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"Jesus H. man, this is some way trippy shite. First that dead bloke with the cape, then that fire-fly from hell, now this Indian motherfucker and the noisy animals gonna come and rip a bloke a new one ... this shit's too much for a guy to take, man," whispered John. He and his siblings were following about ten feet behind Sirus and the pixie. Wendy elbowed him in the side, and put a finger to her lips.

"They can probably hear you, you dumb ass!" she whispered back.

'we can,' said the pixie. She let out a faint laugh and flew in a circle around Sirus.

"Oh, great," whispered Wendy. She shifted uncomfortably as they walked through the dense jungle of trees. "Umm, what was that we heard? The animal?"

"Probably an wyrm. Or maybe a komodo. They grow fairly large on this side of the island," replied Sirus with minimal interest.

"A worm?? What kind of worm makes that noise? What kind makes ANY noise!?" blurted John. Sirus chuckled and spun his staff once as he turned around to face the Hildereds.

"You're thinking of a worm, a dirt eater. Wyrms don't eat dirt. They eat you," he said matter-of-factly and turned back around. "You'd best stay closer. It's a long walk to Jungendstadt, and there are many things that are dangerous on the way."

"What is Jungendstadt?" asked Wendy as the trio moved closer to Sirus and the pixie.

"It's home to the Lost Boys. Jungendstadt means Youth-City, and that's pretty much what it is," replied Sirus. Wendy gave John a confused look and turned back to Sirus.

"What do you mean?"

'use your head, what does it sound like? no one grows old there,' snapped the pixie.

Wendy was shocked. "Hey, don't give ME a hard time, luv! I don't need that greif, I've been through kind of a jarring night and I'm a little pissed, so step off, Thumbellina!"

The pixie spun around and zoomed right upto Wendy's face. 'the name's tinkerbell, bitch! don't be talkin' to me that way, or i'll feed ye to one o' these beasties yuir so afraid of. or mebbe i'll do the job meself!' she snapped. She opened her little mouth to reveal two very imposing rows of needle sharp teeth. 'so YOU go an' step off, sister, you go an' step off a cliff!'

"Please, calm down, Tink'," chuckled Sirus. He gave the pixie a funny smile, and she groaned. Tinkerbell turned back to Wendy, and jumped forward, startling Wendy. She then flew back to Sirus's side.

"Jesus," whispered Wendy. She looked at John. He was holding back laughter. "What are you grinnin' about?"

"You got told by a tiny naked chick, heehee!" replied John. He giggled to himself.

'pixie! i'm a bloody pixie!!'

John shut up right quick. Wendy shook her head, and renewed her grasp on Michael's shoulders, helping him over the difficult terrain.

***

Night was approaching, and they had still not arrived at 'Jungendstadt'. They had walked through three jungle areas, two lagoons, and a cave, yet this city was still no where in sight. All that lied ahead were trees, more trees, and the dark of dusk.

"Blimey, where is this god damn place!? My feet are killing me," whined Wendy. She and John had had to resort to carrying Michael about an hour ago, after the boy fell asleep while walking and refused to wake up. Sirus and Tinkerbell had remained at a steady pace the whole day, never faltering.

"Not to much farther, but be quiet. It's getting darker, beasts will soon go out to hunt," said Sirus in a low voice. He walked with silent steps over broken branches and mounds of leaves. Tinkerbell flew silently, too. The only source of sound in the group was the three Hildereds, treading as quietly through the forest as a bull in a china shop, compared to the two locals.

"Christ, I was threatening to cap somebody earlier, but if this hiking bull shit don't let up, I'ma gon' cap meself!" whispered John. Wendy let out a small laugh, betraying the weariness that crept in to her soul.

They all continued their trek through the forest, treading as quietly as possible. Then, without warning, a sound was heard. Everyone tensed up, and Sirus spun his staff in his hands, ready for an attack of any kind. Michael let out another moan, and awoke.

"Oh, luv, you gave us a scare," whispered Wendy to her groggy brother. Sirus shook his head, and straightened his staff to the ground again.

"Wehh, weee ihhhh fohrehhh," mumbled Michael. Wendy shook her head. That couldn't have been right. It sounded like he said something about their surroundings, but Michael was too mentally disabled to make any kind of statement like that. She ran her hand through his hair and smiled at him.

She stopped when a blade lightly poked her in the back of the neck. She spun around, and found a young boy, not older than ten, in a tree, pointing a pike at her.

"Who goes there now?" he whispered, a hint of anger or excitement in his voice.

"Just us, Erid," whispered Sirus. The boy in the tree pulled back his pike, and smiled.

"These are the ones, then, ey?" snickered the boy. John flipped him off, and was about to say something uncalled-for when a piercing feral cry rang through the night.

"What the motherfuck is that?" whispered John to Sirus. Tinkerbell flew straight up into the darkening sky, then down again. She moved close to Sirus and said something.

"Erid, get to Jungendstadt, tell them to bar up. Nosferatu," Sirus whipsered to the boy in the tree. He nodded, and sprang from the tree like a monkey, swinging from branch to branch towards the deep of the jungle.

Another cry rang out in the night air, and Sirus spun his staff and twisted something in the centre of it. Three blades spiked out of the coconut-club end of his staff, and he gave his guests a grim look. "Follow me, we must get to the city quickly."

With that, he took off, running and jumping through the leaves and wood and vines. The Hildereds did their best to keep up, but were falling behind, unable to maneuver through the trees very well with Michael between them.

'hurry yuir self up! you want to be caught by a nos'??' snapped Tinkerbell as she sped by them.

"What the hell is a nos!? What're those noises?? Jesus McGee, what da fuck's goin' on???" sputtered John. He pulled his knife out and kept it close to him as they moved.

'that's not going to do ye much good, sweetheart, unless ye plan on stickin' yeself 'fore the nosferatu get ye.'

"Nosferatu...aren't those.... vampires?" gasped Wendy. Tinkerbell rolled her small eyes.

'yeah, something like that, whatever gets ye movin'. speaking of which, move!'

Another shreik rang out, this time closer. They heard a rustling in the trees, the flapping of wings, and then the boy, Erid, let out a scream.

"Daffy muh'erfuckers! Let me down!!!" he hollered as he was lifted into the night sky by one of the strangest creatures Wendy had ever seen. It had the basic body of a man, save for the gigantic wings for arms and it's very small legs. It was covered in a shiney coat of fine brown hair, and it's head was a slick spade, with glowing red eyes and a mouth full of jagged teeth.

"Let...me...dowwwweeeaaAAAAAARRGHHHH!!!!" screamed Erid as the beast ripped into him with it's teeth, still flying into the sky. Another one, just like it, soared from out of no where and ripped the bottom half of the pike-weilding boy off in one smooth fly-by, and soared away with it.

"DAMN!!!" bellowed Sirus, readying his staff. Another great bat-like creature swooped down from out of no where towards Sirus. The beast let out a shriek and opened it's fang filled mouth wide. Sirus ducked at the last minute and swung his staff, catching the beast in the side of the head. The staff's spikes tore into the creature, and sent it spinning into the night sky, howling.

"Go! The city is there," yelled Sirus, pointing to a thickness in the forest, where tall, thick trees grew. "I will be right behind you!"

Wendy and John hefted Michael onto their shoulders and began running. They yelped and ducked as another winged beast flew in low to try and grab one of them. It soared over their heads and into the moonlit night, letting out a bellowing shreik. It let out a graceful spin, and turned around for another swoop.

"Oh, fuck this!" growled John as he ripped open his duffel bag and pulled out a semi-automatic. He fired a short burst at the fast-approaching Nosferatu. The beast let out a squeal, and fell. It's momentum left it spinning and rolling on the ground, coming up fast towards John. "What the-- what the shit? Yeeahhhh!!!" hollered John as he jumped out of the way. The beast skidded across the ground and hit a tree with a thud. It groaned, and rolled over. Bluish black oozed from it's gunshot wounds, and it tried to take off again. John ran up to it and fired again and again, until it stopped writhing, finally dead. "Fuckin' A!"

"Taught that motherfuck...!" said John as he turned around. A nosferatu swooped down and kicked him in the chest with both clawed feet, sending him flying. He hit a tree with a thud, and fell onto the corpse of the bat-creature he'd just killed.

"John!!" screamed Wendy. She rushed over to him, and tried to lift him from the carcass. In the confusion, she had totally forgotten about Michael. He wandered about, occasionally avoiding swooping nosferatu by mere inches. He gazed about, amazed by all the pretty flying things.

"Oh no....MICHAEL!!!" screamed Wendy with all her might. He didn't move, and a nosferatu was on a direct course to take off his head.

She jumped up from her injured brother and ran, ran as fast as she could. She jumped, and tackled her little brother, the nosferatu flying just overhead, snapping at her heels. The two of them hit the forest floor, and Wendy let out a cough. She glanced up, and saw Sirus smack another flapping beast with his staff. The creature let out a groan, and it faltered in it's flight, eventually gliding into a tree. Wendy looked up, to where Tinkerbell was evading two hungry nosferatu. The sky was full of them, a good twenty flying in circles and patterns, searching for food. The occasional one would swoop down to nab an animal out of a tree or off the ground, then fly back up to eat in mid air, sharing the carcass with it's winged brothers.

"Get back, you..!" yelled Sirus as he jabbed at a howling beast hovering just above him. He stuck it in the ribs with his spiked-club, and it let out a squeal and fell to the ground. He slammed the club against the back of it's skull twice, then jabbed it in the lower back. It shuddered and died, letting out a wheeze. He looked up to see a nosferatu foot come out of no where and kick him in the face. He was flipped over, landing on a rough patch of dirt. He coughed, cursed, and swung his staff in an arc above him, scaring the bat creature back. It snarled, and bobbed down, picking at his ribs with it's talons and heels. Sirus groaned, and swung his staff again.

"Oh my god, what is this!? It's a bloodbath!!" whispered Wendy as she pulled Michael along the ground, crawling over to John, who was regaining conciousness.

"...fucker. Whu-- what 'appened?" he asked, dozily. Wendy grabbed his gun, and squeezed the trigger. No bullets struck beast. "Hey, don't you know how t' aim...?"

John grabbed the gun from her and tried to let off a stream of bullets into the flock above them. The gun jammed, no rounds coming forth. "Goddammit! It's stuck," groaned John. "We're bat meat."

Suddenly, a wild howl of excitement and aggression rang out in the night. Human. Wendy gazed up towards the sky, and saw the un-believable.

A boy flew through the air, spinning and somersaulting with the grace of an acrobat. He looked roughly their age, with tousled orange hair and green clothes. He swung a gleeming sword in a circle around him, taking out three nosferatu by decapitation. He howled again, and dove down through the air, slicing limbs free from beasts. Shreiks and bestial hollers filled the night, as the boy flew around the night sky, striking and swinging and stabbing his way through nosferatu. Blue-black blood flowed freely, and the beasts numbers diminished.

Soon, all but a few were alive in the sky. The boy let out a cry of joy, heaving his blood-slicked sword in the air. Sirus cheered, and Tinkerbell's glow shone brighter.

But those still in the air had a vendetta to fill out. Their bretherin, their hive-mates, had been struck down by these hairless mammals. A strong, fast nosferatu let out a bellowing cry and swooped down low to attack Sirus. He ducked, just in time, and the beast flew over him...towards Wendy.

She let out a scream as the beast's wide fang-filled mouth closed in on her. It let out a ear-splitting howl as it prepared to rip her in half. Another cry filled the night air, also. The boy came spinning down, sword sending strings of bluish black into the night sky, a holler rising from his throat.

The nosferatu closed in on Wendy.

The boy closed in on the nosferatu.

The world went dark for Wendy Hildered.

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