It was like a morning routine of a local London citizen, bird sing, wood creaking, and kettle whistle, it all feel the quiet part of every morning. He drink coffee from that white mug everyday, while looking outside his room on 2nd floor for while, scanning the whole neighborhood from his lawn. He wear thick coat that loosely cover his body, and not saying hello to anyone. On third sip, he will go back to his room and disappear until next day.

His next door neighbor, a fat old white man already knew his habit, he also often sit outside his room after all. He and that man never make eye contact and never even exchange pleasantries. Well after all this old white man dislike all brown people, he believe he is not racist, but he now just attuned to hate all non-UK looking person.

They lives on a 3 story flats, a very small flats, the total room is only about 30 and all has direct view to communal garden on the middle. There is only 1 way to enter the building through a single stone building and wooden door. The flats is not really stylish, just a working class flats that has enough to live but nothing to be proud off.

Today is 7 August 1980, there is something different today, he doesn’t show up at all. His room is staying shut, no kettle whistle, no wood creaking, and no bird singing at all. It was a quiet morning. The old man love it, no one is there to interrupt his longing for the past and he can just enjoy his morning fully.

The old man knew thou, soon all of the usual sound will be heard, a kettle will whistle and hair on his neck will stand up, a ‘scar’ he still carry from the time of war. The high pitched sound make him remember the horror he saw back then, on the snowy mountain. In the past, his whole body will jolt, but now it no longer the case, he can handle it just fine. But the memory still trouble him at night.

Then he smell something bad. A smell that we knew too well. Smell of decaying flesh. He stood up and try to sniff where it come from. He walk around, realizing that the smell come from that brown man room.

The old man try to knock, loudly 3 times. But he knew, the worse had already happen. So he take his jacket and go to nearest telephone.

Soon 2 police arrive.

The police doesn’t even need explanation, they smell the same thing and immediately prepare to kick the door down. The door swing fast and the police is soon inside with weapon on hand.

The old man just can’t help but following both of them.

Inside is a very clean room, TV, fridge, kitchen, and table with some fresh fruit still on the basket. They immediately move to next room, a closed door with writing of some prayer that he can’t read. An Arab-like writing.

The police open the door and find the origin of the smell.

The man is still on bed and his face is blue, writhing in pain and sculped with terror. His eye still open and his mouth is open for a bit. On the wall, many many writing is written in blood, all of them look everywhere in horror. Old man decide he no longer want to be part of this and immediately retreat to his room.

That day the flat is lively, people want to know what happen and they keep dropping on the room. At first, the local, then more police and medic, then people in suit, plain-cloth police, and at last MI5 appear.

James sit on passenger seat with his supervisor, the one driving is police from Special Division. James and his supervisor only wear overcoat

‘So, who is this guy?’ James ask with low voice.

‘A former asset at middle east, he was our main lead at the incident on Babylonia’ the supervisor answer with low voice.

‘What? what happen at Babylonia?’

‘Oh damn, you maybe don’t have right to know then’ he frown a bit, then laugh loudly.

They park not far from the flat and walk to the crowd that gather in front of the flat. They approach one of the police at the front.

‘James, you handle this. My… leg is not really feeling it right now.’ the supervisor smile while he clearly prepare to sleep.

‘Have a good sleep old man’ James laugh a bit.

‘I didn’t even get to greet my daughter yesterday, just let me see her on my dream at least. Go go, knock the window if you need me.’

‘Sure sure, lets go Sullivan’ James just smile.

Sullivan didn’t say anything. He get out of the car and start to walk with James to the crowd of person in the front of the flat. Police has already enact some line to keep the onlooker away.

‘Sullivan, Special Branch, Scotland Yard. This guy is with me.’

Soon they are allowed in on the first floor some police is discussing and waiting. Sullivan walk to the one of the older police that sipping coffee alone on the side of the stair.

‘Barney, nice to meet you’ Sullivan smile and shake hand with an older police officer.

Barney is a man on his 50th, he wear uniform, has grey hair, and full moustache. He is fat and really look like someone that ready to retire next year or so.

‘Sullivan, thanks for coming fast, I already clear the place for you. As soon as you take this over from our hand the better it is.’ he doesn’t smile, just shake his hand. He also take a second to look at James but immediately act like he doesn’t see him at all.

‘You mention a coded note?’ Sullivan ask

‘Well, its not a note actually, look its better if you just see it yourself. Lets go up!’ Barney immediately walk. He still fit for someone that is ready to retire.

The decay smell can immediately be felt on second floor. They keep walking to one of door that has been marked with yellow line. One of the officer is on standby in the front of the door.

The police open the line and let 3 of them come in. Soon they meet with the body, no one has even touch it yet. But for James, the most jarring things is definitely the writing in blood. He tried to read some of it,

An ongoing cheating scandal on one of royal family at Europe. Secret soldier left behind to fight against Soviet. US psychic soldier that supposedly has capability to spy. existence of ███████ as US-based paranormal federal agency. The doomsday bunker of ████ created only for the ████ Murder of ██████ was a state sponsored operation Feast of ████ last for █ weeks before finally ███████ Pope ███ has a hand on ███████████ ██████████████ of United States █████████████████████████ █████████████████ ██████████████████████████████████ ███████████████ ████████████████████████████ look behind you, look at my hand

Before James even step into the room, his assessment was simple: ‘an old man that has lost his mind due to stress living in foreign country alone’. Yet there one line stuck to him. He knew that one line of word personally, it has a special meaning to him. A promise he failed to keep, a promise he try to put behind his mind all the time, yet it keep haunting him on his solitary moment.

‘at 07:00, I’m waiting for you James’ a woman with golden hair once spoke to him under cover of night and above the lake. A quick image of his past fly-by triggered by the line written by a random old man that he never knew.

He close his eyes tightly and shake his head.

‘You okay?’ Sullivan ask

‘Yeah, sorry, lets just take some photo and get out from here, I don’t want to spend another moment with the body here.’

‘Here take this’ James pass a camera to Sullivan

Sullivan then started to take photo of all the word on the wall. All of it might need to be washed down if it do contain national secret. Even Sullivan realize some of problematic thing in the writing.

Meanwhile James steel himself to keep reading, hoping that one line is just a coincidence. He found many state secret do posted on the wall.

He start to sweat, some of it is a gibberish, some is unverified rumor, but some has a wild accuracy for something that supposed to be a top secret knowledge of MI5.

He look behind to the man on the bed. Does he still carry some more secret on his body? The man stare back with the horror stare. He realize that the man hand seems to grip on something. Something small and black.

‘Sullivan, can you see what he had on his hand?’ James is not supposed to touch the body. but he can’t help but to be intrigued with the weirdness of the situation.

‘Sure’ Sullivan doesn’t really care, he still just see all of this as rambling of a dead man.

Sullivan use his glove and try to pull of whatever it is on the corpse hand.

A bunch of dried black flower petal.

‘What is that?’ James look at the flower and look at the face of body again

Suddenly the dead man eyes dart to James, looking at him back. James jump back instinctively, something that cannot happen just simply happen to him.

‘What’s wrong?’ Sullivan asked

Sullivan doesn’t need long before he got his answer.

The body start to move and a high-pitched scream same off from its mouth. On its eye, a green hue glimmer when it look back. The scream is so loud that the police around stop what they doing and stare into the room.

The old man next to the door that was just sit down and closing all window jumps up, his PTSD kick back in full force. He knew that scream, he fucking knew that. He throw himself to nearby cabinet and start to franticly opened it.

The body stand up and immediately jump and attack Sullivan. Before Sullivan can react, It bite and clawed on him. James quickly take a bottle on one of the desk and used it to smash on the corpse’s head, the former corpse. It doesn’t care and keep attacking Sullivan. Sullivan is using his hand to cover the brunt of the attack. It seems his coat take a lot of damage, he desperately try to cover his face from all the claw attack.

James takes another bottle from the desk and slam him even harder, the bottle break loudly and the corpse head jolt back to look at him. It quickly stand up and jump to James. James duck down and rush forward, making sure that the body jump too high and fall on his head crashing to the wall. One of the police officer has rush in after all the ruckus and surprised with what he witness.

‘Shoot him! GO!!’ James scream at the police

But the man only stand, unable to react to such a bizarre situation. James look at his belt and take the gun from his belt. Aiming it at the corpse. Without hesitation, he shoot 1 bullet to body that still upside down. The blood spread to the wall, covering some of the writing.

The body start to stand up as if nothing happen.

‘MOVE HIM!’ James scream at the police to drag Sullivan out from that room. While James is going forward and shoot the remaining bullet one by one to the body that doesn’t seem to care.

The police finally snap and try to drag bloodied Sullivan out. Its lucky that the police body is much bigger than Sullivan so he has no issue dragging him out. Another police went in with gun drawn , look at the situation and immediately try to position him to cover the retreating police from the door where James is shooting the corpse.

James immediately run out from the room after the corpse stand.

‘Shoot him on the leg!’ James scream at the second police that still confused.

Then the body rush out from the room, chasing James. He spooked out by what he see. He tried to follow procedure first.

‘Hands on the air!’

The body that doesn’t care jump on the second officer, the weapon shot too late it shoot to the ceiling. While the body bite on the police neck, killing him.

More and more police start to converge on second floor after the ruckus, all with weapon drawn.

The body crashed out to the front the room still carrying the body of the killed officer. It made another high pitched scream, scaring everyone that can’t process what happen. It start to attack the police one by one, they hardly able to fight back because the place is just too small and they can’t risk shooting one of their own.

The body keep attacking and eventually jump attack one of the officer and both of them fall to the central garden. Many non-police social worker now exposed to the body indiscriminate attack.

The police no longer give warning and tried to evacuate the place and tried to shoot him whenever it has chance. It now dangling the officer that still struggle and keep kicking him. One tried to take out the police stick and smash him in the head, but to no avail.

The corpse is getting stronger, it throw the officer into the wall and left loud sound and some crack on the wall, it punch back to the attacking officer with such force that the man launch back few meters, through window into one of the room.

James tried to observe, he is not supposed to fight, hoping that the police can contain that man. But this is supposed to be an investigation and not a war against an unknown being. Police number got thinned down fast, there is only about 12 uniformed police after all and many of them only has wooden stick. James knew after the police got wiped out then the public that has just start to gather again after the ruckus will be in danger.

James is not supposed to fight, but at such moment, its better for him to try to fight the body again rather than letting it just attack the family around on this neighborhood. He take gun from unconscious Sullivan’s belt.

He step forward as the body has incapacitated 8 police, the rest is now afraid of their life. They only had club after all to defend themself.

‘Solomon!’ James tried to speak loudly to the body, hoping he can get some time.

It doesn’t work thou, the body now jump forward to James, he already too fast and strong at this time. James no longer can dodge quick enough.

Then another loud gun shoot off, it is not a normal revolver. The body fall back.

‘Reinforcement?’ as James look back on who is shooting.

The old man that live next to the body has just shoot to the body with his rifle. Only a veteran sniper can shoot like that, lucky.

The old man throw a big knife inside a leather sheet to the ground in front of James.

‘Use that knife and stab his heart!!’ the old man shout

He then back to his aiming and shoot another bullet to still standing up corpse.

James go forward and take the knife out from the sheath. Its a huge knife, not something that someone will use for a simple daily butchering, but a knife designed to be held by soldier on close range fight. the blade is huge enough that it can definitely pierce the heart of a man.

The body stand up and jump to nearby police, that man stand no chance.

James wait for a moment to went in and go to a quick kill.

‘Aim for the heart.’ James say to himself.

The body jolt back and run to James. It try to tackle him down.

Another shoot fly by, and it hit the body on the leg. This time it make him fall. The shoot has just make one the leg lost its function. The body fall face down on the concrete. James doesn’t waste time and immediately stab area around the heart, he tried to stab and stab and stab. He doesn’t know, does he hit the heart? is it already dead?

Finally something hold James back.

‘Enough, it’s done.’ the old man has go down and hold his hand from behind him. He still carry his rifle around his body.

James stands up and look at the body, a bloodied dead body with multiple gun wound and blunt trauma, yet it still fight like hell until the end.

‘What the hell is that?’ James ask the old man.

‘The Northern European called it the Draugr, I never though I see them again here.’ the old man look away, it seems to bring him unpleasant memories.

‘We unable to sleep calmly, we stab every corpse on the heart be it foe or friend, just to make sure they didn’t raise at night and take more of us. Their glowing green eyes move slowly at night.’ the old man softly said but he don’t want to speak anymore.

He take the knife on James hand, sheath it back and then went back to his room.

James and surviving police can’t stop him, but it seems he is not going anywhere. He will speak with him when he can.

More police and special division soon swarm the place. The incident is chalked to a ‘A man found high on drug and attack multiple police under influence, the man had to be shot to be stopped’.

Of course people who have seen what happen didn’t buy this even for a bit, but what can they do? there are no photo, no record of what happen. The special division cover all and eventually clean up Solomon room and take everything away leaving only a sealed room. Majority of people who didn’t see what happen simply take what the police at face value and going with life.

The old man was brought in for interview, but MI6 intervene, and soon the man was released and was gone, most likely given an increased pension and moved it countryside or a safe house.

James learn nothing from old man, all he had was the secret that the dead-alive-dead man write on the wall. So he continue with what he had.

For MI5, they still had to rule out if something as weird as this can still happen. Was that an attack from another country? Was that something that can happen again?

MI6 doesn’t want them to keep chasing, but the fact that a man can somehow knew a lot of classified intelligence then write it down on his wall definitely worry them. Solomon is not supposed to be active anymore after all. He was supposed to be retired, he knew nothing and should know nothing. All he should do is just to live his life quietly. James believe his country already so so generous with that offer instead of just silencing him permanently.

All this is already weird not to mention his reanimation to a savage living corpse. Something that seem to have happen back at war. The old man mention that he already saw them and knew how to kill them again. James was disturbed, especially by the green hued eye that James see right before it jump back to life.

‘Solomon, that guy last spoke with Tilda Bach, a professor of Anthropology on Cambridge’ his supervisor review the case.

‘I will arrange a meeting with her’ James quickly answer