Movement, and lots of it. Movement, where there should be no movement, enough to be easily visible in the dim light of the full moon. There was no question about it, nor did any of the five people out for patrol truly wonder about what they were seeing. There, in the darkness, were humanoid figures, slowly moving towards them. Towards them, and their home further down the street.
“We need to report in,” Sian immediately pressed, dread pooling in her stomach. There were so many moving forms in the dark, too many for comfort, maybe even too many to fight. She didn’t want to imagine the outcome of a fight, nor did she want to consider what would happen if they didn’t fight. Neither idea was palatable to her, but she couldn’t see a third option. Not unless Jade with her companions pulled a miracle out of a pocket, or whatever orifice she could pull miracles from.
None of her companions disagreed with her assessment, they could all see the shapes, get some idea about the number coming towards them and add things up. Only to come to a conclusion that wasn’t indicative of their continued survival, be that as individuals or as a group. Fight or flight, what could you do if either option ended in a shallow grave? Fight and die with a weapon in hand, or flee, and most likely die exhausted far from where you started?
With quick steps, the entire group returned to the apartment building they had started to call home, their little community in the face of the apocalypse, a community that was now being threatened by the dead roaming the city they all called home. What a home it was, their former neighbours, in some cases their friends, their bodies were roaming the streets but the lights had long gone out, leaving nothing but shells behind. Shells that now threatened what little remained of their once-beloved home.
As soon as they were back, they started to wake people up. Everyone was needed, even the youngest could perform some small, but valuable action, fetch or carry some things, allowing their elders to focus on the incoming threat. It didn’t take long for the people to gather, the urgency with which they were called made certain of that.
At first, there was a lot of shouting. Shouting, gnashing of teeth and denials. People wanting to fight, people wanting to flee, people wanting to do this or that, without rhyme or reason. Until it was Lars, one of Jade’s students, stepped up, a heavy stomp on the ground shaking the earth and silencing everyone. His words, while simple in essence, echoed through everyone’s mind. They needed to fight if they wanted to live. It was that simple, they didn’t have a choice, they had to fight and they had to win. Even if Jade wasn’t with them, even if Lia, her pale and tall companion wasn’t with them. Both had gone out as they did most nights. They had to fight and they had to do it together. Or they would all die, maybe together, maybe separated. But dying, they would.
Luna, together with that strange, massive dog, stepped up, calling on everyone to join together, knowing that she could help. Her mother and sister weren’t here with her, but she could help and she wouldn’t let the others down. She wouldn’t let her Mother’s efforts go to waste!
“Gather around me, Silva and I will call upon the blessing of the Mother, it will help you persevere in the face of hardships,” the child called out, her courage belying her young age. Or maybe it showed that age was rapidly becoming nothing but a number, the hardship of their situation forcing everyone to mature rapidly, a process this child had obviously started quite some time ago and taken great strides in the maturity department.
A few people wanted the child to fight, but nobody truly dared to demand it. They weren’t that far gone, not yet, they still retained a certain sense of decency and, maybe, fear that forcing this particular child to fight would backfire on them when the mother returned. Still, having a blessing would help them, so everyone happily gathered around the girl and her dog.
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Together, dog and child performed a strange ceremony, the dog letting out an eerie song of barks, growls and howls, while the child softly accompanied the dog, only instead of howling and growling, she was singing in a quiet, yet hopeful, tone, using words nobody could understand as it was sung in a foreign, alien, language. And yet, despite all that, everyone hearing the song felt uplifted, as if they could see a faint light in the distance, the light that signified the end of their hardship.
Emboldened, the entire community moved out, everyone who could hold a weapon was on the move, even if the best thing they had to fight with was a simple stick. Nobody wanted to die a coward, they all wanted to survive. And if they wanted to survive, they needed to overcome this challenge, or they’d lose their supplies and soon starve in the streets. There was nobody left to help them, so they had to help themselves.
Three figures were near the front, two teenagers and the strange child they had befriended, the daughter of their magic tutor who had added quite a bit to their lessons. And yet, despite the amount of information the child had contributed, they had barely seen her use magic, making the two teens wonder why that was.
“They are coming down this road. I shall prepare some obstacles for them, stay behind them, use your bows, use everything you have, and use the time my obstacles buy for you,” Luna commanded, trying to channel as much of her mother’s attitude and language as she could. There was a small clump of fear in her chest, neither Mother nor Sister were here, making things extra scary. Luckily, Big Sis Silva was here, making sure that Luna wasn’t alone. And promising that she’d protect Luna, giving the young child some peace of mind. Silva was just as scary as Mother, only scary in a very different way.
Drawing deeply from the pool within herself while also reaching out to pull in power from the environment and the Astral River, Luna took out a few small seeds she had prepared some time ago. Nothing special, just harvested from a few especially tough brambles in the forest and infused with a bit of blood and, much more importantly, Life. Filling the seeds with even more power, she cast them out, as if planting crops in a field. Only that this field was the road the Undead were marching down, a pair of Shattered visible further in the back.
Why the Shattered were here now, or why they had dozens of Undead with them, Luna didn’t know, nor did anyone else. They only knew that the Undead were here and that they needed to take care of them.
The seeds thrown by Luna hit the concrete without a sound but the silence didn’t last. Moments after the impact, there was a strange, crunching sound and vines shot out from the concrete, some anchoring into nearby walls, others simply tangling into a dense thicket, filled with sharp thorns. It was an instant and incredibly deadly barricade, or it would be for anyone feeling pain or suffering from blood loss. Against the Undead, it would be a suitable barricade to slow them down, but they’d be able to push through it eventually. Still, the defenders had gained some time, time they’d hopefully be able to use productively.
Next to Luna, Sonja, the student of Jade, stepped up, raising her small, somewhat crude bow. Exhaling slowly, she drew the string back, nocked an arrow and stilled for a moment, a strange glow gathering around her before being transferred to the arrow. When she let go, there was an odd sound, somewhat like tearing paper, and the arrow shot forward, trailing azure light and moving far faster than the simple bow should be able to propel it. And yet, the arrow didn’t care, it moved rapidly and accurately struck the lead Undead in the head, sending it to the ground without fanfare. The Undead, despite its sturdy constitution, didn’t get back up.
Neither did the next, struck down in the same way.
Or any of the others, as Sonja kept shooting, calmly nocking one arrow after the other and sending it towards the gathered Undead. Even as her breathing started to turn laboured, her brow was coated in sweat and her arms started to shake. Breathe in, exhale slowly, and send another Undead to the ground. Constantly, unerringly and yet, it wasn’t enough.
Despite her best efforts, despite countless other projectiles sent against the Undead by other defenders, despite the dense thicket of vines created by Luna’s magic. Despite all that, it wasn’t enough and the Undead simply kept coming.