The heavens thundered while rain fell. On a thin road a person was trying to move a wagon. Its wheels were stuck in the mud.

“Push!!” He shouted. In response someone from within the wagon slapped the pair of horses to move forward. Their hooves dug into the mud as they tried to move, even falling to their knees a few times, but in the end the wagon stayed put.

The old man did not know what to do. His whole family sat in the wagon and risked getting sick. And the city wasn’t even that far away.

Maybe we should abandon it… He thought. It was certainly better than getting attacked by wolves.

He tried pushing it once more, but eventually made his decision. He shall leave the wagon, and hopefully bring it back another time. As he tied as much stuff he could to the horses he was about to call his family out. But then he saw a figure down the dark road. For a moment he dreaded the fact that it was an undead, but the blood red robe told an another tale.

A magus? All the way out here…?

The mage had no guards and walked on foot, his robe was dirty with mud and torn around the sleeves. Maybe he was attacked by bandits, or his carriage got stuck as well. Nonetheless, this was a chance for the old man.

“Hello there!” he hollered, ”we’re stuck in this damned weather as well! Do you mind helping us?” The magus did not respond, which made the old man worry, but his naiveté told him that perhaps he was just from an another country.

The lantern’s flame danced intensely when the figure eventually came right next to the man. He could not see his face, nor did he have a chance to look more closely, because the mage immediately slammed into the wagon and began pushing. In response the old man also began to help. “Pushhh! Push!”

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With a thunk the wagon’s wheel got loose and came onto the road. Horses continued to slowly pull the wagon ten or so meters forth.

“Thank you, Sir magus. I don’t know how I can repa-“ his words were cut off as the mage grabbed him by the throat. A long streak of lightning once more cut through the sky and the man finally saw the horror behind the cowl. Dark red eyes flickered in the skeletal head’s sockets. Its jaw clattered up and down trying to curse the man for eternal hell. He tried to scream, but felt his strength disappear, he couldn’t even rise his arms anymore.

The undead creature’s eyes flickered even more brightly and the man realized it was looking towards his wagon. Sadly, his time on this earth was spent with a loud *splurt* of his eyeballs. Blood poured out of them like some kind of waterfall while the neck under the monster’s grip turned hotter and hotter until the skin began to burn. His instincts screamed and he knew – horrors shall await him on the other side – but he silently hoped for his soul to find peace.

***

Blood dripped from the white hands. Why did it do that again? It wasn’t sure. But doing what it did felt good for a few moments. It looked towards the wagon, sensing the living inside. Without waiting any longer it let go of the limp body and walked towards it.

“John?” a worried female voice spoke from within. When the undead reached the wagon the woman peeked out of the curtains. Her eyes seemed to take a while to adjust to the darkness, the lantern had gone out at some point, but when she did it was too late. Just like her husband, the undead grabbed her throat and began squeezing. Once again the warmth appeared under the bony fingers, which made it curious. It felt like some kind of weird power flowing through it’s marrow. As the woman thrashed around, at this point the undead had actually lifted her into the air, it began it’s ‘experiment’. Whatever that meant for it.

The results came in quick. It only took ten seconds for her flesh to begin boiling and eventually catch fire. As if covered in oil the woman combusted in seconds, even though it was raining, and turned to ash before the undead could enjoy the moment to its fullest. It felt disappointed, which was unusual. More testing was in order, and thankfully the wagon wasn’t empty yet.