“Captain… They’re staring at us,” I say as my legs begin to tremble. Captain Newgate stands tall with his chin pointed upwards and replies, “It shouldn’t matter how they act, even if it is unsettling. Their plague ends here.” He runs his hands through his crimson hair, putting his helmet on slowly. I focus my gaze on the wave of cadavers across the river from us. They stand, beckoning for our cannons and steel. I pull out my telescope and direct it towards them. They still breathe. Some of the bodies carry blades covered in ichor. Some wear an armour with deep dents and pierce marks near the heart or skull. Many have eyes layered with a greyish film. They walk as if they were toddlers, with legs that crunch on the cracked, lightly-vegetated soil. One falls, losing its helmet and revealing a head of pale skin that sags, loosely holding the tissue its attached to. I lower my scope. “All of them are lifeless. Not dead, just lifeless. One could argue being alive is enough to be considered living, but are they in control? They flail about like they just learned to walk! I want to help people in any way possible, that’s why I came to you for help, but what are we gonna-“ “Silence, Michael!” Newgate stares at me with his eyes furled. “When you agreed to fight alongside us, you agreed to fight any threat to this kingdom. That agreement means you listen to me, and do not question my orders. Do I make myself clear?” “Yes Captain, but what are we going to do?” “We’re going to march, and we’re going to use everything we have to keep this plague from infiltrating the walls.” Newgate turns points behind the soldiers standing behind us and shouts, “are the cannons ready?” A soldier replies, “Yes, Captain!” “Then fire!” A loud boom comes from behind us, I focus my telescope again, seeing the fodder dissipate among the crowd of bodies. “Damn it. We’ll have the most luck up close and personal. Draw your blades!” The sound of steel being unsheathed echoes throughout the valley. I wipe sweat from my brow as the sun beats down on us, and put my telescope away. I bring the end of my pike up to my hand, and the end of it catches my sword, sending it to the ground. “Get it together, Michael. Everyone here is ready to fight. Are you?” As I return my blade to my sheathe and ready my pike, Newgate commands, “Charge!” The sound of thousands of feet on dry dirt carries itself towards the vast crowd of death. As we approach, the smell of rotting meat and viscera grows overpowering, but my steel still tears through the enemy’s flesh before I unsheathe my sword. The decrepit bodies lash out, digging their broken fingernails into the skin of those who have it exposed. Above me, I hear a small whirring as arrows scrape their armour. Off to the side, I see about ten of them piling on one of our men. Our allies scream. The enemies groan. With every kill, ten more appear. Another cannon goes off and hits some enemies to my left. They get right back up. I begin to feel my heart in my chest, and feel my knees shaking. I look to my left and see a forest with luscious greenery. My eyelids grow heavy as I shake my head Men on horses arrive and start attacking in the front line, as the captain and the pikemen retreat. Newgate shouts, “We’re outnumbered! Fall back, and close the gates!” Men on horses are grabbed off and disappear among the enemies. The horses remain untouched. My heart continues beating faster and faster. The walking corpses tread closer towards the stone walls surrounding the city. The crunches of broken bones grow closer and odorous smells of blood choke all of us. As we begin to be pushed too close to the castle walls, coughing and puking, I see the final man of the cavalry mounting his steed. My mind acts on its own, readying my blade, charging for him and swinging my blade through his neck. As the headless body topples on the ground, I mount the horse and head towards the forest. From behind me, I hear screams as if people were being tortured mercilessly by a madman. I hear iron scraping on stone and a horn that begins to drown it all out. It gets quieter. And quieter. And then it stops. Tears stream down my face as I stop the horse at a large cypress tree. I dismount, falling onto my knees and looking up at the tree. With a short sniffle, I wipe my tear and stand. The next kingdom could be more helpful than the last ones.