Free After the Fall by A.J. Martinez

me what troubles you.”
    “I’m just tired. We’ll talk in the morning.”
    “No, we’ll talk now . Tell me what is causing you such pain.”
    “I’d rather not.”
    “Tell me. I am telling you as your Father. Speak now.”
    “You really want to know what’s troubling me? What keeps me up at night and takes up every waking moment?” he asked. Matthias’ volume rose in great leaps. “Just look that way. On your bed—the same bed you shared with my mother. When it wasn’t even cold, you took a girl barely older than me as your wife. You wanted to know what was troubling me? It’s her—it’s you. You disgust me, both of you.”
    I heard footsteps and a door slamming, marking the end of the conversation for now. Alaric’s heavy feet came back downstairs. By the time he arrived, I had retired to my new chambers. He sighed. I knew he was hoping to find me still here, to use me as his counsel and kind ear, but I refused to do it. This whole thing had gone too far and I was already too far entangled. I would honor the deal for now. As soon as this village was rendered safe and I had strength enough, I would leave. The open field would be my four walls and the sky my ceiling. There would be no need to involve myself with these people and become embroiled in their complicated lives. I was resolved to be free. There was only the matter of whether I had strength enough to go forward and leave all this behind.
    Locked away in my room, I sat on the bed with only my thoughts and memories. They made terrible companions. Before long I was pacing the room. After an hour, I was ready to rip the door off the hinges. Instead of doing that, I made a neat bundle under the sheets to make it look like I was sleeping under there and locked the door on my way out.
    Since I was now the appointed guardian of this town, I thought I might as well use my waking hours to hunt the enemy that was assembled just outside these walls, clamoring for the chance to enter and devour all those who lived within.
    The moon was almost full tonight, casting its pale light upon the town. It may as well have been daylight for me, minus the unpleasant side effects. I stood atop the roof and surveyed the sleeping town. The sounds of the undead made their way from the walls and reached my ears. These people should count themselves lucky not to have my hearing, or they would never sleep.
    Down below, there was a sound of someone stirring. I heard a woman sigh softly while a man filled the night air with guttural snores. I bolted, bounding from rooftop to rooftop before she decided to get up and look out the window.
    The wind carried the night air up and over the walls, but it was not cool and refreshing. This breeze was damp and reeked of the stench of the undead just beyond. The mixture of moans, groans, and grunts constituted the elements of a sinister symphony. I saw the pained, constipated expressions on the guards’ faces and I pitied them. There was a long night ahead of them.
    I felt curious at the moment, and not in any particular hurry to get underway with my particular task. Something was bothering me about what happened earlier. I remembered how solid the door was from the day I first walked through it. When I closed them, the two halves were still sound and only had superficial damage. I leaned over the edge and looked at it. Even now it held the lot of them without the slightest sign of faltering. There was something else there. It looked like someone had smeared blood all around the gate. On the ground I could see the chewed up remains of animal bones. I might have believed that the horde had brought the bones here, as unlikely as that was, but they had not taken the time to paint the walls in blood. 
    “Excuse me,” I said to one of the guards.
    “Our Savior,” replied the guard while taking a knee.
    “No, please stand. I just want to know how to get inside the walls.”
    “Right this way.” He pulled up a wooden trapdoor and motioned