Vas could only shake his head in disbelief at the sight of so many Risen. They effectively blocked paths to the north and east, which only left south.

If Vas led the Risen south, there was a possibility he would lead them right into the main Scout group.

He didn’t have a choice.

He didn’t have time.

Vas immediately started running to the south. Joust let out a string of curses and followed close behind. Jade and Alex just stared at the horde in terror. Thousands of smiles greeted them.

The group of corpses started shambling towards them.

Then the Risen started running.

The ground shook. There was a loud cracking sound, which made Vas think the ice on the lake was breaking.

It made no visible impact as the Risen ran at Vas’s group.

Vas assumed the middle of the lake had cracked and swallowed a few hundred Risen. Maybe even a few thousand. It didn’t help.

The four Decoys were already tired because of running from the first group of Risen.

Physical differences started making themselves apparent when Jade and Alex fell behind.

Vas slowed their pace as much as he dared.

The chase continued for another hour. The fastest Risen had made their way to the front of the charging horde, and some of them were closing on Vas’s group.

Alex was the furthest back. She was huffing hard. Jade was just in front of her. Joust barely looked any better.

Then Alex tripped. Vas turned around and ran at her. “Keep running!” He shouted as he ran.

Joust hesitated but complied. Jade also kept running. At least, she tried to. Vas grabbed the halberd from her and kept running. “Drop your pack and keep running!” Jade unstrapped the backpack and kept running.

Alex was getting back up, but Vas hadn’t run back to help her up.

He swung the halberd horizontally just as the fastest Risen ran into range. “Drop your pack and run, Alex.”

The Risen dodged and smiled at him, then lunged forward, using the gun it was holding as a sort of club.

Vas he could see three more close behind.

He beheaded the creature with a swift backhanded swing.

Vas couldn’t use the halberd as well as Jade, especially with only one hand functioning properly.

He didn’t care much for finesse at the moment anyways.

Vas turned back and scooped up Alex’s pack. He looped one of the straps onto the halberd and laid the weapon across his back.

When he reached Jade’s pack he did the same thing. The halberd was significantly heavier now, so Vas wedged it behind his neck. The hood, which was strapped to his head through the scarf, held the polearm solidly enough. He slid it out the hood on the other side of his neck, so the weapon was evenly distributed across his body horizontally.

Vas held onto the halberd with his ruined hand. With his other hand, he unsheathed his miaodao. He was still close behind the tired Decoys, but the group was moving faster as a whole.

However, three Risen were almost upon them.

Vas glanced back as he ran. Although at this point it looked more like a leisurely jog.

They were maybe ten paces away.

They were all armed, but not heavily. Two of them had kitchen knives, while the last one had some kind of replica short sword.

Behind the Wall, there were multiple smithies. These smithies were run by one or two master craftsmen, then given endless amounts of supplies and apprentices. Vas could have avoided the draft if he’d decided to work at the smithy full-time.

Nine paces.

Because of the smithies, the army was always supplied with real weapons crafted for combat.

By contrast, the majority of Risen coming from the south were poorly armed. Those with replica weapons were the least dangerous.

Eight paces.

Vas turned around, facing his three opponents.

One with a kitchen knife was a pace or two in front of the others, so Vas targeted it first.

There were around a hundred Risen closing in on Vas’s group, but the rest of the horde had been outpaced.

Vas feinted a lunge and the monster fell for it.

Easy.

Or not.

The second and third one were here.

Vas spun away from a knife and swung his sword as he came around.

The Risen with a sword tried to block, but the sword was cut in half. Along with its head.

Vas used the sword’s momentum and brought it up then down again.

He cleaved a second monster nearly completely in half.

The last one was close now. Vas kicked at its knee, jamming it backwards.

There was a sickening crack as the Risen lost its balance. Then it lost its head.

Vas turned back to his squad. They were two dozen paces ahead of him now.

He started running after them.

Wielding his sword one-handed in an actual fight had been extremely taxing.

They were nearing a densely forested area, which was exactly what they needed.

They could go southeast now. Leave obvious tracks that suddenly disappeared on the ice of a lake.

Vas’s squad turned and waited for him before exiting the clearing.

When he reached them, Jade took her halberd back and Joust took the two extra packs.

Vas sheathed his sword and led the way.

They were all exhausted, but they still had a long way to go.

The sun would be down in around four hours.

Vas pulled out a compass and the group continued at a brisk pace.

He weaved around trees and through brush, and the others followed close behind.

“Maybe,” Joust gasped out from the back of the single-file line, “maybe they’re afraid of trees, so they won’t follow us.”

Vas didn’t respond.

They all knew Risen were perfectly fine with trees.

Alex started coughing. No, she was laughing.

“Trees? You had this long to think of a joke, and that’s what you got?”

Jade giggled quietly. Even Vas in all his bad humor had to smile.

They continued through the forest for hours, obscuring their tracks whenever possible.

It wasn’t that he wanted to disappear completely, but Vas sure wasn’t going to make himself easy to find.

They’d started heading east about an hour ago, and Vas hoped he could lose the Risen by the next morning. There was a lake about fifty miles (eighty kilometers) east, if Vas had their position right on his mental map.

Jade jogged up beside him and held out a cloth. She’d cut a strip of their wool blanket to wrap around his wounded hand.

Vas held his hand out. The wound hadn’t bled too much, but he’d had to be careful with it.

Jade wrapped his hand deftly. “Have you done this before?” He’d wondered the words aloud.

“Run from a horde? Nope. We get to experience something new together. So exciting.”

Alex giggled and Joust snorted. Jade finished tying Vas’s hand and fell back into the single file line. “I trained to be a nurse for a while. Before.” Vas nodded. “Why’d you wanna be a nurse,” Alex inquired.

“I had siblings. Two brothers. They used to get hurt a lot when we were young.”

“Sorry.” Family was a touchy subject for everyone who’d made it to the wall.

“Don’t worry, Vas is dumb enough to make up for two men,” Joust stated confidently.

“You’re one to talk, you big. . . Oaf.” “Oaf?” Jade made a face, “Let’s be careful with our language before you hurt someone’s feelings, dear.” The sarcasm was practically dripping.

“It just felt right.”

They reached a small clearing, and Vas scanned it before entering.

It would be evening soon. The forest would slow their pace somewhat, but Vas was thankful for all the trees and brush. Without cover, the Risen would catch up quickly.

The Risen should be thirty minutes behind them by now. At least, that was what he hoped.

Vas took a step forward.

A sudden wave of dizziness hit him, and he fell forward onto the snow.

He lost consciousness before he hit the ground.