The Bite of Vengeance Read Free

the vibration causing it to shatter in their faces. More windows smashed, sending shards flying in every direction and cutting many survivors, their frames crumbled to the ground, preventing any escape through the windows.
    â€˜BENJAMIN!’ Roconn shouted, finally making his voice work.
    He immediately started searching for his family. Everything was submerged in fog and dust, making it difficult and dangerous to move. The wind blew harder like a hurricane, loosening more debris which fell into the church. A few feeble cries for help were cut off. Flecks of blood spattered over Roconn.
    â€˜MARIA! CHARLOTTE!’
    Roconn took cover, laying face down as the debris landed. Hail stones fell into the church, ricocheting in different directions. It was as though the Lord Himself had unleashed his fury upon the village, condemning everyone to death.
    The sound of creaking metal emanated through the ruined church. The cross on the top blew back into the church, though the roof was nowhere to be seen. Where it landed, Roconn couldn’t tell. More slates tumbled from the roof as the fog eased back, allowing Roconn to see. He wished he couldn’t. The church was destroyed; bodies of children, adults and even little Jenna could just be seen under the rubble. Each corpse was smothered in deep crimson liquid and dust. Limbs could be seen sticking out of the debris. Lightning illuminated the church once more. At the front of the church, in pools of blood and covered with shards of slate, lay the bodies of his wife and children. Blood trickled from their mouths. He looked in horror at their faces, grey with dust. Roconn felt an uncontrollable surge of hatred.
    â€˜GOD!’ he bellowed to the sky.
    â€˜YOU HAVE TAKEN MY FAMILY! YOU HAVE TAKEN THE VILLAGE, TAKE ME!’
    â€˜Help, Roconn,’ whispered a voice weakly.
    Roconn scrambled over loose rocks, dodging beams of wood and roofing tiles until he reached his wife. He knelt down beside her. She was barely alive. Blood poured from severe cuts across her body, her face was bruised and sliced and her arm stuck out at a funny angle. Roconn knew he was going to lose his wife if he did not act soon. He needed to move her out of the church quickly. Without any help, she would be dead within minutes. He moved as many stones as he could, most of which were covered in blood. At last, he was able to pick up his wife, cradling her in his arms.
    â€˜You’re going to make it. Just hold on. Don’t let go!’ he half-whispered, half-sobbed.
    Tears ran down his face, dripping on to Maria’s body. The hail had now turned into rain, falling steadily as the half-formed tornado withdrew to the sky once more. The Lord had forsaken him. He had taken his children, and mortally wounded his wife. Roconn could not understand why He would do this. No longer would he be a servant of the Lord, nor would he allow anyone else he cared for to die on his account, while he lived on, he was sure of that. He looked at the lifeless bodies of Benjamin and Charlotte. Tears of anger and loss continued to roll down his dirty face. Roconn started making his way towards the door, pausing as he looked at it properly for the first time since the storm. The cross had fallen upside down, in front of the doors, barricading them inside, Roconn was horrified.
    Setting his wife down, he tore large strips of cloth from his robes and tied them around the worst of her wounds. He realized now that he should have listened to his gut instinct and left the church when he had the chance. Instead, he had decided to ignore it, and that decision would stay with him for the rest of his life.
    He spent what felt like an eternity trying to push the cross away from the door. With a great deal of effort, it started to lean away from the door until it fell against the wall with a loud crash. Clouds of dust lifted into the air. But this did not bother Roconn, who was determined to get his wife to safety.
    He lifted