Keys of Candor: The Red Deaths

by Casey Eanes

  Wael screamed over the din of Rot’s deep barks and the Morels’ shrieks, “Kull, hurry! We need to push out the second log!”

  In a panic, Kull pressed himself against the tree trunk as hard as he could. The second log was larger than the first, and it felt as if it had been bolted down. His legs strained as he drove his weight against the giant timber. The log finally started to give way when the driver slammed on the brakes. The log reversed course, sliding down on top of him. He flung his body to the other side of the truck bed, but not until it came hammering down against his foot.

  “AGHHH!” Kull screamed in agony as fire shot up his leg. “WAEL! My leg!”

  In an instant Wael was there, pushing the giant log from him, wrenching it away from his pinned ankle. Somehow, the log barreled out into the darkness, trampling into the pack of pursuers, releasing another chorus of ear-splitting shrieks. Kull looked down at his foot in revulsion, pin pricks of light shooting across his eyes. Blood poured out from the shattered place that was once his ankle.

  Kull blinked and stared back out into the darkness, rage fueling him. With the truck bed empty, he felt much more exposed than before. Wael sat him down and whispered. “Stay still.” He watched as Wael ran back to the edge of the tailgate where Rot was keeping guard for any intruder that dared jump into the truck. How had he pushed the log out so quickly? Rot stood now by his master’s side with his long fangs bared, both waiting for the night demons to mount another attack.

  The Morel with the broken jaw somehow avoided the second log and was only a few feet behind the truck. Its eyes never shifted from Wael. Kull’s stomach flipped as he saw the creature snap what was left of its jagged teeth together, a twisted ribbon of a shattered smile growing over its fractured face. It made a huge leap into the truck, clawing out for the monk. Wael threw his staff out to the beast, but it countered, landing on the tailgate of the vehicle. The creature slashed his claws across Wael’s chest, releasing red blood across his white linen garb. Wael pushed against the beast with his staff as it clawed at him, pale knives slicing for his face. Rot charged, lowering his head like a bull, and sunk his fangs into the ankle of the Morel. The beast bellowed in pain, falling to the floor of the bed as Rot pulled the Morel off of his master and back deeper into the back of the truck. It clawed for Rot, but Wael hammered his staff deep into the creature's skull with a sickening THUNK. It blinked, twitched, and was gone.

  Wael looked at the dog as he gasped for air. “Good boy, Rot,” he said.

  The truck took another sharp turn and bounced so hard that it threw them all into the air. They landed with a shattering smash, the blow sending a new bolt of lightning up Kull’s ankle. Wael and Rot somehow stayed upright through the chaos, remaining balanced precipitously on the edge of the truck bed.

  Wael never turned his head to look back at Kull, but instead kept his gaze fixed on the remaining six Morels still barreling in on them. The truck seemed to be getting slower and slower until the driver nearly came to a complete stop. Wael did not relent as they came, but swung at the pack as they would lunge at the truck bed snarling, teeth flashing, delirious in their pursuit for flesh. Two Morels flanked the truck and jumped into the bed from the side. He can’t see them! Kull reached out as if he could just tap Wael on his shoulder. Everything happened so fast, Kull could not even scream to warn him. One lunged, but Wael ducked gracefully, sending up his foot in the air, hammering into the creature’s nightmare of a face, flipping it back over the truck’s tailgate.

  The other Morel had caught sight of Kull lying in the corner of the truck bed. The fiend bounded after him as swift as lightning, and Kull froze as its dagger-like claws clicked across the metal floor. It bore its fangs and released a deafening scream. Kull swung and smashed his fist into the beast’s jaw, but it snapped and bit at him like a rabid badger. Kull let out a primal scream. The beast let out a low, guttural growl, a purr, gloating in its newfound meal. It swiped and grabbed at Kull as he batted away at the claws slicing to grab him. It was as if Kull was punching his fists into a thicket of butcher knives, the sharp claws flying through the air, plunging closer and closer into him.

  The pain of his leg was distant now, and Kull felt time slowing. I’m going to die. Kull knew it was coming. One quick swipe would relieve him of all of this. It was only a matter of seconds. He looked out desperately for Wael, but he was not there. The Morel’s teeth clicked, and a long, black snake of a forked tongue flickered out at him.

  He must be dead and I will be next. The thought locked in his mind with a dreaded hopelessness. Kull closed his eyes, resolving in his heart that his last sight would not be the monster diving in on him. Behind his eyelids he prepared himself for death, thinking on his mother, his father. Adley.

  The sound of bones crunching broke through the darkness behind his closed eyes, but Kull felt no pain. His eyes flew open to see the Morel’s face, inches away, pull back and flop onto the truck bed like a rag doll. He tried to look around and make sense of what was happening. A blur of black, matted fur stood over the creature, his one good eye blazing with pride.

  The Morel’s horrid body quivered uncontrollably on the ground, and Kull noticed the twisted section where Rot had just severed its spine.

  The pit of Kull’s stomach churned under the pain of his crushed ankle, but he pulled himself to the back corner of the truck bed, inching himself away from the corpse of the monster that nearly killed him. The crushed leg left him lightheaded and dizzy, the fog of the pain overwhelming. Kull tried to fight out of it, forcing himself to push through the daze, feeling the gears below the old truck churn. We’re moving. We’re moving again. The driver reengaged the transmission and downshifted, punching down on the gas and setting a small bit of distance between the truck and the pack, whose rank and file had only increased. Aleph above, there are still more of them. Relief rushed in when he saw Wael still holding his position on the tailgate. Where had he gone?

  The fight on the back of the truck raged on as another Morel managed to jump onto the side of the truck, throwing itself into the bed. It lunged at Wael, but was quickly met by the swift blade of his knife. He impaled the beast and flung it over the opposite side of the truck. Another jumped and clung to the edge the tailgate. Wael gave no ground. Kull counted out in the darkness. How many are there?! He could clearly see that there were nearly a dozen of them still left, still hunting them down. Wael was good, but this was a game of numbers, and there was no way they could keep this up.

  Kull forced himself to stand, repositioning himself to avoid any pressure on his crushed ankle. Nausea swept over him as the hot iron rods of pain shot up his leg. Any adrenaline he had was fading to a trickle. Wael’s staff flew through the night, ricocheting with deafening cracks and concrete thuds against bone, claw, and flesh. The tattered remains of the Morel Rot gored still lay in the truck bed in a crumpled heap, a bouquet of decay. The smell, the shrieking din of the beasts howling in the night, combined with Wael’s endless fighting made Kull want to give up. It’s hopeless. Kull could see that Wael was losing energy, gasping for breath with each volley. It would not be long now until they joined the rotting pile of flesh beside him.

  Kull saw a sudden movement in the back of the truck bed. He rallied himself. This is it. Go down fighting! He turned, expecting his last sight to be the claws of another undead Morel, but instead he saw the eyes of his father standing there in the darkness. Kull could feel his chest tighten as his heart thumped with a deafening cadence. I’m hallucinating. I must be.

  “Kull.” It was his father’s voice.

  Kull stared at the vision and could only whisper. “What?”

  His father pointed, and as Kull followed the finger, his eyes landed on the small pack he had lodged in the back corner of the truck bed. My rifle. How could I forget? Without looking back at his father, he lunged for the weapon, heaving himself to it. His fingers fumbled in the dark, pulling the rifle up by its stock. His eyes lined down the gun’s sights, right onto the head
of one of the beasts. A female. She had once been someone’s friend or even mother. Kull could see the remnants of the humanity that had long since passed, illuminated from the red glow of the tail-light. She might have even been beautiful once. The monster’s loose, pale skin and sagging distant face all reminded him of his mother during one of her deeper sick spells. I can’t do it. That thing is human. The image tortured Kull as he tried to dismiss the thought that he might be taking down what had once been someone’s mother. What if it really was just a sickness, some virus that did this to once normal people? Maybe they could be saved?

  Kull’s finger eased on the trigger until the beast woman leapt onto the tailgate, bearing her ragged, blood-stained teeth. As much as she made him think of his mother’s frail frame, none of that mattered now. She was inches from Wael’s back.

  He steadied his breath and squeezed the trigger without another thought. I go down fighting, he thought to himself. The shot hammered out into the night like thunder, and the bullet met its mark, knocking the female back, her dead body bouncing and rolling on the broken pavement, trampled under her cursed kin. Kull reloaded. He quickly counted nine left.

  Lifting up his weapon, he aimed again at one of the monsters. This one was an elderly male...or used to be. It ran so fast that it was unnatural. He forced the idea out of his mind and pulled the trigger.

  BANG.

  Nothing happened. He had missed, and the Morel boarded the truck in one swift motion, flailing for Rot. Its claws cut a red path through Rot’s fur before pulling back its arm for another blow. The dog yelped, but clamped its powerful jaws on the fiend. Kull heard maddening shrieks as he fumbled for another bullet. Wael was busy grappling with two Morels at once. They managed to attack the monk in a wicked display of unison. The older Morel was on top of Rot, trying to avoid the dog’s powerful fangs, but Rot clamped down on the monster’s arm like a vise. The sound of popping bones echoed in the bed as Kull steadied his aim and held his breath for one more shot.

  BANG.

  The creature did a back flip as the bullet seared through its skull. Kull looked to Wael again as he steadied his stance, blocking the two he fought with his staff, but stabbing them in quick succession with swift swipes from his blade. They went down in an instant. Wael held up his hand and he mouthed over the noise “Hold!”

  Wael whistled at Rot, and the two of them leapt off the moving truck and into the darkness. In one bound, Rot cleared the distance between the truck and their remaining pursuers, clamping his massive jowls down on a Morel’s neck while he was still airborne. The dog greeted his enemies with the happy snap of bone.

  Wael landed on his feet and ran straight toward the last four pursuing them. He catapulted his staff from his hand as if it was a spear, and it bolted right through one of the creature’s chests. Rot moved on, beheading two more Morels in quick succession. Wael grabbed the other end of the staff, unsheathed it from the Shambling’s husk, and calmly walked over to the last Morel that Rot brought down. Kull could see Wael standing over it writhing from side to side, blindly clawing the air. Kull could not see what happened next as the driver continued to bounce down the road, leaving Wael and Rot wrapped in the midnight beyond the red glow of the vehicle.

  Gasping, Kull banged on the outer window of the truck, causing hot pinpricks of light to stream across his vision.

  “Cut the engine! I SAID CUT THE ENGINE.”

  The driver glanced back at Kull. His eyes scanned the truck bed, and he slammed his foot on the brake. He careened the vehicle around and pushed back down the road, shining his headlights on Rot and Wael. The driver brought the truck to a stop, idled for a minute in disbelief only to scramble out of the vehicle in utter amazement.

  “Did...did you...jump off the back or fall off? I mean, I saw the way you were chopping those things down. It was, it was, um. I mean. Wow!”

  Wael walked up towards the driver and placed his hands on the man’s shoulders.

  “I’m sorry about your cargo, my friend.”

  The scruffy driver stared up at Wael and smiled. The smile grew wider and wider until he broke into a string of laughter. Trying desperately to breathe, he looked back up at Wael and croaked, “Cargo. Ha. I’m just glad to be alive! I’ve driven this road dozens of times and have never seen a swarm like that. Something ain’t right. Never in my years have I seen a swarm that big.”

  Kull was still lying in the back of the truck as he strained to hear the conversation happening between the two men outside. He tried to look from his position, but after losing his rush of adrenaline, the pain in his foot surged.

  How am I ever going to get to Dad now? The thought sent him careening into a panic. He had seen his dad! He shot up and looked around the truck bed. It made no sense. He had seen him, heard him speak…but yet.

  He showed me my rifle. His mind whirled, mixed with both hope and terror when Rot jumped up into the truck bed and began to cover him with slobbery licks and intrusive sniffs, his stump of a tail wagging. The dog’s pungent odor hit Kull like a batch of dead fish. Kull gagged and screamed, pushing the dog off of him.

  “Get off me, Rot! You smell awful.”

  The dog panted and bellowed up a howl into the night sky before sitting down on the truck bed. A nasty waterfall of drool puddled onto the truck floor, and the dog happily panted, as if nothing had happened. Kull could not help but laugh at the paradox of the dog’s nature. One moment he was dismembering freakish monsters and wagging his mangy tail the next.

  “I’m glad at least one monster likes me,” Kull said out loud. He could not help but have new respect for the dog that had alone killed five Morels in such quick succession. Kull sat up and slowly slid himself to the back of the truck. As he slung his legs over the tailgate, pain rolled up like fireworks and he stopped, lying back down.

  “It’s broken. Oh, it’s broken.”

  Wael ran up to the truck with the driver and looked at Kull. “There is nothing we can do right now, Kull.” He looked at the driver. “Do you have any medicine?”

  The driver shrugged. “We don’t keep many medical supplies on the convoy. I might have some bandages, though.”

  “Go get them. Now.” Wael pulled a small satchel from his robe. Kull tried to pick up his head to see what he was doing.

  “Lie down, Kull.”

  Kull obeyed, but he watched as Wael pulled out some herbs and leaves. He began to chew it and then he spat the contents out onto Kull’s ankle. Relief from the pain flooded over him like a cold wave of water.

  Kull wanted to get up and look at his ankle, but Wael held him down on the truck bed.

  “You can’t move. You need to stay still until we get to a safer place.” Wael bound up the ankle with gauze.

  “Kull, you did what most young men would not have been able to stomach back there. You have my thanks.” The comment was earnest, and Kull could see that Wael was sincere. “How is your leg feeling now?”

  “Well, it feels broken, but I’ve never broken my ankle before, so I can’t know for sure. It’s busted up pretty good; I mean you saw all that blood.”

  Kull’s mind thought back to Adley. She had been worried that Kull would get himself killed and in less than two days it looked like her worries had almost been confirmed. Kull vowed he would never tell her about this if he ever saw her again.

  “We will take a look at it when we get into the Groganlands.” Wael spoke to the driver, “We will take a few minutes to rest and collect ourselves, but we will need to start moving soon if we want to avoid being ambushed again.”

  Anxiety rushed over Kull. He continued to think about the first one he shot down, the female. He never killed anything in his life except for the animals he hunted. The thought that he had just killed what had once been a human overwhelmed him. He coughed violently as his anxiety made way to sickness. An explosion of vomit came from him, slapping out onto the side of the road.

  Wael placed his hand on his back and leaned down next to him.

 
; “It is okay, Kull.” Wael spoke as if reading his mind. “They are not human. You did what you had to do. If you had not acted we would all most likely be dead right now. We needed your help.”

  Kull wiped his mouth and looked up at Wael. He spit the remaining filth from his mouth, trying to collect himself.

  “They sure look enough like us.” He stared at Wael, reading his face. He could tell that he was exhausted and just as undone as everyone else. “I want to get as far from this place as possible. I’ve had enough.”

  “Me too, Kull. For this day at least.”

  Kull let his head fall down on the truck bed where he hoped it would stay for the rest the trip; all the way to Rhuddenhall. His eyelids were heavy, but he feared that if he closed them all he would see were more Morels. Sleep won as the truck rambled on through the night, and Kull soon found himself drifting off; dreamless.

  He awoke to the first light of dawn. They made it through the nightmare, and Kull could hardly believe his luck. It was a short lived victory as a loud pop and hiss sounded from below the truck, followed by the unmistakable flapping sound of a fresh flat tire.