Every Day is Night

Traces - Dead of Winter is the creation of half/moon - @GSlobber Listen to Traces for free at: halfmoonplanet.bandcamp.com/album/traces-d…

"Did you hear anything?" The scavenger asked. The guards didn't reply. "Was He angry?" A bitter wind whipped snow around the scavenger's feet. They looked down and examined the cold plumes.

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The scavenger examined their map. They'd been walking on the only road for some time - it had led them here. "Are you sure that's right?" They asked. "Where are you getting your lumber?" "Up in the hills. We saw the sun fall their with our own eyes." The scavenger stopped.

24

Of course, it was true. The living felt a wrench of disgust, and they did not know why. "The lumber road will lead you there," They told the scavenger. "That road is dangerous though. Even the dead won't get far on foot."

23

"A lot of you come through here asking that," The guards warned. "Go if you must, but what makes you think you can succeed?" The scavenger smiled up at them. "Don't you know? I'm the wretch who shot it down." It was a story they'd all heard before. Every corpse had said so.

22

"Like we told the others," The speaker called down, "We can't let the dead through. What are you trying to learn?" The scavenger produced a thin metal box and fumbled it open with frozen hands. Inside was a folded paper map, ragged and torn. "The mountain where the sun fell."

21

The scavenger wobbled as they walked. The weight of their pack seemed uncertain on their small back, but they kept their pace regardless. "Hi, up there," They called. The guards watched them with suspicion. "Would you let me through, please? I just want some information."

20

The scavenger held the corpse's candle to their own flame and waited. The fire did not jump - of course, these candles could not be reignited once extinguished. They shoved the candle into a pouch at their hip, then rose to calmly approach the gate.

19

Their step was lit by a burning candle fixed with a custom clip to the strap of their pack. They darted out from the woods and to the fallen corpse. The guards fired some shots but curiosity stayed their hands. The newcomer pulled the body behind a frozen stump and examined it.

18

As they fled, one corpse fell onto their knees in the snow. The candle in their hands shook from the tremors in their arms and then fell to the ground. Ice snuffed the flame out immediately, and the body was still. A pair of eyes in the woods watched the dead leave.

17

A guard fired a shot into the heart of one of the corpses. The dead man stumbled backward, clutching his candle tightly in his hand, then reached into the hole and pulled out the bullet. The group dispersed; the dead did not leave together but scattered to hide alone.

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