Chapter One, Day One.
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The cold air blew him awake, chills running down his spine. He blinked rapidly, craning his neck all over.
Looking around, there were people sitting all over, across from him and directly next to him. They all seemed to be riding in some sort of carriage, and the cold winter air blew on them unperturbed.
"Are we almost there?..." A girl across from him to the side started to whimper. There were tears frozen on her face, and the almost potato sack like clothes she wore didn't protect her from the weather at all.
Isaac looked down, trying to lift his hands up.
They were chained to the seat in between his legs, following up to a collar around his neck. He couldn't help but notice the same rucksack clothes covering him.
"What the fuck." He whispered, looking back up. He threw his head back a bit, trying to get the long scruffy hair out of his face.
"Where are we." He asked, not many of the people around him paying any mind.
"Nearly there I suppose. I don't think we're too far from the outpost, the trees are starting to thin." The man directly across from him answered his question. His hair was long, falling down to his shoulders. He had facial hair covering nearly every inch of his face. His beard was thick and messy, and truly only his deep blue eyes could be seen.
If he had to guess, Isaac would say he was probably in his late forties.
"The outpost?" Isaac asked, his mind still processing everything.
" Madgrave? Hell on earth?... You must be a foreigner." The middle aged man replied. Isaac could only furrow his brows.
He shook his hands a few times, checking the sturdiness of the chains around him.
Sure enough, they were real, heavy metal.
He couldn't help but notice a marking on his palm, an "Ⅰ" smack dab in the center of his hand. A strange tattoo to say the least, but maybe it was something the prisoners were marked with.
Just a few moments ago he was in the hospital, yet now, he was live and well again? On top of that, he was in some sort of medieval carriage, ten prisoners riding alongside him, and many more in the carts that followed behind.
They were being dragged by horses, men in armors leading them to their destination.
'Madgrave?...' He whispered in his mind, unsure of everything that was happening.
'This is a powerful dream...' His head lifted, looking back at the older man in front of him.
"Why is Madgrave hell on earth?" He inquired, the man before him looking up once more.
"Well... It sits on the border of the Blackwilds, and its the front line of defense... These days Madgrave is running low on military personal, so us criminals are banished here to be kamikaze soldiers. It's one of the grimmest fates one can be sentenced to, next to the Birdcage." He explained.
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A decent amount of information was just given to Isaac in these few sentences.
The Blackwilds? The Birdcage? And, kamikaze soldiers?
Things were looking dark...
Well, figuratively, and literally.
He had awoken when the sun was falling below the horizon, and right now, it seemed that the moon was beginning to show itself.
Snap!*
There was a crackling in the woods, branches snapping. It was just dark enough, with the perfect amount of wind and snow. Despite focusing his eyes, and looking past the prisoners at the desired angles, he couldn't catch vision of anything.
'Maybe it was just an animal.' That's what he thought, but his gut betrayed him.
There was something off about it all.
The eeriness of the falling sun, the fierce winds, the snowfall almost reminiscent of a storm.
There was a bad feeling welling deep within Isaac's stomach, but he couldn't quite put the finger on it.
"What is that?" A voice came from the front. One of the guards guiding the carriage let out a strange question.
"What... Is that... a Fire?" The other murmured, both of them clearly becoming quite frantic. One of the soldiers quickly got up from his seat, releasing the reigns to his coworker.
"Alright, all of you. Wake up! Get up! And be prepared to fight!" He shouted, moving down the line with a key in his hand. He hurriedly unchained everybody, the cart having slowed down but not showing signs of a stop.
"You may only have your fists, but if you do not wish to die, then you will find a way!" He shouted, reaching the end of the cart. Isaac was one of the last people, so he was released far later than those in the front.
He could hear shouts of freedom, and some jumping out of the cart and sprinting into the woods. Some however, stayed put, heeding the orders they were given.
"EVERYONE. PREPARE FOR BATTLE." The soldier screamed to the following carriages, most of which had already noticed the commotion in the front.
At that moment, there was one of the most horrible sights Isaac had ever seen.
Out of nowhere, someone came leaping into the carriage. There was blood all over his body, and he looked rather decrepit. Bones were poking through, his skin was a murky grey, and his eyes were white.
He soared through the air, tackling one of the prisoners that had stood up.
They both fell out of the carriage, but that didn't drown out the mans screams. Isaac craned his neck, watching as the carriage continued moving, picking up speed, and leaving behind the man that was being mauled to death.
The creature was crouched clawing at the mans body, taking large bites as it so pleased.
Isaac stared in confusion and utter horror.
He had just woken up in this crazy dream and now people are getting eaten by zombies? Was this his dying subconscious mind trying to tell him something?
He gulped deeply, trying to block out the rampaging screams of the women on board, and the crazed murmurs of the men that were frightened for their lives.
"What the fu-"
He felt a force push him violently, taking him to the edge of the cart.
His side hit it's edge, a weight carrying him over the side and sending him tumbling onto the ground.
He felt hands grab at his shoulders, something rather heavy on his back.
There was a growl, and a horrible smell.
He wasn't able to get a good look, but he felt all of it.
Sharp pains over took his mind, claws digging and ripping his body apart.
He felt a cold feeling on his neck, teeth sinking into him and ripping out his flesh.
He felt the cold and rough hands that were once gripping his shoulders, move themselves to his skull.
With the two large palms on his head, he felt it all in horror.
One swift movement, and a crazed yell was all it took.
His skull was bashed into a rock beneath the snow, everything going black, and the pain ending.
But, things got a little colder.
Not truly colder, but he felt a sharp breeze.
He slowly opened his eyes. He saw his hands chained down to the seat in between his legs. He lifted his head, looking at the bearded man across from him.
The winds were sharp, and he turned his head to the left.
He could see the sky changing colors, the sun was setting.
"Are we almost there?..." A familiar voice whimpered, forcing him to turn his head right. Just like before, there was the women with tears frozen on her face, crying at the thought of her fate.
"W-What... Where am I?" He asked confusedly.
He could feel his breathing accelerate, he did not know what to think at all.
"You're nearly there I suppose. I don't think we're too far from Madgrave, the trees are starting to thin."
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