LANDON’S POV It was terrifying when I heard the words loud and clear threatening us to stop the fight. “Surrender now, or watch her die,” it was the voice of the witch. We have been fighting for hours and this was supposed to be a fair battle but I should have remembered that nothing is ever fair with the witch. Have a deal with her at your peril. We were already winning against the zombies, we had countless heaps of their parts on every part of the battleground and it was never easy to get to this stage. And now that we are winning, what do we get? Blackmail. Our prize is now been held as a ransom against us. And what if we stop now, what because of us, will the zombies also stop, and does that guarantee the safety of Dawn? This is not a fair game, it has never been a fair game. Not to us, not to Dawn, not to the queen, not even to the people of this land. “I said stop or she dies” she yelled again, this time more firmly and daring. I and Lalic stopped almost immediately, but we still had our swords in hand, with our backs turned to each other. The zombies on their part paused, awaiting further instruction. I could hear the sound of Dawn’s whimpering, she was begging us not to stop, and she want us not to heed the witch. But we can't do that, we have to stop for if we don't, she dies. What will be the point of our fighting if she dies at the end of the day? We are here for her, and it befalls upon us to take her back alive. “Surrender and dropped your swords” she ordered. At this point, I looked up and saw that she was beside Dawn, with a knife held close to her neck. Should anything go wrong, that knife would pass right into Dawn’s neck and that will be the end. Terrified, I dropped my sword and used my legs to push it far away from me. “Lalic, let go immediately” I begged. “I have done so already. I should have known not to trust her” Lalic replied gritting his teeth. “I wanted just one sacrifice and it was delayed. However, in compensation for the delay, I’ve got three sacrifices. Seize them” she ordered and we immediately felt the hands of the zombies on our bodies. I sighed. I did my best, and it is very bad that it is not good enough. “Ahhh...” there was a scream of anguish, and then everywhere was dead silence.We were still held by the zombies when we heard the loud scream coming from Dawn’s direction. My entire body became stiff instantly and I lost the will to live. I should have known that this is what would happen the moment we gave up. But then what difference would it have made if I had continued fighting, I would have died willingly to go be with Dawn in the great beyond. “No, it can't be...” Lalic sobbed. “I would avenge her, Lalic, at least she deserves that much before I go to join her,” I said and tears flooded my face as if the dam was opened for them. I could not bring myself to stop the flow. It will not be over until I say so. TIM’S POV I should have thought of this stunt, Mildrid is truly a mastermind. Who would have thought that in a situation like this, one can use one of the birds to kill all the birds? That is exactly what Mildrid had done, and effortlessly too. I watched in fulfillment as they each let go of their swords without hesitation. We should have done this earlier, and we would not have to lose so many zombies. But just as they say, it is better late than never. I grinned. “I wanted just one sacrifice and it was delayed. However, in compensation for the delay, I’ve got three sacrifices” Mildrid announced proudly and then ordered. “Seize them” The zombies went into action immediately and gripped the two impostors. I could see the terror on their faces, and the quest for revenge. But what does it matter, they would be gone the next minute and reappear as my zombies. I grinned yet again. Suddenly I heard the sound of an arrow and then it was followed by an agonizing scream. “Ahhh...” After the sound died down, everywhere became silent as no one could tell where the sound had come from or who had screamed. But then, I could tell that it came from Dawn’s direction. But Mildrid was not with an arrow, or did she plant someone somewhere to kill Dawn with an arrow when she so desires? She is clever and I would never get used to her tactics. She calls the shot, and the game only ends when she says so. I felt a little pity for the duo though. If only they had known, they would not have wasted their precious time coming here, or exhausted their strength fighting a bunch of zombies. Everything seems to be going great until I heard a voice from some distance away saying. “Let go of her, or have yourself to be blamed” I was terrified, who is to be let go of? I thought the witch just killed Dawn. By now, everything was almost dark and it was difficult to see clearly from a far distance. Anyways, I didn’t have to wait long because soon the intruders were with us. They were two and were riding horses. As they drew near, I recognize one of them. “Chamlee” I muttered as his gaze fell on me. “Yes, old man, I see you never learn” he replied and got down from his horse. The other man got down too, and that was when I was able to see that it was lord Nathan, the leader of the rogues and the second husband of the queen. Confused about what was going on, I turned to the witch and that was when I saw the arrow pierced into her hands, and the knife she was holding over Dawn’s neck was on the ground. Oh no, the scream had come from Mildrid and not from Dawn as was anticipated. When the Chamlee saw his son in the grip of the zombies, he practically flew over to them and in the twinkle of an eye, the zombies holding the boy has turned to dust. “Father” Lalic exclaimed and ran into the embrace of his father. “My dear son” he replied. The zombies holding Landon did not wait for an order before they let go of him and drew back. “Do we need to ask that you untie her?” lord Nathan asked Mildrid. Fearing for my life, before Mildrid could respond, I was already by the tree and had untied Dawn. Landon was already by my side, and he carried Dawn as soon as I finished untying her. It was at this time that I turned to Mildrid, and I helped her with the arrow. Gladly, the arrow had landed just between the fingers and was not meant to cause much harm to her. It was a narrow shot though, just a little mistake, and it would have landed on Dawn’s neck. “Now, we would all head to the packhouse for some proper justice” lord Nathan announced. I was a bit relieved by this announcement. If truly there is going to be some justice, then I would not be found wanting in any way. Dawn betrayed her people and was only going to receive the punishment deserving of a traitor.