The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 25: Twenty-four

Greetings to the young and brightest star of the kingdom

Please forgive this commoner for being bold and rude, but please send someone who can quarantine the whole town of Kentucky because the people have angered the heavenly beings

My neighbor, Paula, the good old woman, have been sick since the other day but she suddenly attacked the other elders yesterday

She was biting everyone and it scared all of us. I heard from her adopted son that she went out to go to Chivahon four days ago and have been sick since she got back

I don’t know what’s happening but people suddenly started getting sick

Please give this commoner a chance and quarantine everyone before if gets worst and spread to other towns

From a loyal subject

Jerry of the blacksmith of Kentucky

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The letter pretty much explained the situation to Jannah. The townpeople of Kentucky have been wiped out by the illness.

All the dried and fresh blood everywhere inside the town is an obvious sign. Just how could her people walktz inside the town when there’s blood everywhere? Especially after what she told them the other night.

"We have no time to spare!" Jannah said, raising her voice a little, guiding her people out of the town’s gate that leads to Rye and Philipia.

"What will we do with the man Haile and Jeremiah found?" Jeriel asked Jannah, approaching her with her horse trailing behind her. She is holding the reins of her mare and is just waiting for her sister.

"We’ll put him out of his misery, he’s suffering enough as is." Jannah answered bluntly, "If we leave him like that then he’ll turn into a zombie, we can’t have that."

Jannah eyed her little sister, watching her face contort in a displeased expression. She can’t lie to her though, leaving the man heaving and wheezing in pain will just make him suffer more before he can take his last breath.

It kind of sucks that it won’t kill him just yet, but that only made her wonder more.

"Where do you think the other infected may have gone?" Jeriel must have read her mind because she was wondering about that just now.

Jannah could easily guess that Jeriel asked her that question to change the topic, not wanting to dwell on something upsetting and making herself sad. She’s such an open book when it comes to her big sister after all.

"I don’t know." Jannah answered truthfully before she gestured towards the gate where the others are waiting for them, "Go and join them, I’ll go and put the the man out of his misery first."

"Can’t I come with you?" Jeriel tilted her head, a small forced smile creeping into her lips.

Jannah shrugged her shoulders, nodding her head once towards the direction of the mail house, "Let’s go then."

Nothing will happen if she did bring Jeriel with her so she didn’t think too much about it, all she needs to do is end the person’s life and leave for Rye after. In and out, just like that.

She heard her little sister laughed under her breath, it was quiet, but loud enough for her ears to catch. Jannah didn’t pay mind to it and kept walking towards the mail house, she could hear Jeriel’s mare’s hooves clanking against the dirt beneath their feet.

It sounds soothing in the eerie and dark atmosphere of the bloody town, breaking to the unsettling silence every once in a while.

The walk towards the mail house is quiet except for the occasional grunt from the horse and the crunch of the dirt under their hunting boots.

Once they reach the corner and the mail house in sight, Jannah walked faster to reach the body of the man which made Jeriel walk faster to not be left behind.

"Ooh.. Look at those bites." Jeriel commented when they got near on the body, she has to let go of the reins of her horse to get a closer look on the man.

"It’s not just one or two or three.. That’s a lot of bite marks." She added on to her statement, eyeing the bite marks on the man’s arms and legs with narrowed eyes.

"Stop staring and move out of the way." Jannah sighed out, grabbing her little sister’s shoulder and pushing her away gently.

Jeriel moved away, doing what she was told. She moved back to her mare, holding her reins and tucked herself by the side of the mammal. She watched Jannah crouched down beside the bitten man, unsheathing her sword.

Jannah stared at the man for a few seconds, thinking about the man’s life before he was ragged up by zombies then she closed her eyes and mumbled a quiet prayer under her breath, "Rest in peace."

Jeriel’s gaze softened when she saw her sister’s hands trembling slightly, gripping the handle of her sword.

Despite looking tough in front of her people, Jannah can still be sentimental and guilty when it comes to taking lives— bitten or not bitten.

Not delaying anything further, she raised her sword and aimed the point on the forehead. She inhaled sharply and braced herself to make the impact, however..

"Ack..! Hah!" The man gasped, opening his eyes and blinked rapidly, his head whipping left and right— his gaze was unfocused and all over the place, possibly trying to make a sense where he is.

The unexpected movement from him caused her to stumble back, making her fall on her bottom and lossen her grip on the sword.

Jeriel grew alarmed, she unconsciously let go of the reins and run to her sister’s side.

"Where.. What? Wha.. Why— why am I tied up?!" The man stammered out, his voice cracking and hoarse as he struggle against the binds all over his body.

Jeriel sat beside her sister, her mind racing yet somehow blank as the weight of the situation washed over her like a cold wave. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, each beat echoing in her ears, drowning out everything else.

Is the man really alive with all those bites? Jeriel wanted to ask, but when she looked at Jannah, she bit her tongue and kept what she wanted to say inside of her mind upon seeing her sister’s dark expression.

"You’re going to die." Jannah said without remorse and squeezed her sword tightly as she stood up from her position, "My people tied you up because you’re infected."

"In.. Infected?"

"Yes, and you’re covered in bites. Yet, I didn’t see any people inside the town." Jannah narrowed her eyes towards him and raised her sword, pointing it between his eyebrows.

Her action caused for the man to let out a terrified shriek, eyes wide with several emotions swirling in his dark irises. However, one emotion stood out the most.

Disbelief.

"You.. You saw— what?! You saw no one? But that’s impossible!" The man exclaimed, struggling against the ropes again as the panic became evident in his voice, "They were right here! They started attacking everyone! You can’t just say that there are no people— they bit me for God’s sake!"

Jannah pursed her lips, eyebrows furrowing as she inspected the man’s arms and legs once again. She probably mistook those bites as human bites, right? What if an animal roughed him up instead of zombies?

But he said it himself that they attacked him, that they bit him. Jannah’s rational side of the mind rebuked her wishful thinking.

"How the hell are you still alive?" She pressed the point of her sword on the man’s forehead which ceased his struggle, "You’re either going to die because of the bite and turn to a zombie or die because of blood loss."

"I don’t know.. I don’t know!" The man cried out, his lips trembling as he tried to make himself small to get away from her sword, "They started to attack me before sundown.. I was going to send a letter to the capital because the illness derived them of thinking! It’s dangerous!"

"I know that fully well which is why I need to kill you right now." Jannah said and pressed her sword in his forehead again, but the man struggled and backed away.

"You don’t understand! They started running away when the sun started setting..! that’s why I’m alive! I got bitten, but I’m not infected—"

The man couldn’t even finish what he was saying, eyes wide and mouth agape when he stopped breathing the moment a sword went through his skull.

Jannah’s hands shook as if they were caught in an electric current, refusing to obey her commands. All she could do is stare in shock at her little sister who threw her sword to the man’s head without hesitation.

".. Jeriel?" She called out to her little sister as she stood there, frozen. Breath caught and heart pounding while she repeatedly think to herself, what the hell had just happened?

Jeriel, on the other hand, couldn’t believe what she just did. She was listening to the man’s rambling when he said something unbelievable and caused for her to move, before she knew it, she had already threw the sword and killed the man.

"I’m sorry." Jeriel apologized, her voice barely above a whisper as she stared at the man.

How could someone who was clearly infected.. Lie in my sister’s face in front of me? Jeriel thought, her eyes devoid of any emotion.