Blood of the Righteous

Buried Alive

Slowly, he took his hands off of his head. There was only darkness and the strong scent of smoke. He could also feel heat to his left. Smoke started to fill the small space. Looking down towards his feet, the only light David could see was the red glow of some smoldering embers. He reached over and pushed on the wall of debris next to him, but it didn't budge. He could feel the gritty feeling of the soot on his hands as he tried in vain to escape. Quickly, the heat upon his hands rose to an intolerable level and he jerked back. While his hands were not blistered, he could still feel the heat upon them.

"Help!" he yelled. The sounds of fighting he had heard earlier were no longer audible, muffled by the layers of fallen timbers. The pew gave a small creak and David feared it would collapse. The space seemed to close in on him and the air became almost too thin to breathe.

He could feel panic begin to take hold of him. The only thing that mattered was getting free, undead or no undead. He rolled over onto his back and tried pushing the pew up with his knees. The wood didn't budge. He began to punch and claw at the pew above him as his breath became shorter and more shallow. Tears streamed down his face as he frantically tried to escape what he was afraid would become his grave. He punched at a bad angle and pain began to throb in his knuckle. He put it to his mouth and tasted the warm, salty mixture of blood, soot, and tears. He braced himself and took a deep breath. With all of his strength and determination he had left, he gave one more push with all his might and felt the pew budge slightly.

Everything started to fade away from him. His thoughts became more distant and alien to him. Breaths became shallow, and harder to take in as smoke filled the small space. The walls felt like they were starting to close in and David lost control of his thoughts and emotions. Screams of terror and rage erupted from him between coughs. He started to kick and punch frantically at the bottom of the pew just a hand above his head. Blackness overtook him and he faded in and out of consciousness.

David was brought back to his senses by a blow from outside striking above the pew. Sounds of wood scraping against charred wood echoed through the small space. He could feel his throat tighten as he froze in terror. Thoughts raced through his mind. He could picture several of the skeletal abominations above him trying to hack through the pew to get to him. They wouldn't stop until they had him. Who knows what would happen then?

Another solid blow struck the pew, then another. Light flooded into the small space as the wood splintered above his chest.

"David! Where are you? David!!!"

A flood of relief washed over David at the sound of his eldest brother's voice. "I'm here! Help me!"

"Keep still, Pudd. I'll get you out."

The section of the pew that was above his head was pushed over. David was blinded by the sudden amount of sunlight that struck his smoke-stung eyes. He felt Alexander grab his tunic and pull him into the fresh outside air. He took a deep breath of the cool, clean air and erupted in ragged coughs. Slowly, his eyes came back into focus as he adjusted to the full daylight. The entire ceiling of the church had collapsed, along with one of the walls. The sounds of fighting could be heard in the distance.

"What's ...." David again started coughing.

"The bloody hellspawns hold the main gate. Most of the survivors have run into the castle. The Bishop told me you were to leave the chapel with Lord Branvold, and he said he hadn't seen you. When I got back here, I saw the rubble budge and I prayed it was you. Praise be to God that it was." Alexander grabbed his younger brother in an embrace. He then gave him room as David started coughing again.