The Legend of Zelda: Silent Evil
Chapter 1: Contagion
It was a bright and particularly sunny day in the land of Hyrule; the birds were chirping merrily, and the skies were beaming warm rays all across the grassy fields and lavish landscape. A wolf with a small and odd-looking companion lay on the fields absorbing the heat, seemingly without a care in the world.
"It's a beautiful day, eh, Link?" said the small companion, her only visible eye closed as the sun coated her entire body; the wolf's tail beginning to slightly hit her arm as he sighed noticeably in a relaxed manner.
She sat up, opening her eye half way and restfully yawning, before she ran her hand down the wolfs back, smiling from a sense of peace she hadn't felt in years. She jumped up onto the wolf's back, scratching behind his ears, his paw beginning to beat against the floor as he was panting with joy, when she leant forward and spoke in his ear.
"I know the weather is amazing, and we're feeling awfully relaxed here, but it's time we were on our way. While we may have stopped Ganondorf, we still have to find a way to change me back to my original form." Her voice was still soft and somewhat relaxed, but with an undertone of seriousness that Link's sharp ears could easily detect. With only a nod as a gesture from the wolf, Midna opened a portal to Hyrule Castle so that they could start their investigation. Beginning to dematerialise, they were sucked piece by piece into the abyss of the Twilight Realm.
Upon reforming on the ground, they found themselves in an odd place they had never seen before. The air reeked of decay; slowly filling their nostrils and burning their eyes as they took every breath. A thick fog smothered their surroundings, making only the closest of buildings barely visible. Link, who had teleported out of Hyrule Field as a wolf, found himself in human form, a transaction that had never before happened without him requesting it be done.
"Ack! The air STINKS!" shouted Midna as she clenched her nose with her left hand, waving her right arm rapidly from left to right in front of her face to try and clear the rotting stench in the fog. "Ugh.. I wonder where we are? This definitely isn't Hyrule Castle.." she continued with a sense of both grief and wonder underlying her voice.
Also curious as to their current situation, Link glanced around himself, taking in all that he could see, which wasn't much at all. A few decrepit-looking silhouettes of abandoned stores and a hotel was all that he could see; all of which seemed to have an unfamiliar structure to them, like as though they were built in a completely different time of history. They seemed somewhat more advanced than any other buildings he'd ever come across in the past. Even so, they all seemed extremely faded, and they were what were closest to him. There was bound to be more buildings scattered throughout the strange town.
He began to walk towards the nearest building that he could make out, which appeared to be a small shop of sorts, despite not resembling any shop he'd ever seen. Midna followed closely, not wanting to stray too far from Link in this mysterious place. Cupping his hands over his eyebrows, Link pressed his hands and head against the window, which he assumed was some form of magic creating a transparent wall, to try and see inside, however all he could make out was an eerie darkness, darker than any unlit cavern or Twilight shadow he had ever ventured into. Feeling a shudder immerse his body, Link sensed that either someone or something was watching him from the black abyss before him, and so moved on quickly from the store to the next structure, constantly checking over his shoulder to make sure Midna was still close by.
Suddenly, as he was heading towards the next building, noises in the fog began to take form of agonising yet somewhat lifeless groans. It started as just a few, but as Link and Midna sped up and carried on walking, they began to get louder and louder, yet still seeming somewhat distant.
"W-what the hell is that noise?" Came Midna's trembling voice, echoing through the empty streets as the moaning became louder and more persistent. "Fuck this! We're leaving!" she shouted angrily as she tried to summon a Twilight portal – unsuccessfully at that.
"No! No this can't be! This.. This world isn't connected to the Twilight Realm? But.. But.." she stuttered incredulously as fear engulfed her body, freezing her in place. Turning his head only to notice he had almost lost her in the fog, Link ran back and grabbed her hand, staring deep into her eye as if to say 'we will find a way out of this place'. His stern look put her slightly at ease, as he carried on running through the fog.
"LINK!" Screeched Midna as a rotting hand grabbed his shoulder from seemingly nowhere, pulling him towards a half-eaten face groaning in hunger at the scent of him; "LOOK OUT!", she continued after the creature lunged forwards, it's mouth agape, as it attempted to sink its rotting teeth into his face. Without a second thought, thanks to his lightning reflexes, Link took out his sword, sliced off the creature's hand and drove his blade into its face and through its head in one perfectly executed swoop. As it dropped lifeless to the floor, they took a quick glance at it as blood began to pool around the body, looking quickly at each other and then carrying on running.
After dodging several more animated corpses, the pair found themselves in front of a massive building with a red cross on it, assuming it was a place of healing. Without hesitation, and fearing for their lives, they barged their way through the large front doors and barricaded themselves inside.
"Holy shit.. What.. What were those.. Things?" panted Midna, who had been flying at an increased rate to try and keep up with Link's light-footedness. "They.. Looked like Re-Dead's.. Only more.. Dead." she continued to breathe heavily for a few minutes before finally catching her breath, the sounds of groaning and banging against all manner of surfaces penetrating their ears deeper with each passing second.
Looking around, Link noticed that the hallway before them had the same kind of darkness he saw earlier, only this time he could see a red light right at the far end.. Everything in between was either invisible or just extremely well hidden amongst the shadows.
Glancing at his surroundings, he noticed a small box on a wall near to him. Carefully opening it, he found that there was a small black cylinder which produced light in it. Confused at first, but then remembering that he was in a strange place different to anything he had ever witnessed, he didn't bother questioning how something could create light without the use of fire.
"Link.." said Midna worryingly; "We need to find a way out of here.. Whatever the cost.."
End of Chapter 1.
So, what do you reckon? A nice way to get you sucked into the story? Well I should hope so, as there is a lot of ground to cover yet.. Stay tuned for more horror!
