Free Decay (Book 2): Humanity by Linus Locke Page A

was happy with their depth they put up the iron bars that held the fiends captive.
    He admired the simplicity of the doors used to allow them to put the fiends in without any escaping. Most of all, he admired the level of security that each cave had. No one would even know they were there. The entrances were covered in large sheets. Different colors were used depending on the season. Primitive but effective.
    The three caves were spread out over a half mile, and at any time there were three guards in each one. Elliot’s first suggestion was using the high elevation on the surrounding mountains to place a guard or two so they can be alerted of any “guests” before they arrived. The town’s people were thrilled to have Elliot’s expertise.
    Unfortunately, the three guards in each cave lay dead. There wasn’t a single shot fired. There was no warning. There was no escaping their inevitable deaths. Elliot lured the first group close, and while they stood comfortably in front of him he slit their throats with one motion. Their blood drenching his clothes as it spewed from their necks.
    He stumbled into the next cave, feigning injury, and as the guards came to his aid, he cut into them with unnervingly deadly precision. The third cave was just as quick, and just as bloody. Elliot certainly wasn’t deranged, so being covered in their blood was not something that he was thrilled about. It was, however, a part of war. And his orders were simple, to put an end to the war.
    Elliot rigged small charges to the bars in each cave. He climbed high into the mountains and detonated those charges, blowing the cages apart. The noise from the party in town would be just enough to cover the explosions. His only real gamble was hoping he wouldn’t start an avalanche. Poor planning on the part of the town would do the rest. The mountain layout created a one way path from the caves right into the town below. He would have never put his friends and family in the way of an undead stampede waiting to happen. Elliot’s early estimates had him believing there were only three or four-hundred fiends in each cave, but as he watched them pour out he knew there were far more.
     
    “There aren’t other towns anywhere in the mountains that I know of. Perhaps one of those damned cannibals escaped. Brought back an army,” Laikynn said as she walked unsteadily into a clearing to have an open view of the mountain. “They are coming from that way?” she asked. Her eyes opened wide as she saw the undead mass moving down the mountain like an avalanche.
    “Yeah, Layla and I were taking a walk up that way. We saw them coming down toward us. She ran back to the hotel. I came here to tell you,” Tyler stated.
    “Shit!” screamed Laikynn. “Eric, get everyone inside the common area. Anybody with a gun needs to load it.”
    Brew Master Eric heard the urgency in her voice and reacted quickly despite being a little tipsy from his own alcohol.
    “What is it?” asked Tyler.
    “The cages,” Jonathan said as he realized what it was.
    “Tyler, get Layla to the common area and try to help the others. Eric will show you what to do when you get in there. Jonathan, grab Guillermo and come with me.”
    Jonathan yelled for Guillermo from across the fire. He was sitting on a bench with Reese sharing a blanket. At first, Guillermo just waved back with a smile, but soon sensed the urgency, stood up, and jogged toward Jonathan.
    “What’s going on?” Guillermo asked, concerned.
    “We have an enormous problem, Guillermo,” Jonathan responded and pointed up the mountain.
    Just as Guillermo looked where Jonathan was pointing, screams erupted from the town.  The confused residents hustled into the common area, assuming at first that a storm was approaching, but as they finally caught a glimpse of the horde as it poured into town they began to panic. They realized why some of the men were packing weapons. What was once their organized shelter plan became a chaotic