Among the Dead and Dying (Among the Masses Book 1) by A.R. Wise

Author:A.R. Wise [Wise, A.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten – Surviving

Cerrus was in hiding in a cellar along with Madeline and two other children. The girls weren’t frightened, but it was impossible not to be nervous. While The Scholar was always meticulous when planning an attack, chaos reigns in war. There are no guarantees.

The zombies wouldn’t attack Cerrus or the girls, and it was unlikely that a Sword would harm them even if they were discovered. As far as anyone else knew, they were simply down here hiding from the horde, and had no part in the attacks.

The cellar stank of mold. Old, empty wine barrels were stacked along the wall, each of them rotted and their bands rusted. Rodents scurried along the wall, their eyes flashing in the dim light of the lantern. Cerrus sneered at one of them hatefully. He was reminded of the many times others had referred to him as Cerrus the Rat, in the days before he traveled with The Scholar.

Madeline walked over to the wall, and peered up the stairs that led to the cellar door. She whispered, “Someone’s coming.”

“Are you sure?” asked Cerrus.

Madeline pointed to her ear, and then up at the ceiling. Cerrus listened, and heard faint footsteps from somewhere above. The sound grew louder as someone walked through the house. Cerrus and the children listened, hoping that whoever had broken into the house would stay away from the cellar.

A calamitous crash shook the floor, and suddenly the person above was screaming. It was a woman, and she was crying out about how the devils had found her. She was directly above them, and now there were new footsteps clopping on the wooden floor, chasing after her.

Cerrus and the children listened, hoping the zombies would swiftly murder the invader, but next came the distinct sound of soldiers’ armored boots clattering on the floor. Men yelled, fought, and thundered about, causing the children below to shudder with each loud bang.

The muffled voice of one of the soldiers bled through the floor, “Are you all right?”

The weeping woman responded, but Cerrus couldn’t hear what she said.

“Were you bit?” asked another man.

Again, Cerrus didn’t know what the woman said, but heard the soldier respond, “I’m sorry for this.”

Next the woman screamed, and was then silenced just before something thumped onto the floor. Madeline and Cerrus exchanged worried glances, and then they heard one of the soldiers say, “Let’s check the cellar.”

Word must’ve spread through the Swords that the horde nests were located in the basements of homes throughout the city. Cerrus tried to think of a way to get the Sword to leave them alone, and he headed for the stairs just as the man above started to try and open the locked door.

Madeline stopped Cerrus and whispered, “Let me talk to him.”

“No,” said Cerrus. “You stay down here.”

Madeline pulled at him harder and said, “No, you stay. If he sees you, he might mistake you for an enemy.”

Cerrus knew she was right. His wrinkled skin and grey pallor caused people to distrust him immediately.

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