Alastair Archibald: Dark Priory

Quelgrum spun around at a faint knocking, creaking sound that seemed to come from ground level. He shot a swift glance at Shakkar, wondering if he had imagined the sound, but the demon's lowered brows and bared fangs showed that he had heard it, too.

"Who's there?” he demanded. “Show yourself!"

Now, the General heard a similar sound from his left flank, a little closer.

"Everybody up, now!” Quelgrum yelled. “Something's happening!"

Another tapping, creaking sound, this time to the General's right. Quelgrum squeezed the trigger and loosed three bullets in the sound's general direction.

He heard another subterranean creak, and another.

"What is it, Sir?"

Quelgrum turned to see a breathless Sergeant Erik, his rifle in his hands.

"I don't know, Sergeant, but I don't like it."

Numal arrived, leading the blinded Tordun by the hand. Even in the campfire's dim illumination, his face appeared pale.

"Fan out,” Quelgrum ordered. “Whatever's coming, it seems to be all around us."

"It's probably just squirrels, General,” Tordun said. “Just throw-"

At that moment, the soldier heard a rumbling, tearing sound and the ground seemed to open up. A scant thirty feet ahead of him, Quelgrum saw a humanoid figure arise from the very earth, emitting a bone-chilling groan of hatred and anguish. The General felt the short hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention. Flakes of earth dripped from the unearthly creature, and hot resolve replaced cold disquiet.

Quelgrum squeezed the trigger of his weapon and launched a trio of bullets into the being as it stumbled towards him. The creature staggered, but it did not slow in its advance.

Erik's weapon spat fire towards the advancing, shambling entity, cutting it in half. The two halves of the creature fell in opposite directions, each hitting the ground with a dull thump. However, no spray of blood accompanied the destruction.

"A zombie,” Numal said in a tremulous voice, “one of the Undead! And yet I don't see any sign of Necromancy; what's causing this?"

Quelgrum saw three more beings arising from the ground: one bore a mantle of grey-green slime and dripped a rain of pale maggots; the other two were bleached skeletons. This time, the General and the Sergeant did not wait for the creatures to find their feet before firing. Swaying their weapons back and forth in sawing motions, they bisected the undead monsters in an instant.

Another tremor rumbled, and more zombies appeared. Quelgrum squeezed his trigger again, and a scant five bullets emerged before he heard a dull click from his rifle. As the creatures advanced further, he forced down his rising emotions, ejected the spent magazine and pushed in another. He heard Erik's weapon run dry as Shakkar ran forward.

The monsters scored deep gashes in the demon's sides as he tore them apart, and the Seneschal roared, perhaps more in defiance than in pain.

"If you can give us any advice on these things, Necromancer Numal, I'm sure we'd all be grateful,” Quelgrum shouted, as he saw the mage swing his staff in a wide arc to decapitate yet another creature.

"This is outside my training and experience, General,” Numal said and moaned. “If you can protect me and leave one of the creatures intact while I try to gain control of it, I might be able to persuade it to attack the others."

The ground shivered again. “Here they come again!” shouted Erik. “I've only got three magazines left. I'm going to try a few grenades-let's see how they like that!"

Quelgrum swung his firing rifle in a wide arc-the damned things are all around us! — and he heard the dull thump of grenades exploding amongst the hordes of undead assailants. Only those creatures immediately next to the explosions seemed affected by Erik's grenades; any human within several yards would have been torn apart by the flying metal shards, but the zombies continued to advance. Some limped, some had lost arms, but the ghastly attack did not slow.

Tordun leaped into the middle of the forward group of attackers, knocking many away with his hammer-like fists but only slowing the advance. Quelgrum heard the now-familiar groans and rumbles on all sides, and he knew panic for the first time since his extreme youth. He looked behind him to see Numal flailing with his staff like some mad reaper, and he knew the group could not last long in the midst of this awful killing ground.

The General aimed single shots at the heads of the advancing horde, trying to conserve his ammunition; occasionally, he was rewarded by the sight of an exploding skull and a falling foe, but, more often, a shambling monster just ignored the damage.

"Get to the road and regroup, people!” Quelgrum shouted. He saw Shakkar swing around, as a group of seven zombies began to rip the cart apart behind them. “Forget it, Shakkar!” he screamed, his voice a counterpoint to the frightened, brutalised horses’ whinnying, as they were torn apart by the monsters’ claws. “Let's get to the road.

"Move it!"

He laid down what he hoped was a suppressing fire, joined by the reliable Sergeant, urging the small party down to the hard-packed road; surely nobody could be buried there. At last, they reached the parched thoroughfare, and Quelgrum breathed a sigh of relief; both Shakkar and Tordun had scarlet gashes on their bodies, but their wounds did not appear serious. At least the zombies moved slowly, and the road was well-lit by the bright, full moon.

"Let's hope the wagon keeps them occupied for a while,” Quelgrum said. “Necromancer Numal; is there anything you can do?"

"I'll try to take control of some of the undead creatures, General. Maybe I can persuade them to attack each other."

"Better make it fast, Lord Mage,” Erik advised. “They're still moving."

A large group of zombies now made its way through the undergrowth. They were still distant and their pace appeared leisurely, but Quelgrum saw more of the creatures emerging from the other side of the road.

"They're trying to outflank us!” the General said. “Let's pull back!"

"Look, General,” Shakkar rumbled. “Look!"

Quelgrum's eyes followed the direction of the pointing, taloned finger; shambling streams of the undead monsters had begun to stumble onto the road behind them. They were still at some distance, but the closing ring of zombies precluded any simple escape except towards the Priory.

Numal shook his head and his forehead crinkled. “Somebody has to be controlling them,” he said. “The Undead have no volition or desires."

"Well, find them!” Quelgrum commanded. “Sergeant, how many grenades do you have left?"

"A couple, Sir."

"See if you can take out the group behind us, so we can retreat back down the road. At least we could put some distance between us and them while we decide what to do next."

Erik raised his weapon and launched his remaining grenades to land behind the shambling group, which was now at least three deep. The explosions made a satisfying noise, tearing apart many of the undead assailants, but the whirling fragments had little effect on the others.

"We'll break through,” the General said, hearing the relentless tread of the approaching zombies on each flank. “Lord Seneschal, will you attempt an assault on the rear group while Sergeant Erik and I try to hold back the others?"

"I'll attack them head on, General,” Tordun said, his voice firm with resolve. “I can make out their outlines well enough. Perhaps friend Shakkar could fly over them and attack them from behind."

"Do it!” Quelgrum shouted, trying to contain his inner terror as he and the Sergeant fired at the flanking zombies, trying to pick their targets and aim for their heads.

Tordun launched himself at the mass of slow-moving creatures, screaming in rage as Shakkar surged into the air. Quelgrum heard the dull click of the hammer falling on the empty chamber, and he tried to remain calm as he ejected the spent magazine and slammed in his last. He concentrated on the left flank, trusting Erik to make his shots count on the right. The stuttering bullets felled scores of the creatures, but others seemed to fill the gaps as soon as their rotting comrades fell. Still no zombies appeared from the direction of the Priory, and Quelgrum felt sure that the unseen controller was trying to lure them towards it; he was determined not to rush into a trap.