The First Paladin (The New Earth Chronicles Book 1)

by J. J. Thompson

  Chapter 15

  Two days later, a very tired and dispirited paladin walked out of the ruins of Moscow and into the relatively undamaged suburbs. Liliana was filthy and a little wild-eyed, but more or less intact. The previous night, the undead had found her hiding place and had pursued her for hours. She had killed, or re-killed, dozens of the monsters, because she had been caught in dead ends several times as she fled and had fought her way out again. It had been a nightmare.

  But now at last she was out in the open, more or less. In this area, the houses had been built further apart and she could see a long way off. Many of the homes had been smashed open or had burned to the ground, but many more were still intact.

  There had been no sign of survivors anywhere. How many of the horrible, sad zombies that had fought her had been refugees once, only to be killed when they had returned home and changed into those...things? She didn't know, nor did she care to think about it. Better to end their suffering than allow them to continue to lurk in the shadows and ambush innocents, if anyone ever returned to the city.

  Were they even aware of their fate, Liliana wondered. Or were they now just mindless creatures, doomed to an empty existence of hunger and evil? She hoped for the latter.

  A tidy little bungalow caught her eye as she searched for a spot to rest. Some of the windows were smashed and something had knocked over the top of the chimney, but other than that it looked fine.

  Liliana walked up to the front door and tried the knob. It opened easily and she pushed the door wide, scanning the interior suspiciously. She no longer took any chances when entering new areas.

  Like all residences now, there were spots of mold on the carpet and filth strewn everywhere, blown in by the wind and the rain. She searched the small home to make sure that it was safe, then set up camp in the living room.

  She broke apart a few chairs and started a fire in the fireplace, hoping that the wind outside would blow away any telltale wisps of smoke. After the night she'd had, Liliana wanted something hot to eat for a change.

  Stew cooked in its own can satisfied her hunger and then she bathed using several bottles of water that she had found in the kitchen. It felt wonderful.

  Once she had eaten and gotten cleaned up, Liliana wiped the dirt and dust off of a leather couch as best she could and lay down. It was just past noon and she wanted to get a few hours sleep before sunset. Even in daylight, she wasn't completely safe, but at least the undead wouldn't be a threat.

  She had piled her belongings next to the couch. The she lay back with her sword resting next to her and drifted off to sleep.

  Liliana woke up automatically as the sun was dipping below the horizon. Nothing had disturbed her rest and she felt re-energized and ready to keep traveling.

  After a quick meal of canned lasagna, she packed up and set off again.

  She hadn't planned to travel at night, but the house she had slept in wasn't a safe place to stay after dark. She had to find something more defensible.

  As the sun dipped below the horizon, Liliana was walking through a large backyard with a massive old tree growing in the middle of it. It must have been the largest, oldest tree in the entire neighborhood.

  All around the yard were children's playthings. A swing set, a sandbox, even a slide were evidence that happy children had once lived there. As a mother and a grandmother, Liliana felt a wave of sadness wash over her as she looked at these deserted reminders of better days.

  I wonder if any of them made it out? I hope so.

  She was about to continue on when something odd about the tree caught her attention. The moon was almost full that night and it was rising at that moment. By its light, Liliana saw a rope hanging out of the tree and approached it curiously.

  Why is there a rope here, she wondered. A rope for what?

  She looked up and in the moonlight saw a dark mass a dozen feet up in the branches of the tree.

  A tree house? Really?

  The rope had knots spaced out along its length to make it easy to climb, but Liliana hesitated. Would it be worth the effort to get up there? Loaded down as she was, it wouldn't be an easy ascent. And why wasn't there a ladder of some kind? Surely little kids wouldn't have been expected to use a rope to get to the tree house. Would they?

  She shook her head. The clock was ticking and the undead must be spewing out of their underground hiding places by now. Either I go up or I go on.

  With a shrug, she grasped the rope firmly and took a deep breath.

  Nothing ventured and all that, she thought whimsically, and started to climb.

  It wasn't that hard. Liliana kept forgetting how strong she was now and she was able to pull herself up, hand over hand, in a matter of seconds.

  The rope hung down out of an opening in the floor of the high platform and she climbed through and swung over to sit on one edge of the hole. She pulled out a box of matches, lit one and looked around.

  The small wooden structure was almost empty. There was a wooden chair and what looked like a rolled-up sleeping bag in one corner, and that was about it. A lot of leaves had blown into the place, but there was no smell of mold here and no animals had made it their home; at least not yet.

  Liliana stood up, ducked her head to avoid hitting the low ceiling, and hauled up the rope. She coiled it beside the opening and looked around more carefully.

  Each wall had a small window cut into it. None of the windows had glass in them. Instead, clear sheets of plastic had been used to cover them; probably a wise decision if the house had been built for kids to use. There was another hole in the floor next to the tree truck and Liliana saw the top rungs of a wooden ladder. When she looked down, she learned why it hadn't reached the ground; someone had broken it off near the top; presumably to keep people out.

  People or something else, she thought grimly. Something even more dangerous.

  Whoever had stayed here was long gone, but she thanked the builders for their efforts. This shelter would serve her well.

  It's hidden from dragons above by the tree, she realized as she took off her shield and pack. And the undead can't reach it from below. It's perfect.

  She picked up the sleeping bag and unrolled it, checking it for rot. But, except for a musty smell that she ignored, it appeared to still be usable.

  The evening was quiet and, for the first time in a week, Liliana actually felt fairly safe. She lay down on the sleeping bag and stared up at the ceiling, listening for any sounds that would indicate danger. She became lost in thought as she began trying to make plans for the future.

  This is the first chance I've had in a while to look ahead, she thought. So, now that I've crossed Moscow from south to north, and seen how dangerous it is, what should I do next?

  It was a good question. Wandering aimlessly around the broken remains of the city until she made a mistake and something killed her would be a stupid way to spend her remaining days. She needed a purpose. She had thought that the gifts she had been given by the nameless gods should be used to help others, but there were no others. It was just her and the undead. Perhaps it was time to move on?

  The idea made her ache. Leave Moscow forever? And go where? Another city like St. Petersburg or Novosibirsk? Why? If there were no survivors in the capital, it was doubtful that there would be any in the other cities either.

  No, either I stay and continue my search or I head west, she concluded. Ukraine, Poland and the rest of Europe lie in that direction. Surely someone has survived there.

  The thought of exploring other countries excited her somewhat, and made the painful thought of deserting Moscow more bearable. But that was for the future. What she finally decided to do, while it was still early summer, was to circle around the border of the entire city once before giving up her search.

  The city core is a write-off, she decided. And I won't go back in there unless I have a very good reason to.

  With her decision made, Liliana tried to get some sleep. Unfortunately, she was restless. Her s
leep through the afternoon had been refreshing enough that she wasn't very tired. Stiff and sore, yes, but not tired.

  So instead of resting, Liliana moved from one little window to the next, keeping watch just in case any of the undead wandered into the neighborhood.

  She had no idea what drew the zombies' attention, beyond sight and sound. How had they found her shelter the previous night? She had hidden on the second floor of a furniture store, in a small storeroom filled with office supplies. And yet, somehow, they had sniffed her out and begun battering on the door. She had had to smash through a bunch of them with her shield and then run through the darkness. It had been a nightmare.

  Could they somehow smell her, she wondered. Hygiene wasn't exactly high on her list of priorities these days, although she bathed whenever she could, but surely she didn't stink so badly that an undead monster with a rotting brain could find her?

  No, it had to be something else; something...supernatural. Perhaps they were simply drawn to life itself. Except for birds, she had seen no animals inside the city limits. No dogs or cats, no squirrels or rabbits. No animals at all. She had attributed that to the drakes, but maybe it had actually been the zombies destroying all living things? If so, that was truly monstrous.

  Some hours passed and Liliana was about to try to get some more sleep when something caught her eye in the distance. She was looking out the window facing to the west and saw a suddenly splash of light.

  She watched it for a moment in stunned silence. It looked like someone had lit a campfire.

  No, surely not. If anyone is out there, they wouldn't be foolish to light a fire at night, would they?

  She kept watching, but the distant, flickering yellowish light didn't fade away. It was real.

  I have to go, Liliana thought frantically as she hurried to gather her things. I have to warn them!

  She lowered the rope and climbed down so quickly that she skinned her palms. Ignoring the pain, Liliana began to run. She couldn't see the exact position of the fire from the ground, but she knew approximately where it was and she raced in that direction.

  She vaulted over low fences between yards and dodged around several cars before she caught sight of the fire again. It was burning in the middle of a sidewalk, exposed and easily seen.

  Idiots, Liliana thought angrily. Any evil creature could see that fire from miles away. What are they thinking?

  She crouched down and moved forward cautiously as she approached the site. She stopped in the shadow of an old Ford with four flat tires and peeked around the bumper, trying to get a glimpse of whoever had lit the fire.

  Before she did, she heard a sound that she hadn't heard in a very long time. Laughter. Someone was laughing; a child by the sound of it.

  She froze. A child? How was that even possible?

  Liliana stood up, forgetting all need for caution and everything that she had knew about the dangers of the new world. She was drawn instinctively to that sound, feeling an overwhelming need to protect

  Now she could clearly see the fire and the small four figures that were sitting around it. She walked forward slowly, not wanting to scare them, until she could actually see more details. And then she stopped again.

  The fire hadn't been started using twigs or slivers of wood. Instead, a pile of old toys burned in the middle of the driveway.

  Wooden blocks, stuffed animals and, most horribly, plastic dolls slowly melting, their shining eyes dissolving in the intense heat. All of these once cherished toys had been used for fuel. It was heartbreaking to watch.

  But even more strange and frightening were the four figures that stood up as soon as they saw her. All of them were wrapped in rags and tattered old clothing that hid their bodies completely. None of them were more than four feet tall and all were painfully thin.

  They turned in unison in Liliana's direction and simply stood there, silently watching her.

  “Hello?” she called out. “Are you all right? Don't be afraid; I won't hurt you.”

  There was a moment of silence and then all four seemed to giggle at once. But none of them spoke and Liliana felt a twinge of uneasiness. What was happening here?

  “It is very dangerous to light a fire in the open like that,” she continued. “There are bad things that come out at night now. And even worse things might see you from above. You have seen the dragons, haven't you? They still return to the city now and then, and if they see your light, your lives will be in danger.”

  One of the little figures stepped forward a few feet, moving stiffly as if in pain.

  “Silly lady,” it said. The voice was that of a little girl. “We are not the ones in danger here. You are.”

  Liliana felt a chill run down her spine. There was something almost inhuman in that voice. It was dry and thin, like old snake skin.

  “Yes, I know that I am in danger,” she replied. “Why aren't you?”

  Another of them moved to join the first.

  “Because we belong here,” it said. This one was definitely a boy's voice. “We were made to be here. This is our world now. The dragons don't bother us.”

  Liliana was confused and she shook her head, eliciting a giggle from one of them.

  “I don't understand. The dragons want all of us dead; surely you know that? All you have to do is look around at the destruction to realize that.”

  “What they did was terrible, that is true,” the girl agreed, although she sounded unconcerned. “But that is just their nature. They were made to destroy; that is all they know. And we were made to survive. What were you made for?”

  “Yulia, don't be silly,” one of the children still standing by the fire said. “She was not made for anything. She's an adult. Maybe smarter than the others to have survived this long, but just a grownup. She will be food for the monsters soon enough.”

  “Don't be stupid,” the girl, Yulia, replied irritably. “Look at her. She carries a sword and shield. And she radiates a light. I cannot see it with my eyes, but it is there, just beneath her skin. Can't you all feel it? She has been touched by the gods, just as we have.”

  “Do you think so?” the boy asked, obviously startled. “But how is that possible? She is not a Changling.”

  “Changling?”

  Liliana tried to identify that name. It was an English word, that much she knew, and it sounded familiar somehow, but she couldn't place it.

  “What is a Changling?” she asked.

  Yulia's rags moved as if she was gesturing at herself and the others.

  “We are. It is a silly word that they used to use on television, back before all of the machines stopped working. Do you not remember? There were many children just like us around the world who began transforming physically, just before the world fell apart. The scientists ended up calling them Changlings because of some old story or something. I don't really know about that. But we call ourselves that now because that is what happened. We Changed.”

  She moved even closer to Liliana and, even through the girl's thick rags and scraps of clothing, the woman could feel the child's eyes on her.

  “I never believed that only children would Change, even if these others did. I knew that some adults had to be blessed as well. And look, here you are.”

  “Blessed? Is that what you call it?” Liliana asked bitterly. “To survive the end of the world and see your race destroyed? That isn't a blessing; it's a curse.”

  She caught herself and immediately regretted her words. Strange or not, these were children that she was speaking to, not adults. She should keep her resentment to herself.

  But Yulia just laughed.

  “You are wrong,” she said in a superior tone. “The gods have Changed our bodies and our minds to adapt to this new world filled with magic and monsters. They have granted us powers and are still altering us. One day we will step out of the shadows and take back the city.” She stopped for a moment and her voice dropped to a whisper. “And then the world.”

  “Magic? You believe in m
agic?”

  Liliana didn't mean to sound derisive, but apparently Yulia thought that she was being mocked. She whirled around toward the fire and it suddenly began to spun and roar as if caught in the funnel of a tornado.

  The others stepped back from it hastily but seconds later if died down again, most of its fuel consumed.

  Yulia turned back toward Liliana.

  “Yes, I believe in magic. So should you, lady. Dragons were created by magic, did you know that? No, of course you didn't. But we do. We have had visions. We have seen the truth. Magic will rule the Earth again, just as it once did. And those of us who have Changed will be able to use it in ways that we cannot even imagine yet. That little trick,” a movement toward the dying fire, “was nothing compared to what we will be able to do one day.”

  “I apologize,” Liliana told her sincerely.”I did not mean to insult you. It's just that the thought of magic...”

  Yulia giggled, her mood shifting once again.

  “Yes, I understand,” she replied. “Adults always have such limited imaginations. But you, you should be more open-minded. After all, you have Changed too. How did that happen?”

  She sounded honestly curious.

  “It's hard to explain,” Liliana told her. “I was drawn to a place, or led to it, by someone who I think was a god. And this sword and shield were gifts, I suppose, from that power. But my physical Change started not long after the initial dragon attacks on the city. Up until now, I wasn't sure if anyone else had been transformed too. Now I know better.”

  “Good. You are learning,” the girl replied. “So you too have seen one of the lords of Light? Interesting.”

  “What were you like before?” one of the children asked Liliana. “I mean, you are an adult, but you are young and strong.”

  “And tall,” the boy said. “Really, really tall.”

  Liliana almost laughed at his tone, but stifled it. Best not to anger these strange Changlings if she could avoid it.

  “Before?” she answered. “I was old. Well, you would think of it as old, I suppose. I had three grown daughters. And grandchildren. I certainly never expected to be reformed into,” she looked down at herself, “this.”