Broken Silence

A village found brutally massacred, but more horror hides in the shadows.

Photo by Jason Abdilla on Unsplash

Blood coated every surface.

He couldn’t tell if there were actually any bodies. At least, not whole ones.

Another village lost. Three this month. Like the others this one was silent, the only sound his boots slapping on stained cobblestones.

He approached the door to the barn, white knuckles wrapped around the handle of his axe.

Before he could push the door open his boot caught, something tumbled across the floor.

A skull.

It rattled along, deafeningly loud in the eerie silence.

A mighty screech ripped through the air. The barn door exploded outward, a storm of shattered wood and glistening scales.

He dove aside, felt razor-sharp teeth scrape his leg.

The creature halted, its body unfurling, forked tongue flicking into the air.

Before it could lunge he threw himself behind a low stone wall. He felt its weight slam against the crumbling mortar.

He dove again, this time rolling behind a tree.

Another crash as the wood groaned under the force of the vicious attack.

Axe in hand, he waited.

When the worm lunged once more, this time around the tree, he brought the blade down in one smooth motion.

Chest heaving, he stood and looked at what remained of the village. Quiet, save for his ragged breath.

Three villages. Three serpents. Countless dead.

He cleaned his blade, marking another notch in the handle. They were spreading.

And they were getting bigger.

As he limped away, he wondered how many more villages would fall before someone finally believed him.

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