NOVEL WEB Chapter 51: Ghoulish Settlement
The cold repetition of a drop of water falling down from a hole in the cover provides moisture in an already damp environment. The disgusting smell of blood, along with a squish of dirt and wounds, was so terrible that tears could be falling from anyone's eyes at any moment. The sound of the wheels clicking and clacking as it moves on never lets anyone have a wink of sleep as the covered carriage moves on. Meanwhile, deep in their hearts, fear and despair have begun to take grip as attempts of denial start to appear.
Unfortunately, no matter how they shouted for their god and mercy, nobody came, and all that remained was the breathing and movements of the ghouls. Since that time, their entire world has been completely covered in a sea of darkness. A world where nothing gets and nothing gets out, all in and not out.
Faced with an earth-shattering reality, those who were able to recognize the futility of their situation began to wonder just how they were all able to arrive at this situation in the first place. Many have indeed begun to entertain such thoughts as to pass the time.
Just a few hours earlier, everything that was happening around them was so bright that it almost became a star in the distant night they were in earlier. The sight of burning houses and the streets and everything was so surreal that many wondered if they were just disillusioned or just delusional in the very first place.
From the sight of Ghouls in hunting parties to them taking in prisoners, they did not cherry-pick in the prisoners; all who resisted were killed on the spot, which definitely struck fear in those beside those, which ensured a compliant population, even the adults were completely compliant.
Nevertheless, with the use of fat men, the ghouls pushed their captured livestock back to their home camp. The travel was met with numerous challenges; many people died on the way, which the ghouls feasted upon, and to the horror of the people who were left alive.
Who would have thought that the sight of flesh being torn apart, bones crackling under pressure, all the while a smiling ghoul was happily feasting upon the death of one of the living members? The remaining ones could only weep at their misfortune; the man who perished was heavily wounded, anyway; it was just a matter of time.
After the sumptuous feast, the travel continued, and from there, days and nights passed by. With those days and nights, more and more people perished along the way, such as the way of life, and with it, numerous feasts and joyous occasions were started by the ghouls, to the misery of those stuck inside covered carriages.
Under it, the smell of rotten flesh continued to grow stronger; it was almost as if it was done on purpose, to kill more of them, so that the feast would be extended and more ghouls would be able to enjoy the occasions.
For a long time, many in the myriad nations of the myriad races wondered if the ghouls are able to communicate and do intelligent things like how they could make swords out of iron ore? Well, it seemed like with the things that has transpired a few days ago, or could possibly weeks ago, they have already lost the track of times. The answer to their question might not have been to their liking or to what they have originally thought, but then again, has anybody of them attempted to stop the situation they were in.
It was until finally, one day, the carriage stopped, the cover was removed, and the first rays of the sun finally entered the stomach-inducing smell and sight of the insides; the smell was so horrendous and bad, and on the inside, there were some people who have lost the light in their eyes. This is due to the excitement of the numerous ghouls present around. With a head dive first, the ghouls participated in the ripping and tearing of flesh as well as the crunching of bones, the gulping of blood, and the exasperated ghouls.
A girl on the sidelines stared at the horror happening before her, and beside her, her little sister hid behind her sister's back. Finally, someone saw the two sisters; a kind old woman covered both of their eyes with her body. With a gentle voice, the old woman comforted the two women and said that everything would be alright.
"The Shorekeeper have heard our plea, take care of ourselves, and salvation shall come soon" The kind old lady said with a forlorn expression.
Amelia, the older sister, heard the comfort, and she eagerly replied.
"Thank you! I do hope so, too!" Amelia said with an awkward expression.
She had already heard of The Order of The Shorekeepers, who worship the goddess. They don't know her name or where she came from; they all know that she was already called "The Shorekeeper," from where it came from, they have no idea; it was already lost in the records, in the great retreat hundreds upon hundreds of years ago.
Her family was not a religious bunch. Even though thousands upon thousands of gods existed or have been available to be worshipped for thousands of years, they chose to remain neutral and chose not to worship any particular, sure they offer offerings to some when the time requires them to, and above that, there was not anyone in particular.
However, for some reason, this religion she mysteriously encountered has no significant reason other than being along with those in the great retreat hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. There was something in it that wanted to make her believe that it might just be true. Unfortunately, she wanted to remain logical as much as possible. This is why, after some thought, she decided to push it back into the depths of her mind and continue doing things about her day.
Soon enough, the rest of the livestock, including her and her sister, along with the kind older woman, were led inside some kind of structure where they would be sheltered until their time came.