WWotWW - Chapter 33 - Dealing with the Dead (Patreon)

“What’s with you?” Clara asked as I came galloping up to her. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I slid off Nightmare and glanced at the girls before sliding up to her. “Not ghost, zombie,” I hissed quietly. “We need to put up your wards right now, or we’re going to have a serious problem.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Clara said. “Didn’t we already take care of that thing last night?”

“I’m not,” I replied quietly. “When I was searching the area, I stumbled upon a suspicious trail. I followed it back to what appeared to be a body dump site with nearly a dozen unmarked graves.”

“A dozen?” she asked, horrified.

“Five of them had already clawed their way to the surface, and a sixth tried to emerge when I approached the area,” I said. “If we want to cross the area and find Plays tribe, we'd better have a plan. Running into a horde out here would be a disaster.”

“Do you think that’s why we haven’t seen any sign of the tribe? They vacated the area due to the undead?” Clara asked.

“Normally, I’d say no, but you saw how the spirit acted last night, something about it really freaked it out, and if the tribe’s guardians were afraid of those zombies…”

“They probably wouldn’t risk engaging them,” Clara finished. “Makes sense.” She bit her lip for a minute, then turned towards the girls. “Mary can you ask Plays where her Tribe would go if they felt threatened?”

“Why? Did something happen?” the girl asked. “Did Zoey find something?” 

“Signs of more zombies,” I admitted. “Which is why we have to be exceptionally cautious if we plan to move forward.”

“More? Aren’t zombies supposed to be exceptionally rare?” Mary asked. 

“If the dead are shown the proper respect,” I said. “And most people have enough common sense to perform the proper rites. Someone went out of their way to infest this area.”

“Are we in danger?” Mary asked. 

“We could be. You should never take the undead lightly; that’s why we’d like to know where Play’s tribe would go if they were threatened. It’s better if we don’t stick around the area too long,” I said.

Mary bit her lip, then nodded and turned to her friend. After a quick discussion, during which Plays appeared to get significantly more agitated, Mary turned back towards Clara and I.

“She said if her family was threatened, they would have retreated through the northern pass. The valley where they spend the winter is smaller and only has two entrances, so it’s easier to secure. If the tribe isn’t somewhere in this valley, that’s where they’d be,” Mary said. “Please tell me you have a plan, because I was barely able to convince Plays to stick with us and not run off to find her people.”

“Please do your best to keep her calm,” Clara said. “We all want to find her tribe, and the last thing we need is for us to get separated.”

“Can you adjust the wards so we can use them on the go? Hang them off our saddles or something?” I asked.

Clara turned towards me and raised an eyebrow. “Although wards aren’t super complicated to create, they’re not exactly the most versatile things in the world. I’d have to design and create new wards from scratch, and I doubt we have the time for that right now.”

“True, The longer we sit around, the more likely we are to attract unwanted attention,” I muttered. “So the question now is, do we bother checking the main campsite in this valley, or go directly to the northern pass?”

“I think a better question would be, do we bother moving from this point and risk not finding a decent campsite before night falls, or do we stay here in what is a fairly defensible location?” Clara countered. “If we get stuck in an unfavorable location, we may not have enough wards to completely protect our camp.”

“I’m not sure… On the one hand this is a relatively safe location, but on the other hand the longer we sit here, the more likely we are to encounter one of the other zombies wandering around,” I replied. “I really wish we still had the spirit around. I’m sure it would be able to lead us to a decent location.”

“You realize that we have someone else who has intimate information about the valley with us, right?” Mary asked, rolling her eyes. She turned to Plays and asked something, and after a couple seconds, the native girl started nodding enthusiastically and gesturing towards the valley.

“Plays says there’s a clearing the tribe used to use as a hunting camp about a two-hour ride from here that sits about halfway between here and the main village location,” Mary relayed. “It’s also not far from the Guardian’s lair, so we wouldn’t have to make a huge detour if we wanted to check on it.”

“Tempting,” Clara muttered. “I’d prefer to get as far away from the dumping site as possible before it gets dark to limit the chances of something unsavory wandering into our campsite while we’re resting. However, it’s getting a little late in the day, and I dont know if we’ll be able to make it to the next site before it gets dark. The campsite might be safer, but I’m not sure it would be worth it if we get caught traveling through the woods after dark. What do you think?”

I glanced up at the sky and considered for a moment. “I think it’s worth the risk. The further we get from the dumpsite, the less likely it is that we’ll encounter a zombie, or even worse, a horde. Besides, if we encounter a zombie on the way, the horses should easily be able to outmaneuver them,” I said. 

“That’s assuming the zombies are the worst thing running around the forest,” Clara said.

“True,” I muttered, as I stroked my chin. “I still think it’s worth moving. If we wanted to stay here, I’d suggest we try to place impromptu headstones at the dump site, which comes with its own set of risks. Even though I’m sure the two of us COULD do it, I wouldn’t like to risk wandering into a bunch of zombies to do it.”

“There are risks no matter what choice we make,” Clara agreed. “I think a better question should be, if we do make a run for it, could we protect the kids on the way? Even if it gets dark?”

“We’re not completely useless you know,” Mary said, cutting in. “Although Plays and I aren’t the most experienced witches in the world, we do know some basic magic. We should be able to defend ourselves long enough for one of you two to help us.” 

 “That’s true. You two may be young, but you’ve already been through a lot, and we probably shouldn’t be making every decision without your input,” Clara said. “I know which option Plays would prefer, but what about you? What do you think we should do?”

Mary stared at us wide-eyed for a moment; she apparently never expected Clara to ask her opinion. After a couple of seconds, she shook her head to clear it, and took a thoughtful pose. “If both options have their risks, then I think we should move to the other campsite,” she said. “I don’t know if we’d be any safer if we moved further away from the gravesite, but I think it would be better to keep moving forward than it would to stay here. Although we could fortify this location, and move on tomorrow, I think the longer we spend in this valley, the more likely it is that we’ll run into something hostile. We should do everything in our power to keep moving forward.”

“The girl has a point,” I said, nodding slightly.

“That she does,” Clara agreed. “And I agree with that logic. If that’s what everyone wants to do, then we should pack up and get moving ASAP if we want to have any chance of arriving before sundown. Mary, can you please inform Plays?”

As Mary turned away I leaned closer to Clara. “Are you okay? You don’t look that enthusiastic about the decision,” I said.

“It’s not my preferred option, but I respect everyone else’s opinion,” she replied. “I just hope we don’t regret the decision.”

“If things go wrong, we’ll deal with it,” I replied. “It’ll be the consequences of our own actions after all. Come on, if we doddle, the kids will have to wait for us, and as you said, time is of the essence.” 

Clara nodded. “Go ahead and make your preparations. I’ll be right behind you.”