(A/N: Just a quick idea for a story I thought about. This is a side project I will work on when I don't have anything else to do.)
He was standing in darkness. Shadows surrounded him all over, like a shroud protecting him from any kind of harm. He was taking slow steps, a fire axe dripping with blood in his left hand. His steps were slow, as if his feet were magnetized to the ground. He was staring right into the eyes of his victim, eyes like venomous crystals waiting to instil death into their oppositions.
His victim panicked. In his hand was a revolver and in his other hand was a flashlight. Aiming the flashlight at the thing shrouded in darkness approaching him, the man felt cold sweat pearl down his cheeks. He thought that this would be the end. That the light of the flashlight would be too weak to punish the darkness and shadows protecting the enemy. The famous writer Alan Wake would be found the next day with a fire axe embedded deep into his chest. And so it was. As he aimed the flashlight at the man coming towards him, he realized to his horror that the energy of the small vessel of light had run out. He gripped the flashlight as if his life depended on it.
Suddenly, a light broke out from the distance. Like a beam of sharp daggers, it struck the man. He stumbled backwards, grip around the axe loosening. The shadows around him started to resolve into thin air as the light burned him, burned away his shroud of darkness. Then, with a flash of light, the shadows that once protected him disappeared. The soon-to-be dead writer felt his courage return to his soul. He let out a scream of rage, and before he knew it, he had fired off two hoarded bullets into the body of the shadowed man. He was sent flying backwards of the bullets' force, and then. He showed a grin spread across his face before his body then disintegrated into thin air.
The famous writer drew a deep breath of relief as he stared at the flashlight in his hand. A very weak light shined out through the lens. He looked at the place where the Taken had stood moments ago. It almost seemed as if an aura of light still lied heavy around him. It filled his head with hope, his heart with energy, and his soul with confidence. Three different feelings he hadn't experienced ever since that day that he had moved into that cabin together with his wife.
Then, he saw a small trickle of light again. Looking down to the ground, he saw a package of something. It seemed as if it gave off a small aura of light, almost similar to the aura of the light that had made the Taken defenceless. He took two steps and bent down to the shining object. It was a package of lithium batteries, a package of four lifesavers in a darkened world. Like a hungry lion which has just caught his kill, he lunged over the package of batteries. Tearing it open like it contained the saving of all worlds, he heard voices in the distance. He then felt the package give away to his tearing, and he felt two of the batteries strike his palm. He quickly opened the container of the flashlight, and as if his life depended on it, he shoved the two light sources inside, causing a strong beam of life to erupt from the lens of the flashlight.
Then, he turned his head and looked into the direction of where the light had struck. He could make out a silhouette in the distance holding a flashlight. But the strange thing was that it wasn't holding the flashlight.
The flashlight was its hand.
He raised his own normal flashlight and put another two revolver rounds into the cylinder. He pointed the ready-to-fire gun at the silhouette and shouted a short ''Stay back''. The flashlight turned toward him and he felt something warm strike his bare skin. It wasn't hot or anything, just warm. He actually enjoyed the feeling, but he could never know if that silhouette was friendly or not. Perhaps it was just another Taken, using new tricks to lure him into death's embrace? But he felt like he had no choice, no choice other than to trust them. He was terrified as he saw the floating light attached to a silhouette move closer now.
-''Hey, here's another one!'' a voice shouted from the silhouette. Alan shined the flashlight at the silhouette, which was now just meters away from him. He saw another two silhouettes appear on the horizon of the forest. One was very tall it seemed, with a normal flashlight in his head. The other was a feminine figure. He squinted and saw a more detailed look. The tall figure had a Mexican face and had darker skin than any of the other silhouettes. The feminine one had a well toned body and a shirt which said ''I'm the best.''
-''Astrid! Edilio! This is not one of them things!'' the silhouette closest to him shouted to the two other silhouettes, who then ran closer to the closest one. Alan shined the flashlight at the closest silhouette's face. He now saw it; he now saw the face of the silhouette: Young, impossibly older than fifteen. The other two silhouettes joined him and Alan then stood tall in his full length.
-''Hi, sir. Thank god we found you. Those things are dangerous.'' The young person said. Where his hand should have been was instead an orb of concentrated light. But Alan kept his eyes to himself. These people seemed trustable, but he could never know. The Taken had tricked him before, and he wasn't planning to let them do it again.
-''They're called Taken.'' He finally said, aiming the flashlight at the feminine figure. It raised its arms, blocking the light out. Alan's mind snapped then. He raised the gun as if his arm was controlled by a robot and then pulled the trigger. A loud bang was heard before a grunt of pain broke out. The feminine figure was knocked backwards. The Mexican guy kneeled down beside her while the light-handed one pointed his hand at him, palm facing outwards.
-''What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you shoot Astrid?'' he roared with a voice filled with anger. But Alan didn't chick out. He had seen what the feminine figure called Astrid had done. He had shined his flashlight at her face, and she had blocked it out with her arms.
-''She's one of them Goddamnit! She blocked out the flashlight!'' Alan shouted as he pointed the flashlight right at Astrid's face. But just then, he saw no blood at all on her chest were he had shot. The Mexican dude helped her up and brushed of the dirt of her shirt. Then, Alan saw what it was that had saved her from being punctured by the bullet crafted to kill. Something was under her shirt, something that had protected her. Something like a bullet-proof vest. Alan was impressed, but also terrified and ashamed at the same time. He had thought that the girl standing a few feet away from him was a horrible, shadow-clad creature from his fantasy. But this fact also stumbled his mind. The taken, the shadow-clad men, the things wrapped up in darkness were a product of his imagination. How could the other people see them? But then again, while he was searching for Alice, all the others he had encountered had been able to see them. So what would make these people unable to do? His thoughts eventually wandered back to the three young children standing in front of him.
-''Thank you. And sorry for shooting you.'' He said, directing to the blonde girl. She just shrugged it off and he was happy that she was alright. But now, there was another problem. At this time, he didn't exactly know, for he was confused, not knowing what to do.
-''Alright, it is not safe here. Those things… Taken… could return anytime.'' This was the voice of the Mexican-looking boy. ''We should get back to Perdido beach. There we can regroup and mend his wounds.''
-''You are right.'' The orb-of-light holding youngling said. And indeed was he right. The Taken were highly unpredictable, and one single fault step could result in disaster. For they were fast, their accuracy high, and their weapons brought with them the embrace of pain and death. But there was one thing that could defeat them. The holy embrace of light, which would banish the shadows and spread hope across the heart of people.
The question was: Did they have enough power to guide that light?