Page 11 of Barbi and the Villain

She’s dead.

She…died right in front of me.

My heart is in my throat as I take a step back, staring in shock at the dead bodies in front of me. It looks like a scene out of a slasher movie, but it’s quickly evident no killer has done this. The damage is internal, like a…plague.

I swallow hard.

The door had been locked. No, someone had locked the door, perhaps trying to control the infection. They left these people to die. That means they’re either heartless, or they were protecting themselves and the rest of the village.

Good God!

These are people. Dead people. People who can die.

This is not an afterlife, and I am not dead.

But I can die, too.

“PomPom, we’re leaving,” I say, my voice wobbly.

I jump over the puddles of blood again and, picking PomPom up, I get out of the house.

Fear spears through me as my confusion mounts. Yet I don’t have time to ponder on where I really am because soon, I see more and more dead bodies.

They’re everywhere. On the street, by the side of the road. Some are stuck in windows, others in doorways, their body language suggesting they were mid-flight when death came upon them.

The stench of death is overwhelming. My mental state deteriorates the more I see the devastation around me.

I increase my pace, wanting to get out of this goddamn village before I catch whatever killed its inhabitants.

Thudding sounds echo in the air. I stop, tilting my head to the side and listening.

Hooves. Horses. Riders.

They’re getting closer.

“Kill anyone still alive,” someone declares. “Then burn everything to the ground.”

I inhale sharply. Good Lord! What the hell is happening?

Looking right and left, I see a well in one of the yards. Without dwelling much on it, I dash over, looking down and assessing my chances. It’s not very deep, but there is water.

Do I risk it?

The water will help us survive if there is a fire since I can submerge us until the danger passes. But PomPom will not like that.

The riders make it to the main road, the sound of hooves growing louder.

I gulp down in uncertainty.

Come on, Barbi! What would Lady Jocelyn do?

She would risk it.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I take a deep breath.

“We need to do this, PomPom,” I whisper to her as I kiss her fluffy head. “Please don’t be scared. And please, please don’t make a sound. They can’t find us.”

She looks at me with confusion in her round, cute eyes.

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