Plague Of The Revenants by Edward Chilvers Read Free Book Online Page A

through the undergrowth I did not immediately assume it was a fox or a deer. Instead I readied the hammer, stepped back and swung as the revenant came flying out of the brambles towards me. The blow smashed its head open but not before it had let out an inhuman cry that was answered almost straight away by several other low groans. I spun around but the noise bounced and echoed off the trees and there was no telling from which direction the revenants were coming. I decided not to wait around and let myself be surrounded and instead ran as fast as I could, carving through the trees as I went.
    As I ran I heard them stumbling after me. Even all the way out here, with no sight of civilisation to be seen, there was to be no escaping them. I was seized with a wave of exhaustion. I had not eaten all day and my throat was parched. Further, I was in bad shape, not used to running after years of incarceration. I stopped to get my breath back, turned around and now I saw four of them, pursuing me with a pace that surprised me, almost at a run. I imagined out here in the forests they were hungrier than most of the others. I rushed back to the first one who was quite far ahead and felled it with a single blow only to be almost caught by the second who dived at me in a sort of rugby tackle which I was only just able to step away from. As the revenant sprawled on the ground I quickly finished it off but when I looked up again there were even more. I turned and fled as best I could. The revenants never seemed to lose stamina, in rain or shine they pursued with the same lumbering, lopsided shuffle and as my own run slowed to walking pace and I bent down with my chest bursting and the breath forced painfully from my lungs I realised they would soon gain on me. Best save my energy for the fight to come, I thought to myself. Suddenly I burst out of the woods and was back in a field. Better still I spied the chimney of a farmhouse just a quarter of a mile away. The sight of the farmhouse and the possibility of salvation so close to hand gave me hope and with it a renewed energy. I picked up the pace and broke into a jog which outpaced the revenants for the time being, before deliberately slowing my pace. If I were to hide out in the farmhouse the last thing I needed was to be assailed by the bastards at every opportunity, for they would be sure to try and follow me inside. Even if I were able to outrun them and reach the loft I would still be trapped. I stopped and turned around. Five of the revenants now pursued me. It was time to go on to the attack. I moved forward, swinging wildly with the lump hammer. For too long I had run for these bastards. Now, I decided, it was payback time. I took down two of the revenants with a single blow. The third trailed lamely behind the others with part of its right leg hanging off. No problems there either. I swung at the fourth but it somehow managed to duck, although whether this was by accident, design or instinct I was not quite sure. Now it dived low towards my waist with its arms outstretched. I stepped away but not quick enough and it wrapped its hands around my right leg as it fell. I brought the hammer down hard upon its back and felt its spine crack and this in turn loosed its grip, allowing me to step away from its embrace and pummel its brains into oblivion. There was one more revenant left. I hit it low, shattering its legs in a single blow and sending it falling to the ground. Afterwards I smashed its arms, trying to torture it as much as possible. But the thing could feel no pain. Frustrated, I raised the hammer one more time and exploded its head against the hard ground.
    With the revenants finished off I stopped to get my breath back then set off once more towards the farmhouse, my eyes scanning the surrounding area for signs of the undead. As I got closer I heard noises. I readied my hammer but at that moment I realised they were living, human voices and my heart leapt. I leapt over the fence