Awakening
For a while, it felt like I was falling. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn't obey. I didn't feel wind rushing past me, nor water, nor anything really, just the sensation of vertigo and the pull of something beneath me. My consciousness was fading fast. My thoughts felt muffled and supressed as if I were under sedation. I couldn't remember anything about myself, other than my name, Damon. Though, it sounded strange, as if it didn't belong to me. Yet, it was the only thing I could remember, so it had to be my name. Then everything went blank again. The next thing I felt was something underneath me, like I was lying on an uneven surface. I could smell trees, and hear leaves rustling. A bird chirped away somewhere. How lovely.
I waited a few minutes for the feeling in my body to completely return before daring to open my eyes. I was in a clearing amidst a large forest, sleeping upon the roots of a massive tree, whose branches made a large canopy that reached the other treetops. Sunlight beamed through the leaves at the perfect angle to temporarily blind me. Thanks for that, nature. The sharp pain made me aware of the lingering headache that clouded my thoughts. I stirred a little, managing to sit upright. My everything hurt, but it was a dull pain as if it had been there for so long I was already used to it.
A chill ran down my spine as a gust of wind rushed past me. All I could hear now was the moving foliage. When had the birds gone silent? Something in the woods ahead of me caught my eye, and I tensed. I dared not move. It felt as if I was being watched, or, more likely, stalked. My fear suddenly melted away, along with everything else as I could feel my consciousness slipping away again. I resigned myself to the fact that I would be eaten, but at least I would be unconscious and hopefully it would be a painless death. My sight faded and my head spun as I fell backwards onto the tree's roots again.
Suddenly, water. My senses returned immediately as my body's survival instincts kicked in. I sputtered and coughed as I pulled myself out of the murky water I found myself in. Ignoring my confusion, I stood up and looked around, taking note of my soaked clothes and the caked mud on my face and hands. I was in a ditch seperating the woodlands behind me from the rolling hills before me. I wiped my self off as best I could and trudged my way up the hill. The sky was just beginning to change color as the sun reached the horizon.
My mind tried it's hardest to piece everything together, but the throbbing of my head made it impossible to focus. I was in a lot of pain, I was confused, and I was starting to feel like I was freezing. I put my head in my hands and yelled in frustration. I immediately regretted doing that. The swampy water behind me began to slosh and bubble. I turned to see something trying to claw through the mud. It appeared human, and it wasn't alone. A bunch of hands emerged from the ditch below me and I knew this wasn't going to be pleasant.
I cursed and bolted down the hill, which I also regretted doing, because I ended up rolling down the hill instead. When I reached the bottom, I was face first in black dirt. I couldn't move, the pain was so crippling. Then I heard the moaning, and my body decided it was ready to cooperate, but it was a tad bit too late. By the time I was standing and had spat out the disgusting earth, I was surrounded by rotting corpses. I was doomed. I tried to think of a solution, a way out, or even of how I got myself into this mess, but no dice. Thinking hurt, not thinking hurt, and everything was going to hurt a lot more if I didn't figure something out.
"To hell with this!" I yelled in frustration and punched the nearest rotting face. It fell to the ground in a blaze of fire and began convulsing. My eyes widened in shock as I looked at my hand, which was also engulfed in flame. The fire wrapped itself around my hand and took the form of a large, glowing fist. I had questions, but I knew worrying about it would get me no where.
"My hand is on fire, but not burning, I'm surrounded by zombies in some swamp, and I have no idea who I am, or why I'm here. But you know what? I don't think I give a damn anymore. I've got a fist, and you've got a face for me to punch. I'll sweat the details later." I declared, with what almost sounded like confidence. I looked down at the zombie I had sent sprawling earlier and raised my leg, bringing my foot down on the creature's head with enough force to destroy its decomposing skull. "Oh, and... double-tap." I muttered without realizing what it meant.
As I fought my way through the horde of undead, more kept showing up. I knocked them down, made sure they didn't get back up, and then moved on to the next one. It seemed like a good plan, but they just kept coming. I didn't know who I was, but I knew I was only human. I could only go for so long. The sun had long faded, the only light coming from the burning corpses and my hands. Breathing was starting to become a chore. My arms felt like spaghetti. You know who wasn't tired? My zom-buddies.
"Is this it? Is this the best I can do? Delay the inevitable? Was I truly doomed from the start? What's the point of keeping this up? I can't... I can't go on..." my head dipped and the flames faded from my hands. The flames... the fire... it appeared when I got angry. Not just that, they stayed lit for as long as I had the will to fight. "With this... can I win? Is this MY power?" the fires started again as if to answer me.
"Then... I can't give up. The moment I give up is the moment this ends. If this pointless struggle is the only chance at life I have... then I'll take it! I'll grab the future with these two hands, and set this whole world ablaze!" my voice kept growing in volume, and the fist-shaped flames grew in unision. I bellowed and launched an inferno at every hollow-skulled ugly mug I saw.
Eventually I was alone, standing in a burning field teaming with scorched corpses. I looked over my shoulder as dawn began to break over the horizon. I let out a huge sigh of relief. This fight was over. I fell backwards and landed on the hillside full of pride. Then I heard the enthusiastic sound of someone clapping.
"Admirably done!" a disdainful voice crept over me. "You fought quite hard. That speech about halfway through was especially impressive. But I'm afraid this is the end." I shot up and spun around to see a woman wearing a tattered black dress that was probably very exquisite at some point. She had a wild look in her eye, one that I was none too happy to see. "What an excellent warrior, with natural magical talent. I think I'll make you mine as compensation for all the toys you broke."
Before I could object, a purple smoke flowed from her dress, dispersing over and seeping into the ground. In the twenty yards between us, the earth shifted and heaved as something seeped out. Before long, a dead man the size of a tree loomed over me with blood pouring from its mouth and eyes. My heart almost stopped. I couldn't fight any more. I was exhausted. I was scared. I wanted to move, to scream, to do SOMETHING, but I was paralyzed.
"So...it was useless after all." I finally managed to squeak. The sun's rays reached across the sky, driving away the dark night I had fought through. The zombie goliath raised its arm above its head slowly, as if it was a great effort to move the decaying muscles. The woman began to cackle in glee. A tear ran down my face. I looked to the sky above and wished that I could at least live long enough to feel the warmth of the sunshine I fought for. The beast's arm began to let gravity have its way. Just a few more moments, and my struggle would be over, along with my life.
The sound of ripping flesh echoed through the air. The zombie's arm finally found its way to the ground, but far away from my body. It was completely dismembered. Ancient blood dripped like molasses from the zombie's stump onto the coarse earth. I brought my gaze back down to see a woman standing in front of me protectively.
She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The rising sun cast a golden glow about her as she raised her sword, almost as long as she was tall, yet as thin and elegant as the one holding it. A long white dress fluttered in the breeze, with silver armor trimmed in gold around her waist and brest. She had long, strawberry blonde hair that shimmered as the wind blew through it, and enormous white wings sprouting from her back. She turned towards me, her eyes piercing yet comforting.
"You have done your best. Now I give you leave to rest," she stated in a voice so calm that all my worries and fears began to melt away. Just being in the presence of this being made my pain dissolve, like the fog in my mind was being cleared. I had no words to give back to the woman. I simply nodded, tears still streaming down my cheeks. There was no more questioning whether things were real or not, and I was getting tired of asking who and why. Besides, I wanted to enjoy this moment. I could finally feel the sun's warmth.
She spread her wings and soared into the air. The woman who had summoned the ghoul began to scream. The beast was destroyed in a flash of light and the angel's sword was pointed at her. Strangley enough, I stopped caring. I bathed in the warmth of the dawn, and closed my eyes. Everything that had just occured felt so trivial. I lied back down onto the hillside and let myself slip into a well earned slumber.