[color=929292]	“[/color]Pass the porridge, boy,[color=929292]” barked a rotund, hairy faced man as he sat at the head of a roughly finished wooden table, surrounded by a  younger, skinnier version of himself and a woman who's face was wrinkled with stress and age.  His son complied, grabbing a bowl full of warm porridge and offering it up to his father.  “[/color]You're gonna need to take the horses to town tomorrow,[color=929292]” he said as he grabbed the bowl and served himself.  “[/color]Take 'em to the smith.  Get 'em shoe'd.[color=929292]”

	“[/color]Yes, father.[color=929292]” The tone in his voice was devoid of any joy.  The majority of his life thus far consisted of errands, chores and manual labor.  He had no siblings to play with and they lived too far into the country to have any neighbors close by.  Just as the older man settled his plate, he set the bowl down and grabbed a spoon.  In the distance, the sound of a dog barking echoed through the night.  All three of them reacted subtly, recognizing the call.

	“[/color]God forsaken mutt,[color=929292]” grumbled the patriarch, his face contorting with frustration.  The family dog was notorious for causing a ruckus.  When the boy found him, his father hesitantly agreed to let him keep it, but that was before all the barking.  Day, night, it didn't matter.  That dog had no trouble finding something offensive at any given time.

	“[/color]How is the food?[color=929292]” asked the woman, gingerly, attempting to distract her husband.

	“[/color]Well I haven't [i]eaten[/i] the food, have I?[color=929292]” he shot back with a healthy dose of condescension.  “[/color]Boy,[color=929292]” he said, turning his attention back to his son.  “[/color]Go shut that thing up.  This is the last time.  Next time [i]I[/i] shut it up.  Permanently.[color=929292]”  The boy nodded and excused himself from the table.  The dog's parking became more frenzied, adding to the older man's irritation.  As the boy opened the door to their humble home, the cool night air swept in, sending a small chill up his spine.  He stepped outside, closing the door behind him, and set off into the distance where he could hear the dog's woofing.  Meanwhile, his father just sat there in his chair, looking at his food with disgust while the canine's infernal yapping polluted his ears.  

	“[/color]I swear it, Gwen, I'm going to kill that fucking thing,[color=929292]” he declared to his wife without even looking up.  She placed a consolatory hand on her husband's shoulder, unsure of what to actually say to appease him.  “[/color]I shouldn't have ever let the boy keep it.  I told you it'd be a problem, but you said-[color=929292]” His rant was suddenly interrupted by an immediate and violent yelp from outside followed by complete quiet.  The man turned his attention to the closed door and looked at it in shock for a moment before turning back to his wife, his expression slowly changing to excitement.  “[/color]He fucking did it![color=929292]” He couldn't contain a hearty laugh before repeating himself.  “[/color]I'll be damned, the boy fucking did it!  It's about time his nuts dropped.[color=929292]”  With a smile that spread from ear to ear, the man took a spoonful of the porridge and shoved it into his mouth.  He ate it and stared up toward the ceiling, reveling in the newfound silence.

	“[/color]Do you like it, dear?[color=929292]” the woman asked with even more caution than before.

	“[/color]HA! I [i]love[/i] it![color=929292]” he bellowed back.  “[/color]My boy's becoming a man.  Maybe I'll give him some extra coin tomorrow to spend in town.[color=929292]” He nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied with this new resolution, before returning to his food. He and his wife ate the rest of their meal in glorious silence.  As he let his spoon fall to the table, the man looked to the front door again.  The boy hadn't returned, yet.  “[/color]What the hell is taking him so long,[color=929292]” he asked rhetorically, his annoyance apparent.

	“[/color]He may be upset,[color=929292]” his wife offered.  The man scoffed and stood up, clearly harboring no respect for anyone who would mourn such an annoying little creature.  The man marched to the door and flung it open before stomping outside.

	“[/color]Boy!  You better not be sobbing like a pansy![color=929292]” The only sounds he heard back were from the nocturnal insects hidden in the grass.  The man huffed and began to advance further into the night.  As he did, he could slowly start to make out a figure in the distance that appeared to be hunched over.  “[/color]Boy![color=929292]” But there was no reaction.  The man's temperature began to rise with anger as he marched forward more.  He looked on as the young man's shoulders moved  and shook slowly.  His eyes then drifted a little to the right where they fell on the body of the dog.  At first, disappointment struck the man.  The boy really was crying over the dead beast.  But then that disappointment turned to bewilderment.  The dog's body was nearly torn in half.  It's entire midsection was gone except for the spine and some broken ribs that were peaking out through flaps of cavernous flesh.  “[/color]Boy... what in God's name have you done...?[color=929292]”  As if hearing the man for the first time, the figure stood up with a start before turning to face the man.

	Horror.  Absolute horror filled the man's entire being as he bore witness to a being that looked human, but had teeth that were ever-bared because it's lips had long rotted off.  It's eyes, of which it only had one, was glazed over, making it look as though there hadn't existed a pupil.  Its mouth and cheeks were painted crimson and in its hand, his gripped a tuft of hair to the violently severed head belonging to his son.

	The man's eyes were as wide as they could go, his face taking on the complexion of a cherry.  “[/color]Y-you!  You damned [i]thing[/i]![color=929292]”  Favoring his rage over his common sense, the man began to move toward the vile creature, intending to settle this on his own.  But he froze when he saw the others...

[hider=The Others][center][img]https://media.gettyimages.com/videos/zombies-in-the-forest-video-id473286327?s=640x640[/img][/center][/hider]

	From between the trees, more of them slowly shuffled out, their bodies contorted unnaturally as they moved at a snail's pace.  The man's heart rate was going faster than it ever had before as he clumsily backpedaled and ran back toward the house.  Once he made it inside, he slammed the door shut and, between pants, told his wife “[/color]We have to go.  NOW![color=929292]”

	“[/color]Where's Brian?[color=929292]”

	“[/color]There is no Brian anymore,[color=929292]” the man said, his eyes tearing up.  “[/color]The [i]things[/i]... The dead are walking.  We have to go.  W-we've got to warn the town, the L-lord.  Oh, G-god.  We need to take up arms.  We need to defend ourselves.  We need...  we need...[color=929292]”[/color]

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[url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/real-horror-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/181231/4b1a75e4fc176e3112216163ac361cdf.png[/img][/url] [h2][color=9e0b0f][i]INITIATES[/i][/color][/h2][/center]