After Matt and I had fully recovered, we set off toward Howrit again. This time we stayed mostly silent and tried to notice anything that was around us. We didn't want to be surprised again

We journeyed onward, not wanting to stop for fear of being attacked. As the day drew on, however, we grew weary and decided that we'd have to set up camp somewhere. Dalnity selected a spot next to a fallen oak tree for us to rest for the night. Matt found the place agreeable enough, but I did not. Something felt wrong with the area.

"Um…guys. I have a bad feeling about this place. Do you think it's really safe to stop here for the night?" I asked warily.

"It's as safe as any other spot," reassured Dalnity. "I do believe we should take turns keeping watch though. I'll take the first shirt and let you two rest."

"Thanks," said Matt as he set about finding firewood. I sat down and dug out my blanket. I still felt uncomfortable, but I knew that there was nothing I could do for the moment.

Soon Dalnity had the fire blazing. We all ate a little and then Matt and I lie down on my blanket to sleep a little. I crawled close to him and whispered, "Matt, I still don't feel safe."

"Don't worry. We're all just tired. And if anything does happen, I'll protect you."

I smiled. "Thanks Matt. Just stay close to me, will you?"

"Of course," Matt said as he put his arm around me. With his presence, I felt more relaxed, though a part of my mind still stayed alert. Surprisingly though, I didn't have much trouble falling asleep.

~

I awoke with a start. The fire had burnt out and Dalnity was nowhere to be seen. I felt a lump of fear building in the pit of my stomach when a hand suddenly pushed its way through the soil. I screamed. Matt awoke in time to see the body that belonged to the hand emerge from the ground.

"What the hell is that?"

"Just move Matt!" I gasped as I felt things moving underneath us. We jumped up and stared in horror as more and more bodies arose from the ground to circle us, completely cutting us off from any way of escaping. They were gruesome creatures that surrounded us, some no more than skeletons, but others having rotting flesh still hanging from them. Their stench was overpowering, making me want to vomit. Most had no eyeballs, but those that did just stared at us with this blank kind of animosity. Their intent was to simply destroy.

I was about to faint as they drew closer to us when Matt grabbed my shoulder.

"Aimee! Pull it together. We have to fight or else we'll die. Come on." He picked up a branch from out of the long cold fire and started swinging at the nearest zombie. The branch connected with the zombie's head, which made a sickening crack as it shattered to pieces. Matt stopped a moment, surprised by his own strength, but then continued fighting as more zombies came upon him.

Left alone, I also picked up a branch to fit with. I didn't have as much luck as Matt seemed to be having, for thought they were obviously dead, the zombies were able to deflect most of my blows. I was about to swing once again at a zombie's head when bony hands grabbed me from behind. I screamed and tore desperately at the worm-eaten flesh of my attacker. I placed my hands on his arms and suddenly a blinding flash went through my head and the arms feel away. I turned around and saw that the zombie who had grabbed me was completely obliterated. I stared at my hands and saw that they were blowing with a faint white light.

I glanced quickly at Matt to make sure that he was okay, then I turned back to face the zombies again. With a new sense of power, I grabbed onto the nearest one and once again a flash went through my head and the zombie was gone. Each time I did it, the power grew easier, more natural, though it made me tired. As the fighting wore on, I grew to control my power so that I no longer had to even touch the evil creatures. I simply thought of the power that I held in my mind and they were gone.

We fought for what seemed forever until Matt crushed the last zombie's skull with his make shift weapon. I nearly collapsed when I realized that all our attackers were gone. I felt completely drained of energy after our tiresome battle. Matt stumbled over to me, also tired from the fight. He collapsed on the ground and gasped for breath. That's when I noticed that Matt wore a gash across his chest, obviously from a well-placed blow from one of the ghouls.

"Oh gosh Matt, don't move. Just hold on a sec."

"It's just a scratch," Matt tried to joke, but I knew he was in pain, even if he wouldn't admit to it. I knelt beside him and began to wonder if I had the power not only to destroy, but also to heal. I knew that I had to take the chance, for anything could be upon us and in our weakened conditions we'd be no match against anything. I cleared my mind and placed my hands on Matt's open wound. The blood oozed between my fingers. I closed my eyes and thought of Matt's chest uninjured, the skin perfect with no sign of ever being torn. Another blinding flash ripped through my mind and I feel back with the force of it. I quickly sat up and saw that Matt's chest was whole again. There wasn't even a mark left of where his wound used to be. He sat up slowly and just looked at me.

"How did you do that?" he questioned, touching himself where there had once been open flesh and blood.

"It's one of my powers from my awakening," I replied, feeling a bit dizzy from the mental strain of it all. I just laid down then to rest and Matt soon joined me.

"Shouldn't we go somewhere else right now?" he implored.

"Where? Wherever we are, we're out in the open. Plus, I don't think we're going to have any more problems tonight."

"How can you know?"

"I don't know, I only have a feeling. Just trust me."

"Alright then." With that, he put his arm around me again and we quickly fell asleep on the hard ground, surrounded by decaying bodies, but too tired to care.