Walkers Of The Waste: A Post Apocalyptic Story

Chiron's Secret

Ivor leads us out into the village and to a building I hadn't gotten round to exploring earlier, inside there are at least a dozen tables lined up with ten or so seats on each side. Most of the seats have people sitting in them, and they turn to stare at us as we walk through the hall. Ivor guides us to the table at head of the room, only one side has chairs, and they face the rest of the hall. He takes the middle seat, before seating Lucy to his right, and me to his left. He stays standing though, instead raising his hands out flat, palms facing upwards.  A hush falls over the room, the people turning their attention to their leader.

"Citizens of Chiron. Today we celebrate the death of the great beast, and pay honour towards the mighty heroes that vanquished it." They townspeople cheer for a bit before Ivor raises his hands again, silencing them once more. "Tonight we shall all feast on the beast as these warriors have brought us it's flesh." Again more cheering. "But let us not forget those we have lost in the fight against the creature. The men and women who gave their lives for this great city." I inwardly scoff at his comment, I wouldn't call this a great city, I would barely call this a town. Ivor picks a cup off the table and raises it into the air. The people follow suit, before Ivor takes a sip of his drink and places it back on the table. "And in their honour, let the feast begin." The people start to eat at once, like they hadn't eaten in days, loading their plates with food. Lucy does the same, I wait for Ivor to eat first. He motions for me to take some of the food off the dish in front of us. I stay hesitant, but pick a piece of the meat off the plate anyway, placing it on my own.

Someone comes by and refills the cups with some red liquid, Ivor smiles and winks at the older woman, who smiles in response. After a few moments of watching the room, Ivor takes a piece of the meat from the same plate as I did, setting it on his plate. He cuts off a piece and puts it into his mouth, only after he starts eating do I begin to cut into my own food. He makes idle conversation with Lucy whilst they eat. But I just stare out at the crowd, they laugh and speak to one another, some remain quiet. It's peaceful, like what would happen at celebrations in Haven. I eat quickly, not wanting to let the food go to waste, and to allow for no distractions should the need to flee arise. As if on cue, a loud bang echoes in from somewhere outside, but only Lucy and I seem to be phased by the noise, Ivor letting a smile grace his lips, and the townspeople continuing their meals.  I drop my hand to grab my bow as man burst through the main entrance, dressed in a tattered Crucible uniform. Both Lucy and I stand up, in quick speed, I nock an arrow and aim it at the man, the tip coated in Glowbug blood. He doesn't seem to care, instead walking further into the room. None of the other occupants seem to care, nor notice the man's entrance.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Lucy glance towards Ivor, a confused and concerned look on her face. Ivor simply stands up with a hearty laugh. "You're late." He bellows, everyone in the room including the man, bar Lucy and I, start to laugh. The sudden change in atmosphere is a shock, the people going from ignoring the man to laughing at his presence. The man walks up to Ivor and whispers something in his ear, I keep my bow trained on him. "Please, Phil, lower your weapon." Ivor commands, I do so reluctantly, keeping the arrow nocked. "Tell us brother Riker, what news do you bring from our Crucible friends?"

"Four more heathen settlements have fallen to our righteous empire. Worshipers of false gods, and the ungodly. A village to the south west, a place of sodomy, like the ones the old book spoke about. Cleansed with fire from our lands. They called themselves Haven, and they were that. A haven for the wicked and the unjust. " The Crucible soldier, Riker apparently, answers, loud enough so that everyone in the room can hear. His words filled with hate, and the self righteousness that all Crucible hold themselves in. Lucy gasps at his comments. I choose instead to simply glare at him. Riker turns his attention to Lucy, and then to myself, hand twitching near the gun on his belt. "Who are these?"