Friends to the End (NerdsofSteel x RoseLilly)

The sounds of hooves coming from a horse could be heard as it approached a village. The cries coming from a male’s voice commanding the beast to go faster, faster. Half an hour ago, he heard a faint cry and a howl coming from the village. But the crying stopped and the howling continued. Unknowingly to him, he was already too late to save the village. Most were already dead while the few scampered away; some even got stricken down as they fled. But even when the roofs of homes were burning and the corpses of men, women, and children lying on the ground, he couldn't leave just yet, not until he founded the woman he loved. For he knew his actions played a part in this.

The horse came to a stop, whimpering and stopping its hooves as it felt something sinister was here. If this was any other day, he would let the poor creature run wild. But he needed the horse to take her out of the village. He dismounted from the horse’s saddle, tying a double knot around a fence to prevent the animal from escaping. With that all settled, he can start searching for her and leave as soon as possible. And maybe find anyone else who went into hiding. The sight of the lifeless bodies lying around gave him the shivers.”Is anyone still around? It’s me, Ethan!” He knew he was unwanted after he tried to escape with her, and then her disappearance after that. But he was back again and wanted to make things right.

Jumping awake Elly wasn't sure what was going on. Her head hurt and she was laying on the floor naked. Pulling the fallen curtain from the floor she wrapped the light material around her body. Everything around her was destroyed and that's when she saw the blood. Screaming she pushed herself away from her mauled father and mother, pressing herself against the wall under the window. Covering her mouth with her hand she didn't understand. She had been arguing with her parents earlier that evening. She was in love with Ethan, but he wasn't socially up to their standards and had sent him away and refused to let her see or contact him every again. She had run out of the house and hid in the forest behind the house. Elly had been bitten by something, not enough to worry, but something had started happening.

The first night after she had been bitten her father's first suitor had wound up dead the next morning. Mauled by an animal on his way back to the house after dinner. The second and third suitor had met the same fate, all the same evening after meeting with the family. The mothers of the dead suitors thought it was Elly, that she had sent her lover to kill the men with a hound. When the police had watched outside her bedroom door and no one came in or out they had dismissed her as a suspect.

Hearing foot steps coming up the stairs Elly wrapped the fabric more tightly around her body, waiting for whatever came through the door.

Nothing, curses. The horse continued acting crazy and whimpering, but he saw nothing in the sight. The animal’s nose was most likely more sensitive than his, so it must’ve picked up the scent of whatever was still in the village as they came by. Not good, he wanted the thing coming to him, not the other way so it couldn’t sneak up behind him. Ideas kept circling around his head on what action he should take. He had no lantern with him to give him light, so walking in alleys wasn’t the best sort of plan. Only thing he could do was stay in the open and use his hearing to back him up. Tonight was quiet after all, no whistling of the wind, no owl’s whooing, other than the howling and screaming earlier. It may have been too quiet for his liking.

As Ethan walked to the center of the village, he thought the first thing to do was find Elly. And the only place he knew where she would be was at her home. She may have gone into hiding there, perhaps the cellar or wherever she could hide easily. She was good at hiding when they played hide & seek as kids. As he approached Elly’s home, he smell a terrible odor; blood. Someone die here? Could it have been Elly or her parents? He slowly opened the door and began to check the rooms. The scent of blood was still strong, so there might have been more than one killing here. At last he went up the stairs into Elly’s room and saw the body of her parent’s lying on the ground, and Elly who was wearing a fabric around her body. How was she still alive when her parent's were already dead? "Elly? Are you alright? What happened to her clothes?" Ethan wrapped his arms around her and started to cry. "I thought I would never see you again."

When Ethan came through the door Elly started crying. Hugging him tightly she was too shaken up to say anything. Her parents were dead, she could hear the cries of people still dying, but it didn't bring back any memories of what had happened. "Ethan, I don't remember what happened" pulling back slightly she looked into his eyes, hers red from crying. "My parents and I were arguing about you, about how they had sent you away and I got angry..." her words trailed off as the memories ended after that. Slowly standing with Ethan's help she walked to her parents bodies. Their throats were ripped out, their bodies clawed to ribbons, a look of fear in their eyes before they had died. Closing her eyes Elly turned way, pulling the fabric closer to her body. "I want to get out of here" looking to Ethan she used the end of the fabric to wipe away a falling tear. Going to her closet she pulled out her riding pants and blouse, she didn't need anything else from this house, didn't want anything.

Although Ethan was stunned that Elly had survived from this terrible onslaught, knew it in his heart that the village wasn't safe anymore. The lack of clothes probably meant Elly didn't have time to get dressed when the attack happened and she had to hide fast before she would have wind up dead too. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask her, but those could wait until the morning. Now wasn't a good time to ask because she was still in shock.


Ethan looked around Elly’s room just one more time than at her parents lying dead on the floor. Ethan might have been pissed that her parents might casted him out but this was wrong. She was all alone for now, her parents were dead and her other family members lived far away. Right now, Ethan would have to take care of her and keep her from harm’s way. “I’m really so I didn't come here in time, and if I did, I've help your family to escape. But let's just get out of here first and find somewhere we could sleep. I got some food we can eat on the way.”

Taking Ethan's hand Elly nodded her head at his plan. Taking her purse, with what money she had saved through out her life, she let him lead the way out of the house. The horse was still attached to the fence outside, poor thing kicking it's feet nervously. As Elly approached, the horse cried and tried to rear back on it's hind legs. "What's the matter girl?" Elly asked, raising her hands up to let her smell her "You've never had a problem with me before". When the horse refused to calm down, Elly sighed "It looks like we're going to have to go around back for me to get my own horse". She was alittle disappointed that Ethan's horse was so nervous, or upset with her, that she wouldn't allow her to ride her. Letting Ethan lead the way around the house, Elly kept an open eye out around them. She didn't know what beast had killed her parents, but she didn't want to find out so soon after surviving the things attack.

Ethan found it odd that the horse started to panic when Elly came up to her. The old mare was his father's and had always been quite friendly with Elly as they grew up together. But Ethan believes there was nothing to worry. As soon as they get far away from the village, she'll be a lot calmer and back to her normal self. As Elly led him around the house, another horse started crying and stomping its hooves as soon they got close to it. “This is very odd, Elly. Two horses now? Never mind, we’ll walk together if we must. I’ll just have to hook up the horses together to keep them close.“ Ethan couldn’t help but started to sweat like crazy. If neither of the horses would let her come near to them, could it meant that she attack her own village? No, he refused to believe it; she would never harm her village or parents.