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It was one of those crisp, clear autumn mornings when the world has been barely touched by the first rays of the sun, and the surroundings appear almost magical. The kind of a morning when light shines through the reds and the golds of the trees, promising one of the last warm days, and breath is already visible in the air. A morning when the world seems silent, almost as if everything were waiting, with bated breath, for something important to happen.
The chain in his hand strained, as the creature on its other end pulled at it. For a moment, he let it run across his palm dressed in a fine leather glove, before his fingers locked around it and pulled back, and the deadman on the leash snarled, almost strangling itself in the heavy collar that lay around its neck, as he watched the white, almost wispy figure grow distant between the trees.
He gnashed his teeth, a vicious grin on his face, even as the zombie at his command struggled to break free.
“Fass!” Dr. Dead commanded as he released the chain, and the creature took off after its prey.
There were not many places one could use to escape, or hide, in these woods, and not many routes they could take to those places, either. A few caves, a few hollows with fallen trees laid across, a couple dead, hollow trees big enough for an adult human to squeeze themselves into. And a hell lot of small trails that led into dead ends. For a moment, the doctor mused himself with the idea of calling Tommy back and just letting her wander, for the area was wild enough to claim an inexperienced life without the assistance of any deadmen whatsoever, before he dropped the thought.
She had walked where she was not supposed to. She had been told, that part of the building was off-limits to any guest.
She had been curious. A trait every human possessed.
He had thought, stupidly so, she would be able to resist that curiosity.
She had been too curious for that specific situation.
She had taken off while screaming, she would tell everybody about the things she saw. The things their secluded neighbour kept hidden behind the closed door of his family’s manor.
Oh, sweetheart, everything could have been very different.
She could not be permitted to leave.
Slowly, he walked into the same direction that Tommy had tottered into, a dog’s collar with chain attached to it in his hand. There were the tell-tale signs of a chase. Twigs broken, patches of moss kicked up into all directions, roots disturbed and tripped over, and even a few scratch marks on trees where Tommy had been changing directions. The rattle of a chain could be heard somewhere close by, as the deadman lumbered on, having become persistence hunter rather than relying on speed, and Dr. Dead guessed, he had driven his prey into one of the dead-end trails that branched off the main route.
In any other case, she could have simply turned and walked back to the larger trail. But not when there was an undead hunter right behind her.
The air was split by the shrill scream of a woman. It died down within seconds, leaving behind a gurgling sound, as if somebody were drowning, and the satisfied growls of the deadman who had caught up to its prey.
The doctor walked up to the dark lump on the ground that had collapsed on top of the white figure, took hold of Tommy’s collar and pulled him back. The deadman, his mouth red with gore, offered no resistance, instead going where the chain lead him and tumbling over onto the ground. The zombie then shuffled back to his feet and stood, swaying on the spot, staring into the woods with the dead-eyed look characteristic to his brethren everywhere. The woman remained on the ground, staring up at the doctor with her dying eyes, her breath turned into pained rasps, her neck and shoulder a mess, as blood gushed from the wound with each gasp.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Dead dropped to his knees and run a finger across the woman’s cheek, and she twitched again and opened her eyes wide even as their colour faded, “everything could have been very different.”
The woman growled at him, the sound guttural, animalistic, and flashed her white teeth in a terrifying smile. He responded in a similar manner to the latter, his own smile unhinged in a way that would have made her turn and run again, were she still her own and capable of doing that.
“You shouldn’t have opened that door.”
The collar locked around her neck.