The Zombie Reaper

Lynuel felt tired and sore as he rolled out of bed the next morning. He honestly wasn't that surprised. It was how he was starting to feel every morning that he woke up. He landed on the ground and had to bit his lip hard to keep back the groan that accompanied too much weight being put on his injured ankle. For some reason it was refusing to heal properly. It had moments where it seemed like it was perfectly fine and then the next moment an intense pain would shoot through it that had a habit of bringing him to the ground... or a nearby chair when he was lucky. He should probably see the Revered Fathers about it, but that would require going to the hospital wing and since Lynuel avoided that unless absolutely necessary...

It was simply something that he was going to deal with.

Pushing himself up, Lynuel came into a crouch first and then used his bed to lever himself up to stand on one foot. He was actually beginning to get pretty good at that kind of thing. Considering his avoidance of using his cane unless absolutely necessary, he had to get good at it or fall flat on his face. There was always the option of asking someone else for help, but that wasn't in his nature. He didn't want people to see him as weak. It was stupid, but it was a hold over from when he had been young and it was something he had trouble letting go of.

Shaking his head, Lynuel reluctantly reached out and grabbed his cane, and began to make his way out of the dormitories that he shared with the other acolytes and down towards the eating area. Because of the hour, most of the other priests were out and about attending to their duties around the compound. A few had even been allowed out back into the city so that the Order wouldn't lose it's standing. To do that would be to risk too much in the opinion of the council and honestly, Lynuel felt that, for once, they were right. He just wished that they would let him go out there as well. He wanted the chance to see Joquay. He wanted to tell the Nzombiy priest that his daughter was alive and safe. He just wished that he had something besides that to tell Joquay. But so far, he had no proof except for what he felt and emotions, unfortunately, had nothing to do with proof or evidence as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

Hobbling down the hall towards the eating area, he scowled darkly at the ground. The whole compound seemed silent and that unnerved him. Even at night there always seemed to be a constant buzz of energy and now there was nothing. It was more off-putting to him than even his appointment to the task force had been. Which made him wonder what was going on. He stopped at one of the junctions and turned towards the courtyard. At this time of day, it should have been busy and loud with the many priests passing through it and stopping to speak with each other before they went back to their duties. He found that the priests were there, but none of them were saying a word. Frowning, Lynuel looked amongst them until he saw Brooks. His face set with determination, he started towards the younger male wondering what they were all doing.

"Brooks-"

"Zombie Reaper." The words came out quickly from one of the initiates. They were quickly repeated by several other priests until there was a constant murmur of the two words. Lynuel looked around the group utterly confused.

"Brooks, what are they talking about?" A sense of dread washed over him and he instantly regretted not only asking the question, but coming to the courtyard as well.

His friend was looking at him with a mixture of awe and something like pity as he shifted anxiously from one foot to another before he finally managed to speak. "They know Lynuel," he managed. "The press released an announcement this morning. A big special about the identity of the Zombie Reaper from the Order of Saint George. They named you Lynuel... they named you and they had your picture," he confessed looking away.

Lynuel felt as if he was going to be sick. His hand tightened on the cane as the other priests in the courtyard crowded around him. They were saying something but he honestly couldn't hear what. The words had somehow become indistinct. They made no sense and he didn't want them to anymore. He didn't care. He was simply using all the willpower he possessed to keep himself standing. How had they found out that he had done it? He didn't want to believe the council could have told them, but who else could it have been? He refused to believe that one of his companions would have admitted which of them had done it. His mind simply seemed to have shattered knowing that someone had betrayed him to the world.

"I-I didn't-" he tried to get more words out but they caught in his throat. His whole body began to tremble. He could hear Brooks calling his name as his friend tried to push through the crowd of priests gathering around him and attempting to smother him.

And then they were all gone. The crowd around him seemed to vanish. He managed to look up before he fell to his knees and realized that they had backed off, looking behind him at something in awe. He felt someone grab his arm and put it around a shoulder. Looking back and feeling a little dazed, he realized that it had been Silence. "Come on Lynuel. Let's get you out of here," the priest whispered before he hauled Lynuel to his feet.

Absently, he felt his cane slip from his limp fingers and simply leaned against Silence still too dazed to even try and pick it up. Silence took care of that for him as well. "Bring his cane Brooks," he ordered the young priest as he began to move forward. The crowd dutifully parted for Silence and Lynuel, their heads bowed. Lynuel wasn't sure if it was shame or annoyance that he saw in their eyes.

He looked away from all of them, trying to swallow away the taste of bile in his mouth. "Just get me out of here Silence."