Byzantium Infected Box Set

by James Mullins

  Nasir took her into his arms and tried to comfort her, “There, there. It’s perfectly understandable to miss them.”

  As they continued to walk, the cliffs that rose above the road on either side began to slowly diminish in height. As the golden sun light faded and turned the sky above them into pinks, oranges, reds, and finally purples. Constan drew the group to a halt, “If we leave the road and double back for a bit on the western side, we should be invisible to anyone on the road below. This will help us go unnoticed from anyone or thing coming down it while we sleep.”

  Nasir nodded, “A good plan.”

  Constan moved off the road onto the western side and the rest of the group followed him. Once they had reached a point where the road was below and separated from them by a six-foot cliff, he brought them to a halt, “Let’s camp here for the night. We shouldn’t risk a fire. From this vantage point the blaze could be seen for miles.”

  Sullenly the group did as they were told in silence. No one wanted to talk about what they had seen that day out on the road. They worked to scrape away the surface pebbles and rocks. They did this so that they could sleep more comfortably. A cool breeze coming out of the north began, and they felt the first chills in the October air signaling the sign of the oncoming winter.

  When the group finished clearing the rocks. They arranged the few blankets they had with them for sleep. One lucky side effect of the items that were lost or abandoned by the refugees along the way, was that they acquired several blankets. While sleeping on the hard-parched soil characteristic of Syria is never comfortable, having a blanket makes it much more so.

  Once their bedding was arranged for the night, they sat in silence as they ate their dinner. The meal once again consisted of oranges. They ate their fill, again in silence, as the group’s somber mood seemed to preclude any desire to have a conversation.

  Each of them took their turn at watch that evening. Everyone huddled together as the temperature plunged from the comfortable levels of the day time to near freezing that night.

  Chapter 46

  Morning, October 3rd 636, Road to Heliopolis, Syria Province, Byzantium

  Heliopolis

  Nasir, who had taken the last watch of the night, woke them in the hour prior to dawn. Amidst the grumbles he said, “I hear teeth audibly chattering over the cold. We need to get up and get moving, so no one catches their death.”

  Constan, nodded in agreement, smiled and placed his hand on Nasir’s shoulder, “Nasir speaks the truth in this. I have seen it many times up north along the Danube. If you are cold for too long you will become ill. Let’s go ahead and get moving. We can break our fast once the sun rises and everyone warms up.”

  They walked in silence on the road for about an hour. Above them the sky took on a murky grayish hue for several moments and then grew dark again. A few minutes later the dark gray came back, and soon morphed into a deep purple. At this point the horizon to their right, became slightly brighter than the ground below drawing a contrast. As the sky above morphed from a deep purple, into a light purple, and then some pinks, the eastern horizon took on a yellow hue. Finally, as the sky overhead morphed into an orange hue, the Sun rose above the horizon.

  “Golden hour has begun,” Liana remarked.

  Baltazar smiled, took her hand, and nodded, “Undeniably.”

  With the coming of the light, the temperature rose sharply, and it wasn’t long before they stopped seeing the air every time they exhaled. Constan brought them to a momentary halt and said, “Let’s continue our journey as we break our fast. Given what we saw yesterday. I think we need to move with all due haste to Antioch.”

  They journeyed northward that morning without incident. As they drew close to Heliopolis, Constan grew cautious and led them off the road. He turned to Damon and asked, “Could ye scout ahead to the city and observe it while trying to remain hidden?”

  Damon smiled and nodded at the opportunity to break the monotony and explore the city, “Aye.”

  Constan added, “I don’t need ye to actually enter the city. Try to keep yeself unobserved and attempt to determine if Heliopolis is still controlled by the Empire, or has become a place of the damned.”

  Disappointment flashed across Damon’s face as he said, “Aye, sir.”

  Constan said, “Before you reach Heliopolis the road will descend into the valley that contains the city. Let’s meet at the point where the road levels off on the valley floor.” Constan glanced at the position of the sun and added, “Let’s say in four hours.” He then placed a hand on Damon’s shoulder, “Don’t be so down lad. We’ll be debauching Antioch before ye know it!”

  Damon smiled at Constan, turned to Athos and asked, “Can you take my shield? I can move a lot faster without it.”

  “Aye. I can wear it on my back.” Athos replied.

  Damon handed his shield over to Athos, who slung it onto his back. He then counted the oranges in his bag, divided them evenly amongst the group members, and placed them into the sacks that each of them carried. Damon then unbuckled his sword belt and carried it by the sheathe in his left hand. With his load lightened he began to jog in the direction of Heliopolis. The remainder of the group, who moved forward at a walking pace, quickly fell behind him and disappeared.

  Damon ran for about an hour without encountering anything living or undead. As the road began to descend steeply into a valley, he spied a walled town below him, “Heliopolis.” He said out loud in-between breaths. He paused and looked around at his surroundings. Off in the distance to the left of the road was a hill that rose up. Perhaps that hill will afford me a vantage point to look down into the city? He thought to himself.

  Wanting to conserve his strength in case he needed to make a hasty retreat, he moved in the direction of the hill at a walking pace. As he reached the bottom of the hill, he looked up at the sharply rising earth before him. It was a reddish tan in color and was covered in gravel and jagged stones. The footing looks treacherous, he thought to himself. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as his eyes slowly traveled over the side of the hill. Spying a possible path upward, he checked his sword belt to ensure it was secured to his waist and began his climb.

  Footing was indeed treacherous, as the loose stones would often slide when he placed his foot on them. Several times, he was forced to drop to his knees to arrest his decent after losing his footing. After many minutes, he was able to reach the top of the hill. The top consisted of a small patch of uneven terrain. Like the side that Damon had ascended, the top had a multitude of loose stones scattered about it. In addition to the loose stones, the occasional hardy grass could be seen poking up through the rocks. Thanks to the recent fall rains, these tufts of grasses were green in color. This coloration, drew a sharp contrast to the reddish tan rocks and soil around it.

  Damon observed a large stone which seemed to jut out from the side of the hill, on the northern side that faced Heliopolis. He smiled and thought, That looks promising. He walked over to the stone, stood upon it, and looked down into the valley below. This perch afforded him an excellent view in three directions. The stone, unlike the surrounding terrain, was gray in color.

  Unfortunately, this would also give anyone below a first-rate view of him. If I remain standing, the blue sky will silhouette me against the horizon, and I might be seen from below. He quickly got down on his hands and knees and crawled forward. Reaching the edge, he looked down upon the city.

  The city was surrounded by a square wall. The wall, must have been made from local stone, as it was the same reddish-brown coloration as the surrounding terrain, and was about thirty feet in height. Several large buildings, also made of stone, towered above the rest. The two largest appeared to be a basilica and a palace. Most of the other buildings within, seemed to be made using the same mud brick process from which the village of Tarma was constructed.

  The average building in Heliopolis was a squat, ramshackle affairs that rarely exceeded two stories. He noticed that sever
al large sections of the city had recently burned. This was evident, as no apparent effort had been made to clear the burnt buildings and rebuild.

  This doesn’t look right. Damon pondered what he was observing for several moments and then it came to him, This city lacks bustle. Heliopolis didn’t seem to have the level of activity one would expect for a town of this size in mid-morning. There should be people gathered in the agora and on the streets. The gates should be closed, given the damned threat, but instead they hang partially open.

  Before Damon could complete his thought, he heard some gravel shift behind him. His reflexes instantly took over and he rolled over onto his back. This move enabled him to see what had made the noise. As he did so, a woman jumped upon him. Her scraggly long gray hair, tickled his cheeks as she leaned in to bite him. As her mouth opened and closed in anticipation of her meal, Damon could smell her fetid breath that reeked of death and decay.

  He grabbed her shoulders with both hands to try and stop her attack. He was then hoping to throw her over the side of the cliff. His move halted her initial attack, but he was unable to push her in the desired direction toward the edge of the cliff. His muscles strained with the effort it took to simply hold her at bay. How is this damned old woman so strong?

  Frustrated in her efforts to feast on Damon’s face, the damned shifted her attack to his neck. Desperate, Damon shifted his grip and pushed against her neck, with his right forearm in an attempt to keep her at bay. This halted her teeth just shy of the soft flesh on his neck.

  Taking a deep breath, and hoping that it wouldn’t be his last. He rolled to his left, and threw all of his strength against the woman in an attempt to dislodge her. Surprised by the move, the woman’s grip loosened on Damon’s shoulders, but she managed to hang on. Feeling her grip slip a tiny bit, Damon used the second it bought him, to swiftly draw his dagger with his left hand. Before she could take advantage of his one-handed hold upon her, he plunged the blade into the left side of her head.

  Yanking the blade back out, he pushed her corpse over the edge of the cliff. He watched impassively as it struck the hill several times on the way down to its final resting place, I need to be more careful. That unholy witch was almost the death of me.

  Fearful of another attack, Damon fully scouted the hilltop and the surrounding area to ensure there would be no more surprises. Satisfied that he was the only being, living or dead, within a mile he went back to the stone outcropping. He got back down on his hands and knees and crawled back out onto the gray stone to observe the city below.

  The look of the city had not changed in the twenty minutes or so that had passed since he last observed it. There doesn’t appear to be anyone alive down there, but is it damned? It would be nice to get to enter the city. I’m sure we could find some wine and something to eat besides oranges in one of the taverns.

  He laid there for a time as the October sun warmed the back of his neck. As he memorized every feature of Heliopolis, he began to notice slight changes. Focusing on those areas his vision was able to pick out small clusters of dots moving erratically through the city, damned.

  Damon sighed deeply at what he had observed, No soft bed, wine, or good meal tonight. He thought mournfully. Guess I need to figure out a way to get us around the city. The road runs right up to the town and then around. We can’t stay on the road that close to the city. If there are any damned about, we are likely to get noticed.

  Damon carefully climbed down the side of the hill back onto the road. He then started walking in the direction of Heliopolis, I’ve got about an hour before the others catch up. When he reached the bottom of the hill the walls of Heliopolis loomed off in the distance about a mile across the flat valley floor.

  Damon looked across the flat plain in front of him, taking in the view. The land was cultivated, and crisscrossed with a series of ditches connected to the river in the middle of plain. The citizens of Heliopolis grew a wide variety of crops. As he walked toward the city, he saw unharvested fields of wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, olives, and of course oranges. If we take some time to stop and harvest, we could add some peas and beans to our diet.

  Damon stopped about a mile from the city and took in the view. His eyes passed over field after field. As he did so, the ripened wheat swayed lazily in the breeze. In addition to the city of Heliopolis which dominated the middle of the valley, he noticed that there were several mud-brick houses dotting the land. This scattering of mud brick homes was interrupted by the occasional villa.

  Damon smiled, I bet those villas have both food and wine we could take. I had better wait until the others arrive before I attempt to enter one.

  He moved off the road into the fields to the east of the road. Avoiding the houses and villas, he set off toward the river. After many minutes of jogging he reached it. This river, whatever it was called, was a shallow brown colored affair very similar in appearance to the Barada River that ran just outside of Damascus.

  The water moved very slowly within its banks. Thanks to the deep brown coloration, he was unable to discern its depth. I wonder if we could ford this river? Otherwise we would have to use the bridge close to the city and risk being spotted by the damned.

  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly trying to reduce some of the tension he felt over this prospect. I’m not too keen on wading into water I cannot see into. There is no telling what lurks below the surface. Steeling himself he stepped off the bank into the water. His foot sank several inches into the mud at the bottom of the river.

  Not wanting to lose his sandals in the muck, Damon stepped back onto the bank, and removed them. Holding them in his left hand, he once again stepped off the bank into the river. Again, his feet sank several inches into the soft mud. The mud was cool to the touch, and felt pleasant against his feet.

  The water reached to his mid-calf, so he decided to proceed slowly across the river. As he moved forward toward the middle of the river, the water had slowly risen and reached his waist. He heard a sudden splash off to his right and he whirled around to face the danger. As the sound of his heart thundered in his ears, he glimpsed a scaled tail disappear into the brown murkiness, causing a ripple in the water.

  That fish almost gave me a heart attack. Composing himself, he continued until he reached the far bank. Turning to look back in the direction he came, he looked around. Heliopolis now sat to his right about a mile distance, This should be a good spot to cross and far enough away from the city to not be spotted. Damon glanced up at the position of the sun, I’d better turn around so I can meet back up with the others at the appointed time.

  Damon stepped back into the river. The familiar feel of his feet sinking in the mud greeted him. He stood for several moments and relished the feel of the cool muck on his feet. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, allowing himself to relax. Suddenly, he felt something brush his ankle below the surface of the water, “Dear God in heaven!” He exclaimed and leapt out of the water.

  Damon drew his Spatha and prepared to defend himself against the unknown menace. Just below the surface of the shallow water he saw the outline of another fish. Sheathing his blade, he laughed and said, “You scaly bastards are going to be the death of me if you keep startling me like that.”

  Damon stepped back into the river. This time he did not dawdle and relish in the feel of the mud on his toes. Instead he walked quickly across. His haste caused small waves to surge in front of him, and he left a wake of churned muddy brown water behind him. He reached the other side without incident and stepped onto the bank.

  As he stood on the bank close to the river, he dropped his sandals onto the ground and began to squeeze the water out of his trousers. As he worked at his task, unbeknownst to him, an arm broke the surface of the river and reached for him.

  Very slow must I reach for the meal. Mustn’t let it know that I am here. Vivian thought to herself. Before her was a man standing by the side of the river. He seemed to be bent over, fiddling with his coverings. Vivian
didn’t understand the purpose of this action, but decided this was a prime opportunity to catch him unaware and feed.

  Damon, oblivious to the danger behind him, finished up squeezing the water out of his trousers. As he straightened himself up to depart, he noticed a shadow on the ground that shouldn’t be there. What the? Sliced into his thoughts. As he started to whirl around and draw his Spatha, a hand grasped his right ankle and pulled. This caused him to lose his balance and fall backward into the river.

  The brown water yielded to the weight of his body, and he felt the cool mud on his back as he hit the river bottom. As his vision of the blue sky above disappeared and was covered up by murky brown waters flowing over him, he felt fingers grasp his right calf. Was that the last time I would ever see the sky? I don’t want to die! Damon thought to himself frantically. The fingers clutched his leg tightly and the nails dug into his skin. He gasped involuntarily at the pain from Vivian’s vise like grip. This caused him to swallow some of the water and cough.

  I have him! Must pull myself toward the soft flesh and feed. Vivian thought to herself. Damon, trained in the art of Roman warfare, stayed true to his conditioning. In the moment that passed between him standing on the bank and plunging into the shallow brown waters of the river an image of Constan had entered his mind, “Under no circumstances are ye to ever drop your blade!” The voice bellowed in his mind.

  Damon obeyed Constan’s voice. Despite the slippery water making it difficult to maintain his grasp, and his own natural inclination to release the blade to use his hands to break his fall. He overcame it all. As the presence of Vivian’s grasp registered in his mind, he sat up, raised his Spatha still in his right hand above his head, and brought the blade down.

  Damon’s razor sharp Spatha easily penetrated the leathery parchment like skin of Vivian’s arm, and struck it off at the elbow. The loss of her appendage registered as a dull pain that did little to conceal her overwhelming hunger and urge to feed. As she tried to reach out with her left arm and continue to pull herself toward Damon, he stood up and took a step back from her.