“Without a doubt, we can only hope that there are not more within hearing distance of the shots already fired.”
That was not a desirable thought in that we had to simply wait to find out whether an army bore down upon us or whether we were still safe for the night. Both of us took chairs and sat down, I holstered my Adams guns whilst Holmes casually drew back on his pipe, shotgun propped against the wall. We dared not make a sound. The sound of people storming down the stairs above us was all too late and now the last of our desires. Peter stormed into the room, stopping at the sight of the slumped body.
“Shhhh!” said Holmes.
The landlord and guests stood silent at the command of Holmes. Shocked at the sight, but willing to follow his word. Holmes then whispered to them.
“The gunshots may draw more, so be silent and ready.”
“Are these beasts drawn by sound?” asked Peter.
“We do not know for sure and can only rely on what we have seen. They appear to be drawn by sight and sound, just as we are, their senses likely being just as effective as ours, seeing as they inhabit the same bodies as we do,” said Holmes.
Peter nodded in response and stood like a statue, waiting for the unwelcome sound of further beasts. We waited for five minutes, the only movement being Holmes’ pipe smoke wafting across the room. We could only hope that we were now safe, for many of our weapons and ammunition lay upstairs, and I had no desire to fight for my life with no shoes. However we saw or heard nothing more. Finally Holmes broke the silence.
“Peter, get this window secured and then let us get the further rest we need.”
“This must be my watch,” I said.
Holmes nodded, and watched as Peter pushed the dead creature from his window with a broom and began to stack chairs and other furniture up in the hole that now breeched the building. We had just an hour till light, and it was my turn, I was glad of the few hours sleep I had gotten. The broken window was now as secure as it could be.
“Go and get what rest you can before dawn, I will keep watch,” I said.
Holmes, Peter and the others returned upstairs without argument. The last moments of the night went without incident as I sat casually in the kitchen area.
In just a few hours we would be setting off, two men, with limited ammunition, it was woefully inadequate for the foes we face. Watching the sun rise was one of the few beautiful sights that I had witnessed in the last few days, but it made me long to be home in England, free of the zombis of course.
As the light hit the inn, Peter was already making his way quickly down the stairs to me, whilst Holmes was firmly asleep. He would only awaken if someone made him, though Peter made to preparing breakfast, and the smell of food soon got him moving.
As Peter busied himself in making breakfast I began stripping my guns down to clean them with cloths and oil that the landlord had kindly provided. All of the weapons I carried were now dry and caked in residue, jams and misfires were becoming ever more likely if this maintenance was not done. I never liked putting a gun away dirty, but hard times called for such mistreatment.
Over breakfast Peter explained our pending journey to us, though he could not provide any more information on the person who we suspected to be Moriarty, and was evidently sceptical about our assumptions. Our day’s journey would be a beautiful one, only marred by the knowledge that it would likely end in a significant battle, perhaps our last.
At Peter’s advice, on the afternoon of the 4th we set off together with the intention of crossing the hills and spending the night at the hamlet of Rosenlaui. However, making a small detour to the falls of Reichenbach, which are about halfway up the hill on our route. In all honesty, not even the great detective had any idea what to expect, if anything, at either location, only that both were of some relevance to our villain’s travels and were therefore our only leads.
Despite this feeling of impending doom, we managed to stay surprisingly sprightly along the paths, admiring the rolling mountains, rocky and craggy terrain, lakes and rivers, it really was a fascinating country. Eventually we came across the sign for Rosenlaui, and the turning that Peter had told us about to the Reichenbach. Following the path he had explained the massive falls eventually came in to view.
It was indeed, a fearful place. The torrent, swollen by the melting snow, plunged into a tremendous abyss from which the spray rolled up like the smoke from a burning house. The shaft into which the river hurled itself was an immense chasm, lined by glistening coal-black rock, and narrowing into a creaming, boiling pit of incalculable depth which brimmed over shooting the stream onward over its jagged lip. The long sweep of water roared forever down and the thick flickering curtain of spray hissed forever upward. It would turn a man giddy with their constant whirl and clamour. We stood near the edge peering down at the gleam of the breaking water far below us against the black rocks, and listening to the half human shout which came booming up with the spray out of the abyss.
The path has been cut halfway round the fall to afford a complete view, but it ended abruptly, and the traveller had to return as he came. We had turned to do so, when we saw a Swiss lad come running along it with a letter in his hand. It bore the mark of the inn which we had just left, and was addressed to me by the landlord. I already did not like the look of this, for Peter would never have despatched his lad into this war torn land to find us without a very good reason.
The letter had been written quickly and abruptly. It appeared that just a short while after leaving, they had come under attack by a few dozen zombis and their number continued to rise. The lower floor had fallen quite quickly. The inhabitants had safely barricaded the stairway to the upper floors and were holding out with just the few guns and ammunition they had, not enough to survive for long. The boy had escaped via rope and covering fire to safety to alert us. The letter requested my urgent assistance as a former soldier and good soul. Here was a tough choice before me, for our mission was more important than anything in the world now, but the thought of those who had assisted us now fighting for their lives was not a good feeling.
The appeal was one which could not be ignored. It was impossible to refuse the request of innocent and decent folk. Yet I had my scruples about leaving Holmes. It was finally agreed, however, that he should retain the young Swiss boy with him as guide and companion while I returned to Meiringen. My friend would stay some little time at the fall, as bait to the villain, and would then intend to walk slowly over the hill to Rosenlaui. Should conflict and victory ensue, I was to rejoin him there in the evening. As I turned away I saw Holmes, with his back against a rock and his arms folded, clearly deep in thought and planning the next conflict, gazing down at the rush of the waters. It was the last that I was ever destined to see of him in this world.
When I was near the bottom of the descent I looked back. It was impossible from that position to see the fall, but I could see the curving path which wound over the shoulder of the hill and lead to it.
Along this a man was, I remember, walking very rapidly. I could see his black figure clearly outlined against the green behind him. I noted him, and the energy with which he walked but he passed from my mind again as I hurried on upon my errand.
CHAPTER TEN
It may have been a little over an hour before I reached Meiringen, far from the easy pace that I had made on the way up, this was a rushed affair that left me flustered and tired, I was rushing as much to assist the inn as I was to get the task over with so that I could return to Holmes. My mouth was now dry, for I had not had water since leaving Peter’s establishment. My knees ached from both the initial climb and the fast descent, but willpower drove me forwards with all the momentum needed. When this was all over I would likely spend many days in pain, for all the damage my body had received, but for now, I did not care, being alive was good enough.