Benefaction

Kevin slowly nodded, assuming that "Madaline" was his employer's name. The man shook his head disapprovingly and mumbled in Cubano as he walked away.

Kevin pulled the goat inside where "Madaline" was waiting for him.

She slowly moved to examine the goat. After feeling its head, abdomen and legs a few times, she said, "Good."

Kevin tried to give her the rope, however she didn't reach out to grab it instead saying "Can you help me with something else? I pay you more."

Kevin considered the offer

"How much?"

"25 copper pennies."

Kevin asked, "What do you need?"

Madaline said, "Hold the goat stilI as I make benefaction to Babalú-Lázaro"

She used words Kevin wasn't familiar with, but he understood the general concept. He was being asked to hold the goat still. It was an odd request in his eyes, but the low level of difficulty and the extra payment made it tempting. He agreed and grabbed the goat by the horns, using his grip and the rope to keep it in place.

The woman first went to her counter to find copper pennies to give Kevin. After a few minutes, she gave him another bag, which he stuffed into his pockets. She then took the rope and guided the goat towards her shrine, sitting it down on the blanket.

She then moved her mat away, lit four candles and placed additional herbs and flowers next to the shrine. Once finished, she began to pray in a language completely unknown to Kevin while making prostrations.

Kevin felt awkward watching. The goat kept getting louder and increasingly struggled against Kevin's grip, becoming harder to contain.

Once 5 minutes had passed, Madaline stood up and moved towards the goat, taking out a sharp ritualistic knife.

Kevin froze as he realized what was happening.

She was going to sacrifice the goat.

Before he could say anything, Madaline slashed the throat of the goat and let its blood flow onto the blanket beneath. He let go as the goat kicked him.

"Get back up!"

Kevin did as told and helped Madaline stop the goat from running around as its blood drained. He watched in horror as Madaline proceeded to chant and dance around the goat.

When Kevin considered intervening, the candle lights grew into tall flames, engulfing the shrine in its glow.

Frozen in place, Kevin did as ordered, holding the goat down until it took its last kicks. Its blood formed a pool on the ground and soaked the blanket. It spread onto the floor, causing Kevin to back away in response lest it get onto his clothes. He watched as Madaline danced until she collapsed onto the ground; her face falling into the pool of blood.

She said in Cubano "Oh mighty ocha, oh divine santo restore my vigour and health."

The candles went dark and all outdoor light dimmed to the point of being nearly imperceptible, causing Kevin to jump up in fright. After a pause of 5 seconds, the candles returned to their normal states.

Madaline, whose face was covered in blood, stood up quickly reaching her hands towards the sky

"Praise to you Babalú-Lázaro, you have expelled my disease from the earth."

Kevin's mouth gaped open as he stared at the new scene in front of him. He realized that a new abnormality had developed.

The sacrificial goat was nowhere to be seen.

***

Leonid peeked through the slightly open window of the hut, his heart racing. The sun had risen hours ago, and it was no longer raining. Through it, he saw a monstrous figure roaming about slowly.

The creature had the appearance of a transmuted fish with green scales covering its body and fins. It was hunched over with large scaly arms and legs. The beast resembled descriptions of Murlocs that Leonid read about during an assignment in Cuba. However, the ones here had obvious aberrations, the most obvious being their uneven haphazard limbs and the patches where their green scales became fleshy skin. It was also odd seeing them here, as most reports of murlocs came from the coast.

As the murloc slowly moved back and forth, its wide, gaping mouth, filled with sharp teeth, hung open. Its tongue dangled on occasion, licking the ground. Leonid stared for another minute before another one came into view, upon which he ducked under and shut the window.

Sometime during the night, these grotesque creatures had swarmed the village and devoured everyone they came upon. Leonid hadn't gotten any sleep being holed up in the hut with his former companion's rotting corpses.

The smell of death thankfully hadn't set in yet, but being unable to leave the sight of dead bodies for hours on end, sitting on blood-soaked floors, and not being able to leave the sight of ripped limbs and organs was making it unbearable. If he'd eaten anything the night before, he likely would've vomited it out.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

The murlocs outside started hitting the door as if they were trying to knock.

The only reason Leonid himself hadn't become a gourmet snack was because the beasts didn't seem to understand the concept of doors and seemed to believe that once out of sight, prey ceased to exist. With this knowledge, Leonid had come to the conclusion that his comrades had died because they mistook the noise of the murlocs hitting the door with him knocking and made the mistake of opening the door.

Leonid waited, his nerves tense.

Eventually, the knocking ceased, allowing Leonid to breathe a momentary sigh of relief.

He would eventually have to leave, but he couldn't risk it until he had a plan. From what information he'd gathered, Leonid estimated that there were at least a dozen murlocs of the same size and breed in the village if he got into a fight with one that he didn't end quickly it was very possible that he would get outnumbered and swarmed.

With this in mind, he figured the ideal plan would be to unite with the other CIA agents in the company, but there was no guarantee they had survived.

Over the night, Leonid had heard screams and gunshots coming from soldiers who decided to risk fighting and feared that Amelia's rather large group was among them. He also had no idea where the only other CIA operative, Marke, had been before the attack.

Leonid looked back at the corpses inside the hut, many of them still held spears and machetes. Balah's rifle was still laying on the floor next to him with its ammo cartridges scattered about.

Leonid pitied them. He'd known these men for months. They were his allies and friends. Whereas once they had stories, hopes and dreams, now they were simply sacks of lifeless meat. Leonid resolved to have them buried quickly, lest the local wildlife consume them.

Leonid reached down and grabbed Balah's rifle, along with some ammunition. He wrapped the strap it came with around his shoulder and stuffed a cartridge into the magazine. He glanced at a machete nearby. Once the rifle ran out of ammo, he'd have to fight close range where he was at risk of being ripped apart by a potential counterattack. So despite his pessimism about its actual usefulness, desiring an insurance policy, he quickly pried it from Salifu's cold, dead hands.

Leonid crept slowly to the window, his heart pounding faster and faster. After seeing there were no abominations outside the door, Leonid clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

"Praise! Desto right hand of the Breaker of Worlds. I humbly beg you to grant me the strength to escape this nightmare and return to the light. Let the wicked become dust and the righteous flourish. Praise!"

As he finished the prayer, a surge of energy coursed through his body, energizing him.

Leonid took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and walked to the door. He gripped the handle of the machete, his knuckles turning white, and pushed open the door. Heart pounding rapidly, he stepped outside, the sun's glare blinding him. His hair became spikey as the electricity generated from his body surged onto the machete's blade. His first destination was the shack he last saw Amelia, hoping to either join forces with her or at the very least ensure her body was located for burial.

He crept through the village, cautiously sticking close to abandoned residences in case he needed to make a quick escape. The ground was still somewhat muddy, slowing down his movements and making each step strenuous.

After minutes of walking, Leonid arrived near the entrance of the hut Amelia took him to the pervious night. There were several corpses on its peripheries in various states of mutilation and disfigurement. Lying next to them was a large murloc corpse with several slashes on its abdomen and neck. In total, there were 12 corpses rotting in the afternoon sun. Similar to the dead back at his hut, the murlocs seemed to leave the bodies of the dead alone rather than feasting on them. Leonid approached the hut and knocked on the door.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!