Chapter 5

He looked out at his surroundings. The narrow and twisting streets pitted with rough holes, splashed with blood, a lot of blood.

The cathedral which stood a few seconds away was billowing smoke into the pitch dark sky, the darkness never left and they have gotten used to it.

Looking at the chariots and the dead horses, he needed no scroll to tell him the undead had hit the main city.

As undead and lanky these Gloomers may have appeared, they were very cunning and William knew that to get accustomed to the silence that resided over the main city. The place looked deserted, nothing moved, but he knew they were there. He looked around for a while then signaled his men to move on.

He fell down at the first step made. The infection has made it was way above his arm and this has weaken him. His arm felt numb and he knew if he continue with the men, he would slow them down, something he could not let happen considering his life depended on finding Harold.

"Sire!" the man behind him made an attempt to pick him up.

"NO!" he forced it out, breathing hard on the thin air passing through his nostrils. "Leave me here and find Harold! Remember an arrow right through his eye."

"No sire, we can't leave you here," the solider gulped, concern taking over him. "It's not safe out here. You can get killed."

"You have to leave me. I am slowing you down," William looked him in the eye, assuring him of his safety. "Besides, I can turn you on."

"Maybe we can get a cure for you sire?"

"Cure? The only cure is Harold and that is why you must find him. I can't make it any longer in this darkness. You-" He paused, coughing blood. He tried to hide it, but his men were too smart to be tricked like that.

"We can't leave you here, sire!" The protest went on. "There is a stable over there, just a few minutes away from the castle. Two of us will take you there and the rest will find Harold."

William opened his mouth to oppose, but all the narrowed pupils at him clearly indicated that none of them were taking 'no' as an answer.

The walls of the huge castle looked more old than they were supposed to. Grand windows are scattered generously across the walls in an asymmetric pattern, along with small holes for archers and artillery.

A bigger gate with massive metal doors, a regular bridge and various artillery equipment offered a safe home to all those in need in hard times. The path in was pretty tricky, no wonder people thought more than a hundred times before choosing this place for safety.

Lucky for William, all his men were trained to get the safety and perks of every situation. But that didn't stop him from feeling ill about how silent the place looked.

There was just nothing right about the scene. He felt suspicious, but he couldn't afford to risk his life. The castle was the only option for him.

In haste, they dragged the weary William who had half of his body dyed blue with the poisonous infections. They carefully lay him on a pile of hay, making it as comfortable as possible.

The horses whined, alerting the soldiers of the presence of an intruder.

Harold bowed down, hiding behind the wheel of the broken carriages. The gloomers had taken over London, he didn't know his hard earned work would turn against him.

He trembled at the sight of William's soldiers over him, the slow moaning of William gave them the hint they had to finish what he started.

Without thinking, one of them shove an arrow right through his eyes.

His screams evaded the silence that resided over the town.

The darkness that rule of the town slowly faded giving way for the sun. In what seemed like a man relieved of his demons, William got up feeling well again.

They headed out in search of survivors hoping they could find any so he can take his place as King of England and build a great empire out of it.

The end.

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