Dawn- An age of Darkness
Chapter 3 - I Hate This Forest

Is…was this really alright? Terrified of what I'd done, I sat down, staring at the glowing blood. I didn't know what to feel anymore. Disgust? Anger? Fear? The blood slowly became colorless. But this thing wasn't dead. It wasn't my problem anymore either. After all, it couldn't move. So it couldn't attack. But was this really alright?

The horizon got brighter. Maybe soon it'll be dawn.

But what is this! Where am I?

I couldn't figure out anything as I kept staring at the dead creature. I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream and I certainly couldn't believe this: I'd just committed murder. The knife in my hands shook as the blood dripped off. In fact, my whole body shook as I thought about what I'd just done.

My left leg was burning instead of going cold. I tore my t-shirt and wrapped it around my leg. The lack of skin was not as much irritating as the intense throbbing and pain. The blood had already clotted- or so I thought. But I definitely lost enough for a normal man to pass out. So it was surprising that I was still ticking.

***

There was in fact a forest behind me not more than twenty meters away, quite dark in color. To my deepest horror, there were small gleaming red lights inside, like eyes. But what in the world has red glowing eyes? As I asked myself that question I finally came to the conclusion, this is not my world, is it? For even the smell of the wind was different and by no means was there things, like that purple creature with a knife on earth.

One by one the eyes marched out of the forest. I was hoping and praying to God that "Please make this a dream." However, God was not that easy.

The glowing dots were not eyes for only living things had eyes. And whatever they were, they were definitely not among the living. Some had rotting meat which I could smell from far away and some just bones but all of them had a red glow in their eye sockets. Some of their meat was hanging, some had only muscles and some had pieces of meat covered with little skin. And I couldn't believe my eyes, that I could see that. I just couldn't…. SO these things were dead, to begin with? It made sense, though it didn't make sense. I could see faint traces of blood in their exposed and severed veins and arteries. They were definitely not alive. But that judgment didn't help me decide. How the hell are they moving? Maybe all of this started to drive me insane. But I didn't have any means to survive. There were so many of them that I couldn't even count. In my case, all I had was a knife and a useless left leg.

If somebody had told me that I was in a horror film studio and this was just for the act, I would have believed him, only after punching and kicking him to my heart's content of course.

Slowly but surely the walking corpse and skeleton-like creatures came towards me. With a useless leg, I had no choice but to crawl, but was there anything I could do at all? My only remaining hope was my knife or rather the knife of the other creature I just murdered to save my own life, which still wasn't dead.

Life wasn't fair. Those things had armor and the most dreadful thing- a sword, with them! A jagged edge and a hilt that looked like a skull made my brain go numb. I had watched and read enough fiction to conclude that those things were the undead. And yet, what the hell did they need protection for?

Those things moved slowly towards me, or maybe time itself had slowed? My head was lite and I felt faint. Maybe this is how I go out? I couldn't give up but I couldn't cling to hope either: there was none.

I was sure I'd be screwed. But as if to prove me wrong, suddenly, there was faint warmth on my face. It was sunlight.

The corpse that had gotten the closest to me came under the sunlight and started to panic as his rotting flesh burned. Groans and moans drifted across. As luck would have it, the first ray of the sun decided everything. It was dawn and never in my life, had I been happier to see one. Up until now, all I did was curse the dawn, as I slept in my bed hoping that the sun would rise a little late. God was I an idiot, to hope that!

For a guy who was about to die and didn't know what the heck was going on, this shouldn't have been anything funny but to my surprise, I laughed- quite loudly- as I watched it turn to ash.

The sword and armor fell on the ground along with the burnt remains. They made a clang, a sound that resonated with my soul.

Then it clicked. These things are weak to the sunlight. The others quickly returned to the forest before the slow-paced sunlight reached them and then vanished within. The sunlight didn't pierce the forest's darkness, but it made sure that they didn't come out to get me.

Grabbing the sword, I thanked the creator and started to limp in the opposite direction. The armor was too heavy for me to wear.

The small creature (That had attacked me) shook violently and then turned to ash as well. I sighed in relief and grinned.

To my surprise, I could still move. I wasn't much of a religious man. But I probably called god's name and prayed tonight more than my entire life. Maybe that's why I was still standing.

The supercharged adrenaline rush overpowered my pain. To be frank, I wanted to be as far as possible from that forest even if it meant that I had to go back to where I first encountered the purple creature and through the intense pain. I didn't care if I bled, I didn't care if I lost a leg: I just wanted to get out of here.

If this was a game then that purple creature was a goblin and those things would be the undead? But whatever this was, it wasn't a dream, a fiasco by the seniors, or a game! It was reality.

I headed towards the site where I first came into conscience, hoping to replace a clue. All I could think of was how to get out of this grass-covered field! However, the sunlight gave me courage as I moved on to meet the unknown.

***

I barely moved as I continued limping (using the sword as a stick). My wound leaked ever so slowly. I was an idiot to think, my blood would clot without any added drugs or dressing. But I moved forward. The mere thought of the warm sun over my head gave me the courage to do so.

It took me the better half of an hour to reach my initial starting point. Hard to believe, I went from here to there in a matter of minutes. Honestly, it was still probably a miracle that I could move at all.

Reaching the spot where I first came to be, my blood froze once again. What about the goblin? How can I be sure that there aren't any more of those things? But this time I had my sword and a knife: though both were stolen items. Maybe those things live alone? At least I wouldn't want to live with a thing like that. The corpse (Which I killed) vanished as the sun came to be; hence it wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be.

Fearlessly I moved, but to be honest I trembled. I mean who wouldn't be after seeing those things? Where do I go?

The forest was behind me. Thus I decided that I needed to move forward even if it meant heading to the unknown with nothing but these two weapons. The sword's blade was barely clinging to its hilt. Certainly, it had seen better days. The hilt however creeped me out: the rusty skull markings weren't the best of decorations.

***

A similar sound within the grass resonated just like before. Instinctively my heart pulsated. I immediately knew that it was that accursed creature's kin or something similar. Although I couldn't tell, my body knew. But it shouldn't it be unable to move in daylight?

This time I didn't panic but my heart raced.

Maybe it's not an undead?

I didn't know much but I didn't need to either: all I had to do was survive.

I waited for it and soon saw it coming through the grass. This one was not as tall as the last one. Maybe not of the same species or it could be a male-female thing. It looked as big as a ten-year-old, a very ugly one that is. You wouldn't be getting any chunks this time!

With a valiant smirk, I swung the sword, almost falling to my doom. For a second I'd actually forgotten that I could barely move my leg. The damn thing laughed and moved around. What the hell was I even thinking?

My odds weren't even the slightest better than last night. I was healthy last night but didn't have any weapons. Now I was almost crippled and yet had two good for nothings'. I couldn't even swing the sword properly let alone attack.

And the little thing understood it perfectly. It charged straight at me and I barely lifted the sword up. The sword pierced the goblin through its head. I was dazed for a second.

It had died on its own accord. I couldn't help but laugh. What the hell was wrong with the world anyway? As I pulled out the sword, it didn't cut clean and the goblin groaned in agony. It still wasn't dead. I slit its throat with my knife to ease its passing. I wasn't inhumane enough to enjoy other's suffering: even if they were trying to eat me. But this thing still struggled for a good ten minutes or so. It didn't turn into undead. Maybe it only happened in the night? But one thing was clear, I didn't know shit.

Was everything in this forest just clinging to life like it was heaven or something? It sure didn't seem like heaven to me.

This one didn't have a knife in hand, instead of a rock. So knives aren't that easy to replace, huh? This one wasn't wearing anything either, just like the last one. Maybe they were not that intelligent or just didn't care. If so, then how could the last one procure a knife? Racking my head over this wasn't such a good idea so I gave up on the thought.

I was breathless. It was brief but fighting this thing had taken a toll on me. I rested for a good long ten minutes (I had a watch which surprisingly, after all that...still ticked). But I couldn't calm down. Who knew what lurked hidden in the grass. Why isn't this ending? How long do I have to go? I didn't thank my luck for I knew that lady luck was not on my side as what happened next was beyond my wildest of imaginations, and my imagination was quite wild as it was.

After walking another half an hour, to my deepest of terror and regret, I realized that this field was in fact in the middle of that dreadful forest itself. The forest surrounded the whole field. Yet again I was forced to laugh at my own fate, drenched in blood and sweat.

Who or what brought me here and put me in the most hellish place on earth? Is this really earth to begin with? I stared at the black dreadful forest: my memories from a few hours ago sprung back, fresh as lemon juice. The courage that the sun had fueled within me vanished in an instant. My hands trembled uncontrollably.

Did God hate me that much? Nevertheless, I made my decision. I was in neither the shape nor the position to waste my time thinking. I went into the forest with my heart pounding and with a firm imagination of what was in store for me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to run with such a leg as I could barely manage to stand at all. The only way to live was to fight. Get it together Daarc.. This is no time to be afraid! It's now or never.