It was raining. The cold drops flicking off his green helmet as he rode his red motorbike down the wet cobblestone streets. The iron lampposts casting spots of orange glow along either side as he whizzed by. It was quiet out tonight, not a soul to be seen. That was good, it was going to make things easier.
He pulled over and checked the GPS on his phone again. It was close by. The bike's steady thrum died as he turned the ignition key and dropped the kickstand. His phone vibrated indicating an incoming call. He pulled off his helmet, revealing his short blond hair, and put the phone to his elf-like ear.
"Hey, Link. I don't think you should do this… It's just an urban legend, just let it go." But Link couldn't let it go. There was something more to it than mere superstition. It was like something was calling out to his very soul.
He grunted in response, as it was the best that his damaged vocal cords could do. His inability to speak had confounded hundreds of doctors that his late parents had taken him to, and he had long given up the hope of ever talking. He leaned up against his bike, his faded jeans covering up the black stenciled lettering 'Epona'.
"Listen. I'm serious. Something about all of this just gives me the creeps. How about we just say you saw it, and call it a– " Link hung up on Navid, whatever else he had to say it would be just more of the same.
The alley was dark, but with night upon him it came as no surprise. This section of the city was older, much older than anything else he had come across before. The chipped brickwork covering traces of a building that had stood there once before.
Link held out his phone first setting it to flashlight mode. He shielded the device from the rain with a hand and spun on his heels searching along the dead-end. It had been just as the legend mentioned. The crest of the Ancient Royal Family lay imprinted in a space left by fallen bricks. He was almost ecstatic now. Quickly he flipped to the media player on his phone and jacked the volume. From the scratchy speakers came a melody. Supposedly it was once used as a lullaby for a princess of forgotten royalty. When the song had finished he waited. Waited for something to happen. Anything to happen. Please. He put his hand up against the wall and closed his eyes. PLEASE!
"Hey you! What are you doing out this late?" The spotlights from the police car blared down on the back of his soaked green t-shirt. Link's heart sank. "It's way past curfew. Don't you realize people have gone missing?" The officer had gotten out of the vehicle and was walking toward him.
Each footstep brought Link back to the reality of his world. He was going to be taken back to his foster parents, more likely dragged back, and forced to explain what he was doing out so late at night. His foster mother would cry and thank the gods he was brought back safely, while his foster father would be talking to the officer and assuring that it wouldn't happen again. They would make it apparent through sloppy kisses and bone crushing hugs that he was loved, not that the large monthly grant they received from the government for raising a pure-blooded Hylian had anything to do with it. His foster parents would then ground him for a few weeks usually coinciding with the typical strict to-from-home-school schedule, claiming it was for his own good.
Lowering his phone from the gap, he turned around. The cop was almost upon him, but Link knew running would do him no good. He was too well known, especially among the government types. He had been prepared to go with the officer, but something about the way the man walked put him on edge. It was a lumbering sort of gait, the type that you would see in a bad 80s horror movie. With the white headlights blasting away what little night vision he had it was only until the officer was within arm's length could Link see his face. His eyes were dead, rolled up in his skull, with black lines trailing across his face and down his neck.
Unnerved by the sight, Link stepped back, his back pressing against the remains of the brick wall. The officer lurched forward, his arms outstretched. There was a gurgling sound emitting from the officer's mouth and as he opened it a rank odor wafted towards Link. From within the gaping maw of the officer something was worming its way out. It appeared as a large unblinking eye suspended by black twisted tendrils, which coiled and uncoiled as it made its way towards Link.
The sight disgusted him, and Link pushed up even further against the wall, attempting to put as much distance between him and the creature. The tendrils snaked forward, prodding the air like many dead fingers. Link looked away, squeezing his eyes shut hoping the thing would go away. But it didn't. With a clammy hand the officer wrenched Link's face to his. Even in this type of situation Link could say nothing. He wanted to scream, to shout for help, but nothing came out as more than a wheeze.
In desperation, his arms moved along the wall, looking for anything to use as a weapon beyond the small phone he had still clenched in his hand. His fingers brushed against the crest, and a burning sensation tingled up his left arm. In response to his touch, the ground trembled followed by a loud crack behind him that sent a dusting of brick dust over him and the encroaching creature.
Transparent arms of orange and green reached out from the crack grabbing Link's limbs and covering his mouth from the creature's tendrils. Displeased from the interruption the eyeball monster hissed and uttered a guttural screech as Link was dragged through the wall. The officer's arms clawed wildly at the spot Link had been moments earlier only to be stopped by some kind of barrier. The arms pulled him further away from both the monster and the light.
He was pulled into darkness.