Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Horror

PROLOGUE

--- ‘It’s all starts in just a blink of my eyes, people lying on the ground, bathing in their own blood, and houses that was burning into ashes. An once peaceful village turned into a devoured nightmare of mine. I search for a life, but nothing left except for a remaining corpses.
Then I suddenly notice, why there has a bloodstain all over my body. Why I am the only alive? I don't think a kid will survive in this kind of occasion and woke up in the middle of destruction. Unless, there has something that I need to know. 

Something that will explain all of this, something that lightens my mind, and something will tell all the answers. I walked looking forward, ignoring all of the things, then a sudden light appears, and all I saw was a pure light like no one ever see.
…
“You have a nightmare again. Please wake up, wake up.” I heard it from a voice of a little girl. I feel swaying my arm smoothly, and trying to wake me up in a comforting way. 

Then I finally woke up, opening my eyes a little, then I raised half of my body while holding my head with the other hand. I noticed she kept clinging to my arm, but she stopped shaking it, instead she just held it tight. 

“Are you okay? Are your head hurts?” She said looking on me. 

I glimpsed a little on her. She was looked really a kid, having a mid-short hair and covering her forehead with her bangs. Her hair was so straight like it was so smooth when it touched. I also glanced into her face. Her crystals on her dandelion eyes looks like moving as she feels so worried and nervous and waiting for an answer.

“I-I fine, nothing to worry about. It was just a sad nightmare of a child I guess.” I replied, but I looked away on her and gently rubs my head.

Her hands hold tighter as she feels more worried than awhile ago. I glanced to her, she was focused on me. It gives a little creep but I saw her cheeks blushing and her eyes really sparkling inside, but she quickly noticed it. She released her hands then put her hands in her knees and bow down, still sat on its chair beside the bed, trying to look away on me.

“S-sorry, I-I’m just a bit worried. That's all.” She said, still looking away as I guess she was embarrassed in what she did.

“It’s fine, may I asked something. I feel empty all of the sudden. I just want to know your name and where am I?” I said as I observing the room.

It was like an ordinary room made of strong woods, closet at the front, small cabinet at the bed sides, sunlight reflecting in the windows with curtains, and toys boxes below it. There has also two doors and a bookshelf filled with story books I guess beside the closet.

“If you see, it was actually my room. I saw you lying unconscious on the street nearby dreaming the same nightmare I guess. I called my father and requested to bring you here. S-sorry if I'm a bit scared. I never saw someone ever since the world dies.” She said then she nod, her hands bends tightly close and starting to sniff.

She begun crying hard as she has an old past like the nightmare I saw. Her emotional was so fragile, and easily falling apart.

“Hey, I'm Tip. Tip Matzukashi What's yours?” I said after I lowered my hand out of my head.

She gazed on me, the tears are visible on her face flowing down smoothly. I gave her a quick smile and a thumbs up. I don't know what I'm doing but I think it will works to her. After a few more seconds, she finally smile back, her cheek goes round, and her face filled with joy.

“I'm Mia Frey. Glad to meet you.” She said then she stands up and bow like a princess.

She was wearing a red dress with a different colors of flowers, and a white doll shoes that make herself looks more like a real princess in reality.

“Thank you! Nice dress by the way. You look really a princess Mia.”  I said, giving her a little more comfort.

“Thank you! Mister Matzukashi.” She said as she keeping her smile on. “By the way, my father cooked something before he leaves and he has extra clothes in the closet. You can change if you want, see you downstairs.” She continued, then went outside the room smiling.

“Why a father leaves her daughter with a stranger, that was look weird to me or unless, there’s something wrong in here.” I said in my mind.

 I observed again the room, looking for something unexpected but the room was clueless for what I want to see. Then, I started to get out of the bed, take a bath, and change clothes. After I relaxed myself, something jumped up on my mind. From the start I woke up, I didn't here anything except on two of us and another one, why she say that the world already dies. I suddenly stopped and think over it then I went to the windows to get some answer in what she say and then…

“What the---?” I said while gazing in the windows and was totally freeze in shocked. As she said, the world was already perished. 

“What happened? Why I can't recall the past yet, I knew some on myself. Dammit” I said while staring in the windows, still thinking about something I don't know either.

There was plenty of corpses lying in the street, some of the houses and cabin already destroyed and burnt into pieces. Most of the establishment was made of woods like this house. Not quite different in my dreams.

“Wait, Mia was downstairs, I need to go.” I said before quickly leave the room and find her.

(The windows remained opened as he went down the stairs, Tip didn't realized that some of the corpses are just pretending to be dead and they are not just an ordinary corpses but a living of the tragedy.)

As slowly stepping downstairs, the creak of the timber makes me frighten in every steps I made. Thick woods walls are besides of stairs making it looks darky and creepy upstairs. The sunlight that was insisting into the holes of the walls was the only light providing down the staircase. 

Suddenly, I stopped in a middle of the staircase when I heard something banging outside. It is like coming from the front door of the house. I continued to go down and looked for Mia but all I saw was a ruined room with a prepared meal in a fixed old table. All things in the room was in a bad shapes except for the table and chairs that was already fixes by Mia's father, I guess. I looked around, searching for Mia when a low-voice whispered and calls my name.

“Tip, over here.” I followed the voice calling me and its Mia hiding in a large wood box near the table.

I just was to ask her what she was doing there when someone banging the door again but this time, it was louder and harder than the last. The door was already half-broken and can be destroyed anytime when the banging still continues. I was thinking while gazing at the door, wondering why she was scared, and why they are banging so loudly? I almost took a steps toward the door when she calling me again, begging to go there as soon as possible. But before I could move, a hand pierced the door, wagging the hand while the others keep banging. We can't hide in the box together, but maybe we can go back upstairs.

“Mia, let's go back before they notice us. Hurry!” I said, giving her a hand to stand up.

“O-okay.” She said after take a glance at the broken door.

Thankfully, we already at her room when the door collapsed. But why they’re rampaging through the door, It seems they don’t know how to open the door.

“What was that? If they are the one who started a mess? Are they still not contented on what they did? Dammit, I’m confused on what going on here.” I said, leaning at the door. Hearing the moans underneath the floor. 

“T-they are the one who suffered in pain. They are the villagers same as me.” She said, staring at me furiously.
She went near the bed, getting something underneath. It is looks like a sword cases, but it was wood crafted. I take a steps closer when she stands up. 

“Here, take this long one, so we can protect ourselves incase.” She said, giving the sword she suggest.

“Thank you. But ahm… If your father trained you using this thing?” I asked, looking to her in a curious way.

“No, but my mother trained me before she died.” She said, looking down in depressed. Her bangs covered her face, but the tear drops on the ground and she starts to sniff all over again.

“It will be fine, I'm sorry.” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Let just planned how to escape here, shall we?” I continued, giving her a quick smile then stared at the windows as something flying near in it.

“Don't looked. They will feel us. You don't want to see how terrible they are.” She whispered, holding her sword with both hands.

“What do you mean?” Still staring when a bird stand by at the window, It was like looking for something. Some of its skin was already rotten and its eyes was filled with blood.

“The birds, especially, the crows and other birds that was seeking for a fresh flesh.” She said, holding her sword tightly while looking in my face.

I guess she knew already that there was a bird staring on us and I still looking at the rotten bird, then It was flew away, making me relieves a little, but she was still in a furious looked as she feels like this will be harder than I thought.

“This will be dangerous, the bird already found a food for them.” She said, taking a glance in the windows. “Once the circling was done, they will started to hunt us down and if we are unlucky, we will be one of the living dead.” She continued.

“Dammit, dammit. What we gonna do? What we gonna do? Think, think, think!” Walking around, knocking my head, and thinking for something idea, then I glance in the sword of mine.

“We can't wait here for too long. We can't fight the birds either, but we can fight the suffered villagers to get out of here. What do you think?” I said, waiting for her respond.

“I don't know if we can handle that, but I know something about them. You only get infected once you bitten, their brain was the control room and the heart was the engine. It will slow them down if we take down the heart first, and if the brain, I don't think they will die, unless we killed it both because they will just make them enrage in madness when we slashed the brain rather than their heart. I don't know if it was true, father always said that to me every time he leaves.” She explained while sitting in the bed, thinking about how we crossed them.

“Nice, thanks for sharing that. Maybe, let just try to avoid the brain, and slash some of its parts to slowly them down especially the legs and arms.” I said, then I leaned against the wall, listening of their cries, and guessing how many of them roaming on the ground floor.

“Hmm, there are just few but I'm not sure, maybe three I guess. Are you ready?” I continued.

I saw Mia locking the windows and adjusting the curtains to make the room looks blurred from the outside, then she was jumped down the toy case and went besides me.

 “Don't worry mister, I know how to handle a sword.” She said, then quickly winked at me.

I slightly opened the door and observed the surroundings, then I saw one of them standing in under the stair. It was like smelling something and slowly turning around.

“I guess there has no going back now.” I said.

Some of its part was gone and rotten. He was an old man without an upper garb, and bathing in his owned dark bloods. His face was unfigured, and moving as like as he possessed.

I just withdrawing the sword in its case, when I saw her positioning her hands on her sword, bending her knees and catch her breath deeply. The undead villager looked above us, then moaning in hunger, and climbing up the stairs.
She walked down and stands in front of him, aiming the tip of the sword in its heart.

“W-what are doing?” I said, walking closely to her.

She tilted her sword, then stabs its heart and swiftly slashed the neck causing the undead to fall down and create a huge thug all over the place.

“Oh no, this will not be good.” I said, staring in the fell undead.

The birds cries louder, seems they’re will be done sooner. The undead growls and ran faster towards the fallen undead.

“Let’s go.” I said, quickly down the stairs and slashed the coming undead starts from its heart and then its neck, making his ugly head fell down.

The last undead grabbed my hand and screams like he has been tortured many times, but Mia went beside between us, then slashed the hand that holding me, followed by a swift slashed again on his neck.

“Wow! You're father taught you very well. Thank you.” I said.

“Y-you're welcome.” She replied.
 We are just escaping out the house, when a birds starting to break the windows in Mia's room.

“Here they come. LET'S GO!” I shouted, holding her hand, then ran out of the house.

Some birds are went inside through the windows, but some of them noticed us and flies toward us. She was in the front, searching for the way out, or, is she? The birds still chasing, but if they really hunting us, or not? 

The village was full of burnt corpses and wrecked houses. So much despair, and bloodcurdling without exception. I start to stop, when she sudden turned left in a thick passage. I just stopped and stared at the dark passage. She was looking at me, shocked and frighten at the same time. The birds flew forward and ignored me like they didn't recognize me from the beginning, but how, and why?
I took a step, but she raised her sword pointing on me, and slowly stepping back. 

“Y-you're not a human. Y-you are one of them.” She said.

“What do you mean I'm not a human?” I asked, still holding my position.
“Father was right, high-influenced undead was true.” She continued. 
I tried to go near her, but every time I stepping forward, she moving away from me. Until, I saw a shadow in moving inside of the passage. No, isn't a shadow. It's an undead sneaking behind her. 

“Mia! Behind you.” I shouted.
I ran forward, but she stepped back, and bump in the undead body. She looked up, then her tears started to fall into pieces. The undead holds her shoulders, yet she still not moved even a little.

“F-father.” She cried, her sword dropped on the ground and she still crying while looking on her father.

All things become like in slow motion when she said that word. The slow opening of the undead mouth, the tear drops on the sword, and my movements became slowly, even I trying to make it faster to reach her, it became worthless.

“Father.” The last word she said before she was bitten on her neck causing her an instant death.

I dropped myself on the ground, staring on that unexpected event.

A few minutes passed, the undead stopped eating her, and moves towards on me. I hold my sword tighter than before, but the undead surpass me like I am invisible in their sight.

“Maybe you're right, I'm one of them. But it doesn't mean I will be like them, eating a fresh meat, and leave it to be like us.” I said, slowly standing up, and still looking at her dead body bathing on her owned blood.

I grabbed her sword and prick her heart and also her brain

“Rest in peace both of you.” I whispered, looking to her then gazed on her undead father.

“Safe way in heaven.”  I said before I bring him down.