Sudden Short Story 46

Sam got himself up onto the dirt step that he'd made on the way down, then back to the surface.  The rain poured down, reducing even the light that their torches shed.  "Well, he's not down there."  

"Even the coffin's gone," commented Lou.  

"Do you think that he's gone on to whole-corpse revivals?"  

"I think that he's trying to throw us off track.  Maybe he's going to butcher this one like he did the others, but with all the pieces this time around."  

"It might not be that bad," added Sam, hopefully.  "Maybe there was nobody in this grave in the first place.  It could be a decoy."  

"I suppose.  The village does seem pretty abandoned.  If they fled, though, then they must have thought that they'd have some time.  They seem to have taken their livestock with them."  

"Luckily, they couldn't take their crops.  I saw a melon farm, and it's summer.  We should see if that's come in before we set out."  

"I suppose that I could go for a slice of melon," Lou said, as he put his shovel in his pack.  "It'll save us our rations, anyway."  

They walked down the hill toward the village, seeking shelter as night fell.  The rain should have let up soon.  They found a house with two beds and only one window, and made shift a simple barricade with some spare wooden planks.  

"What's the plan for tomorrow?" asked Sam, as they readied for sleep.  

"We'll break our fast on the melons, if we can," answered Lou.  "We'll do a last check for any abandoned equipment that we may need.  Then, I think that we should set out for those mountains that we saw, to the northwest of here.  In case he is in the area, that's where I think that he'd set up."  

They lay silently, for a short while.  Then, Sam asked, "Do you think that you'll be able to kill him?  If it comes to it."  

"You mean because he used to be our friend?"  He looked over, and Sam nodded.  Lou stared back to the ceiling.  "I hope so, Sam.  We're the only ones who can."