Fissure
Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:36 pm
Survival of the luckiest.
They.... They came from nowhere.... hordes of them... they slaughtered us, We didn't stand a chance. It was no war. It was an extermination. Nothing can hurt them. Nothing can stop them. The living shadows... the yellow claws... their red eyes.... Us survivors live like ghosts right out of a zombie apocolypse movie. just these zombies aren't stopped by a simple shotgun to the chest.... Nor do these zombies shamble along... Wits and speed are the weapons of my rag tag band of militia. We are the last hope.
Davan commented "They came from nowhere? What the hell man? They came from the N50. Remember? Gigantic red Portal?" Marvin shruged putting down his pen, looking hurt. He protested "Well nowhere sounds alot more exotic than the n50... Imagine coming into a wrecked bunker finding signs of combat everywhere in the middle of a ruined city and stumbleing across a book which starts off with "They came out of the N50 and stormed us." That makes it sound like we are fighting off some sort've plague of traffic or something" Davan shruged, looking back down at his freinds manuscript. He commented "Also, you stole the second line from war of the worlds." Marvin tested "well.... What about my description of the shadow creatures?" Davan read back over the script and admitted "Its good.... but.... your rag tag band of milita? last hope? A) You aren't our leader.
B) there is what? 3 of us?
C) We spend half of our nights shitting our pants and pegging it from house to house
and D) Last hope? The last time we met another survivor we ended up chucking him out a window to use as a distraction, which worked very well I might add."
Marvin looked back at the script and then muttered "Ahhhh screw it...." He tore off the page and crumpled it up, leaning back in his chair and chucking it across the burnt out room towards a barrel serving as their rubbish bin.
Davan walked around the desk over to the window, peering out to the empty suburban streets.... Litter and leaves were scattered all around the sunny neighbourhood. If it wasn't for the burnt out houses all around them, one might think of the place as peacefull.... but within the cramped ashen house with its dank smell of life, Davan found no peace... The door opened behind them. Both of the men jumped. Socko walked in holding three shotguns under his arm. He raised an eyebrow at the reactions, the bum's ragged hair and untamed beard twitching. He grunted "Daytime you muppets.... Daytime...." He put the weapons down on a table and added "More incendiary shells... Should keep us going..."
Davan smiled and turned back to the window, running a hand through his dark hair. It was annoyingly long at the moment. Then again, it was pretty hard finding a barber at the end of the world. Why couldnt a hair dresser be a part of the group? He fumed silently. It was just himself, a blackbelt in karate, (what good is hand to hand combat when your enemies aren't even solid?) Marvin, an engineer, (No luck there, he can't do crap without his tools) and then Socko, a hobo. However, a Hobo who served with the special forces. Quite a nice addition to the team....
Davan scolded himself, thinking "Of course a hair dresser won't be with us. How the f*** would a hairdresser survive?"
When Darkness Falls
Davan stared into Socko's eyes, his gaze fixed on the gem like orbs infront of him... Daring him to make any sort of move of agression... The older mans face was stone stiff, his experiance showing in the lines etched around his face... Here was someone who would never break. Never step back and never hesitate.... He was what Marvin would refer to as "Hardcore." A bead of sweat ran down Davan's forehead... This moment was the fine line between utter despair and the realisation of his glorious dreams..... Socko pressed emotionlessly "Got any 4's?" Davan's eyes flicked downwards momentarily, equally emotionless. He answered "Go Fish." Defeated, Socko shouted out in fustration, slamming his fist down on the table, causeing it to shake violently, his cards toppleing out of his hands. Davan stood up punching into the air and shouting "Victory! Take that ya lousy bum!" He reached down and picked up the doughnut resting in the middle of the table. He had been dying for something with a little taste. He ate it in less than three bites, clapping his hands together to brush off the crumbs. It hadn't lasted long, but it had been completey worth it.
Socko stood up, sighing sadly and crossing the room over to the window. A small light hung from the roof, the only illumination they dared to keep alight at night.... Davan asked while licking his fingers "They're late tonight..." Socko answered, back to his normal state of indifference "Yeah... Its worrying... deviateing from routine is always a bad sign..." Davan walked over to his side, looking out the window.... watching the gleaming red eyes glide through the street below.... The night was deathly silent. The only sound being the occasional rustle of leaves... Then Socko pointed something out, not daring to speak. A short streak of red glideing toward the building they were in. A few more following it... Then the thumping of feet speeding up a stairwell. Marvin burst into the burnt out room and shouted, panting "They're here!!"
Socko nodded and walked over to the table, picking up the shotguns and throwing one to each of his freinds. He took a grenade out of his pocket and pulled the pin out, chucking it over his shoulder. Davan reached up and pulled down the light attached to the roof. Marvin kicked the blackened window frame, the wood shattering easily and falling to the street below. He got up onto the ledge and leapt out, dropping down into the darkness below.. A soft thud indicateing he had hit his mark. Davan went next, as he stood up onto the ledge, he heard the rapidly approaching footfalls, frenzied hisses punctuateing them. He leaped off into the darkness feeling like he was weightless in the pitch black night air. With a painful thud, he landed onto the trampoline that filled the back of their jeep. The blankets beneath it stopped him from bouncing into the air. He got off the trampoline and crouched down at the back of the jeep. Socko thudded onto the trampoline behind him and then hopped off the jeep going over to the side door. Davan pushed the colapseing trampoline back to give himself more space... Then a huge bang echoed throughout the silent street, white light bursting out the open windows above as the flash grenade exploded. Gutteral roars and growls errupted behind them along with the thumping of feet. A flood of red eyes swarmed towards them, a black form leaping into the air, landing onto the jeeps roof before leaping up into the dark sky, scrambleing through the window. Marvin turned on the jeeps engine and took off immeidiately, the wheels spinning with an echoing screech. The flood of red eyes poured out of the building after them. Davan took aim and pulled the trigger, sparks bursting out the barrel of the shotgun. After a short pause a huge flash and burst of flames poped up behind them, illuminateing the creatures pursueing them. Yellow clawed red eyed dark furred monsters.... Like crosses between bats and gorrillas... The flood pounced onto the source of the light, blocking it out entirely, the shadowy creatures dissappearing into the night. Socko leaned out the passanger seats window, rideing shotgun. the barrel of his gun spat out a tongue of sparks, a bright flash of flame lighting up a basketball court. It was smothered over too.... Davan and Socko were exploiting the only known method of combating the creatures. Light. Its not that they didn't like it. Quite the opposite infact. They loved light. thats why they weren't a problem in day time. They were out literally sunbatheing. There was most likely a more sinsiter purpose to this but thats what it looked like to Davan. They also assocsiated light with prey, so at night the creatures would swarm in on it thinking it was a target.... If there wasn't any light, they defualted to sense of smell. There was a loud thump and the jeep shook, a black form screeching as it flew past them, splattering across the road. More thumps and similar creatures flew over them. That was the other weapon they employed. No matter how much physics any monster disobeyed, it wasn't going to stand up to a speeding jeep and stay on its feet. Davan fired again, this time the flash barely distracting the now visible horde following them... His eyes widened. He had never seen so many at one time... The jeep skidded around a corner, Marvin activateing the headlights out of desperation, more gutteral roars rising into the air around them. The shadow creatures exploded around the bend behind them like a tidal wave of darkness. One of them leapt towards Davan, sprinting ahead of the pack in a burst of speed. He fell backwards and thudded onto the metal floor, as the monster scrambled up the edge, He kicked back, his foot breaking the lock on the ramp, the back paneling on the jeep falling back and throwing off the shadow creature with it. Even if he couldn't attack it directly, attacking the environment around it was the next best thing.
He checked his wrist watch. It was early. They had managed to pass most of the night without conflict. He continued to fire off shells in reletive calmness. The real stress was on Marvin, who had to drive.... The creatures couldn't keep up with the jeep and aslong as they didn't stop moving they were fine.... It was dreafully anti climatic... After the intial excitement, the seemingly dire situation just became boring....
When the night begun to brighten up, the tide of creatures behind them became little more than a trickle. About 7 angry beasts sprinting after them like no tomorrow. Davan and Socko were sitting on the trampoline, legs hanging off the back of the jeep. They were taking bets on which of the 7 would last the longest. They both picked 3 different shadow creatures, the other being defaulted to Marvin. This kept the game interesting as the bet now rid on the heads of more than just one of them. Less risk involved, but kept things going for longer...
Eventually Socko won, all three of Davan's choices suddenly giving up randomly and sweeping away into nearby buildings. Socko's remaining choices eventually stopped following them when they passed a bunch of half eaten corpses. That was the reality of it. While Davan Marvin and Socko had a relaxed life style interspersed with short sprints of excitement, all around them was death and destruction. Bodies littering the streets. Road blocks where the police had attempted to maintain a defensive, nothing left of the defenders but blood staining the vehicles paint work... decimated buildings showing the scars of the militaries failed attempts at fighting the flood of shadows.
Smoke rose in the distance, parts of the city in the distance burning as it had burnt for more than 3 weeks. Marvin eventually stopped the jeep, exhausted, outside a large school. The bigger the building the better. The longer they had to get from their camp to the car. Marvin drove right into the playground and parked near the wall by a bunch of windows. later they would position it correctly when they had found a good escape route. For now, they had to set up, find food, rest and then wait for it to start all over again... Wait till the darkness falls...
Then gets up again
Davan pulled back his arms once more, squinting his eyes and then twisting his body like a spring, hammering the but of the shotgun against the door. It shook violently, a few splinters breaking off. he pulled back once more, setting his sights on the small dent he had been making. With all his might, he hammered the stock off the door once more, this time a deafening crack smashing through the air as the door swung inward.
He sighed, stretching, glancing around the silent corridor. a bullitin board to his side telling of auditions for the school play. The building had been abbandoned mid-life. That last day of school preserved in a time capsule....
He pushed the swaying door open and walked into the room... It was a spacious office... It should do perfectly he stifiled an exhausted yawn and took out his hand held radio. He said through the mouthpeice "Davan here, found a good room down the east wing, over looking the back entrance aswell. over" Socko responded "Nice one, I'll be up there in a minute... over and out"
It was a nice place. Most likely a vice principle or someone of equal position. A few potted plants, requireing water, a nice oak desk in the center of the room with a computer ontop of it. A filing cabnit on the far right...
Then Marvin called in across the radio "Got company, 7 of them on the Gym roof!"
Within seconds Davan had grabbed his stuff, shouldered his way through the door and was already running down the hall way. He could hear foot steps coming closer. Most likely Marvin. He shouted "Marvin?" His freind shot past the corridor waving him on while calling "This way!"
Davan followed him, pounding along the grey corridors. Socko's voice crackled into life through the radios "3 of them coming through the entrance, following our scents! Don't take your previous routes!" Marvin skidded to a stop, looking around fearfully. This was the same corridor they had entered through. they needed another escaperoute.
Davan thought quickly, but it wasn't quick enough. Once the shadow creatures were onto the trail, they moved like demons. No rest no thought, just pure instinct. Pounding footsteps echoed on the tiles coming towards them, from the distance they could make out Socko on his way towards them. He was waving foreward, gestureing for them to run that way. Then it struck him, the Cafeterria! There was a fire exit in there!. He span on the balls of his feet, breaking into a sprint and rounding the corner in the opposite way to which he arrived. He heard a frenzied gutteral howl coming from behind, Marvin shouting "Here they come! Get ready to split!!!" Davan skidded around the next bend, sprinting foreward and kicking the double doors open. He ran into the messy room, food and chairs everywhere. He jumped up, landing nimbly onto a table, leaping onto the next one, makeing his way towards the fire exit. A loud bang from behind sounded as Socko fired off a shell. Suddenly the fire exit burst open
Two hunched over dark furred shadow creatures stalking in, red eyes gleaming in the dark, yellow claws gleaming. Davan just managed to stop himself, nearly falling off the table. Marvin leapt off the table, Socko on the other hand, hadn't been paying attention and did fall, his foot getting caught in the back board of a chair. He fell down, his leg twisting around, a sickening crack punctuateing the mans scream. Davan pulled up his shotgun. Bang. A crackle of flames poping up over the creatures approaching from the fire exit. A second bang. Marvin offloading a shell into the creatures approaching from the main entrance. Socko floating into his mind as breifly as a sneeze, Davan leapt off the table, sprinting towards the rooms third and last free door, leading outside. Marvin following. He shoulded through the doors and looked back just long enough to see Socko firing a shell right into a shadow creatures head. The pellets seemed to be soaked into its body and then get thrown out its back... The creatures decended on the downed man, his screams drowned out by the alien cries of more of the beasts. Marvin and Davan didn't waste any more time. To their left, 2 of the creatures were sprinting towards them, much faster than they were. to their right, windows were shattering as a flood of creatures poured out of the school. Right ahead of them, the Gym, with its supposedly Shadow monster infested roof. How they hadn't found such a horde of these things earlier, he didn't know. the school had seemed clear at first. The one thing he did realise was that his luck had run out. Marvin, faster than him, reached the door first, having discarded the shotgun. Only then did Davan realise how pointless the weapon was. The flames caused by it wouldn't distract them, there was plenty of light around. Davan just managed to make it the door and slam it shut behind him to get into the gym. As davan desperately turned, the doors burst open, slamming into him. He was thrown foreward, seeing Marvin infront of him diving down aswell. Everything seemed to be in slow motion... Marvin was slideing under gymnastics stand, he was about to roll under it aswell from the fall. then there was this strange blue light... it was coming towards him... Suddenly everything sped up once more. He felt his head crack off the back of the gymnastics stand, having fallen under, one of the shadow creatures was behind him in mid air coming down rapidly. Then the blue light surged through the liquid creature. Wait. Not through it. The blue light seemed to burst into it, blueish flames issueing up around the black monster. Once again speed seemed to warble in and out of realistic speeds. Then the creature's top half exploded in a shower of blue flames. Its legs falling with a splash onto the floor. The creature behind it charging towards them, a red crescent shape zipping over their heads and hitting the creature vertically in the chest. The monster was sliced in half, both sides toppleing away. The next creature to enter the room skidded in its haste to stop, roaring out to its comrades. It was silenced as red crystaline substance smashed into its back, blowing the creature into bits, the walls of the gym being blown out by the force of the blast, which had thankfully been directed foreward. Another creature sprinted through, leaping over the gymnastic stand, screeching a battle cry. A large splattering sound followed by black liquid splashing onto the floor infront of them confirmed it hadn't lasted long... Marvin and Davan were as silent as the dead, stareing at each other, shock and fear in their eyes.... davan had never seen one of the creatures being killed before.... A haunting echoy human voice filled the room "Uhhh, this mighten be the best time... But about what I said earlier.... I take it back...." A second voice, this one soft, female, unrecogniseable acent. "Thanks... that really means alot to me...." The other voice again "great.... but lets keep this touching moment for later shall we?"
Davan's head turned to the hole in the gym's wall, the speed paining his neck. A literal wall of the monsters was flooding towards them... Just as the snarling pack crossed the threshhold, a bright red sheet fell down between them, bright white currents of white seemed to move like lightning flowing around the red sheet. It was so... bright... It forced Davan to close his eyes, but he remembered where he had seen that material before. The N50. The giant portal which had started it all.....
The laws of physics. Ancient powers and A change of scenery
Davan was floating.... His senses completely distraught. A roaring wind filled his ears, his eyes, when open, giving him terrifying images. From underneath the Gymnastics stand he couldn't see anything of what was around him, save the black darkness below and the red pulsing walls around him.... It was like some sort've tunnel... He pushed the thought out of his head. The mere notion of an inter dimensional portal sucking him out of the gym upset his stomach.
He turned his attention to trying to find Marvin. It would be easier if he could turn around.... He looked down, seeing his clothes rippleing in the wind, his limbs outstretched.... A deafening boom suddenly ripped through his ears. He clapped his hands to the sides of his head, trying to drown out the noise, unable to hear anything but a ringing sound..... slowly, the sound of rushing wind replaced it.... As he took his hands away, he noticed himself turning slightly.... It seemed he could control his orintation much like a sky diver would... He moved his arms and legs, awkwardly, as it was like trying to swim on land, but he still managed to twist himself around some what so he could see where Marvin was. His freind looked unconcious, frequently rising up and bashing off the gymnastics stand before falling back down to his level and rising into it yet again....
He was suprisingly calm about what was going on... Things just didn't seem all that bad... He gripped onto the side of the stand and managed to pull himself up to glance over the top, no sign of the mysterious people who he guessed were responsible for all this... no one was in sight... He managed to pull himself up onto the gymnastic stand, the wind pushing him down onto it into a sitting position... He sighed, looking up, shielding his face with his hand, above he could see light, or at least something white anyway... the red walls of what he could only describe as lightning continued to flash past, pulses of white inter mixed with them....
Suddenly a voice sounded out "Oh holy sh**!! What the f***?!" Davan leaned over, looking below the stand to see Marvin flailing around screaming random curses at the top of his voice. Davan shouted "Calm down!" Marvin yelled out "Calm down!? What the hell is going on?! How the hell can I be calm!?"
Davan thought for a moment. He did have a point. What the hell WAS going on? He thought of the best way to explain it. He almost said that they were in a portal of some kind, but he pushed the idea out of his head once again.
Davan shruged and replied "I dunno, but its better than flailing around like a fish out of water" Marvin paused, mid motion and then went limp, saying "Good point..." This place seemed to have a strange calming effect... While usually Davan would have paniced, he was thinking completely logically....
Marvin reached around, pulling himself up onto the gymnastics stand, seemingly less effected by the wind than Davan was...
Davan voiced the thought currently running through his head "Socko's dead, man...." Marvin's face fell, apparently only thinking about it now.... Marvin said sadly "Yeah.... Forgot about that....." After a short silence, he added "You know, I always thought you would be the one to bite the dust, not Socko...."
Davan looked over at him thoughtfully and replied "Hey Marvin, I hate you, you know that?" Marvin only nodded in reply...
The two freinds sat in silence, minutes passing by without movement or words from either... Eventually, Marvin broke the silence "Its like some kind've tunnel isn't it? Like a portal?" Davan turned around ready to tell him exactly why it wasn't like a portal. No words came out, his mouth agape as he stared up at Marvin, who was casually rising into the air. Before either of them could speak to one another, Marvin accelerated upwards, rocketing upwards towards the light.
Now that he was actually allowing himself to think about it, the idea of a portal sounded more and more logical. Their mysterious rescuers had made a portal to escape the shadow creatures.... Then the gymnastics stand begun sinking downwards, no, he began rising up. he looked up into the light. Then, suddenly, he was ripped upwards, blinded as he went....
Next thing he knew, Davan was lying on his back, stareing up at bright blue sky.... He turned his head to the side, vision blurred, seeing grass tinted red... a howling wind nearby sounding as if it was outside.... There was a strange poping sound and then the grass lost its red tint, turning to a cheerful green... He turned his head the other way, noticeing Marvin lying some distance away, unconcious....
he sat up groggily, blinking.... He felt like falling back down at what he saw.... A huge blue scaled dragon... its head turned away. As stupid as it was, Davan screamed out in shock. The dragon twisted its head around, startled, stareing down at him. Suddenly it flinched away, roaring in shock aswell, both of them screaming their heads off in terror.
Explanations
Suddenly the dragon lunged towards him, Davan falling back in fear, the dragons eyes flashing a dark blue, glowing brightly. It opened its maw, shouting in a monstrous growl "Who are you?! Why are you here?!"
Davan stammered out, his knowledge of dragons telling him to try stall it "I-I.. Davan... I-I d-dunno!" The dragon suddenly swiped out, catching him up in a large paw, rearing up and snarling "How were you brought to me?! Where do you come from?!" Davan winced, manageing to bring one hand up to shield his face while pleading "S-some red... tunnel! please! Don't kill me! I really live at the human side! I didn't mean to come here" The monster holding him paused for a moment and then hissed "Oh...." It seemed locked in thought for a moment, closing its eyes before opening them and hissing "Ohhhh.... I see..... So... I'm guessing you and sleeping beauty thought it wise just to piggy back after me, didn't you?"
Davan did his best to struggle, but it was useless squirming against the strong fingers, the hook like claws pressing against his right side, threatening to cut him to peices. He begun "N-no! It was a-" The dragon cut him off "Thought you could catch me in the act? Thought you could get me off guard, maybe call in your comrades... Maybe you should have looked before you leapt..." Davan shook his head shouting "No no no! We are survivors! From City-32! I don't know what you are talking about!" The dragon let out a gutteral snarl and then swung. The next thing Davan knew was a feeling of weightlessness before hammering into the hard ground rolling a few feet before coming to a stop, battered and bruised...
The sky above them was now dark and foreboding, the grass felt wet... The dragon's glowing eyes shineing against the black sky, boreing into him. Suddenly it thundered "Humph... Your story checks out.. human..."
Davan managed to whimper "Y-you won't kill me?" It was an ironic statement considering the amount of bones he must have broken when hitting the ground. The dragon fell down onto all fours, to davans horror plucking up marvin from the ground with one clawed paw. Marvin begun to stir and then the Dragon started shakeing him up and down untill he was screaming, obviously awake. It dropped him, letting him collapse onto the ground... It looked back over at Davan, prowling towards him. It hissed "I Might not... but thats not to say my actions wont indirectly cause your death...."
It came to a halt, rearing up once more, its impressive size towering into the air. blueish dull scales across its back, a white underbelly... Strange pointed ears sticking back from its triangular head, a mane of sky blue hair running down its neck. It boomed "I want your name, and who you are, make it quick." Davan tried to sit up, pushing himself up with his right arm, his left one not reacting to his attempts.. He whimpered "My name is Davan... Davan Freet... I-I am ,was, a PE teacher at the national school of positive thinking.... I lived in City-32... recently... creatures attacked the city along with god knows how many others.... My freind, Marvin, and I.... we were in the gym when we heard two people talking.... then suddenly we were in this giant tunnel... flying...."
After some silence, the Dragon hissed, but it wasn't as sinister as before, more... curious... "Why have you not asked what I am yet?"
It was a strange thing to be asked, but Davan went along with it "uh... Because... you are a dragon... I have seen pictures and videos of your kind... the glowing eyes bit isn't all that rare either..."
The dragon fell down onto all fours, causing the ground to shake, growling "How.... interesting... Well mister Freet... you are a rare one... esspeicially after the whole sun fiend invasion... " it thought for a while once more and then said "So your world contains dragons aswell?" Davan blinked in confusion.. and then asked, immeidiately wishing he hadn't "my world?" He answered his own question, stareing as the dragons maw curved into a smirk "This... is... a different.... world? Like..." He felt he was going to fall, but then realised he was already lying down... his mind being turned upside down and all around....
The monstrous dragon hissed "accept it... Davan... better now than never..."
davan was breathing fast, glancing around, terrified. He stammered "A-and you?" The dragone reared up once more, standing onto its back legs, its wings spreading out to their 16 meter breath. It hissed slyly " Just call me Darkwing for now... freind"
The Longest Hour
When Davan awoke, all was dark.... It was cold... It was wet... Blinking, he could see a orangey shadow crackleing not to far away... a fire.... Fire ment warmth. The tired man placed his hands on the damp ground and pushed himself up, not remembering falling asleep....
A delighted voice chimed "Your awake! Thank god, I was getting worried, man..."
Davan felt a weight lift off him.... He replied grattifyingly "Marvin... Oh jesus... What time is it and where the hell are we... I feel like I've been in a plane crash"
Marvin piped up in a cheeerful tone "Its seventy-six past thirty-four in the first morning"
It took a few moments for the bewildering news to register. Davan pulled himself up into a sitting position and looked over towards Marvin. His freind was rocking back and forth on a log next to the fire with a delighted look on his face.... Typical Marvin, always being annoying at the wrong times. Davan sighed "I see... Now what is the real time and you still havn't answered where we are..."
Marvin happily replied "I already told you what time it is and we are at home! Don't you recognise it?"
Davan looked around, paying attention to their environment for the first time. Sadly, he recognised what he saw, but not from his home, but from the day before instead. Where that massive Dragon had interogated him. He had hoped it had been a dream, that he was off camping in his own world.... Now that he had had time to sleep on it, the idea of being on a different planet to Earth had finally gained sustanence, helped by the fact that he noticed an eye on one of the plants nearby him, which was stareing at him curiously, occasionally giving the fire fearful glances.
Davan decided to tackle things one mystery at a time. He asked "Marvin... Where are you getting the time from?" Marvin gleefully unlatched his wrist watch and chucked it over, saying "From my watch of course! here! You can have it. You seem alot more confused about it than I do."
Davan turned the watch over, reading the dial. He chuckled and said "Marvin, this thing reads twenty past twelve"
Marvin seemed to light up and wagged a finger at him, saying "Ahhhhhh but you havn't factored in the second sun!"
This was simply too much, Davan turned away and laid back down on the wet grass, decideing to try make sense of what Marvin was saying later. He figiured that he was too tired to understand what his freind ment. Yes, that was the most likely cause.
A few hours later, Davan was wide awake, but still just as confused... The fire was still going and the sun was rising over the horizon... They were in a deserted meadow at the base of a large mountain, a small hill on the other side...
He stood up, brushing the grass off his tattered pants and stretched.
Then something smashed into his shoulder and he was send spinning to the ground. For a second he couldnt feel a thing, then the pain ripped through his body like an earthquake... warm goey liquid spilling down his shirt. Pounding hooves approaching. Harsh shouts peircing his ears. Marvin's nonsensical rammbleings about longitute and shadows. Ambush, under attack, war, what ever you wanted to call it, he had to react. He let out a pained shout of effort, gripping the ground and pushing himself up onto his feet. His vision was blurry but he could still make out Marvin sitting crossslegged looking up at someone. Then a wooden stock crashed over his head and he ploped back onto the ground almost comicly.
He fell onto his knees, panting with exhaustion... Looking up at a bearded man dressed in dark blue robe like clothes holding... holding a crossbow over his shoulder. He had a puzzled look on his face and then he growled out in a foreign accent "This one's still alive... Should I shoot him again?"
Without thinking, Davan croaked "No! Don't... shoot me again...." Only now did he realise a metal bolt protruding from his shoulder, covered in blood... His blood.
A different voice... further away "ha ha! This one's tough... Keep him... we can make room for two...."
he turned to face the newcomer, struggleing to his feet, seeing another bearded man in a similar garb, grinning like a mad man. Then something smashed over the back of his head.
How To Survive in a strange alien world:
Step 1: Speak english
Davan came too with a splitting head ache and maddening pain in his shoulder. The first thing he conciously did was check his shoulder. The bolt was gone, replaced by bloody bandages. Crap... His shirt was gone too... He hastily looked down, over joyed to see that he was still wearing his pants (however his shoes were also AWOL..)
His hands were bound behind his back, rope binding his ankles together aswell, but his mouth was un-gagged. He decided to immeidiately abuse this freedom and shouted "My goddamn head... ugh Who the hell are you? He quite rightly assumed that he was currently stareing at the back of his captor. The man gruffly replied "Shut up you cry-baby"
Well he had contact, that was an achievement... He hissed "Look, crazy kidnapping dude... I've had one hell of a f**ked up day, so just start talking..." His captor laughed heartily and replied "Ha! YOU'VE had a bad day? It cant be any worse than mine so I dont see why I should..."
Davan snapped back "Well go ahead, tell me all about it so I can laugh at you..."
The man instantly jumped into an epic rant about his day... "First, I wake up happily to find my tent completely empty, nothing but my sleeping bag and a note! whats on the note? A message from my wife saying she's left for one of those bas***d yemmies! Then, instead of hunting her traitorous behind down, I am pulled off to go hunting god damn Biericks! Did you hear me? Biericks! With a fricken crossbow!" The rant went on and on, from minor annoyances like the string randomly breaking on his bow to more major catastrophes such as finding a worm in his lunch, something called bu-bu soup...
It was easy enough to put together. Either Davan was in the wierdest most backward country on earth, or he had been catapulted into another dimension where everyone handily enough, spoke english. It would explain why Marvin was yapping on about two suns.... And what that dragon was talking about... Darkwing he called himself... He was distracted from his thoughts by his captor finishing his story "... And then, we finally pick the idiots up and then find I have to help carry one of the pricks, and he smells like Bierick sh**!" No question about who that was referring to... Still, Davan needed to keep his attention and learn more about this place. He growled "Ha! Sounds like a pleasurable day to me... Imagine waking up to another afternoon in the post appocolyptic crap hole that is your home. You've spent the entire night running from damned ghosts. Then said ghosts find you, tear your freind to bloody shreds but before they kill you, some smart *** dragon plucks you out of the space time contium and spews you out onto an even bigger crap hole full of slave traders who smell like camel turds!"
The Slaver let out another hearty laugh and said "Sounds like the only thing wrong with your day is a hangover... Ghosts? Dragons? Camels? 3 questions, what in gods name would a ghost be doing around here in the middle of burnia? What the heck is a Dragon and last but not least, what the bloody f**k is a Camel?" Davan was completely taken a-back. Sure, not knowing what a camel was. he could understand that, not many did back at home. Burnia? Ok, he is in an alternate dimension, wierd placenames are to be expected. But not knowing what a dragon was? He said, exasperated "You don't know what a dragon is?! What kind've childhood did you have?" Every kid knew what a dragon was. They were officially the coolest things going from ages 8-12, and then they only lost their appeal from the amount of deaths caused by them. You ask any little boy or girl what they want to do when they grow up and the answer is almost always "Travel south and study/train/play with Dragons"
The idea of a childhood without dragons was like being a teenager without rock music.... After a short silence, Davan said "Where is my freind?" The slaver's cheery mood dissappeared and he grunted "gona Frisk me for info eh? Not gona happen pal! now shut it!" He didn't bother to try again after that, instead trying to spot another riders around him while trying to figuire out what in gods name they were riding. he couldnt see a thing because of the sun shining in his eyes. He wasn't able to sheild them either without his hands, but then a shadow blocked it out, a soothing coolness softening onto his face. His eyes adjusted and he saw the cause of the shade. A winged lizard like figuire gliding through the air before dissappearing behind a cloud a few seconds later...
Step 2: Remain conscious at all times
Predictably enough, Davan found himself and Marvin lying at the bottom of a dusty pit by the end of the day, hazy sunlight filtering through the mesh of iron bars above.
Davan looked up again, as if expecting to see the bars opening. No such luck… A scream echoed through the air and a man fell back onto it with loud clank, blocking out the light. Davan shielded his eyes from the falling dust, hearing the man jump to his feet and run on… The slavers were fighting something outside… He didn’t know what it was, they kept on shouting “Bierick!” Distant roars punctuating their distress. He was hoping that they called Dragons Bierick’s... That might mean Darkwing was coming to try help him out… he had no reason to, but it was possible… Dragons worked in mysterious ways… Sure, back when he was a child, a purple dragon escaped onto the streets of London, everyone was terrified… then it ended up saving the lives of the very policemen trying to kill it before flying away casually… one minute its was tearing down bus stations and burning trees, next thing its going all Lassie and saving people.
A pained roar ripped through the air, taking him from his thoughts. Dust drifted down from the roof, unsettled by the ferocity of the roar…. Cheering broke rose into the air outside. Davan cursed, hitting his head off the mucky wall in frustration. It seemed the slavers had won.
Marvin added helpfully “Stay positive dude! I’ve got a good feeling about this!”
Davan didn’t need to look up; he could already imagine the stupid grin on his friends face…
A large stick swung through an unnoticed gap in the mesh, smacking violently into the side of Marvin’s head, sending him toppling over like some comic book character. Davan cursed again, knowing what was about to happen. He wasn’t going to let it. He instantly leaned to the side, narrowly avoiding the branch. He rolled onto his back, grabbing a handful of dirt and flung it up at his attacker. The slaver, clad mostly in rags, stumbled back, scratching at his eyes in irritation and pain. The stick he held clattered noisily onto the pit floor, Davan instantly grabbing it and holding it up threateningly. He heard angered curses rattling on outside, but nobody came back to try knock him out… A few moments later he heard a rusty click as someone unlocked the grate, the iron bars overhead sliding back slowly and noisily… Davan got to his feet, still brandishing the stick, intent on fighting off anyone trying to knock him out. 3 crossbow-armed figures stepped into view at the edge of the pit, silhouetted against the sky behind them. Without thinking, Davan dropped the stick and held up his hands above his head, the universal gesture for “I’m not holding an enormous gun. Please don’t shoot me.” They shot him.
The slavers hauled him out of the hole, his vision blurry. He could feel blood rolling down his lips… One of the bolts must have gone through his lung… Still, he could make out his surroundings fairly well. The camp looked like a permanent outpost, maybe a stepping-stone onto different areas… large wooden walls and towers… Animal hide huts… that sort of thing. All very typical now that he thought about it…
Pain throbbed dully through his entire body; he was completely limp, unable to move yet completely aware of what was happening to him. The tough grip on his shoulder’s disappeared and he fell face down into the dirt, his head cracking loudly, though the pain was a mere dull thump. A heavily accented voice grunted from above “Such a waste… this one looked strong… moved quickly too.”
Another, more civilised voice “But the other lives and is in-“
He was swiftly cut off “Nay, he is but a shell. The intelligence of a duck resides in that buffoon’s skull”
There was a pause before the other replied, changing the topic “What about the Bierick, master? It still lives.”
For a moment, Davan’s ears stung, a sharp disembodied ringing blocking out everything else…
“Ha! Bierick? No… just a winged lizard… But you’re right… Some may be fooled by its appearance… No doubt, it’s unique and would fetch a high price.”
The other continued, seemingly pleased at cheering his master up “Excellent! Shall I feed this embarrassment to it? Two birds with one stone, no?”
Good natured laughter rang out, punctuating the Master’s next words “Yes, do so Shir’el… Keep the other alive for now though”
It is obvious whom Shir’el was talking about. They were going to feed Davan to whomever, or more whatever this thing was. Something seized his wrist and Davan could only guess he was being pulled, almost all feeling had left his legs. Moments later he was falling once more.
A crack penetrated the air as the limp corpse hit the ground, Davan’s arm bent awkwardly to the side… His vision began to fade, the last thing he saw being bluish wall of scales…
Step 3: Exit through the same way you came in
Numerous thoughts floated through Davan’s mind… mostly on the subject of death what it meant to him and in what form it had come. A morbid tune seemed to echo in the back of his mind. The catchy beat providing a sole source of entertainment in a world of infinite dark. It was odd; he had never heard the song before, yet it seemed to be perfectly implanted within his memory…
Suddenly the darkness seemed to swirl away, rocketing into colour at breakneck speed. Within moments a blurry picture appeared and instantly sharpened into perfect vision. Davan froze in place, unable to take his eyes off the monstrous triangular head above him, glowing yellow eyes staring down at him, white fangs poking out from under its lips… Darkwing…. The dragon spoke, a silent hissing tone, yet at the same time it seemed surreal, as if the sound existed in an entirely different time all together and he was merely eavesdropping.
“Davan… Wake up.”
Blinking, he croaked back “Darkwing… they got you too… Oh God…”
He looked left and right, seeing that he was in a much larger pit this time round, a large wooden cage above with a stairs on the outside. Sharp voices penetrated the cool air, an alien night sky silhouetting the dragon’s head.
“Yeah well, that’s what I get for checking up on you.”
Davan closed his eyes, exhaling. He tried to stand up, but a heavy clawed paw pressed into his chest, pushing him down. He gasped in surprise at the touch, pain racking through his chest.
The hissing voice whispered once again, echoing surreally “Stop. You’re technically still dead. I wouldn’t recommend sitting for a while.”
Davan’s eyes flew wide open. He exclaimed “What do you mean ‘technically still dead?!”
Darkwing’s eyes flicked up, boring into Davan’s own. The dragon hissed again, perfectly calm “Well for the last few hours you’ve been dead… and judging by your pulse, or more the absence of it, technically you still are.”
Davan couldn’t help his voice raising. He shouted “Then how the hell am I talking to you right now?”
Darkwing returned his concentration to Davan’s chest, what exactly he was looking at hidden behind his colossal paw.
“I don’t know, maybe your dead but just don’t know it.”
Before Davan could retort, another jab of pain seared through his chest. He gasped, his hand reflexively reaching up and clasping his chest. Dark wing lifted his paw up with a sickly squelching sound, 3 blood covered bolts held between his clawed fingers
Darkwing continued in his interested hissing voice
“Well its irrelevant now. You’re breathing again so as far as reality is concerned, you’re alive, and from your vehement refusal to accept being dead, I think you will be fine without further convincing. You may now sit up.”
Davan sat up, for the first time realising there were more chaotic shouts in the air of the Slaver’s camp. There was still blood on his chest, and likely three holes where the bolts were, but he couldn’t feel them, so he decided not to think about it and just be happy. Darkwing backed off, sitting in the corner of the pit, tail curled around his feet. Oddly, the dragon looked much smaller than before, thinner for sure. His wings folded neatly behind his back and he seemed much more agile than the being that had brought him here. His head was tilted to the side in an odd fashion, supported by his long neck. It gave him a degree of scary innocence. After a few minutes relaxing, Davan stood up and stretched. His bones ached and it felt good to loosen his muscles out.
He looked over at his cell mate and said quietly “So. We’re going to bust out of here, right?”
Darkwing nodded
He paused, but when Darkwing remained silent, he continued “So what? You burn your way through the cage and fly us out?”
Darkwing hissed quizzically “Burn it? With what? Unless you have a flame thrower lying around that is.”
Davan paused again, this time out of confusion. He gave Darkwing a sideways glance and asked “uhh, can’t you blow fire or something?”
Darkwing retorted, “No. Can you?”
Davan shook his head, shoulders sagging.
Darkwing continued matter-of-factly “Then I suppose that plan goes down the crapper.”
An ear shattering shout ripped through the camp “They’re coming!!”
Screams and orders instantly filled the air, the drum of hundreds of footfalls beating down overhead.
Darkwing glanced up and remarked “Interesting… So, any more ideas?
Davan shook his head, replying “No… You?”
Darkwing stroked his chin with a claw thoughtfully, which was odd. He hissed “Well… I was thinking…”
He suddenly unfurled his wings and leapt up wards, catching onto the barred wall before leaping back off that, latching onto the roof, all four paws clamped around various bars. He continued, “that if we were to take hold of this particular door” He reached out closing his clawed hand around the bars of the hatch in the roof, tugging them experimentally.
“Then, twist it while applying enough force…”
Suddenly he twisted his clawed hand, dragging the door down. With a loud crack, the door snapped off its hinges, pressing the other bars out of the way and slipping through the gap. He let his long arm hang loosely below him, finishing “it would snap off its hinges and create an opening for us to escape.”
Davan grinned. The dragon tossed the door away, letting go of the roof before spinning calmly in mid air, landing down onto all fours. He angled his shoulder towards the ground and hissed “Get on, I think its time we checked out.”
Davan jumped up onto his elbow, manoeuvring onto Darkwings back and holding onto a particularly thick spike sticking out of his shoulder. Darkwing rose up onto his hind legs, leaping gracefully up, easily catching onto the edge of the gap he had made and pulling them both onto the roof of the cage. Surprisingly, nobody noticed them at first, most of the Slavers were on the wall. Darkwing jumped off the cage, landing into the middle of the compound with a loud thump, Davan hopping off his shoulder and onto the ground. A pair of men ran out of a small tent, carrying crossbows. They both froze at the sight of Darkwing, instantly screaming at the tops of their voices. Within moments everyone had noticed them and was either threatening to shoot them, screaming or ignoring them. Davan wasn’t really that concerned. Things had lost their seriousness around the time he had apparently died. But then a wailing howl echoed in the distance… a noise that sent hairs standing up on the back of his neck… Some of the slavers glanced back before brandishing their weapons with even more determination, shouting angrily. One of them, possibly a leader, stepped closer, crossbow trained on Davan’s head. He was shouting, “Get back demon! Call those things off! I’ll shoot you! Davan instinctively put his hands up, the leader taking it as an aggressive action, firing immediately. Davan dodged, the bolt glancing of his shoulder, sending an explosion of pain through his body. Angrily, he yelled out loud “Darkwing! Do something!”
Another howl broke through the air; some of the Slavers determining what ever was outside the walls were more dangerous. They sprinted back towards the wall, firing blindly over it. Darkwing’s snout was pointed skyward, the dragon hissing in his echoy voice “Please be quiet, I’m trying to listen. Besides, what do you expect me to do? Maybe I could kill one or two with my claws before they bring me down, but I don’t feel like dying today.”
There was a loud twang and a bolt whacked into his chest. Darkwing glanced down momentarily before closing a paw around the bolt and pulling out. He flicked it away without a further thought, returning his gaze to the stars.
He mused aloud “We should have a few hours by my calculations but… that last howl…”
Another howl tore through the air almost immediately after he spoke, this one much closer than the other two, the rumble of footfalls approaching swiftly in the distance.
The dragon’s eyes widened, Darkwing losing his normally interested expression. He hissed “Oh no… Ok, time to go-“
Before he could finish what he was saying, a psychotic looking Slaver shouted loudly from behind the controls of a Ballistae “Shut the hell up freak! You make a move and I’m gona-“
Davan never found out how that sentence was going to end.
Darkwing’s head snapped around, eyes locking onto the Ballistae, his hand flicking out in a smooth movement. A pulsing red line webbed between his fingers, before flashing off instantly upon reaching the tip of his claws. Like a blazing red star with a white centre, the bolt ripped forward and smashed into the Ballistae before exploding. The fiery blast sent burning pieces of the machine in all directions. An almost electrical whir crackled through the air. Before the other slavers could react, Darkwing’s other hand flipped out, flinging a similar pulse of energy. The pulse smashed into the ground and burst, a cloud of red fizzling smoke spread forward like gas. Instantly, the Slavers seemed to decay on the spot, their skin growing mouldy and saggy on the spot before rotting off, little more than grimy skeletons left. Two thin red trails wafted away in the air, left behind by the pulses, red smoke hissing out of the impact marks.
Davan exclaimed loudly “Holy crap!” Darkwing took no notice of what he was saying, hauling the human up onto his shoulder before scampering up a wooden tower. Davan clung on, still in shock at what had just happened. He looked out from his perch; out at the compounds surroundings… what he saw was like a living sea of shadow. Millions of red eyes boring down on them as the wall of monsters drew closer, scampering forward like crazed animals. In the distance, the horizon had been replaced with an enormous sheet of white, highlighted with a dark blue glow…
Davan couldn’t take his eyes off it. It was like the portal that had appeared by the N50… Except that one had been red, this was blue…
Darkwing hissed, his voice a mix of anger and fear “We’re leaving. Hold on. This will hurt. A lot.”
Darkwing suddenly leapt off the tower, the wall of monstrous shadows slamming into the compound perimeter, bounding over anything in their way. Red portal suddenly swirled open below Darkwing and Davan, the two beings plunging into it, into the familiar tunnel of blazing light, the portal entrance closing behind them, cutting off the nightmarish howls that pursued them…
They.... They came from nowhere.... hordes of them... they slaughtered us, We didn't stand a chance. It was no war. It was an extermination. Nothing can hurt them. Nothing can stop them. The living shadows... the yellow claws... their red eyes.... Us survivors live like ghosts right out of a zombie apocolypse movie. just these zombies aren't stopped by a simple shotgun to the chest.... Nor do these zombies shamble along... Wits and speed are the weapons of my rag tag band of militia. We are the last hope.
Davan commented "They came from nowhere? What the hell man? They came from the N50. Remember? Gigantic red Portal?" Marvin shruged putting down his pen, looking hurt. He protested "Well nowhere sounds alot more exotic than the n50... Imagine coming into a wrecked bunker finding signs of combat everywhere in the middle of a ruined city and stumbleing across a book which starts off with "They came out of the N50 and stormed us." That makes it sound like we are fighting off some sort've plague of traffic or something" Davan shruged, looking back down at his freinds manuscript. He commented "Also, you stole the second line from war of the worlds." Marvin tested "well.... What about my description of the shadow creatures?" Davan read back over the script and admitted "Its good.... but.... your rag tag band of milita? last hope? A) You aren't our leader.
B) there is what? 3 of us?
C) We spend half of our nights shitting our pants and pegging it from house to house
and D) Last hope? The last time we met another survivor we ended up chucking him out a window to use as a distraction, which worked very well I might add."
Marvin looked back at the script and then muttered "Ahhhh screw it...." He tore off the page and crumpled it up, leaning back in his chair and chucking it across the burnt out room towards a barrel serving as their rubbish bin.
Davan walked around the desk over to the window, peering out to the empty suburban streets.... Litter and leaves were scattered all around the sunny neighbourhood. If it wasn't for the burnt out houses all around them, one might think of the place as peacefull.... but within the cramped ashen house with its dank smell of life, Davan found no peace... The door opened behind them. Both of the men jumped. Socko walked in holding three shotguns under his arm. He raised an eyebrow at the reactions, the bum's ragged hair and untamed beard twitching. He grunted "Daytime you muppets.... Daytime...." He put the weapons down on a table and added "More incendiary shells... Should keep us going..."
Davan smiled and turned back to the window, running a hand through his dark hair. It was annoyingly long at the moment. Then again, it was pretty hard finding a barber at the end of the world. Why couldnt a hair dresser be a part of the group? He fumed silently. It was just himself, a blackbelt in karate, (what good is hand to hand combat when your enemies aren't even solid?) Marvin, an engineer, (No luck there, he can't do crap without his tools) and then Socko, a hobo. However, a Hobo who served with the special forces. Quite a nice addition to the team....
Davan scolded himself, thinking "Of course a hair dresser won't be with us. How the f*** would a hairdresser survive?"
When Darkness Falls
Davan stared into Socko's eyes, his gaze fixed on the gem like orbs infront of him... Daring him to make any sort of move of agression... The older mans face was stone stiff, his experiance showing in the lines etched around his face... Here was someone who would never break. Never step back and never hesitate.... He was what Marvin would refer to as "Hardcore." A bead of sweat ran down Davan's forehead... This moment was the fine line between utter despair and the realisation of his glorious dreams..... Socko pressed emotionlessly "Got any 4's?" Davan's eyes flicked downwards momentarily, equally emotionless. He answered "Go Fish." Defeated, Socko shouted out in fustration, slamming his fist down on the table, causeing it to shake violently, his cards toppleing out of his hands. Davan stood up punching into the air and shouting "Victory! Take that ya lousy bum!" He reached down and picked up the doughnut resting in the middle of the table. He had been dying for something with a little taste. He ate it in less than three bites, clapping his hands together to brush off the crumbs. It hadn't lasted long, but it had been completey worth it.
Socko stood up, sighing sadly and crossing the room over to the window. A small light hung from the roof, the only illumination they dared to keep alight at night.... Davan asked while licking his fingers "They're late tonight..." Socko answered, back to his normal state of indifference "Yeah... Its worrying... deviateing from routine is always a bad sign..." Davan walked over to his side, looking out the window.... watching the gleaming red eyes glide through the street below.... The night was deathly silent. The only sound being the occasional rustle of leaves... Then Socko pointed something out, not daring to speak. A short streak of red glideing toward the building they were in. A few more following it... Then the thumping of feet speeding up a stairwell. Marvin burst into the burnt out room and shouted, panting "They're here!!"
Socko nodded and walked over to the table, picking up the shotguns and throwing one to each of his freinds. He took a grenade out of his pocket and pulled the pin out, chucking it over his shoulder. Davan reached up and pulled down the light attached to the roof. Marvin kicked the blackened window frame, the wood shattering easily and falling to the street below. He got up onto the ledge and leapt out, dropping down into the darkness below.. A soft thud indicateing he had hit his mark. Davan went next, as he stood up onto the ledge, he heard the rapidly approaching footfalls, frenzied hisses punctuateing them. He leaped off into the darkness feeling like he was weightless in the pitch black night air. With a painful thud, he landed onto the trampoline that filled the back of their jeep. The blankets beneath it stopped him from bouncing into the air. He got off the trampoline and crouched down at the back of the jeep. Socko thudded onto the trampoline behind him and then hopped off the jeep going over to the side door. Davan pushed the colapseing trampoline back to give himself more space... Then a huge bang echoed throughout the silent street, white light bursting out the open windows above as the flash grenade exploded. Gutteral roars and growls errupted behind them along with the thumping of feet. A flood of red eyes swarmed towards them, a black form leaping into the air, landing onto the jeeps roof before leaping up into the dark sky, scrambleing through the window. Marvin turned on the jeeps engine and took off immeidiately, the wheels spinning with an echoing screech. The flood of red eyes poured out of the building after them. Davan took aim and pulled the trigger, sparks bursting out the barrel of the shotgun. After a short pause a huge flash and burst of flames poped up behind them, illuminateing the creatures pursueing them. Yellow clawed red eyed dark furred monsters.... Like crosses between bats and gorrillas... The flood pounced onto the source of the light, blocking it out entirely, the shadowy creatures dissappearing into the night. Socko leaned out the passanger seats window, rideing shotgun. the barrel of his gun spat out a tongue of sparks, a bright flash of flame lighting up a basketball court. It was smothered over too.... Davan and Socko were exploiting the only known method of combating the creatures. Light. Its not that they didn't like it. Quite the opposite infact. They loved light. thats why they weren't a problem in day time. They were out literally sunbatheing. There was most likely a more sinsiter purpose to this but thats what it looked like to Davan. They also assocsiated light with prey, so at night the creatures would swarm in on it thinking it was a target.... If there wasn't any light, they defualted to sense of smell. There was a loud thump and the jeep shook, a black form screeching as it flew past them, splattering across the road. More thumps and similar creatures flew over them. That was the other weapon they employed. No matter how much physics any monster disobeyed, it wasn't going to stand up to a speeding jeep and stay on its feet. Davan fired again, this time the flash barely distracting the now visible horde following them... His eyes widened. He had never seen so many at one time... The jeep skidded around a corner, Marvin activateing the headlights out of desperation, more gutteral roars rising into the air around them. The shadow creatures exploded around the bend behind them like a tidal wave of darkness. One of them leapt towards Davan, sprinting ahead of the pack in a burst of speed. He fell backwards and thudded onto the metal floor, as the monster scrambled up the edge, He kicked back, his foot breaking the lock on the ramp, the back paneling on the jeep falling back and throwing off the shadow creature with it. Even if he couldn't attack it directly, attacking the environment around it was the next best thing.
He checked his wrist watch. It was early. They had managed to pass most of the night without conflict. He continued to fire off shells in reletive calmness. The real stress was on Marvin, who had to drive.... The creatures couldn't keep up with the jeep and aslong as they didn't stop moving they were fine.... It was dreafully anti climatic... After the intial excitement, the seemingly dire situation just became boring....
When the night begun to brighten up, the tide of creatures behind them became little more than a trickle. About 7 angry beasts sprinting after them like no tomorrow. Davan and Socko were sitting on the trampoline, legs hanging off the back of the jeep. They were taking bets on which of the 7 would last the longest. They both picked 3 different shadow creatures, the other being defaulted to Marvin. This kept the game interesting as the bet now rid on the heads of more than just one of them. Less risk involved, but kept things going for longer...
Eventually Socko won, all three of Davan's choices suddenly giving up randomly and sweeping away into nearby buildings. Socko's remaining choices eventually stopped following them when they passed a bunch of half eaten corpses. That was the reality of it. While Davan Marvin and Socko had a relaxed life style interspersed with short sprints of excitement, all around them was death and destruction. Bodies littering the streets. Road blocks where the police had attempted to maintain a defensive, nothing left of the defenders but blood staining the vehicles paint work... decimated buildings showing the scars of the militaries failed attempts at fighting the flood of shadows.
Smoke rose in the distance, parts of the city in the distance burning as it had burnt for more than 3 weeks. Marvin eventually stopped the jeep, exhausted, outside a large school. The bigger the building the better. The longer they had to get from their camp to the car. Marvin drove right into the playground and parked near the wall by a bunch of windows. later they would position it correctly when they had found a good escape route. For now, they had to set up, find food, rest and then wait for it to start all over again... Wait till the darkness falls...
Then gets up again
Davan pulled back his arms once more, squinting his eyes and then twisting his body like a spring, hammering the but of the shotgun against the door. It shook violently, a few splinters breaking off. he pulled back once more, setting his sights on the small dent he had been making. With all his might, he hammered the stock off the door once more, this time a deafening crack smashing through the air as the door swung inward.
He sighed, stretching, glancing around the silent corridor. a bullitin board to his side telling of auditions for the school play. The building had been abbandoned mid-life. That last day of school preserved in a time capsule....
He pushed the swaying door open and walked into the room... It was a spacious office... It should do perfectly he stifiled an exhausted yawn and took out his hand held radio. He said through the mouthpeice "Davan here, found a good room down the east wing, over looking the back entrance aswell. over" Socko responded "Nice one, I'll be up there in a minute... over and out"
It was a nice place. Most likely a vice principle or someone of equal position. A few potted plants, requireing water, a nice oak desk in the center of the room with a computer ontop of it. A filing cabnit on the far right...
Then Marvin called in across the radio "Got company, 7 of them on the Gym roof!"
Within seconds Davan had grabbed his stuff, shouldered his way through the door and was already running down the hall way. He could hear foot steps coming closer. Most likely Marvin. He shouted "Marvin?" His freind shot past the corridor waving him on while calling "This way!"
Davan followed him, pounding along the grey corridors. Socko's voice crackled into life through the radios "3 of them coming through the entrance, following our scents! Don't take your previous routes!" Marvin skidded to a stop, looking around fearfully. This was the same corridor they had entered through. they needed another escaperoute.
Davan thought quickly, but it wasn't quick enough. Once the shadow creatures were onto the trail, they moved like demons. No rest no thought, just pure instinct. Pounding footsteps echoed on the tiles coming towards them, from the distance they could make out Socko on his way towards them. He was waving foreward, gestureing for them to run that way. Then it struck him, the Cafeterria! There was a fire exit in there!. He span on the balls of his feet, breaking into a sprint and rounding the corner in the opposite way to which he arrived. He heard a frenzied gutteral howl coming from behind, Marvin shouting "Here they come! Get ready to split!!!" Davan skidded around the next bend, sprinting foreward and kicking the double doors open. He ran into the messy room, food and chairs everywhere. He jumped up, landing nimbly onto a table, leaping onto the next one, makeing his way towards the fire exit. A loud bang from behind sounded as Socko fired off a shell. Suddenly the fire exit burst open
Two hunched over dark furred shadow creatures stalking in, red eyes gleaming in the dark, yellow claws gleaming. Davan just managed to stop himself, nearly falling off the table. Marvin leapt off the table, Socko on the other hand, hadn't been paying attention and did fall, his foot getting caught in the back board of a chair. He fell down, his leg twisting around, a sickening crack punctuateing the mans scream. Davan pulled up his shotgun. Bang. A crackle of flames poping up over the creatures approaching from the fire exit. A second bang. Marvin offloading a shell into the creatures approaching from the main entrance. Socko floating into his mind as breifly as a sneeze, Davan leapt off the table, sprinting towards the rooms third and last free door, leading outside. Marvin following. He shoulded through the doors and looked back just long enough to see Socko firing a shell right into a shadow creatures head. The pellets seemed to be soaked into its body and then get thrown out its back... The creatures decended on the downed man, his screams drowned out by the alien cries of more of the beasts. Marvin and Davan didn't waste any more time. To their left, 2 of the creatures were sprinting towards them, much faster than they were. to their right, windows were shattering as a flood of creatures poured out of the school. Right ahead of them, the Gym, with its supposedly Shadow monster infested roof. How they hadn't found such a horde of these things earlier, he didn't know. the school had seemed clear at first. The one thing he did realise was that his luck had run out. Marvin, faster than him, reached the door first, having discarded the shotgun. Only then did Davan realise how pointless the weapon was. The flames caused by it wouldn't distract them, there was plenty of light around. Davan just managed to make it the door and slam it shut behind him to get into the gym. As davan desperately turned, the doors burst open, slamming into him. He was thrown foreward, seeing Marvin infront of him diving down aswell. Everything seemed to be in slow motion... Marvin was slideing under gymnastics stand, he was about to roll under it aswell from the fall. then there was this strange blue light... it was coming towards him... Suddenly everything sped up once more. He felt his head crack off the back of the gymnastics stand, having fallen under, one of the shadow creatures was behind him in mid air coming down rapidly. Then the blue light surged through the liquid creature. Wait. Not through it. The blue light seemed to burst into it, blueish flames issueing up around the black monster. Once again speed seemed to warble in and out of realistic speeds. Then the creature's top half exploded in a shower of blue flames. Its legs falling with a splash onto the floor. The creature behind it charging towards them, a red crescent shape zipping over their heads and hitting the creature vertically in the chest. The monster was sliced in half, both sides toppleing away. The next creature to enter the room skidded in its haste to stop, roaring out to its comrades. It was silenced as red crystaline substance smashed into its back, blowing the creature into bits, the walls of the gym being blown out by the force of the blast, which had thankfully been directed foreward. Another creature sprinted through, leaping over the gymnastic stand, screeching a battle cry. A large splattering sound followed by black liquid splashing onto the floor infront of them confirmed it hadn't lasted long... Marvin and Davan were as silent as the dead, stareing at each other, shock and fear in their eyes.... davan had never seen one of the creatures being killed before.... A haunting echoy human voice filled the room "Uhhh, this mighten be the best time... But about what I said earlier.... I take it back...." A second voice, this one soft, female, unrecogniseable acent. "Thanks... that really means alot to me...." The other voice again "great.... but lets keep this touching moment for later shall we?"
Davan's head turned to the hole in the gym's wall, the speed paining his neck. A literal wall of the monsters was flooding towards them... Just as the snarling pack crossed the threshhold, a bright red sheet fell down between them, bright white currents of white seemed to move like lightning flowing around the red sheet. It was so... bright... It forced Davan to close his eyes, but he remembered where he had seen that material before. The N50. The giant portal which had started it all.....
The laws of physics. Ancient powers and A change of scenery
Davan was floating.... His senses completely distraught. A roaring wind filled his ears, his eyes, when open, giving him terrifying images. From underneath the Gymnastics stand he couldn't see anything of what was around him, save the black darkness below and the red pulsing walls around him.... It was like some sort've tunnel... He pushed the thought out of his head. The mere notion of an inter dimensional portal sucking him out of the gym upset his stomach.
He turned his attention to trying to find Marvin. It would be easier if he could turn around.... He looked down, seeing his clothes rippleing in the wind, his limbs outstretched.... A deafening boom suddenly ripped through his ears. He clapped his hands to the sides of his head, trying to drown out the noise, unable to hear anything but a ringing sound..... slowly, the sound of rushing wind replaced it.... As he took his hands away, he noticed himself turning slightly.... It seemed he could control his orintation much like a sky diver would... He moved his arms and legs, awkwardly, as it was like trying to swim on land, but he still managed to twist himself around some what so he could see where Marvin was. His freind looked unconcious, frequently rising up and bashing off the gymnastics stand before falling back down to his level and rising into it yet again....
He was suprisingly calm about what was going on... Things just didn't seem all that bad... He gripped onto the side of the stand and managed to pull himself up to glance over the top, no sign of the mysterious people who he guessed were responsible for all this... no one was in sight... He managed to pull himself up onto the gymnastic stand, the wind pushing him down onto it into a sitting position... He sighed, looking up, shielding his face with his hand, above he could see light, or at least something white anyway... the red walls of what he could only describe as lightning continued to flash past, pulses of white inter mixed with them....
Suddenly a voice sounded out "Oh holy sh**!! What the f***?!" Davan leaned over, looking below the stand to see Marvin flailing around screaming random curses at the top of his voice. Davan shouted "Calm down!" Marvin yelled out "Calm down!? What the hell is going on?! How the hell can I be calm!?"
Davan thought for a moment. He did have a point. What the hell WAS going on? He thought of the best way to explain it. He almost said that they were in a portal of some kind, but he pushed the idea out of his head once again.
Davan shruged and replied "I dunno, but its better than flailing around like a fish out of water" Marvin paused, mid motion and then went limp, saying "Good point..." This place seemed to have a strange calming effect... While usually Davan would have paniced, he was thinking completely logically....
Marvin reached around, pulling himself up onto the gymnastics stand, seemingly less effected by the wind than Davan was...
Davan voiced the thought currently running through his head "Socko's dead, man...." Marvin's face fell, apparently only thinking about it now.... Marvin said sadly "Yeah.... Forgot about that....." After a short silence, he added "You know, I always thought you would be the one to bite the dust, not Socko...."
Davan looked over at him thoughtfully and replied "Hey Marvin, I hate you, you know that?" Marvin only nodded in reply...
The two freinds sat in silence, minutes passing by without movement or words from either... Eventually, Marvin broke the silence "Its like some kind've tunnel isn't it? Like a portal?" Davan turned around ready to tell him exactly why it wasn't like a portal. No words came out, his mouth agape as he stared up at Marvin, who was casually rising into the air. Before either of them could speak to one another, Marvin accelerated upwards, rocketing upwards towards the light.
Now that he was actually allowing himself to think about it, the idea of a portal sounded more and more logical. Their mysterious rescuers had made a portal to escape the shadow creatures.... Then the gymnastics stand begun sinking downwards, no, he began rising up. he looked up into the light. Then, suddenly, he was ripped upwards, blinded as he went....
Next thing he knew, Davan was lying on his back, stareing up at bright blue sky.... He turned his head to the side, vision blurred, seeing grass tinted red... a howling wind nearby sounding as if it was outside.... There was a strange poping sound and then the grass lost its red tint, turning to a cheerful green... He turned his head the other way, noticeing Marvin lying some distance away, unconcious....
he sat up groggily, blinking.... He felt like falling back down at what he saw.... A huge blue scaled dragon... its head turned away. As stupid as it was, Davan screamed out in shock. The dragon twisted its head around, startled, stareing down at him. Suddenly it flinched away, roaring in shock aswell, both of them screaming their heads off in terror.
Explanations
Suddenly the dragon lunged towards him, Davan falling back in fear, the dragons eyes flashing a dark blue, glowing brightly. It opened its maw, shouting in a monstrous growl "Who are you?! Why are you here?!"
Davan stammered out, his knowledge of dragons telling him to try stall it "I-I.. Davan... I-I d-dunno!" The dragon suddenly swiped out, catching him up in a large paw, rearing up and snarling "How were you brought to me?! Where do you come from?!" Davan winced, manageing to bring one hand up to shield his face while pleading "S-some red... tunnel! please! Don't kill me! I really live at the human side! I didn't mean to come here" The monster holding him paused for a moment and then hissed "Oh...." It seemed locked in thought for a moment, closing its eyes before opening them and hissing "Ohhhh.... I see..... So... I'm guessing you and sleeping beauty thought it wise just to piggy back after me, didn't you?"
Davan did his best to struggle, but it was useless squirming against the strong fingers, the hook like claws pressing against his right side, threatening to cut him to peices. He begun "N-no! It was a-" The dragon cut him off "Thought you could catch me in the act? Thought you could get me off guard, maybe call in your comrades... Maybe you should have looked before you leapt..." Davan shook his head shouting "No no no! We are survivors! From City-32! I don't know what you are talking about!" The dragon let out a gutteral snarl and then swung. The next thing Davan knew was a feeling of weightlessness before hammering into the hard ground rolling a few feet before coming to a stop, battered and bruised...
The sky above them was now dark and foreboding, the grass felt wet... The dragon's glowing eyes shineing against the black sky, boreing into him. Suddenly it thundered "Humph... Your story checks out.. human..."
Davan managed to whimper "Y-you won't kill me?" It was an ironic statement considering the amount of bones he must have broken when hitting the ground. The dragon fell down onto all fours, to davans horror plucking up marvin from the ground with one clawed paw. Marvin begun to stir and then the Dragon started shakeing him up and down untill he was screaming, obviously awake. It dropped him, letting him collapse onto the ground... It looked back over at Davan, prowling towards him. It hissed "I Might not... but thats not to say my actions wont indirectly cause your death...."
It came to a halt, rearing up once more, its impressive size towering into the air. blueish dull scales across its back, a white underbelly... Strange pointed ears sticking back from its triangular head, a mane of sky blue hair running down its neck. It boomed "I want your name, and who you are, make it quick." Davan tried to sit up, pushing himself up with his right arm, his left one not reacting to his attempts.. He whimpered "My name is Davan... Davan Freet... I-I am ,was, a PE teacher at the national school of positive thinking.... I lived in City-32... recently... creatures attacked the city along with god knows how many others.... My freind, Marvin, and I.... we were in the gym when we heard two people talking.... then suddenly we were in this giant tunnel... flying...."
After some silence, the Dragon hissed, but it wasn't as sinister as before, more... curious... "Why have you not asked what I am yet?"
It was a strange thing to be asked, but Davan went along with it "uh... Because... you are a dragon... I have seen pictures and videos of your kind... the glowing eyes bit isn't all that rare either..."
The dragon fell down onto all fours, causing the ground to shake, growling "How.... interesting... Well mister Freet... you are a rare one... esspeicially after the whole sun fiend invasion... " it thought for a while once more and then said "So your world contains dragons aswell?" Davan blinked in confusion.. and then asked, immeidiately wishing he hadn't "my world?" He answered his own question, stareing as the dragons maw curved into a smirk "This... is... a different.... world? Like..." He felt he was going to fall, but then realised he was already lying down... his mind being turned upside down and all around....
The monstrous dragon hissed "accept it... Davan... better now than never..."
davan was breathing fast, glancing around, terrified. He stammered "A-and you?" The dragone reared up once more, standing onto its back legs, its wings spreading out to their 16 meter breath. It hissed slyly " Just call me Darkwing for now... freind"
The Longest Hour
When Davan awoke, all was dark.... It was cold... It was wet... Blinking, he could see a orangey shadow crackleing not to far away... a fire.... Fire ment warmth. The tired man placed his hands on the damp ground and pushed himself up, not remembering falling asleep....
A delighted voice chimed "Your awake! Thank god, I was getting worried, man..."
Davan felt a weight lift off him.... He replied grattifyingly "Marvin... Oh jesus... What time is it and where the hell are we... I feel like I've been in a plane crash"
Marvin piped up in a cheeerful tone "Its seventy-six past thirty-four in the first morning"
It took a few moments for the bewildering news to register. Davan pulled himself up into a sitting position and looked over towards Marvin. His freind was rocking back and forth on a log next to the fire with a delighted look on his face.... Typical Marvin, always being annoying at the wrong times. Davan sighed "I see... Now what is the real time and you still havn't answered where we are..."
Marvin happily replied "I already told you what time it is and we are at home! Don't you recognise it?"
Davan looked around, paying attention to their environment for the first time. Sadly, he recognised what he saw, but not from his home, but from the day before instead. Where that massive Dragon had interogated him. He had hoped it had been a dream, that he was off camping in his own world.... Now that he had had time to sleep on it, the idea of being on a different planet to Earth had finally gained sustanence, helped by the fact that he noticed an eye on one of the plants nearby him, which was stareing at him curiously, occasionally giving the fire fearful glances.
Davan decided to tackle things one mystery at a time. He asked "Marvin... Where are you getting the time from?" Marvin gleefully unlatched his wrist watch and chucked it over, saying "From my watch of course! here! You can have it. You seem alot more confused about it than I do."
Davan turned the watch over, reading the dial. He chuckled and said "Marvin, this thing reads twenty past twelve"
Marvin seemed to light up and wagged a finger at him, saying "Ahhhhhh but you havn't factored in the second sun!"
This was simply too much, Davan turned away and laid back down on the wet grass, decideing to try make sense of what Marvin was saying later. He figiured that he was too tired to understand what his freind ment. Yes, that was the most likely cause.
A few hours later, Davan was wide awake, but still just as confused... The fire was still going and the sun was rising over the horizon... They were in a deserted meadow at the base of a large mountain, a small hill on the other side...
He stood up, brushing the grass off his tattered pants and stretched.
Then something smashed into his shoulder and he was send spinning to the ground. For a second he couldnt feel a thing, then the pain ripped through his body like an earthquake... warm goey liquid spilling down his shirt. Pounding hooves approaching. Harsh shouts peircing his ears. Marvin's nonsensical rammbleings about longitute and shadows. Ambush, under attack, war, what ever you wanted to call it, he had to react. He let out a pained shout of effort, gripping the ground and pushing himself up onto his feet. His vision was blurry but he could still make out Marvin sitting crossslegged looking up at someone. Then a wooden stock crashed over his head and he ploped back onto the ground almost comicly.
He fell onto his knees, panting with exhaustion... Looking up at a bearded man dressed in dark blue robe like clothes holding... holding a crossbow over his shoulder. He had a puzzled look on his face and then he growled out in a foreign accent "This one's still alive... Should I shoot him again?"
Without thinking, Davan croaked "No! Don't... shoot me again...." Only now did he realise a metal bolt protruding from his shoulder, covered in blood... His blood.
A different voice... further away "ha ha! This one's tough... Keep him... we can make room for two...."
he turned to face the newcomer, struggleing to his feet, seeing another bearded man in a similar garb, grinning like a mad man. Then something smashed over the back of his head.
How To Survive in a strange alien world:
Step 1: Speak english
Davan came too with a splitting head ache and maddening pain in his shoulder. The first thing he conciously did was check his shoulder. The bolt was gone, replaced by bloody bandages. Crap... His shirt was gone too... He hastily looked down, over joyed to see that he was still wearing his pants (however his shoes were also AWOL..)
His hands were bound behind his back, rope binding his ankles together aswell, but his mouth was un-gagged. He decided to immeidiately abuse this freedom and shouted "My goddamn head... ugh Who the hell are you? He quite rightly assumed that he was currently stareing at the back of his captor. The man gruffly replied "Shut up you cry-baby"
Well he had contact, that was an achievement... He hissed "Look, crazy kidnapping dude... I've had one hell of a f**ked up day, so just start talking..." His captor laughed heartily and replied "Ha! YOU'VE had a bad day? It cant be any worse than mine so I dont see why I should..."
Davan snapped back "Well go ahead, tell me all about it so I can laugh at you..."
The man instantly jumped into an epic rant about his day... "First, I wake up happily to find my tent completely empty, nothing but my sleeping bag and a note! whats on the note? A message from my wife saying she's left for one of those bas***d yemmies! Then, instead of hunting her traitorous behind down, I am pulled off to go hunting god damn Biericks! Did you hear me? Biericks! With a fricken crossbow!" The rant went on and on, from minor annoyances like the string randomly breaking on his bow to more major catastrophes such as finding a worm in his lunch, something called bu-bu soup...
It was easy enough to put together. Either Davan was in the wierdest most backward country on earth, or he had been catapulted into another dimension where everyone handily enough, spoke english. It would explain why Marvin was yapping on about two suns.... And what that dragon was talking about... Darkwing he called himself... He was distracted from his thoughts by his captor finishing his story "... And then, we finally pick the idiots up and then find I have to help carry one of the pricks, and he smells like Bierick sh**!" No question about who that was referring to... Still, Davan needed to keep his attention and learn more about this place. He growled "Ha! Sounds like a pleasurable day to me... Imagine waking up to another afternoon in the post appocolyptic crap hole that is your home. You've spent the entire night running from damned ghosts. Then said ghosts find you, tear your freind to bloody shreds but before they kill you, some smart *** dragon plucks you out of the space time contium and spews you out onto an even bigger crap hole full of slave traders who smell like camel turds!"
The Slaver let out another hearty laugh and said "Sounds like the only thing wrong with your day is a hangover... Ghosts? Dragons? Camels? 3 questions, what in gods name would a ghost be doing around here in the middle of burnia? What the heck is a Dragon and last but not least, what the bloody f**k is a Camel?" Davan was completely taken a-back. Sure, not knowing what a camel was. he could understand that, not many did back at home. Burnia? Ok, he is in an alternate dimension, wierd placenames are to be expected. But not knowing what a dragon was? He said, exasperated "You don't know what a dragon is?! What kind've childhood did you have?" Every kid knew what a dragon was. They were officially the coolest things going from ages 8-12, and then they only lost their appeal from the amount of deaths caused by them. You ask any little boy or girl what they want to do when they grow up and the answer is almost always "Travel south and study/train/play with Dragons"
The idea of a childhood without dragons was like being a teenager without rock music.... After a short silence, Davan said "Where is my freind?" The slaver's cheery mood dissappeared and he grunted "gona Frisk me for info eh? Not gona happen pal! now shut it!" He didn't bother to try again after that, instead trying to spot another riders around him while trying to figuire out what in gods name they were riding. he couldnt see a thing because of the sun shining in his eyes. He wasn't able to sheild them either without his hands, but then a shadow blocked it out, a soothing coolness softening onto his face. His eyes adjusted and he saw the cause of the shade. A winged lizard like figuire gliding through the air before dissappearing behind a cloud a few seconds later...
Step 2: Remain conscious at all times
Predictably enough, Davan found himself and Marvin lying at the bottom of a dusty pit by the end of the day, hazy sunlight filtering through the mesh of iron bars above.
Davan looked up again, as if expecting to see the bars opening. No such luck… A scream echoed through the air and a man fell back onto it with loud clank, blocking out the light. Davan shielded his eyes from the falling dust, hearing the man jump to his feet and run on… The slavers were fighting something outside… He didn’t know what it was, they kept on shouting “Bierick!” Distant roars punctuating their distress. He was hoping that they called Dragons Bierick’s... That might mean Darkwing was coming to try help him out… he had no reason to, but it was possible… Dragons worked in mysterious ways… Sure, back when he was a child, a purple dragon escaped onto the streets of London, everyone was terrified… then it ended up saving the lives of the very policemen trying to kill it before flying away casually… one minute its was tearing down bus stations and burning trees, next thing its going all Lassie and saving people.
A pained roar ripped through the air, taking him from his thoughts. Dust drifted down from the roof, unsettled by the ferocity of the roar…. Cheering broke rose into the air outside. Davan cursed, hitting his head off the mucky wall in frustration. It seemed the slavers had won.
Marvin added helpfully “Stay positive dude! I’ve got a good feeling about this!”
Davan didn’t need to look up; he could already imagine the stupid grin on his friends face…
A large stick swung through an unnoticed gap in the mesh, smacking violently into the side of Marvin’s head, sending him toppling over like some comic book character. Davan cursed again, knowing what was about to happen. He wasn’t going to let it. He instantly leaned to the side, narrowly avoiding the branch. He rolled onto his back, grabbing a handful of dirt and flung it up at his attacker. The slaver, clad mostly in rags, stumbled back, scratching at his eyes in irritation and pain. The stick he held clattered noisily onto the pit floor, Davan instantly grabbing it and holding it up threateningly. He heard angered curses rattling on outside, but nobody came back to try knock him out… A few moments later he heard a rusty click as someone unlocked the grate, the iron bars overhead sliding back slowly and noisily… Davan got to his feet, still brandishing the stick, intent on fighting off anyone trying to knock him out. 3 crossbow-armed figures stepped into view at the edge of the pit, silhouetted against the sky behind them. Without thinking, Davan dropped the stick and held up his hands above his head, the universal gesture for “I’m not holding an enormous gun. Please don’t shoot me.” They shot him.
The slavers hauled him out of the hole, his vision blurry. He could feel blood rolling down his lips… One of the bolts must have gone through his lung… Still, he could make out his surroundings fairly well. The camp looked like a permanent outpost, maybe a stepping-stone onto different areas… large wooden walls and towers… Animal hide huts… that sort of thing. All very typical now that he thought about it…
Pain throbbed dully through his entire body; he was completely limp, unable to move yet completely aware of what was happening to him. The tough grip on his shoulder’s disappeared and he fell face down into the dirt, his head cracking loudly, though the pain was a mere dull thump. A heavily accented voice grunted from above “Such a waste… this one looked strong… moved quickly too.”
Another, more civilised voice “But the other lives and is in-“
He was swiftly cut off “Nay, he is but a shell. The intelligence of a duck resides in that buffoon’s skull”
There was a pause before the other replied, changing the topic “What about the Bierick, master? It still lives.”
For a moment, Davan’s ears stung, a sharp disembodied ringing blocking out everything else…
“Ha! Bierick? No… just a winged lizard… But you’re right… Some may be fooled by its appearance… No doubt, it’s unique and would fetch a high price.”
The other continued, seemingly pleased at cheering his master up “Excellent! Shall I feed this embarrassment to it? Two birds with one stone, no?”
Good natured laughter rang out, punctuating the Master’s next words “Yes, do so Shir’el… Keep the other alive for now though”
It is obvious whom Shir’el was talking about. They were going to feed Davan to whomever, or more whatever this thing was. Something seized his wrist and Davan could only guess he was being pulled, almost all feeling had left his legs. Moments later he was falling once more.
A crack penetrated the air as the limp corpse hit the ground, Davan’s arm bent awkwardly to the side… His vision began to fade, the last thing he saw being bluish wall of scales…
Step 3: Exit through the same way you came in
Numerous thoughts floated through Davan’s mind… mostly on the subject of death what it meant to him and in what form it had come. A morbid tune seemed to echo in the back of his mind. The catchy beat providing a sole source of entertainment in a world of infinite dark. It was odd; he had never heard the song before, yet it seemed to be perfectly implanted within his memory…
Suddenly the darkness seemed to swirl away, rocketing into colour at breakneck speed. Within moments a blurry picture appeared and instantly sharpened into perfect vision. Davan froze in place, unable to take his eyes off the monstrous triangular head above him, glowing yellow eyes staring down at him, white fangs poking out from under its lips… Darkwing…. The dragon spoke, a silent hissing tone, yet at the same time it seemed surreal, as if the sound existed in an entirely different time all together and he was merely eavesdropping.
“Davan… Wake up.”
Blinking, he croaked back “Darkwing… they got you too… Oh God…”
He looked left and right, seeing that he was in a much larger pit this time round, a large wooden cage above with a stairs on the outside. Sharp voices penetrated the cool air, an alien night sky silhouetting the dragon’s head.
“Yeah well, that’s what I get for checking up on you.”
Davan closed his eyes, exhaling. He tried to stand up, but a heavy clawed paw pressed into his chest, pushing him down. He gasped in surprise at the touch, pain racking through his chest.
The hissing voice whispered once again, echoing surreally “Stop. You’re technically still dead. I wouldn’t recommend sitting for a while.”
Davan’s eyes flew wide open. He exclaimed “What do you mean ‘technically still dead?!”
Darkwing’s eyes flicked up, boring into Davan’s own. The dragon hissed again, perfectly calm “Well for the last few hours you’ve been dead… and judging by your pulse, or more the absence of it, technically you still are.”
Davan couldn’t help his voice raising. He shouted “Then how the hell am I talking to you right now?”
Darkwing returned his concentration to Davan’s chest, what exactly he was looking at hidden behind his colossal paw.
“I don’t know, maybe your dead but just don’t know it.”
Before Davan could retort, another jab of pain seared through his chest. He gasped, his hand reflexively reaching up and clasping his chest. Dark wing lifted his paw up with a sickly squelching sound, 3 blood covered bolts held between his clawed fingers
Darkwing continued in his interested hissing voice
“Well its irrelevant now. You’re breathing again so as far as reality is concerned, you’re alive, and from your vehement refusal to accept being dead, I think you will be fine without further convincing. You may now sit up.”
Davan sat up, for the first time realising there were more chaotic shouts in the air of the Slaver’s camp. There was still blood on his chest, and likely three holes where the bolts were, but he couldn’t feel them, so he decided not to think about it and just be happy. Darkwing backed off, sitting in the corner of the pit, tail curled around his feet. Oddly, the dragon looked much smaller than before, thinner for sure. His wings folded neatly behind his back and he seemed much more agile than the being that had brought him here. His head was tilted to the side in an odd fashion, supported by his long neck. It gave him a degree of scary innocence. After a few minutes relaxing, Davan stood up and stretched. His bones ached and it felt good to loosen his muscles out.
He looked over at his cell mate and said quietly “So. We’re going to bust out of here, right?”
Darkwing nodded
He paused, but when Darkwing remained silent, he continued “So what? You burn your way through the cage and fly us out?”
Darkwing hissed quizzically “Burn it? With what? Unless you have a flame thrower lying around that is.”
Davan paused again, this time out of confusion. He gave Darkwing a sideways glance and asked “uhh, can’t you blow fire or something?”
Darkwing retorted, “No. Can you?”
Davan shook his head, shoulders sagging.
Darkwing continued matter-of-factly “Then I suppose that plan goes down the crapper.”
An ear shattering shout ripped through the camp “They’re coming!!”
Screams and orders instantly filled the air, the drum of hundreds of footfalls beating down overhead.
Darkwing glanced up and remarked “Interesting… So, any more ideas?
Davan shook his head, replying “No… You?”
Darkwing stroked his chin with a claw thoughtfully, which was odd. He hissed “Well… I was thinking…”
He suddenly unfurled his wings and leapt up wards, catching onto the barred wall before leaping back off that, latching onto the roof, all four paws clamped around various bars. He continued, “that if we were to take hold of this particular door” He reached out closing his clawed hand around the bars of the hatch in the roof, tugging them experimentally.
“Then, twist it while applying enough force…”
Suddenly he twisted his clawed hand, dragging the door down. With a loud crack, the door snapped off its hinges, pressing the other bars out of the way and slipping through the gap. He let his long arm hang loosely below him, finishing “it would snap off its hinges and create an opening for us to escape.”
Davan grinned. The dragon tossed the door away, letting go of the roof before spinning calmly in mid air, landing down onto all fours. He angled his shoulder towards the ground and hissed “Get on, I think its time we checked out.”
Davan jumped up onto his elbow, manoeuvring onto Darkwings back and holding onto a particularly thick spike sticking out of his shoulder. Darkwing rose up onto his hind legs, leaping gracefully up, easily catching onto the edge of the gap he had made and pulling them both onto the roof of the cage. Surprisingly, nobody noticed them at first, most of the Slavers were on the wall. Darkwing jumped off the cage, landing into the middle of the compound with a loud thump, Davan hopping off his shoulder and onto the ground. A pair of men ran out of a small tent, carrying crossbows. They both froze at the sight of Darkwing, instantly screaming at the tops of their voices. Within moments everyone had noticed them and was either threatening to shoot them, screaming or ignoring them. Davan wasn’t really that concerned. Things had lost their seriousness around the time he had apparently died. But then a wailing howl echoed in the distance… a noise that sent hairs standing up on the back of his neck… Some of the slavers glanced back before brandishing their weapons with even more determination, shouting angrily. One of them, possibly a leader, stepped closer, crossbow trained on Davan’s head. He was shouting, “Get back demon! Call those things off! I’ll shoot you! Davan instinctively put his hands up, the leader taking it as an aggressive action, firing immediately. Davan dodged, the bolt glancing of his shoulder, sending an explosion of pain through his body. Angrily, he yelled out loud “Darkwing! Do something!”
Another howl broke through the air; some of the Slavers determining what ever was outside the walls were more dangerous. They sprinted back towards the wall, firing blindly over it. Darkwing’s snout was pointed skyward, the dragon hissing in his echoy voice “Please be quiet, I’m trying to listen. Besides, what do you expect me to do? Maybe I could kill one or two with my claws before they bring me down, but I don’t feel like dying today.”
There was a loud twang and a bolt whacked into his chest. Darkwing glanced down momentarily before closing a paw around the bolt and pulling out. He flicked it away without a further thought, returning his gaze to the stars.
He mused aloud “We should have a few hours by my calculations but… that last howl…”
Another howl tore through the air almost immediately after he spoke, this one much closer than the other two, the rumble of footfalls approaching swiftly in the distance.
The dragon’s eyes widened, Darkwing losing his normally interested expression. He hissed “Oh no… Ok, time to go-“
Before he could finish what he was saying, a psychotic looking Slaver shouted loudly from behind the controls of a Ballistae “Shut the hell up freak! You make a move and I’m gona-“
Davan never found out how that sentence was going to end.
Darkwing’s head snapped around, eyes locking onto the Ballistae, his hand flicking out in a smooth movement. A pulsing red line webbed between his fingers, before flashing off instantly upon reaching the tip of his claws. Like a blazing red star with a white centre, the bolt ripped forward and smashed into the Ballistae before exploding. The fiery blast sent burning pieces of the machine in all directions. An almost electrical whir crackled through the air. Before the other slavers could react, Darkwing’s other hand flipped out, flinging a similar pulse of energy. The pulse smashed into the ground and burst, a cloud of red fizzling smoke spread forward like gas. Instantly, the Slavers seemed to decay on the spot, their skin growing mouldy and saggy on the spot before rotting off, little more than grimy skeletons left. Two thin red trails wafted away in the air, left behind by the pulses, red smoke hissing out of the impact marks.
Davan exclaimed loudly “Holy crap!” Darkwing took no notice of what he was saying, hauling the human up onto his shoulder before scampering up a wooden tower. Davan clung on, still in shock at what had just happened. He looked out from his perch; out at the compounds surroundings… what he saw was like a living sea of shadow. Millions of red eyes boring down on them as the wall of monsters drew closer, scampering forward like crazed animals. In the distance, the horizon had been replaced with an enormous sheet of white, highlighted with a dark blue glow…
Davan couldn’t take his eyes off it. It was like the portal that had appeared by the N50… Except that one had been red, this was blue…
Darkwing hissed, his voice a mix of anger and fear “We’re leaving. Hold on. This will hurt. A lot.”
Darkwing suddenly leapt off the tower, the wall of monstrous shadows slamming into the compound perimeter, bounding over anything in their way. Red portal suddenly swirled open below Darkwing and Davan, the two beings plunging into it, into the familiar tunnel of blazing light, the portal entrance closing behind them, cutting off the nightmarish howls that pursued them…