Chapter 1 - (Part 1)

Rain droplets leaked in from the clothed ceiling. Jerk after jerk awoke me from my slumber. I looked around in a groggy state as I tried to upright myself.

Noticing purple flashes overhead, I shot my eyes wide open, realizing what has just happened.

Clenching my fist until my knuckles went white, I cursed to myself.

“Fucking Shit!”

This sudden outburst awoken those next to me who were taking refuge from the elements.

“What’s going on?” asked a girl.

Glancing quickly to this sudden voice, I saw my mother’s disheveled face, with her brunette hair soaked, sticking to her face.

“...Sorry for waking you mom.”

With a weary smile she said, “It’s alright Dustin, I couldn’t really sleep well anyway.”

Then silence continued as the bombardment of the rain drowned out all noise until I looked back up and met my mother's gentle gaze.

“Mother, how far are we from the village?”

Having a bewildered expression, she crept closer to me.

“Honey, listen. We have been riding for half of the night. So even if you try running back to your father… I’m afraid that you’ll be too late anyway.”

If only I was stronger than him. I could have forced him to come….

Interrupting my thoughts, Linda’s erratic breathing caught my attention. Looking closer, her eyes were red and she still had tears coming down her face.

Why… Why did that bastard stayed back…

Noticing the pained expression on my face, Linda quickly wrapped her arms around me and gently caressed my back.

Whispering in my ear, “It’s okay Dustin. Please don’t act like you’re mad. Especially when you’re crying right now.”

Finally, I noticed tears dripping down my cheek. Soon after I caved in and whimpered softly as I accepted my mother's embrace before I started to weep silently.

However, there was a loud explosion as a purple bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, sending it into flames, forcing me to regain a level head.

Shortly after, the rain let up a bit, then an audible sound reverberated into the wagon, signaling something was approaching.

Swiftly I reacted, breaking free from my mother and grabbing my sword before I charged out of the covered wagon.

Outside and looking around I gave out a shout to awaken everyone.

“Wake up! Something is approaching from the forest!”

Instantly, multiple soldiers came out of the wagons preparing themselves for whatever was approaching.

Soon multiple branches echoed as they snapped and low grunts with a few howls grew more audible. Immediately over forty shadows appeared from the darkness.

Silence, and only the wind blew as we stared at one another.

Silently the flame from the burning foliage casted light into the darkness.

With a glint of yellow eyes, the beasts started to encircle the soldiers, attempting to close all possible ways of escape.

“Monsters! Get ready!” yelled someone.

Following the shout, the sound of multiple blades being drawn filled the strained atmosphere as we started to group up to fight off the attackers.

When they got close enough, I could see that they were some type of mutated wolf. Twice as big, with a thick mane and a face of a bat.

Being looked over with their yellow beady eyes, one of the soldiers shouted, “Wargs! A whole pack of them!”

Right after he announced the warning, they all pounced in unionism.

Almost being taken down from the sudden attack, I staggered briefly in the mud regaining my foothold.

Looking down at my side, I noticed three long claw marks running across my side, oozing blood.

Grunting, I steadied my sword, preparing for my foes next attack.

“Come at me.” I whispered to myself.

Steading my resolve, I focused my all in catching every movement of the oversized wolf. With every step it took I would mirror it, preventing it from getting another lucky blow in.

Frustrated at our little dance, the warg gave up on ambushing and then did an all-out charge.

Muting out everything in my surroundings, I watched as the monster turned into a silver streak.

Slower than that fiend from yesterday. I can do this.

Seeing the light in its eyes, the world slowed down. With a flash of thunder, illuminated the warg, showing its grotesque physic.

With big elongated claws slashing towards my chest, it must be hoping in shredding me apart first, however, this time I am calm. So I readied myself as I placed both of my hands onto my sword’s grip.

As I continued my stance, I proceeded in lowering my sword past my knee, while I built up tension in my waist, waiting until the beast was in range.

Second after second ticked as the smell of burnt wood filled the air, until this calmness was disrupted as my enemy let out a low growl.

What felt like an eternity, was all I needed until the beast was within an arm's distance.

Looking straight into its yellow eyes, I let out a yell, before exploding upwards with my sword.

Using my waist as a pivot my sword whistled through the air until it made a crunch, connecting with the wargs bat like face.

Feeling my sword losing power, I took a step back and picked the beast up with the tip of my blade, simultaneously turning around throwing it against a tree.

Glancing where the beast laid, I noticed it was motionless and was swiftly creating a puddle of its own blood.

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Knowing the worst was over for now, I kneeled down and gritted my teeth due to the wound on my side that was burning with warm blood dripping.

After a minute to recuperate, I regained my postured, looking at the scene unfolding before me.

All around me, beast and man were struggling against each other. Some bodies were sliced up while others were mauled to death. However, the soldiers were slowly losing ground.

Suddenly a scream happened next to me as a man was bit on his head and was being dragged into the woods. Promptly I took up my blade and chased after the poor man.

Sprinting until I reached the perimeter of the woods, I decisively caught up to the beast before I pierced my sword into its back. While, aiming for its heart, I succeeded in stopping the monster before it went limp.

Slowly taking my sword out of the caucus, some blood squirted from the wound covering my neck down in droplets of blood.

However, this act of heroism was in vain, as the man was already dead with his skull crushed and battered.

Frustrated I turned my attention back to the battlefield, where more men were collapsing and having their throats torn out, while others were swiftly backing up.

Only half of the men remained as the wargs still had over thirty members left. But, I wasn’t the only one seeing this desperate situation.

Seeing this predicament, Joshua stepped forward, felling a warg in a single blow, in an attempt to rally the men, before giving words of encouragement.

“Buckle down everyone! If we can push them a little bit more we can force there retreat! Even monsters don’t want heavy loses!”

As soon as those words left his mouth, a new found vigor spread throughout the field. The soldiers dug their heels in and started bashing the monsters backwards. Seeing their hopeful expressions and their trust they had in the chief, even I wanted to help out.

Finally, we gained the upper hand as the wargs were being pushed back into the forest, however, a deadly price was being paid in blood.

Seeing this as an opportunity to reunite with the group, I rushed back into defensive formation before heading to my mother.

Once I reached the wagon and ask for her, Linda came rushing out. However, once she saw my injuries, she grabbed my hand and brought me into the wagon.

Sitting down, she asked, “Dustin, what happened to you!?’

“I’m sorry, but one of them got me by surprise.”, I replied as my face went pale.

With a scrunched face, she silently observed me before speaking back up.

“Stay right there, I’m going to get the thread and hook.”

Soon she disappeared into the back of the covered wagon, which was followed by rustling noises, until she reappeared.

In one of her hands was a bottle of barley, and in the other a block of wood.

Shoving the block in my face she said, “Here bite onto this.”

Doing as I was told, I braced myself to what is about to come.

Looking away from Linda, I glanced back to the battlefield as I felt a stinging wet cloth, pushed up to my cuts.

Then I felt a stabbing pain, as great as the wounds themselves coming and going, as she threaded my wounds shut.

After five minutes, I noticed something coming.

In the sky that was illuminated by the thunder, I saw a flock of monsters slowly approaching our vicinity.

Hurriedly, I pushed Linda away, before completely opening the wagon to meet Joshua’s eyes.

However, before I could say anything, Joshua gave me a big smile and waved, until a monster dove from the sky and grabbed onto his neck, before shredding it.

With a look of despair across his face, he coughed up blood before his head was forcibly ripped from his body, flying off into the sky with its new owner.

Seeing this scene, I forcibly grabbed my mother.

“We are leaving now!” I screamed at her.

Not understanding what was going on, she looked up to the sky and let out a gasp, before becoming weak in the knees.

She then slumped down in the carriage, so I went to pick her up, before I jumped out of the wagon and darted to the front of all of the carriages.

While making my way to the front, I started shouting, “Everyone we are being overrun! Make a break for it!”

Quickly, heads started popping out of the wagons and instantly were shocked at to what they were seeing.

Out of the group of soldiers, less than twenty of them remained, that were facing over thirty wargs. In the sky, monstrous beings were swooping down attacking the carriages at the back, taking pieces of human flesh off with them. And one side of the forest was slowly catching a flame, as it started to spread.

Unfortunately, I didn’t wait to see anything else and after a brief period, I reached the very front and promptly cut the horses free from the front wagon.

Setting Linda back down, I smacked her to ‘wake’ her.

“Dustin, what's going on?”, she asked disorientated.

“Doesn't matter right now. Get on the horse and run! I’ll follow close behind!”

Swiftly I helped her onto the horse before I whipped my swords sheath onto it’s behind.

Immediately this signal the horse to take off, and right after, Linda said, “Behind you!”

Barely hearing her words, I ducked instinctually as a crimson blur flew past me.

Looking at my pursuer, I noticed it was one of the flying beasts. It had a crimson red body that was awfully similar to a hairless human body, and instead off feet it had a giant tail off a scorpion. Just looking at it disturbed me greatly as it hovered while it was still astonished for missing.

Quickly I went into my battle stance, waiting for the two meter tall beast to turn around. When it regained its posture, the monster turned around suddenly before, folding its wings and making another dive bomb.

Seeing this, I unsheathed my blade and prepared to take it on.

Like a haze the red creature descended upon be as it readied its attack.

In a mere second the demon was close enough that it slashed with its claws as it connected with my sword. Taking on this full force I started huffing erratically, until I managed to divert the blow off course, sending the beast hurtling to ground.

Seeing it crash into the ground, I lunged forward, proceeding to grab onto the back of the beast, preventing it from taking off.

Struggling we both fought as my sword kept piercing its leathery hide, while its tail was threatening to puncture right through me.

Finally over a minute has passed and the beast finally slumped down, before I managed to roll off onto the ground gasping for air.

However, I forced myself back up, as I wiped coagulated blood off of my chest and proceeded to the nearest horse.

Once I reached my destination, I sprang up onto the horse and forced it into an all-out sprint, in the direction my mother disappeared in.

While running, I checked behind me and almost fell off the horse.

There I saw over a hundred more beasts slowly coming out of the forest descending upon those who were left behind.

Some monsters matched those I saw in books like trolls, harpies and chimeras. While, others were ones I had a hard time describing.

However, all I needed to do now was to get as far away as possible. Maybe have a village or two separating us.

After thinking this I proceeded to gallop for thirty minutes, until I finally came across Linda waiting by a shallow river.

Smiling at her, I waved.

Upon seeing this, she rode over to me and forced me into a bear hug.

“Dustin, thank the gods that you’re all right now.”

Shocked by her sudden action, I almost fell out of my seat before I tried calming down.

“Huh, yeah… Please give me a moment mom. I’m still really rattled up.”

After taking a few deep breaths I let out a low groan as I tried processing what all happened.

Hastily I gained my bearings back and look behind me, watching the chaotic storm.

Still, multiple flashes of purple erupted everywhere and now, a new glow was spreading where we use to be, which means the fire won’t be calming down any time soon. At the same time, while I was glancing around, the rain started up again.

Silently I redirected my gaze at my mother before I spoke up, “We need to hurry. They shouldn’t be that far behind, but this storm should wash away our scent and tracks.”

Staring at me, she abruptly nodded after a few seconds before gesturing me to lead.

“Okay, follow me. However, I never left the village this far before. I’ll need you to direct where we should go.”

Smiling bitterly she responded, “Right. If we just continued on this path, we should reach the town in a week.”

Silently thinking to myself, I wondered.

If we go at that speed, then we might get caught back in an ambush again. If we get their earlier, we should have enough time to rest and discuss whether to leave or to stay in town.

Finally coming to a conclusion I said, “We should get there in five days then. Just in case we have to go a little bit further and this should avoid any more encounters with those monsters.”

While, pondering it for herself, Linda gave a stiff nod before glancing back.

“You think anyone else made it out?”

“Probably. But I wouldn’t worry about that right now. We should do what we can to survive Linda.”

“You’re probably right. Let’s not tarry here any longer.”

With only the sound of thunder echoing and a heavy downpour blocking our vision, we silently made our way through the darkness of the night.