Miko landed heavily onto his rear end. Darkness swirled around him and it seemed to radiate its own heat. Or more like cold and it was chilling him to the bone. His sweater right now was as useless as a hospital gown. He shivered but that didn't make him feel better. He needed to find warmth. But how could he in this darkness?
At first he thought the cold was making him see things but there was no denying the two glowing orbs penetrating the living darkness. Then another pair. A third. He counted a dozen pairs of eyes. Growls reached his ears. Miko stood up slowly, arming himself with a nearby stick. The eyes began to move towards the boy and emerged from the darkness revealing to be wolves but bloody and hairless. Teeth protruded from their shoulders forming macabre spikes. Their heads looked like skulls bleached white. Saliva, tinted red, dripped from their twitching mouths.
Walkers.
One of the beasts yapped at his heels. He narrowed his eyes in response. Remarkably, the same Walker whimpered in fear. They were afraid. This realization was amusing to say the least. It also gave him an idea.
"Sit!" he yelled. The monsters froze, ears drawn back and confusion displayed on their snouts. "I. Said. Sit." An individual started to obey but was quickly shown the error of his ways by a fellow comrade. "Down. All of you." They snarled in defiance. "SIT!" They all dropped onto their hunches, tongues hanging out of their mouths. "Good boys," he said gripping the stick tightly. One of them noticed and growled in warning. He halted his movements. "Relax..." The beast immediately ceased its threatening. "See? Not gonna hurt you," he said reassuringly. All eyes were on him.
Suddenly a sharp whistle pierced the air followed by a snap and a yelp. At once they all rose to their feet, snarling. Miko followed their line of sight and saw vague outlines of people on top of what appeared to be horses, illuminated dimly by lights. A young girl wielding a glowing sword suddenly leapt from the shadows bellowing some sort of battle cry. In one swift movement, she sliced off the side of one of the Walkers' faces. Chaos ensued.
The Walkers swarmed the girl, teeth barred, but she only cut them in half, splattering blood on the ground and her amour. The people on horses galloped into the fray, their swords, spears and arrows plunged into the Walkers. The creatures fought courageously, violently pulling riders from their horses and ripping them to pieces. Blood covered the makeshift battle field, soaking into the ashen ground.
Some of the Walkers started coming after Miko now. They cornered the boy to a tree and out of the corner of his eye, saw them licking their lips in anticipation of eating his flesh. He swung his stick at them, managing to lash a few but they merely shook it off. He needed a distraction or else he's dog food.
Throw the stick.
This is taking the dog joke a bit too far.
Do it!
So much for his quest.
"Fetch!" he hollered. The Walkers stopped advancing and watched the stick sail over their heads. Howling, they turned on their heels and bounded after the stick. He breathed a sigh of relief. That was too close for comfort. More growls came from behind.
He caught sight of a glowing bladed staff held in a corpse's hand. He headed for the weapon, aware of the snarls growing louder. He pulled the weapon from the dead man and swung it about wildly. Walkers fell left and right, some showing no sign of getting up. Upon seeing this mini massacre, the attacking beasts decided to leave him alone.
Soon the Walkers' victories did little to stump their enemies. At the end of it all, only three Walkers escaped with their lives.
The girl who had first attacked the Walkers, marched over to Miko, her golden eyes flashed furiously. "What in the down under do you think you're doing?" she snapped. Miko was taken aback by her angry tone. "I-" "I don't care! You could have killed yourself! Trying to play hero for your village, huh? Thought so. Now go home, you impudent tramp!" His face flushed and his mouth gaped in shock.
"Laura!" The girl turned to the person who called her. It was a man with a bushy beard and eyes as intense as hers. "Leave him alone." The girl grunted and turned away in indignation.
The man dismounted his horse. "Who are you?" he asked. "My name is Miko." "How are you not dead? Nyophrium[1] attack almost instantly," the man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I have a guardian angel?" "Unlikely. Come, you intrigue me." Miko was helped onto one of the horses then the company set off.
[1] Walkers and Nyophrium are one and the same, 'Walkers' are what Miko calls them because they 'walk among humans' while Nyophrium is the official term