The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 26: Twenty-five

"Why did you do that?" Jannah’s eyebrows are furrowed and looking at Jeriel with narrowed eyes, confusion and disbelief can be seen in her face.

"He’s infected." Jeriel lowered her head as she approach the dead man, "You told me that we should aim for their head to kill them, he’s infected and will turn into a zombie, right? He lied to your face, how can you let him live after that?"

The tone of her voice is condescending, chilling and demanding. The sudden twist in her personality made Jannah doubt her familiarity towards her sister.

Jeriel pulled her sword out of the man’s head and slashed the air in a vertical motion with a great amount of strength, making the blood in her sword’s blade splash on the ground.

Her blade shone under the sun light of the setting sun, making the sword look pleasing— a complete contrast of what it is used for.

"You should have let the man finish talking." Jannah said, her voice dripping with authority. She usually don’t use her commanding voice to her sister, but what she just did is an inhumane act.

"He’s infected." Jeriel rebutted like it was the most obvious thing, "He said that he’s not infected when he have so many bites. He told you that he was not when we saw all those damn bites on his body!"

"I know that he’s infected, but killing him like he is nothing? That is wrong." Jannah argued back, not liking the turn in Jeriel’s way of thinking. Why would she think that it’s okay to kill someone like that?

"We don’t bat an eye if nobles kill their servants out of anger or when your men take innocent lives in the battlefield so what’s the difference in killing an infected man?" Jeriel asked, sheathing her sword and turned her head to look at her sister.

Jannah couldn’t say anything to that, she pursed her lips and touched the hilt of her sword, a nervous habit she have ever since she was dispatched to the battlefiled.

What Jeriel just said is true. Nobles do get away with ending their servants’ life, literally or figuratively. Jannah let out a sigh, looking straight at her sister’s eyes.

"A person’s life is not something we should easily take." She shook her head in a disappointed manner to show her little sister that she did something wrong, "Especially now that human lives are at stake."

Jeriel frowned, not understanding what she did wrong nor find anything faulty in her words and action.

"I don’t get it." She murmured and looked away, "He’s going to die either way, right? I just made his life easier by doing him a favor."

"That’s exactly what’s wrong." Jannah rubbed her temples and let out a sigh for the nth time, she is doing her best to be patient with Jeriel because lashing out in a situation like this wouldn’t end well for the both of them.

"Also, for the record, I fought and killed many enemy knights for the kingdom. I did it to protect our people and those nobles you speak of? Didn’t you want to join the order of the knights to arrest them? You can’t and don’t kill them if you don’t have any evidence so don’t dare try to act like it’s okay to kill people now." Jannah crossed her arms, eyebrows furrowing further at the sight of her little sister’s clenched fists.

"Humanity will get wiped out at this rate." She sighed out as she looked down at the man who have his eyes wide and mouth open, "We’re trying to protect our people from those things, but we should at least keep our sanity and humanity intact, okay?"

Jeriel didn’t answer, her eyes cast downwards and staring at the dirt as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

"Jeriel Kizha Rafelon." Jannah called her little sister’s full name, using a tone that mothers would use to their children who have acted out of line.

Jannah might not be her mother, but she has always been the one who tried to keep Jeriel from doing unspeakable things.

"I understand." Jeriel murmured, feeling a little guilty that her sister have to lecture her like this even if she is already an adult and a knight.

Jannah stared at her for a second, wondering if she did the right thing of scolding her sister for doing something she will have to do later on. However, she really can’t dwell too long on it because something catched both of their attention.

Jannah’s head perked up when she heard distinct voices somewhere, followed by several cries and unpleasant sounds.

".. un!"

Yells from the distance can be heard, sounding clearer and louder as the seconds pass by. Jeriel and Jannah exchanged glances for a moment before they both come to a silent agreement.

They drew their sword from its sheath.

"Keep Dia’s reins on you just in case." Jannah whispered towards her little sister, afraid that they might get heard by the people approaching the town.

Jeriel only nodded her head and followed behind Jannah as they walk towards the front gate of the town. Their footsteps are light, fast, and steady, hurrying behind the gate.

Jannah eyed the bows and arrows leaving behind the staircase, wondering why it was sitting there with blood all over the quiver. Then again, she did not have the time to waste to dwell on such things.

She climbed up the stairs with haste to go inside the watchtower while Jeriel waited at the bottom of the stairs, looking out of the gate instead.

Jannah looked over to the horizon— the sky is already mix of red, yellow, and orange.

From the look of it, it would be dark soon. She took a mental note and didn’t pay more attention in the sky, instead, focusing up ahead.

She squinted her eyes to get a clear look, it was hard to spot anything from her spot, but she could make out several silhouettes from the distance.

She pressed her hand horizontally on her forehead— a salute, if you will— to create a cover for her eyes, hoping it would help her see better.

One, two, three.. No, ten? Eleven? Why is there so many people..? Hold on.. Wait, wait.. Are those.. Jannah had to step closer to the edge of the watch tower to count the human silhouettes she could see.

She counted and counted, not wanting to jump into conclusions. However, her face lost its color when she realized that those are actually not—

She inhaled sharply and backed away from edge of the watch tower.

"Jeriel! Get on your horse!" She called out to little sister in hurry, raising her voice so she can hear her.

She scrambled to get down from the watchtower, stumbling on the way down as she did so.

"Be careful, sis! What if you get hurt?" Jeriel furrowed her eyebrows when she heard Jannah get down the stairs.

"What’s with the rush?" Jeriel eyed her sister from the corner of her eyes as she did what she was told, lifting herself up on the stirrup and mounting her mare with ease.

She watched her sister stumble her way down the wooden stairs.

Jannah’s heart is pounding and ringing in her ears, but she didn’t let her fear and anxiety to get the best of her.

"Hurry! Run to Marco and tell them to run at full speed to Rye!" Jannah ordered loudly, heaving a deep breath as she settled behind the gate and started pushing the right gate with all her might.

"O.. Okay?" Jeriel unconsciously furrowed her eyebrows at her sister’s frantic behavior, but didn’t question it.

She kicked the stirrup on her mare’s side which urged the horse to move forward until it started galloping out of there. She didn’t know why, but she had this urge to look back so she did.

She only looked back once at her big sister to keep herself grounded, but what she saw was a terrifying sight.

A few knights are running up the hills, bloodied, dirty, with torn clothing. She can recognize the Duke of the east as one of the knights, a frightened look on his face.

However, even if she wanted to help her sister, Jannah have given her an order, and she’s not the type to disobey.

All she could do is close her eyes tightly, urge her horse to run faster, pray for her sister’s safety, and do what she was told— to get their people to safety.

Please be safe. Jeriel prayed from the bottom of her heart, preparing for the outbreak has been her sister’s one and only mission ever since Jeriel got sent back to their mansion.

She can’t ruin her sister’s preparation just because she wants to stay.

So, with her held high up and eyes glazing with tears, she screamed on the top of her lungs once she saw the people out on back gate.

Each one of them jumping on their spot when they heard her.

"Full speed ahead and don’t look back!"