The Messengers of Sanctuary

3 - Zachary

To the west of the mountains, there were plenty of strongholds and forts. Places where people could be relatively safe from the undead hordes. That wasn’t to say that they were entirely safe. A nightstalker could appear at any time, and if even one part of the fort’s nightly defenses was down, they wouldn’t live long enough to regret the mistake.

People feared runners and terrors too, but the terrors were too rare to be an issue. Besides, there was nothing that one could do to defend themselves from such a monster. Runners were just common enough that by now, Ceder’s Pointe was used to the things. 

The night that the safety ended was crisp and clear in Zach’s mind. Screams of pain, the earspliting booms of gunshot from old Neilson’s oft-forgotten gun. Zach remembered acting as bait to lure the nightstalker away so Mist and Ceren could escape. 

Zach remembered it attacking him from the shadows as the moon moved by overhead. 

He remembered the moment that he realized he would be dead soon. 

Zach had never pegged himself as the type of person who would willingly sacrifice his future for another, but as the nightstalker had zeroed in on old Neilson’s position, as the ammo for the single gun steadily was emptied into the approaching zombie. As Zach felt himself move, felt himself tackle the powerful undead with his own body. 

He knew that his own life was a fitting sacrifice for the safety of the kindly old man. 

Neilson ran. 

Zach felt the nightstalkers teeth rip at his own flesh as it attempted to throw him off. He held though. He held with all he had, knowing that the precious moments the monster was distracted were giving Mist and the others more time to escape. 

The broken spotlights they’d affixed to the palisade flickered and came back on. The nightstalker let out an unholy screech, finally throwing him off as it fled further into the stronghold, avoiding the light with a terrible grace. 

Zach got up and ran, he held the wound at his side, feeling it throb with the beating of his heart. He was dead. He would become a creature that would seek to destroy. 

He still somehow felt that living even a moment longer was worth it, and so he fled into the forest. 

Seven days. 

That’s how long it would take. 

Zach had found Mist, Neilson, and Ceren, he’d made sure they were okay, and then he’d parted ways with them. He was infected and they knew it, there was no point in endangering them further by his presence. 

After that Zach moved west. He’d heard rumors...rumors of a cure or at least a preventative. It was his only hope. 

--- Chicory ---

The sun began to set once more, a cycle that always must be. Chicory hadn’t stopped again until she came across a rabbit that wasn’t paying quite enough attention. She shot it mostly out of reflex, her bow in her hand before she even really registered the movement. 

Chicory was very happy that her training had gotten so automatic. 

After an hour of preparing and cooking the rabbit, she finally got to eat, enjoying the texture of the meat. The majority of the rabbit had been dried and salted to help with preservation, and she would be finishing it for the next couple of days. 

Most messengers didn’t need to live off the land, but if Chicory wanted to find every single stronghold and get them into circulation, she had to do plenty of rough work.  

Chicory hummed to herself as she stashed the remaining meat in her bag and begun to set up her hammoc high in the trees. Once it was sturdy, she left for her evening run, smiling as the stars began to appear overhead.