave her a key.

“This will open every door in the house.”

“What about the lord and lady?”

“Ill. They won’t bother you.”

“You poison them?”

“What kind of doctor do you think I am?” he asked, wistfully, his lips pursed tight.

“That’s why I asked.”

He was silent for a moment. Perhaps considering a lie, she wondered.

“Not I, he answered. But I made sure they won’t recover tonight. You’ll be able to search in peace.”

The Outlaw took the key and nodded. Dr. Manning slipped back into the shadows and Janus followed the Outlaw towards a back servant entrance.

She unlocked the door and entered. Janus followed, placed his hand on the wall for balance, then recoiled in surprise.

“What is it?” she asked.

“The walls are wet…”

She touched the wall.

“Water?” asked Janus.

“Blood.”

Day 274 - Captain Hawkins II

 Captain Hawkins II

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

The night seemed to never end and Captain Hawkins had begun to think himself mad when Lady Hanbrook finally arrived. She brought materials to add to his notes. She had stolen a set of ancient scrolls from her husband’s library and pages of a diary from three years prior.

The journal told the story of James and Calhoun as they discovered what they called forest people.

The fire died down and Captain Hawkins stopped reading. He turned to Lady Hanbrook. It looked as though the trees had come closer. The branches were reaching for them. As though the forest itself was trying to stop them.

Something had come to life; nature its domain. The trees attacked.

Hawkins grabbed Hanbook’s hand and pulled her with him, leaving several pages of text beside the fire. They ran through the forest; dodging attacks form the branches.

Hawkins took blow after blow, the branches ripping into his skin.

The echoing winds kicked up. There were cries of pain and shrieks of terror in the night sky. Screams of terror came from the monastery. The caw of crows up above.

They were lost and frightened, but Lady Hanbrook’s hand gripped his tight, and gave him strength to continue. He would go on, determined to defeat these terrors of the night.