“How many stones do you see above your head?”
Tanda searched the tainted air, trying to see through the dimly lit area that held a fine layer of mist-type dust that had been created from the aftermath. “I can’t tell; it’s too hard to see. Should I try to feel for it?”
“No, you may cause more to come down on top of you. Stay there, I will be right back.” A few minutes later, Martin returned with a burning torch. “Move back so I can hand this to you.”
Tanda took the flaming light and made her way down the pile of collapsed ceiling debris and wall ruble, where the two had caved in when the house had given way to its own weight. Shock took the words that she tried to articulate as she looked at the roots of the plants from the earth above. There was no stone above her head where she and Martin were digging, and it was only the side walls and the intertwining of the roots that was keeping all that she saw from coming down.
“What do you see?”
“We have to hurry.”
“That is not what I asked you, but it is answer enough.”
Tanda stuck the end of the torch into the soft earth and she and Martin began to work in haste. ***
Jacob ran past the side iron gate, but I stopped, and then yelled out for him to do the same. “Wouldn’t this be shorter?” I watched as he slowed and lowered his head. He turned and put his hand on his hip as he began walking back toward me. By the time he got to where I was standing, the rest were stopping behind me.
“We have to go over this when we could simply move the wood stack and go over the shorter cemetery fence and start looking from a corner angle.” I could tell by the description of his plan that he was perturbed at me.
“Then go, Jacob. Take the ones who have a hard time going over this wall with you and I’ll take the others with me. We will find Martin’s Pa’s grave even faster. But, if you get shitty with me like that one more time, I don’t care what we’re doing, I’m gonna kick your ass so hard you’ll be taking off your pants to get a drink.”
“Talk about gettin’ it around the ears,” Derek snickered, then covered his mouth. Once he saw Jacob glaring at him, he quickly scaled the wall by way of the gates hinges.
Cates and Tammy were already moving in the direction of the exit by way of the secret hole in the wall, while Garvin and Sydney followed Derek. Fala stood at my back as I waited for Jacob to reply.
“When things have settled you will have to explain why kicking ones ass would cause them to remove their pants to partake of fluids. Your words made no sense to me at all. No matter, once you reach the main gate, stay to the right until you have made your way to the far wall, then start working your way to the middle isle, reading the headstones and we will do the same. Fala, it seems, is already doing his job but keep Garvin’s eyes watching the direction that he is not.”
“Yes, daddy,” I smiled. “Make sure you all watch out for those pig things and those shifter ghosts.”
“Those words I understand.”
Jacob reached out and touched my cheek then turned and ran with Monroe at his heels. I looked up at Fala who only shrugged. I was about to say something to Fala when he lifted me into midair so I could grab the top of the gate and wall, pull myself over and jump down to the other side. A few seconds later, he landed beside me. He was as good in human form as he was in his wolf, or what he liked to call, his natural form.
When Fala’s body went ridged, my worry went from those whom I was praying were safe where we left them, to hoping we all stayed safe until we made it underground. A wave a nauseating stench floated on the night air, much like the odor that comes from a cow carcass that had been bloating in the sun for several days and just burst. That’s when I started searching for my three boys who went over the wall before we had. We were almost to the cemetery entrance when Fala and I both saw something that I hadn’t even thought about it. Fleshers.
“Are those like the ones that we killed by the church?” I whispered as Fala and I hid behind some overgrown hedges about five feet from the gate that would lead into the cemetery.
“I believe they are all the same if they are hungry. These have a scent as if they have recently fed on the foul insides of their kill. Not all would do that, my people would not do that,” Fala said, sounding disgusted at the last. “I do not mean to overstep my place, but we must prevent crossing their path at all cost if possible, and should maybe go over the wall at this point.”
“You do know you’re free to do whatever you want, don’t you? If you have something to say, Fala, you are welcome to say it.” I took his hand. “I’m glad you’re here, for many reasons. We need you Fala.”
A loud, animalistic growl reverberated throughout the surrounding area. Fala had his hand on my back, pushing me down as he leaned over in a protective manner. As soon as things became quiet, we stayed close to the ground and moved closer to the stone wall. Fala stood taking a look around, then faster than I would have liked, yanked me up and tossed me over. I know the sound I made had to be heard but I was hoping I hadn’t sounded any different than the rest of the high pitched birds that had sang out when one of the fleshers gave its yell.
I was wrong; I could hear the crazed beast running in our direction. I heard Fala say ‘stay down’ right before I heard bones popping and his voice go from that of a man to a very big animal. “Run, Renee!” Fala growled as he took off running toward the three that were as horrible as any that we had seen. I rushed to the wall and jumped, grabbed the top and tried to pull myself up. I had to help Fala. The silence was broken with the yells from both flesher and wolf. I dropped down and ran to the gate and began climbing it, only to be yanked backwards.
“What the hell?”
“Sorry, My Lady, but I will go,” Monroe said, and then was gone.
“You okay?” Derek asked, and was over the gate before I could respond.
I felt something grab my arm and I screamed.
“Renee, it’s just me, Sydney.”
He and I reached for the gate at the same time that Fala and the flesher crashed into it. Fala spun himself and the flesher around, and put the death smelling beast up against the wrought iron gate. Fala then grabbed its head and smashed it into the iron ribs of the gate. Blood and bits of bone sprayed Sydney and I from face to knees. Sydney started swatting at his face like a mad man, took his jacket off, and tried to clean off the flesher's remains.
Monroe, Derek, and Fala made their way over the gate, explaining that any predator close to the area, with more fleshers being high on the list, would soon smell the death of the flesher. Monroe said they were probably seeing if there had been any recent burials that they could grave-rob; eating the corpse and taking anything the dead may have, from clothing to jewelry to make trade with. But would more than likely stop where they found the stench of death and consume the fallen.
“Somebody’s coming,” Derek whispered, waving his hand for all of us to get down.
We hurried to get in the shadow of the trees and headstones on the first row of graves on the right side of the enormous cemetery. The footsteps sounded heavy the closer they got, and my thoughts were it was more fleshers coming to the aid of their friends. I was feeling around for a branch when I saw Garvin squatted down by a cross shaped headstone on an above the ground grave, with a branch as big as Sydney’s club in his hands. He put his finger to his mouth and then leveled the branch at his shoulder. The being got closer, Garvin swung and I looked up in time to see Tammy’s face over the side of the headstone that I was hiding behind.