How could I have been so stupid?

  There was only one reason why Aiden was still alive. Why the beast had not torn into him as soon as it had seen him. Why Frostbite hadn’t put an icicle through his head.

  They had let him go.

  They had seen he was the weakest member of the group, and had killed the others in front of him, making him watch as they died, all in an effort to scare him so much he ran away. Ran all the way back home. Back to his settlement, back to his people. The same people who had no idea what had happened earlier in the day. No idea they were in any danger. No idea what was coming for them.

  The screams grew louder and more panicked as Aiden approached the final corner. He didn’t know what he would see as he turned but knew he couldn’t stop. This was his fault. He had to help, in whatever way he could.

  Aiden began to turn the corner but was blown backwards by an explosion. He twisted in the air, landing hard on his side, the air forcing its way out of his lungs as he did. He groaned and struggled to get to his feet as the screams continued to worsen. He was afraid to look up, scared of what horrors he would see, but Aiden knew he had to do something.

  He hauled himself to his feet and scanned the square in front of him. The ground a few meters in front of him was scorched, and a small crater had formed in the middle, sending dirt and mud flying through the air. If he had been any earlier, he would have been blown apart by the blast. Further into the square, people ran wildly in all directions, desperate to escape the area. Shadows hurled themselves over the fence between the square and the river, their wet bodies spraying water as the launched through the air, landing on the grass of the village. This was the only weak point of the town, and they were exploiting it. What looked like hundreds of bodies swarmed over, giving chase to the citizens of Liberty Park.

  Aiden watched as a husk flung itself on top of a woman, knocking her to the floor and pinning her in place. Aiden had seen her around town many times but didn’t know her name. He had seen her just this morning on his way to the square, tending to the cows in the farmyard. She struggled to get away from the creature, but it would not let her go. Its face was inches from hers, its foul breath seeping into her mouth and nose. She screamed for help as the creature raised its head and opened its mouth, ready to bite.

  Aiden rushed forwards and tackled the husk, sending them both tumbling onto the ground beside the woman. The creature landed on its back but quickly rolled onto all fours, ready to attack once more. It leapt towards Aiden, who raised his hands into the air, blasting the monster away and sending it hurtling through the air until it crashed into the earth near the bonfires. He turned back to face the woman, who led still on the grass.

  “You need to run, now, get as far away from here as you can!” He got to his feet and offered a hand to help the woman up. She managed a frail thank you before turning and running in the direction Aiden had come from. He turned back towards the bonfires just in time to see another husk charging towards him. He wasn’t quick enough to avoid it, and took the hit from the beast, crashing back to the floor. Its hollow eyes gazed into his, and for a moment, Aiden could almost sense a sadness emanating from it. Almost as though it was sorry for what it was about to do. It raised its bony arm, ready to lash out at Aiden, but was caught by a strong hand from behind. The hand whipped to the side, sending the creature flying as though it weighed nothing. It crashed into one of the bonfires, tipping it onto its side and spraying sparks onto the grass beyond the plastic mat. The creature writhed in pain as flames spread over its body.

  Aiden looked up at his saviour and found Gideon looking back at him. He stretched out his hand towards Aiden.

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  “On your feet.” He pulled Aiden up with ease as the pair looked around the square.

  “You don’t belong here. Leave and get to safety.” Gideon’s voice was stern, unforgiving.

  “I can help. Please, let me…” Aiden didn’t get chance to finish his sentence before the pair were cut off by another explosion nearby. The shockwave knocked Aiden back, but Gideon stood firm, unwavering.

  “Now.” With the one word, Gideon took off running towards the chaos unfurling in front of him. Thralls were swarming the area, dragging his people away from the square, some into the darkness of the nearby streets, others over the side of the barrier into the river, and others didn’t bother to take them anywhere, preferring to rip into them in the middle of the grass. He listened to the cries of his people, the people he was supposed to protect, but he knew it was too late for them. He had to focus on the ones who had a chance. The ones who hadn’t yet been caught. And to do that, he had to push the enemy back.

  He charged forward, knocking away any feeble attack by the thralls. He had one target in mind. One of the thralls was different. Gideon had spotted him earlier but had been side tracked by Aiden, and so wasn’t able to act quick enough to stop any more of his attacks. He stood by the railings near the river, overseeing the attack. His hair was thin and patchy, and his skin clung to his bones tightly. It looked painful and scarred, as though it had been significantly burnt. The burns spread from his arms up to his neck and across his face, digging deep into his sunken flesh, almost exposing the bone underneath. He smiled with broken, crooked teeth as he swung his arms upwards, palms facing towards Gideon. Flames erupted from his dark flesh, shooting towards Gideon like a python, writhing through the air. Gideon threw himself down onto the ground, narrowly dodging underneath the blaze.

  There was around 100 feet between the two, and as chaos raged around them, the pair locked eyes. Gideon could feel the hatred in the thrall, as though it was emanating from him like his flames. Tendrils of fire began to sprout from his body, wrapping themselves around him and clinging to his body, singing his already burnt flesh. He seemed to enjoy the pain, if it even caused him any, as he continued to smile, and began to laugh. Gideon was still on his stomach, his hands clenching the dirt, his knuckles turning white. In one swift movement, he shot to his feet, and swung his fist into the air, tearing apart the earth beneath him, sending chunks of mud into the air, followed by a curtain of dust. He held a clump of the ground in his hand, and using all the strength he could muster, he launched it towards the thrall, like a shot from a cannon. His enemy reacted quickly, and shot a burst of flame towards the projectile, turning it completely to dust before it reached him. But that was fine. In the time taken for him to singe the dirt, Gideon had used all the power in his legs to close the gap and charged towards the thrall. He burst through the cover of falling dirt and swung his powerful fist towards the thrall’s head.

  He felt the crunch of his skull shattering as his fist made impact with the creature. It went flying, crashing along the ground and finally into the railing overlooking the river. He sat slumped for a moment, before he raised his broken head, still smiling. Half of his head was sunken in, his skull shattered. But it didn’t stop him. His laugh grew louder as he struggled to his feet.

  He’s enjoying this.

  Gideon charged forwards once again, only this time he wasn’t quick enough to dodge the next blast of flame. He hadn’t noticed the thrall turning his palm towards him as he got to his feet, and was caught by a quick burst of fire, shot like a shotgun blast. He stumbled backwards and felt his skin burning, the flesh melting to his shirt. The blast had only made impact with his shoulder, but it had slowed him down enough for the thrall to gain the upper hand. The tendrils of flame that had once been wrapped around his body now sprung forward, latching onto Gideon’s arms and torso, digging into him, and burning his flesh. He winced in pain as he struggled against the flames, but they held strong. Even with his strength, the whips clung on, the flames biting deep into his body. Gideon cried out as the thrall’s laugh grew ever louder. He had gotten to his feet now, and began moving towards Gideon, who was now on his knees. The pain was overwhelming, his skin bubbled and cracked as the flames continued to burn away at him. The thrall stood over him, and turned his head to one side, as if he was inspecting Gideon. He raised his arm above his head, and Gideon saw his palm was filled with white hot flames.

  Shit.

  The thrall swung his arm down towards Gideon’s face, the flames screeching out for flesh to bite into. Gideon steeled himself against the attack, bracing himself for the pain. But it didn’t come. He looked up to see the thrall had stopped half way through his attack, the ball of flame in his hand still hot, but ebbing away slowly. The smile had gone from his face as well. Gideon breathed a slight sigh of relief as the tendrils began to unwind, removing themselves from his body. He slumped forward, his body still burning and aching. He coughed and sputtered, blood spraying from his mount and onto the grass. He looked up at the figure before him, who now stood, staring down at him. Something had changed within him, like he was a totally different person.

  “Why…?” Gideon croaked, wondering why he had been spared.

  The figure smiled faintly back at him, though it was not the same maniacal grin as before and leaned closer to Gideon’s face, grabbing him by the throat and pulling him inches away from his face.

  “Because” he growled in a deep voice that did not fit his body, “you…are mine.”